After all my warnings about scareware, Google comes along with a warning on its search results pages that many of you might believe is scareware, but it’s not – it’s real.
Google Malware Warning
According to Google’s Online Security Blog
This particular malware causes infected computers to send traffic to Google through a small number of intermediary servers called “proxies.” We hope that by taking steps to notify users whose traffic is coming through these proxies, we can help them update their antivirus software and remove the infections.
This malware is actually a result of scareware, or fake anti-virus software that infects computers. And, Google admits, there may be a whole new slew of fake scareware ads that look like the Google warning. A valid Google warning will only be seen at the top of a search results page.
So, if you see this warning it’s time to run an AV scan. You do have anti-virus installed, right? And it’s up-to-date, right? If not, Google will even help you at their Help Center..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
Who reads the fine print? Everybody, right? Sure. Like you read the EULA for every piece of software you install or the terms of service on every web site you visit.
But, others on the web are looking out for you by spending time actually reading those legal contracts which you are inadvertently agreeing to.
I just came across a post that compares the Terms of Service of 7 different cloud services. The blurb that got my attention is something like the following
a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services
That’s in Google’s version, the post (7 cloud services compared: How much control do you give up?) compare’s seven cloud services and in my humble opinion (I’m not a lawyer) Amazon Web Services (which I use) and SugarSynch (which I don’t) have the most favorable (to you) terms of service.
Most large companies have lawyers on staff who write this stuff and who, in the best interests of the company that pays their paycheck, try to make it as legally broad as possible.
Of course, in the U.S. with its Patriot Act, the government can demand access to all your files online, without a warrant, and the company storing your files not only can’t ask your permission, they can’t even tell you what the government is doing with your private property. But that’s a story for another day…
In the meantime, it’s still your responsibility to read the fine print..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
Long, random passwords are even more vital in today’s world of cheap GPU’s (Graphics Processing Unit).
There has been brute force password-cracking software out there for years but now, combined with a GPU rather than a CPU, the cracking time has shrunk incredibly.
In a recent post from Vijay’s Tech Encounters (GPU Password Cracking – Bruteforceing a Windows Password Using a Graphic Card) Vijay compared cracking passwords with a GPU and CPU.
For example, a five character random password takes a CPU 24 seconds to crack. A GPU takes less than a second. An 8 character password that would take a CPU almost a year to crack takes a GPU 18 hours and 30 minutes. 9 characters is 43 years vs. 48 days, although adding symbols to the mix increases the time.
Since GPU’s are built for math heavy processes like rendering graphics they are much better suited to cracking passwords.
Do you need to worry?
First of all, there are methods to prevent password cracking at the front door (login) of a web site, things like timeouts after 3 guesses, etc. Plus, network speeds are not fast enough to allow a billion guesses per second.
But, what if your password is stolen from a company’s database? Passwords are encrypted and stored as “hashes”, and that’s where password cracking software comes in.
According to privacyrights.org, over 500 million records have been breached since 2005.
So, what do you do?
Use a password manager. Most integrate with your browser so all you need to remember is one master password. They can automatically generate passwords for you. Set yours up to have at least 10 characters, including symbols, and use a different password for each different website.
Use a secure link (https) whenever possible, especially when on the road using a wi-fi connection.
Technology is improving with the use of two-factor authentication, like using a token communicated on a sideband (e.g. SMS message or phone call), tokens generated with a crypto keyfob, or using smartcards for PKI signing.
According to Moore’s Law, password cracking using a GPU will take half the time every two years. It pays to stay ahead of the game..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
Your cell phone may have a legitimate reason to give our your whereabouts via GPS (think 911 service, which will soon be able to pinpoint your location), but how about listening to you – all the time!
As always, technology is a two-edged sword. I remember when there was a big todo about the FBI listening in on conversations through the GM OnStar system. GM and other car technology companies can listen in on your conversations and even bring your car to a stop and shut it off.
This may be great for emergencies or carjackings, but who’s on the other end of this technology?
Then there was the idea of implanting RFID chips in humans to limit/allow access to secure areas or computers. My reaction was “Are you nuts?” Most kids under 25 were saying “You mean I don’t have to log into my computer anymore? Cool!”
Leo LaPorte brought up the subject of apps turning on your cell phone’s microphone – without your knowledge – and listening to your ‘environment’ in an early April podcast of his twit.tv show (about 10 minutes into it).
Mike Elgan of Computerworld took it a step further by listing the apps that turn on your cell phones microphone by sarcastically saying “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!” Continue reading .
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
March 31st is World Backup Day. In celebration, here are some tips to get your backup system in place.
First, consider all of the data that is on your computer and what would happen to your business if all of it was suddenly gone. How long would it take to reconstruct the data? Would it be even possible to reconstruct the data? You can’t reconstruct email if it wasn’t backed up.
How about orders, invoices, customer data? Accounting data? If it’s not printed on paper the data is probably gone forever and in the case of fire or flood, the printed files may be gone also.
Here are your three main considerations when creating a backup plan:
- How often it needs to be backed up
- How much data needs to be backed up (in MB or GB)
- Where to back up your data
Backing up your data is the most important and most often neglected aspect of running a small business. How often you back up your data depends on how much data you can afford to lose. It can be done continuously, daily, weekly or monthly. Consider the nature of your business and how much new data is being entered to determine the frequency of your back-ups.
I back up my data daily.
Data can be lost due to a hard drive failure, data corruption due to a virus or worm, or theft or destruction of the computer. Because of the latter possibilities, your data also needs to be backed up “off site”. Backing up data from one hard drive to another in the same computer or on the same network will prevent data loss from a hard drive failure or virus, but not from theft, fire or flood. Continue reading .
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
A browser war is breaking out with Microsoft and Apple (certainly strange bedfellows) on one side and Google and Mozilla on the other.
In the past, in order to stream online video the visitor’s browser had to have an appropriate plug-in. The new HTML5 standard was supposed to stream video natively within the browser, removing the need for plug-ins.
However, no one can agree on which video format will be built into the browsers.
Apple and Microsoft have chosen the H.264 codec. The supposed problem here is that it’s not “open source”, meaning there is a patent on the technology. The patent holders have said it’s free to consumers but are charging the browser companies a (relatively) small fee.
When they tried to charge Mozilla $5 million to integrate it into Firefox, Mozilla balked.
Google has just landed on Mozilla’s side. They say the Google Chrome browser will not support H.264. Instead they, along with the Firefox browser will support Ogg Theora video plus, their own dog in the hunt, WebM (VP8).
What’s all this mean?
For video publishers and webmasters, it’s the same story as Betamax vs. VHS and Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD vs. DVD. It means you have to create and post your video content in multiple formats. It means more work for you because the powers that be can’t agree on a standard. Again..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed
Recommended
