HzO WaterBlock is waterproofing everything!

[caption id="attachment_11475" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo Credit:[HzO][/caption]All the panic attacks from damaging your phone because a couple droplets of water touched your smartphone will no longer exist.  This new WaterBlock technology called HzO is waterproofing everything.  This technological advancement is a game changer.

Click here to view a video provided by FoxBusiness.com

This simple spray makes your cellphone, tablets, shoes, clothes, and just about everything you can think of water resistant.  HzO is a nano-coating that protects even the smallest electronics on the inside.  The WaterBlock technology defends against any moisture at the molecular level.  The product attaches to the circuits in devices and repels liquids away.  The HzO doesn't add any weight nor does it affect the performance of your device.

Not for consumers

The HzO is not for consumers, HzO is something device makers are going to start to incorporate into the manufacturing processes. HzO is soon appearing in gadgets from NavELite, putting it in the luxaury TAG Heuer smartphone. This special liquid blocking technology began for emergency response communications equipment that could function in maritime environments. This waterproof equipment would save thousands of lives, since electronic devices would never fail from water damage. In 2009, ZAGG had a vision of protecting electronics and other commercialized technology with the HzO solution.

Gorilla Glass

[caption id="attachment_11476" align="alignright" width="270"] Photo Credit: [cnet News][/caption]Gorilla Glass is another alternative to check out for protecting your smartphones. Although this isn't a waterproof protect ant, the Gorilla Glass is 8 to 10 times more resistant than normal smartphone screens. According to Corning, consumer complaint rates are more than twice as high for scratches on touch-screen notebooks than for scratches used for other mobile devices.   Dell is the first one in line to sign up for installing the Gorilla Glass this fall.

So relief is on the way...spending hundreds for your smartphone will be safer than ever. Clumsy mistakes, won't be so crucial to the life of your gadgets anymore.

Please visit http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/ for more posts on the latest technology and IT security news.

References:

New Gorilla Glass protects touch-screen notebooks - c|net
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57595779-92/new-gorilla-glass-protects-touch-screen-notebooks/
July 29, 2013

HzO WaterBlock Technology
http://www.hzoinside.com/

HzO Makes Your Smartphone Waterproof... on the Inside - Mashable
http://mashable.com/2013/01/09/hzo-waterblock/
Jan 9, 2013

Waterproof Phones a Must Have in 2013 - Fox Business
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2080938609001/waterproof-phones-a-must-have-in-2013/
Jan 8, 2013



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Can you stop the NSA?

Microsoft and Skype Hand Over your Personal Information

Do you assume your Skype call is just between you and the person on the other side of the screen?  Think a little bit before you answer.   If you thought you had to sign a disclaimer for your audio or video to be released, that's just for the Joe Schmo next door.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is obtaining content of emails and video chats from Microsoft and Skype.  Even though Microsoft's latest marketing campaign, launched in April, emphasizes its commitment to privacy with the slogan: "Your privacy is our priority."  These corporations are giving U.S. spy agencies everything they have with no question.  I mean, what can they really do?  These are the "Big Boy's" right?  It's not very clear if the data was intended towards specific subjects but the NSA is taking it all and hopefully for a good reason.  The documents indicate that the NSA doesn't need any kind of warrant for these requests.

"The NSA reportedly had access to pre-encrypted data, "For Prism collection against Hotmail, Live, and Outlook.com emails will be unaffected because Prism collects this data prior to encryption."

Apparently the NSA is very happy with the clarity of Skype's wiretap call quality.  Skype allows you to:  make calls to mobiles and landlines, have up to 10 video group calls at once, instant voice and text messaging, and share photos, videos, and files of any size.  Google and Yahoo are in a dispute with the NSA on knowing exactly what information is needed in order to answer questions from their users on the situation.

