Tech DC

My favorite free security software for Windows is Microsoft Security Essentials from Microsoft, the folks who should be protecting their operating system.
Microsoft just came out with a beta of their next version, Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 featuring:

Windows Firewall integration– allows you to turn on or off the Windows Firewall during setup.
Enhanced protection from web-based threats [...]

I have mentioned several times that Conficker is considered the most dangerous virus to date.
The Atlantic Monthy magazine has a great article titled The Enemy Within on the history of Conficker and where we are now. It’s a fascinating read for both technical security buffs and non techies.
It starts:
The Enemy Within by Mark Bowden
When the [...]

Gina Trapani wrote up a great article on the infamous Antispyware 2009 and how to get rid of it. This software pretends to be legitimate antivirus software, but is itself a virus. There are many variants of the software and I wrote about one of them called Antivirus XP 2008.
How to Remove XP AntiSpyware by [...]

Microsoft officially released Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) today. It is a free tool to protect your computer from malware, viruses, spyware, rootkits, and trojans. Unlike the previously released Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), MSE runs all the time and actively searches for threats.
Blurb from Microsoft:

Early tests show MSE to be very effective at catching [...]

The BBC has an article on Conficker, the virus that everyone seemed to think passed us by on April 1st.
The Conficker worm has started to update infected machines with a mystery package of data.
Computer security firms watching the malicious program noticed that it sprang into life late on 8 April.
The activity on its update system [...]