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Entries in Tor (24)

Monday
May182009

Free Anonymous Browsing with Opera-Tor

2588641284_603490d6d1_m Photo by Philip Chapman-Bell

Anonymous browsing is something of huge interest to the Internet users, who are very particular about their online privacy and security. There may be many reasons and situations, when you might be interested in using internet anonymously; for instance, you may be working on a public place and do not want to leave the traces or you may not like your family members or office colleagues to know what you have been doing online. Whatever be the reason, but still, it is an area, where a lot research is to be done.


How Anonymous Browsers Operate?


At present there are two dominant techniques used by various anonymous browsing tools. One is the use of JAP Networks, which was used hugely used earlier but later it ran into controversies after a backdoor had to be put into the product to allow interception of child pornographers on insistence of German Police.


The second technique is the use of Tor (The Onion Ring), which only allows anonymous browsing but also facilitates other applications like anonymous P2P, email, IM, and IRC chat. This technique is dominantly used in present day anonymous browsing tools.


Operator – A useful anonymous browser


OperaTor is small and relatively fast anonymous web browser, which combines the browsing platform of Opera, with privacy provided by Tor engines and the speed of browsing provided by Polipo.


You can download this 7MB application in your USB drive and carry it whenever you need to use a public computer for anonymous surfing.


In my testing, I was pleasantly surprised with the speed of browsing, which I was getting with this little tool. I had earlier used XBBrowser for anonymous browsing, but it was too slow, as compared to Operator. In fact, there was hardly any noticeable difference in the browsing speed as compared to my normal Opera browser. This is because of Polipo, the small caching web proxy, that comes bundled with Opera-Tor.


Since Operator allows only http and https protocols in anonymous mode, you should avoid Javascripts and Opera's IRC functions running through it.


Some people complain that it has not yet released the source code of itself. But my view is that unless you are hard-core programmer and really need to tweak the source code, why should you worry about that. After all, trusted networks like CNet says OperaTor has been tested spyware free and Softpedia gave OperaTor its 100% Clean award. Major antivirus vendors, like GData, Kaspersky, McAfee and Microsoft, confirm that OperaTor contains no malicious software.


Overall, one of the best applications for anonymous browsing available today.


Download Operator.


[This is a guest post by Silki Garg. She advises on how to eliminate spyware, online threats and malware detection, on her Internet Security Blog. A visit to her Blog is highly recommended. You’re sure to find something of interest.]




Monday
Feb232009

You won't make money from W32:Sality.ao

People should be cautious of the making money because there is a variant out there trying to leverage the users into thinking they can make money.

McAfee Says "W32/Sality.ao is a parasitic virus that infects Win32 PE executable files. It infects files (*.exe and *.scr files) on the local, network and removable drives by overwriting code in the entry point of the original file and saving the overwritten code in its virus body. It then appends the virus body to the host file."

Aliases for this Virus is:



  • Virus.Win32.Sality.y (Ikarus)






  • W32/Sality.AE (Norman)



  • W32/Sality.AH (Panda)



  • W32/Sality.AK (F-Prot)



  • Win32.KUKU.a (Rising)




  • Win32/Sality.AA (VET)


These links should help people understand it it.   You can visit my Malware Resources to help remove this virus.  Something to consider before removing this is to disable your restore points.

Remember there's no easy to make money, the only real way is to work hard.  According to my research the Anti-virus companies have ways to remove this virus and as long as you update your database.
Thursday
Feb192009

PolyMorphic Win32:Vitro Most Viraulent Virus

This seems to be an virus that is getting some people hit hard.   I wanted to blog about this because of the nature of Virus and Trojans.   I have read reports that this might be from Online Movies, and I have to say this is one reason why you must stay away from certain online movies.  I am going to take a guess that this virus requires a special CODEC, and you downloaded it and installed it.  It Could also be the update the Adobe Flash player idea to but still results in getting the Virus.

As I said before you take a risk when you go to sites you don't trust or know anything about.   You also should know that if you need a "SPECIAL" codec, you should just go on to another site.  These sites that claim they need this special codec means only one thing they want to install something without your Knowledge.

So what is this Virus:


The Virut family of viruses uses polymorphism to hide from all anti-virus protection, it infects executable files. File infection makes it very hard to repair a system that has been infected. W32/Vitro injects code in running processes and hooks the following functions in ntdll.dll which transfers control to the virus every time any of these function calls are made.

