Malware fight goes public on the wed

The original article by Ben Grubb (SMH) goes on to outline the numbers of Australian computer IP numbers that were found to be infected by Bot's and Trojan malware. For the lay-people... you are assigned an IP address when you access the internet via your ISP. Malware signatures can be detected by the 'packets' of information your computer sends and receives.

Please don't be fooled by tele-marketers telling you you are infected, you may be, but they only want remote access to your PC in order to plant malware of their choice, and to get you to pay them for it.

The Government would like the ISP to contact their users and offer assistance to remove the infection from the end users PC. This however is a BIG ask and can be quite difficult.

The ACMA (Australian Communication and Media Authority) have published a page that outlines the statistics daily - click here for that page. The page details the total numbers and type of infection that it has detected.

I have listed the malware variants (outlined by ACMA) below:

1. Zeus targets Microsoft Windows machines. It does not work on Mac OS X, or Linux.
2. Conficker Exploits the Windows Server Services.
3. IRCBot affects Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2.
4. Ramnit only infects Windows. Mainly known for spreading via USB devices.
5. Mebroot infects all Windows O/S'.
6. Virut infects all Windows O/S'.
7. Rootkit TDSS infects all Windows O/S'.
8. Flashback is a virus that infects Apple's OSX.
9. Sality infects all Windows O/S' and spreads through Windows networks.
10. Slenfbot infects all Windows O/S'.
11. Festi infects all Windows O/S'.
12. Cutwail infects Windows XP, Vista and 7.
13. Kelihos infects all Windows O/S'.
14. Waledac infects all Windows O/S'.
15. Nitol Botnet, interestingly, came installed in Windows PC's manufactured in China. Meaning it was installed at the factory.
16. Spyeye infects all Windows O/S'.
17. Lethic infects all Windows O/S'.
18. Darkmailer infects all Windows O/S'.
19. Trojan Pony - Found inside Pirated Apple & Windows versions of Adobe Illustrator CS4.
20. Dorkbot infects all Windows O/S'.
21. Pushdo infects all Windows O/S'.

Only two are capable of infecting Apple Mac computers the rest will infect all Windows operating systems. None quoted affect Linux.

Particularly interesting is 'Nitol' came pre-installed on some PC's manufactured in China. Clearly this is a real worry. The other worry is that pirated versions of software from Adobe (Illustrator CS4) came with the trojan Pony. The CS series of Adobe products are so expensive ($1800 approx) that people without the ability to buy them were forced to install pirated versions. I prefer to encourage people to use 'Open Source' instead. A good example is Gimp. Possibly not as comprehensive as Illustrator but how much do you need... really.

Flashback uses a well known exploit. It tricks the user into thinking that it is a real Adobe Flash player and asks the user to authorise it's installation. Seems Steve Jobs had good reason to disallow iPads from using flash. Unfortunately Flashback will infect Apple Macs.

So what do you do?

From my experience (if you are a Windows fan) you need to start from a clean operating system. Installed from an 'original Microsoft' disc. Even if your PC is pre-installed... format it and install from the original disc. You will not have the 'Bloat-ware' installed by your PC manufacturer. You should also be able to install the appropriate drivers from the manufacturer's disc's. If the manufacturer does not supply the disc's choose a different manufacturer's PC. Many of the cheaper Chinese PC's don't come with original disc's. Stay away from those. Once you have a clean PC, install a good virus scanner. My choice would be Avast, available here for free.

If you already have a PC (or more), and want to use a cheap PC but also want to be safe... format them and install Linux instead. Linux Ubuntu is my choice but Linux Mint is also a favourite as it is the most similar to Windows XP in it's interface. You will not require a drivers disc as they will sense your hardware and install the drivers automatically during the installation process. Both have support for all your Windows document/image/music/video formats and are the easiest to use for beginners. Both are also perfect of corporate desktop applications as they support Windows RDP sessions and VPN connections to Windows Servers.

Drop me a message on Google+ if you need help/advice.

Ubuntu for your Phone

As a corporate IT Support person (in my previous life) we had to support iPhones. As is usual only the upper level of executive staff were issued with them. And as per usual they were the least capable of using them. This turned out to be a nightmare.
But now with Ubuntu (Linux) that job is made a whole lot easier.
Bring it on!

