Is Microsoft Finally Getting It Right with IE 8?

Posted on August 20, 2009 by wjimenez275

http://nsslabs.blogspot.com/

Two separate tests performed by NSS Labs measured protection against phishing and socially engineered malware across 5 browsers: Apple Safari 4, Google Chrome 2, Mozilla Firefox 3, Opera 10 Beta and Windows Internet Explorer 8.

One of the key things to note is that while the other browsers maintained or decreased protection between the two tests, Internet Explorer continued to improve its protection against cybercriminals.

“Socially engineered malware is the most common and impactful threat on the Internet today, with browser protection averaging between 1% and 81%. Internet Explorer 8 caught 81% of the socially engineered malware sites over time, leading other browsers by a 54% margin. Safari 4 and Firefox 3 caught 21% and 27% respectively, while Chrome 2 blocked 7% and Opera 10 Beta blocked 1%.

Phishing protection over time varied greatly between 2% and 83% among the browsers. Statistically, Internet Explorer 8 at 83% and Firefox 3 at 80% had a two-way tie for first, given the margin of error of 3.6%. Opera 10 Beta, exhibited more extreme variances during testing and averaged 54% protection. Chrome 2 consistently blocked 26% of phishing sites, and Safari 4 offered just 2% overall protection. Firefox 3.5 crashing issues prevented it from being tested reliably.”

Filed under: Internet Items, PC Security, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

How Strong are the Passwords You Use Online?

Posted on August 6, 2009 by wjimenez275

When it comes to online passwords, most people have no idea how to create strong ones. Many people use easy-to-crack passwords: pet names, birthdays, and common dictionary words. Additionally, they rarely ever change their passwords.

Along with that, a lot of people use the same password for every site they’ve signed up for. You may not think the password to your webmail account is valuable but anyone that might steal your information can use it to send spam and ruin your online reputation. More seriously, you may have entered the same password at an online banking site, or a site where your credit-card number is stored for easy ordering, such as Amazon.

You can see whether your current passwords are rated “strong” by using Microsoft’s online Password Checker.

According to Microsoft – Strong Passwords: How to Create and Use Them

What makes a strong password
To an attacker, a strong password should appear to be a random string of characters. The following criteria can help your passwords do so:

Make it lengthy. Each character that you add to your password increases the protection that it provides many times over. Your passwords should be 8 or more characters in length; 14 characters or longer is ideal.

Many systems also support use of the space bar in passwords, so you can create a phrase made of many words (a “pass phrase”). A pass phrase is often easier to remember than a simple password, as well as longer and harder to guess.

Combine letters, numbers, and symbols. The greater variety of characters that you have in your password, the harder it is to guess. Other important specifics include:

• The fewer types of characters in your password, the longer it must be. A 15-character password composed only of random letters and numbers is about 33,000 times stronger than an 8-character password composed of characters from the entire keyboard. If you cannot create a password that contains symbols, you need to make it considerably longer to get the same degree of protection. An ideal password combines both length and different types of symbols.

• Use the entire keyboard, not just the most common characters. Symbols typed by holding down the “Shift” key and typing a number are very common in passwords. Your password will be much stronger if you choose from all the symbols on the keyboard, including punctuation marks not on the upper row of the keyboard, and any symbols unique to your language.

Use words and phrases that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. The easiest way to remember your passwords and pass phrases is to write them down. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing wrong with writing passwords down, but they need to be adequately protected in order to remain secure and effective.

Dos and don’ts to keep your passwords safe

Do use a password manager such as Roboform, which I told you about here – What was that password again?

Do change passwords frequently. Don’t reuse old passwords. Password managers can assign expiration dates to your passwords and remind you when the passwords are about to expire and generate new passwords for you for a site.

Don’t use passwords made up of dictionary words, birthdays, family and pet names, addresses, or any other personal information. Don’t use repeat characters such as 111 or sequences like abc, qwerty, or 123 in any part of your password.

Don’t use the same password for different sites.

Don’t use the “remember me” or automatic signin option available on many Web sites. Have your password manager fill in the information for you.

Don’t enter passwords on a computer that’s not yours — such as a friend’s computer — because you don’t know what spyware or keyloggers might be on it.

Don’t enter a password or even your account name in any Web page you access via an e-mail link. These are most likely phishing scams. Instead, enter the normal website address  for that site directly into your browser, and proceed to the page in question from there.

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Email File Attachment – How Can You Find Out if it’s Virus Free?

