Malicious Spammers target Bank of America
Comments OffI’ve saw two different security firms talking about Bank of America and I wanted to share with you:
Picture from F-secure
It is also been known to be floating around in Facebook this spam. So if you get a link going to a site you don’t know about to see a video and it says you need a codec or the Adobe update you should turn right around and leave site. You should always type in the url of Your Bank and not go there through links.
From what they are saying it monitors Network traffic and Steals ICQ, POP3, and IMAP passwords. If you find network traffic going to Hong Kong IP, then it is time to check to make sure all your Virus definitions are up to date and you’ve installed an Anti-virus and Firewall. I would encourage users to report it to Phishtank so that any other unsuspecting user or person going to that site will be warned.
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.
Polymorphic w32/Scribble and what that is:
Comments OffHaving read the Graham Cluley’s Blog about “Court halted by fast-spreading virus“. I wanted to talk about this one because of the need to let people know about this little Virus and what you see when you are infected.
This virus modifies the Windows Host file so it redirects the host to a loopback address. It also uses the I-frame Injection into HTM, PHP or ASP file extensions. W32/Scribble-a, also known as Virus.Win32.Virut.ce, PE_VIRUX.A, or Virus:Win32/Virut.BM allows a users to control the machine through IRC.
Although originally misidentified at the time of the initial infection on 4th February as the Conficker worm, the infection was ultimately declared by officials to be “W32/Virut.n” (which Sophos has detected as the W32/Scribble-A virus since 3rd February).
Google let your work from home with Task Lists!!
Comments OffAs the day go by we have all have tasks, and that means we have to keep a way to remember them. Google decided to add that to there Google Mail. Pcworld said it the right way:
[Via Pcworld]
Rumor is that Itunes will Remove DRM!
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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.
Upcoming Patch Tuesday
Update for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
Install this update to resolve an issue that is caused by revised daylight saving time laws in many countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Server 2008 License Terms.
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.
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.
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.
Viacom and ATT layoff some people. (12,850 People)
Comments Off
Today, we are announcing a company-wide restructuring plan that includes staffing reductions in all divisions. This will result in a reduction of our worldwide workforce of approximately 7 percent, or about 850 positions. We are also suspending salary increases for the Company’s senior level management in 2009. In addition, after a comprehensive review of our operations, we will write down certain programming and other assets. These three actions will bring us significant cost savings and other efficiencies.
[via Gawker]
AT&T Inc. joined the recession’s parade of layoffs Thursday by announcing plans to cut 12,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its work force.
[Via Associated Press]
So in all today total that is 12,850 people who are going to be laid off. This is another set of layoffs but isn’t the last to see the whole list of of Layoffs in the Tech industry that I’ve talked about please click this link. You may find some usefull tidbits if you search my blog enough, I’ve got some great tips on getting hired and what you should do to be prepared.
Hello Twitter, Goodbye Pounce!
In a move that feels more like a cruel prank than a financial strategy, Six Apart has purchased Pownce–only to shut the company down. The blogging company acquired the micro-blogging site for an undisclosed sum before announcing that it would shut Pownce in a mere two weeks.
[via PcMag]
Although if Six Apart was smart they should of tried to Monitize the service but I guess they just wasted there money in buying Pounce. They wanted something else from the company that owned Pounce but not sure what.
Spying on Spyware.ISpynow!!
Comments OffSpyware.ISpyNow monitors files, network traffic, and keystrokes. This Spyware gives the person who installed it a Web-based interface with summaries of logged information on the host computer.
[Via Symantec]
- Avg detected Trojan Horse Generic 12.htc? – This has a great article on how to use HiJackthis program and how to make sure you no longer have the virus.
- Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!! — This article gives you some other programs to use other than Symantec. You have a wide variety of choices on Anti-virus programs and Firewall Choices. You also have some choices on Spyware removal programs.
Black Friday becomes Blacker!
Comments Off
There aren’t a lot of details yet, but news sources are saying that in Palm Desert, California, two people died after a shooting inside a Toys R Us. One story suggests that the shooting was the result of an altercation between two teenage girls. Apparently, a boy, listed as a juvenile, was responsible for the shooting and was detained.
[Via Gizmodo]
Podcasters are in up in arms over Ustream.tv
REVISED:
Microsoft kills a fake antivirus tool from 994,061 computers!
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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.
Google Creates the ultimate Search Wiki!!
Comments OffGoogle has started to do let people rate the searches and help find the better articles. Google is calling it Searchwiki. Here is a screen shot:
Some other Websites talking about this are:
These are just a few but I wanted to let you see what other websites are talking about this new feature. I do want to hear what you think about all this and what is likely to come later on?
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.
Antivirus Professional 2008 uses Scare tactics
Comments OffWe came across a rogue today called Antivirus Professional 2008 that uses GeoIP Lookup as part of its scare tactics. This site uses Flash and script to create the effect of an online scan, that then attempts to push an installer at the visitor. The NoScript extension for Mozilla Firefox is an excellent way to mitigate against this kind of garbage.
[Via F-secure]
It seems that there is a site out there, that seems to be trying to scare you into downloading there software. If you have any questions about this site please feel free to check out what I’ve found out:
Registration Service Provided By: ESTDOMAINS INC
Contact: 1.3027224217
Website: http://www.estdomains.com
Domain Name: ANTIVIRUS-ONLINE-SCANNER.COM
Registrant:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Creation Date: 07-Jun-2008
Expiration Date: 07-Jun-2009
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.antivirus-online-scanner.com
ns1.antivirus-online-scanner.com
Administrative Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Technical Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Billing Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ruMinskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Rumor: GE to be the next to layoff its workers!!
