It wasn’t that long ago that CableOne made their 50Mbps available to residential customers.  Now with their DOCSIS 3.0 technology fully implemented, both business and residential customers alike will have to seriously consider the power of 50Mbps over the offerings of anyone else.

However, throughput limits are in effect on some of the packages.  Any current CableOne customer can log into their account and see their current throughput to determine if the limits will effect them or not.  Also, CableOne uses an in browser popup warning system to make sure that users are well aware of the potential of exceeding their limit.

There are a lot more questions to answer for any business considering a move to CableOne.  What are the bundles?  What are the potential savings?  If phone service is added, will that save money?  What about existing contracts?  The thing to do is to speak with a CableOne Business Account Representative.  Every business has unique needs, and they are the only ones qualified to fully answer any question for any situation.

The CableOne Business Account Representative that we do business with and prefer is Maryanne DeMarco.  She prefers to be reached on her cell phone at (928) 202-1963.  Tell her Hill Top IT sent you. 

Google recently introduced a new service to detect if a user’s computer was infected with malware and then inform the user. The warning appears as an in browser pop-up above the Google search bar. The warning is bright yellow and contains a link to another Google page where the user can learn what to do about their possible malware problem.

The service is the product of an investigation to determine the source of unusual activity patterns that were detected in Google’s data centers. It turns out that the activity was actually coming from machines that were infected with malware. Since it was a simple matter to detect the individual activity patterns, Google’s engineers capitalized on the opportunity to warn users of the potential threat in real time.

The good news is that there are a lot of computer users on the internet with no anti-virus protection what-s0-ever. Google’s new service, and future services like it, may be the only thing that saves someone from a serious malware problem. It’s quite possible that Google may eventually spin-off a cloud anti-virus service and make it available to Google App users, or anyone with a Google account, or the entire general public. They may even bundle such a service with their Chrome browser and OS.

However, the bad news is that there may be a problem with Google’s new service as it stands right now. For years, IT departments and computer repair professionals have been warning users not to trust anti-virus or malware notifications outside of the software they know they have installed on their individual systems. The problem is that there are many fake anti-virus programs that appear in browser windows and attempt to fool the user into believing that there is a serious infection. These fake anti-virus programs ask the user to purchase their software (which does no good), or install other free software which are actually Trojan programs. Even with users being aware of Google’s new service, a malware process could impersonate that service in a web page; at that point it’s no different than any other fake anti-virus program, except that it uses Google’s good name to lend it credibility.

It may turn out that Google’s good intentions will complicate an already difficult issue for many uninformed users. Only time will tell. But that’s not the only issue. There’s the question of whether companies have the right to detect infections (or anything else) on a machine without the owners explicit permission. There also doesn’t appear to be a way to turn off these notifications.

It also appears that Google’s recommendations for cleaning up your system includes a very short list of specific commercial products to scan for malware. While Google is a private company and can make any endorsement it wants, it does seem a bit unfair to have a multi-billion dollar company prominently backing only one anti-malware product effectively throwing every other malware company under the bus.

Their instructions also tell the operator to disable the Windows System Restore in their haphazard attempt to deal with the malware, and then to only seek help from a professional as the very last thing to do. Shutting down the System Restore can result in significant data loss. In fact, using the System Restore can eliminate the malware in about 50% of the cases (depending); but at no point do the instructions say to attempt a System Restore.

To use a little bit of hyperbole: It’s like calling the Doctor after attempting to perform an appendectomy on one’s self at home with a butter-knife and a bottle of alcohol. Perhaps it would be safer, and wiser, for people infected with malware to contact a trusted professional at the start.

“This leak has names, addresses, phone numbers, passwords, social security numbers, online dating account info, voicemails, chat logs, and seductive girlfriend pictures belonging to a dozen Arizona police officers. We found more internal police reports, cops forwarding racist chain emails, k9 drug unit cops who use percocets, and a convicted sex offender who was part of FOP Maricopa Lodge Five,” the [hacker] group said.

