Lately, there’s been a string of changes to the Facebook site, many of which have sailed under the radar of the average Facebook user.

One that is particularly disturbing is the Instant Personalization feature which, by default, is turned on, allowing Facebook’s partners (initially Pandora, Yelp and Docs.com) to access information from your Facebook account including information on your friends.

You can find out more on these changes and how to opt out of them here.

If you’re cool with these sites having access to your Facebook information, that’s fine, but just remember that your friends might not feel the same way and consider safeguarding their information by blocking the new Instant Personalization feature.

Thanks for the heads-up, Rose!

To get an overview of Norton AntiVirus 2011 and download it, click here, and for details of what you’ll find in Norton Internet Security 2011 and a download link, click here.

Because the programs are betas, they are only available for use during the testing period before the final release. However, while the downloads are not a long-term security solution, they give you the opportunity to try the products out before committing to purchase.

Norton has also announced three new security tools that will remain free to consumers permanentlyN to help fight cybercrime:

* Norton SafeWeb for Facebook — Safeguard against malicious URLs by scanning your feed using Norton Safe Web. Protect your friends by advising them of malicious URLs you might have in your feed.

* Norton Power Eraser — Eliminates deeply embedded and difficult to remove crimeware that traditional virus scanning doesn’t always detect.

* Norton Bootable Recovery Tool (only available to Norton subscribers) — Gets you back up and running if your PC becomes so infected that it won’t work properly or even boot up.

Parents should also check out OnlineFamily.Norton. It lets them manage where their children go online, how long they spend there, who they talk to, and what information they’re sharing with others. It also helps parents open up a positive dialogue with their children about good online habits.

Previously included with AVG’s business products, AVG Rescue CD has now been released for use by consumers including AVG Free users. Not only will the software automatically mount all hard drives of the computer and scan them for viruses and malware, it will automatically restore a safe network connection to the computer.

The AVG Rescue CD also includes a Windows Registry editor, a TestDisk utility for recovering deleted files and lost partitions, a file browser for navigating folders, and a Ping tool for basic network diagnostics

Just download the program from here and burn it to a CD or DVD, or extract it directly to a USB flash drive. Insert the disc or USB drive into the unresponsive computer and let it work its magic. On the download page, you’ll also find links to a video tutorial on how to use the disc if you’re unsure what to do.

Download your copy now and keep it on hand in case disaster strikes.

AVG Rescue CD

The password-stealing virus is delivered as an attachment via an email purporting to be from Facebook. Ironically, like many of these  attemots, the email plays on the security fears of many Facebook users to actually breach that security. And it’s not just your Facebook password that it can steal once it installs on your PC.

Here is an image of the email (courtesy of McAfee), so if one lands in your Inbox, don’t open it and delete it immediately (and don’t forget to empty the trash folder).

Paul is the Asia-Pacific Head of Technology for enterprise security solutions company Sophos.

If you’re expecting the blog to be full of geek-speak and a bit dry, forget it. Paul covers the latest security issues and threats — without the hype and hystrionics — in an entertaining, plain-English style that makes the information easily accessible to the average consumer.

I was lucky enough to share a coffee with Paul on Friday. However, what started out as a quick catchup on security issues morphed into over two hours of fascinating conversation around Paul’s insights into past, present and future trends in cyber-crime.

If you’re expecting the blog to be full of geek-speak and a bit dry, forget it. Paul shares his insights into the latest security issues and threats in a ‘chatty’ writing style that makes the information easily accessible to the average consumer.

Do yourself a favour and add Paul’s blog to your RSS feeds as I have. You won;t be sorry and you’ll get some insights into how cyber-criminal operate and be better prepared to keep security threats at bay.

Paul Ducklin’s Blog

When the W32/DatCrypt Trojan infects a computer, it makes it seem as if some files, such as Microsoft Office documents, video, music and image files have been ‘corrupted’, when the files have actually been encrypted by DatCrypt.

The Trojan then creates what appears to be an authentic message from Windows, advising the user to download and execute the ‘recommended file repair software’ called Data Doctor 2010.

Only after purchasing the ransomware for $89.95 is the user granted access to their own files.

You can read more about this Trojan and view screenshots of its manifestation here.

