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Entries in fact (17)

Wednesday
Feb182009

Tech Journalist breaks the silence -- Journalist got Pwned!!

It was another ordinary day for this tech journalist. He had just waken up from his lovely dreams and hadn't realized that he was being baited with Phish. Yes that is correct he actually gave out his password to an Phish site and didn't know it.

I have to admit that he didn't hide it, in fact he decided to post about how he got Pwned and what happened.

The Face Of A Facebook Phishing Scam The Face Of A Facebook Phishing Scam
[Click Picture to see the full story]


[ad#ad2-right]As you can see the site : Facebookcom.awardspace.com is a phishing site and should never give out your information to third parties.   Some things to remember if you get an email with a link sometimes won't send you to the real link.  This can be easily done just like blogging.  You don't know where you will end up when you click an email link.   One thing to remember is if in doubt log into facebook the old fashion way and see for yourself.

You could be the next person to have your Identity taken away from you.  So what should you do to prevent this type of phishing attacks, assume any email you get from Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Any other Social Sites to be a possible phish email.   These are always going to be a problem for these sites.  The spammers want access to be able to spam your friends and family with links, or to make you look foolish.  This is the reason they do it for Money or just for laughs.

One thing to remember is having a strong password will make it that much harder for you to be phished because if you can't remember it you will be more careful.  I will keep preaching this having a good Firewall and Anti-virus will also prevent you from getting viruses from these type of phishing attacks.  It will also make it much more harder to go to sites that smell like Phish.  Remember only you can keep your identity a secret.
Tuesday
Dec302008

Using Skype with Cellular BroadBand Modems

If your like me you will want to make sure you have the best possible speed and connection with your broad band modem. Here are a few articles to better help with you get the best possible speed with a broad band modem like a Cricket modem:

Some other things to consider are:

These will start to make it better for you to use a modem and get the best possible speeds from the modem.  You have to realize what your coverage area is.  There are many factors in regards to your modem speed but that is something that you will have to figure out how to get better speeds.

How do you use Skype with your Cellular broad band modem?


Somethings to remembers with your broadband modem is you won't have a good connection no matter how hard you try.   Most cellular carriers don't want you to us it with VOIP(Voice of Internet Protocol).   So you will have to pay close attention to how you use the bandwidth and what you are doing while making a VOIP call.

The good thing about Skype is, it comes with some very useful tools to better watch your bandwidth and to help get the best possible connection.  You will want to make sure not to have it be a super-node, to do this you go to:

Tools then;Options




My settings for Skype with Cricket<



As you can see I checked off use port 80 and 443 as alternative incoming connections, I also like to see all the technical information and bandwidth usage per call.  I made sure to use Socks5 to prevent skype from becoming a super-node. I also have it set to not automatically start up when I load windows.  To do that all you have to do is go to the General tab and un-check start Skype when Windows start.   You can use any port you want as long as you use the same on the SOCKs5 setting also.   I just made the port up it can be 0 to 4 numbers long.   If you want to understand what ports are this little document will greatly help you figure out which ports are good to use.  Some other things to remember when you use Skype for long periods of time is if you need to call someone you should try not to use the internet to much for that takes bandwidth also.  It is better to have Skype use all the possible bandwidth you have available.

Sunday
Dec142008

Signs of a Computer Infection!

So I was thinking this morning what I missed and I totally missed on how you might be able to tell if you have a computer virus. It does me no good to talk about a virus if you don't know you're infected. I was thinking of the times I had a client who had trouble but wasn't what I thought.

So How do you know?


Some people would say it depends on factors but here are what I call clues that make me suspect a virus:[ad#ad2-right]

  1. Slow or Sluggish computers --  Here is what I know if the computer is really slowing down and have a dual core or quad core.  If you are running a system and sees a lot of hard drive activity even when the computer is idle then it might be a virus or it could be a program doing what it is supposed to be doing.  So this is somewhat of an indication but not always.

