Security – Page 28 – Paul's Tech Talk

Microsoft security update cripples IE

PaulDecember 18, 2007

Users started posting messages to multiple Microsoft support newsgroups almost immediately after Microsoft released the MS07-069 security bulletin on Dec. 11, saying that they were unable to connect to the Internet, either because IE refused to open or because when it did open, it could not reach various sites.

“About 60% of the time, I would get an ‘Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and must close’ dialog,” reported Bill Drake on the Windows Update newsgroup. Others echoed those comments on IE-specific forums, noting that both IE6 and IE7 balked at loading, or while loading, some pages, particularly home pages, on both Windows XP and Windows Vista machines.

ther users on the support forums weren’t much help, except to suggest uninstalling last Tuesday’s security update. That’s what Decker did. “We uninstalled [MS07-069] and have had no problems since then,” he said.

[Via ComputerWorld]

With Vista, I do think the reason I’ve not had any problems is I don’t use IE. LOL I use Firefox but another reason is that I’ve also installed the SP1 RC1 on my system. That also might fix the problem could someone check it out and let me know!!

Hot, sexy bot sweet-talks personal data out of chatters

PaulDecember 15, 20071 Reply

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Security software company PC Tools warns that the bot can easily be used for malicious purposes. The company said that the program’s ability to mimic human behavior to dupe chatters is worrisome, and could readily be used to collect all manner of information. “As a tool that can be used by hackers to conduct identity fraud, CyberLover demonstrates an unprecedented level of social engineering,” said PC Tools senior malware analyst Sergei Shevchenko in a statement. “CyberLover has been designed as a bot [robot] that lures victims automatically, without human intervention. If it’s spawned in multiple instances on multiple servers, the number of potential victims could be very substantial.”
[Via Arstechnica]

This is really a security issue here. Never give out your personal information online. I just want to post this to remind people not everything online is safe.

Vendors worried Vista IPv6 too slippery for managed networks

PaulDecember 11, 2007

Researchers have raised new questions about the security of Vista’s IPv6 implementation. James Hoagland from Symantec and Suresh Krishnan from Ericsson wrote an Internet-Draft that calls attention to the Teredo protocol and the fact that many firewalls don’t understand this protocol, and therefore can’t inspect the packets embedded within it.

Teredo is Vista’s last resort to connect to the IPv6 Internet. First, Vista looks for an IPv6 router on the local LAN. If so, the router will provide the Vista machine with IPv6 addresses and “native” (not tunneled) connectivity. If there is no IPv6 router, but the Vista machine has a public IPv4 address (i.e., not one from the 10-net or any of the other private address ranges from RFC 1918), it uses the 6to4 tunneling mechanism that embeds IPv6 packets in IPv4 packets. However, 6to4 can’t create IPv6 addresses from a private IPv4 address. Teredo, the third mechanism, is able to do this, so if you’re behind a network address translator (NAT) then Vista uses Teredo.

[Via Arstechnica]

Go read the full article on this little development with the IPv6 and Vista Machines. I know it worries me!!

How to Erase Files Securely

PaulNovember 11, 2007

I thought this was a great video to show people and I think Chris has some good points. I do think there is more better ways to delete files securely but this is after all, a personal opinion. Let me know what you think.

Turn Your Webcam into a Motion-Sensing Security Camera with Yawcam

PaulNovember 9, 20073 Replies

Windows only: Got a webcam bundled with your last computer but don’t know what to do with it? Turn it into a motion-sensing security camera with freeware application Yawcam. All you need is a webcam to get started, but after spending a little time in the Yawcam settings you can set automatic FTP uploading, emailing, or just saving captured images to your hard drive. You can even set a schedule for when Yawcam is enabled to capture images so your security camera isn’t constantly snapping pics while you’re sitting in front of your computer. We’ve seen similar motion detecting software, but Yawcam looks like an excellent and simple alternative. I don’t have a webcam on my Windows PC, so if you give it a try, let’s hear how it worked for you in the comments. Yawcam is freeware, Windows only.

Yawcam [via SkatterTech]