Stone's Geekdom

Google Map Maker - Update Google Maps

2011-04-19T14:48:00.001-04:00

Google Map Maker is a tool that I wish had been around long ago. Anyone who has really been using Google Maps for a long time knows that there are places on there that should be marked, or are improperly marked. This tool allows you to update these places and even re-draw roads, building locations and make various other changes. Check out the excerpt below from Google's Blog on the new features then try it out for yourself.
Even Google cant keep their maps up to date at all times. Now, you can add the things that only a local person would know to add.

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Predator camera software is just wow

2011-04-05T18:56:00.001-04:00

http://info.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/Z.Kalal/tld.html

Student Zdenek Kalal has developed some spectacular software for the tracking of items by camera. You can watch the video that he posted for it here: http://goo.gl/iszhy

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Malvertising on Spotify and Facebook

2011-03-26T07:47:00.001-04:00

Amplify’d from nakedsecurity.sophos.com

Malvertising resurfaces on Spotify and Facebook

by Chester Wisniewski on March 26, 2011 |
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Filed Under: Malware

The relative lull in large malvertising attacks was unfortunately disrupted this week for both Spotify and Facebook.

Spotify is an online music service that allows users to listen to any music they want to over the internet for free. It is only available in a limited number of European countries, but still has a sizeable user base.

For those not familiar with Spotify, like many free services, they also offer a premium subscription service. While the free version is ad supported, the paid version has no ads and allows use of the service while offline, on mobiles, etc.

According to an article by John Leyden in The Register, on March 24th some Twitter users began complaining about their anti-malware software alerting on Spotify.

It looks like Spotify has fallen victim to a favorite trick of malware purveyors: Place an advertisement with a widely distributed ad network, then change the code in the ad to exploit flaws in browser code to inject malware onto users' computers.

Around the same time, Naked Security reader John sent us a tip that there were malicious ads circulating on Facebook.

When you click on the ad on Facebook, you are redirected to a page saying you need to install Adobe Flash Player. The malware is served up when you click and is called AdobeFlashPlayer.exe.

I reported the ad to Facebook and their team took care of the problem in very short order. Recently Facebook has been very responsive to our spam and virus reports and that is very welcome news.

The lesson here for most of us is that trusting a brand or site does not mean that you are safe on the web. While services like Spotify and Facebook are legitimate, trusted organizations, they must derive revenue from advertisers in order to remain free.

Ad-sponsored services are great, but they cannot absolutely control all content they serve up and this gives clever scammers a window of opportunity.

The best defense is to stay vigilant and use web filtering technology to be sure that all of the files being sent to your computer are safe.
Read more at nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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Keeping up with tech for your kids sake

2011-03-15T08:50:00.001-04:00

Amplify’d from www.wired.com

Kari Byron, Mythbuster Mom: Dipping a Toe in the Twitter Stream

By GeekMom Blog

March 15, 2011 |

8:15 am |

Categories: GeekMom

Image Courtesy Kari Byron

As I watched my 19-month-old daughter masterfully navigate my iPhone, I couldn’t help but wonder how far technology will innovate in her lifetime. I am seriously in awe: She unlocked the phone, found Yo Gabba Gabba on my iTunes, and played the video. She figured it out faster than I first did. That is the moment I realized, “I need to keep up or become obsolete.”

So the next stop for me: Twitter.

[If you didn't catch it last week, you can read the rest of Mythbuster host Kari Byron's take on the Twitterverse on GeekMom!]

Tags: GeekMom, kari byron, Twitter
Read more at www.wired.com

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Connect.me - you're doing it wrong...

2011-03-10T09:25:00.001-05:00

Or are they really going about their sign-up process wrong? Connect.me touts itself as a social media connector. Their "about" link on the connect.me page talks about security as does some linked posts about the project and concept behind the website. But the real question lies in the marketing methodology. No real information or privacy policy if given regarding your information that is made available to connect.me.

When you sign up for a banking account, you trust your money to a bank that has to follow certain regulations as determined by the government. The rules ensure that there is oversight and a certain amount of trustworthiness inherent to the banking institution. The internet is not regulated this way, and for good reason, but this is not about regulating the internet.

Who can you trust with your personal information? It is all too often on the internet, and Facebook in particular, that people, companies, and mysterious web applications ask for access to your information. Users give away access to their accounts and their information for the ability to see how many people are accessing their profiles on Facebook even though these applications cannot really provide this information. They are displayed some information and assume that it is correct and trustworthy. Never do they take into account that it could be totally randomly generated.

Never do they actually think about what access they are giving to the application to their account. They know nothing about the entity that they are letting into their lives. Connect.me may not be malicious at all. It could be the best thing ever created for social media security. It could simply be a hoax built to be a wake-up call for us all. I believe that some of us need such a wake-up call.

Amplify’d from nakedsecurity.sophos.com

Connect.me sign-up controversy continues - have your say!

by Paul Ducklin on March 10, 2011 |
Comments (8)

Filed Under: Featured, Law & order, Privacy, Social networks, Spam

Graham Cluley's recent article about stealth-mode social networking newbies connect.me has stirred up a lot of controversy.