A document reported that the agencies do not need to specifically request the information from Microsoft, Apple and other Head Honcho companies.  Special Source Operations (SSO) .  NSA leaker Edward Snowden called the SSO the "crown jewel" of the NSA monitoring apparatus. -TechCrunch

The NSA was originally distressed with the ability to get around Microsoft's encryption for their web chats on Outlook.com.  Several months later Microsoft gave them a workaround so the decryption tactics came much easier.  Microsoft worked with the NSA to have access to communication between user on Skype, SkyDrive, Cloud-base, Hotmail, and Outlook data servers.

This 4th Amendment violation in our eyes is enough "probable cause" in the NSA's eyes to review and research our chats and phone calls for the rest of our lives.

Please visit http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/ for more blog posts on the latest technology and IT security news.

Images courtesy of [digitalart,Master isolated images] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

References:

Report: Skype And Microsoft Handed Over Video And Emails To NSA
http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/11/report-skype-and-microsoft-handed-over-video-and-emails-to-nsa/
Published July 11, 2013

NSA's PRISM Given Access To Microsoft's Encrypted Data
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112895766/microsoft-gave-nsa-prism-special-access-encrypted-data-071113

Video Waivers and Releases For Recording People On Video: Legal FAQs
http://www.reelseo.com/video-waivers/

National Security Agency, Central Security Service
http://www.nsa.gov/index.shtml

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Disposable Hardware

Coming To the Point Of Disposable Hardware

Today powerful hardware is available in the market for such cheap rates that researchers are considering developing hardware that is disposable. Due to the competition in the market producers today are coming out with more and more affordable gadgets. Today we can buy Android tablets for thirty dollars. Many people would assume that the specifications are terrible, but the truth is that it comes with a ten inch screen, fully Wi-Fi enabled, four GB worth of storage space, and a 512 RAM running the Android 4.1 software.

What You Lose to Win

The truth is, today you lose almost nothing to get a bargain. Quite a few of us would doubt low cost hardware since we have this pre-conceived notion that the lower the cost for such gadgets, the lower the quality. Surprisingly however, you actually find that although the cost is dropping drastically, the hardware quality remains top-notch. An amazing feat, today you may purchase video recorders at eight dollars, cell phones at a meager eleven dollars (without a contract), and even a touch screen video player at less than thirty dollars a pop.

How Disposable Hardware Will Help

The fact is, although today you are able to get hardware at a reasonable price, people want more. This unfortunately means that whenever there is a new model out, the previous one is considered outdated, and is soon tossed. There are schemes where you get discounts for returning old hardware, however, something slightly more environment friendly could be incorporated.

 Please visit http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/ for more blog posts on the latest technology and IT security news.

References:

Hack Things
http://www.hackthings.com/get-ready-for-disposable-hardware/

Disposable Hardware
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=356

Android 4.1
http://gigaom.com/2012/09/24/android-4-1-update-samsung-galaxy-s-iii/



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Sony PS4 Remote Play

Remote Play with the PS4 and PSP Vita

At the reveal event for the new Sony PS4, it was mentioned a few times that the new update to Sony’s gaming console the PlayStation may be able to interact with its equivalent handheld device, the PSP Vita. The newest IP, Knack, was used by Mark Cerny, a famous video game industry figure, as a demo piece to show how the device need not be connected only to your television set. Remote Play is an option that has been available in many previous versions of the PlayStation, but had not been supported well. You may now experience a new generation of gaming where you have the option of gaming on your console while you are connected to the internet.

What’s Good and What’s Not

Live streaming theoretically allows you to use your handheld PSP while you are on the move, and yet be connected to your console at home. This is similar to the way Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U’s new gamepad controller works. Sony is trying to bring forth this feature, as it is under-used today, and is trying to propagate the usage of this option in gaming consoles worldwide, not only restricted to their own appliances. If everything goes as expected, Remote Play could become a feasible option and may even go to become standard for any new releases related to gaming consoles or other hardware devices. The only place this option is not feasible, however, is the fact that some titles require the camera of the PS4 for the entire experience.