Comments Off
GE to Layoff it workers!
According to sources of friends close to me, their seems to be a consensus that there will be a major layoff coming from GE. My source is talking about it being a lot of people will be laid off and that it will start happening in the coming weeks.
According to Yahoo Finance saying this “52 week change of GE is -50.86% from last year. ”
Reports are coming in that WPA is no longer secure!
Comments OffAccording to a media reports, Erik Tews and Martin Beck claim that they have found a way to unlock the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) key, used by WPA, to read data sent from a wireless router to laptop computers. According to the researchers, the key can be cracked in 12-15 minutes.
[via Sophos]
According to Sophos, they are claim that people can now watch what you are doing on a Wireless router to a laptop. Although this isn’t to be unexpected this is a very serious out come. It is now easier to watch what people are doing online. So does that mean people can see everything you do? Not necessary. According to some people this is harder than it seems, most of the websites you visit are not encrypted, but websites that use the “https” protocol are more safer to use online. You should be safe if you are buying things online as long as you are sure it is secure. Some other steps to take to help make it harder to unencrypte your wireless single is to use Roboform promotion codes you will get for 10% or 20% off the purchase price!!
Obama Wins with McCain Leading the 2nd!
Comments OffIn some of the sites with his Bio, they talk about him being the First African American President:
I will find out more in the coming weeks, but right now we are making history. What is your responses on what happened? Are you happy or angry? Is the signs of even more economic instabilility? These are all questions that we have to consider in the time to come!!
Today everyone is doing there homework! Links to Election Day Results
Comments Off
Yep, You see it just like I do. People are studying to vote. People have been doing this from the time they went to school. It never fails the day before. To see who wins the election you might check out these links:
- Election Day through Associate Press Results
- MSNBC Results Widget
- AOL Election Toolbar
- NYT SMS Results
- iDashboards
Now I won’t tell you who to vote for but I will tell you that today we will be making History in more ways then one. Whoever we pick will be historic, a black president or a Lady VP. You decide go Vote and Here are some links to find out where you can vote at:
These should help you go and vote. Now go and vote and remember to think about who you will vote for.
Time to Change your clocks.
Time to change those clocks of ours
Beginning in 2007, Daylight Saving Time is extended one month and the schedule for the states of the United States that adopt daylight saving time will be:
2 a.m. on the Second Sunday in March
to
2 a.m. on the First Sunday of November.
So that saying goes it “Fall back, Spring Forward“ So now here are some great programs to better help you get your computer clock up to snuff:
Worldtimeclock Atomic Clock Sync Program – It is a free program for you to use with your Windows. Although you have to make sure your selected the right timezone once it is installed all you will need in an internet connection to sync your windows time with the atomic clock.
Sony recalls 340,000 batteries.
Comments Off
Sony Recalls Notebook Computer Batteries Due to Previous Fires
The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Rechargeable, lithium ion batteries containing Sony cells used in Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation, Gateway Inc., Sony Electronics Inc., and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. notebook computers.Units: About 340,000 batteries (an additional 3,080,000 battery packs were sold worldwide)
Battery Cell Manufacturer: Sony Energy Devices Corp., of Japan
Hazard: These lithium ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: There have been 16 reports of notebook computer batteries overheating, causing minor property damage and two minor burns. All of these reported incidents and injuries have been associated with earlier recalls of notebook computer batteries containing these Sony cells. There have been no incidents involving batteries sold by the notebook manufacturers participating in this announcement.
Oprah Recommends the Kindle!
Comments Off
Today in Chicago, and on TV screens across the USA, Oprah Winfrey is going to recommend her new “favorite gadget,” which is Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. A brief video has appeared on Amazon’s website to plug the show — as spotted by Chris Nuttall at the Financial Times — which will also feature a guest appearance by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (Not his first, by the way.)[via Guardian.co.uk]
I this recent turn of events I thought I recommend some great Kindle Reviews and let you decide if it is worth your money. So Here are some fantastic Sources to help you decide for yourself:
- Amazon Kindle Real-Live Review Gizmodo
- MacInTouch Kindle Review
- Cnet Reviews of the Kindle
- ZDnet Reviews of the Kindle
These are just a few that I could find to better help you make choices on if you would like to buy a Kindle. I hope this better helps you decide if it is worth.
UPS expected to layoff people also
Comments OffUnited Parcel Service reported a 9.9 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday and said it expected consumers to cut back on holiday gift purchases. The company is planning cost cuts, including layoffs, in 2009. It said it expected profit for 2008 to be toward the low end of a range it provided in July.
[Via NYtimes]
So that creates more of a demand on Jobs and if you want to hear some other layoffs that I’ve seen on the go, just search my site. Some useful links to check out is:
Some G1 Reviews and how they compare!!
I’m searched the internet for the most relevent videos and wanted to tell people about them so here they are:
Video: Daily Debrief: G1 soon to hit stores
I found some other sources and wanted to talk about them!!
The Daily Wireless also has a review on it on there site. I also found The Boy Genius talks about there review also. They all seem to look favorable to the G1. Engadget also talk about it looking at the expectations of the G1. So far everyone seems to love the G1. All in All, I think the Iphone is in for a rude awakening. There Seems to be a Good Video on what the G1 Can do so I wanted to also add this to my list of Information. This is Coming from Wall Street Journal:
This all seems to be very interesting and I can’t wait to get one in my hands
