Securelist / Blog
Securelist / Blog
  • Adobe Incubates Flash Runtime for Firefox

    The Adobe AIR and Adobe Flash Player Incubator program updated their Flash Platform runtime beta program to version 5, delivered as Flash Player version 11.2.300.130. It includes a "sandboxed" version of the 32-bit Flash Player they are calling "Protected Mode for Mozilla Firefox on Windows 7 and Windows Vista systems". It has been over a year since Adobe discussed the Internet Explorer ActiveX Protected Mode version release on their ASSET blog, and the version running on Google Chrome was sandboxed too.

    Adobe is building on the successes that they have seen in their Adobe Reader X software. Its sandbox technology has substantially raised the bar for driving up the costs of "offensive research", resulting in a dearth of Itw exploits on Reader X. As in "none" in 2011. This trend reflects 2011 targeted attack activity that we’ve observed. 2011 APT related attacks nailed outdated versions of Adobe Flash software delivered as "authplay.dll" in Adobe Reader v8.x and v9.x and the general Flash component "NPSWF32.dll" used by older versions of Microsoft Office and other applications. Adobe X just wasn't hit. IE Protected Mode wasn't hit. Chrome sandboxed Flash wasn't hit. If there are incident handlers out there that saw a different story, please let me know.

  • Malicious ads on security websites
        Perhaps the worst possible scenario is when a bank website is hosting malicious ads: you never know what can be installed and when on your computer if you click on the ad banners. Something similar happens with security websites hosting malicious ads. They are supposed to be for security information. The people browsing such sites trust the content to be safe, but in actual fact because of the ad banners the resources may be anything but trustworthy.

  • Will Google Bouncer definitely remove all malware from the Android Market?
    Will the Bouncer be effective in addressing the malware problems with Android apps? First of all, this is a good and really necessary move Google is taking, however the solution will be only partial. Based on the public information around this service, all apps will be scanned for known malware. Basically that means a multi-scanner or something similar will be used, so the quality of malware detection will depend greatly on what AV engines Google will use to analyze apps. Not all AV engines have the same quality, so there is a possibility some malicious apps won't be detected as malicious. The second step offered by Google is emulation. It's a good approach, however it can also be cheated by anti-emulation tricks or a malicious app can be programmed to behave differently once an emulation is detected, making the app appear to be non-threatening.  So, basically the same malware tricks used to bypass Windows security can be implemented now on Android.
    Is it still a good idea to use a mobile security program for protection even with Bouncer in place? Yes, for sure it's a good idea. The situation is many people download apps not only from the official Android Market, but also from third-party sources.  Nobody knows for certain what kind of apps are out there on private market stores, run by people not affiliated with Google. Additionally as we mentioned if Google's multi-scanner won't count on all AV engines but only some of them, it's certainly good to use AV detection on your phone as a second opinion for anything that might have slipped past Google’s scanner.
    Are there ways for hackers to sneak infected apps into the store despite Bouncer? Yes and one of them is by hacking well known and trustful developers accounts. In fact I believe that will happen in the near feature. I say this because of Google says it will check all new developers account. If a developer is already known and trusted by Google, that developer account will be a prime target for cybercriminals. Also, even though we haven’t seen it happen yet, we know cybercriminals can start developing apps that work differently in specific geographic zones. For example, an app could be designed to only behave maliciously if it detects a Latin American carrier…if the same app is used by a US carrier, no malicious behavior will be detected. That's also an anti-emulation trick which can be exploited by cybercriminals in order to avoid Bouncer detection.
 
SpywareGuide Articles
Articles on Spyware, Adware, Malware and privacy in general
SpywareGuide Articles
  • DATA-THEFT WORM TARGETING GOOGLE'S ORKUT
    FaceTime Security Labs announced the discovery of a worm that steals users? banking details, usernames and passwords. The worm, known as MW.Orc, is propagating through Orkut, Google?s social networking site, as users launch an executable file disguised as a JPEG. Google has a temporary fix in place
  • The Digital Underground: Interview with RinCe
    This is Part TWO of a series of write-ups focusing on the recent threat to E-Commerce systems via potential IM (Instant Messaging) attack vectors and more besides, by way of a remotely installed administration tool and custom-built scripts, designed to find vulnerabilities in third-party payment sys
  • Property Values, Satellite Maps and Zillow
    A new service called Zillow allows you to easily access the value of your home...and your neighbors and even their neighbors. SpywareGuide articles are sponsored by FaceTime Communications, providing solutions for securing and controlling IM, P2P and Spyware Greynets.
Back Up Your Computer Data PDF Print E-mail
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Submitted by:  Carol Smith
 
Have you backed up the data on your computer recently? Many people will answer no to this question. They don't think they need to, they think they haven't got time or they simply haven't thought about the personal or professional consequences of losing all their documents photos and emails.

Don't stick your head in the sand and think that data loss won't happen to you. It can happen to anyone at anytime. I know, it has happened to many of my clients. Some have been in tears. I have helped some reconstruct hours of work from paper records. And some have been able to breathe easily in the knowledge that all their precious data is safely stored away from the computer and can be reinstated. These people weren't "the lucky" ones, they were the ones who realised that a few minutes work spent making sure their data was safe could potentially save them hours of work and heartache.

Too many people simply can't be bothered to back up the data on their computer. They think that data loss only happens to other people. It doesn't. My clients are real people and many of them have lost some or all of their computer files in a myriad of ways.

* Their computer has been stolen. This even happened to one of my clients while the computer was at the repair shop. The shop was burgled. If this happened to you, would you at least know that your data was safe?

* Your computer's hard drive could fail. This happened to my previous laptop. I always keep a copy of important data on my pc as well.

* A power surge could destroy your computer's motherboard. This happened to an organisation I was working for on an occasional basis last year. Fortunately for all I kept regular backups of every single document, email, photo and invoice. They had the hassle of buying a new computer, reinstalling the software and broadband, but at least their data was safe. I breathed a sigh of relief and resolved to remain diligant about backing up.

* When the floods hit in the summer of 2007 several of my clients were flooded out of offices and homes. If this happened to you and your computer was lost, would you know that your data was safely backed up, away from the danger of flooding?

What do I mean by backup? I mean having at least one copy (and preferably two or more) of all your documents, emails and photos stored in a location other than a hard drive inside your computer. This can be an external hard drive, another computer, a CD/DVD a memory stick, an online backup or a simple printout.

If you are running a business it is sensible to have a backup copy that is stored away from your office. Take a CD/DVD/memory stick home with you, or use an online backup service.

You can find more information on how to protect yourself against losing your computer data at http://www.it-teacher.co.uk/Importance_of_Backups.html

 


About the Author

I am an IT teacher and troubleshooter. I have many clients who run small businesses.

Originally posted at:  http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1125766
 
 

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