Facebook Goes Phishing again
Comments OffIn one of my Previous articles about the Koobface Worm, I talked about the way they were infecting the systems and what you need not do.
It seems that Trend Micro has seen an even more rise in people downloading the WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ and Seems to be on the RISE. This is all done with a Social engineering and Has had some attempts before with this little worm on Facebook.
* facebook.com
* hi5.com
* friendster.com
* myyearbook.com
* myspace.com
* bebo.com
* tagged.com
* netlog.com
* fubar.com
* livejournal.com
This seems to be a social engineering Nightmare for these websites and as yet are unsure what else it does but it says the same thing it did before by saying “This is a Video of You on the Street.” Which is bogus but none the less people click and think they have to download a codec or update their Flash. Social Engineering is on the rise and will be taken seriously. You should read the full report from Trend on what it does but you also should have an anti-virus and Firewall installed to prevent this from happening in the first place. The only true way of preventing this is not to be fooled, you should NEVER Download from a site you don’t know or trust. See all the Facebook articles for more information.
PDF Zero Day Vulnerability in the Wild
Comments OffFrom sources all over the internet, Adobe made a sent out a Security bulletin yesterday:
APSA09-01 (Buffer overflow issue in versions 9.0 and earlier of Adobe Reader and Acrobat)
A critical vulnerability has been identified in Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 and earlier versions. This vulnerability would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this issue is being exploited.
Adobe Plans on patching this March 11, 2009
and According to some other reports are saying:
Symantec Security Response has received several PDF files that actively exploit a vulnerability in Adobe Reader. We are continuing to remain in contact with Adobe on this vulnerability in order to ensure the security of our mutual customers.
[via Symantec]
PolyMorphic Win32:Vitro Most Viraulent Virus
This seems to be an virus that is getting some people hit hard. I wanted to blog about this because of the nature of Virus and Trojans. I have read reports that this might be from Online Movies, and I have to say this is one reason why you must stay away from certain online movies. I am going to take a guess that this virus requires a special CODEC, and you downloaded it and installed it. It Could also be the update the Adobe Flash player idea to but still results in getting the Virus.
As I said before you take a risk when you go to sites you don’t trust or know anything about. You also should know that if you need a “SPECIAL” codec, you should just go on to another site. These sites that claim they need this special codec means only one thing they want to install something without your Knowledge.
So what is this Virus:
The Virut family of viruses uses polymorphism to hide from all anti-virus protection, it infects executable files. File infection makes it very hard to repair a system that has been infected. W32/Vitro injects code in running processes and hooks the following functions in ntdll.dll which transfers control to the virus every time any of these function calls are made.
Office Depot Closed 126 Stores
Comments OffThis just came from USA Today, According to them and I’ll quote:
Office Depot plans to close 112 underperforming retail stores in North America over the next three months. In addition, 14 stores will be closed in 2009 as their leases expire or other lease arrangements are completed, it said.
The retailer will also close six of its 33 distribution centers in North America, and says it plans to open about 20 stores in 2009, down from an earlier estimate of 40.
[Via USAToday]
Although this isn’t talking about layoffs but this will greatly impact people who will be jobless due to the closings. SO I wanted to talk about how many per store, I estimate it will be like 20 people per store on average. So that will be around 2,500 people will be jobless in the stores and I don’t know how many people will be jobless from the distribution center. If you want to check out my other posts just click here. If you search my site you will find even more tips and tricks to better help you be ready for the job market.
Fix Shutdown Problems in Vista!
Comments Off
In the Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft quietly released the patch to fix Windows Vista machine shut problems. This patch should of came sooner.
Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista
Install this update to resolve a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Server 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
This was not a critical update and it seems to resolve so many issues with compatibility. One thing it seemed to fix on my system has been the shutdown time. It is now quite fast, it would normally take me 2 to 3 mins to shutdown, now it does it in less than a Minute. So if you’ve not installed this update please install it soon. I would like to know if people are seeing the same thing I am. I’ve found a great resource on fixing it if you are still having problem, it talks about how to check your system performance. Although this is been doing it lately with these programs not loaded or even running, they still seem to cause problems so now I get the feeling it has to do with legacy programs. This should fix most of the problem with older programs.
