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 This trend reflects 2011 targeted attack activity that we’ve observed. 2011 APT related attacks nailed outdated versions of Adobe Flash software delivered as "authplay.dll" in Adobe Reader v8.x and v9.x and the general Flash component "NPSWF32.dll" used by older versions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.
 
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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.
5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet PDF Print E-mail
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Submitted by: Tarsem Singh Briar

Spyware, viruses and worms... oh my!

If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.

With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.

And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.

The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won't be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.

1. Running a Personal Firewall

A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet.

Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you're going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.

If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.

If you're running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:

- Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security - You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.

If you don't have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.

You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm

2. Turn on Windows Updates

Again, if you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.

These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.

If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they're not.

To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."

To turn them on in Windows 2000, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."

Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.

3. Install & Update Antivirus Software

Most new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.

It doesn't matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.

The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.

In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.

If you are not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.

4. Install Anti-Spyware Software

Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it is being sent.

Some new computers might include antispyware software, but most of them do not yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.

One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.

Many of the other programs do not catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.

You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware

5. Set up a Free Email Account

This last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.

Once you are on the internet, you will find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.

If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you do not know for sure you can trust, it is not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.

This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you are entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you do not know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.

If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.

Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.

If you have had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system. Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips, hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to guides on hacking, spam, website and computer tips , with solutions , do please browse for more information at our websites.

 
 

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