  2. Slow internet connection on the computer or on the network -- Due to the fact that most people have a router that is connected to all the computers and if you internet connection on all your systems are slower than normal then you could have a virus.  I use Speed Test website to help determine this.

  3. Corrupt files or Missing files --  Sometimes you have a text documents or files that are missing and you have to pay to get them back.   It's an old scheme and usually once your files have been encrypted you can't get them unencrypted.  So this is why I added this one also because it varies from virus to virus.

  4. Programs don't work like they used to --  This is also a very common association with a virus because virus makers don't have time to test it out on a variety.   Most of the time if you get a call that a program is no longer working tat would be the first thing I'd look at, if not check to see what other programs have been installed lately.

  5. In some cases more files are the Hard drive --  This can be a indication of a virus because the virus might be using the system to host files or other such illegal activity.   Although this is happening less and less it can still be a possibility and should be checked out.   I like to use a graphical tree size program to determine if that is the truth.

  6. Pop ups or Browser redirects -- this is a common thing along the way.  It's always the same and saying something like "you have a virus" or "You unprotected and you might have a virus".  The theme here is to scare the user into buying there product that does not do anything.   It sometimes even looks like a real anti-virus program or spyware program but in truth it is just a scam.  In some cases it will send you to a site because it keeps wanting you to buy the product.

  7. DNS Changes on you -- Some hackers like to have you go through there server so they can watch everything you do online.  They are wanting to get the sensitive information of bank account, and other important accounts.  This is really the ones that need to get off your system asap.


[ad#ad2-left]These are the signs I've seen in the past that would indicate a virus but as with any problem.  You will need to check for all the possibilities.   It is always going to be an issue with people because most people don't know about the signs, now you do and you can now be a better computer user.  It is you who can only fight viruses by knowing all the possible system and only you can defeat a virus.  In the next article I will talk about the tools to help you find and defeat a virus.   This will be a big blog post because I have so much to teach and explain.   If you like these post by all means leave a comment and help spread the word.
Saturday
Dec132008

Uncovering a Virus/Trojan

Getting done with the first part really got my juices flowing. I was shopping looking and thinking about this next article. I came up to only one option turning this into a 3-5 length post due to all the content that I will have.  So where did we leave off?  Oh that is right figuring out if you have a virus/Trojan.  The instant I made a post about this 12 hours later someone make a comment and here is what he said:
[ad#ad2-right]
Rene Van Belzen

I can't wait to read part two of this article. I always wondered how you'd know you're infected if a virus don't want to be detected and no virus definitions are yet available, because the virus is so new.

Now the truth is anytime a Virus does something it usually leaves a footprint somewhere and somehow.   Even the hardest working hacker can't plan for all possibilities and that is where we begin.   I have been helping people for a while with viruses and know that no matter how hard the virus tries to hide you can usually find it relatively quickly and easily do to virus check here are the ways I've done to figure out if they may or may not have a virus/Trojan.

Now if this is a client's computer and you don't want to be rude to the client, there are a few indications of user error and installing a virus.   This is relatively simple, all you do is do a quick inventory of all the start menu programs.  You'd want to look for any P2P file sharing program, If they have Firefox Installed, and if they are using Window Mail and not Thunderbird.   You see 80% to 90% of virus downloaded are installed by the End USER.  They either downloading a game and installing a virus with [ad#ad2-left]a game, or not protecting themselves by using Internet Explorer or Using Windows Mail.  That is usually my first step due to the fact, I've got to be diplomatic about finding out about security ways.  Also make sure they are up to date on there Window updates, unless they are using a really old system then you will have to work even harder.  Also you can suspect a virus if the client is talking about having problem with a program recently although this isn't always true it sometimes is the case due to the fact hackers don't have a big chance to test these viruses/Trojans out before they set them into the wild.  So there are always going to be unplanned problems associated with them.

