Do all ANTIVIRUS companies research independently ?

1.   Ever wondered how a Antivirus signature is made? Not so difficult actually....the answer goes like you detect a virus and then make a anti dote for that and subsequently release it as a signature.But as you think at a slightly larger level...i mean signatures being released by various antivirus companies for the same virus.Does each antivirus company re invent the wheel for each virus every time a new virus is detected..... Do they actually work differently to first find and then create a signature separately....Are all the viruses/malware's created by various hackers and agencies detected independently by all these antivirus companies?I doubt...!!!!But if my doubt is incorrect, then it is a SAD issue.....Because with the speed of population explosion of these various malware's and viruses....there can not be so many separate fighters and if there is one way to fight this gigantic threat...these all antivirus companies have to fight together...We should indeed realize that the threat is not individually existing to you and me but it exists to US...ie not United States...but you and me together ie ALL OF US....:-)

2.  But fighting together will not be so easy as the Economics of this War will defy competition ...so is there a need of funding at national level or at cross country level?Will it one day become a UN issue....ha ha ha!...like poverty..food scarcity and other issues being undertaken by UN,will there be a day when UN funds these antivirus companies because global dependency on IT is increasing and so are all vulnerable to so many threats.....:-)

3.   The earlier this is made a common issue...the more safer will the world become in future...because this threat is common to world...so should be the solution...

New Ubuntu AD takes on WINDOWS 8 :-)

Nothing to EXPLAIN here...one popular ad doing the rounds ti promote opensource UBUNTU..although not at the original Ubuntu Home page!!!!This comes just a week before Windows 8 Release..........

New Generation Biometrics : YOUR EYE MOVEMENTS ARE UNIQUE

1.   New generation Biometric Techniques have always raised appreciating eyebrows across.Like when I discussed about EARS SPEAKING at http://anupriti.blogspot.in/2010/01/ when-ears-speak.html.Although there are so many unheard unique and being used biometric in the offering this is certainly that I read on simply on curiosity.The complete post is at http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Soon-eye-movements-can-be-your-new-password-15633.

2.   Now in brief goes like this :

-   This biometric system identifies people by the way they flicker their eyes while looking at a computer screen. 

-   Discovered and innovated by Oleg Komogortsev, a computer scientist at Texas State University-San Marco, is making use of the fact that no two people look at the world in the same way . When looking at a picture, different people will move their eyes among points of interest in different sequences.

-   Even if two people trace the same paths, the exact way they move their eyes differs, the 'LiveScience' reported. 

-   Eye movements could become part of the next generation of a more established biometric iris scans.

3.   More at http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Soon-eye-movements-can-be-your-new-password-15633

Is your ANTIVIRUS spying you ?

1.    Now as the Cyber Crime grows exponentially,so has the world of antivirus companies....the list is pretty endless....now how do all these antivirus companies work.Do they all research separately and develop separate signatures for each virus/malware found or do they have such common platform or standard wherein they share each others views and technologies.As I see on Wiki about the list of antivirus companies,they originate in different countries.Details of the page showing a compare of all such antivirus companies can be seen here.Well....what I am going to discuss here is importance of the country origin.

2.  Lets say I have antivirus company by the name of ABC that has its origin and complete team of researchers and developers from India.Now there is a user in some XYZ Country that uses this antivirus.Now while installing the antivirus,while he accepts the terms and conditions(who reads it anyway?),who stops the ABC antivirus from issuing some malware/spyware for that user PC.In the scan it can not be detected since it is being scanned by the installed antivirus.Now with some vested interest, the ABC Company can actually play havoc with confidential info of the user without giving a cue to the user.Who knows what all signatures released by the company contain? Even while submitting a sample virus,it is done mostly in a encrypted or a bundled form!!!!

3. Although institutes like EICAR (European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research) are there,but they also do not have any control over such issues!!!!If any one  has some idea on the subject ...please let me know vide email or comment here.....

Hacking a HEART : Lover's Dream vs Hacker's BEAT IT!!!

1.    I think this is yet to come even on screen...but has unfortunately happened in real life.So we have all heard of Pacemakers that keep connected to internet to provision live feed of diagnostic parameters to their doctors mobile phone!!!smart....veri smart.....so those of you who read this for the first time....the cardiac pacemaker's based on internet call essential parameters to assist in diagnosis and fine-tuning.The patient's data is sent automatically on a daily basis to their cardiologist. This greatly simplifies patient care and can improve quality of life significantly..but now read on whats the worry about.One top google search led me to this vendor St. Jude Medical.Details of such selling pacemakers at this site.

(Photo Courtesy : http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-08/first-patient-implanted-pacemaker-communicates-wirelessly-her-doctor)

2.     So hacking a heart has been a lover's dream for ages....but in this age it can be hacked and controlled in all means.I read this article by Nick Barron at http://www.scmagazineuk.com and another one by GREGORY FERENSTEIN at http://techcrunch.com.

