Microsoft’s Computers Hacked

Credit: Microsoft Corporation

Large American corporation are the target of malicious software supposedly originating in China.  Facebook and Apple have been victims of computer hacking and now Microsoft is joining the sinister list of the recent hijacking spree.

Microsoft has disclosed that it recently fell victim to the same type of cyberattack that targeted Apple and Facebook. “During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations,” the company said on its Security Response Center website Friday.

Microsoft joins a list of companies that have recently reported being hacked, including Facebook, Apple, Twitter, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Apple and Facebook were both targeted via a vulnerability in Oracle’s Java platform, and Microsoft said Friday it was hit by a similar attack. “This type of cyber attack is no surprise to Microsoft and other companies that must grapple with determined and persistent adversaries,” it said.

The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Apple each pointed at China as the source of the attacks. Twitter didn’t say where it thought the attacks originated but urged 250,000 of its users to change their passwords.  China has denied involvement in the attacks.

By now you must have heard of sinister Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation army “an overwhelming percentage of attacks on American corporations, organizations and government agencies originate in and around their white tower,” claims The New York Times who were themselves recently owned by the 1337 h4ck3r5 of Unit 61398.

Earlier this month U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.  We have to be extremely careful in determining what sites we visit on the Internet, and search for the best antivirus software you can afford.  All precautions are necessary during these perilous times of constant cyber attacks aimed at our computers.  I’ve been hit a couple of times and it hurts.  Ouch!  Caveat and Good Day.

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Mozilla is Dead Serious About Crushing Malware

Credit: Mozilla Corporation

In an effort to prevent “drive-by exploitations,” upcoming versions of Firefox will have Java, Adobe Reader and Silverlight disabled by default, according to a recent Mozilla Security blog. All other third-party plugins except Flash will also be disabled, requiring users to enable them using the so-called click to play feature introduced last year. All that is to prevent “poorly designed” Firefox plugins from crashing or recent headline-grabbing exploits involving the likes of Java, with Adobe’s Flash player being the one exception that works out of the box—though versions longer of tooth than 10.3 won’t see daylight without your say-so.

This is music to my ears, because Mozilla Firefox is my default browser.  As a precautionary move I have installed Google Chrome and Norwegian Opera as a backup, but am not crazy about their performance.  Any step to crush slack codes is good news for me.  Good Day.

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Walking 0n a Field Infested With Landmines

Over the years, the Web has become a very dangerous minefield.  Malicious people are scattering malware software all over the Internet.  It’s not safe anymore to enjoy surfing the Web unless you have a safety net to protect you if something goes sour.

Last year I was hit twice with computer viruses and had to send my computer to a computer service shop to have it extracted.  On both occasions my system was brought down to its knees while surfing supposedly safe web sites.  One of them was Google images.  At that time I was using antivirus applications downloaded for free from the Web.  They were not what I expected.  I should have known better, free stuff is not always reliable.

After the second infection, I decided to research the web to find out what were the most secure antivirus programs to surf the web.  After much clicking and reading, I concluded that Kaspersky Internet Security had the features I was looking for.  It had a price tag of $29.85 at Yoytec Computer in Panama City.

Last year was an excellent year.  Not a single problem with malware.  This year I decided to renew my license which will expire 365 days later.  Paying the price of eight cents per diem to insure full protection is a bargain.  I strongly recommend using this product if you want to avoid unnecessary problems.  Please remember that the Internet is not what it used to be.  It has become a field infested with mines.  Those mines will kill your valuable information and maybe damage your computer.  Bloggers caveat.  Good Day.

Snapshot of a box containing a compact disk with Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 software. The program is valid for one computer and for one year only. After the year is over, you have to renew it and pay for the renewal. So far the price is within reach. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Images on the Internet Can Be Dangerous

Several months ago, my computer got infected after clicking over a Google image.  Never in my wildest dream would I even suspect Google images could be a source of computer virus.  Now I know different; the Internet is not as safe as it used to be.  Even respectable sites like Google images could bring your computer to a screeching halt.

If you have been following my posts, you already know that I had to pay $35.00 to get the pesky virus out of my hard disk and purchased Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 to avoid recurrence of getting another virus.  I know this is wishful thinking, since malicious people are always looking for ways to earn a fast buck by selling supposed virus remedies.  They infect your computer, then they sell you a bogus software to get rid of it.  C’est la vie!

Below is an excerpt of the problems with Google images which depicts exactly what happened to me.  Please read it carefully; it could save you valuable time and money.

“That picture of a cat licking a lollipop you found on Google Images may be infected.

According to the SANS Internet Storm Center, a number of Google Images are actually infected with malware that misdirects users to pages that try to sell fake anti-virus scareware and to makes users believe they must download the program to avoid viruses.

These scammers use photos from third-party sites so that the images appear to be legitimate, using top search terms from Google Trends so that the content on the page also seems real.