After the first initial search of desktop, you should really know the likely hood of a possible virus getting on the system and later we will talk about counter measures to prevent virus attacks in the future.   There are a few places a hacker likes to put commands.   Hackers love to put in the Registry to run a program every time Windows starts.  It usually in:

  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices\


Usually 50% to 70% of virus like to make sure the program to runs.  This is a flaw in Windows because hackers can edit this without much effort but there isn't many places a hacker can go to make sure a program is set to run when you boot.   So this is also a benifit to finding those little programs.


Now just like the Regisitry, Hackers also like to put programs in a few areas on the hard drive.   This is also kinda hard to hide because most of the time these are consider important to the system but if you know what to look for you can pretty much figure out if it is truelly a system file.  These areas of the hard drive are:




  • C:\WINDOWS\System32[ad#ad2-right]

  • C:\WINDOWS

  • %programfiles%\common files\microsoft shared

  • %windir%\temp\


These are just a few but if you look hard enough it can be found most of the time.   Most of the time I use the registry to tell me where these programs are so I can do a further check of the program.  Some of this is not needed with some of the programs that I recommend but this is for those who want to be a through job and make sure the virus is gone.

On my next post we will talk about some good tools for the trade to help get rid of a virus/Trojan.  This little step here is used to  better help identify a virus and also give you chance to google each name on the list of registry and the hard drive  to see if you can identify the virus.
Wednesday
Dec102008

Xbox Zune? or A Zune Phone?

Could Microsoft be planning to talk about the Zune.   Some blogs are talking about how this will be talked about in next month at CES.  According to some posts and I'll quote:






The Tech Trader Daily column earlier this week on Barron's reports that Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry predicts Microsoft will reveal a Zune phone next month at CES. Chowdry expects that much like Apple's iPhone the device will combine music player capabilities with, he says, "some motion enhancement features."





[Via 1UP]





Although this is a theory, and I can see this happening due to the fact that Microsoft has always like to tie together there products.    So what makes this even more tangible is the fact that Microsoft hinted about this in the past:



[ad#ad2-left]

Dated Dec 20, 2006

Xbox European boss Chris Lewis has admitted for the first time that Microsoft is considering games content for the recently released portable multimedia player Zune.



[via Gamasutra]




As you can see Microsoft did hint this and probably will be fact sooner or later.   Some sources are claiming they have this already in the works but it's still a rumor.   I'll let you decide for yourself.

Wednesday
Dec102008

Yet another Turn For Yahoo, They lay off 1,500 people.

As much as I like Yahoo, they decide to lay off workers due to money. It's really not un-expected due to the fact that they've been doing poorly.
Yahoo began laying off 1,500 workers on Wednesday as part of a plan, announced in October, to slash expenses by $400 million a year. The cost cutting, however, may have to go deeper in the coming year.

[New York Times]



[ad#ad2-left]Now we know the Google and Yahoo planned on getting together but that went south due to the Lawsuit.  Some think Yahoo's systems is flaky and is bound to fail.  Although I don't know much of the back story, I'd just wanted to let my readers know about Yahoo.  If you want to read the other articles on Layoffs by all means.   I also suggest people search my site for some good tid bits
Monday
Dec082008

Rumor is that Itunes will Remove DRM!

[ad#ad2-right]A report from last week brought to AppleInsider's attention by French technology site ElectronLibre asserts that it's now "clear" Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, Universal and Warner on December 9th.

[Via Apple Insider]

Although, this is somewhat unlikely I've got my own theories on this.  You see If Apple did this tomorrow that would be a BIG deal, due to the fact that Microsoft will be releasing there patches on the same day.  I find it would be a momentous occasion.