Please visit http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/ for more blog posts on the latest technology and IT security news.


References:

PS4 Gaming Requires Remote Play Compatibility
Published June 1st, 2013 - http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2013/06/01/ps4-games-require-vita-remote-play-compatib/1



PS4 Games Require Vita Remote Play
Published May 30th, 2013 - http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/30/ps-vita-remote-play-mandatory-for-all-ps4-games-3820266/



Sony Mandates Vita Remote Play
Published May 29th, 2013 - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-sony-mandates-vita-remote-play-for-ps4-games



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Security Flaw Found in Facebook Pages Manager App for Android

Facebook Patches Privacy Flaw In Pages Manager For Android ...

Over the weekend, Android Police received a tip about a serious privacy hole in Facebook Pages Manager for Android that made some privately uploaded photos public.   Shortly after  the details of this  issue went  public, Facebook Security got in touch ... a fix had been rolled out server-side, and noapp update was necessary.

 

Serious Privacy Flaw In Facebook Pages Manager ... - Android Police
www.androidpolice.com/.../serious-privacy-flaw-in-facebook-pages-man...‎

2 days ago – Update 5/26/13 11:30pm PT: Rory from Facebook Security has informed .... Facebook Pages Manager App Updated To 1.4 With Photo Albums, ...

Privacy Flaw Found in Facebook Pages Manager ... - Softpedia News
news.softpedia.com › News › Telecoms › Mobile Blog‎

1 day ago – Privacy Flaw Found in Facebook Pages Manager for Android. ... Facebook Messenger and Facebook Apps Updated on Android · Oppo Find 5 ...

Flaw in Facebook Pages Manager for Android makes your private messages public
http://tech2.in.com/news/android/flaw-in-facebook-pages-manager-for-android-makes-your-private-messages-public/874420

If you have Facebook’s Pages Manager application installed onto your Android devices to access your pages at any time of the day, you need to beware. If you plan on sending an image as a private message to a fan of your page, chances are that the image will get posted onto your wall for all your fans to see.

 

Microsoft Issues Worldwide Virus Alert

The talk and the footprint of computer viruses in the online world had reduced significantly in the last year. Hackers and online miscreants had moved on to other methods of attacking computers as viruses were considered to be too weak. But Microsoft recently announced that the trend is all set to change in the coming days. A security expert from the IT giant said that hackers were reverting back to the usage of viruses and coming up with innovative attack vectors. He said that this year, the world will witness a significant increase in the usage of viruses for attacking computers (both personal and corporate).

Low Broadband Penetration Rate

Tim Rains, the security expert who announced the news, said that Microsoft was monitoring the virus trends on the World Wide Web and noticed a spike in the volume of viruses for the first time. He said that low broadband penetration rate has increased the chances of a computer getting infected with any of the malicious software, including Trojans and worms. He said that this trend is being exploited by hackers and they are using viruses more actively to infect broadband connected computers (which is almost every internet enabled computer today). Microsoft also added that they had traced the infections to as far as Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Viruses Are Easy to Eliminate

Rains said that even today, viruses are very easy to be removed as their signatures can be easily detected and tracked. He said that users are expected to keep their anti-virus systems updated which will significantly reduce the chances of being attacked by a virus.

[via NBC News ]

Explore the New BlackBerry 10 OS in Your Existing Mobile Browser

If you’ve been following the news related to the new BlackBerry 10, you may be wondering how it intends on standing out from the iOS and Android crowd.  Explore the new Blackberry 10 OS in your existing browser.

In the event that you’re even the least bit curious about the new BB10 phones, but far too lazy to go to a store and check out the phone in person, you can tour the BlackBerry 10 OS on your current phone by going to blackberry.com/glimpse.

Just keep in mind that this is a demo of user interaction and BB10 features and not a full emulation. The website does not work for desktop browsers – only mobile (as far as I can tell).