Now technically I don’t think any of that is illegal, but the statement does certainly paint the police in a bad light.  In my personal opinion, the police should hold themselves to the highest standard of morality and ethics and should be ready to stand inspection and be accountable for anything found to be less than exceptional.  However, cops are people too and they have a reasonable expectation to privacy that should not be violated by anyone.

Never the less, this is a lesson and prime example to the rest of us to not trust anything connected to the Internet.  If the cops can get pwned, where does that leave the rest of us?  My personal rule:  If it can transmit, don’t trust it.  Of course, it also helps if one is not a racist drug-abusing sex offender. 

Via: Daily Courier

First, watch the anti-piracy PSA I’ve posted.  The moral of the story is “if you download free movies, some innocent boom operator loses her job”.  Ok, now that you’ve watched the video and realized that some people have no souls, here’s the secret knowledge:

A)  There are a lot of thieves.  What’s amusing are the thieves who steal movies, music, and software justify it by making claims like “if you don’t lock your house then you deserve to be robbed”.  No, they really are just petty thieves; actually thieves and liars.  They don’t care about hurting innocent people, especially when they can save 99-cents.

B)  These thieves don’t actually go into the stores and steal whatever it is directly (too risky).  They just download whatever they want from other thieves (much safer and more convenient).  This creates mob mentality and peer pressure.  After all, if everybody is doing it, then everybody’s doing it; and much like voting, one person can’t possibly make a difference.  That’s why we had so much fun with cocaine and break-dancing back in the 80′s.

C)  Nearly everyone who is downloading pirated material from other thieves don’t realize that there’s no honor among thieves.  Cyber-criminals intentionally dope their various warez with all kinds of malware which is then downloaded by everyone else.  Aha!  Remember (A), if you don’t lock your house then you deserve to be robbed.  Or more accurately if you’re stupid enough to download pirated warez from cyber-criminals then you deserved to be infected by a virus, worm, trojan, logic bomb, fake anti-virus program, bot-net, or whatever they want.

Which leads right back to the moral of the story.  If someone doesn’t care about harming the innocent when they download pirated stuff, then the cyber-criminals won’t care about hurting that someone back.  What a vicious little circle.  And that leads to why I sarcastically love piracy.  Piracy provides me with a lot of business.  In fact, 99% of the business that comes into my shop is virus/malware removal.  Based on what I see, I’m guessing about 70% of those people got infected by downloading pirated materials.  More often than not I find that personal data has been lost such as family photos, documents, business data, and of course the music/movies/software has to be erased.

So much like a police officer telling people not to drink and drive, I am once again going to tell everybody who will listen not to illegally download copyrighted material.  Few really ever listen, but I like to say it anyways.

Personally, I support those industries that provide me with the things that I want or need.

Mac Defender is a fake anti-virus program for the Mac OS and it’s designed to steal people’s credit card information and other personal information.  It’s MalWare.  It’s on a Mac.  It’s very real.  I know there’s a lot of people that think that Mac’s are virus-proof, but that’s simply not true.  Apple has removal instructions on their website.  The 1st virus for Mac OSX appeared in February 2006:

Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos’s global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have announced the discovery of the first virus for the Apple Mac OS X platform. The virus, named OSX/Leap-A (also known as OSX/Oompa-A) spreads via instant messaging systems.

How is Apple responding to the flood of customer calls about installations of the Mac Defender malware?  Apple continues to tell support reps: do not help with Mac malware.  Now that may sound bad, but in reality it’s not Apple’s responsibility to teach users how to use a Mac properly or how to secure it. 

We see this kind of thing on Windows all the time.  Fake anti-virus programs that suddenly appear warning of massive infections that can only be corrected with a Visa or MasterCard.  They can instantly disable Internet access, interrupt normal program function, erase system recovery points, lock users out of administrative access, and transmit confidential information.  They all have one thing in common: no significant anti-virus protection, which is exactly where most Mac users are at.

