Adobe Flash is under attack

Attacks on Java may be subsided for a few days but the other kink in your armor — Flash — is now under attack. Adobe has released a security bulletin notifying Windows and Mac OS X users to update to Flash 11.5.502.149 because of an ongoing attack targeting Windows and Mac OS X users, an attack that exploits a Flash vulnerability in previous versions of Flash.

According to Adobe, in-the-wild attacks aimed at Windows users via Microsoft Word documents that contained infected SWF content; this attack is being conducted via e-mails that are spreading these Word files through attachments. The attack on Mac OS X users is via websites that utilize drive-by-downloads (i.e. something that is automatically downloaded to a user’s computer upon visiting an infected website). Any Mac users running Safari and Firefox is susceptible to this attack.

If infected, the vulnerability in Flash allows scumbags to remotely take over your computer.

Windows and Mac OS X users are encourage to update to the latest version of Flash — 11.5.502.149 — that protects against this particular vulnerability. Chrome and Internet Explorer 10 will issue their own updates to Flash. Adobe has also issued updates to Flash for Linux and Android but those platforms are not currently under attack via this specific vulnerability.

If you are unsure what version of Flash you have, you can go to this link which will tell you what version you have: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

Mirage Anti-Bot

Mirage Anti-Bot is a compact antivirus tool which aims to prevent you from accessing websites infected by the ZeuS, Palevo and SpyEye bots.

The program is fairly straightforward, in theory at least. The key point to remember is that you must launch it as an administrator (right-click the shortcut, select Run As Administrator). Then just click the Update button, and the program will download the abuse.ch blocklist (a major list of infected domains) and update your Windows HOSTS file accordingly, effectively preventing any browser you might run (or any other internet software) from reaching the malicious sites.

There are also a few small extras. Mirage Anti-Bot can log attempted accesses to blocked sites, for instance, perhaps helping you to see if it's doing anything useful. And if you'd like to prevent your kids from accessing a specific domain or two then you can add those sites to the list, too.

The program has significant limitations, of course. Mirage Anti-Bot isn't trying to detect malware on these websites, for instance, it's just blocking domains on a secondary list: if you try to visit an infected site which hasn't made it to the abuse.ch blocklist yet then the program won't be able to help you. So Mirage Anti-Bot is no substitute for a full antivirus tool with proper real-time browsing protection.

You also have to remember to run the program as an administrator, because if you forget then it doesn't seem to realise there's anything wrong, and still claims it's updated your HOSTS file even when nothing's happened at all. The simplest approach is probably just to tweak its shortcut accordingly (right-click, select Properties > Compatibility, check "Run this program as an administrator").

Still, once we'd sorted this out, the program worked well. Mirage Anti-Bot's simplicity means you'll be able to run it alongside your existing tool without any conflicts. And with the program using barely 7MB of RAM on our test PC, it's a reasonable choice to provide an extra layer of protection for your system.
Verdict:

Mirage Anti-Bot is a simple way to add an extra layer of security to your PC.

http://downloads.pcauthority.com.au/article/27050-mirage_anti-bot

Windows Media Center 8 for FREE from MS for a limited time.

Unlike Windows 7, Windows 8 will not come with Windows Media Center as part of the operating system.
 It's now an add-on that can be purchased through the Add Features option in Windows 8.
For a limited time, however, Microsoft is offering Windows Media Center to Windows 8 Pro customers for free. Here's how to get it.


 1   Request your free product key from windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs
 2   They will send it by email in about 20 min to 48 hours.
 3   Then hit the shortcut, Win+W, then type "add features." Select "Add features to Windows 8."
 4   Click on "I already have a product key," then enter your product key. Click Next to continue.
 5   Agree to the licensing agreement, then click "Add features."

Once the offer expires on January 31, 2013, the cost to add Windows Media Center will be $9.99.
This offer does not apply to Windows 8 users who aren't running the Pro version.

Don't forget to check your version of Win 8, when your comp starts does it say Windows 8 Pro, if not this freebee will not work.

Take a screenshot of your Active window.

In Windows, If you want to, you can take a screenshot of only the active window or program, not the whole Screen.

Before you learn this trick on how to take a screenshot of the active window, it is a good idea to actually know what ‘active window’ means.

