Apple Needs a Doctor : Bitten by JAVA - 2

1.    The Flashback fiasco,as discussed in brief here, was the catalyst for one of the most meaningful decisions Apple made in order to beef up OS X security ie Removing JAVA. "Flashback both led to Apple removing Java from their default installs, and prompted them to release a dedicated cleanup tool," security researcher (and former security engineer for Obama for America) Ben Hagen told Ars. "When an OS vendor releases a dedicated cleanup tool, you know things are bad.The removal of Java was a very Interesting decision and de facto statement by Apple. Java on user systems has become a notorious vector for exploitation; with new, remotely executable vulnerabilities coming out several times last year," Hagen said. "Removing Java both simplifies Apple’s position and provides a safer default state for its users."[Source : http://arstechnica.com/].

2.    Another key decision taken by apple apart from disowning JAVA was endevor to signed security model for apps ie restrict the origin of third-party apps installed on the system, therefore protecting the user from inadvertently installing apps from malicious or unknown sources.Called Gatekeeper, this feature required Apple's developer ecosystem to either sign their apps with a registered certificate—holding them at a higher level of responsibility for when things go haywire—or selling their wares through the Mac App Store and giving Apple its 30 percent cut. [Source : http://arstechnica.com/].

3.   Java is a veri popular program and is used by millions of users worldwide in Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems and in mobile and television devices. It is this popularity that has made it a favorite target of the hackers.So today when we cannot surf without enabling JAVA.....apples decision is indeed a tough step....for those of you who do not realise the importance of JAVA...just try surfing the web disabling JAVA scripts in your browser...u will be surprised you will be prompted at every step to ensure a successful loading of most of the web pages....In fact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security advised computer users to temporarily disable or uninstall Oracle Corp's Java software, stating that a serious flaw in the software could make the system vulnerable to hacking.The warning came in an advisory posted on the department’s website amid the escalating fears and warnings from the net security experts about a flaw in Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 7 and earlier versions that allows the hackers to install malicious software and malware on computers.The vulnerability is so dangerous that the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team urged the people to stop using the software immediately to mitigate damage.Source : [http://www.ibtimes.com/]

4.   So...did u just start thinking of disabling JAVA?????

Apple Needs a Doctor : Bitten by JAVA - 1

1.   The year last ie 2012 was full of various security OS issue like it has always been over years...but one landmark news that made waves was the flashback malware that hit APPLE's Mac that has been long promoted as a safer OS amongst other peer competitors.But as always SIZE DOES MATTER..so as APPLE and market share grew, it became more proner. Dr  Web said that an estimated 600,000 Macs were as of April 2012 infected as a result of users unknowingly installing the FlashBack malware.So before I move ahead...here's a simple FAQ compiled to understand more about FLASHBACK :

What exactly is Flashback?

-  Flashback is a form of malware designed to grab passwords and other information from users 

-  Spread through Web browser and other applications such as Skype. 

-  The user typically mistakes it for a legitimate browser plug-in while visiting a malicious Web site. 

-  At this point, the software installs code designed to gather personal information and send it back to remote servers. 

Apple needs a DOCTOR

When did it first appear?

-  End of September 2011

-  Pretending to be an installer for Adobe's Flash the malware evolved to target the Java runtime on OS X, where users visiting malicious sites would then be prompted to install it on their machine in order to view Web content. 

What has Apple done about it?

-  Apple has its own malware scanner built into OS X called XProtect. 

-  Since Flashback's launch, the security tool has been updated twice.

-  A more recent version of the malware, however, got around XProtect by executing its files through Java. 

-  Apple closed off the malware's main entry point with a Java update on April 3, and has since released a removal tool as part of a subsequent Java update.

How do I tell if I have it?

-  Right now the easiest way to tell if your computer has been infected is to head to security firm F-Secure and download its Flashback detection and removal software. 

Malicious Shortened URLs : Rising Threat

1.     Internet today is all but a minefield of boogies,traps and malware.....every day so many threats are born....though most of them die but still a huge percent of them survive the security walls and become stronger by time as they are able to remain live and acvtive.In recent times shortened URLs have become popular amongst users (including me...:-) to conserve the typing space like in microblogging sites viz twitter etc.So typically a naive(???),prone user who submits his long URL to a site to get a shortened URL receives a second,specially coded shortened URL that redirects to the original URL.So here lies the weak hole that is most of the times exploitable by the attacker...because the actual destination URL is hidden in it....so going by the looks...there is nothing to worry...but it is the redirection that is a cause of worry...it may be right or may be redirecting to a malicious link....!!!!so when some one uses a free URL shortener ,he does not have control over that shortened link. And, should something happen to the provider of that URL shortener, then he risks redirecting ALL of shortened links elsewhere!!!

2.  We all know that clicking links is pretty tempting....so it is just a matter of one redirected malicious link click that makes the difference....so whats the solution????...actually companies like Facebook,Gmail, SBI, Paypal ,twitter etc are offering users the option of persistent SSL encryption and authentication across all the pages of their services including the login and all accessible pages.....but this does not stand good for all...for these sites also..it is optional to vide the settings for accessing....

FEDORA 18 RELEASE DATE : 08 Jan 2013

Hi guys....a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 to you.....and for those of you like me who are waiting to upgrade ur Beefy Miracle to Fedora 18 Spherical Cow..u need to wait a few more days till 8 January 2013... that's the release date scheduled now..hope that stands by the time!!!