This site has exactly two pages - at least, it does if you don't sign up. The main page simply invites you to Reserve your username and get early access; this page takes you to a second page which simply says Login with [Facebook] [Twitter] [LinkedIn]. That's how you login, even if you're an existing user.

Oh. There's a link on the main page which opens up a half-screen of About text. The important part of this is: "We believe privacy, control, and portability are requirements, not features." The highlighted words look as though they're links to further information, but they're not.

Graham's article provoked numerous comments agreeing with us - some said that a site which asks you to sign up with no indication of (indeed, which deliberately suppresses) its proposed business is Just Plain Wrong. But others roundly said that we were unfair, and ought to have given these newcomers time to show us what they were all about before expressing an opinion.

Well, we've finally had a response from someone called Drummond Reed, claiming to be from connect.me.

I'm going to continue the controversy on Graham's behalf, by quoting and responding to Mr Reid.

Then I'll ask you, our Naked Security readers, to vote on the issue.

Here we go.

Hi Graham, this is Drummond Reed from Connect.Me. Great post! We couldn't agree more about the need to address privacy concerns around social sign-in.

Hi, Drummond.

If you agree, why don't you make a point of showing that you agree, and that you care, on your site itself? (Your site now has a privacy policy - and not much else about what it's up to - but you added it only after the controversy broke.)

Your post seemed to have help fuel the sign-up rate at Connect.Me today.

That's nice for you. Ironic, of course, but nice for you. In return, could we ask you to return the favour by saying something meaningful on your site about what you plan to do with the information you collect?

What will you store? Where will you store it? How do you intend to use it in future? Most importantly, how do I contact you to withdraw my permission to keep it? And how long will you take to delete it?

It will be great fodder for conversation at SXSW this weekend.

Have a good time, Drummond. (I'm sincere with that wish.) But talk is cheap. And SXSW isn't about security, privacy and on-line identity, is it? It's about musical and filmic content - creating it and publishing it.

How about coming to a security conference as well, and throwing yourself into the conversations you get at that sort of event? If you can make it to Infosec in London, England, in April (or to AusCERT in Queensland, Australia, in May) I'd like to invite you to the Sophos stand.

We'll love to have someone from connect.me take part in a panel discussion on our stand - and we'll buy the beers.

To put any fears to rest, we're not scammers. We're people from the Internet identity and privacy space working to help make a better, safer social web.

Thanks. That makes me feel better. I think.

But I've read words that are equally earnest, and which sound just as sincere, from Advance Fee Fraudsters, from peddlers of fake anti-virus, and from those call centres which say they're from Microsoft and they've phoned especially to help.

The point is that if you really care about privacy, you shouldn't ask people to enter into any sort of on-line social contract without explaining who you are, what your intentions are, and what mechanisms you have in place - now and for the future - to protect that privacy.

In fact, it'll almost be worse if you guys really do turn out to be legitimate. Because the tens or hundreds of thousands of users who've taken a risk on you and got away with it will be more inclined to take risks again. Next time they do, it probably won't be Drummond Reed, Nice Guy of the Net.

Please be more open and less marketroidistic! I suspect we agree about the end result. But not about how you have gone about reaching it.

And now, Naked Security readers, what do you think? Please vote in our poll:
Read more at nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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Make Yourself Some Extra Money This Week

2011-03-05T10:11:00.001-05:00

Some obvious items, but a couple that at least make you think... And the one about using your credit card about buy money from the US Mint and using it to pay the credit card bill is genius.

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com

Weekendhacker

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Make Yourself Some Extra Money This Weekend

Adam Dachis

—

Times are tough and money's tight so you have to get it where you can. No, we're not suggesting you swallow your pride and turn to prostitution. Instead, here are a few ways to make yourself some extra money this weekend...legally.
Get Money You (Sort of) Already Have

You may already have money (and property) you don't know about. We've posted about a few ways to find unclaimed cash and property, so be sure to do a search if you haven't already. Chances are you're not going to find much, but you certainly don't want to miss out if there's some free money out there with your name on it.

Buy Money to Make Money

Financial Blog Main Street (via ) posted an interesting circulation scheme that involves purchasing money from the U.S. Mint with your rewards credit card—which ships to you for free—and using the money you purchased to pay off your credit card. You may only get as much as 2% cash back on your card, so it's quite a bit of effort for a small amount of money (that's $20 made per thousand spent), but it's still free cash you wouldn't otherwise have. Spending large amounts of money and quickly paying it off can also help to improve your credit score if you do it over time. Plus, if you also get rewards points on your card you can rack up a lot of them really fast. Again, you're not going to get rich by buying money but it could pay for a nice dinner or out or get you a free airline ticket (depending on your credit card rewards).

Put Yourself to Work

The internet is overflowing with opportunities to get rich, but most of them are a load of BS. Last weekend, however, we covered how you can make money in your spare time by doing simple tasks online, which will help you find legitimate ways to pick up a few extra dollars. It definitely beats picking up a second job and lets you work from the comfort of your home.