[ad#ad2-left]I can only guess why and the guess is just a guess.  If Itune's did remove there DRM the same time as Microsoft Patch Tuesday, I'd have to guess they will co-inside because of the difficulty of using the DRM, Digital Rights Management, on other products.  For example, Windows Media Player .  If Apple decided to approach Microsoft and come up with a way to make sure all DRM is stripped this would be the ideal situation.   Although this is highly unlikely, I'd have to think Apple wouldn't wait till tomorrow to strip the DRM.  They know Microsoft schedule.  We will have to find out in the coming days.
Monday
Dec082008

Facebook: Virus Variant comes back from the dead!

In my recent post, I talked about a Virus that is circulating around on Facebook.  It is know as the Koobface virus and has been changed a little by the programers.   So I what is Techworld saying, just this:

[ad#ad2-right]
In fact, Koobface is now using one of Facebook's own features against it, Lovet said. The latest variant uses Facebook's ability to redirect web links to drive users to malicious websites, often hosted on Geocities.com, Lovet said.

[Via Techworld]

If you have been victim to this little virus, you should check out my Virus removal page and download the programs that should fix this little virus for good on your system.  You should also check out my Previous post I also have some good tips and tricks to prevent the user(YOU) from getting hit by this virus in the first place. This virus is a Good social engineered virus, so please be careful.
Thursday
Dec042008

sinowal.trojan Problems.

Trojan-PSW:W32/Sinowal.CP drops and loads a password stealing component on the infected system and tries to steal account information from it. It also tries to steal information that is required to access certain online banks' and online payment systems' websites.

[via F-secure]

[ad#ad2-right]It seems to be a very hard virus to remove but there are ways to get rid of this virus.   Some tips and tricks to get rid are:

This are the beginning steps to get rid of a Virus but it will be a really hard virus because it wants to stay in your system.  You should also Restart in Safe mode and Try to remove that virus that one.   You will also want to disable your system restore due to the fact that it will be in there and might come back if you restore your system.  Just some simple tips to help keep you safe on the net.
Thursday
Dec042008

Is this Windows 7?



As you can see that looks to be the final release of the start screen. In the past they haven't change the start screen, it looks to be really polished and ready for use with Windows 7. If anything, I think the boot screen will be permanent and definitely not temporary. On a Side note, I found this video as well:

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:60e5f8c6-09f3-4a09-bac0-355b8a7b7dcc&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Windows 7 Demo 1">Video: Windows 7 Demo 1</a>


[ad#ad2-left]This video I almost suspect is the release they did at the Professional Developers Conference and is probably going to have the beta in hand. Although I could be wrong this looks to be almost like Vista? Why is Microsoft trying to make Vista turn into Windows 7, probably due to the fact that Vista had such a rotten launch they are hoping people will see Windows 7 as if Windows Vista didn't even exist.

I also found one more little Video that looks to be promising, it's called Windows 7 Super bar. This little Video looks convincingly like this will be kept in Windows 7 but you know how Microsoft is on beta's. Any how, Here's this one:


Windows 7 Super Bar from Paul Jenkins on Vimeo.

As you can see the super bar feature looks to be quite interesting and quite nice to have. I will bet that will be a great productivity improve in Windows and it might even be more like MAC OS X. I don't know but it seems to be something that Apple should of done a long time ago!!
Monday
Dec012008

Vista To release Service Pack 2 in April 2009



[ad#digg-right] Some sources are reporting that Vista SP2 will be out in April.   According to Engadget they claim TechARP is a bunch of Malaysian Kids that like to boast about how they broke the Vista SP1 and XP SP3 release schedules to the world.  They claim though that Vista Release candidate is to be out around February.Microsoft has indicated that this SP3 will include Windows Search 4, Bluetooth 2.1 wireless support, faster resume from sleep when a wireless connection has been broken and support for Blu-ray.   I personally think it will include some of Windows 7 features to better get people accustomed to Windows 7 when they come out.