[gallery ids="9391,9392,9393"]

Have you checked out the new BlackBerry 10 yet? What are your thoughts?

[via TechCrunch]

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Malware Steals Credit Card Data from POS Systems & ATMs

Several hundred POS terminals and ATMs in the United States have been infected by malware designed to steal debit and credit card data, according to security firm Group-IB.

The malware, named “Dump Memory Grabber” is written in C++ without the use of any additional libraries and is capable of collecting Track 1 and Track 2 card data (full name, account number, expiration date, etc.) from infected systems – providing fraudsters all the information they need to create physical card clones.

Upon infection, Dump Memory Grabber modifies the system registry to ensure it runs whenever the affected machine boots, lists all running processes and proceeds to search memory for sensitive payment information. The stolen data is then uploaded via FTP to a remote server believed to be controlled by Russian cybercriminals affiliated with a “big cyber-crime gang.”

The malware is said to have siphoned data associated with debit and credit cards issued by major U.S. banks like Chase, Capital One, Citibank and Union Bank of California.

Group-IB told Security Week that it appears the malware infected most of the POS terminals and ATMs were infected with the help of insiders, such as employees with physical access to the machine or authorization to update system software.  Only a handful of systems running Windows XP or Windows Embedded appeared to be compromised remotely.  Attackers were also able to exploit vulnerabilities in the banks’ network to plant the malware in some cases.

Group-IB has shared its findings on Dump Memory Grabber with VISA, the affected banks and law enforcement.

[via Security Week]

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AVG Mistakenly Flags Windows System File as Trojan

AVG antivirus software caused a bit of ruckus for Windows XP users on Thursday morning after incorrectly flagging the Windows system file, wintrust.dll as a Trojan,“Generic32.FJU.”

Users that followed the software’s instructions to remove the file and reboot the system would have their machines caught in a never-ending restart cycle.

At that point, users would have to use a Rescue CD to help boot the affected system and copy the wintrust.dll file (from another PC) back to the Windows System 32 folder in order to return things back to normal.

Thankfully AVG released a virus update to correct the problem shortly before 1pm, pushing out virus database 567 for AVG version 9.0 and 2012, and virus database #6174 for AVG 2013.

It is unclear how many users were affected by the false positive.

[via H Security]

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Hackers Post Financial Data of High-Profile Celebrities & Politicians

For whatever reason, hackers have taken it upon themselves to dump personal and financial information of a number of U.S politicians, high-profile celebrities and a police chief online for all to see.

Victims “doxed” in this attack include Ashton Kutcher, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The sensitive data published online includes the social security numbers, date of birth, addresses, credit card and mortgage information, and a various other pieces of information that the victims would’ve likely preferred to keep private.

As if disclosing all that information weren’t bad enough, the hackers made sure to enclose a rather unflattering picture of each victim alongside their personal details.

So far there's no telling who's behind the attack, but the website listing all of the confidential information – which we will not disclose for obvious reasons – sits on a .su top-level domain and contains an anti-police message written in Russian.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating matters, and the FBI has stated that they are aware of the website but has not clarified whether or not they will get involved.

[via BBC News]

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Evernote Hacked, Resets 50 Million Account Passwords

Evernote users were instructed to create a new password following the discovery of a security breach on Saturday.

Evernote says that they were able to detect and block what appears to have been a “coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the Evernote Service.”

There is no indication that content stored in Evernote, or payment information for Premium or Business accounts were accessed; however, the company says that the hackers were able to access the usernames, encrypted passwords & email addresses of Evernote users, prompting the reset of all account passwords as a security measure.

Users can create a new password by signing into their account on evernote.com. Passwords will need to be updated in Evernote apps after it has been changed on evernote.com.

