Fake WordPress update 2.6.4 steals data!

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The hacked version of the file pluggable appears to be stealing the content of cookies on larger installations of WordPress. Sophos are now detecting this file as Troj/WPHack-A.

[Via Sopho’s]

Apparently this little update is a rogue update.  According to Sopho’s and Craig Murphy’s blog, it is said to steal your data and send it to another site.  This hacked version of WordPress is coming from wordpresz.org so if you happen to stumble onto this fake update, just delete it and go on with your blogging.   Craig talked about how when he logged it this fake update popped up.  So sometimes it is safer to do some digging before you apply an update especially to your Operating system.  Thanks to Sopho’s for telling people about this fake and dangerous problem.

Windows update is getting a revision!

[ad#ad2-right]According to Computer World, dated Oct 31, 2008 and I’ll quote:

“Over the next couple of months, we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code),” said an unidentified Microsoft employee on the Windows Update team’s official blog. “This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time.”

[via Computer World]

Now if your like me and have several computers who need to be updated at a given schedule, you sometimes worry about these updates that come along that might just break your system. I have been using a program call Offline Updater, which does what Autopatcher does really nicely. So why is Microsoft sending out this patch? Two reasons, one they want you to be able to update your operating System without hurting your system integrity.

Now lets talk about the integrity of having to reboot your system. You see, every time you reboot the system, it causes the system hardware some strain.  It is something like having starting up a car, sooner or later you will have the starter go out, because of to much start up.

[ad#ad2-left]Second reason for this is, basically the update software needs to be update yet again for any security flaws or features that might be exploitable.  I am sure there are some and Microsoft probably knows about that we do not.   So that is the second reason, which it is the most obvious reason yet to push out another revision of the Windows update.

What about stopping the update from effecting your system.  The only way that I know of is to prevent Windows from checking for updates.  Which is simple:

Windows XP Version:

[Category View and Classic View]

<Start> / Control Panel / Security / Click Windows Updates

For Windows Vista:

<Orb> / Control Panel/ Security Center/ Windows Update / click “change Settings”

With both ways, you will be able to control four ways to handle Windows updating and they are:

  • Automatic Will download all necessary updates and install them without your permission or knowledge.  Note some of the updates will automatically reboot your system.  Most commonly they are set to do this every day in the 12am to 4 am period of time.   So when you wake up you would see an log in screen.
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  • Download updates but let me choice which ones to install and when –  This is most commonly used by people who don’t want to bother having to check manually.  It will check and download, then it will let you know.

  • Check for updates but don’t Download them –  This is like the previous one but this will only tell you.  The rest of the decision is in your hands not the computer.  This is good for people who have limited system resources, like Hard drive space.  It still reminds you like the previous one but won’t download any updates.

  • Never check for updates –  This is used for people who don’t want to be bothered with updates and have a way to update manually.  This is commonly used by businesses who have several systems on and don’t want to risk an update causing trouble or weigh down the companies internet by downloading updates un-necessarily.   This option is not to be messed with because it leaves your system with quite a lot of vulnerabilities.  You do this one if you have a set schedule to update each and everyone system. (Extremely Dangerous to do)

With what I talked about, I am hoping you find this useful and to share your discoveries with other people who might want to be able to change how Windows updates are handled on other systems.  If you have comments or questions, please post them in the comment section and someone will be more than glad to help you out.

Did you Recieve a Check from Shadow Shopper? (Scam)

I just got done checking my sources and here what I know and I will quote:

Will ShadowShopper.com ever send a job to me via regular mail?
Never. We will always contact you via email. If you do receive a letter in the mail claiming to be from ShadowShopper (with a realistic looking logo) and asking you to mystery shop by cashing a large check THROW THAT OFFER AWAY. It is a Nigerian check scam ring pretending to be Shadowshopper. The scam is run out of Canada and the UK, and the check will bounce. Remember, ShadowShopper provides you with hundreds of job opportunities, and for your protection, we do it only via email and our website.

[via Common Questions]

It is a Scam to send you money Via the postal mail and that is why you must not believe what you get in the mail. This is in response to someone telling me they got a check with a different name but for the same reason to cash the check and send money to them.

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If anyone has any information they would like to add about this by all means talk about it in the comments. I want to hear where the check cam from or who sent it. You should also check out my other article about Nationwide Marketing that is also a Scam.

It’s Offical, Calicanis says Your on your own.

In the Newsletter, Calicanis says this:

As a startup, you are now, officially, on your own. You can’t count on
your VCs saving you or some magical offer from Yahoo or Google showing
up to bail you out. Chances are Yahoo and Google are going to be
shutting down and/or selling off companies they’ve already
bought–like EBAY and AOL have started doing. Parents don’t adopt
while they’re putting their kids up for adoption.

Now I don’t know about you but I am really worried about what people are going to do next. Some other things Jason said is that the storm is upon us. That’s right, in the next thirty days you will have to figure out how to survive. It won’t be easy. Is this the beginning or the ending of this so called storm? I say only time will tell. I hope this becomes a rebound soon. We are definitely in for the long haul.