With all the talk about Java and Adobe Flash allowing malware into our systems, I figured it might be time to comment. Let’s start by framing out the discussion to get a better understanding of what’s actually going on with this crazy Internet of ours. The Internet is just like the world around you and it’s filled with people with good and bad intentions.   Some programs are written to defend you against the bad guys. Some programs are written by the bad guys themselves and meant to cause damage or steal your data. The current latest, greatest, most popular applications are used by both the good and the bad guys. Whenever an application becomes very popular and the masses flock to it, malicious hackers tend to focus on that application and look for vulnerabilities. Windows is attacked more often than the Mac or Linux mostly because of the shear number of computers running Windows. Unless a Mac or Linux computer is a very high value target, hackers are typically not interested in hacking the computer. Most new web-based attacks are “drive by” attacks aimed at  un-patched Windows computers that are missing the latest Windows and third party updates. Some new attacks have the potential to infect or compromise multiple operating systems through common third party applications like Java, Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Reader . So, is there a way to defend against attacks on your Computers? There is currently no perfect solution that will defend against all attacks while you are still connected to the Internet. Can you help prevent an attack against your computer?  Yes, you can do regular updates on your computer and use a current Anti-Malware application.  You need to do your operating system updates and you need to make sure you have all your third party applications up to date. The following links will help update your computer and  defend against the onslaught of creative hackers and sometimes inept programmers that make up our beloved Internet.

Check your version of Java http://java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml

Check your version of Adobe Flash http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

Check your Browser Plugins http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/

Update Checker http://www.h-online.com/security/services/Scan-Now-885585.html

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VIPRE Antivirus Premium is high-performance antivirus + antispyware software with an integrated firewall. It doesn’t slow down your PC like other security products. The press loves it, and it’s antivirus certified. Protect your PC from ‘being owned’ by bad guys with our free (registered) full-function 30-day trial!

Have a blessed day, be safe

Black Hat hackers use the latest breaking news or most popular stories to draw users to their malicious links.  Using SEO they have the malicious  link elevated in the search results and then wait for the unsuspecting end user to click the link.   The website will then typically do a drive by install of the latest rouge virus application.

OK, so now that you know a little more about the new risks presented by search engine poisoning, should you still search the web?

The simple answer is “yes”; but  you need to always be cautious.  Make sure you keep your system updated including all your 3rd party applications and always run a current Anti-Virus product with updated signatures.  Never use an old browser to access the web.  I see in my site stats that some of you are still running Internet Explorer 6.  Running an old, insecure browser is a major cause of website borne malware infections.  If you need to run IE6 for some legacy application, you can still install the latest version of Firefox and browse the web with Firefox instead of IE6.

Check the following links for more info on search engine poisoning:

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/swine-flu-search-poisoning.html Swine flu search poisoning

http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/701 SEO poisoning attacks growing

http://websitehelpers.com/seo/blackhat.html Black Hat SEO

http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/index.php/2009/03/10/democratsorg-blog-spam-contributes-to-google-search-poisoning/ Democrats.org Blog Spam Contributes to Google Search Poisoning

http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/2008/03/massive-iframe-seo-poisoning-attack.html Massive IFRAME SEO Poisoning Attack Continuing

Before you go, check out some of our other links.

Check out our Amazon Mac Store Amazon Mac Store

Free Stuff and Great Deals http://rootaid.com/deals/

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Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Port-Jervis-NY/Clark-Computer-Consulting/133104913979?ref=ts

Use the following link to get an extra 250MB of storage when you sign up for Dropbox. https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTEyODQxMjE5

VIPRE Antivirus Premium is high-performance antivirus + antispyware software with an integrated firewall. It doesn’t slow down your PC like other security products. The press loves it, and it’s antivirus certified. Protect your PC from ‘being owned’ by bad guys with our free (registered) full-function 30-day trial!

http://www.foundstone.com/us/resources/proddesc/confickerdetectiontool.htm Conficker Detection Tool 1.0.8

http://www.sunbeltsecurity.com/DownLoads.aspx Download the Sunbelt Conficker/Downadup Removal Tool

http://download.eset.com/special/EConfickerRemover.exe ESET conficker removal tool

http://www.bdtools.net/how-to-remove-downadup.php Remove Downadup (aka Conficker or Kido)

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/default.aspx Stinger Conficker removal tool

http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/conficker-removal-tool.html Sophos Conficker clean-up tools

http://www.shadowserver.org/wiki/pmwiki.php/Stats/Conficker#toc5 ShadowServer Conficker Remediation and Stats

Wikipedia defines a computer worm as…A self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other nodes (computers on the network) and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.

OK so is the world going to end on April 1st? Probably not. Is someone in your office going to do something really stupid and say April fools? Probably. Is the entire Internet going to crash and then turn your laptop into a toaster or turn your Mac into a PC? Probably not. Should you actually care about this new nasty worm? Well…if you have not run your Windows updates and you do not have a currently updated Antivirus program running then yes you need to worry.

There are a few very simple things that you can do that will actually keep your computer clean and safe. Drumroll please…and the 5 PC safety steps to not get infected are….

1.Do your Windows updates. Do not ignore the Windows updates. Take the time off your busy schedule to actually click the annoying yellow shield at the bottom right side of your screen and install the current set of updates. You will find it takes far less time to keep your system updated than it takes to recover your data that has been destroyed by a virus.

2. Update Adobe Flash and Adobe Reader frequently from the Adobe site and not from some web-page that says your Flash player is outdated. Always go to the official website to get the most current version of Flash and frequently check Acrobat for updates by using the update menu in Acrobat.

3. Keep your Internet Security Software updated. If your Personal Computer AV software is expired then uninstall it and install the freely available  Avira Antivirus instead. If your office PC has expired Anti-virus software you really need to get an updated license ASAP. My current favorite Anti-virus is Vipre from Sunbelt http://rootaid.com/2009/03/19/vipre-antivirus-takes-a-bite-out-of-malware/

4. Use Firefox as your main browser instead of Internet Explorer. Only use Internet Explorer on sites that require Internet Explorer.

5. Do not open links or attachments in email. Do not plug your flash drive in someone else’s computer or let them plug their flash drive into your computer. Flash drives have become the modern floppy disk which was the original way of spreading viruses back in the day. http://www.eset.eu/press-threatsense-report-february-2009

F-Secure has an excellent Q and A on Conficker at the following link.  http://tinyurl.com/cdlqlp

Using a modern updated AntiMalware product will prevent infection from Conficker and other similar malware. I recommend Vipre Antivirus for home or small-business use. http://rootaid.com/2009/03/19/vipre-antivirus-takes-a-bite-out-of-malware/

So before the clock rolls to 12:00 AM on the April 1st  you have some homework to do. Install your windows updates and update Adobe Flash and Adobe Acrobat from the Adobe website http://www.adobe.com/. Make sure you have an updated AntiVirus application running on your computer.

So now it’s time to go and do your homework. Don’t be an update slacker…go already. Update, this means you. Why are you still here.

Have a good day and come back soon for more rootaid.com ramblings