Evernote has offered the following advice to users to help keep their accounts safe:

• Avoid using simple passwords based on dictionary words


• Never use the same password on multiple sites or services


• Never click on ‘reset password’ requests in emails — instead go directly to the service

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Small Number of Microsoft Corp Computers Also Infected with Malware

Alright, so you know how Facebook and Apple recently discovered that malware had silently been installed on some employees' computers after visiting the compromised iPhoneDevSDK website?

Well, it appears that Microsoft also experienced a “similar security intrusion,” which lead to a small number of computers, including some in their Mac business unit, being infected with malware using “techniques similar to those documented by other organizations.”

Microsoft says the investigation is ongoing, but so far there’s no evidence of customer data being affected by the attack.

[via Microsoft Security Response Center]

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NBC Website Safe to Visit Again, Said to Have Been Infected for 24hrs

NBC.com appears to be cleared of the malicious code performing drive-by-download attacks on unsuspecting visitors, but users should still make sure their antivirus programs are up-to-date and web filtering is enabled.

A NBC Universal spokeswoman told Reuters late Thursday that “a problem was identified and has been fixed,” but didn’t offer any details on what exactly happened.

The NBC spokeswoman did say that no NBC.com account information had been compromised, but could not confirm whether any users had been infected as a result of the hacking.

Although there have been reports that the site was compromised for only a few hours, antivirus firm ESET began receiving reports that the site had been infected as early as February 20^th at 17:00 CET (8:00 AM PST).

There was a long period of inactivity until 12:00 PM CET on February 21^st (3:00AM PST), which is when reports started flooding in. The cause of the gap is unclear, but it’s possible that the malicious iframe could have been pointing to a dead link.

The malicious iframes loaded compromised third-party websites housing the RedKit and Styx exploit kits, which would attempt to exploit Java and PDF vulnerabilities to drop a variety of malware.

ESET identified one of the dropped payloads as Win32/TrojanDownloader.Vespula.AY, a Trojan that downloads additional malware and another as Trojan.JS/Exploit.Agent.NCX. The Citadel banking Trojan & ZeroAccess were said to be some of the other pieces of malware dropped in the attack as well.

ESET users that attempted to visit NBC.com during the attack would be denied access by the antivirus to prevent infection. This block has since been lifted from the main NBC website since it has been cleaned up, but ESET warns that several other related sites may still be infected.

Keep Your PC Safe When Surfing the Web

As you can see, you don’t have to visit a “shady” website in order to have your PC infected with malware. Help keep your computer safe while surfing the web by:

• Always running antivirus/anti-malware software and keep the virus definitions current. (And pay attention to blocked site warnings!)


• Keeping your operating system and installed third-party software fully patched and up-to-date.


• Removing or disabling Java browser plugins if they're not needed - Java vulnerabilities are often targeted in cyberattacks.


• Exercising caution when clicking shortened or suspicious links and always do a little research before following them.


• Not downloading or openings  files from unknown or untrusted websites (or emails, for that matter).

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Security Bug in iOS 6.1 Allows Lockscreen Bypass

If you’re protective over the information stored in your iPhone, you may want to keep a closer eye on it, especially if you’re running iOS 6.1 and expect the lockscreen to keep prying eyes out.

Somehow, someway a YouTube user named videodesbarraquito found a way to bypass the lockscreen on an iPhone 5 running iOS 6.0.1, 6.0.2, or 6.1 and gain access to contacts, call history, photos (by trying to add a photo to a contact), and the phone app to make calls.

All it takes to slip past the lockscreen is a systematic sequence of emergency phone call making (and quickly cancelling), power button pushing and voilà! You’re in.

How someone would possibly figure that out is beyond me, although I guess it's not all that farfetched since iOS 4.1 suffered from a similar bug a few years back.

The folks over at The Verge couldn’t resist temptation, tested the routine on a pair of UK iPhone 5s running iOS 6.1 and found that it actually worked. The Verge reached out to Apple for a comment, but no word back yet.

Update: A spokesperson for Apple told AllThingsD, "Apple takes user security very seriously. We are aware of this issue, and will deliver a fix in a future software update."

