Once you've installed the tiny VirusTotal Uploader application, you can simply right-click on a file and use the Send To -> VirusTotal option, which will take a hash of the file (a unique fingerprint that identifies the file) and submit it to the VirusTotal service. If the file has already been scanned by VirusTotal, you will see a message saying that the hash was found, and your default browser will be opened to the scan results instantaneously. If the file hasn't already been scanned by VirusTotal, it'll continue uploading the file; you can also choose to re-upload an already-scanned file if you wish.

You can also now open the VirusTotal Uploader window directly, choose from running processes, upload multiple files, or even download a file from a URL and automatically upload it to VirusTotal (without storing the file on your PC).

It's a great update to an already excellent way to find out if a file really has a virus. VirusTotal Uploader is a free download for Windows only.

The identity theft feature, as reported by CNET, is only available in the U.S., and pairs the folks at AVG with a service called Identity Guard that integrates with your browser toolbar (Firefox and IE only); Identity Guard is there to help you avoid and handle identity theft.

Frankly, the Identity Guard addition doesn't seem like something to get all that excited about (who wants another browser toolbar, anyway?), but if nothing else, the performance boosts are worth the update for die-hard AVG fans.

AVG comes in both freeware and shareware versions, Windows only. Currently only the shareware version is ready for the update—apparently AVG delays the release of AVG Free to give their pay versions a little more time in the limelight. Unfortunately that means AVG Free users—which I suspect is most AVG users—will have to wait a bit longer to update to the faster version.

Lifehacker says there aren't a lot of new features since their first look at the software, but it is a free antivirus app, albeit one that might not be great enough to get you to switch from your current app. After all, AVG is still free for individuals, but for small businesses that need to install one on every machine, this might free up a good deal more budget for a fancy Xmas party. [Microsoft via Lifehacker]

The new feature behaves like a cross between a traditional antivirus tool and the "Are you sure you want to open this?" warnings already present in Leopard. I doubt it's doing any real-time heuristic scanning and it's definitely not running as a visible app in the OS, but if it's checking .PKG and .DMG files for malware before you run or mount them, well, that sounds an awful lot like what your average Symantec, AVG or Kapersky product is intended to do.

The first report came from the Intego blog, (they make Mac antivirus software) and it's been corroborated by Snow Leopard testers over at the MacRumors forums. We'll try to test this one out as best we can, but it's looking like Apple may have slipped this ever-so-slightly unflattering feature into their new OS under the radar. [The Mac Security Blog, MacRumors]

Here are some of the main features users can expect from Morro:

•Real-time protection. Microsoft Security Essentials uses real-time protection to help address potential threats before they ever have an opportunity to become a problem.

•Dynamic Signature Service. In addition to taking advantage of daily signature downloads, Microsoft Security Essentials is able to validate suspicious files against newly identified malware in near-real time by querying the Dynamic Signature Service. Actions from unknown sources such as unexpected network connections, attempting to modify privileged parts of the system or downloading known malicious content all trigger requests for updates from the Dynamic Signature Service.

•Rootkit protection. Microsoft Security Essentials includes a number of new and improved technologies to provide additional defense against rootkits and other aggressive threats. These technologies include live kernel behavior monitoring for monitoring the integrity of kernel structures, support for direct file-system parsing to help identify and remove malicious programs and drivers hidden from the file system, and improved live rootkit removal that dynamically loads a new kernel mode driver as part of the cleaning process so that it can help successfully remove some of the more advanced rootkits.

•Lightweight design. Because Microsoft Security Essentials is core anti-malware only, it doesn't carry the weight of the suite products and has a much smaller download size.

•CPU throttling. CPU throttling helps ensure that the user's system remains responsive to those tasks the user is likely to be performing such as opening files or browser windows, launching programs, editing documents, saving files, etc.

•Idle-time scanning. Scans and updates are scheduled to run when the PC is idle and use a low-priority thread.

•Smart caching and active memory swapping. Signatures not in use don't take up space in the available memory, making Microsoft Security Essentials friendlier toward older PCs as well as today's smaller, less powerful form factors.

Essentially, Security Essentials seems a little bit like a lite version of Live OneCare (though it's technically not related). Since this version is free, it is certainly worth a shot—and it definitely poses a threat to Symantec and McAfee. Plus, they note that there will be no registrations or renewals and the software will be updated automatically. As far as availability is concerned, Morro will can be downloaded directly from Microsoft starting on June 23rd in a limited public beta for XP, Vista and Windows 7 users.