When a user clicks on an infected thumbnail, his/her browser sends a request to the infected page, which then runs the hacker’s script, and then redirects to the site trying to peddle scareware. SANS guesses there are over 5,000 hacked sites, with Google referring about a half million visits to these fake sites each day.

While researcher Bojan Zdrnja has developed a Firefox add-on that displays the infected images with a border in red, it is not yet available for public use.

Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow told Krebs on Security that the company is making “active efforts to improve both the quality of the results and malware detection. We’re improving, as are the people trying to put users at risk, and in the interests of those users it’s best if we don’t reveal everything that we’re doing about this.”

Source:  Thousands of Google Images Infected With Malware – Huffpost Tech

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Virus Unexpected Attack

This afternoon got infected with unknown virus.  Computer is behaving erratically.  Won’t be able to post entries during next few days while system is checked and fixed.  As soon as things get back to normal will get back to business as usual.

I’ve been very careful using updated antivirus software, but somehow this one got around it and corrupted the system.  Sorry about this inconvenience.  Will try to return as soon as possible.

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How To Crush the “b.scorecardresearch.com” Bug

Have you been having the problem of a super slow computer all of a sudden?  Well, I did and it was a most annoying and irritable experience.

Late yesterday, I noticed that my computer almost halted to a crawl, and in some instances, it wouldn’t even download several of my favorites sites, (e.g., C-Span, Speedtest, FileHippo, Banco General and Photobucket).  I don’t recall having installed a new software or visited an exotic place.  “What in the world was going on?”, I asked to myself.  No logical answer came from inside my head.

After having a solemn supper, without speaking a word, I decided to tackle the problem.  Even my wife noticed how quiet and red-faced I was.  I stayed up until 2:34 a.m. until finally I came up with the solution to my problem.  The culprit for the strange behavior of my computer was a beacon called “b.scorecardresearch.com”. It has been glued to my computer and was pulling it down like an anchor.  I have reasons to believe it was planted by a suspicious site called http://www.maxmyspeed.com. I was attracted to this page, because I wanted to boost my computer speed and this alleged software would help me do it.  No way Jose, it almost ruined it.

According to Comscore which I knew little about, before this incident, ScorecardResearch is:

“ScorecardResearch is a website that is used to help with the collection of Internet web browsing data on specific websites that have enrolled in a broad market research effort by comScore, Inc. to create reports on Internet behavior and trends. comScore, Inc. is a recognized authority on Internet and general economic trends, whose data are routinely cited by major media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CNBC, and is extensively used by the largest Internet services companies and scores of Fortune 500 companies.”

I never authorized anybody to create reports on my Internet activities.  Somebody planted this beacon without  my consent and almost ruined my operating system and rained on my day.  Serendipitously, I found the solution by googling the term “b.scorecard” to find out if others had experienced problems with this beacon.

I found this site—ScorecardResearch – Privacy Policy— which explained how to get rid of the b.scorecardresearch bug.  This is what they said about removing their beacon or cookie, or whatever the name of their bug is called.

“In order to identify browser-level behavior such as new versus repeat visitors to a website or page, we may drop cookies in support of our market research efforts. To opt-out of this browser-level tracking you can click here. If you choose to opt-out, a cookie will be placed on your computer instructing us to disable our ability to browser-level track of your website visitation while on a website with a ScorecardResearch beacon installed. However, if your browser does not accept cookies, or if you delete all of your cookies, then this browser-level tracking may occur. Additionally, this opt-out is only effective when you are using the Internet browser you were using when you opted-out.”

I followed their instructions and removed the pesky software.  Lo and behold, as soon as the bug was removed from my computer, everything came back to normal.  All my previous sites worked and my surfing speed came back to what is was before the computer was infested.

After this annoying incident I learned my lesson.  Stay away from free scanning sites which allegedly increase your computer speed like http://www.maxmyspeed.com and immediately delete beacons like b.scorecardresearch.com as soon as you notice their presence.  Even protection software like Rising Antivirus and Spybot Search & Destroy couldn’t get rid of it.  As a matter of fact, they couldn’t even detect it after it had nested in my computer.

The Cloud is getting more and more dangerous as evil persons try to squeeze money from innocent victims.  I recently read that zero-day vulnerabilities were found last month in Adobe Shockwave, Adobe Flash, Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple QuickTime, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. All of these weaknesses were cited by Fortinet as critical as they leave the applications open to attacks that are able to run code remotely.

 

Credit: cnet News – Fortinet

In terms of sheer malware attacks among the top countries hit in November, the U.S. accounted for 35 percent, up from 32 percent in October. Japan took 22 percent of the total attacks, up from 16 percent the prior month. And Korea took the brunt of 12.5 percent of the world’s total malware attacks, up from less than 9 percent in October.

When surfing the Web please keep in mind, that you are walking inside a mine field—caveat!  Good Day.