* NtCreateFile
* NtCreateProcess
* NtCreateProcessEx
* NtOpenFile
* NtQueryInformationProcess

[via Avast Forums]

After you get this very bad Virus you are done for.  You would need to install the Operating system from backups or even start a new.   This seems to be building this week and there isn't much you can do once your infected.  I do recommend a good Anti-virus and Firewall but that wouldn't fix the problem right now.  You will need to pull your backups out and start the process.  I suggest a complete wipe and then do the Restoring the backups.  This little virus likes to infect any .EXE it can so just restoring the Windows Directory will not help.  Remember only you can prevent from getting infected.
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.
Wednesday
Dec032008

Is this Hardcore PC Falcon Northwest Mach V Extreme or not?



[ad#ad2-right]Just saw this on PcWorld Reviews and thought I'd talk about the specs. I would love to get one of these for my self. It comes with:


All these are links are for those who would like to make this computer yourself.   The links are where you could go to buy the parts. The price after you buy the parts are estimated at $7395 price and I think you could get that down to 5000$ if you look for rebates and other incentives.   I wouldn't mind having this computer for gaming myself.   It sure would be nice to give for someone on the holidays.  This would be good for people wh o are looking to computer game developers or people who are into 3D rendering.  Just though I share this little  review with you.   They really did a fantastic review of this product on there site.
Sunday
Nov302008

Stop botnets in its tracks With a Firewall!

According to PC World and I'll quote:
According to FireEye chief scientist Stuart Staniford, detection rates are so poor that, on average, only around 40 percent of security software can detect binaries during the period of greatest infectivity and danger, namely the first few days after a particular variant starts being used by botnet builders.

[via PC World]

[ad#ad2-left]Now let's talk about this, having been seeing recent surges of people getting infected.  I've come to the conclusion that companies like AVG and other Anti-Virus companies are keeping up.   Now true if all you have is an Anti-virus and nothing else that greatly increases your likely hood of getting a virus.

In a recent virus storm, We have people finding my site because of a Good Firewall.   No if he didn't have anything but Windows firewall then it would of gotten through and you would not of known about it.  So let's talk about how to prevent botnet attacks.   This is relatively easy and if you follow some common rules.   You to could be less likely to be infected.  I will say this most people don't do these common tips and they should do them.

[ad#digg-right]So what should you do to help prevent from getting a Virus or Malware.  This is really simple, you want to find an Anti-virus Software that you like, and Firewall that you like also.  You'll also want to download the tools to better help you in case you do get infected.  Some of these tools I recommend are Hijackthis, Spybot Search and Destroy, Hitman Pro, and Ad-aware 2007 Edition (FREE).  Then Go buy a Sandisk USB memory Stick and put those on there for later use!!  You will always want to keep a backup of those just in case you get infected.

[ad#ad2-right]Make sure you update Windows regularly.  Having seen this time and time again, if you don't keep windows updated then you lose the battle.  If you have a system that needs updating, I suggest downloading the Clone to Autopatcher.  This little program will download the files needed to update your system without having to be online.  Although, you can have windows update automatically every month but that might not update the recommended updates only the ones that are hot.  It doesn't matter which way you prefer to update, as long as you do to update regularly, Like every 2nd Tuesday of the Month.

One last tip you should also keep your Firewall and Anti-virus updated.  There is a little program that will do that, it's call AppSnap.  If you follow all these recommendations you will greatly reduce your chances of getting a virus on your system.
Friday
Nov282008

Black Friday gets way out of hand!!! (No JOKE)

OK, Black Friday has officially gotten out of hand. A 34-year-old WalMart employee was trying to hold back the crowds at a Long Island store this morning at 5am, when they took the doors off their hinges and stormed the store. The man fell down and was trampled by over 200 people as he gasped for air. It's sad and despicable, and it's equally the fault of the dehumanized shoppers and the WalMart store it happened at.
[via Gizmodo]



[ad#ad2-right]This is a sad day when people are more interested in deals then someone getting stampeded by other people.   This happened in the Long Island Wal-mart.    I much prefer CyberMonday, where you don't have to worry about someone getting killed.   I feel sorry for the people involved they now have to deal with there conscience.   I hope this teaches Wal-mart to do something different next year.  Next year they should have them enter one at a time in a line, every 2 seconds or so!!
Tuesday
Nov252008

Some program Vulnebilities Detected!!

