Tag: difference

Rogue Fake Codecs on the Rise

Paul

Panda Labs has been talking about Adware/VideoPlay and they are seeing a lot of variants on this.   They even play a game, find the difference in the installation screen:

Now as you can see this look to be the same agreement in all those difference installation.  Some things to consider Never install any software from a website that you don’t know Nothing about about.

Panda Labs also talks about these new variants in regards to what they do:

This file spreads by making copies of itself in the removable drives and it also creates an autorun.inf in order to be run when they are accessed. This file collects the data stored in the browsers, such as cookies, passwords, profiles, email accounts, etc, and connects to a remote address to send the information.
[Via Panda Labs Blog]

[ad#ad2-right]As you can see this makes you have very little security with your system.  I talk about Identity theft, and why you should always worry about your identity.   This however will make your passwords less secure and maybe even compromise you system to the point of having a data breach.   You need to be careful when you come by this, some fake codecs have been know to be scareware.  In which, the fake codecs installs a Trojan to tell you have a virus and try to make you buy a fake program to get rid of the Virus.  In one of my recent posts about Codecs and Facebook, I talked about the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack and how that will prevent you from installing these sociable links from friends and family.  The nice thing about this pack is it install all the really good codecs that you might come across on the web.  If you have this installed and there’s a website that says you need a special codec, you’d know that it is either a fake codec or the author who made the video doesn’t standardize.   In which case you will be more willing to leave that site without installing that codec.

If you follow these steps and also consider installing an Anti-virus and Firewall, you will be in a much better shape then when you first started out. Remember only you can prevent from getting a virus. You should also consider doing the registry edit that will prevent Autorun. As you can tell these new variants also are spread through USB and other removable media. This is the other way these programs are using to infect other systems.

Are you patched, Secunia Says NO

Paul

Secunia BlogThink you’ve got nothing to worry about, according to Secunia 98% of computers are not fully patched and are vulnerable to some kinda of attack. [ad#digg-right]So I wanted to talk about this a little and give you a few good ways to make sure you are patched.  There are several ways to get your system up to almost 100%.

[ad#ad2-left]Some things to do is make sure you have your Windows systems updated.  This is easy to make sure, if you have an internet connection you can just check for updates.  If you don’t know how to do it, it is quite simple, Just go here.    If you have Windows Vista all you have to do is hit Start and type in the search box “Windows Update” and hit Enter and you will be taken to the update page.


If you have a system that is off of the Net you could use the Clone of Autopatcher Program to do it for you.   You also need to update all your secondary programs such as Audacity, Open Office, and other programs that you use weekly.

[ad#ad2-right]If you don’t know what you need to update sometimes just having a program check for you can make a really good difference.   The one that I like to use is Appsnap and it actually searches you computer to see what might need to be updated.   I also suggest for the final suggestion is check out my Anti-Virus and Anit-Spyware Resources and make sure you have a firewall and anti-virus software.  This will greatly reduce your chances of getting a virus but that isn’t all you have to be careful on what you click on read this article on Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!! Read that carefully to better understand how you can protect yourself in the future.

IBM think Apple is Anti-Competitive!

Paul

[ad#ad2-left]In an uprecedented lawsuit, Apple is being sued by IBM due to the fact they have signed an agree with PowerPC chip maker.    According to Engadget:

IBM has filed lawsuits both against Apple in California (a state traditionally indifferent to non-competes) and against Papermaster, PA SEMI is the name of the aquired company, in New York.

[Via Endadget]

Noting Apple’s saying “PA Semi have been competitors since 2006” meaning that they have the right to look for other sources of income.   I have the feeling this will not end anytime soon.  Some analysts are predicting that there will not make any difference either way.   I am wondering why they did this in the first The[ad#ad2-right]place.   Are they wanting to fight Apple?  Are they going to be able to do anything about it?  These are all just questions that I would like to see resolved in the next few weeks.

IBM is sueing because of an Non-compete clause.  clause stems from Mark Papermaster quiting IBM and joinin apple.  They claim that he can’t be a competitor to IBM for at least a year.  Most companies in California don’t bother with that clause because they don’t care about the clause.  Apple is saying this is bogus and notes that the lawsuit might not make it all the way to through th system.  So now only time will tell.

White House is Open to a new Stimulus Check Yet again?

Paul

The Economy is still trying to rebound after being told that there is a recession coming our way.  Can they actually make the economy better by introducing even more money?  Did it help the last time around?  The 2008 Stimulus Check that they released doesn’t seem to have made a great amount of difference.  So why introduce even more money into a economy that will have to bottom out, sooner, or later.

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You see having the economy bottom out, is actually good for it.   It clears away the dead and creates life, just like a forest fire it will create even more life in the future.

So what about this New Stimulus Check that the White house is thinking of doing?  Are we going to have to pay more in the future for this so called free money?   I am curious as to what people think about this?   Do you want another Stimulus check or should we let the economy fix itself?

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According to the Swamp, White house open to new ‘booster shot’, in the article they talk about this boosting our economy but I don’t think so!!!  It will not boost it just make it even harder to bottom out and will most likely cause it to last even longer. Is it even going to make much of a difference, you decide.  I want to hear you opinions.