On the contrary, news of the disaster will be music to their ears — the music of ringing cash registers that is.

My disgust for these vile creatures, preying on the misfortune of others for their own gain, knows no bounds. However, these days, with cyber crime rife, your head has to rule your heart when it comes to public appeals for donations for disaster relief.

With appeals for donations of money to help the international aid effort to eleviate the suffering of the people of Haiti, you can expect to receive emails requesting you commit to a contribution, particularly while the disaster is fresh and emotions are running high.

Emails will already be circulating, purporting to be from reputable aid organisations, appealing for funds to help in the crisis in Haiti. However, these will almost exclusively be scams, and if you click on any links in them or give any financial details in response, you will no doubt experience your own disaster and grief.

However, don’t let these rogues scare you off making a donation. If you are moved to contribute money to help the poorest nation in the world cope with this latest catastrophic  blow, contact aid agencies directly to find out how best to donate, or listen to TV and radio news where details of official appeals will no doubt be broadcast.

This is a timely reminder that you need to make sure that your computer’s security software is up to date and that you treat all unsolicited emails as suspicious. Most security software suites now have phishing detection to help filter out dodgy emails, but you will also need to use common sense.

When it comes to opening unsolicited emails, a good rule of thumb is: if in doubt, don’t.

Here are security software specialist AVG’s top six tips for staying safe online while you bag a bargain.

1. Look for the ‘S’ for security. Make sure the Web sites you are shopping from are secure and have ‘https’ in the URL when you are in their checkout/purchase process. The ‘s’ ensures security. When you are in the secure section of a Web site, you will also see an icon for a locked padlock on your browser, either on the address bar or on the bottom right corner. Additionally, use the Internet to research online retailers not familiar to you. There are many sites such as www.getprice.com.au, www.eshop.com.au and others that provide info on retailers.

2. Stay current on security software. This means making sure you have the latest virus protection software updates from your security software provider. It’s important because the bad guys move around frequently. Security software companies are working to stay one step ahead of them. If you are updated, you are staying one step ahead, too.

3. Think before you link. Employ a URL scanning tool to ensure you will be warned if you click on links that lead to infected web pages. The time to find out whether a page is bad is BEFORE you load it into your web browser. AVG LinkScanner does this. It’s free, and it works with all other security and anti-virus offerings.

4. Keep your private information private. When shopping online, create a separate e-mail account that is just for shopping. Use a unique password, different from any other accounts you have. Your dedicated shopping e-mail account should be in no way affiliated with your personal, everyday e-mail account. Also, keep records of your online shopping — print confirmation pages and email confirmations.

5. Mix up your passwords. Each shopping account, bank account, credit card account, and email account should have a unique password. Write them down and keep the information in a secure location. Unique passwords for each account make it tougher for a thief to steal your personal information.

6. Use common sense. Make sure you use reasonable judgement when buying online and be on the lookout for spoof stores. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Take a minute or two to make sure it’s not a fake/spoof Web site. If the online retailer doesn’t provide a physical address, or contact phone numbers, be cautious. Make sure you understand the refund and return policies of any online retailer you are planning to buy from, especially if it’s based overseas, just in case something were to go wrong.

Diehard Twilight fans, also known as “Twi-hards’, who search for information on Twilight’s author Stephanie Meyer are being lured to a site (365Multimedia.com) by the promise of an interview with the writer. When they go to the site, a window appears telling them that their PC is infected with malware and advised to download software to remove it. If they proceed, they are asked for their credit card details and malware is installed to capture the financial details.

When I did a search for Stephanie Meyer, the site was nowhere to be seen, but such is the way of these scams. They hit and run, only to pop up in a different guise at a later time.

With the Twilight New Moon movie hitting cinemas on Friday, expect more such attempts to part fans from their money. So keep your security up to date and don’t click on links on unfamiliar sites — if you have malware on your system, your security software will identify and remove it.

Check Point is offering its ZoneAlarm Pro product, valued at $US39.95, as a download for just 24 hours, so put the date in your diary if you want to take advantage of this great offer.

You can read about ZoneAlarm Pro’s features here and download it on October 13 from here where you can also register to receive notification of future offers.

ZoneAlarm (via AppScout)