Monday, July 31, 2006

Private Information in Public Places

One of the truly beautiful things about computing today is wireless networking. You can install a wireless network rather inexpensively and easily in your own home, and work on your laptop from any room in the house. A word of caution here . . . your spouse may not be too happy about you bringing your laptop to bed (trust me)!

You can also access WIFI (Wireless Fidelity, or Wireless Local Area Networks) in public places, sipping a cappacino while catching up on email. Ahh, a real thing of beauty.

But are public networks everything they're cracked up to be, or are they just networks of people waiting to crack into your computer?

A little of both. When you connect to a network wirelessly, you are putting your computer (and its contents) into a group of other computers on a network. Assuming the person next to you knows what they're doing, they could log onto your computer and look through all your files - and you wouldn't even know it!

Most people won't do this, but there are some criminal opportunists who frequent public WIFI access locations just for this purpose. So if you still need that double vanilla nonfat latte while surfing the Internet, proceed with caution.

Most general surfing is OK. If you want to send an email though, you should probably use your cell phone instead. Believe it or not, that's safer.

And while you're at it,
disable file and printer sharing and set up user accounts and password logons. This will give you a little added protection.

. . . Stephanie

Friday, July 28, 2006

Don't Tell Me What To Do!


I’m a pretty independent, sometimes stubborn kind of gal, and I don’t like to be ‘forced’ to do anything.

So when Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) was going to be released later this year as an “Automatic Update”, I was slightly miffed. Listen, if I don’t want IE7, then I shouldn’t have to download it onto my personal computer.

But by releasing it as an Automatic Update, I won’t have a choice. Unless I decide to turn off my Windows Automatic Updates (which I don’t recommend), and then I won’t be able to download important security updates that protect my computer from harm.

Well, thank goodness Microsoft learned a lesson from the
Service Pack 2 fiasco.

IE7 will still be pushed out over the Automatic Updates, but we will be able to individually decide if we want to install it or not. Automatic Updates will first notify people when IE7 is ready to install and then show a welcome screen that presents key features and the choices to install, not install or postpone installation.

In fact, Microsoft has already released a
Toolkit to block the automatic download of IE7. At this point, I’m not recommending the installation of IE7 – nor am I recommending blocking IE7. The jury is still out.

That being said, this is the first major update to Microsoft’s Web Brower in five years, and it contains many security enhancements. Critics liken IE6 to “swiss cheese” because of all its security vulnerabilities. So I'm thinking IE7 can't be all bad.

. . . Stephanie


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Thursday, July 27, 2006

How's This for a Theory?

After this past Patch Tuesday, there is an exploit circulating now taking advantage of a new vulnerability in Power Point.

There is a theory among Internet security experts that goes like this:


There is a criminal organization or "somebody" looking at Microsoft applications, finding flaws and sitting on them until after Patch Tuesday - then they release an exploit into cyberspace to catch people unaware.

Most of the exploits almost always involve a user interaction - which means you must open a file you received through email to activate the virus, worm, or other type of malware (malicious software).

The Takeaway: Do not open any new Power Point files sent to you. Even if it's from someone you know. Most people don't even know when they are forwarding malware.

. . . Stephanie

Monday, July 17, 2006

Patch Tuesday, continued. . .

Microsoft releases fixes the second Tuesday of every month - that's how the name "Patch Tuesday" came about.

After Microsoft released 18 security fixes last Tuesday, Adobe followed suit with a couple of its own for Adobe PDF Reader software - free software used on most computers around the world.

If the Adobe patches are not downloaded, the flaws could put Windows and Mac users at risk of a cyberattack.

Adobe's products are widely used, especially Adobe Reader and the Macromedia Flash Player, which are installed on the majority of Internet-connected PCs. Adobe just completed the acquisition of Macromedia last week.

Starting sometime next year, Adobe will follow Microsoft's example and issue security patches for its products on a monthly basis.

Adobe recommends that people use the automatic update facility in its applications to install version 6.0.5 or download and install the update from the Adobe Web site.

. . . Stephanie

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Saturday, July 15, 2006

Crisis Averted! Microsoft Plugs Worm Hole in Windows

Eighteen, count 'em, 18 security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows and Office software were issued fixes on Tuesday, July 11.

Five of the seven security bulletins issued by Microsoft were dubbed "critical" - their most serious rating and one that gives me cause to shudder. Only one of the urgent patches was for a flaw in Windows that could be used to spread a worm. The remaining bulletins were issued for Office flaws that have already been the target of attacks.

So if you escaped without incident, consider yourself lucky. If you haven't performed your Windows Update since Tuesday, you may be operating on borrowed time. Update Windows right now, or operate at your own risk!


Microsoft releases fixes the second Tuesday of every month.

If you are interested in more of the technical details, CNet News covered the story well.

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Monday, July 10, 2006

Free Screen Savers and Digital Music Can Be Crippling

It's a nice quiet Saturday afternoon and you decide to search the web for a new screen saver or some digital music.

"Wow, this is fun," you think to yourself. "And there's so much out there that's
free, I don't know why people actually pay for this stuff."

Well, if you decide to go the free route, I can almost guarantee that you will be the one paying.

"Web security company McAfee Inc. estimates that nearly three-quarters of all sites listed in response to Internet searches for popular phrases like "free screen savers" or "digital music" attempt to install some form of advertising software in visitors' computers. Once lodged there, spyware can sap a PC's processing power, slow its functioning, and even cause it to crash."

Did you get that? Three-quarters! For the mathematically challenged (like me) that's 75 out of 100 sites returned for searches for "free screen savers" and "digital music" contain potentially harmful spyware. The odds are against you.

So please, think twice the next time you're looking for free stuff on the Internet. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Stephanie

Read the rest of the article in Business Week here.

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Friday, July 07, 2006

Mark Your Calendar for July 11, 2006

Microsoft issued an advisory yesterday (Thursday) that it will issue four bulletins for Windows flaws and three for Office. At least one Windows and one Office problem are deemed "critical," Microsoft's highest-risk category for security vulnerabilities.

The company will also update its Malicious Software Removal Tool through its Windows Update service.


What does this mean to you? Make sure you perform your Windows Update on July 11 - and regularly. Better yet, set your preferences for Automatic Updates. If you need detailed instructions, be sure to visit 1 Clean Computer.

Stephanie


"On 11 July 2006 Microsoft is planning to release:


Security Updates


• Four Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Windows. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan Tool. Some of these updates will require a restart.

• Three Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Office. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. These updates may require a restart.


Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

• Microsoft will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the Download Center."

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Cool Google Tool for 1 Clean Computer

Planning your summer vacation? Researching a new computer purchase? This new Google tool makes your web research a snap. Check it out!

Google Notebook

Google Notebook makes web research of all kinds – from planning a vacation to researching a school paper to buying a car – easier and more efficient by enabling you to clip and gather information even while you're browsing the web. And since Google Notebook lives in your browser, you won't be left with a scattered collection of notes, Word docs, and browser bookmarks to sort through; all your web findings will be gathering into one organized, easy accessible location that you can access from any computer.

Stephanie

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