Tales from the Techside

Kama Sutra Worm Set to Explode Make Sure You Are Clean

As I mentioned earlier this week the Kama Sutra worm is set to explode and by the most conservative estimates 300 - 400,000 users worldwide are going to lose all their documents ands important data. Approximately 30 minutes after starting the machine the worm will begin to overwrite existing document, PowerPoint, access, jpg, and other file types.

Microsoft has updated http://safety.live.com to detect and remove this worm, so take a moment and scan your system to make sure you are clean. If you prefer to download a tool to remove this virus then grab the symantec one from this website:

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blackmal@mm.removal.tool.html

Ultimately even if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you are clear of this worm you should back your document files, and archives up just to be sure. If something happens these files will be corrupted beyond recovery and that could cause many problems for both business and personal computer users. So take a moment update your anti-virus scan your computer, or use the free tools above in any case it is better to be safe then sorry.

Winamp Exploit Installs Spysherrif and CWS

The awesome folks over at Sunbelt are reporting that users of the popular Winamp software who failed to upgrade to resolve a recent exploit (I mentioned earlier this week), can expect to have CWS (cool websearch) and Spyware Sherrif drive by installed on their system. Apparently after going to a nasty website a malicious playlist is loaded and immediately after it loads remote code executes installing these nasty softwares on your system. So if you use Winamp and haven't updated yet do so immediately.

Update Winamp

Sunbelt BLOG: Winamp exploit found in the wild

IE7 Beta Publicly Release Security Hole Found Microsoft Spins the Issue

Days after releasing IE7 to public beta Microsoft is admitting that a security hole has been found that can cause the browser to crash and raises the possibility of executing external code. However Microsoft maintains that while the flaw is there but does not allow for code to executed.

My take on this is that this is a beta relaese, and we should expect holes, flaws, and exploits and it is better to get them resolved now then rear their ugly heads when the beta testing is done. The best thing Microsoft could do is acknowledge the hole fix the hole and thank the finder publicly. The spin doctors don't need to turn it around and make it out to be not a big deal. Unfortunately the biggest problem everyone has with Microsoft is their lack of willingness to just say oops we messed up.

Now don't get me wrong I love Microsoft, without them I would probably be a mid level manager in an accounting firm rather than living the life in the IT field. I have also participated in many public and private Beta tests for Microsoft and it is often my experience that they love to make small of problems. I understand the desire to meet deadlines and the pressures of a global economy but still its a beta test just say we messed up the issue is fixed now and thank you for reporting it.

The people who spend their time exposing these flaws don't do it for fame or money so a little thanks would go a long way. When the turn around time of exploitable flaw to malicious code is shrinking daily it is Microsoft's best interest to garner support from the security community. If someone reports the flaw acknowledge the flaw and correct but don't argue over the semantics of the issue.

In the end it is about security a better operating system and a safer more productive experience on-line. On Microsoft's end it is about a shrinking market share in the web browser market personally I love Internet Explorer but it hasn't kept pace with the times and as such I was forced to shift to an alternative browser. If I could go back to IE I would, so please Microsoft just acknowledge the issues fix them and move on. So that we can all enjoy your browser once again.

Security glitch bites IE7 beta | The Register

Update for Firefox address security issues and memory leaks

Firefox 1.5.0.1 has been officially released, if you are currently using Firefox then you have two choices on how you update.

1. Wait for it to happen Firefox has begun notifying users through automatic updates
2. Click Help > Check for Updates

Several security issues are addressed and users are highly recommended to get the updates as soon as possible. Keep in mind though if you have any extensions the upgrade might cause them not to work and therefor you should evaluate your needs prior to upgrade. If however these extensions are not absolutely critical I highly recommend you update now. If your reading this blog and are using Internet Explorer and want to give Firefox a try click this link:

http://www.getfirefox.com

I prefer the Firefox browser both from a security standpoint and usability one but understand it is not for everyone so I won't rail on you that you should change.

All hosted Images have been Locally Stored

In my post Ouch so harsh the criticism ... though justified I said that while Robin had a great idea it would be better from a security standpoint to allow the webmasters and blog-writers to locally host his image vice just remotely hosting from him. He correctly pointed out that I was being a bit of a hypocrite in that I had a number of hosted images specifically to blog aggregation services. I promised him in my follow up that I would correct this. As promised I have, I went through my blog this morning downloaded all hosted images uploaded them and changed the paths accordingly. Robin thank you for your comments and i still love the blog worm idea. so much so that I have given it a place of prominence.

~Psyne

What would you like me to write about?

Got any great ideas or a question regarding computers, internet technologies, spyware, mal-ware etc. that you have been burning to ask? Then comment this entry and I will try to answer your question to the best of my abilities. If you don't want your comment made public just title it private and I will not make it public.

Unable to login into websites check your cookie settings

If you find that you are unable to login to websites such as your email or online banking systems you may have inadvertently set Internet Explorer 6 to deny all cookies. To fix this follow the steps below:

1. In Internet Explorer, click "Tools" and then "Internet Options".
2. Select the "Privacy" tab.
3. Click the "Default" button
4. Press "OK" and then close and reopen Internet Explorer

If cookies weren’t the cause then you may have another issue that is spyware or malware related in that case drop me an email and I will be happy to help