Posted on July 15, 2009 by wjimenez275

One can’t be to careful these days, when opening an attachment in an email from a “friend” can create all kinds of trouble to your computer and your life.

Everyone does it – seeing an email from a friend or family member you automatically open the attached file, because if it’s from someone you know, it must be okay, right? NOT!!! Yes, most of the time it’s okay to do, but there are times when it just doesn’t feel right, but you’re not sure, so what do you do? Open it? Delete it? Wouldn’t it be nice to have someplace to send the attachment to that will check it out for you and let you know that it’s okay to open?

Well, VirusTotal is just the place to do that.

VirusTotal is a service that analyzes suspicious files and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware detected by antivirus engines:

  • Free, independent service
  • Use of multiple antivirus engines
  • Real-time automatic updates of virus signatures
  • Detailed results from each antivirus engine

You can upload files from your computer, or you can forward that email with the attachment to them for testing. VirusTotal will scan it with over 40 different antivirus engines and will return an email with the results. A note of warning, it could take a few hours for the results to be returned so don’t give into the temptation and open the attachment anyway.

Sending files by email

Create a new message or forward the message with the attachment with  scan@virustotal.com as destination address of your email.

Write SCAN in the Subject field.

  1. Attach the file to be scanned. Such file must not exceed 20 MB in size. If the attached file is larger, the system will reject it automatically.
  2. You will receive an email with a report of the file analysis. Response time will vary depending on the load of the system at the time of placing your request.

If you’re sure that the email and attachment are clean, open away, but if you have any doubt, be safe with VirusTotal (http://www.virustotal.com/)

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AP News: Microsoft warns of serious computer security hole

Posted on July 7, 2009 by wjimenez275

Associated Press

Get AP Mobile for your phone at APnews.com

Microsoft warns of serious computer security hole

Story user rating:

JORDAN ROBERTSON

Published: Today

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Microsoft Corp. has taken the rare step of warning about a serious computer security vulnerability it hasn’t fixed yet.

The vulnerability disclosed Monday affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating software.

It can allow hackers to remotely take control of victims’ machines. The victims don’t need to do anything to get infected except visit a Web site that’s been hacked.

Security experts say criminals have been attacking the vulnerability for nearly a week. Thousands of sites have been hacked to serve up malicious software that exploits the vulnerability. People are drawn to these sites by clicking a link in spam e-mail.

The so-called “zero day” vulnerability disclosed by Microsoft affects a part of its software used to play video. The problem arises from the way the software interacts with Internet Explorer, which opens a hole for hackers to tunnel into.

Microsoft urged vulnerable users to disable the problematic part of its software, which can be done from Microsoft’s Web site, (http://tinyurl.com/kwh8ls) while the company works on a “patch” – or software fix – for the problem.

Microsoft rarely departs from its practice of issuing security updates the second Tuesday of each month. When the Redmond, Wash.-based company does issue security reminders at other times, it’s because the vulnerabilities are very serious.

A recent example was the emergency patch Microsoft issued in October for a vulnerability that criminals exploited to infect millions of PCs with the Conficker worm. While initially feared as an all-powerful doomsday device, that network of infected machines was eventually used for mundane moneymaking schemes like sending spam and pushing fake antivirus software.

___

On the Net:

Microsoft support page:

http://tinyurl.com/kwh8ls

AP Mobile. © 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

via AP News: Microsoft warns of serious computer security hole.

Filed under: PC Security | 1 Comment »

Beware of Tragic/Current Event Emails

Posted on June 25, 2009 by wjimenez275

Just a reminder that following tragic events, there are some who will try to take advantage of our curiosity and will send emails with subjects referencing those events and claim to have links to pictures, videos or special news stories. Beware that most of those links will actually lead to you downloading malware; trojans, viruses, etc. For example: Michael Jackson Video and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

If you receive such emails, delete them right away. To find out information about the event, go directly to news sites such as: msn.com, news.yahoo.com, news.google.com, cbsnews.com, abcnews.go.com, cnn.com.

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Google fixes severe Chrome security hole | Webware – CNET

Posted on April 23, 2009 by wjimenez275

Google released a new version of its Chrome browser Thursday to fix a high-severity security problem.

The problem affects Google’s mainstream stable version of Chrome and is fixed in the new version 1.0.154.59 (download). Google has built Chrome so it updates itself automatically with no user intervention, though the software must be restarted for the new version to run.

The security problem, reported April 8 by Roi Saltzman of the IBM Rational Application Security Research Group, allowed cross-site scripting attacks. Such methods can make a Web browser process unauthorized code such as JavaScript, enabling a variety of attacks, including impersonation or phishing.

Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, described the problem this way in a blog posting Thursday:

An error in handling URLs with a chromehtml: protocol could allow an attacker to run scripts of his choosing on any page or enumerate files on the local disk under certain conditions.

If a user has Google Chrome installed, visiting an attacker-controlled Web page in Internet Explorer could have caused Google Chrome to launch, open multiple tabs, and load scripts that run after navigating to a URL of the attacker’s choice. Such an attack only works if Chrome is not already running.

via Google fixes severe Chrome security hole | Webware – CNET.

Filed under: Instructional, Internet Items, PC Security | 2 Comments »

Fear of viruses could be causing PC attacks: report by Reuters: Yahoo! Tech

Posted on April 8, 2009 by wjimenez275

Computer users’ growing fear of worms and viruses could be behind a recent spike in attacks on PCs via bogus security software, according to a Microsoft Corp report published on Wednesday.

As the Conficker worm and other malicious software — known as malware — have grabbed headlines, more computer users have been looking for security programs online, some of which turn out to be agents for viruses themselves.

Out of hundreds of millions of PCs monitored by the world’s largest software maker for its twice yearly Security Intelligence Report, seven of the 25 top security threats came in the form of fake security programs.

In the last six months of 2008, Microsoft said it cleared 4.4 million PCs of the most successful bogus security program, which goes under the name of Win32/Renos.

That is a 67 percent increase over the first half of 2008, said George Stathakopoulos, head of product security at Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group.

Fear of Conficker “could be a part of it,” said Stathakopoulos, explaining the sudden jump in attacks from what Microsoft calls “rogue” security software, or “scareware”.

According to the report, more security-conscious consumers are being tricked by insistent or alarming pop-up warnings into paying for protection which, unknown to them, is actually malware designed to steal personal information.

The phenomenon of “scareware” is a headache for bona fide security software makers such as Symantec Corp, McAfee Inc and Trend Micro Inc.

But these companies in turn have played a role in raising fears about malware such as Conficker, and have reaped a windfall from worried computer users buying their products.

Conficker, a program that works its way into a PC and allows it to be controlled remotely, is believed to have infected millions of PCs, but no significant disruption has yet occurred.

The report, and guidance on how to avoid viruses, is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sir.

via Fear of viruses could be causing PC attacks: report by Reuters: Yahoo! Tech.

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Safe Surfing with WOT

Posted on April 5, 2009 by wjimenez275

WOT (Web of Trust) is a plugin I use to make sure that the websites I visit are safe. If you use Internet Explorer or Firefox, this is one plugin that you have to install.

Cloudeight Internet recently did a comparison of four different programs that rate the safety of websites, including Norton Safe Web, SiteAdvisor, Link Scanner and Web of Trust. You can see the results here. WOT would have protected you from every one of those sites. Those are sites which they felt are scams or which offer free downloads which they consider to be adware, spyware or malware. (Thank you Free PC Security)

WOT just release it’s latest version 3.5.  From WOT’s website, “Our new version adds protection levels to suit your every need – at every time in your life. Single adults can enjoy “Light” protection while surfing anywhere on the web. You get only a simple alert if you surf to a page with a poor reputation. Parents with young children can choose the “Parental Control” mode which blocks access to dangerous sites like pornography or hate sites.

WOT provides four convenient one-click protection options that can be changed instantly depending on the situation:

  • Light protection suits experienced Web users
  • Basic protection guides the user by giving warnings
  • Maximum Safety stops dangerous Web sites from loading
  • Parental Control blocks access to Web sites with a poor child safety rating and no rating at all”

Firefox users have a new shortcut to the WOT scorecard. Right click on any link and the menu includes the option to see the WOT scorecard. This is especially useful when you are surfing in a site with links but no WOT ratings.

After installing WOT, when you perform a search, the list of links will have a green, yellow, red or clear circle after them. Green means safe, yellow is warning, red is stay out and clear means it hasn’t been rated so you’re on your own. If you hover your cursor over the circle, it’ll further breakdown the ratings. At this time when seemingly innocent websites can wreak havoc on your computer, it’s critically important to have a way of knowing what’s safe and what’s not. With Web Of Trust, you have the knowledge.

