Stephen Cobb

Stephen Cobb

Senior Security Researcher


Education: Master of Science in Security and Risk Management, University of Leicester, UK

Highlights of your career? The Stephen Cobb Guide to PC and LAN Security (1992); The first anti-spam router (2001); Privacy for Business (2002); TEDx talk (2015)

Position and history at ESET? Joined ESET: 2011. Current title: Senior Security Researcher

What malware do you hate the most? State sponsored.

Favorite activities? Reading and writing, and some arithmetic.

What is your golden rule for cyberspace? Don’t put anything on the internet you wouldn’t want your mother to see.

When did you get your first computer and what kind was it? 1982 KayPro II portable computer with dual floppy drives, weighing 26 lbs or 12 Kg.

Favorite computer game/activity? Reading Wikipedia.


224 articles by Stephen Cobb

Less Technical

Slides from the RSA conference: where the world talks security

Slides from the RSA conference: where the world talks security

Less Technical

Slides from the RSA conference: where the world talks security

Slides of ESET presentations at RSA are now available including the SMB Cyber Security Survival Guide and "What THEY want with your digital devices."

Stephen Cobb28 Feb 20132 min. read


Less Technical

NBC.com infected with malware for more than 24 hours?

NBC.com infected with malware for more than 24 hours?

Less Technical

NBC.com infected with malware for more than 24 hours?

NBC.com may have sent visitors to infected URLs serving up Trojan software (RedKit) for 24 hours. At the time of this blog post ESET researchers still see some related sites similarly compromised.

Stephen Cobb21 Feb 20132 min. read


You can't wire love (and other Valentine's Day online romance scams)

You can't wire love (and other Valentine's Day online romance scams)

You can't wire love (and other Valentine's Day online romance scams)

Stephen Cobb14 Feb 20133 min. read


ESET research

Straight facts about Mac malware, threats and responses

Straight facts about Mac malware, threats and responses

ESET research

Straight facts about Mac malware, threats and responses

Does your Apple Mac need antivirus software, or any other kind of security software? This question has been asked repeatedly over the years and I think the "correct' answer has changed over time.

Stephen Cobb31 Jan 20134 min. read


ESET research

Your Apple Mac made even safer: Part 3 of securing new devices

Your Apple Mac made even safer: Part 3 of securing new devices

ESET research

Your Apple Mac made even safer: Part 3 of securing new devices

If you recently acquired an Apple Mac computer there are several simple steps you can take to protect your new machine, and all of the valuable information you will be storing on it.

Stephen Cobb28 Jan 20137 min. read


ESET research

Are fears of digital device theft justified? Survey says yes

Are fears of digital device theft justified? Survey says yes

ESET research

Are fears of digital device theft justified? Survey says yes

Everybody knows that laptop computers, tablets and smartphones get stolen, and everybody reading this probably owns at least one of these digital devices, so should you be concerned about yours being pinched, pilfered, peculated, purloined, or in other words, stolen?

Stephen Cobb14 Jan 20134 min. read


2013 Forecast: Malware, scams, security and privacy concerns

2013 Forecast: Malware, scams, security and privacy concerns

2013 Forecast: Malware, scams, security and privacy concerns

Stephen Cobb03 Jan 201313 min. read


ESET research

The Industrialization of Malware: One of 2012's darkest themes persists

The Industrialization of Malware: One of 2012's darkest themes persists

ESET research

The Industrialization of Malware: One of 2012's darkest themes persists

Stephen Cobb31 Dec 20124 min. read


ESET research

Are your USB flash drives an infectious malware delivery system?

Are your USB flash drives an infectious malware delivery system?

ESET research

Are your USB flash drives an infectious malware delivery system?

Stephen Cobb11 Dec 20124 min. read