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The Bug was Crushed

Today I’m very pleased to advise that my virus is dead.  R.I.P. I got my computer back, with a clean bill of health, on Friday late afternoon.  After I got it connected to all my stuff, (e.g., speakers, modem, keyboard, monitor, printer and so forth), I fired it up praying that the machine wouldn’t explode.

It didn’t.  In fact, it purred like a spoiled kitten.  There were no viruses in sight, and all my programs were there.  Nothing was lost, except of course, the pesky virus.  I felt relieved.  I noticed the repair guy installed a Chinese anti-virus called Rising Antivirus Lion-Strong Security. Never head of it.  I’m going out to Multimax sometime today to ask the guys there, what is the best anti-virus around.  I’m too scared to install free anti-virus programs from the Internet.  Now, I’m determined to insure myself.

I also got my Toyota Corolla inspected and paid my license plate tax for year 2011 to the Municipio de Panama (City Hall).  The auto checkup was $10.75 and the City Hall Tax was $29.00.  Due to a mistake from somebody in Government, there will be no new license plates for next year and the sticker indicating that you have paid the 2011 tax is not ready.  Instead, they gave me a temporary paper to place somewhere visible in the car, in case a cop stops me for not having renovated my license plate.  The stickers should be ready by the end of October.

These are the reasons why Panama  is not on the top of the list of developed countries.  It’s not a matter of money or other resources,; it’s a matter of attitude.  Poverty is not in the pocket, poverty is in the mind.  I hope our president Martinelli reengineers the country into a higher level of development through a more disciplined education system.  We need to break the poverty cycle and I know we can do it with willpower. That’s all it takes.

Good day and once more I apologize for missing a couple of daily posts.

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Mozilla Upgrades Firefox to Version 3.6.3

As part of Mozilla’s ongoing stability and security update process, Firefox 3.6.3 is now available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.

Mozilla strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 3.6 you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu.

This latest release launched yesterday by Mozilla, fixed a critical security hole.  The hole, a memory corruption flaw, could have let a remote attacker run arbitrary code on a person’s computer.  The problem doesn’t affect Firefox 3.5 or other earlier versions, Mozilla said.

Mozilla released Firefox 3.6.2 just over a week earlier, also for security reasons.  You can download Firefox version 3.6.3 at the link shown at the bottom of this post.  Good Day.

Download Firefox 3.6.3

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Mozilla Upgrades Firefox to Version 3.5.5

(Credit: Mozilla.org)

In an effort to provide the best Web browser around, Mozilla recently upgraded Firefox with a security and stability patch identified as Version 3.5.5. Mozilla’s isn’t saying much, except that this upgrade  is mainly a security patch.

The Web is all about innovation, and Firefox sets the pace with dozens of new features to deliver a faster, more secure and customizable Web browsing experience for all.

Firefox raises the bar for security. The new malware and phishing protection helps protect from viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware to keep people safe on the Web.

Needless to say, you are strongly encouraged to upgrade to this latest version.  Good Day.

Download Firefox 3.5.5

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Crushing Viruses and Malware

Back in the “Good Ole Days” it was perfectly safe to surf the Web without thinking about dangerous viruses, worms, spyware, hijackers, Trojan Horses or any other similar malicious software.  Things are very different nowadays.  If you don’t have a decent antivirus software, you might end up with an infested hard disk totally erased.  All your valuable information would have gone to Siberia.  I’ve seen thousands of people struck with devastating malware;  and it’s getting worse as time goes by.

Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies.

If you see new toolbars in your Web browser that you haven’t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been “hijacked” (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don’t see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging.

Which is the best application against these vicious  malware attacks?  I really can’t tell, because there are zillions  of anti-virus programs out there; each one saying their programs walk on water.  Some of them are viruses themselves disguised as anti-virus programs.  Caveat emptor, my dear reader.

After my hard disk crashed several months ago, the company that replaced the bad disk installed a trusted anti-virus and anti-spyware known as AVG Free Edition 9.0.686. Previously I had been using Spybot Search and Destroy with good results.  However, I kept AVG to experiment with it and determine if it was worth its salt.  I’m glad I did.  So far, my computer is clean as a whistle.

AVG Free Edition is a reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for Windows available to download for free. In addition, the new included LinkScanner® Active Surf-Shield checks web pages for threats at the only time that matters—when you’re about to click that link.

AVG Anti-Virus Free has the following features:

• Award-winning anti-virus and anti-spyware.
• Real-time safe internet surfing and searching.
• Quality proven by 80 million of users.
• Easy to download, install and use.
• Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Caution:  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is only available for single computer use for home and non commercial use.  Having said this, please install a trusted anti-malware application in your computer.  Don’t navigate without proper protection.  I’ll say it once more…please protect yourself.  Practice safe computing.  Good Day.

Download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0.686

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