It’s that time again for a latest round up of security stories from around the web that hit our screens over the last week. This isn’t a detailed account of each story but instead just enough to keep you in the know so that I can say I told you so.

Newerth Under Attack

S2 Games, the developers of the popular game Heroes of Newerth (HoN) announced this week that a security breach to their accounts database and exposed player passwords.

“We’ve been working around the clock with our internal expert security staff to analyze what happened, and it is our mission to be completely transparent. We know that only passwords were stolen. No credit card or billing information was compromised, as we do not store this information,” they stated.

S2 want to ensure players that the hack did not breach their gaming servers and that they have already upgraded their security arsenal to prevent future attacks.

New Samsung Exploit found.

Last week, developers discovered a new exploit built for Samsung Android devices which allows an app to seize control of the device’s entire physical memory.

Gaining access to physical memory allows the app to access any of the data stored on the device including names, addresses, web passwords and even banking details.

The exploit is called ExynosAbuse as it is only able to target certain Samsung devices which use the Exynos 4 chip. The developers are working with Samsung to try and plug the exploit.

In the meantime though, if you have an Android device, it is really important to protect yourself from malware and other attacks like phishing that can get hold of your personal information. AVG has AVG AntiVirus for Android which is free to use.

Fly in the ointment:

If you’ve booked yourself a flight to Australia or elsewhere down south with Australian air carrier Qantas; watch out!

Earlier this week, the airline advised that fake “Seat Selection fee receipts” are circulating the web, luring customers and the curious to open attachments.
“We are aware some customers have received a fake email claiming to be a Seat Selection fee receipt. These e-mails are NOT from Qantas. We advise you NOT to open any attachment in those emails as they may contain a virus,” Qantas representatives stated on Facebook.

Qantas also advised that legitimate Seat Selection emails will always contain the name and booking details of the recipient and have no attachments.

Non Security Story of the Week:

Bad Neighbors

A woman in China who named her dog after her neighbor and swears at it repeatedly has been ordered to pay £500 in compensation by a local judge.

Dog owner Hu Lin named her dog Wang Sun after her neighbor whom she fell out with six years ago over plans to extend his home.

‘To get her own back she named her dog Wang and then whenever she saw me she would start swearing and insulting the dog using my name,’ Wang said during the proceedings at the courthouse in Gansu province, northern China.

‘Everyone knew what she was up to.’
The views are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AVG Technologies.