Lenovo laptops may have malware installed on them making secure transactions something that should be avoided until the issue is resolved. If you purchased a Lenovo between September 2014 and January 2015, the past Christmas season, there is a good chance that Superfish adware is installed on the computer and is capable to capturing secure internet traffic. Users should immediately make sure that their systems are not compromised according to security experts at Defcon security.

The Forbes.com financial site was hacked with the use of a  plugin by Chinese hackers. Two security firms are reporting that late last year the financial news site of Forbes.com was infected with a plugin that allowed hackers to gain personal information from financial service workers and defensive employees. A Thought Of The Day widget had malware installed and was able to collect information from any page on the website.

If you have ever posted something on Facebook that you would not want the public to see, a new improved search function of the social network might bring that old post up from your timeline. The changes will be part of the desktop interface and the iOS app rolled out this week. The amount that gets shared is based on your privacy settings, but if you allow the public to see your timeline, then the new search will be better able to find the old stuff that would embarrass you today.

The Federal Trade Commission has closed 2 technical support companies including PC HealthBoost after the companies “scammed” computer users from millions of dollars. The companies provided software to users which required a fee to activate. PC Cleaner was distributed for the sole purpose of scaring users into purchasing software after they became notified to system issues which may or may not have existed.

Boost Software was selling similar software with the addition of telemarketing operations that were also fake. Both companies websites have been closed in addition to a company help operate the call center, OMG Tech Help. PC Healthboost claimed to be able to increase the speed of your computer by 216%. Boost Software CEO Amit Mehta was named as the mastermind by the FTC.

The FTC claims that both companies sell useless software that uses fear and a lack of technical knowledge to make money on software sales.

Best Registry Cleaner in 2014 - PC Health Boost Free Download

Safe search. Safe surf. McAfee SiteAdvisor (Photo credit: Majiscup - The Papercup & Sleeve)

McAfee Founder Waits In Guatemala Jail

John McAfee is currently in jail in Guatemala, pending deportation to neighboring Belize, for questioning about a murder investigation. Meanwhile, McAfee has sold his story, tentatively called Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee, to Impact Future Media, in Canada.

Impact Future Media stated it may license the story to others, or develop it themselves. Regardless, the company's CEO, Francois Garcia, pointed out that they take the responsibility of telling the McAfee story very seriously, and will share it with the relevant partners in the industry.

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Known as being one of the largest criminal trends yet, the FBI has captured the gang defrauding its victims of well over a million dollars. This scheme was targeting 60 different countries in its plan to sway internet users into thinking they have been infected and persuading them to buy “fake software” to fix it.

Thought at this time to be somewhere overseas, master-minds and con-artists Shaileshkumar P. Jain and Bkorn Daniel Sundin were amongst the miscreants who created Innovative Marketing Inc. which is a registered company in Belize. This online business claims to distribute anti-virus software as well as do repairs online. The company has been closed down because the FBI has alleged them as being involved in practices of fraud.

Image via CrunchBase

With the recent hacking of high profile sites like those belonging to the U.S. Senate and Sony, many are confused as to who, exactly, is behind the recent rash of attacks. While the notorious hacking group Anonymous was first implicated, it appears a new group of miscreants has arisen to steal headlines.

Going by the name “LulzSec,” this new group seems to take their mission quite seriously, even though they claim to do it only for the “lulz,” or laughs. The name LulzSec is short for Lulz Security and the group features a logo of a caricature wearing a monocle and top hat, while holding a glass of wine. While the group has been targeting high-profile victims, they seem to take a caviar and lighthearted attitude regarding their exploits. They often poke fun at the vulnerabilities they employ to gain access to sites and tend to leave humorous messages for their victims. Frequently, these messages are accompanied by a crude ASCII portrait of a boat, and their website plays the theme from the television series “The Love Boat.” While the identity of group members is not known, the magnitude of the high-profile attacks seems to confirm that the group is comprised of skilled and knowledgeable individuals.