The Next big Wave of Layoffs is Sony. (9,000 workers)
Comments Off
In a report from Engadget, there seems to be more Layoffs going on. One such one is Sony. Here is what Engadget said:
The bad news from the Japanese consumer electronics industry continues. Sony just announced plans to cut about 8,000 global jobs from its beleaguered electronics business while making unspecified reductions to its seasonal and temporary workforce. The move, as Sony explains it, comes “in response to the sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment.” Ominously, it looks like Sony will also be raising prices in the countries where “Sony makes significant sales” (read: US and Europe) if we’re reading this statement correctly:
[Via Engadget]
Rumor is that Itunes will Remove DRM!
Comments Off
A report from last week brought to AppleInsider’s attention by French technology site ElectronLibre asserts that it’s now “clear” Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, Universal and Warner on December 9th.[Via Apple Insider]
Although, this is somewhat unlikely I’ve got my own theories on this. You see If Apple did this tomorrow that would be a BIG deal, due to the fact that Microsoft will be releasing there patches on the same day. I find it would be a momentous occasion.
Facebook : Beware Spam for breakfast. (Virus)
Comments OffIn today’s society, we’ve been to complacent with people with people clicking links for the social group. In one such article on Channel Web, a nice little blog, says this:
The worm was discovered by IT security provider Kaspersky Lab, which said the threat, Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.b, is targeting Facebook users by creating spam messages and sending them to the infected user’s friends via the site.
“Unfortunately, users are very trusting of messages left by ‘friends’ on social networking sites,” said Alexander Gostev, senior virus analyst at Kaspersky Lab, in a statement. “So, the likelihood of a user clicking on a link like this is very high.”
[Via Channel Web]
This seems to be a problem people thinking that a link someone sends them is a real good link but actually is a link to a video site. According to this article the links people are sending are actually a fake video link, telling you have to download some update to flash player, by downloading this program. The user gets involved with the virus and the fun begins. So how can you prevent this from happening, two ways one is a very good group of software to make sure you have the latest and greatest video codecs. That too can be something they’ll say you need and if you’ve already installed this list of codecs then you know they’ll not telling the truth and you can quickly get away from the site laughing.
trojan.zlob removal tricks!!
Comments OffAliases:
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qyl (Kaspersky)
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qzs (Kaspersky)
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Zlob.qzn (Kaspersky)
Trojan.Zlob.CPP (BitDefender)
Puper (McAfee)
SystemDefender (Symantec)Trojan:Win32/Zlob.G is a component of Win32/Zlob that downloads rogue security programs, adware, and additional Win32/Zlob components.
[Via Windows Live OneCare]
Trojan.PWS.ChromeInject.A is not a Firefox plugin.
Comments Off
A new type of malware designed to harvest web passwords has been detected in-the-wild by BitDefender’s antivirus research labs. This latest e-threat – called Trojan.PWS.ChromeInject.A – is intended to be delivered onto a compromised computer system by other malware for subsequent download into Mozilla Firefox’s Plugin folder. Once installed it gets to work every time Firefox is started.[Via Bitdefender]
The key to this virus protection is just be cautious of where you go and keep all you system update to date to prevent all this from happening. It is also advisable to not have your passwords saved on Firefox, you should use something like Roboform, it is free to download and try. It will encrypt your passwords so if they don’t know the master password then they are out of luck. Roboform is also good for coming up with some strong passwords. Just some suggestions to prevent from people seeing your sensitive data, you don’t want anyone to get that data.
Jeff Dunham and “Walter” interview
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Although people don’t know this guy if you live outside of he US. I saw this on a HULU and couldn’t resist he is the Funniest comedian I’ve seen in a while. I absolutely love “Walter” and “Peanut“, Jeff Dunham is starting to make it on the rise. I would love to see him come to Hulu.
Apple’s Immunity, Botnet sanctuary.
Comments Off
But is Apple projecting a false sense of security just to save face? Many experts repeatedly warn that all operating systems are susceptible to viruses, and as the Mac becomes more popular OS X will inevitably become a bigger target for malicious attacks.
[via Pcworld]
Having said that I feel the notion that Apple is trying to keep there reputation as a virus free system. I can only hope that they stay that way. Which as much as I know, Apple will most like start to be the main source for botnets, because of the lack of security.
Is this Hardcore PC Falcon Northwest Mach V Extreme or not?