Just got done looking at some of my security sites and according to SecuriTeam there are are several programs that have vulnerabilities. here are the Ones that I've found:
Google chrome is vulnerable to URI Obfuscation vulnerability.
An attacker can easily perform malicious redirection by manipulating the browser functionality. The link can not be traversed properly in status address bar.This could facilitate the impersonation of legitimate web sites in order to steal sensitive information from unsuspecting users. The URI specified with @ character with or without NULL character causes the vulnerability.


[ad#ad2-right]iPhone Configuration Web Utility for Windows Directory Traversal
iPhone Configuration Web Utility lets "you easily create, sign and distribute configuration profiles using a web browser". A vulnerability in iPhone Configuration Web Utility allows remote attackers to access files that reside outside the bounding root directory of the program's files folder.


Streamripper Multiple Buffer Overflows
Streamripper "records Shoutcast and Live365 MP3 streams to a hard disk, creating separate files for each track. Runs under Unix and Windows." Secunia Research has discovered some vulnerabilities in Streamripper, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.


Amaya URL Bar Stack Overflow Vulnerability
A vulnerability in Amaya browser allows remote attackers to cause it to overflow an internal buffer which in turn can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code.

These are the ones that I found and wanted to let you know about these so you can make your system even more secure.   if I find any others I'll let you know!!!
Sunday
Nov232008

Citigroup bank might be saved through the recession.

According to reports from ABC News, Citibank is having a hard time and might need to be assisted by the government.
[ad#ad2-right]The company has seen its shares lose 60 percent of their value in the past week, reflecting a crisis of confidence among skittish investors. They are worried all the risky debt on Citigroup's balance sheet will turn into losses as the economy worsens and the markets stay turbulent — losses that could be nearly impossible to reverse.


[via ABC News]

Although this is somewhat expected, I don't think we can afford to pay the debt of a bank.  We are all having to deal with this recession.   I don't know how they can afford to pay for Citigroup and expect this to help bolster the economy.   I guess only time will tell!!!
Friday
Nov212008

Youtube gets ready to Launch "LIVE Event!!" 5pm PST/8pm EST

As the time approaches for the live even for Youtube. There are many confirmed and only one I want to see right now. As many people will agree that Mythbusters is the best show on Discovery Channel. They have been confirmed to be there tomorrow.

They are getting ready!!!


Some of the major players confirmed to be there are Mythbusters, Soulja Boy Tell'em, Katy Perry, Esmee Denters, Akon, FRED, and Will. I. Am.   Now I don't know all these stars.   I do Know Mythbusters and I've heard of FRED.   I'm just stating who is going to be there.

[ad#ad2-left]Then the Obvious question comes to my mind and I am sure this is being asked by everyone right now.  Is Mythbusters shows coming to Youtube?  I would say from what all is going on with Youtube, they might become a competitor to Hulu.  With them adding High Defination Viewing and allowing bigger video to be uploaded. There is no question that Youtube and Google is getting ready to release a major statement, or change there direction.   So be ready tomorrow at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST and let's see what happens.
Friday
Nov212008

How to disable autorun the easy way!!!

I read a report from Cnet about USB devices spreading Virus and I will quote:
The bad guys are intentionally developing new flavors of malware designed to propagate through USB devices," said Gunter Ollmann, chief security strategist for IBM's ISS security division. "They are today's floppy drives."

[ad#ad2-right]An infected computer can spread a virus to a clean USB thumb drive that is inserted. That USB drive will then be spreading the virus onto other computers if the operating system on those machines has an AutoRun-type feature enabled. The AutoRun function in Windows launches installers and other programs automatically when a flash drive or CD is inserted. The Mac has an equivalent function, according to Ollmann.

[Via Cnet]

In order to disable "autorun", which in Vista is called Autoplay. In order to disable Autoplay from starting when you insert media into your computer here is how you do it:

You will need to be Logged in as Administrator before this can be done:

Next click start and type "Autoplay" without quotes. It will bring up a screen but all you have to worry about is this:

Vista autorun

You will need to make sure there  is no check mark for "Use AutoPlay for all media and Devices".   Click save and close.

[ad#ad2-left]Once that is done, you will have no more Autoruns from USB devices.  If you want to disable Autorun in XP, I'd suggest reading some of these articles for XP.

