Baldy’s Paradox

Yes after I bragged up the fine weather of Canada I awoke to this fine kettle of fish today;

Yes folks snow in the flatlands and my old butt is gonna get cold, Baldy

Twelve cyber security veterans, with significant knowledge about emerging attack patterns, worked together to compile a list of the attacks most likely to cause substantial damage during 2008.

Participants included Stephen Northcutt, Ed Skoudis, Marc Sachs, Johannes Ullrich, Tom Liston, Eric Cole, Eugene Schultz, Rohit Dhamankar, Amit Yoran, Howard Schmidt, Will Pelgrin, and Alan Paller.

And yes folks this is a great read for anyone in the Security field, Baldy

Here’s their consensus list in ranked order:

Read the Rest of the Article

Technorati Tags: Security

Web criminals fuel big rise in “trojans” - Yahoo! News

LONDON (Reuters) - Cyber-criminals are behind a dramatic rise in stealthy programs called “trojans” that infect computers to sell rogue software, send unwanted email or steal personal data, a study has found.

If you’re reading this blog, it’s very important that you read and understand this article.
I’ve personally seen exactly what is being discussed here. In just the last few weeks, I’ve had several computers come in to have rogue anti-spyware removed. Worse than that, one person (that I know of) actually purchased such software in a vain attempt to rid their PC of one of these malicious programs.

The reason behind this rise in infections is that more and more computers are equipped with software that detects malicious programs, the criminals see these programs as an easy way in. Instead of hiding their trojans and letting them run behind the scenes, they bring them into plain sight, disguised as anti-spyware programs.
Once infected, the computer will constantly issue the user authentic looking, warnings that spy-ware has been found, eventually prompting them to “click here” to fix the problem. Clicking the warning will take the user to a web site, where they are assured that if they download, purchase and install a program, they will be able to rid the computer of the infection. In all actuality you are simply adding fuel to the fire and opening yourself up to credit card fraud.

It’s genius really, spyware disguised as anti-spyware that scares you into purchasing and installing yet more spyware…

The moral of the story: In this day and age, more than ever, computer users must learn and understand what legit security software they have and how to use it. Knowledge is the only way to protect yourself.

Resources:

Top 10 rogue anti-spyware. ZDNet Blogs

List of Rogue/Suspect anti-spyware products and web site. Spyware Warrior

The best resource: Google! If you think you’ve been infected, search the name of the program you’re being asked in install, you’ll likely find out right away whether it’s legit or not.

Technorati Tags: trojans, rogue anti-spyware

While browsing the Web without a mouse, graphics, fancy fonts, JavaScript, and Java can be sorely restrictive, it can also be quite speedy. If you’re a fan of function keys and special commands, you’ll be pleased to learn that these browsers provide plenty of shortcuts for every taste. After you gain experience, you’ll be able to navigate around with just a few key taps.

Try it folks that is the way I had to browse the web when I started, before those pretty pictures came out, Baldy

Linux.com :: Browsing the Web the old-fashioned way

Technorati Tags: Software