DREAM JOB : Cyber Special Agent@FBI

1.    Came across this dream job kind job for a guy like me :-)......i got this from twitter handle @CcureIT

2.   Now this job is meant for US Citizens only...and any Cyber Security guy enthu about being savvy about making a career in cyber security should at least go through what they demand and what they offer....it's worth value addition to self in at least knowing what the best organisations demand in terms of QR for getting a job like this.All the details available at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/332166500?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#TopofPage

India developing own Secure OS to strengthen Cyber Security

1.   India is developing own secure OS to strengthen cyber security.Got this news piece from here.The key points from the news are :

- India's own secure operating system to strengthen cyber security.

- 150 Engineers across the country have already been working on creating an Indian OS for over one year and a half. 

- According to Times of India ,it will be ready in next three years.

- There is no foreign involvement in this project. It is purely build by Indians.

2.   It is indeed heartening to know all this...but whats the point? Does the team of 150 engineers and the vision behind think they are creating a secure and 100% fool proof OS?...The moment it is released...there will be many vulnerabilities that will be gradually known...and then the same cat mouse race will being like with any other OS..so whats the point of starting from scratch?....will it not be wise to securify existing opensource available and invest in something like improving upon existing resources?.....Case in point,the DESI OS....will lag behind in terms of experiences gained by Windows and other OS Communities who have been in the game for years...........who have been improving daily for so many years!!!like Fedora...Ubuntu...they have been improving for last so many years to reach a level like as on date available to us....

3.  Although it is a veri good thought to have a desi OS....but I sincerely feel that we are slightly late in realizing the need of a desi OS...

MALWARE via SUDOKU via EXCEL SHEET

1.  Sudoku is good for you brain....but it may compromise your PC if you have downloaded one of the excel files with embedded malicious script inside that offers you to play the subject game. Peter Szabo from SophosLabs has identified a piece of malware that resides behind a Microsoft Excel-based Sudoku generator. The Malware developed in Visual Basic requires macros, a scripting language that allows users to create equations based on values in different columns and rows. Microsoft – Malware behind Microsoft Excel-based Sudoku generator.

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2.   Although by default the macros are disabled in any Microsoft Office application....but any one who downloads the excel file would eventually enable the macros that run the script to play the game...so he can keep playing the game while the script in the background sets up the malware and establishes contact with its master bot.....so like always the updated Antivirus on the system will keep sitting without catching up anything.....so comes the importance of packet analyzers like Wireshark....ethreal etc...but then it becomes slight technical which in most cases would be out of purview for a common user.

MSE : Loosing Shine

1.   Since last few years any one who asked me on recommending a Antivirus for his/her PC...I would always say if you have a original Windows...then leave your worries to MSE...thats Microsoft Security Essentials ie MS's own antivirus or may be I would recommend Kaspersky PURE in few other cases who were not happy with MSE.

2.  I had been using MSE for my own system as well...and I found it worked pretty fine...light on use and had no major compatibility and configuring issues since it worked mostly in the background.But there has been some decline in recent time and efforts by Microsoft in keeping with the pace of the hackers and cyber criminals!!!

3. The AV-TEST Institute,the leading international and independent service provider in the fields of IT security and anti-virus research.It uses state-of-the-art methods and research work to carry out AV-TESTs to  directly detect the latest malware, to analyse it  and to inform web site visitors top-quality results obtained.So the latest results showed MSE being given 1.5 out of 5 maximum ratings.The screen shot from the link http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/windows-7/sepoct-2012/ is shown below :

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4.   And to me, that's a huge concern considering how Windows 8 itself draws on a lot of MSE for its own in-built security....:-)

How to find windows product key : Product Key Decryptor

1.   Have you ever found yourself in a position when a genuine Windows OS key is required!!!!This tool will be useful if you have ever lost your product CD Key or you have to reinstall the product again.The nae of the product is Product Key Decryptor that's a  FREE software to instantly recover License Keys of popular Windows products.The supported list of software's of which the keys can be extracted is shown below :

Microsoft Windows NT

Microsoft Windows XP

Microsoft Windows Vista

Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Microsoft Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft Windows 8

Microsoft Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2010

Visual Studio 2005

Visual Studio 2008

Visual Studio 2010

Visual Studio 2012

Internet Explorer 6

Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 10

VMWare Workstation 6.x

VMWare Workstation 7.x

VMWare Workstation 8.x

VMWare Workstation 9.x

2.    It automatically detects and decrypts the license/CD key of all the supported products from your system. Currently it can recover License key of few popular products including Windows Operating System, Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Internet Explorer, VMWare Worktation. The best thing about this is FREE...now though nothing is free in this world...it may be having its own repercussions in the background

 :-) Here are the main features & benefits: 

-  Instantly decrypt and recover license/CD keys of popular Products

-  Simple & elegant GUI interface makes it easy to use.

-  Right click context menu to quickly copy the Product License Key

-  Sort feature to arrange the displayed passwords

-  Backup the the recovered Product Keys to HTML/XML/TEXT file.

-  Integrated Installer for assisting you in local Installation & Uninstallation.

3.  The product can be downloaded at http://securityxploded.com/product-key-decryptor.php

How to Format a USB drive with FAT32 file system: FEDORA 17/LINUX

1.   The ease of formatting that the regular windows user is used involves a simple right click on the drive and clicking format.But for a linux user the scene is a little different involving a set of commands.Shown here with screen shots.The commands used are :

- df -h
- fdisk -l
- umount /run/media/duqu/?????***(ur mount name)
- mkdosfs -F 32 -I /dev/sdc1

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