November 6th, 2009 Uncategorized | No Comments »
Windows 7 was released last week and while I wanted to write sooner about it I’m glad I waited. according to the windows7eeepc.co.cc site windows 7 still needs anti-virus software to be safe. While one could look at this as a failure of Microsoft ( again) to secure their software the problem is really the complexity of modern operating systems and the sheer number of virus and malware writers. Apple and Linux claim to be more secure however they are a small fraction of the market and as such they are not targeted by the scammers because they know the profit is much lower because fewer targets exist. but if you’ve upgraded to Windows 7 or bought a new computer with Windows 7 on it make sure to keep the anti-virus solution up to date on it I recommend AVG anti-virus personally. if you are running a computer on the internet today no matter what operating system you have it’s a bad idea to not have an anti-virus installed and protecting you.
September 1st, 2009 Uncategorized | No Comments »
Skype is fast becoming a victim of it’s overwhelming popularity. It’s been revealed that there is a Trojan in the wild that specifically targets the audio subsystem of a windows PC (all versions from 95 through Vista + servers) to record any VoIP audio streams into an encrypted mp3 that can then be downloaded by the attacker at a later time to review the content of the conversation. it’s being called the first “Wiretap Trojan”. Skype has gained international attention due to it’s use of encryption to protect calls from being intercepted by using a robust enough cypher that the United States NSA reportedly has offered a $1 Billion award to whomever can crack it. I don’t know that this audio recording trojan would count but hey it would be worth a try to collect that kind of money. What’s a little time in federal prison if it’s not looked at as the solution.
It goes without saying that you need to be sure that you keep your anti-virus/spyware/trojan programs up to date to catch this stuff and stop running .exe files when somone tells you it’s the latest bikini pics of Jessica Biel (recently named the most Dangerous download on the internet) so update your protection software and be on the lookout for what Symantec has named ”Trojan.Peskyspy,”. To be safe though : If you aren’t sure you’re not being wiretapped don’t use a computer at all to make skype calls. Just go out and buy the Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype with Boingo Hot Spot Manager ( F1PP000GN-SK )
and not worry about this trojan at all. Problem solved.
August 20th, 2009 current Security Info, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Most modern day internet users have never heard of an IRC channel but the best way to describe it in relation to todays myspace,facebook and twitter sites is to say that IRC is CB radio and twtter is an Iphone in comparison. sure both CB radios are still used and IRC is still used as well by ever diminishing groups of people. As technology marches on it’s easy to choose to move to a newer, faster, better? equipment or software but if there is a learning curve is the loss of productivity always worth it. it depends. look at this recent discovery out of some research into an unrelated botnet . turns out that the bot herder was actually using twitter as a means of sending commands to download updates to infected computers. I’m sure there are others doing something like this and I’m sure it will be an interesting fight for Twitter to keep on top of the many facets of running such a flexible platform and still keep it from becoming a victim much like our old friend the IRC. you almost forgot about that didn’t you. well it’s alive in all 4 corners of the World Wide Web. it’s just go t a PR problem. it’s a lightweight fast, non-centralized means of communicating that works great if you are in a game with friends and don’t want aim,or msn, or one of the other big brother apps running on your pc. like The recent case on twitter it can also be used for not so nice things. I’ll leave it at that lest anyone get some ideas. bot control is already pretty well documented out there. so I don’t need to say much about it. besides a little bit of developer work on the problem and it’s less attractive to future crackers who would want to exploit twitter in the future.
I’m not suggesting that this Twitter case is going to lead to problems for twitter as they seem like smart guys and are adapting to all the things that have been happening with such an open platform. so I give them kudos for that. in the meantime get those discount codes on twitter or see what Ashton Kucher is up to… I sure hope so!
August 19th, 2009 Uncategorized | No Comments »
Will it be to an HR class about” inappropriate” browsing, the unemployment lines or worse!
Now I’ve not had anyone tell me that they have ever been on an illegal site before by “accident” well actually no one has admitted to me that they have ever been on an illegal site period. That said, how can you be sure to avoid the embarrassing situation that might come up at work or even in the coffee shop when you click on one of those enticing short url links in a particularly good Tweet?
I have found an answer! It was by accident- I was looking at twitter using firefox and found the powertwitter firefox add-on. It turns out that it will go out and if it can it will display the title of the page that you are about to be sent to via one of the other url shortening services out there. A very useful thing indeed. So be safe online firs of all by dumping IE and further by using this add-on you can also avoid potentially embarassing situations like an inappropriate picture or web site comes up at the wrong time. (Oh hi Mom didn’t see you there *blush*)
June 5th, 2009 current Security Info, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Here’s something you might not have ever thought before. There is no such thing as anonymity online.Prove it? OK.
Do you ever notice how web sites present different ads when you log on from different computers? Recently, While traveling it became obvious just how much information can be gathered by advertisers from simply where you log on from. Are you Familiar with IP addresses? If not take a seat while I explain how the internet is in no way as anonymous as you thought it was.
I could take a long time to explain how routers work and peering agreements but I’m only going to say this one thing. your data has an address that everyone on the internet can see. it’s not some kind of temporary type of thing either this stuff gets logged and can be reported months, even years later. In fact some countries right now are requiring this data be collected and maintained for years. So how does knowing this now help me? well for one thing there are tools out there that one can use to hide their IP. (Disclaimer time:I am in no way encouraging you to use this information to break the law or do anything that is or could be considered a crime. ) this can come in handy if you are in a location that disallows specific sites for instance in a country that has a State controlled Internet connection and you can’t get to http://www.wwtdd.com because it’s blocked. these kinds of tools will not only hide your originating IP address but in many cases will allow you to bypass these places restricted sites list. there are a number of good products on the market, there are also free sites set up out there but you should NEVER use them to do anything involving sensitive information as there are many free so call proxies out there that are not secure or even worse actively capturing data of anyone who uses the service. A better move is to go with a proven product such as the one that hide-my-ip provides.