Comments Off
- Silverstone Temjin TJ03 full tower case
- Intel Core i7 965 Extreme processor — Overclocked to 3.8 GHZ
12GB of DDR3-1066
7200-rpm Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 hard drive
All these are links are for those who would like to make this computer yourself. The links are where you could go to buy the parts. The price after you buy the parts are estimated at $7395 price and I think you could get that down to 5000$ if you look for rebates and other incentives. I wouldn’t mind having this computer for gaming myself. It sure would be nice to give for someone on the holidays. This would be good for people wh o are looking to computer game developers or people who are into 3D rendering. Just though I share this little review with you. They really did a fantastic review of this product on there site.
You asked for it, Now it’s real — Vista SP2 Dec 4,2008
Comments Off
Beginning Thursday Dec. 4th, we will be making the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta available to everyone through a Customer Preview Program (CPP). The CPP will launch on TechNet and be available to anyone interested in trying out this service pack. The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT Pros who would like to test Service Pack 2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release. For most customers, our best advice would be to wait until the final release prior to installing this service pack.[Via Technet]
- It is a Beta
- It will Have Bugs
- It is for people who want to test it out
- It should only be installed for people who need to test it out
Vista To release Service Pack 2 in April 2009
Stop botnets in its tracks With a Firewall!
According to PC World and I’ll quote:
According to FireEye chief scientist Stuart Staniford, detection rates are so poor that, on average, only around 40 percent of security software can detect binaries during the period of greatest infectivity and danger, namely the first few days after a particular variant starts being used by botnet builders.
[via PC World]
In a recent virus storm, We have people finding my site because of a Good Firewall. No if he didn’t have anything but Windows firewall then it would of gotten through and you would not of known about it. So let’s talk about how to prevent botnet attacks. This is relatively easy and if you follow some common rules. You to could be less likely to be infected. I will say this most people don’t do these common tips and they should do them.
Some good CyberMonday Sites to look at for 2008!
Comments OffI was just getting done with that story about the Walmart Stampede, and thought I would encourage people to check these good sites for people to check out for great deals. I have been looking through sites combing for some great sites to find the best deals and here they are:
- Dealio — Dealio will not only show you sneak peaks at Cyber Monday ads, but we will also send you directly to the store so that you can purchase the often limited inventory Cyber Monday deals before they disappear. Best of all, there is no need to hop from site to site – Dealio has all your Cyber Monday shopping covered.
- CyberMonday – Shop hot holiday deals from more than 500 merchants. All of Shop.org’s proceeds from CyberMonday.com support the Ray Greenly Scholarship Fund.
- Cybermonday Mahalo Deals — This Mahalo page collects links to websites offering information and discounted merchandise for Cyber Monday.
- Best Cyber Monday Sales –Well, I finally put together a list of the top retailers throughout the country with links directly to their Cyber Monday deals.
Microsoft issues Vista patches out of Monthly Patch Cycle!
Microsoft issues Out of cycle patch for Vista. These patches are as Followed:
An update rollup is available for the Microsoft Windows Imaging Component (WIC) in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008. This update rollup resolves the problems that are documented in the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
954708 An update to add support for the serialization of complex Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) data types in the Windows Imaging Component945060 There may be inconsistencies in the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) and Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) values for an image file in Windows Vista and in Windows XP
The Windows Portable Device (WPD) API collects and transfers Software Quality Metrics (SQM) data to Microsoft servers. The SQM data is collected only on an opt-in basis through the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program. An update is available that disables the collection and transfer of SQL data to Microsoft servers.
This update affects Windows Vista-based computers, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computers, and Windows Server 2008-based computers that are in the Microsoft Windows Media Player Customer Experience Improvement Program.
Technorati Officially laysoff 6 people!!
Comments Off
Technorati released today they are going to Lay off 6 people and I will quote:
Unfortunately, this means sacrifices. Technorati’s management team members are taking pay cuts ranging from 15-25% and employees are taking 10% cut. This also includes the reallocation of staff. We’re laying off six employees today – including two executives — and there are two additional departures we won’t replace. These are high performers who have worked long hours to get us where we are now. They’re also friends, and we’re very sad to see them go. We simply need a leaner and reconfigured mix to get us through 2009.[via Technorati Weblog]
They will also be taking pay cuts all through the company. So the recession is hitting them also. I am sure CEO Richard Jalichandra has the company interest in mind. According to Techchunch, they have added these recent layoffs ticker. You can also search my blog for other layoffs that have happened or will happen.
Microsoft kills a fake antivirus tool from 994,061 computers!