Sell Your Unwanted Crap (the Right Way)

Even if it's unwanted crap to you, it could be the junk of someone else's dreams. If you've been meaning to get rid of stuff you don't want, or you think you could bear to get rid of some things you don't need, it's really easy to make some extra cash quickly by selling what you don't want online. If this comes as a surprise to anyone that would come as a surprise to me, but the important this is to do it well. If you need some suggestions, we've got plenty in our online selling guide. I'd also urge you to be as patient as possible, as it could make a big difference in the amount you earn.

Start a Smart Savings Plan

While this won't get you money quickly, get yourself a high-yield savings account and figure out a process that will get you socking away a reasonable amount of money that will actually earn interest. Personal Finance blog Get Rich Slowly suggests that saving all your five dollar bills can amount to quite a bit over time. If you decide that any five dollar bills you receive automatically go into savings, you'll have an easy way to make sure you save your money. You don't have to do it exactly like this, but it's one easy and manageable way to have a savings plan that works.

Got any other good ways to earn some extra money? Let's hear 'em in the comments.
You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook. If you'd like to contact him, Twitter is the most effective means of doing so.

Read more at lifehacker.com

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11.6 hours survey scam spreads like wildfire on Twitter | Naked Security

2011-03-02T21:15:00.001-05:00

URL: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/03/02/11-6-hours-s...

Twitter and Facebook scams.... gotta hate 'em

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Do you love what you do?

2011-02-14T12:45:00.001-05:00

From my comments on the original posting:

I have often advised people to really go after what you love. Weather it is choice of a major for school or simply finding a position you can turn into a career. It’s the difference between a “job” and a “career” that many people do not understand these days. With the economy as it is, that is totally understandable.

I’m not saying that you should not take a job if you need one just because it isn’t what you really want to do with your life, but rather keep your real goals in mind and never stop working towards them. When you find yourself doing what you love, and getting paid for it, you then can really enjoy yourself on and off the clock.

Amplify’d from www.theworkbuzz.com

It’s Valentine’s Day: Do you love what you do?

In honor of Valentine’s Day, let’s talk a little about love. That fulfilling, secure and familiar kind of love that you feel when you have a really great … job.

That’s right — though griping about work sometimes seems like a national pastime, (no relationship is ever perfect!) most employees agree that, when it comes to their jobs, they’re actually head-over-heels.

A recent survey conducted by staffing firm Randstad found that more than half of American workers describe their feelings toward their job with the L-word, and most have found that their relationship with work is a two-way street — 62 percent of respondents reported feeling that their employers love them back.

“It’s somewhat surprising that such a large percentage of workers say they love their job today despite layoffs, cutbacks and bigger workloads,” Eileen Habelow, Ph.D., senior vice president of organizational development for Randstad, said in a statement. “This could point to feelings of gratitude and appreciation for being employed when so many have been laid off. Also, many workers have been given new opportunities to perform at work and could be feeling a greater sense of achievement and value to their employers.”

Yet the gratitude employees feel for having a job isn’t the only thing that contributes to their warm and fuzzy feelings toward their work.

According to the survey, job affinity is most common for workers who:

Enjoy the kind of work they do (66 percent)

Like their co-workers (11 percent)

Like their employers (10 percent)

Are well-paid (9 percent)

Despite the fact that most workers said they were happy in their current employment situation, more than half of those surveyed felt their job was more “casual fling” than “let’s grow old together.” Fifty-two percent said they didn’t think their current job was going anywhere in terms of learning opportunities or promotions. Still, most workers will remain loyal to their employment relationships. Only 17 percent said they were currently looking for a new position with another company.

Unfortunately, not everyone surveyed felt the workplace love. Thirty-seven percent of workers said they hated their jobs, with 29 percent citing the type of work they did as they reason. Other factors that contributed to a low score on the love scale included workers’ dissatisfaction with salary (25 percent) or their employers (23 percent).

Jaimy | Feb 14, 2011

I have often advised people to really go after what you love. Weather it is choice of a major for school or simply finding a position you can turn into a career. It’s the difference between a “job” and a “career” that many people do not understand these days. With the economy as it is, that is totally understandable.

I’m not saying that you should not take a job if you need one just because it isn’t what you really want to do with your life, but rather keep your real goals in mind and never stop working towards them. When you find yourself doing what you love, and getting paid for it, you then can really enjoy yourself on and off the clock.

Reply
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GHacks.net Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Review and Giveaway

2011-02-14T11:57:00.001-05:00

I've tried a number of Bluetooth mice and have yet to find one that can hold up to the travel requirements that are truly needed of such a device. After looking over the new Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse, I have to say, I am rather impressed. Unfortunately at this time, purchasing one is a little out of the budget, so here's hoping I can get one from the GHacks giveaway. If I do get one I will be sure to put up my own review here.

For more on the Ghacks review, follow the link to the original posting.

If you have tried one of these, leave a comment on your take. I would love to hear about how solid it seems and general usability.