These are just a few and are really nice to articles but there are others out there that might be more to your liking.  I suggest searching Google for them.   I hope this helps you out!!!
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.
Monday
Nov102008

Antivirus Professional 2008 uses Scare tactics

[ad#ad2-right-1]
We came across a rogue today called Antivirus Professional 2008 that uses GeoIP Lookup as part of its scare tactics. This site uses Flash and script to create the effect of an online scan, that then attempts to push an installer at the visitor. The NoScript extension for Mozilla Firefox is an excellent way to mitigate against this kind of garbage.

[Via F-secure]



It seems that there is a site out there, that seems to be trying to scare you into downloading there software. If you have any questions about this site please feel free to check out what I've found out:
Registration Service Provided By: ESTDOMAINS INC
Contact: 1.3027224217
Website: http://www.estdomains.com
Domain Name: ANTIVIRUS-ONLINE-SCANNER.COM
Registrant:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru


Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Creation Date: 07-Jun-2008
Expiration Date: 07-Jun-2009
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.antivirus-online-scanner.com
ns1.antivirus-online-scanner.com
Administrative Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru


Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Technical Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru


Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Billing Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru


Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732



[ad#ad2-right]Now as you can see this site is located in Russia, and if that's the case it is probably some virus itself to take control of your system to do what they want with it. So you best advice is if you think you have a virus then check out my recommendations these are all free to download and try. Unlike this site, they are legitimate and actually do what they promise.  If you want to email them you can but It don't think it will help.

*UPDATE on that Website*


According to F-secure that site is now Suspended.  Great job guys.  We are now fighting these people even better than I'd thought.
Saturday
Nov082008

Avg detected Trojan Horse Generic 12.htc?



Just got a warning from AVG about, trojan horse generic 12.HTC, haven't heard of it, anyone out there hear if this one? apparently it infects explore.exe, and after months of explore.exe crashing I'd say it's a legit virus.


[Via Answer Bag]



Some tricks and tips to remove this little virus is quite simple. It is embedded in your system so how do you remove this threat? Easy follow these steps and you will have a better chance of getting rid of the virus:

  1. Find out all you can on the virus -- Finding out the extent of where the virus lays is really a good idea.  Just because you found one place doesn't mean it isn't also hiding some other place.  Some good ways to figure out where it might be is to download Hijackthis and Then onces you download it and install.  Run it, and when you get the LOG file you will want to go to HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2, and see what it says.


  2. See if you can remove the Hidden Virus -- After you find out what the extent of virus may lay.  You will need to download these programs.  Run whichever ones you like to see if you can locate and delete the virus.  You may also consider using one of the several onine services to see what they might suggest or see if they can find this virus.

  3. Check your services and reboot sequence -- After you think you've gotten rid of the virus, reboot and do a rescan.  Usually the Virus will respawn after you reboot, some of them have a command in the reboot sequence.   You may want to check your reboot sequence, by check with MSCONFIG.  Sometimes it is hidden but if you check through the MSCONFIG for any files that might not need to load.  Also check the services tab and see if there is any services that may not be needed.  The best bet is to google search each service or program that is in there and see if that might fix the problem.


  4. Might be time to re-install Windows -- Although this is the hard for people, this can sometimes fix the most challenging virus.  You need not have to loose your important data.  The only thing to remember when you back up is when restore you data after you re-install windows.  Just remember one thing, if it is  an .EXE, .COM, .BAT, and .MSI extensions than that might risk you getting the virus all over again.  Although remember that you will need the other tools I talked about on #2 to keep from getting the virus again.


These are some tricks I use to get rid of a virus and now I've shared them with you and now it is up to you do the work.  If you have any tips or tricks to get rid of a virus leave a comment.
Wednesday
Nov052008

Obama Wins with McCain Leading the 2nd!



[ad#ad2-left]With Obama wining the Presidential Elections and McCain giving his concession speech.  We see a lot of potential going to be coming along.  I see the Democrats take charge of the US Senate.  I also see the House seats have gone to the Democrats.  So what is next for the next President, with the inauguration coming soon, what will the new president pick for the Chief of Staff.  I know he has some choices but which one will it be?