Microsoft Security Essentials
Fact Sheet
June 2009

As threats to the safety and security of today's PC users continue to evolve, Microsoft Corp. is actively working to help keep PC users protected so that they have a safer and enjoyable Windows experience. From building products that are more resilient to attack to delivering solutions designed to help secure the platform, Microsoft is committed to being a leader in providing consumers and enterprise customers worldwide with ongoing protection from new and existing threats.

In addition to taking advantage of the security designed and built into its products, Microsoft also encourages consumers to use real-time anti-malware protection to help protect their PCs from new and evolving threats. There are many quality security products to choose from (both free and subscription-based); however cost and performance barriers prevent many consumers from using up-to-date security software to protect their PCs.

To address consumer demand for quality anti-malware protection that's easy to get and doesn't slow down system performance, Microsoft is introducing Microsoft Security Essentials, a no-cost anti-malware solution that provides consumers with quality protection from threats including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. And because Microsoft Security Essentials is offered directly from Microsoft, consumers can have confidence that the software they download is legitimate and not rogue security software that can actually cause a PC to become infected with malware.

Available to genuine Windows users, Microsoft Security Essentials has been designed to be hassle-free and is focused on addressing consumer demand for a security product that delivers the following:
Quality protection
An easy-to-use experience
Unobtrusive performance

Quality Anti-Malware Protection
With malware attacks increasing in both number and severity and the increasing incidence of rogue security software, quality anti-malware protection delivered from a trusted source is a must-have for today's PC users. With Microsoft Security Essentials, consumers can feel safer knowing that their PCs are being protected against viruses, spyware and other malicious software by the same core technology that is the basis for Microsoft's other award-winning security products and that is backed by Microsoft's world-class Security Response Center. Security features in Microsoft Security Essentials include the following:
Real-time protection. Microsoft Security Essentials uses real-time protection to help address potential threats before they ever have an opportunity to become a problem.
Dynamic Signature Service. In addition to taking advantage of daily signature downloads, Microsoft Security Essentials is able to validate suspicious files against newly identified malware in near-real time by querying the Dynamic Signature Service. Actions from unknown sources such as unexpected network connections, attempting to modify privileged parts of the system or downloading known malicious content all trigger requests for updates from the Dynamic Signature Service.
Rootkit protection. Microsoft Security Essentials includes a number of new and improved technologies to provide additional defense against rootkits and other aggressive threats. These technologies include live kernel behavior monitoring for monitoring the integrity of kernel structures, support for direct file-system parsing to help identify and remove malicious programs and drivers hidden from the file system, and improved live rootkit removal that dynamically loads a new kernel mode driver as part of the cleaning process so that it can help successfully remove some of the more advanced rootkits.

Easy to get, easy to use
While there are many security solutions on the market today, the paid subscription model for consumer security does not meet the needs of many consumers, including those in emerging markets where cost, limited availability of payment instruments such as credit cards and hardware constraints can limit adoption of core security protection. To address the need for quality protection without the hassle of annual renewals or the cost and payment barriers associated with many suite products, Microsoft makes obtaining Microsoft Security Essentials and staying up to date with the latest technical and security protection advancements easy:
Available at no cost. Because Microsoft Security Essentials is available at no cost, there is no need to go through a lengthy registration process or provide billing information.
Direct download. Microsoft Security Essentials is easy to obtain online direct from Microsoft, meaning consumers can have confidence knowing they are downloading quality anti-malware protection from a trusted source.
No registration, trials or renewals. Consumers can be confused by trials and annual renewals, in many cases believing they have up-to-date anti-virus protection when in fact they do not. With Microsoft Security Essentials, consumers can download the software without a cumbersome registration process and stay protected without the hassle of annual renewals.
Up to date. Microsoft Security Essentials is automatically updated to help ensure that signatures, the anti-malware engine and the application are always up to date. New malware signatures are downloaded daily with new signatures accessed in near-real time through the Dynamic Signature Service when suspicious behavior is detected.
Single-click fix. There is no guesswork required to keep the PC protected. When there is an issue requiring user attention, an action button appears in a prominent location on the notification with the suggested action, making it easy for the consumer to fix the issue with just one click.

Quiet Protection
Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to run quietly and efficiently in the background so that consumers can use their Windows-based PC the way they want - without worrying about interruptions, pop-ups or poor system performance. To help keep PCs protected without overburdening system resources, Microsoft Security Essentials includes the following features:
Lightweight design. Because Microsoft Security Essentials is core anti-malware only, it doesn't carry the weight of the suite products and has a much smaller download size.
CPU throttling. CPU throttling helps ensure that the user's system remains responsive to those tasks the user is likely to be performing such as opening files or browser windows, launching programs, editing documents, saving files, etc.
Idle-time scanning. Scans and updates are scheduled to run when the PC is idle and use a low-priority thread.
Smart caching and active memory swapping. Signatures not in use don't take up space in the available memory, making Microsoft Security Essentials friendlier toward older PCs as well as today's smaller, less powerful form factors.

