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

Print to PDF in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

1.     This is a simple single line of command that u write at the terminal to install a third party app that will install a pdf printer in ur Ubuntu System.

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

2.     This will be generally handy when u need to print your documents that are ready to print but u don't have a printer installed....actually create a virtual PDF printer on your ubuntu PC that lets you convert all your documents/images/anything into PDFs that you can subsequently send to print as and when u have the facility to print.

3.    Thanks http://ubuntuportal.com

Testing ur Broad Band Speed : The ISP Promise

1.    As a customer you are promised so much from your ISP....and the most important thing an ISP promises a customer is fultu speed...they have various packages and plans to offer that revolve around offering various speeds.But how do u find out if the plan is actually provisioning the speed that u were promised.So there are ...in fact thousands of online tools to give and test your Internet broadband speed.One that I have been a regular follower is the speedtest.net available at http://www.speedtest.net/.

2.   A simple interface that takes less than a minute to get started and conclude with the result.I got the following result for my ISP...and that was as per the promise by ISP....so u can check urs too at the site : http://www.speedtest.net/

Being CCCSP: CDAC Certified Cyber Security Professional

1.     There is no doubt that I have keen interest in cyber security issues and subjects.I stop anywhere I find some thing to read or see articles / videos related to cyber security...always grab opportunities like workshops and seminars that hold related events. But just reading and going through these was not going to be enough to make a small mark in the field.Thus I decided to go for a certification exam.Came across CISSP,CCIE,Comp-TIA etc....which were slightly heavier on pocket :-)...so looked for a Indian version and equivalent that is not only recognized but also accepted in government organisations.So I enrolled for the exam in the month of Dec 2011 last year.....and got the results last week....and I passed....became a CDAC Certified Cyber Security Professional.The list of certified professionals is given at the link http://esikshak.in/eSikshak/professional_certified.html

2.   So in this post I am going to tell you few key features of this informative and excellent course :

- Name : CCCSP ie CDAC Certified Cyber Security Professional

- Duration : 6 months

- Certification Fees : Rs 7500/-

- Conducted By : CDAC,Hyderabad

-  Written test conducted at identified CDAC centres across India.

-   Duration of the test is 2 hours.

-  Two sections, 80% of objective type and 20% of subjective in the examination paper .

- 60% score in each section must required

-  The minimum score to get professional certification on average is 70%.

3.    More details available about this course at http://esikshak.in/eSikshak/help/English/eSikshak/CCCSP.html

4.    The certificate issued by C-DAC on CCCSP (C-DAC Certified Cyber Security Professional) is valid for 3 years from the date of issue. This is introduced, considering the importance of updating on-self on the latest security issues. 

5.   Thanks CDAC,Hyderabad.