Friday, June 19, 2009
Be Protected from Spywares and Viruses
One of the best tech tips around is to install antivirus software to keep your PC safe.It has many attractive features like
* Automatic Updates
* An enhanced Scan Engine
* Real-time scanning
* One of the fastest Antivirus scanners on the market
* Anti-Spyware
* E-mail scanning
K7 AntiVirus 7.0 makes regular updates and system scans and ensures that every single part of your PC is thoroughly scanned, with potential threats being cross-referenced with the very latest virus databases.Try out and compare the performance with other Anitivirus softwares available in present market technology.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hacker seeks fame, claims he stole Steve Jobs’ Amazon information
As if Steve Jobs doesn’t have enough problems, a self-identified hacker with the moniker of “orin0co” claims to have broken into Jobs’ Amazon.com account. Although he says he has Jobs’ credit card number, he says “I didn’t misuse it.” A wise decision on the part of someone already up to illegal shenanigans. If anyone can pull the strings of technology to trace that hacker, it is the founder of Apple Computer.
It appears that the hacker’s goal is to discredit Apple’s claims that the Mac is a relatively safe computer to use. His e-mail rant reads more like a missive from a publicity seeking, wanna-be-geek fellow. His failed attempt to sell the information he claims to have gleaned from Jobs’ account indicates too much TV time. He apparently believes he can profit from blackmail. He also, more likely mistakenly, thinks he can hide behind a secure Hushmail account.
Mr. orin0co wants us to believe that Jobs is a shop-a-holic who purchased 20,000 items in the last 10 years. That’s a lot of time in front of a computer ordering a lot of stuff. Once ya get it all, where ya gonna put it? From his typical attire at WWDCs, it doesn’t look like many of those 20,000 purchases ended up in his clothes closet. Jobs might not be a dresser, but he’s not a dummy when it comes to computer scams. It’s doubtful he fell for any phishing expedition.
Phishing is a well known sport among people who refuse to get a real job, and Amazon.com is a frequent target. Phishers have escalated their techniques and created a new scheme called spearphising or whaling. The scam is the same old story, but the targets are high ranking corporate officials. iDefense Labs outlined this new scheme last June, saying that over 1,000 corporate users were hit each month. Jobs’ profile certainly fits that of a “whale,” but the hacker just may get swallowed up like Jonah. You can’t mess with a big fish and not get caught in the wake.
The reaction to the rumor has been mixed. Mostly disbelief, with no comment from Amazon.com, nor Apple. We wonder what orin0co’s next move will be as he chases infamy.
Monday, June 8, 2009
China Demands New PCs Have Web Site-blocking Program
China will require that Web filtering software be included with all computers sold in the country, another step up in its efforts to control pornography and other content on the Internet.
The move follows a government crackdown on online smut that has led to the closure of thousands of Web sites this year, and concern that such campaigns could expand to target content that is political rather than pornographic.
PC makers will be required to pre-install the Web site-blocking program or offer it on a CD-ROM included with all PCs sold in China after July 1, according to a translation of a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology notification seen by IDG News Service.
The move is meant to protect youth from "unhealthy" information online, according to the statement.
The program, called Green Dam Youth Escort in Chinese, blocks only sites with pornographic content, and parents can turn it off, said Bryan Zhang, general manager of Jinhui Computer System Engineering, which designed the software.
But the measure triggered concern about wider censorship.
China blocked access to Web sites including Microsoft's Bing search engine last week, adding to a list of previously banned sites including YouTube and some blog services. Twitter and Hotmail were also blocked ahead of the 20th anniversary last week of Beijing's bloody crackdown on democracy protests, though those Web sites could load again on Monday.
Dell will consider including the software with new PCs only if its purpose is to block pornographic content from children, and only if it can be disabled, said Amit Midha, Dell's president for Greater China.
It will not install software that helps censor other Internet sites, Midha said. Midha also said Dell had not heard of any Chinese government notification ordering the program's use.
Dell is the third-biggest PC vendor in China, according to research company IDC.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Hackers breach US air traffic control computers
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Hackers broke into US air traffic control computers on several occasions over the past few years and increased reliance on Web applications and commercial software has made networks more vulnerable, according to a government audit.
Among the breaches was an attack on a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computer in February 2009 in which hackers gained access to personal information on 48,000 current and former FAA employees, the report said.
In 2006, it said, a viral attack on the Internet spread and forced the FAA to shut down some of its air traffic control (ATC) systems in Alaska.
The audit was conducted by an assistant inspector general in the US Transportation Department and released this week. A copy of the report was obtained by Internet news agency CNET and posted online.
"The need to protect ATC systems from cyber attacks requires enhanced attention because the (FAA) has increasingly turned toward the use of commercial software and Internet Protocol-based technologies to modernize ATC systems," the report said.
It said the use of commercial software and Web applications may increase efficiency but "inevitably poses a higher security risk to ATC systems than when they were developed primarily with proprietary software."
Software vulnerabilities were "especially worrisome at a time when the nation is facing increased threats from sophisticated nation-state sponsored cyber attacks," the report said.
"By exploiting these vulnerabilities, the public could gain unauthorized access to information stored on Web application computers," it said.
"In addition, these vulnerabilities could allow attackers to compromise FAA user computers by injecting malicious code onto the computers," it said.
The report said a security test identified 763 "high-risk" vulnerabilities which could provide an attacker with immediate access into a computer system and allow them, for example, to execute remote commands.
The Wall Street Journal said an FAA spokeswoman, Laura Brown, had rejected some of the report's conclusions, including the extent of the 2006 breach that led to the partial ATC shutdown in Alaska.
Man Made $112,000 in Bank Account Hacking Scheme
A Hampton, New Hampshire, man has pleaded guilty to fraud charges for his role in a scheme to empty brokerage accounts by installing malicious Trojan horse software on victims' computers.
According to court documents, Alexey Mineev set up several "drop accounts" that were then wired funds stolen from banking and brokerage accounts between July and December 2007. He pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering on Wednesday, according to Mike Ruocco, deputy to Judge Paul Gardephe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, who is presiding in the case.
The criminals would infect PCs with malicious Trojan software that would steal account numbers and passwords whenever victims logged into their accounts online. Authorities say that another conspirator, Alexander Bobnev, would e-mail Mineev screenshots of the hacked accounts showing how much money was being transferred into Mineev's drop account, along with instructions such as "Withdraw the money ... tomorrow."
Mineev would then move the cash, sometimes as much as US$10,000, to Russia, using services such as Western Union.
Trojans are malicious programs that users install on their computers, believing them to be benign. Hackers disguise them as things such as video codecs, screensavers, and even security patches.
Account theft is a growing problem for banks and brokerage firms. They want to keep offering customers low-cost online banking services but are also sustaining losses from international criminals. Once the money has been moved offshore, it is virtually impossible to recover, security experts say.
Fraudsters often try to recruit so-called money mules to move funds from hacked accounts overseas. Often these mules are unwitting participants in the scheme, believing that they are simply doing freelance payroll work for international companies.
When charges were filed against Mineev and Bobnev last November, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a third man, Aleksey Volynskiy of New York, of also setting up drop accounts and laundering stolen money. Bobnev, of Volgograd, Russia, reportedly is out of the reach of U.S. law enforcement in his home country.
Mineev faces as much as two years in prison and a fine as high as $40,000 on the charge. In his plea agreement, he said he would return the $112,000 he made from the scheme.