Microsoft Security Essentials System Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista; Windows 7 (Beta or Release Candidate)
For Windows XP, a PC with:
CPU with clock speed of 500 MHz or higher
Memory of 256 MB RAM or higher
For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC with:
CPU with clock speed of 1.0 GHz or higher
Memory of 1 GB RAM or higher
VGA (display): 800x600 or higher
Storage: 140 MB of available hard-disk space
An Internet connection is required for installation and to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Microsoft Security Essentials Beta.

Pricing and Availability
Microsoft Security Essentials Beta will be available for limited public download beginning June 23, 2009, from http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials in the following geographies and languages:
Geographies: Brazil, Israel, U.S.
Languages: Brazilian Portuguese, English
Public beta testing for Simplified Chinese in China will be available later in 2009.

Live OneCare mostly bombed out because you had to pay for it—Morro is free, and if it's good enough to protect people against the most common nastyware, who's gonna dish out 40 bucks to Symantec for the latest Norton? People like cheap stuff if it's good, but free stuff even better if it's decent—so it's highly amusing to hear Symantec's Consumer division president Janice Chaffin crowing to Reuters that "a full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected."

The one real saving grace for antivirus software makers is that Microsoft isn't bundling Morro with Windows—probably only because they can't, what with the constant threat of antitrust issues that in part led them to yank other native apps out of the OS. I'd argue that security is a pretty fundamental component of an OS, so if there's any app Microsoft should be allowed to bundle, it's security software.

Maybe it is better this way—you'll be able to download it for free if you really want it, like other Windows Live apps. But then I wonder if a bundled Morro could've saved Adam, so we'd still have one more cranky Windows guy in the world. [Reuters]

The updated software, nicknamed Klingon Anti-Virus (KAV), only runs on Windows and is marketed as being the application to use when monitoring subspace transmissions "due to Romulan incursion into the Khitomer system." Surprisingly, the entire software was translated from English to Klingon by a person, "naHQun," not a machine. KAV will be available to download for free for the next 18 months, but unlike a full-featured anti-malware software, the free KAV download is just a malware scanner—not actually protection—so it won't be able to stop viruses from telling your PC that it neH Daq Sop lIj ghupu'. [Klingon Anti-Virus via ComputerWorld]

Security expert Dan Kaminsky, working with the Honeynet Project's Tillmann Werner and Felix Leder, have discovered an easier way to detect if a machine on a network is infected by Conflicker. Dan writes:

What we've found is pretty cool: Conficker actually changes what Windows looks like on the network, and this change can be detected remotely, anonymously, and very, very quickly. You can literally ask a server if it's infected with Conficker, and it will tell you.

The code, just released today, is quickly finding its way into the scanners of all the major security software companies, and will hopefully prevent the worldwide holocaust/Russian Lolcat invasion tomorrow. We'll see! [Doxpara Research via Ars Technica]

The scam as described by the FTC:

According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants used an elaborate ruse that duped Internet advertising networks and popular Web sites into carrying their advertisements. The defendants falsely claimed that they were placing Internet advertisements on behalf of legitimate companies and organizations. But due to hidden programming code that the defendants inserted into the advertisements, consumers who visited Web sites where these ads were placed did not receive them. Instead, consumers received exploitive advertisements that took them to one of the defendants’ Web sites. These sites would then claim to scan the consumers’ computers for security and privacy issues. The “scans” would find a host of purported problems with the consumers’ computers and urge them to buy the defendants’ computer security products for $39.95 or more. However, the scans were entirely false.

The products behind the scam are as follows: WinFixer, WinAntivirus, DriveCleaner, ErrorSafe, and XP Antivirus. Apparently, over a million people have been duped by the companies behind these products, and if you happen to be one of them, I highly suggest getting yourself a good, reliable program like the ones listed by Lifehacker. [FTC via Consumerist]

In a statement to these media outlets, Apple stated:

The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box.

It seems that Apple has thought twice about the whole antivirus situation and declared the article entirely obsolete, putting it in line with their Mac and PC "Virus" TV commercial.