You can download the Internet Explorer Plugin here and the Firefox plugin here

Filed under: Instructional, Internet Items, PC Security, PC Tips and Tools | 3 Comments »

Conficker – The Day After

Posted on April 1, 2009 by wjimenez275

So, was Conficker the bust that some say it is? Possibly, but not because of how it was written. I think what caused it not to be as explosive as it could have been was due to it’s own initial success. When the first couple of versions came out at the end of last year and beginning of this year, it quickly snagged millions of computers and turned them into slaves, or bots. Granted, many of those were from places where unauthorized versions of Windows are being used, and therefore no security updates, but it grew fast enough that Microsoft was forced to put out an emergency patch to prevent infection (Conficker used an open hole in the Windows operating system to sneak onto a computer).

Anyhow, when Conficker hit so many millions of computers, people were alerted to the worm and made sure their computers were patched and their anti-virus programs were updated. Once that happened, it effectively shut the Conficker worm out of their computers.

As for the security upgrades, for some reason, Microsoft decided to set the default for automatic updates for 3:00 a.m. Now, a lot of desktop computers may stay on overnight, but not many laptops do. For those, it’s critically important that the updates get done. Read my post – Windows Updates – Which to Install? to see how to change these settings and how to securely update your computer.

So, what about Conficker. Well, it can still take off and do damage, but it can only do damage if it’s on your computer and if your computer is patched and protected, most likely it’s not there. And, if you’re running Vista, then it really isn’t there, but it’s still very important for you to get the Microsoft Security Patches because if it’s not Conficker, there will always be another one attacking the holes.

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Conficker Tips – from Windowssecrets.com

Posted on March 30, 2009 by wjimenez275

How to update your PC and remove Conficker from WindowsSecrets.com

The following steps should prevent infection by Conficker and eliminate the worm, if your PC has it. One positive side effect is that you’ll enjoy a computer with up-to-date patches:

  • Step 1. Attempt to run Microsoft Update. The Conficker worm can infect vulnerable computers merely by connecting to them remotely via the Internet. For this reason, you should first try to patch Windows before removing Conficker, lest your machine quickly become infected again. It’s particularly important to install Microsoft patch 958644 (security bulletin MS08-067). This patch closes a hole in Windows’ Remote Procedure Call, which Conficker exploits.If you can’t find Microsoft Update (or the more limited Windows Update) on your PC’s Start menu, visit the Microsoft Update page on the Web. Internet Explorer is required.Microsoft Update might complete successfully, or you might not be able to access Microsoft.com at all. In either case, do Step 2.

  • Step 2. Attempt to update your third-party security software. Having the latest antivirus signatures will help eradicate Conficker and other malware that may be lurking on your PC. Use your security software’s menu to manually update to the latest defenses.Have no security software? Read the WS Security Baseline, which summarizes the products that are currently rated the highest by respected reviewers.• If your updated security software deems your PC to be cleaned up, but you couldn’t previously access Microsoft.com, go back to Step 1 and run Microsoft Update.• If you couldn’t access your security vendor’s site at all, do Step 3.• If you finished both Steps 1 and 2 successfully, you should be able to skip Step 3 and do Step 4.

  • Step 3 (optional). Run a standalone Conficker removal tool, if need be. The Conficker Working Group — a coalition of Microsoft, Cisco, SRI, F-Secure, Kaspersky, and many other security vendors — maintains a list of certified detection and repair tools, any of which should remove Conficker. (My thanks to Susan Bradley for her help with this tip.)Unfortunately, most the links in the Working Group’s list are inaccessible on a Conficker-infected PC. A victim can’t even reach the Working Group’s site, because it has in its URL the string conficker, which triggers the worm’s blocking behavior.As I mentioned earlier, security firm BitDefender has set up a new domain from which users can download free Conficker disinfectant utilities. This site, BDTools.net, is not currently blocked by the worm, to the best of my knowledge. The site offers three options: (a) a free online scan; (b) a free, downloadable Single PC Removal Tool for individual users; and (c) a free Network Removal Tool, an .exe file that IT admins can use to disinfect an entire LAN.BDTools.net: Visit BitDefender’s download site.If you can’t access BDTools.net or any other security site from your PC, find a machine that isn’t infected (such as a public-access workstation at a library). Don’t use a search engine to look for removal tools, some of which are bogus. Instead, download a removal tool from the Working Group’s certified list onto a USB drive, and then use that drive to run the software on the infected PC.

    • After removing Conficker, if you couldn’t previously complete Steps 1 and 2 successfully, go back now and finish those steps to update Windows and your security software.

    It’s best to strengthen your defenses before April 1 rather than waiting to see what bad things might happen.

    Read the entire article here

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