[ad#ad2-left]Although this is speculation and no hard evidence I think it has some merit due to the fact that Microsoft has admitted in the past that Vista was a big Letdown.  I don't think they can any more to damage than they have already done.   If anything Windows 7 will be a easy Success if they pull it off in the right way!!!  Although with WIndows 7 be leaked online there is no telling what will happen. I am sure what ever happens will be interesting to say the least!!!
Wednesday
Nov122008

You have an undelivered UPS/FEDEX Package. (Virus)

From what I've seen so far. There seems to be a new rash of email going around with the heading that makes it look and feel like either UPS or Fedex. Saying that you have an undelivered package from them and to either print the order confirmation or to click a link. I will say this once, if you get this delete it. Fedex and UPS will never hide the link and tell you have an package waiting in the email. They will leave a note your door. You must ask yourself how Fedex/UPS found out your email address to tell you have a package waiting? They don't and they won't, just a fact.

[ad#ad2-right]UPS/FedEx Delivery Failure : Snopes

TROJ_DLOADR.GG and TSPY_ZBOT.NM Trojan, which will Monitor and try to steal your data. The other one is a ZBot and will try to steal you data also. If you need help removing this virus, I'd suggest checking out my other virus article Avg detected Trojan Horse Generic 12.htc?. There are a lot of ways to remove this virus but the first step is never click on any links in your emails. I also wrote about Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!! This will help prevent and fix the common virus problems you might have.
Sunday
Nov092008

Rumor: GE to be the next to layoff its workers!!

GE to Layoff 11,000 Workers!! GE to Layoff it workers!

According to sources of friends close to me, their seems to be a consensus that there will be a major layoff coming from GE. My source is talking about it being a lot of people will be laid off and that it will start happening in the coming weeks.

According to Yahoo Finance saying this "52 week change of GE is -50.86% from last year. "

[ad#ad2-right-1]Now last year this time there Stock Price was 38.38 a Share and now they are 18.60 a share.  They dropped -19.78 over the year.   The seemed to get close to the 38.38 a share on April 4, 2008 with making  37.56 a share.  That was there highest this year, due to the fact that people were getting there income tax refunds in the mail.    Also NYSE says they had a slight increase in July and Aug, that is due to the Stimulus package that we got in 2008.



Now I'm not a financial expert in the least.  I just see what I see with stock prices.  These could mean they are doing extremely well, or they could indicate that the company is planning on laying people off.  I'm just trying to provide a background on why they might lay people off.  We are getting to he point of becoming a Depression and no longer a Recession.  What do you think?
Friday
Nov072008

Is Vista just Windows 7?

[ad#ad2-left]According to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols from Computer World, He talks about how Microsoft is scared on Linux and that people are flocking to remove Vista off there Machines. I say otherwise, you see according to some experts like Mark Hall from Computer World, he states Vista is better than Mac OS X. So why do people say one thing and do another?

Now I know Vista isn't what people expected and that it had high expectations when they first released it.  I think that is due to the fact Microsoft tried so hard to make Vista seem more than it actually was.  Now According to Ina Fried from CNET her post was about Windows 7: A better Vista?. In her post she talked about the features of Windows 7, and how Windows 7 is almost like Vista. I tend to agree because of the look from screenshots I've seen to make me think it will be Version 2 of Vista. I don't think it is anything that will change from Vista to Windows 7. It will however be more ready to boot up and shutdown that is according to what Microsoft said to Ina.

What is Windows 7 going to have?  Some reports are saying:

[ad#ad2-right]I did some research and everything so far is either confirmed to be in this next release of Window 7 or is speculation.  I don't know if these are true.  I do know however everything they talked about is looking to me to be like Vista Version 2.  Nothing they've said so far couldn't of been an update like a service to pack to fix all these things people are wanting right now.  Vista to be faster, have better battery life, be lean, be embedded, better Uac, and boot faster.

Now I could be wrong but that is everything Vista could of done and still is possible to do!!  If only Microsoft would do what is needed people wouldn't be wanting Windows 7.  Although I suspect people will have there hopes broken, or complain about it when it comes out.  I suspect the ones who want Windows 7 will be saying Vista is great!!  I will just have to watch what happens in the future!!
Thursday
Nov062008

Mattel introduces the new Welfare Barbie.