At a recent developer conference, a pacemaker was wirelessly hacked to send deadly 830 volt shocks. Even worse, it would be “100 percent possible” that virus could spread to other devices in a wave of “mass murder”.The demonstration showed how to rewrite the devices onboard software (firmware). 

3.   So now what?.....this means that all those light hearted guys who are surviving on such internet based pace makers for actually facilitating live feed to their respective doctors now also need to worry about eating Antivirus Tablets and wearing Firewall Clothes!!!!uuh!!!!Although the recipe bought out here 

makes a perfect movie story but is actually a pretty worrisome worry!!!

4.    The image shown above is for reference only for the readers to see how actually a internet based pacemaker looks like.Case in point hacking of the device has got no link to the company and any of its product.

Internet Freedom : ULTRASURF

1.     While I have earlier talked about TOR,Anonymous OS etc and maintaining privacy on Internet...likewise there is no dearth of such options on the net.Another hugely respected :-) and proven software is ULTRASURF.This software is available at http://ultrasurf.us/ offcourse as a free download. :-).
 

2.   This was originally created to help internet users in China find security and freedom online and has subsequently grown to become one of the world's most popular anti-censorship, pro-privacy software, with millions of people using it to bypass internet censorship and protect their online privacy.

3.    Among other features,few as I felt important are jotted below :

- Protect your privacy online with anonymous surfing and browsing.
 

-  Hides your IP address,clears browsing history, cookies,and more.

-  Using industry standard, strong end-to-end encryption to protect  data transfer from being seen by third parties.

-  Bypasses internet censorship to browse the internet freely.

- Only supports Windows OS.

- Works with IE like TOR with Mozilla.

-  One interesting thing is that the company keeps logs bare minimum information for anti blocking purposes. They  keep your logs for maximum of 30 days to comply by the exisiting law protocols of the hosting country.

4.  More at   http://ultrasurf.us/

Operation b70 : Microsoft Disrupts the Emerging Nitol Botnet Being Spread through an Unsecure Supply Chain

In continuation with the last post, here is more from Microsoft.Please go through this brave but honest confession from Microsoft.......ummmm!!!!I would not say confession but actually Microsoft's attempt to save millions of innocent users...must read for info at

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/09/13/microsoft-disrupts-the-emerging-nitol-botnet-being-spread-through-an-unsecure-supply-chain.aspx

Operation b70 : New OS from Mall comes preloaded with Malware

1.   For last few years since Cyber Crime has been making news,it has been always discussed that all free stuff on internet comes preloaded with some kind of malware or spyware or some kindda ware!!!Here's about a one month old news worth a share that defies this logic....it actually says that Malware comes inbuilt to the OS from the mall showroom from u where u made the purchase!!!!!!!!

"Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit (DCU) has recently made this astonishing announcement.DCU conducted a study to get a sense of how much of the counterfeit software available is preloaded with malware.  Microsoft researchers purchased 20 new computers from PC malls.  These systems had counterfeit software preinstalled on them by the distributor. DCU examined the files on these PCs and found malware on four of the 20 computers that were purchased, a 20 percent infection rate.Several types of malware were pre-installed on the computers purchased from the PC mall.  This malware enabled the attackers to perform a range of actions including DDoS attacks, creating hidden access points onto the systems, keylogging and data theft.

The researchers also identified one type of malware found on these systems attempting to connect to the command and control servers of a known botnet.  The ensuing study uncovered that attackers were building this botnet by infecting digital products, like computers or software, that were then distributed through an unsecure supply channel.  The malware was also designed to spread via flash drive memory sticks. The subdomains that hosted the botnet’s command and control servers link to more than 500 different types of malware.  Some of this malware is capable of turning on cameras and microphones connected to infected systems."

4.   More on the story here. uuuuhh!!!!isn't it scary...a fresh piece of digital device that you buy comes with an inbuilt spy to spy on you and your data...... In fact it is a bold step and brave announcement by the Microsoft DCU...it could have been hidden but they found it ok to declare it open so that the user gets braver on its use...!!!

5.   DCU took legal action to disrupt the malware hosted in the subdomains, in Operation b70.  You can read more about Operation b70 and the DCU’s efforts here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2012/09/13/microsoft-disrupts-the-emerging-nitol-botnet-being-spread-through-an-unsecure-supply-chain.aspx

6.   Thanks Microsoft and http://blogs.technet.com

HATS OFF : Felix Baumgartner

1.   Its a real HATS OFF...SALUTE to Felix Baumgartner the guy who travelled at MACH Speed.... phenomenal achievement by all standards...

2.   My blog is generally full of IT Stuff.....but such things actually makes me feel really nice....a great feat...a link video here for info