Despite Warnings Most Consumers Still Fail To Update Their Software

A new study indicates that nearly 40 percent of all users fail to update the software on their computers when initially prompted to do so while approximately one quarter of those surveyed said despite the warnings and headlines prompting them to do so they still don’t clearly understand what software updates do.

The new survey that was co-sponsored by Microsoft's Skype division asked American, British and German consumers if and when they were more likely to install critical software updates. Shockingly even though they received notifications on their computers telling them to update their software, more than half said they needed to see a prompt between two and five times before downloading and installing an update. Even for those consumers who recognized the benefits of upgrading, one quarter didn’t know how to check if their installed software even needs updating.

When asked for their top reasons for either downloading or not downloading updates, consumers across geographies offered the following responses:

Top Reasons for Updating
1. Keeping computers safe from viruses/hackers
2. Ensures software is free of bugs and crashes less often
3. Having the latest and greatest software features
4. Upgrades are often free

Top Reasons for Not Updating
1. Worried about computer security, so I don’t download everything I’m prompted to
2. There is no real benefit to me
3. Upgrades take too long
4. Lack of understanding about what the update(s) will do

The results of the study shows that a lot of folks don't quickly update their software when prompted to do so or fail to do so completely. This prompted the creation of a global initiative dubbed International Technology Upgrade Week (ITUW) with Skype teaming with Adobe, Symantec and TomTom to encourage consumers to regularly download free software updates to their computers, smartphones, tablets and other portable devices, like GPS units.

You can follow the discussion about International Technology Upgrade Week on Twitter using #Update4Free or on the Skype Facebook page. For more information about the study checkout the posting on the Official Skype Blog

Symantec Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Norton Upgrades

A Superior Court judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Symantec Corporation, the maker of Norton Products.

The lawsuit, Heverly/Margolis vs. Symantec Corp., was filed on behalf of people who purchased online upgrades of certain Norton products. According to the suit, installing the products resulted in the uninstallation of another Norton subscription product prior to the expiration of that product.

Examples of include Norton AntiSpam, Norton Personal Firewall, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, Norton Confidential and Norton 360.

The Class affects persons who installed their upgrade product between December 5, 2001 and April 11, 2008. It does not include customers who purchased upgrades through Symantec's online store.

The following information was obtained at www.heverly-nortoncase.com

NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION CONCERNING NORTON SUBSCRIPTIONS

PLEASE READ - YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED

What Is This Notice About? This notice is about a lawsuit which has been filed in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County in California entitled Heverly/Margolis vs. Symantec Corp. On May 7, 2008, the Superior Court certified this case as a class action on behalf of persons and entities who purchased online upgrades of certain Norton antivirus and Internet security-type software products, the installation of which resulted in the uninstallation of another Norton subscription product prior to the expiration of that product's subscription. Examples of this software include Norton AntiSpam, Norton Personal Firewall, Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, Norton Confidential and Norton 360. The Class consists of persons and entities who installed their upgrade product between December 5, 2001 and April 11, 2008, but does not include those who purchased upgrades through Symantec's online store.

What Is This Lawsuit About? The lawsuit alleges that Symantec Corporation, the company that sells Norton computer security products, has an unlawful policy of terminating subscription time of certain customers who purchased upgrades without providing a credit or refund for unused subscription time, and fails to disclose this policy. Symantec denies these allegations and asserts that, at all times, its actions and business practices have been lawful and appropriate. The Court has not ruled on the merits of the claims.

Why Did I Get This Notice? You have been sent this notice because you may be a member of the Class described above and your rights may be affected by the lawsuit.
Do I Need To Do Anything? If you wish to remain in this case, you are not required to do anything at this time. If you remain in this case, you will be bound by any judgment that may be entered in this action, whether it is favorable or unfavorable. This means that if there is a recovery, you may be entitled to share in the proceeds of that recovery. If there is no recovery, you may not pursue a lawsuit on your own involving any of the same issues in this lawsuit.

If you wish to be excluded from this case, you must send a written request for exclusion in accordance with the directions set forth at www.heverly-nortoncase.com. Requests for exclusion must be postmarked by November 19, 2008.

Where Can I Get More Information? This is only a summary notice. You should go to www.heverly-nortoncase.com to obtain more detailed information.

How Do I Contact the Lawyers for the Class? The email address for the lawyers representing the class is nortoncase@heverlylawyers.com.

THIS NOTICE WAS APPROVED BY THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA, BY ORDER DATED JULY 31, 2008.

Software pirate to pay $205,000 fine for illegal eBay sales

The defendant also agreed to help authorities ID others involved in the scheme

May 22, 2007 (Computerworld) -- A software pirate who sold illegal copies of Symantec Corp. software on the online auction site eBay Inc. has agreed to pay a $205,000 fine.

In an announcement today, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) trade group, which filed suit in the case on behalf of Symantec -- a SIIA member -- said the defendant has also agreed to assist authorities in identifying the parties who actually made and distributed the illegal software that was sold.

Keith Kupferschmid, senior vice president of intellectual property for the Washington-based SIIA, said the name and location of the defendant is being kept secret under the terms of the settlement.

"We give a certain level of confidentiality in order for us to get additional information," Kupferschmid said. The lawsuit, Symantec et al. v. Chan (a pseudonym) et al., was one of several civil cases brought by the SIIA. Several cases are still pending, as are several criminal cases being brought by the FBI, he said.

The case was originally filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California as part of the SIIA's Auction Litigation Program, which was started to monitor online auction sites for illegal software sales and file related lawsuits on behalf of member vendors.

Some 90% of the software sold on auction sites such as eBay is counterfeit, according to studies, Kupferschmid said.

The $205,000 settlement is in excess of the amount the unnamed software pirate made through the sales of the software.

In the lawsuit, the SIIA charged the defendant with infringing on Symantec's copyrights and trademarks in such titles as Norton PartitionMagic, Norton AntiVirus, pcAnywhere and Norton SystemWorks, as well as illegally reselling OEM, unbundled and counterfeit software.

The SIIA says it represents more than 800 members, including software and information companies.

Top Threat: Windows Hacktivation

Symantec is reporting on a Trojan horse that mimics the Windows activation interface.

What they are calling Trojan.Kardphisher doesn't do most of the technical things that Trojan horses usually do; it's a pure social engineering attack, aimed at stealing credit card information. In a sense, it's a standalone phishing program.

Once you reboot your PC after running the program, the program asks you to activate your copy of Windows and, while it assures you that you will not be charged, it asks for credit card information. If you don't enter the credit card information it shuts down the PC. The Trojan also disables Task Manager, making it more difficult to shut down..

Running on the first reboot is clever. It inherently makes the process look more like it's coming from Windows itself, and it removes the temporal connection to running the Trojan horse. The program even runs on versions of Windows prior to XP, which did not require activation.

This is not an attack that will sneak by you. The executable is nearly 1MB large. But if you find yourself in this situation you should be able to disable it in Windows Safe mode by removing the registry keys described in the Symantec writeup and deleting the program it points to. Updated antivirus software should also be able to remove it.