In some of the sites with his Bio, they talk about him being the First African American President:

[ad#ad2-right]Some thing to consider with the Vice President is that it will be Joe Biden.  Now I don't know very much about him but what I do know comes from the internet.  I wont't say much because I don't know much but I will direct you to the pages that I know about:

I will find out more in the coming weeks, but right now we are making history.  What is your responses on what happened?  Are you happy or angry?  Is the signs of even more economic instabilility?  These are all questions that we have to consider in the time to come!!
Tuesday
Nov042008

Today everyone is doing there homework! Links to Election Day Results


[ad]
Yep, You see it just like I do. People are studying to vote. People have been doing this from the time they went to school. It never fails the day before. To see who wins the election you might check out these links:

[ad]
Now I won't tell you who to vote for but I will tell you  that today we will be making History in more ways then one.  Whoever we pick will be historic, a black president or a Lady VP.  You decide go Vote and Here are some links to find out where you can vote at:

These should help you go and vote. Now go and vote and remember to think about who you will vote for.
Friday
Oct172008

Little Big Planet Delayed Due to offending phrases.



Just off the presses folks,  "Little Big Planet" has been delayed.  Here's what Sony is saying:
"During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licensed from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Qur'an.

"We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologize for any offense that this may have caused. We'll confirm the new launch date shortly."

[via dot.life]

[ad]


So here I am as a gamer waiting to see all this and they have to stop it due to so called "offending phrases", I would like to know what they were.

I am going to take a guess that it will be a short delay they have to get all the product they shipped and ship new ones to the stores.   It will create a big deal in the US due to all the new releases that are coming out just before Christmas so I would have to think around December if they are lucky.

Are you mad about this?  Were you going to buy this game for a christmas gift?
Wednesday
Oct012008

Taking back Program Controls : For the Beginners!


Graph of typical Operating System placement on...
Image via Wikipedia


So, let's face it, this is one of the most annoying problems there are with programs.   Programs that you think are shut down but are actually still active in the Taskmanager.  So I figured I'd talk about some of the most common fixes for these problems.    Now as you know there can be any number of programs or glitches as they say, causing the problems.  So let's talk about the why, shall we.

Most of the time programs don't quit because they are waiting for some kind of response from the system or the System is waiting for the program to close by itself.  It could also be a problem with a Virus or Root kit?  How do you fix it?

Fixing the problem is somewhat just trial and Error.  It isn't always the hardest thing to do but sometimes people overlook the easiest solutions.   So here are some easy ones:

  • Check to see if one of the Microsoft updates are causing the problem --  Sometimes you might not realize it, but having installed an update can cause problems like KB951748.  That one caused a major Headache for Zonealarm.  So it is wise to check each months updates when you start seeing problems, sometimes it could of been happening for a while but it can sometimes cause troubles.

  • Do a Hijackthis scan -- Just in case it is virus this will tell you what programs might be the virus.  You will need to go Analyze the logs so go HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2. Check the logs to see what viruses might be on your system.   Just Remember that if you delete something important to your system you will have to install the Operating System.

  • Boot into Safe Mode and Clean out your Prefetch Directory -- Yes that is right, if you boot into Safe Mode and clean the cache you sometimes help fix problems.  You see most programs loaded in cache sometimes get corrupt and might cause problems.

  • Uninstall any programs that you think might problem --  This one is easily overlook because most people don't realize that a program is loading up with your knowledge and might cause a variety of problems.  You can also check the Msconfig for that programs that might not need to be loaded up when you start windows.


These are just a few ways to fix the problem and I think if you do this most of your problems will go away.  There are of course other solutions depending on your system configuration.   As with any changes to your system, please talk to your computer care specialist if you have any questions.


Tuesday
Sep092008

Having trouble with I-tunes Here is way to fix the problem:

I've been having problem with I-Tunes lately and I wanted to talk about how to fix the problem that come along with using it.

Err = 8008 [A corrupt file that can't be completed due to some kind of glitch in downloading the file. It can happen to anyone at anytime.]



[ad]


To Fix the problem here are the steps you must do:





  • Go to the I-tunes Music Directory - C:\USERS\[USERNAME]\MUSIC\ITUNES\ITUNES MUSIC\DOWNLOADS




  • Look for the corrupt files, depending on the problem you can expect to see two or three directories. Find the one directory that has the corrupt file and delete the whole directory.




  • Once that is done load up I-tunes and go to the Store Tab and Check for Purchases.




  • This will get I-tunes to download the file again.




[ad]