Amplify’d from www.ghacks.net

Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Review, Giveaway

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I was pretty excited when I read for the first time about Microsoft’s Arc Touch mouse. The unique design and touch capabilities brought features to the table that no other Windows mouse offered at the time of writing. Many questions remained unanswered though which I definitely had to find out before I’d consider purchasing the mouse:
How comfortable is it to work with the Arc Touch Mouse?
Is there a middle-mouse button?
Which touch features are available, how are they used?
How responsive is the mouse
The Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse has primarily been designed for mobile use which is especially outlined by its design. It is bigger than a standard laptop mouse but smaller than a regular desktop mouse. The mouse ships in flat stage, with two AAA alkaline batteries, a booklet and a wireless transceiver for the USB port of the computer. The mouse uses Microsoft’s Bluetrack that ensures maximum compatibility on nearly every surface the mouse is used on.
Setup of the mouse was a breeze. All I had to do was to put the two batteries into the mouse, and the transceiver into a free USB port of the computer. The mouse is activated by bending, which is indicated by a blue light at the bottom. The Microsoft Arc Touch mouse was recognized automatically by the Windows 7 operating system and additional mouse drivers (Microsoft IntelliPoint) were installed. It was ready for use right away afterwards.
The Design
The mouse design is spectacular which can be attributed largely to the unique bending feature and its looks. The bending has a functional use as well, as it turns the mouse on or off. The mouse itself is very compact which is ideal for users who travel a lot. It fits into nearly every pocket or laptop bag without bulging it to much, a problem that regular mice often cause, if they fit at all.
The mouse itself looks unique and interesting on first glance, and it happened more than once that people came over to my table to take a closer look. It features two physical buttons that are used for left-clicking and right-clicking, and a touch strip in between that offers multiple uses, among them middle-clicking that is emulated by two finger taps on the strip. This takes some getting used to time because of the tapping and the fact that it takes two taps to middle-click. The tapping itself however is very comfortable.
A magnetic storage space for the USB transceiver is provided at the bottom of the mouse which is ideal for traveling as it ensures that the mouse and the transceiver are always in the same place, and thus ready for use.
The glossy black of the mouse front is a magnet for fingerprints. Lastly, it is possible to put to much pressure on the mouse to flatten it. It is however unlikely that this happens under normal circumstances as the pressure has to be quite high to achieve that.
The Touch capabilities
The middle strip offers several touch capabilities that need further explaining. Microsoft launches a website after driver installation that explains those features in detail. We already mentioned that it is possible to middle-click by tapping twice on the center of the strip. Pages are scrolled by sliding the finger up and down on the touch strip which feels more natural than using a scroll wheel for the same effect. Flicking the mouse up and down accelerates the scrolling to quickly scroll through documents.
Vibration Feedback is enabled by default which mimics the sound and feel of a traditional scroll wheel. It does act as an indicator as well as touch feedback stops when the finger leaves the touch strip.
Tapping once at the bottom or the top of the touch strip scrolls a full page up or down on the active page. This takes some getting used to time before the right “spots” are tapped on every time.
The middle-tap action can be changed in the mouse settings, the up and down single tap actions cannot. That’s fairly inconsistent and it would be great if Microsoft would update the mouse driver to add that option to the mouse; It would increase the number of possible mouse buttons from three (left, middle and right) to five (top and bottom of the touch strip).
Conclusion
Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse has been designed for mobile usage, and for that it is an excellent choice, especially for users who want a compact stylish mouse that goes along well with their laptop. Users with big hands will have their troubles working with the mouse effectively due to its compact size.
It is an ideal mouse for uses who have been working with smaller laptop mice before as it is a bit larger than those and offers a far superior functionality. Users who are used to standard desktop mice on the other hand should try it out in a shop or at a friend’s house first before they make the decision to buy it.
Giveaway
Microsoft was nice enough to sponsor one Microsoft Arc Touch mouse for a give away here at Ghacks. It is unfortunately only open for users from the United States. If you are from the US and want to win a Microsoft Arc Touch mouse let me know which mouse you are currently using. I will draw a lucky winner in 48 hours after the review has been published. Please add the information that you are from the US to the comment.
Read more at www.ghacks.net

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"I've just seen who CREEPS around my pics" Scam

2011-02-06T01:37:00.001-05:00

Ok guys, if you thing that a new application is so cool that you need to use it, at LEAST look at what permissions it needs from you. If all this is supposed to so is tell you who is looking at parts of your FB page, (which it couldn't do if it wanted to), then WHY oh WHY does it need permission to post to your wall?! That in and of itself should make one wary.

If you want to keep up on some of the newer scams bouncing around, I re-post the ones that I notice as well as any from Sophos.

http://www.facebook.com/SophosSecurity

Go friend these guys and just skim their posts when they come out. For some of you, it'll seem like boring crap you don't want to have to bother with while enjoying what little time you have on the computer, but it's worth it. You might think next time: "Oh wait, this looks familiar, and not in a good way. Lemme stop and think before adding another application."

Amplify’d from www.symantec.com

Fast-Flux Facebook Application Scams

It’s nothing new: a Facebook scam message about an application that appears to come from friends, such as something that can show you who has viewed your profile. However, this scam nags the user to fill out surveys and quietly sends the same message to all his or her friends.

Unfortunately, we see them every day.

Another fake application.

This week, I stumbled across a new level of automation with these scams.