Comments Off
According to Arstechnica and I’ll quote:Win32/FakeSecSen has gone by various names, including Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Spyware Preventer, Vista Antivirus 2008, Advanced Antivirus, System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Windows Antivirus, XPert Antivirus, Power Antivirus, and Ultra Antivirus 2009. Furthermore, it is skinnable, so each of these variants has a different GUI, although the basic functionality is the same: bother users with warnings of malware until they pay up.The Microsoft Malware Protection Center recently released some data on how the removal tool performed this month: FakeSecSen was removed from 994,061 machines. That number isn’t the highest Microsoft has recorded before, and the number of removals depends on which malware Microsoft adds each month and how widespread it is.
[via Arstechnica]
This seemed to of happened this month with the usual Windows update. If you haven’t updated your system just yet you should. This troublesome fake virus seems to have been killed from several systems. This could effectively make it harder for these guys who ever designed this program to make money. I hope microsoft does even more virus removals in next month. If you still want to try to get rid of these viruses don’t forget to check out my tips on Virus removal.
Citigroup bank might be saved through the recession.
Comments OffAccording to reports from ABC News, Citibank is having a hard time and might need to be assisted by the government.
The company has seen its shares lose 60 percent of their value in the past week, reflecting a crisis of confidence among skittish investors. They are worried all the risky debt on Citigroup’s balance sheet will turn into losses as the economy worsens and the markets stay turbulent — losses that could be nearly impossible to reverse.
[via ABC News]
Although this is somewhat expected, I don’t think we can afford to pay the debt of a bank. We are all having to deal with this recession. I don’t know how they can afford to pay for Citigroup and expect this to help bolster the economy. I guess only time will tell!!!
Google SearchWiki dies after two days!!
Comments OffAccording to Techcrunch Google Pulls the Google SearchWiki. Unsure as to way but here’s what they said:
Users are reporting that the recent changes to Google’s search engine, called SearchWiki, have simply disappeared from the site. It’s certainly gone from my account.
[via TechCrunch]
I’ve got my theory on this, and it’s quite a good theory. I think it was a making search results come up wrong or not at all. The last two days they’ve had that going my page views have drop BIG time. According to my Stats I’ve had 236 Unique Visits for Thursday, and 232 Wednesday. My Friday stats show that I only got 185 Unique Visits, dropping 40 to 50 people. My stats for today which is incomplete shows that I’ve only gotten 136 unique visits. Although that is complete you can see where I dropped drastically. I think Google was getting yelled at by websites due to the stats dropping. I am guessing people could tell if they wanted to go to a site just by reading the comments. This will hurt every site, including TechCrunch. I will say this is only a theory and this might or might not be the case.
Youtube gets ready to Launch “LIVE Event!!” 5pm PST/8pm EST
Comments OffAs the time approaches for the live even for Youtube. There are many confirmed and only one I want to see right now. As many people will agree that Mythbusters is the best show on Discovery Channel. They have been confirmed to be there tomorrow.
Some of the major players confirmed to be there are Mythbusters, Soulja Boy Tell’em, Katy Perry, Esmee Denters, Akon, FRED, and Will. I. Am. Now I don’t know all these stars. I do Know Mythbusters and I’ve heard of FRED. I’m just stating who is going to be there.
How to disable autorun the easy way!!!
Comments OffI read a report from Cnet about USB devices spreading Virus and I will quote:
The bad guys are intentionally developing new flavors of malware designed to propagate through USB devices,” said Gunter Ollmann, chief security strategist for IBM’s ISS security division. “They are today’s floppy drives.”
An infected computer can spread a virus to a clean USB thumb drive that is inserted. That USB drive will then be spreading the virus onto other computers if the operating system on those machines has an AutoRun-type feature enabled. The AutoRun function in Windows launches installers and other programs automatically when a flash drive or CD is inserted. The Mac has an equivalent function, according to Ollmann.[Via Cnet]
In order to disable “autorun“, which in Vista is called Autoplay. In order to disable Autoplay from starting when you insert media into your computer here is how you do it:
You will need to be Logged in as Administrator before this can be done:
Next click start and type “Autoplay” without quotes. It will bring up a screen but all you have to worry about is this:
Vista has a new Vulnebility!
Comments OffAccording to Techworld.com, Vista has a new Vulnerability that could let a hacker infect a Vista machine with a rootkit. The talk from them is quite intriguing. I will quote it to better let you know what the Vulnerability is:
The vulnerability could allow a hacker to install a rootkit, a small piece of malicious software that is very difficult to detect and remove from a computer, Unterleitner said.
