What this infection does:

Antivirus IS is a fake security program from the same family as Security Suite. (P.O.S) This malware is installed onto your computer through the use of malware and fake online anti-malware scanners. When Antivirus IS is installed it will lay dormant for a period of time and then the program will be displayed and start performing a scan of your computer. Once the scan has finished it will state that your computer is infected with numerous infections, but will not allow you to remove anything until you first purchase the program. This is a scam as the infections it finds are all false and are only being shown to scare you into purchasing the program.

While Antivirus IS is running it will also block you from running numerous programs because it states they are infections. In reality it is blocking the execution of programs so that you are unable to launch a security program that may assist in removing Antivirus IS from your computer. When you attempt to start a program it will terminate it and display the following message:

Security Warning
Application cannot be executed. The file notepad.exe is infected. Do you want to activate your antivirus software now.

When you see these warnings you should not be concerned that your programs are infected. It just Antivirus IS displaying a false message.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A customer in Shenzhen, China, took a brand new laptop out of its box and booted it up for the first time. But as the screen lit up, the computer began taking on a life of its own. The machine, triggered by a virus hidden in its hard drive, began searching across the Internet for another computer.

The laptop, supposedly in pristine, super-fast, direct-from-the-factory condition, had instantly become part of an illegal, global network capable of attacking websites, looting bank accounts and stealing personal data.

For years, online investigators have warned consumers about the dangers of opening or downloading files emailed to them from unknown or suspicious sources. Now, they say malicious software and 
computer code could be lurking on computers before the bubble wrap even comes off.

The shopper in this case was part of a team of Microsoft researchers in China investigating the sale of counterfeit software. They suddenly had been introduced to a malware called Nitol. The incident was revealed in court documents unsealed Thursday in a federal court in Virginia. The records describe a new front in a legal campaign against cybercrime being waged by the maker of the Windows operating system, which is the biggest target for viruses.

Lolita City, and other alleged child porn websites, attacked by Anonymous

by Graham Cluley at Naked Security

The hacktivist collective Anonymous has declared war on internet paedophiles, attacking websites it accuses of carrying child abuse images and videos, and declaring that anyone who hosts, promotes or supports child pornography is a target.

In an operation dubbed "Operation DarkNet" or "OpDarkNet", the loosely-knit group has claimed responsibility for taking
offline over 40 websites accused of sharing child abuse material, and has published details of 1589 alleged paedophiles that had been using the websites.

In particular the hackers targeted a site called "Lolita City", and crashed the servers of its web hosting service Freedom Hosting. In a statement, Anonymous called "Lolita City" one of the "largest child pornography websites to date containing more than 100GB of child pornography".

Revealed: NSA targeting domestic computer systems in secret test

by Declan McCullagh CNET

The National Security Agency's Perfect Citizen program hunts for vulnerabilities in "large-scale" utilities, including power grid and gas pipeline controllers, new documents from EPIC show.

Newly released files show a secret National Security Agency program is targeting the computerized systems that control utilities to discover security vulnerabilities, which can be used to defend the United States or disrupt the infrastructure of other nations.

The NSA's so-called Perfect Citizen program conducts "vulnerability exploration and research" against the computerized controllers that control "large-scale" utilities including power grids and natural gas pipelines, the documents show. The program is scheduled to continue through at least September 2014.