The variations in the bait messages are nothing unusual, a quick message followed by a URL:

·         I've just seen who CREEPS around my pics the most here on Facebook! You can see who stalks you too! http://www.redire[REMOVED]com/stalker

·         I just saw who checks me out the most on Facebook! You can see who stalks you too! http://www.[REMOVED]redirectsite.com/stalker

·         I've just seen who STALKS me on Facebook! You can see who creeps around your profile too! http://www.[REMOVED]redirectsite.com/stalker

Example bait message.

The novel part here is that instead of just using a short URL link to point to itself–like all of the others do–the attack uses a remote site that acts as redirector. The target destination, in this case the URL of the malicious Facebook application, is chosen at random by the script from a pool of active links. This means that resolving the URL will result in a different Facebook application URL every time. Similar to the fast flux services that we have seen used by botnets for a while, the number of destinations used are in the dozens, and it appears that they are being updated over time.

This means that the user will end up at one of many different Facebook applications with different names which even use different remote resources–all set up by the script. The remote sites could be hijacked or created by the attackers themselves. They are all showing the Facebook icon as the favicon and have a subdomain name corresponding to the application’s canvas name. Three examples of the application URL, the application name, and the remote link can be seen below:

·         http://apps.facebook.com/iyayp[REMOVED]/

·         "Creepy Profile Peekers"

·         http://iyayp[REMOVED]suniom.com/

·         http://apps.facebook.com/lxalz[REMOVED]/

·         "See Who Views You The Most"

·         http://lxalz[REMOVED]il-realty.com/

·         http://apps.facebook.com/mspxq[REMOVED]/

·         "Your Top Stalkers"

·         http://mspxq[REMOVED]wholesale.com/

Facebook is doing their best to disable the new malicious applications as soon as they appear, but there are still a few active ones and new ones are being added–so be careful.

As usual, the user is asked to grant the application permission to access private information and to post to the user’s wall.

Once the user grants this permission, a new bait message is secretly posted to all of his friends with the link to the flux redirector. Meanwhile, the user is asked to complete some surveys in order to prove that he or she is human before the alleged profile stalkers are revealed.

In the end, no stalkers are revealed–instead, random people are listed because this feature does not exist.

As always, keep a vigilant eye out for such scam messages and do not install these applications. If you have fallen victim for such a scam then please go to your account’s Privacy Settings and remove the application from your profile.
Read more at www.symantec.com

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The State of Facebook Secuity from Sophos

2011-01-21T13:03:00.001-05:00

Amplify’d from nakedsecurity.sophos.com

The state of Facebook security

by Graham Cluley on January 21, 2011 |
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Filed Under: Malware, Social networks, Spam

There's an in-depth piece published today by John Leyden, The Register's security correspondent, describing the different opinions of Facebook and Sophos when it comes to security on the world's most popular social network.

In a nutshell, Facebook disputes the findings of our recent Security Threat Report which discovered an increasing proportion of Facebook users were reporting that they had encountered spam, malware and phishing attacks on the social network.

One thing is certain, and is unlikely to be news that's welcomed at Facebook HQ. There is a growing perception out there that Facebook isn't the safest of places to be.

Take for instance, the poll we ran recently of over 1200 computer users. We asked them which social network they felt posed the biggest security risk, and Facebook won by a country mile with 82%.

That's a significant rise from the 60% who felt Facebook was the riskiest when we first asked the question a year ago.

Whether you agree with us or Facebook about whether cybercriminals are exploiting the network more than ever before, The Register's article is recommended reading.

In particular, pay attention to the second part of The Register's article, where I am reported describing some of the steps that Facebook could take to make it much harder for rogue applications to cause problems for their users.

I also believe that Facebook should be more proactive about warning its users about outbreaks - rather like we do on the Sophos Facebook page.

Facebook's official security page has over 3.6 million fans - just imagine how well they could help stamp out a fast-spreading scam or new malware attack if they were told what to look out for.

Because rogue apps are a real problem on the site - spreading virally, and earning the bad guys money.

I know that the guys at Facebook Security are well-intentioned and understand the issues, but because the company's bosses have chosen to allow anyone to write apps for the Facebook platform there is a huge amount of abuse. Facebook Security is effectively playing whack-a-mole, hammering the latest rogue app whenever they happen to spot it, and hoping that not too many accounts were compromised in the meantime.

Unfortunately, quite often Facebook Security don't seem to spot the scams until they have spread far and wide.

As The Register reports:

Facebook may talk a good game but a quick search (viewable only if logged into Facebook and safe providing you don't click on the links) shows hundreds of victims have installed a rogue app that falsely promises the ability to "see who has viewed your profile".

Please be careful not to click on those search result links, as they are pointing to rogue apps like the ones we have described in many of our articles before... and they've been spreading quite happily all week long.

My hope is that Facebook will treat both security and privacy as a higher priority in 2011, and do more to prevent incidents happening in the first place rather than trying to clean up the mess afterwards.

If they don't, then there's an ever-growing proportion of the internet which is going to have to learn to take a much greater level of care when it comes to their personal information and social networking accounts in the future.

And as more and more companies allow their users to access the sites from the workplace (which is the correct approach in my opinion) the repercussions could also be felt in the business world.

