Blogging is the most prevalent manifestation of the social phenomenon on the internet to date and it keeps on growing each and everyday. Being ever so popular, it has become the next step for unscrupulous malware makers who aim to get at the most computers, mobile devices and just about anything connected to the internet as a means of spreading their handiwork. Many people still fail to recognize the true value of intrusion prevention systems till they get their credit card information stolen and used for fraudulent purchases and more. We hear sad stories of such incidents everyday which could have been avoided with simple and even free software embedded within the many operating systems being used to access the internet. Firewalls, anti-viruses and other software have the ability to protect your privacy when you connect to the internet. Researchers have established that the longest time a computer connected to the internet has is fifteen minutes before malware gets in and wreaks havoc within. People should recognize the gravity of the situation that the internet is a public place and that any information contained within a computer connected to it is fair game left unprotected. There are a lot of free/shareware versions of intrusion protection software out on the net, and it only takes a few minutes to install so why wait. Your privacy is you, and you are always a target on the dangerous realm of the internet.
Tags: Anti-Virus, blogging, Firewalls, Intrusion Prevention, Malware
Categories: Downloading Legally, Resources
In what has been called as the “Largest fake media file outbreak” in three years, nearly half a million people have fallen victim to a phony video or music track that has been packaged to look as an innocent MP3 file. Once the free track is downloaded, a required codec is prompted for and downloading it sends in tons of popups as the attached Trojan takes hold and kicks into action. This is as sample of how gullible people with little or no knowledge in computer security end up falling victims of such attacks that have files packaged as a legal format that is actually a malicious program in disguise. The article was posted in the BBC and the good news is that of the almost half a million infected people who have been victimized, only 10 percent actually installed the malware and ended-up with the pesky pop-up’s plaguing them as they try to get rid of all traces of the Trojan.
There is however an increasing problem with such types of attacks for they may encompass the wide variety of media files that are currently being used by people around the globe. Some of these files have been around from quite sometime such as MP3’s which have been one of the major reasons why digital music became a mainstay of music we enjoy today. They can be packaged as MP3’s, AVI’s or many other formats which do not have encoded security features included with the file. Updated Anti-virus software should deal with the problem easily but unprotected systems face a lot of annoying pop-up’s and other malware as the so-called coded that you download contains a variety of malware.
Tags: Fake Media, Malware, Trojans
Categories: Freeware, Music, Videos
The non-profit group’s aim is to promote awareness of the real issue behind the music piracy scene. There are many similar organizations that do the same and their voice is the same, stop piracy and the trade of illegal music which is booming into a major problem. Their research shows that there are over 243 million files which were shared over illegal P2P sites impacting those who compose and sing them down to the people who earn their living selling music in the retail stores world-wide. The advent of digital TV and radio contributes to the problem due to the digital format which allows it to be saved onto other digital media for playback later and some end up shared over P2P sites as well.
Of the almost 250 million files that are illegally shared over the internet, a vast majority are music files which are shared without control. The demise of copy protection software which used to be included in audio CD’s themselves has amplified the problem causing more and more people using and sharing them without proper licenses. All works of intellectual bearing are protected by several copyright and intellectual rights management yet they seem to be quite inadequate due to increasing sharing of such. The talent and gifts embodied by songs are not only the livelihood of the millions of artists around the globe but also their way of sharing the beauty of music yet they seldom get their hard earned buck which compared to a street-side performer who gets a dime or so in his hat for every performance they do. They are affected the same way and aim to raise the cause that it is illegal and against the law to do such file sharing.
Not all people prefer to share illegally yet some fall victim to malware which opens their computers leaving them vulnerable to copying by people who take over control without them even knowing it.
Tags: Illegal File Sharing, Malware, P2P, Piracy
Categories: Downloading Legally, Music
This might not be of importance to many but it does pose a serious threat to us computer users all over the world. We all know of viruses and other forms of malware you get when you download programs on the internet right, well this puts a twist in the malware arena for imagine getting a new hard disk and getting it pre-loaded not with a free operating system or other useful programs like office (which was the norm a few years back to get people to buy PC’s) but with a form of Trojan that was supposedly planted to aid in industrial espionage. Yup, it has happened and the major suspect is China. China and Taiwan have long been locked in a battle for the same goals, China wants Taiwan as a state (which really was the case as it was indeed a colony of the Communist state a few years back until it declared independence). Being one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers in the world, China has never lost sight of the Island country and has had to resort to unusual tactics to get intelligence about everything Taiwanese.
The Hard disks in question were manufactured by Maxtor and eventually even Seagate has detected hard disks infected with a Trojan program that was somehow placed there during the manufacturing process. The 300Gb.Maxtor disks were sold in Taiwan for use primarily on government computers where huge databases were stored in the running of the country.
Seagate has announced the same and both incidents do have similarities in which both products had passed through the hands of Chinese sub-contractors during the manufacturing process where they have been reportedly infected with the said malware. Both manufacturers have recommended a clean sweep of new hard disks prior to installation in a computer system to assure no malware ever get’s to do what it was designed to do in the first place. They also recommend the installation of anti-virus software wherein Seagate’s hard disks come pre-bundled with a free Kaspersky Labs Antivirus software that is valid for a month or two.
Tags: Hard-Disks, Industrial-Espionage, Malware, Viruses
Categories: Applications, Freeware, Providers, Resources
