Stories by Melissa Riofrio

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A thin lifeline for XP users: New Malwarebytes suite will support the older OS

As Malwarebytes announces its new Anti-Malware Premium suite Monday morning, it comes with a nice present for Windows XP users: lifetime support. Perhaps it isn't entirely surprising given that, according to the company, 20 percent of its user base remains on Windows XP. Microsoft is actually extending malware support well beyond the XPocalypse date of April 8th, but knowing other companies have your back is a rare bright spot.

Melissa Riofrio | 24 Mar | Read more

New Norton Mobile Security includes database of 4 million scanned Android apps

Somewhere deep inside Symantec, there's a humming farm of virtual machines whose sole purpose is to crawl 200-plus Android app stores worldwide, download about 10,000 new apps every day, and scan each and every one. They're looking not just for malware, but for other annoying, privacy-invading things an Android app could do--oh, like take your phone number and send it along to a third party, or grab your camera pictures or contacts.

Melissa Riofrio | 26 Jun | Read more

New McAfee LiveSafe utility protects computers, tablets, and smartphones

Protecting a single PC from viruses, malware, and other security risks is difficult enough. Now that the typical tech'd-out household contains multiple tablets and smartphones, as well as one or more PCs, securing all of them can quickly become a big hassle. Responding to all this hardware proliferation, McAfee has announced a new tool called LiveSafe that's designed to be a protective umbrella for pretty much all the devices we may juggle (Windows Phones and Chromebooks being the notable exceptions).

Melissa Riofrio | 14 May | Read more

Hacking back: Digital revenge is sweet but risky

Let's not mince words: Cyberattacks suck. Whether criminals are hacking our passwords, or Anonymous is simply making a statement, the disruptions and data breaches exact a heavy toll in terms of time, money, and security. For example, after the Associated Press Twitter account was hacked and bogus news was posted about an attack on the White House, the U.S. stock market took a nosedive.

Melissa Riofrio | 09 May | Read more

The 5 biggest online privacy threats of 2013

Your online life may not seem worth tracking as you browse websites, store content in the cloud, and post updates to social networking sites. But the data you generate is a rich trove of information that says more about you than you realize - and it's a tempting treasure for marketers and law enforcement officials alike.

Melissa Riofrio | 08 Apr | Read more