Check out The Register's article now.
Read more at nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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Port your number to Google Voice

2011-01-21T12:36:00.001-05:00

Amplify’d from arstechnica.com

Google Voice tests $20 number porting

One of the main reasons people cite for not using a service like Google Voice is that they don't want to give all their friends and family Yet Another New Number. That may soon be a concern of the past, however, as Google has begun allowing users to port their numbers to the telecom service. But you'd better hurry if you want to get in on the action, because Google says the offering is a limited-time test.

Some Google Voice users began noticing a link in their settings offering to port over a different number to their Google Voice accounts. The settings link points to a page that checks whether the number you want to use is portable, and if it is, you can pay $20 through Google Checkout to get the process going. So, if you have been holding off on using the service because you'd rather keep the cell phone number you've been toting around for 10 years, now's your chance.

Google confirmed that it had turned on number porting, but hinted that it may not be permanent until more kinks are worked out. "We're continually testing new features to enhance the user experience," the company told PC Magazine. "For a limited amount of time, we're making the Google Voice number porting process available to users."

For the uninitiated, Google Voice is great for call filtering, forwarding, and screening to as many or as few numbers as you'd like. You can also listen in on voicemails as they're being left, and get mostly-decent text transcriptions of voicemails sent to you via SMS, e-mail, or push alerts. And now with native apps available for iPhone and Android users, the service is even more useful, as it lets you send and receive text messages from your Google Voice number, and even place calls from that number instead of a number you may want to hide.

Although some of our readers noted back in 2009 that call porting was possible under some conditions, Google hasn't opened it up to the public at large until now.
Read more at arstechnica.com

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Popular antivirus BitDefender launches an app to scan and protect your Facebook account.

2011-01-21T12:19:00.001-05:00

Though it still may be in beta, this looks to be a great addition to what few applications that I do use. Why don't you give it a try and see what it can find for you. Let me know if it detects anything. (and if it does, be sure to change your FB password immediately though Facebook's built in controls.)

Amplify’d from www.online-tech-tips.com

Protect Against Potentially Harmful Links and Profile Settings on Facebook

Posted on January 21, 2011 at 5:02 am

Nearly everyone is concerned about accidently clicking harmful links while surfing the Internet. Social networking sites are particularly treacherous, as most links appear friendly, since they are posted by people we know. But do we know how tech-savvy our friends are? Do they recognize potential threats?

BitDefender has created a Facebook app for defining not only which links posted on your wall may be threatening, but also which profile settings are revealing your private information.

From the app’s page, click Okidokie! Let’s See the App.

You will be prompted to approve the app’s use of your Facebook data. Click allow.

Go back to your home page, and click BitDefender Safego from the menu directly under your profile picture and newsfeed links. If the BitDefender link is not in that list, click Apps—it will likely be there instead.

The app then checks your wall and privacy, then makes suggestions. The top right box deals specifically with your profile. Click double check to run a second scan, if you think it is necessary.

The other boxes on the page tell you the results of the tests, which mostly check your wall for unsafe links.

In the Privacy box, click the lock to adjust your profile settings based on the suggestions.

At the very bottom of the app are three switches. The first, Scan My Inbox, is coming soon. The other two allow the app to publish a message on your wall when a threat is found. By default, these options are turned off. If you like these options, just click on.

We tried BitDefender’s app on several of our Facebook accounts, and only found one threat. The app is a great idea—one long needed—but it looks like it still needs a bit of work to be truly beneficial. The app is still in Beta testing, so we hope to see improvements when it is officially released.
Read more at www.online-tech-tips.com

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Automate Network Diagram Software

2010-12-29T10:15:00.001-05:00

URL: http://www.netbraintech.com/network-diagram/

Note to self: Check this out.

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Data security breach at the North Pole! Santa's Naughty/Nice list compromised

2010-12-24T10:09:00.001-05:00

Who said IT Security has no sense of humor?

Amplify’d from nakedsecurity.sophos.com

Data security breach at the North Pole! Santa's Naughty/Nice list compromised

by SophosLabs on December 24, 2010 |
Comments (4)

Filed Under: Data loss, Featured, Privacy, SophosLabs

Following attacks on Gawker, Walgreens and McDonalds, it seems hackers have set their eyes on a new target: Santa!

Reports from the North Pole have confirmed that Santa's Naughty/Nice list has been compromised.

The list is said to contain the name, stocking address and naughty/nice score (the child equivalent of a credit score) of every child on earth. Absent from the leaked data is the "What I want for Christmas" list which is said to be stored in a separate database.

While St. Nick is not commenting on how the leak occurred, an insider elf mentioned a spear phishing campaign a few days ago promising milk and cookies after logging in to a suspicious site.

In the meantime, Santa is asking children to reset the password on their stockings. Santa's workshop has also set up a hotline for children who get coal in their stockings on Christmas day due to any mix up.

This attack and others are a reminder to all that sending spam will land you on the naughty list, even if you manage to get a copy of that list.

Hat tip: Thanks to SophosLabs researcher Tareq Alkhatib for bringing this breaking news story to our attention.
Read more at nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords

2010-12-19T10:28:00.001-05:00

URL: http://lifehacker.com/5505400/how-id-hack-your-weak-pas...

