McAfee Labs third-quarter threat reports reveals that Android operating systems are the main target for new mobile malware. The report indicates that the number of malware targeting the OS has jumped to almost 37% since the last quarter. McAfee predicts that this year, 2011 will become the most busiest year for malware in history! The firm believes that malware will reach upto 75 million unique samples by the end of the year. One of the most popular forms of malware in the third quarter has been SMS-sending Trojans that collect personal information and steal money. Another amongst the new methods of stealing user information is malware that records phone conversations and then forwards it to the attacker. On the other hand, there are many that believe these reports to be exaggerated and feel that in reality mobile operating systems are safer than what analysts state.

Those involved in the computer security field will understand the importance of secure coding. This branch of coding refers to programming techniques that are aimed at preventing commonly exploited software vulnerabilities.

Secure coding tries to eliminate the typical software programming errors such as bugs, logic flaws and software defects, so that hackers cannot exploit these vulnerabilities through viruses and malware. Computer security professionals understand that code needs to be analyzed to ensure that it is secure before deployment.

For those of you who enjoy computer security coding, the Can You Crack It? website will be an engaging challenge for you. You can use your skills of analysis and problem solving to crack the code, which has only been cracked by a few people. Like in the real world, where there are often tight deadlines, the coding challenge is offered for only a limited time. At the time of publishing this article, there is only about 1 week left until the coding challenge finishes.

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The take down of the Rustock botnet command centers earlier this year had little impact on spam emails when compared to last year's Pushdo/Cutwail and Bredolab closures. The quantity of spam fell by 2% on the heels of Rustock's demise, only to rebound shortly thereafter. This could be due to the closure of SpamIt, a large pharma partner program.

The fact that Rustock specialized in pharma spam means it may well have ceased sending out mass mailings well before the the take down occurred. Given the recent interest in botnets by law enforcement agencies, the cybercriminals that operated Rustock may have chosen to back off and lie low for a while until the attention faded. The amount of spam detected in mail traffic in the first quarter of 2011 was just under 80%, which was a slight increase when compared with the previous quarter but still less then the figure for the previous year.