Issue #1 June 2012
 
Greetings!

Welcome to FrontGate Technology Solutions' inaugural newsletter!  Our intent is to provide you with practical and useful everyday technological information.  We will feature one hot topic in each newsletter.  Most articles will contain a "link" allowing you to read the entire document, while still giving you a snapshot of the relevant content by simply reading this newsletter.  While we have carefully chosen these articles for our readers, we welcome your suggestions, questions and newsletter feedback. 
 
This month's topic is something that is relevant to EVERYONE who uses a computer - internet security.  And don't forget to check out our regular "Tips and Tricks for Your iPhone and iPad" piece featured in the right-hand column. 
 
Enjoy!
 
Regards,
Boris Jordanov
FrontGate Technologies
Apple Not Threat Resistant
New malware targets users of Office productivity suite
CIO, May 2, 2102

 

Microsoft has detected a new piece of malware targeting Apple OS X computers that exploits a vulnerability in the Office productivity suite patched nearly three years ago. 
 

"The malware is not widespread," wrote Jeong Wook Oh of Microsoft's Malware Protection Center. "But it does show that hackers pay attention if it's found people do not apply patches as those fixes are released, putting their computers at a higher risk of becoming infected."

 

"Exploiting Mac OS X is not much different from other operating systems," Oh wrote. "Even though Mac OS X has introduced many mitigation technologies to reduce risk, your protection against security vulnerabilities has a direct correlation with updating installed applications."


The security update that Microsoft released in June 2009, MS09-027, addressed two vulnerabilities that could be used by an attacker to gain remote control over a machine and run other code. Both vulnerabilities could be exploited with a specially-crafted Word document.


The exploit discovered by Microsoft doesn't work with OS X Lion, but does work with Snow Leopard and prior versions. Oh wrote that it is likely attackers have knowledge about the computers they are attacking, such as the victim's operating system version and patch levels.


The malware delivered by the exploit is written specifically for OS X and is basically a "backdoor," or a tool that allows for remote control of a computer.


Microsoft advised those who use Microsoft Office 2004 or 2008 for Mac or the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac to ensure those products have applied the patch.

 

"In conclusion, we can see that Mac OS X is not safe from malware," Oh wrote. "Statistically speaking, as this operating system gains in consumer usage, attacks on the platform will increase." 

Reduce Risk From Modern Web Threats
5 How-to Tips
SOPHOS December 2011
 
Threats from the web exist every day, but you can improve your protection when you observe some best practices:

1.  Keep your systems patched and up to date.  This can be time consuming.  90% of attacks can be prevented with an existing patch.  Most web malware comes from commercially available exploit packs that target unpatched systems.  The most common targets are web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera.  One way to make patching easy is to keep auto-updating turned on for applications that support it.

2.  Standardize your web software.  The more platforms and software you have, the more opportunities you give hackers to find vulnerabilities in unpatched applications.  Patching becomes more difficult if you don't know what software is running on your network, or you have no control over which browsers, plugins and media players employees use.  Limit the number of internet tools, applications and plugins in your organization to a standardized set and enforce their use as policy.

3.  Secure your browsers.  Familiarize yourself with the security, privacy and content settings that all browsers have in order to understand the trade-offs between security and usability.  Some settings merely increase the level of prompting - annoying users without adding any tangible security - while others can be important to limiting exploits and threats.  Set up your browsers accordingly.

4.  Enforce a strong password policy.  The purpose of a password policy should be obvious: to permit access only to authorized users.  Weak passwords make it easy for hackers to guess or crack them.  Despite this enormous vulnerability in every system, many organizations fail to take this threat seriously.

5.  Use an effective web security solution.  A proper web security solution reduces your threat exposure by limiting users' surfing activity to website categories relevant to their work, or at least restricting access to the categories that are a breeding ground for malware.  It also protects you from trusted sites that may become hijacked at any time to silently spread malware to unsuspecting visitors.

To read this entire SOPHOS article, click HERE.
Stopping Fake Antivirus:
How to Keep Scareware off Your Network
SOPHOS September 2011
 
What is a fake antivirus? 

Fake antivirus is fake security software which pretends to find dangerous security threats - such as viruses - on your computer.  The initial scan is free, but if you want to clean up the fraudulently-reported "threats", you need to pay. 
 
This class of malware displays false alert messages to computer users concerning threats on their machines, but these threats do not really exist.  The alerts will prompt users to visit a website where they will be asked to pay for these non-existent threats to be cleaned up.  The fake antivirus malware will continue to send these annoying and intrusive alerts until a payment is made or the malware is removed.   This article provides insight into where fake antivirus comes from, what happens when a system is infected with fake antivirus, and how users can protect themselves from fake antivirus.  (Click HERE to read the full SOPHOS article.)
 
How do people get infected with fake antivirus?:
  • Search engine optimization poisoning
  • Email spam campaigns
  • Compromised websites and exploit payloads
  • Fake antivirus downloads by other malware

Typical signs of infection include popup warnings and fake scanning to find non-existent threats.  Certain fake antivirus families cause further distress to the victim by interfering with normal system activity.  Commonly, this includes disabling the Task Manager and use of the Registry Editor, prohibiting certain processes from running and even redirecting web requests.  This behavior further convinces the user that there is a problem on the system and increases the likelihood of a purchase being made. 

 

The most effective defense against the fake antivirus threat is a comprehensive, layered security solution.  Detection can and should take place at each stage of the infection by:  reducing the attack surface, protecting everywhere, stopping the attack, keeping people working and educating users. 

 

In conclusion, fake antivirus is a very prevalent threat.  It is a persistent problem and the financial benefits for cybercriminals means that fake antivirus will not go away.  Fake antivirus is already distributed through a large number of sources.  The variety and inventiveness of its distribution will only increase.  Fortunately, users can protect themselves through a comprehensive and layered security solution that detects and defends against fake antivirus at every possible level.  

 
Tips and Tricks for Your iPhone and iPad!

 

We will feature a different iPhone or 
iPad tip or trick in each issue of our  newsletter.  (Not that we are assuming
you don't  already
know it all!)
 
Tip # 1:  Quickly type a single character found on the numeric keyboard:
  
Normally you switch keyboards by tapping the .?123 button, typing the number/punctuation and switching back to the alphabet keyboard by tapping the ABC button. But there's a faster way! Instead of tapping the .?123 button, press and hold it, then slide your finger to the desired character and release. You'll be automatically switched back to the alphabet keyboard instead of remaining on the numeric one. 
 
 
Do you have a unique iPhone or iPad tip to share?  Email us at info@
frontgatetech.com with your idea!  
 
 
You could win a $25 apple gift card if your tip or trick is shared in an upcoming FrontGate
newsletter!
 
 
 
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