This is a rather well explained article on why your password is probably not good enough that also give some good advice on how to make easy to remember, yet secure passwords in order to protect yourself online.

See this Amp at http://lifehac.kr/hxNuDC

The IT Certifications that matter - From Dice.com

2010-11-25T11:38:00.001-05:00

The end of the year is coming up fast for us to take advantage of the permanent ComptTIA certifications.

Amplify’d from career-resources.dice.com

The Certifications That Matter Most

Every once in a while, IT training gurus step back and compile a list of the certifications that seem to matter most at that particular moment. The latest list, via Infoworld, is out now, and you can use it as a planning tool if you want to direct your career in a new direction. The highlights:

Microsoft (MCSE, MCITP, MCTS)

Few businesses get along without a hearty helping of Microsoft-powered equipment, and the company offers a raft of specialized training programs for those who service its products

CompTIA (A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+)
The nonprofit Computing Technology Industry Association offers popular vendor-neutral certifications--a good option if you're seeking a consultant who has a mix of experience beyond a single brand. Among the certification options, the basic A+ [8] requires 400 hours of hands-on experience.

Cisco (CCNP, CCNA, CCiE)
Among the most popular certifications in the industry, the basic Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) covers installing and managing medium-size networks. It requires a passing mark on a $250 exam, and certification lasts for three years.

Apple (ACSP, ACTC)
A help-desk pro with Microsoft skills may not know how to manage Macs. For shops that rely on Apple products or use a mix of operating systems, Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) and Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) cover basic support skills as evidenced by passing marks on tests that cost $200 and $400, respectively.

International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (CISSP)
If your company deals with proprietary information and has deep security needs, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is known to be rigorous. People who qualify for it must have worked for at least five years in areas such as security architecture and design, and then must pass a $599 exam and pay an annual renewal fee.

Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
This advanced certification is reserved for IT security consultants and auditors with five years' experience. The test costs $415 or more. Tech consultants who earn this seal of approval enjoy a median annual salary of $87,000.

Project Management Professional (PMP)
This well-respected certification is for people with some college education and at least three years of project management experience. The median salary for PMP-certified IT project managers is $89,000.

Be sure to check out the entire article, which digs into that age-old question: How much do certifications really matter in the real world?
Read more at career-resources.dice.com

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Dice News - Feds Desperate to Hire Information Security Pros

2010-11-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

http://career-resources.dice.com/articles/content/entry/feds_d...

There are a lot of programs out there to take advantage of if you are able, ready and willing.

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An excellent example as to why we need more computer education in public schools

2010-10-02T10:08:00.004-04:00

We should be seeing more stories like this. Computer science in today's public schools is something that is severely under-rated. I would love to see electives such as python, xml, and the like following a required computer class in public schools.

Amplify’d from www.bbc.co.uk

Isabell's idea: Proving green girl geeks are cool

Rory Cellan-Jones | 15:13 UK time, Thursday, 30 September 2010

A 16-year-old who turned up at a hacking event a couple of months ago may just have achieved two great things. If Isabell Long's idea works, it could make a major contribution to getting Whitehall to cut its energy use.

What's more, she could convince others that messing about with software and data is not a sad activity undertaken only by teenage boys who need to get out more, but is in fact really rather cool.

Isabell Long at Young Rewired State, 2010

She turned up at an event called Young Rewired State, where 15-to-18-year-old software developers - and yes, there are plenty of them - get the chance to work with government data to create something useful.

Isabell's idea reflected her green interests. She had spotted that various government departments were now publishing data about their own energy use, but it was spread over a number of different websites.

She decided to gather it all together in one place and create a Whitehall energy league table so that the public could see who really was making an effort.

Isabell told me:

"I started coding last year; I really love it and the whole community around it. I think there needs to be far more awareness in schools - they should teach coding at GCSE. It's not just for geeks and I hope to be a developer later on."

After a few weeks of toing and froing and general Whitehall head-scratching, it has now been put at the centre of David Cameron's energy challenge. You can see her idea, GovSpark, right here.

But will another Isabell turn up next year to prove that girl - and boy - geeks can help save public money? Only if someone scrapes together enough funding to make it happen.
Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

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Samsung Galaxy Tablet

2010-09-24T23:04:00.001-04:00

If this come to be a real production tablet, I will have to get my hands on one. Even if it means going back to the days of the humongous phone, it would totally be worth it to me.

Amplify’d from www.youtube.com

[HD] Galaxy Tab Official Live Demo

This is the first official hands-on video that contains a demonstration of every key feature and benefit of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It also contains information of the most frequently asked features from social networking sites.

Most importantly, it highlights the value proposition of the Galaxy Tab: Advanced Media, Productivity and Communication, and On the Go.

This video doesn't contain any graphic effects.
Read more at www.youtube.com

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Reccomended: Free Cyberspace guide from Microsoft is actually a good read.

2010-09-19T13:50:00.003-04:00

At least check out chapter 11 on social networking. The feel free to read more and learn about what you're really doing online.

