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Month, Year - Vol 1, Issue 1
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Greetings!
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I am seeing an increase in Security Vulnerabilities
of various Operating Systems including their core components and applications.
Believe
me. When I see reports one week that there are 8 million infections,
and a week later they report 12 million, you know something isn't right.
So
I've put a big focus in this newsletter on a recently announced vulnerability targeting
Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader among others. Adobe
hasn't responded well to the community of folks who, altogether, are
the "freedom fighters" trying to protect us from the hundreds of thousands (500,000+ by one report) of detected threat variations already out there.
You are now warned! Don't run your computer without reasonable protection even if you have a Macintosh or Linux system. We are now at a point where you can't be too careful.
My personal Anti-Virus favorites are:
for Mac ******* OS X ClamXav
for Windows *** AVG Free or TrendMicro
More good advice...All-in-one Security Solutions are, in my experience, a poor
way to protect your system. The few that I have tried are "resource
hogs" that bog down the performance of your system.
Whenever possible... TRY before you BUY! Regardless of the solution you chose, if it works well on your system for 2 weeks or 30 days - GREAT!
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Security Alert ! Adobe Zero Day Vulnerability
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Acknowledged for the first time by Adobe on Feb. 19th (with no complete patch likely before mid-March), security experts are highly concerned about the impact this vulnerability will have on users of Adobe PDF files. This is due to security flaws in Adobe Reader and Acrobat plus a separate security flaw in Adobe Flash Player. All of these security flaws allow remote code executions resulting in a buffer overflow.
Here are a few suggestions for those of you who are less interested in the technical information of this issue. It is time for you to be concerned enough to take some action (or have your IT professional handle it).
- Be aware that PDFs you receive could be affected. Always "consider the source" when you receive emails. Even those from trusted friends could have made the rounds dozens of times before they sent it to you...so how much can you trust it?
- Don't open PDF attachments via email unless you are expecting it or it is from a highly trusted source such as a major business enterprise or organization.
- Make sure your Anti-Virus and other Security software is up to date. Every Day!
- Check the Adobe link below for the more complete link to solutions.
- Mac OS X users - Download ClamXav to provide your systems a very reasonable level of protection without impacting system performance significantly.
....all the scarey details. Click here to read more. |
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More Keyboard Shortcuts
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 I love keyboard shortcuts. They really do save time. There are so many ways you can use your keyboard instead of grabbing the mouse to do some "point and click" action especially when your hands, most often, are already on the keyboard.
So here are a few 'shortcuts' for you to play with:
In Firefox and Safari (Mac) - Apple + L, or, (PC) - ALT + D - Selects the existing URL so you can copy it, or type a new one allowing you to leave the site you are in, and jump to a new site.
In most browsers (Mac or PC) Spacebar - Scrolls down a page. Shift + Spacebar - scrolls up a page.
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Misleading Applications |
 Below is a list from Symantec, one of the leading Security software developers, of products you might have seen when shopping for Anti-Virus/Spyware/Malware solutions. Perhaps you've had a Pop-Up that announced, "You're Infected download [insert misleading application here] to clean and protect your system today".
You can usually tell when an application might be a "Misleading Application", since they frequently use subversive tactics to get you to buy their product. (e.g. PopUps) I have no confidence in products that try to "trick" me into buying them.
List of Misleading applications (Thank you Symantec)
click the "Symantec" link to find out more about these rogue applications and how they work (or don't work).
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WinFixer -
Ultimate Defender -
SpySheriff MalwareWipe -
DriveCleaner -
AVSystemCare -
1stAntiVirus -
VirusBurst -
SpywareQuake -
AntispywareSoldier
If you see an application that is NOT on this list, be sure you check them out before you download and install it. I'm happy to answer your emailed questions if you prefer.
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You are now armed with enough information about the vulnerabilities all of us face in our day-to-day experiences with technology. It pays to be careful. If you are in business, you can't be too careful. If you are unsure how secure your systems are, call me, email me, or send me some snail mail - It's That Important!
I can evaluate your systems and advise you of any additional protection you need and recommend solutions that are less likely to cause performance degradation. (I like FAST computers)
Thanks for reading this issue. I hope you found it helpful and informative. And as always, I look forward to your comments.
Sincerely,
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David Stark, Technologist
Techpro Networks, LLC
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