[ad#ad2-left]Mattel will be introducing the new welfare barbie doll,or laying off 1,000 jobs. According to Bloomberg and I'll quote:
Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, said it would cut about 1,000 jobs, or 3 percent of its global workforce, as it faces higher manufacturing costs amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

[via Bloomberg]

If you're like me and you want to cringe every time you hear another place is laying off people. I say we are still in a downward spiral. Everyone is saying that even Jason Calacanis, in his recent email he sent to all his fellow readers, he talked about the Rich not buying anything they didn't need. He said that is good, I however wonder how far the hole goes before we hit rock bottom.

[ad#ad2-right]According to some analysts, they are talking about this lasting another year or more. On another note, according to Kotaku and I'll quote on this one to:
We have received a letter purportedly sent by THQ CEO Brian Farrell to explain to his employees the reasoning behind the company closing five studios and laying off staff from two others. The closed studios are Helixe, Sandblast Games, Locomotive, Mass Media and Paradigm.


[via Kataku]

Now I've talked enough about Layoffs in the past and I won't talk to much but I do hope this changes in the new future. If you want to find the other ones that I talked about just search my site, they are all there with out any problems.

[Thanks to Kyle Rees for the suggestion on the heading]
Saturday
Oct182008

Is Hulu the "salad course"?

Hulu Walkthrough



As I've been watching Hulu the last few months.  I've come to think that Hulu isn't offering us the viewers the chance of a full course meals.  They seem to like to stop after the first 2-3 seasons on most of the shows.    I recently contacted Hulu about the Naruto episodes and here's what they had to say about it:

Thanks for the email. On background, sometime in the coming weeks, Hulu
will get the remaining episodes of Naruto Season 1, and we'll also get
episodes from Season 2-3 in the future as well.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
Brandon Boone


[ad]


So why does Hulu do this? I have a theory and this is one that most people will agree on. My theory is that the distributors are trying to entice us into buying the rest of the seasons from someplace, like Amazon or Itunes. Now I am going to have to say this is really stupid way of business and will sooner or later create even more of a demand to download these shows illegally. In the past people have always looked for the cheap way to watch there favorite shows.
Increasingly people are using BitTorrent to download their favorite TV-shows. The rise of unauthorized downloading of TV-shows is a signal that customers want something that is not available through other channels. It’s more about availability than the fact that it’s free and should be viewed as an opportunity, not a threat.
[Via Torrentfreak]

It is one thing to offer free content and get revenue from the free content. It is another to offer free shows and encourage people to download the rest of the show illegally.

Why do they want to buy the rest of the episodes, it is simple math.  They are wanting to get the money for each DVD you buy.  In today's economy there seems to be less and less Blue ray sales.

[ad]

Published: September 23, 2008 - 08:18PM CT

The numbers show that Blu-ray's market share dropped 13.39 percent from the previous week, and that DVD's numbers actually went up by 0.15 percent. Netflix CEO Barry McCarthy recently told Home Media Magazine that he didn't expect Blu-ray to have much of an impact on the company's DVD business in 2008 at all. Citing high player prices, he said that only a fraction of Netflix subscribers currently rent Blu-ray disks.

[via Arstechnica]

Although, this is a couple weeks old article from arstechnica, I thought it was more relevant than most. It talks about how people can't afford to buy a player and the BD Dvd's due to the high prices and charge more than they should. So why do it in the first place? I don't know but all this is showing people are having to choice cheaper and cheaper ways to watch what they want because of the US economy slinding further into recession.

[ad]


What is your most favorite show or movie?  Are you willing to pay a lot for the movie?  These are questions,  that we have to challenge Hulu and other shows on why they only have 2 or 3 seasons of a particluar series.  Is it right to have lure us into the episode and not offer more episodes later on?