Better keep a closer eye on your iPhone until then.

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Jawbone Intructs MyTALK Users to Reset Passwords Following Hack

If you were wondering whether or not that email from Jawbone stating that your MyTALK account password was disabled following a security breach was legitimate, it is.

Hackers recently broke into Jawbone’s systems and stole “limited user information,” entailing names, email addresses and encrypted password, from an undisclosed number of MyTALK accounts.

Jawbone was able to stop the attack after “several hours” and reset the passwords for all accounts believed to be compromised by the attack. There has been no evidence that the lifted information was used to access the affected accounts.

Either way, owners of affected MyTALK accounts will have to change their account password. It would also be a good idea to update any other site accounts that share the same password. Situations like these are the reason why it’s never a good idea to use the same password for multiple accounts.

For the record, here’s a copy of the email being sent to MyTALK users:

Hello [name],

We are writing to inform you of an important security matter. We recently learned that login information for your Jawbone MyTALK account was compromised by an isolated attack on our system.

In the course of this attack, limited user information related to your MyTALK account—specifically your name, email address, and an encrypted version of your password (not the actual letters and numbers in your password)—was compromised. We took immediate action to protect your login information. Based on our investigation to date, we do not believe there has been any unauthorized use of login information or unauthorized access to information in your account.

To help protect your account, we have disabled your old MyTALK password and you can no longer use it. Please reset your MyTALK password by following the instructions below. To help ensure that your information remains safe, we recommend that you do not choose the same password that you use to log in anywhere else, and change your password on other sites where your old MyTALK password is used.

Steps to reset your password:

Copy and paste this URL into your web browser: https://jawbone.com/user/reset

Type in your email address and click the Reset Password button

You will receive an email with instructions to complete the password reset

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. The security of your personal information is a top priority for us. We take security very seriously and will continue to take steps to keep your account information safe.

If you need help resetting your password, please contact Customer Support by emailing support@jawbone.com.

Sincerely,

Jawbone

[via Engadget]

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Microsoft & Symantec Knock Bamital Botnet Offline, Notify Users of Infection

The control servers of the Bamital botnet were taken offline on Wednesday as a result of a joint effort between the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit & Symantec,  Richard Boscovich, Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, reported on the Official Microsoft Blog.

The Bamital botnet was used to hijack search results in order to redirect users to malicious sites that would steal personal information, conduct drive-by-downloads, or commit click fraud.

One thing that sets this particular botnet takedown apart from the rest is that Microsoft & Symantec are proactively notifying Bamital victims that their computers are infected and offer help on how to remove the malware.

This is great news since Boscovich wrote that more than eight million computers are said to have been attacked by Bamital malware in the last 2 years.

Official Microsoft Webpage Shown to Users with Bamital-Infected Computers

So if you see the following page when attempting to do an online search, don’t ignore it! The page is legitimate, and your PC will need to be cleansed of Bamital malware:

Screenshot Credit: Microsoft

Didn’t expect this page?

You were likely trying to conduct a web search before you got to this page, however your computer is believed to be infected with malware known as bamital, which interferes with web search. Please read and follow the instructions on this page to resolve the issue.

Why am I here?

You have reached this website because your computer is very likely to be infected by malware that redirects the results of your search queries. You will receive this notification until you remove the malware from your computer.

The official page goes on to offer two free malware removal tools by Microsoft & Symantec, both of which are capable of detecting and removing Bamital malware:

• Microsoft Safety Scanner


• Norton Power Eraser

The dismantling of the Bamital botnet (aka Operation b58) marks the 6^th botnet takedown operation completed by Microsoft under Project MARS (Microsoft Active Response for Security), and the second done in cooperation with Symantec.

Keep up the good work, guys!

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McAfee Labs: Majority of Botnet C&C Servers Located in U.S.

If someone were to ask you where you think majority of the active botnet command & control servers (C&C) were located, what would you say?