Apple, Microsoft and Adobe summoned by Australia

Technology giants Apple, Microsoft and Adobe have been called by the Australian parliament to appear before a committee looking at pricing levels.

Will anyone ever figure out there is an alternative to all the above? For me personally, I hope Microsoft, Apple and Adobe triple the cost of their products. I haven't needed anything from them for years now.

The House of Representatives launched a probe in July last year to see if some goods were more expensive in Australia than in other parts of the world.

Consumer bodies have often complained that Australians are overcharged.

The firms have previously made written submissions to the committee but have so far declined to appear in person.

They are now scheduled to appear before the committee on 22 March.

The Australian newspaper quoted Ed Husic, a member of parliament, as saying that according to some estimates the price of some of goods in Australia were as much as 60% higher than in the US.

"Given the widespread use of IT across businesses and the community, the prices paid for hardware and software can have a major commercial and economic impact," the politician was quoted as saying.

"Getting downward movement on IT prices and easing the bite of price discrimination should be an important micro-economic priority - so I'm looking forward to hearing from these firms about their pricing approaches," he added.

Everyone... EVERYONE needs to read this... take notes if you must

5 Security Holes Almost Everyone's Vulnerable To
by:

 Thorin Klosowski

Original article is here.

Problems with security seem to pop up all the time—from an easy to hack router to apps that leak your data into the world. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to protect yourself. Here's how to do it.

Unless you keep up to date on all the security news, it's easy to miss a bit here and there about what has been exploited and what hasn't. We're all vulnerable at some point, and if you haven't touched the settings on your computer since you took it out of the box, it might be time to take another look.Already know about these security holes and have them patched up? Good for you! Send this along to your friends who don't to help keep them safe.

UPnP Allows Access to Your Gear from Outside Sources

UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), a component meant to make devices like routers, printers, and media players easy to discover on a network, has been accused of having security holes for a long time, but this week the US Government suggested you disable it yet again. The most recent study suggests 40 million to 80 million network-enabled devices responded to discovery requests from the internet and are vulnerable to an attack that gives hackers access to webcams, printers, passwords, and more. This means routers and devices with the bug can be accessed from the internet to remotely screw with your system even if you don't have malware installed.

The good news is that most of the affected hardware is old, and the problem likely isn't as widespread as it seems. That said, in the case of most devices, you can turn UPnP off in the settings (look in your manual for directions). The UPnP setting on your router doesn't have anything to do with the protocol that lets you stream media over a network, print from inside the network, or anything similar. Turning it off on the router level only blocks you from controlling these devices over the internet, which most people don't need to do.

To turn it off on a router level, you pop into the admin page and disable UPnP. If you want to check your hardware, security site Rapid7 has made a tool to scan devices on your network.

As far as security risks go, this one's easy to fix and it's not going to affect a lot of people these days. The rest of these are much worse.

WEP/WPA Passwords on Your Router Are Easy to Crack

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Chances are that your router is using either a WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) password or a WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) password. Unfortunetly, it's pretty simple to crack a Wi-Fi network's WPA password and a WEP password.

Both of these vulnerabilities exist for different reasons. In the case of WEP, it's as simple as cracking the password with an automated encyrption program (and a lot of time), while in WPA, it's more about a vulnerability in WPS (Wi-fi Protected Setup) on certain routers. This can be corrected by turning WPS off. If you can't turn WPS off, you can install DD-WRT orTomato so you can. DD-WRT should add a nice security layer to your home network.

Browsing Without HTTPS Leaves Your Vulnerable to Snoopers

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HTTP Secure is the protocol used to secure everything that you send online that's important. This includes your bank information, social networks, and just about everything else that needs security. For your home network, you can simply install the HTTPS browser extension that ensures you'll always use the secure version of a site so your data doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Without HTTPS, your personal data is far more likely to fall through a security hole and into the hands of some nefarious person.