It is actually pretty simple. ‘Active  window’ is simply the window or program that you are currently in — the window or program that you are actively using. For example, let’s say you have three windows open — Firefox, Windows Explorer, and My Documents. Then let’s say you are currently using Firefox. The active window, therefore, is Firefox. If you switch to Windows Explorer and start using it, Windows Explorer becomes the active window. Same holds true for My Documents or any other window or program that you have open.

HOW TO TAKE SCREENSHOT OF ACTIVE WINDOW ONLY

As already mentioned, tapping Print Screen (or PRT SC, as some keyboards call it) takes a screenshot of your whole screen. If you want to take a screenshot of your active window only, you need to hold ALT while pressing Print Screen. In other words, pressing ALT + Print Screen takes a screenshot of only the active window.

Once you press ALT + Print Screen, a screenshot of the active window is copied to Windows Clipboard; you need to open up your favorite image editor [e.g. Microsoft Paint, Photo shop], paste the screenshot [Ctrl + V], and save it — just like you would do if you used just Print Screen.

Toolwiz TimeFreeze

If you keep uninstalling after trying software you thought you might like, then just go download “Toolwiz TimeFreeze” [  http://www.toolwiz.com/products/toolwiz-time-freeze/ ] It’s free. Just start Timefreeze before any download. If you don’t like the new software just restart your computer when you’re done trying it out and Timefreeze will ask if you want to keep it. If you don’t like it say “NO” and restart, when your computer boots back up it’s back to the exact state it was before the installation.

NOTE:
If you don’t wish to install Timefreeze software, then please create a restore point before installing new software. If you don’t like what it did, the software, etc., just restore your computer using the restore point you created before the install. I believe Windows should create a restore point at the beginning of anything being installed but I’ve noticed this doesn’t always work right and it’s best to create your own instead of depending on the system to think for you!

A Happy New Year to all my friends out there in cyberspace. Jeff.

May I wish you a very holy happy Christmas

To all my friends, may I wish you a very holy happy Christmas.
May all your needs be met and your dreams come true over this
most Holy of seasons. Below is a link for you to find a gift.
Your friend Jeff.

http://www.pusher.com.au/clients/pusher-christmas-2011

Malware targetting Windows does damage in a novel way

Backdoor.Makadoc -- a trojan that has been floating in the wild for a while now, attacking Windows, and has recently been updated to target Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 -- is a clever piece of malware. What makes this malware clever, you ask? Simply the way it goes about attacking your PC.

Actually, it isn't the attack-vector that is unique -- infections of Backdoor.Makadoc (and its variants) are spread through infected RTF and Word documents. Rather, what is novel about the malware is how it gets your data out of your PC, and how it communicates with malware's command and control servers.

You see any competent firewall will block outgoing connections of a suspicious process. However, most firewalls will not (and do not) block a connection made to Google Docs. As such, Backdoor.Makadocs utilizes Google Docs as the medium of communication between your infected PC and the command and control server. What happens is Makadocs uses the "viewer" functionality in Google Docs to transmit info back adn forth between your PC and the command and control server. Since Google Docs is typically a trusted source by firewalls and Google Docs encrypts all traffic, using this method not only helps the malware go around security measures of a firewall but also to help prevent the detection of the command and control server IP address/URL.

Google, of course, prevents the use of Google Docs for such purposes via its terms and conditions, and provides the ability in every Google Doc file to report abuse:

    Using any Google product to conduct this kind of activity is a violation of our product policies. We investigate and take action when we become aware of abuse.

Still, however, there is no real automated way to prevent such attacks via Google Docs because, as TheNextWeb points out, these types of vulnerabilities make use of social engineering and not system exploits. In its official statement on this matter, Microsoft echos this idea of fallibility to social engineering:

    Social engineering is an industry-wide issue and we are aware these types of problems occur. We are committed to helping consumers have a safe, secure and positive online experience. Our general guidance to customers is to exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments and links from both known and unknown sources and install and regularly update anti-virus software.

As I type this on a Google Doc, I'm hoping Google and Microsoft sort this out as soon as possible. For what it is worth, Backdoor.Makadocs is a known vulnerability (and not a zero-day attack) so any competent anti-virus should protect you against it.

dottech.org