From the guide:

"This book is designed for any teen who is
• In fear of drive-by downloads of nasty adware, spyware, and viruses
• Anxious about scareware and ransomware
• Trying to stay safe on social networking sites
• Concerned about online predators and identity thieves
• Scattering secrets to the wind in favorite hot spots
• Shopping online without protection
• Unsure of the risks about webcams and sexting
• Dealing with cyberbullies at home or in school
• Blogging alone and in the dark"

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com

Microsoft Releases Free Cyber-Security Ebook

Microsoft has released a free—and lengthy—ebook covering a wide range of security topics. Although intended for teenagers, the book offers a solid enough look at using the internet safely, and it's suitable for anyone looking for a primer on internet security.

It's difficult to write books for teenagers that don't fall into the "trying too hard to be cool" trap, but Microsoft has done an admirable job. The text is a comprehensive guide for teenagers (and new computer users) that covers everything from how to spot phishing tactics to setting up your browser to protect against browser-based exploits to dealing with cyber-stalking and bullying. It also provides interesting history and real world examples of the harm that can come from security vulnerabilities.

The 253 page book is a free download and Creative Common licensed. You can download the entire book at the link below or just the chapters you want to share with family members, students, or members of your organization. Have a favorite book or online resource for helping people get savvy about security and privacy? Let's hear about it in the comments.
Read more at lifehacker.com

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Mini Power strip with USB ports for charging your gadgets

2010-09-19T13:37:00.001-04:00

Sure, it seems a little superfluous to use one of these when you have perfectly good, working USB ports on your laptop. But if you only need to charge your phone when you are out and about, why bother firing up the laptop when you can simply plug in and go. It makes for a great all-in-one charging location too for the devices you need to have ready to go all the time. Plug in the latpop, MP3 player, phone, and whatever else you may need and all using only 1 outlet.

That's where it fits me. It seems in my house that there are just never enough outlets where I need them. Instead, I have to have one item charging in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, one in the bathroom.

For a mere $11 this would totally be worth the investment.

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com

Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger, Only $11 at Amazon

For creating charging stations in any room, or getting in on the last plug in the coffee shop through sharing, it's hard to beat Belkin's small surge protector and USB charger. Right now it's just $11 at Amazon (technically listed at $25 through Belkin), and totally worth the price. We've previously featured it as stuff we like, it made an appearance in Adam's laptop bag show-and-tell, and I'm now too a proud owner. It's a little bigger than you might think, but worth the space to leave your cellphone chargers at home and never have to play musical plugs again. Plus, it now seems to come with a mini-USB cord included—always a nice bonus. [Amazon]
Read more at lifehacker.com

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Virtualize any program into a portable app with Cameyo

2010-09-13T15:10:00.001-04:00

I will be doing some testing on this very soon and have high expectations. I hope I'm not let down.

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com

Cameyo Creates a Portable Version of Just About Any Program

Windows only: If you're a big fan of portable applications, but there isn't a portable version of your favorite app out there, free app Cameyo will create one for you.

Cameyo is extremely simple to use. Just start it up, let it take a snapshot of your PC (which can take a little while, even if you don't have a ton of stuff loaded onto it), and install your program of choice. After you're done, Cameyo will take another snapshot and package that application into a portable EXE that you can take with you anywhere and run it normally (but without it affecting the rest of the system).

The really cool thing, as you can see in the video above, is that you can install pretty much anything—even add-ons to other programs, and they'll be included in the package. This means you can bring your favorite browser pre-bundled with, say, Flash and Java, among other things. Hit the link to try it out.

Cameyo is a free download for Windows only.
Read more at lifehacker.com

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Useful advice via Yahoo

2010-09-13T14:45:00.001-04:00

Amplify’d from gizmodo.com

HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPS LOCK?

A troubled computer user accidentally pressed the caps lock button and doesn't know how to turn it off. Naively, he seeks help from the internet. The internet tells him: you can't turn it off, it's irreversible. I love the internet.

Charlie Baker, you are the funny
Read more at gizmodo.com

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Priority Inbox, a welcome addition to my GMail

2010-08-31T18:22:00.000-04:00

GMail recently added a new feature to the standard mail account, "Priority Inbox". At first thought, I was dubious as to how well it would work, thinking it would get in the way more than it would help, but I was happily surprised. The prioritization process is apparently based off of their spam filtering algorithms, just kind of in reverse. Mail from your contacts, people who's email you actually read immediately, and those you send email to will show up in the Priority area of your inbox, while the other email you receive go to the standard inbox section.

It seems to be working very well for me. I recieve newsletters that I go over when I have spare time and other informational emails that are definitely not something I need to read right away. All of these tend to go to my normal inbox. Meanwhile, the important emails are usually ending up in the Priority Inbox. If an item ends up in the wrong section, just tag it as priority and the filter will put it in the correct section and "learn" what is important to you in your email.

As always, I went to check out what Gina Trapani thought about the new features:

Gmail Priority Inbox Puts Important Messages First | Smarterware: "Just completed my first email sweep with Gmail's new 'Priority Inbox' feature enabled, and it's a keeper. Over time, if this mechanism proves to be as good as Gmail's top-notch spam filtering, it could be the reason why you only check Gmail in the browser. (Well-played, GOOG.)"

I must say, I agree, well done Google.