online threats

McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a security offering focused on protecting against malware. The software giant is addressing what it sees as a growing need for a security solution that meets the unique needs of emerging markets and smaller PC form factors.

McAfee and Symantec could be affected as Microsoft moves to provide free antivirus software. If the software, code-named Morro, successfully protects against viruses, analysts said, it could mean an exodus from well-known security brands.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a security offering focused on protecting against malware. The software giant is addressing what it sees as a growing need for a security solution that meets the unique needs of emerging markets and smaller PC form factors.

Microsoft plans to share early information about its monthly Patch Tuesday updates with security software providers, partners, customers and public organizations.

Announced at this week's Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft's push to thwart exploitation of its software bugs is intended to improve the security ecosystem, said Andrew Cushman, director of security response and outreach at Microsoft.

Web searching can expose users to a whole range of malicious sites, so Yahoo is now teaming up with security vendor McAfee to make its search experience more secure for users.

On Tuesday, the two companies announced a partnership that they said will "deliver a safer Web-search experience" through the beta launch of a new SearchScan feature. Built on McAfee's SiteAdvisor technology, SearchScan alerts Yahoo Search users when they're visiting risky sites.

More Than Neighborhood Crime

If you know what a "botnet" is, you're in the minority: Seven out of 10 computer users have never heard of these bot armies that can hijack unsecured computers. So while the quote from The Art of War, "Know your enemy," is frequently used to exhort security professionals to understand the mind-set of the malicious attacker, a more appropriate sentiment for Web surfers is, "Know the threats."