Their rationale is that the Unix user architecture and security policies in Mac OS X make it inherently much more secure than its Windows counterparts (though not bulletproof) therefore not needing the antivirus protection necessary in PC boxes. [CNET and BBC]

[It's funny how Cnet quietly edited their previous article to make it sound milder than it was and now avoids calling it a mistake, while the BBC tries to fuzz the whole situation without clearly recognizing their error—which is sadly becoming the norm in what once was the most accurate and serious news outlet in the world. — J.D.]

Elinor Mills, who originally wrote and later corrected the Cnet article, has written to me saying that she finds unfair that we have characterized her editing as "quiet"—much in the same way herself and the BBC characterized Apple's Tech Note. She points out that she has been the only writer who has actually published a correction note on the original article, editing out the offending parts. She also accuses us of misrepresenting her editing as a "cover-up" of her mistakes (something that we never said).

She is right that she's the only one who has actually wrote a vague correction note. However, we believe that this correction note—and the sharp editing—tiptoed over the faulty reporting, trying to minimize the huge mistake—which took us two minutes to check—and the fact this was a complete non-story to begin with.

Like I painfully learnt myself, I know there can be mistakes made in the rush of the news hunting. But, like in print—where newspapers publish retractions, leaving a record of what was exactly wrong—, here in Gizmodo we believe that when we make a mistake, we need to highlight it as strongly as we reported on the story in the first place. We believe this was not the case for Cnet, even if her work was light years ahead of the BBC's complete disregarding of their mistakes. —J.D.

The Washington Post, the BBC, Cnet, and other outlets are pointing out that Apple is, for the first time ever, "quietly" recommending anti-virus software for Mac OS X. A little research shows that this is completely false.

Here's the Apple note they point at, postulating the old theory that Apple is feeling the heat of the increased market share and, therefore, an increasing risk of virus attacks:

The BBC labels this as the result of a "fresh threat". The Washington Post wonders if they will stop showing their Mac and PC "Virus" TV Commercial. Cnet goes as far as saying that "Apple changes its tune by advising Mac users to install antivirus software in nod that even Mac users aren't immune to rising malware threats." (they have edited their story after it was demonstrated false by some internet users). The reality is that the note above is just an update to this support article from 2007:

The new tech support note, which even shows the reference from the old article, only lists new anti-virus software versions. This is normal in tech notes.

In fact, the old tech note itself is actually nothing new either: Apple offered anti-virus software as part of their .Mac subscription. In fact, the company has been recommending virus software since the pre-Unix years.

In other words: No conspiracy theories, no "quietly published" technical notes. Just the same old recommendation they have been doing forever.

The software claims to be able to scan devices and their memory cards for over 400 types of known malware, none of which, as far as I can tell, are harmful to Android phones. Now, it's not impossible that dangerous malware could find its way to you G1 in the future — in fact,Android has already experienced one security scare — but installing a piece of software that scans your device for Windows Mobile virii won't do anything to stop minor exploits like that, which can be quickly and effectively patched anyway.

Of course, all this security talk could just be there to provide parents with excuse fodder to install this on their child's G1 — it also monitors voice and text communications. Anyway, VirusGuard is already available on Handango, but will make its Marketplace debut when Google finally enables its payment system in Q1 of 2009. You misguided peace of mind will cost a whole $10, by the way. [Android Community via Slashphone]

In the suicide operation, the botnet's connections were used by Kaspersky to notify all 150,000 of the infected machines (which is uncommon in itself—most would prefer to not know their computers have been doing naughty things in the dark). Instead of popping up a window full of l33t retardedness, Shadow provided instructions on how to kill itself, one node at a time, to the unsuspecting users. You can check out the details of the fix here. [Kaspersky via Ars Technica]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Many security programs simply trigger an alarm when bandwidth demands exceed a certain point. They can be dumb, and might not know that it was you who wanted to download four movies at once, or send picture e-mail to 100,000 of your closest friends. This thing sees what you're doing and how you're doing it, and can safely say more frequently that some bizarre behavior is acceptable—though maybe not to your boss.

The software also watches for regular pings to computers across the net. By seeing not just the location but determining the intervals of the calls "home," Proteus can even figure out which malware is in use.

The reason this is so effective is that it differentiates systems that otherwise look identical. Corporate laptops all look the same, software wise, right? If someone can crack one, they can crack them all. If Proteus gets deployed, hackers have a much harder time with the old virtual B&E. Even when, say, a spambot was in place, it would have to know when each user would typically be in the mood for more bandwidth in order to fool Proteus.

Since this comes from Intel, word is that the company is trying to figure out a way to hardwire this stuff right into the chips, rather than let it be some subscription program that pops up every so often to scare you with over-the-top allegations of your system's vulnerability. [Technology Review]