The new PC security risk

Great. Just as we Net users were getting smart about phishing and viruses, online criminals have moved on, the New York Times reports. "In some countries, like Brazil, [phishing] has been eclipsed by an even more virulent form of electronic con — the use of keylogging programs that silently copy the keystrokes of computer users and send that information to the crooks." The little programs are much easier to exploit than the social engineering of phishing emails. Even kids are exploiting them. Brazilian police just arrested a ring of 55 people, 9 of them teenagers, for stealing $4.7 million from 200 different accounts at six banks. Tell your kids: We all need to avoid clicking on unfamiliar Web links in emails and IMs. And PC owners need continued vigilance about Microsoft security patches (or automate them), firewalls, and antivirus protection. These little keylogger programs (just like the kind in monitoring software parents use, hopefully openly, to check up on online kids) can also be embedded in files traded on file-sharing networks and, of course, in malicious Web sites – very often sites offering free games (sites kids like to frequent), a new study at the University of Washington found. Here's a report on the study at Yahoo News, and the New York Times's sidebar, "Protecting Yourself from Keylogging Thieves."

Mac users, Apple just issued its latest security patches, ZDNET reports. For context, see "Is Mac OS as safe as ever?" at CNET and "Straight talk on Mac security risks" at MacWorld.