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GPS apps that let you know where you've been

When most of us think about GPS apps for smartphones, we're thinking about navigation apps that help you to get wherever you happen to be going. However, there's a whole range of GPS logger apps that are designed to keep track of where you've been.

Tracking your historic position, movement, speed, and elevation is very useful for fitness, as evidenced by the selection of fitness apps below, but it can also be fun. For example, after exporting the .GPX data from a GPS logger app, it can be imported into Google Earth or similar software to create a 3D flyby or, as is the case in the image above, 2D virtual artwork on a massive scale.

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Protect yourself against keylogging threats with AntiLogger Free

You've secured your PC against viruses and malware, installed strong firewalls, and otherwise done what you can to protect your data and your privacy. What about keystroke logging, aka keylogging? That's where hackers surreptitiously record every keystroke you make. Passwords, usernames, credit card numbers, security codes, and private conversations are all vulnerable to keylogging. Help is available in the form of anti-keylogging tools like Zemana's AntiLogger, which is now offered as an easy-to-use freeware edition for home users. AntiLogger Free detects and foils actual attempts to hack into your system and monitor your activities. Unlike many security … Read more

Samsung cleared of false key logger allegations

Samsung has been cleared of false allegations lodged by a security specialist who claimed that keylogging software was installed on two of the company's laptops.

It turns out that a misfiring antivirus program called VIPRE, made by the GFI Software company, falsely identified a Microsoft Windows directory as malicious software.

GFI publicly apologized for the problem with VIPRE today in a post explaining that the directory used by Windows' Slovenian language files--C:\WINDOWS\SL--is the same path used by the StarLogger keylogger.

"At some point several years after the original detection was written, Windows Live started using that … Read more

How to detect and remove StarLogger

Editors' note, 10:44 a.m. PT on March 31: Samsung has been cleared of the keylogger allegations. Read the details in CNET's follow-up story.

A security researcher revealed today that he had purchased two new laptops from Samsung, and discovered both of them to be infected with the StarLogger (download) keystroke-recording program. While there's very little that can be done about keystrokes already recorded, checking your own laptop for such software is actually quite simple--if you're familiar with mucking about in your system directories and Registry.

Note that the researcher only reported StarLogger on two models, a Samsung R525 and a Samsung R540--and that Samsung subsequently said that he was mistaken. CNET examined another new Samsung laptop, the Samsung Series 9, and did not find a keylogger installed.

Because it's a keylogger, most often used for spying on employees and children, StarLogger cannot be accessed from your Start menu. (Or at least, it shouldn't be accessible there. If it is, whoever installed it did a poor job.)

The easiest way to find StarLogger is to look for its Registry key, which is used to load it when Windows is started. To see if this has occurred, open a command prompt and type "Run Regedit". Then go to the Menu bar, select Edit and then Find. You want to search for "winsl", without the quotes. If it's installed, you should see a Registry key that looks like this:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\run\winsl

You can also look for the following files on your hard drive, although keyloggers are designed to hide themselves. Open Windows Explorer, and then hit the Alt key to bring up the Menu bar. Go to Tools, Folder Options, and View. Under Advanced Settings, you'll see an option for Hidden Files and Folders. Make sure that Show is checked.

If you have StarLogger, its files will be located in your Windows root directory, in a subdirectory labeled "SL". A list of files you can expect to see is below: … Read more

Are there keyloggers on Samsung laptops? (UPDATE: No, there aren't)

Updated 9:35 a.m. PT on March 31: We've published a followup article noting that Samsung has been cleared of these allegations. It turns out that a misfiring anti-virus program called VIPRE, made by GFI Software, falsely identified a Microsoft Windows directory as malicious software.

A security researcher says he discovered keylogging software installed on two brand-new Samsung laptops that could be used to monitor all activities on the computer remotely.

Mohamed Hassan, founder of NetSec Consulting, discovered StarLogger software on Samsung laptops with model numbers R525 and 540 after running security scanning software on the systems when … Read more

Police Blotter: Husband accused of tapping wife's PC

A Texas court has ruled that a husband accused of monitoring his wife's computer through a keystroke logger did not violate federal wiretapping laws.

Larry Bagley was sued in June by his wife Rhea Bagley, who accused him of surreptitiously placing audio recording devices in their house as well as a software keystroke logger. The Bagleys are in the process of divorcing.

The complaint in this civil case says that during the divorce proceedings, the husband revealed the existence of the surveillance tech and acknowledged that the "software recorded screenshots of activity on this computer." The husband … Read more

Billing helper

Timeless Time and Expense provides a simple tool for managing the complicated world of client billing. With helpful tools to help you organize and calculate expenses, this is a fantastic tool for those who make their living on billable hours.

The program's interface was impressively simple, considering the complex work it handled. We didn't need to visit the Help file's instructions because the onscreen direction was intuitive enough to keep us on track and quickly billing. We were able to divide our time between clients and projects by creating a simple file tree display. Beginning and ending … Read more

Look Ma, I created a botnet!

The abstract concepts of "botnet" and "Trojan" just became a lot more concrete for me.

In less than an hour on Thursday, I was able to use programs readily available on the Internet underground for as little as $300 to infect several Windows clients and take complete control of them in a test environment.

In contrast to the real world, the McAfee Malware Experience event, which was akin to a Malware 101 class (or, in my case, Malware for Dummies), served up printed step-by-step instructions for us nonhacker journalists. But McAfee researchers said the programs used--real … Read more

Behind-the-scenes security

AntiLogger attempts to provide your computer with a different layer of security from other similar products. By operating as an active defense, as opposed to a reactive one, this program thinks it could be the answer to your problems.

This program has a simple interface that is very easy to understand. While AntiLogger takes care of complicated tasks such as detecting and isolating keystroke monitoring bugs, screen-capture-making viruses, and other unwanted attackers, users are given simple choices that make defense easy. You can run only certain defenses or choose from a brief list of customizations. And, when new programs are … Read more