While it's important to use HTTPS at home, it's far more important to always use it on public Wi-Fi. At places like hotels, airports, or libraries, someone is probably snooping out your passwords. Your best solution for public Wi-Fi is to use a VPN (virtual private network) to route your traffic safely and securely.

All the Apps, Software, and Websites You Use Might Accidentally Leak Data

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It happens time and time again. A hacker finds an exploit, and suddenly all your favorite software and web sites are vulnerable to people snagging your passwords. This might make your entire system insecure, it may give your passwords away, or they're leaking your personal data like name and address. This happens with Java constantly, but it has happened to pretty much everyone at some point, including: Mega, Google Wallet, Apple, Skype, Path, Zappos, LinkedIn, andFacebook.

First off, you need to keep your software up to date. This means both your operating system and your mobile software. Generally, when your data is leaked, someone notices, and the software is patched up right away.

It's not exactly the perfect solution, but since the security holes are on the service or software side, it's all you can do. That said, make sure you have: two-factor authentication enabled where you can, you use a different password for every site, and use a a password system like LastPass to ensure your leaked data doesn't reveal enough information to get your login information for another service.

Strong Passwords Aren't Enough to Protect Against Everything

When it boils down to it, a good password only gets you so far. Certain security holes, like social engineering hacks can happen when a skilled hacker bypasses technical protections (like a strong password) to get the information they want from talking to a person—no "real" hacking is required. It's exactly what happened last year when theApple and Amazon exploits were uncovered in Mat Honan's hack.

In short, people are one of the biggest security holes in the larger chain. Hackers can use psychological tricks to get your information, they might pose as someone important, as a Facebook friend, or even as you when talking with customer support. With a little information, they can then gain access to your account. If that account uses the same password as everywhere else, they essentially get access to everything you do. Thankfully, you can protect yourself with a few simple tips.

The main goal is to make sure you don't have all your eggs in one basket. That means if someone gets one password to one site, they can't get in elsewhere. So, never use the same password more than once, use two-factor authentication, get creative with your security questions, and monitor your accounts.

Plugging up these security holes isn't exactly a fun way to spend an afternoon, but it's certainly more entertaining than waking up one morning to find someone has stolen your identity. It's also a pretty easy process, and once you're set up you don't need to do much else.

10 Photoshop Alternatives That Are Totally Free

If a free copy of a 10-year-old Adobe Photoshop release wasn't for you—maybe your computer's too good for it, or perhaps you just wanna stick it to the man—don't worry. There are plenty of completely free alternatives; here are ten of the best.

My personal favourite is Gimp as it's available for Linux, Windows and Apple.

Read more... (complete article)

I'm seriously liking the Ubuntu Mobile interface

The world of mobile OSes is totally dominated by Android and iOS, but that hasn't kept Ubuntu from trying to sneak in. And finding a way into already dominated markets is kind of Ubuntu's strong suit.

I personally (Nick Phillips) think this could be a serious competitor to the current players in the smart phone field.

Read more... (Includes a short video of basic operations)

Faulty Phone Burns Through $30,000 of Mobile Data

Gary Cutlack - Gizmodo UK

A supposedly "faulty" iPhone landed a man in severe financial trouble, after the phone racked up an astonishing $30,000 data bill—and UK network Orange tried to take the money from the bloke's account.

Chris Bovis realised he'd been cut off, so phoned Orange for an explanation. That was when he discovered the network had tried to bill him $14,000 for exceeding his data allowance. His bank had rather unsurprisingly refused the transaction, so Orange blocked his number. Orange also told Chris his next bill would be around the $16,000 level.
The actual source of the problem is a little vague. Chris said the iPhone was even downloading data while switched off, with Apple employees agreeing it was broken in some way and replacing the phone. Orange eventually caved in and agreed to reduce his bill to $450, before completely giving up and writing off the entire amount.

Original article: http://gizmodo.com/5974069/faulty-iphone-burns-through-30000-of-mobile-data

An interesting News Article

The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak recently had this to say about the iPhone vs Android phones:


"My primary phone is the iPhone," Woz said. "I love the beauty of it. But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do."


Here's the article: http://www.zdnet.com.au/android-features-better-than-iphone-woz-339329891.htm


Enjoy.