Phion notified Microsoft about the problem on 22 October. Microsoft indicated to Phion that it would issue a patch with Vista’s next service pack. Microsoft released a beta version of Vista’s second service pack to testers last month. Vista’s Service Pack 2 is due for release by June 2009.
[via Techworld.com]
The way they could do this is through the Device IO Control which in turn could corrupt the Kernel of Windows Vista. Now we all know that Microsoft will release a patch quicker than 6 months away. According to this article, people are already looking for the exploit and want to know more about it. I would be willing to bet they will have a patch out sooner than later. Probably January or Febuary, which will be a big deal because no one will expect it. I would also imagine hackers will start trying to figure out how they could install software as quick as possible before Microsoft pushes out the patch. So what can you do to protect yourself, Get a firewall, a Antivirus and learn how to protect yourself to prevent yourself from getting a computer virus.
Did the Xbox Experience break netflix on Demand activation?
Comments OffAlthough this is just a few that talks about the experience and Netflix problems there are going to be more tonight when people start to come home from work wanting this service. I would bet over 100$ it will probably go down because to many request to sign up!! I hope they have the IT guys ready for this tonight or it will be a long night!!
Hulu Launches the Hulu for the Holidays!
Comments Off
Some movies or show that will probably come to Hulu are going to be Christmas themes. I would wager it will be Charlie Brown, Peanuts, The Grinch who Stole Christmas. I am sure there will be even more later on, ones that I didn’t think would come to Hulu. We shall see what comes from what they want to do the next few weeks. To bad they aren’t doing clues this time around people seemed to like doing that.
Looks like a scam to me : Personal Shopping Assistant!
Good afternoon!
We found your resume at _________________ and we would like to propose you a
position of Personal Shopping Assistant.Imagine having an exciting job with incredible salary (up to $100,000/year) that
lets you use your creativity while being paid to shop. Welcome to the world of
personal shopping!As we know shopping is the world’s favorite leisure activity, but in our busy
society an increasing number of people need to hire someone to do their
shopping. Thus personal shoppers are more in demand than ever before.There are absolutely NO START-UP FEES and NO FEES for being employed at this
position. As long as you live in the USA, and you have a credit card or any
other line of credit, have 1 or 2 free hours during the day – you are eligible
for this job!
This is what you will have to do in short:
• Purchase the requested goods using your credit card.
• Send us receipts.
• Wait for us to issue a credit to your credit card in the amount of purchase
plus shipping fee plus your commission which comprises 10%.
• Ship out the goods.
• You are finished, come back for a new list of goods.
You have an undelivered UPS/FEDEX Package. (Virus)
Comments OffFrom what I’ve seen so far. There seems to be a new rash of email going around with the heading that makes it look and feel like either UPS or Fedex. Saying that you have an undelivered package from them and to either print the order confirmation or to click a link. I will say this once, if you get this delete it. Fedex and UPS will never hide the link and tell you have an package waiting in the email. They will leave a note your door. You must ask yourself how Fedex/UPS found out your email address to tell you have a package waiting? They don’t and they won’t, just a fact.
TROJ_DLOADR.GG and TSPY_ZBOT.NM Trojan, which will Monitor and try to steal your data. The other one is a ZBot and will try to steal you data also. If you need help removing this virus, I’d suggest checking out my other virus article Avg detected Trojan Horse Generic 12.htc?. There are a lot of ways to remove this virus but the first step is never click on any links in your emails. I also wrote about Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!! This will help prevent and fix the common virus problems you might have.
AVG Detected a False Positive
According to Security and The Net:An update for the AVG virus scanner released yesterday contained an incorrect virus signature, which led it to think user32.dll contained the Trojan Horses PSW.Banker4.APSA or Generic9TBN. AVG then recommended deleting this file; this causes the affected systems to either stop booting or go into a continuous reboot cycle. So far, the problem only appears to affect Windows XP, but there is no guarantee that other versions of Windows don’t have the same issue.
[Via Security and The Net]
If you’ve not been affected by this yet, you probably won’t be. It is yet unknown how many people have been affected. I’m blogging about this to tell people about this and to warn people that not all of warnings from AVG are true and that is why you should always ask before you delete or do anything to your system. I always USE google when it comes to these types of questions
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