AV-Comparatives.org ran a series of real-world tests running through common scenarios like downloading, extracting, copying, and encoding files, installing and launching applications, and they also ran through an automated testing suite as well. Once the dust had settled, it became clear that not only is MSE one of only three products that both blocks and removes malware well, but it's also very light on system resources.

Out of all the products tested, Microsoft Security Essentials was the best-performing free antivirus solution, and one of only two that received "very fast" on each of the real-world tests, earning it their top award: an "advanced+" ranking. We've been telling you for a while that you don't need to pay for Windows security, and now with MSE ranked alongside the top paid apps in both malware removal and performance, you might want to consider making the switch.

Hit the AV-Comparatives link for the full report in PDF form, or check out the PC Mag story for the overview—if you can deal with some irritating in-text ads.

RIM says they had nothing to do with the update it, and are telling affected people how to get rid of it. So far, no one knows exactly why the carrier sent out the update, described as "required for service enhancements." It's actually a spy program developed by SS8 Networks, a company that makes communications interception software.

It's not only frightening on the same level as Amazon's ability to remotely delete books from thousands of Kindles at once—but customers had no clue they were downloading spyware. They just noticed it killed the crap out of their batteries.

So maybe think twice, or even three times, about just how secure your smartphone is. Luckily mine are just filled with photos of fancy coffee drinks, and you can see them for free on Twitter anyway. [Yahoo]

Considering China surpassed the U.S. in overall internet users this June, it's probably not that surprising that the country would be targeted. Couple that with the influx of inexperienced users with freshly middle-class banking accounts, and you've got a major security problem. Microsoft recommended constantly updating to lower vulnerabilities, which probably won't happen since the newest Windows updates contain that anti-piracy black screen security measure. [Yahoo News] (Flickr credit - Kai Hendry)

A corporate night out at Dave & Busters with all you can eat pizza was specifically not the answer. Try flying 95 employees out to a ski resort and entertaining them with snowboarding, blow-up dolls, briefcases of money and, of all things, mimes. That's what KLIK Team did last February. A few won cars, a few won MacBooks, but when you see the shot of the erection mummy, you'll realize that everyone lost their dignity. Hit the jump for a fairly SFW video and a lightly NSFW gallery.

KLIK Team's practices are illegal under Russian law. So how do they get away with not only doing business, but flaunting it?

Yuri Mashevsky, analyst at Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab explains:

Unfortunately, the Klik group is just one of many such groups operating in Russia, and so far such organizations feel relatively safe. Their actions span not only fake anti-spyware, abuse-proof hosting services, but also a huge number of fake online-shops (which receive money from customers but send them nothing in return). Such groups also trade malware, which is often custom-tailored for their 'clients' needs. As a result, the amount of money earned by such criminal groups is stunning.

"We can't decipher it," says Joerg Ziercke, President of the BKA, Germany's Federal Police Office. "That's why we're talking about source telecommunication surveillance — that is, getting to the source before encryption or after it's been decrypted." He does not, however, advocate that the Talinn-based internet company gave law enforcers its encryption keys.

"There are no discussions with Skype," he continued, stating that he had no interest in harming a company's competitiveness. "I don't think that any provider would go for that." He did, however, express the need for his country's law enforcement agencies to be able to conduct online searches of suspects' hard drives using Trojan Horse spyware, but he stressed that these cases were rare.

"We currently have 230 proceedings related to suspected Islamists," Ziercke said. "I can imagine that in two or three of those we would like to do this." [i4u and VoIP News]

Dell's reasoning is this: most people want anti-virus built in, Acrobat Reader doesn't count as trialware (it's free), and Google tools is fine because it's from Google. You do have the option of declining the EULA for the antivirus on first boot to have it automatically uninstall, and Acrobat and Google Tools can be removed using Dell's new uninstall utility.

Although we would have liked for the machine to be completely empty when shipped—we've never had a use for Google Tools, and we like AVG's free antivirus just fine—we can live with this. [Dell]

Well, interestingly enough, the combination of people getting newly purchased, XP Service Pack 2 PCs (or Macs), combined with machines not being turned on for the holidays and people being away from work, made the number of infected PCs decrease dramatically. We wouldn't expect the numbers to stay lower for long, however. Once grandma starts browsing those hardcore porn sites again, she can add her new machine to the bot-net once more. – Jason Chen

Bot-infected PCs get a refresh [Security Focus]

Krucing Off: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Heart of Conde s Tech Department? [Gawker]