Mac users have enjoyed virtual immunity from the cyber-criminals who have focused almost all of their efforts on Microsoft products.  But now that Apple has become a tech name bigger than Microsoft, and the Mac OS is now on millions of computers, that time is no more.  Cyber criminals have no brand loyalty, they are only motivated by theft and greed.  The Apple is ripe for the picking.  Mac Defender isn’t going away.  It will be copied, changed, altered, replicated, and will inspire other cyber criminals to succeed where Mac Defender failed.

While there is a small part of me that will enjoy watching that smile getting slapped off the smug faces of those self-important Apple religious-fanatics (you know who you are), I also feel a great swell of pity for the many innocent people who will be victimized in the near future because some fool told them Mac’s were virus-proof.  Well, if you own a Mac, you can now switch to a Linux because it’s “virus-proof” too.  Or you can get a real anti-virus program for the Mac OS.  Here’s what I found that’s available:

CableOne has introduced a new residential 50Mbps plan for $45/month.  They’ve changed up how they do their residential internet.  Changes are coming to the business packages, but I don’t have those details yet.  Here’s the breakdown in the changes:

Daily caps and bandwidth throttling have been removed.  Hurray!

Economy Plan:  1.5Mbps down for $20/month.  1GB/month throughput limit.  Go over the limit for $10/GB.  This is pretty much unchanged.

Standard Plan:  5Mbps down for $50/month.  No commitments.  No limits.  No caps.  No throttling.  No tricks.

Preferred Plan:  50Mbps down for $45/month.  1-year commitment required.  50GB/month throughput limit.  Go over the limit for $0.50/GB.

There’s an in-browser warning system for users who are approaching their monthly cap.  Unlike cell-phone companies who love to bill people thousands of dollars for going over their minutes, CableOne gives any user fair warning of what their status is so that nobody accidently goes over their limit.  It works with any browser on any OS.  Although, 50GB/month is quite a bit.  Even if a person has two Xbox’s, five PC’s, watches Netflix, and plays World of Warcraft online, the 50GB allotment is enough.

As usual, getting a bundle of services will get one a better deal.  For example, (according to CableOne’s website) $75/month and a two-year committment will provide the 50Mbps Internet, Cable TV, and phone service.  If you’ve got questions please call us, we know the top people at CableOne and how to get things done.

This new form of mobile marketing is quickly becoming very popular in the Tri-City area.  Much like the dot-com boom, all of the single dictionary words like “computer”, “tech”, or “pizza” are already gone.  For example, if you text HillTop to 90210, you’ll get HillTop Pizza and a special offer for free bread-sticks.

The iZigg company capitalized on the 90210 short-code citing that it was already a well known brand that was easy for anyone in the US to remember.  CSC’s, or common short codes are usually 5-digit codes that can be texted to by any cell phone.  For example, anyone can text google to find a local business; e.g. text “Hill Top 86314“ to 46645 (googl) and Google will reply with our company name, address, and phone number.  The short-codes work with any text messaging plan from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile; Sprint PCS requires that Premium Messaging be activated even with the “everything” plan.

The iZigg mCard costs about $99/year.  Click here to watch the iZigg presentations and learn more.  Call us if you would to learn how to sign up your business.

W32.Qakbot is a worm that spreads through network shares and removable drives.
It downloads additional files, steals information, and opens a back door on the
compromised computer. The worm also contains rootkit functionality to allow it
to hide its presence.

It’s also been reported that YC’s MIS was uncertain as to exactly how the virus penetrated their systems and walked right past their enterprise-level anti-virus software and other security measures.  I could make some guesses (Facebook) but without knowing their policies and procedures, it’s anybody’s guess.

I also read a lot of comments posted by Daily Courier readers about the security breach.  There was a lot of negative criticism hurled towards the MIS staff.  I feel most of it was undeserved and based on conjecture.  Even though a failure like this should never have happened, there is no anti-virus program in the world that can bullet-proof any system against 100% of all potential threats.  Keep in mind that in IT as well as life: It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose.