Russian cybercrime group compromised half a million computers

From PC World:

Russian cybercrime group compromised half a million computers

There are two takeaways here.  The first regarding Windows XP:

"Fifty-two percent of the compromised computers were running Windows XP, “a figure that is at once unsurprising—considering that support for Windows XP, including patches, ended in April 2014,” according to the report."

Support for XP ended six (6) months ago.  Upgrade or replace any/all systems running XP!  I cannot stress this enough.  Target, Home Depot and many other breached retailers are still running this on their POS systems.  I've personally seen POS systems displaying an XP screen saver.  It's time to upgrade, an experienced white/gray/black hat hacker can easily, and by easily I mean in less than 5 minutes, compromise an XP system.  The cost of upgrading the OS and/or hardware is nothing compared to what a breach is going to cost you.

Secondly, this goes for both businesses and consumers, change your online passwords regularly.

"... which Proofpoint said collected 800,000 credentials for online bank accounts, many of which were at five of the largest U.S. banks and some in Europe."

This isn't difficult.  Put a reminder on your smart phone or calendar.  Another idea is to create a dozen or so passwords ahead of time and change them every month.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Ben Franklin