Russia? China, perhaps?

Although these two countries are first to come to mind when most think of cybermischief, and  70% of exploit kits reportedly come from Russia, neither places are where majority of botnet C&Cs are stationed.

McAfee Labs has a history of monitoring botnet activities and on Wednesday provided a list of the top 10 countries hosting active command & control servers.

Surprisingly, the U.S. comes in at number one, followed by the British Virgin Islands and Netherlands. Russia comes in 4^th place, while China barely makes the cut at #9.

1. United States (631)


2. British Virgin Islands (237)


3. Netherlands (154)


4. Russia (125)


5. Germany (95)


6. Korea (81)


7. Switzerland (77)


8. Australia (63)


9. China (48)


10. Canada (38)

Screenshot Credit: McAfee Labs

What do you think?

[via McAfee Labs]

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Internet Explorer Vulnerability Lets Attackers Keep Tabs on Mouse Movement

It may be in your best interest to avoid using virtual keyboards or keypads if you use Internet Explorer.

Web analytics firm, Spider.io discovered a security flaw within Microsoft’s Internet Explorer that can result in cursor movement being tracked as long as the browser window is open.

No software has to be downloaded or executed by the end-user, and it doesn’t matter if the browser window is minimized, unfocused or inactive. All the attacker has to do is buy an advertisement slot on a webpage that you happen to visit using good ol’ IE. As long as you keep that page open, your mouse can be tracked across your entire display – not just within the confines of Internet Explorer.

So what’s the problem?

This vulnerability opens up the possibility of collecting data keyed into virtual keyboards and keypads, which are sometimes used to reduce the chances of keystrokes being captured via keylogging software.

A video demonstration of the vulnerability is available, and you can try the exploit out for yourself by visiting this link using Internet Explorer: http://iedataleak.spider.io/demo

Spider.io disclosed the vulnerability to Microsoft back on October 1^st, 2012. Microsoft confirmed the bug, but didn’t seem all that interested in fixing it. Spider.io then released the details of the exploit to the public in hopes of spreading user awareness and getting Microsoft to releasing a fix. At least two [unnamed] ad analytics companies are said to be exploiting the bug to their advantage, so let's hope Microsoft addresses the vulnerability before the bad guys start using it too.

[via Spider.io]

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Hackers Hit Barnes & Noble, Steal Credit Card Data

If you have recently made a purchase at Barnes & Nobles, you will want to closely monitor billing statements if you used a credit card or change your PIN number if you paid using debit.

Barnes & Noble announced on Wednesday that hackers had broken into PIN pad devices used in 63 of its stores, resulting in the theft of credit card information, debit card information and debit card PIN numbers for anyone that swiped their debit/credit card when making a purchase.

Purchased made online or through NOOK mobile apps were not affected by this breach, and Barnes & Nobles stated that their customer database is secure. The breach is limited to the single PIN pad device tampered with in each of the affected stores.

Barnes & Noble has been working with federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the breach, along with banks and payment card companies to identify any accounts that may have been compromised and beef up security to prevent fraud.

All PIN pad devices were disconnected following discovery of the breach on September 14^th, and the company stated that customers can securely shop with credit cards through their cash registers.

Tampered devices were discovered at the following locations:

Store Address	City	State	Zip
4735 Commons Way	Calabasas	CA	91302
2470 Tuscany Street Suite 101	Corona	CA	92881
2015 Birch Road Suite 700	Chula Vista	CA	91915
313 Corte Madera Town Center	Corte Madera	CA	94925
5604 Bay Street	Emeryville	CA	94608
810 West Valley Parkway	Escondido	CA	92025
1315 E. Gladstone Street	Glendora	CA	91740
5183 Montclair Plaza Lane	Montclair	CA	91763
894 Marsh St Bldg G	San Luis Obispo	CA	93401
2615 Vista Way	Oceanside	CA	92054
72-840 Highway 111 Suite 425	Palm Desert	CA	92260
27460 West Lugonia Ave	Redlands	CA	92374
1150 El Camino Real Space 277	San Bruno	CA	94066
10775 Westview Parkway	San Diego	CA	92126
3600 Stevens Creek Blvd	San Jose	CA	95117
11 West Hillsdale Blvd.	San Mateo	CA	94403
9938 Mission Gorge Road	Santee	CA	92071
40570 Winchester Rd	Temecula	CA	92591
4820 Telephone Road	Ventura	CA	93003
1149 S. Main St.	Walnut Creek	CA	94596
470 Universal Drive North	North Haven	CT	06473
100 Greyrock Place Suite H009	Stamford	CT	06901
60 Isham Road	W. Hartford	CT	06107
18711 NE Biscayne Blvd	Aventura	FL	33180
333 N. Congress Avenue	Boynton Beach	FL	33436
152 Miracle Mile	Coral Gables	FL	33134
1900 W International Spdway	Daytona Beach	FL	32114
2051 N. Federal Highway	Fort Lauderdale	FL	33305
12405 N Kendall Drive	Miami	FL	33186
11380 Legacy Ave	Palm Beach Gardens	FL	33410
14572 SW 5th St Suite 10140	Pembroke Pines	FL	33027
11820 Pines Blvd	Pembroke Pines	FL	33026
5701 Sunset Drive Suite 196	S. Miami	FL	33143
700 Rosemary Ave Unit #104	West Palm Beach	FL	33401
1441 West Webster Avenue	Chicago	IL	60614
1130 North State Street	Chicago	IL	60610
5380 Route 14	Crystal Lake	IL	60014
20600 North Rand Road	Deer Park	IL	60010
728 North Waukegan Road	Deerfield	IL	60015
1630 Sherman Avenue	Evanston	IL	60201
1468 Springhill Mall Blvd	W. Dundee	IL	60118
170 Boylston Street	Chestnut Hill	MA	02467
96 Derby Street Suite 300	Hingham	MA	02043
82 Providence Highway	East Walpole	MA	2032
395 Route 3 East	Clifton	NJ	07014
55 Parsonage Road	Edison	NJ	08837
2134 State Highway 35	Holmdel	NJ	07733
4831 US Hwy 9	Howell	NJ	07731
23-80 Bell Blvd.	Bayside	NY	11360
176-60 Union Turnpike	Fresh Meadows	NY	11366
1542 Northern Blvd	Manhasset	NY	11030
160 E 54th Street (Citicorp)	New York	NY	10022
2289 Broadway	New York	NY	10024
33 East 17th Street (Union Square)	New York	NY	10003
555 Fifth Ave	New York	NY	10017
2245 Richmond Avenue	Staten Island	NY	10314
230 Main St	White Plains	NY	10601
97 Warren Street	New York	NY	10007
100 West Bridge Street	Homestead	PA	15120
800 Settlers Ridge Center Drive	Pittsburgh	PA	15205
1311 West Main Road	Middleton	RI	02842
371 Putnam Pike Suite 330	Smithfield	RI	02917
1350-B Bald Hill Rd	Warwick	RI	02886

Protect Your Account

If you have recently made a purchase at one of the affected stores, it is recommended that you:

• Closely review your billing statements for any unauthorized charges.


• Change the PIN number for your debit card if it was used during payment.


• Immediately notify your bank if you notice any unauthorized purchased and/or withdrawls.

Additional information can be found on www.barnesandnobleinc.com or by calling 1-888-471-7809 (8AM – 8PM EST). The related press release can be seen here.

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Happy 14th Birthday, Google!

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As usual, Google has decided to celebrate with a doodle featuring a virtual chocolate cake complete with 14 candles that flicker momentarily before going out and dropping down below to make room for Google's name to appear.



It's pretty cute!

Happy Birthday, Google!

Check out this post to see past doodles that made the main page on Google's birthday.