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New Computer

Author: Omid Farhang Published: January 11, 2015 Reading Time: 2 min

Happy New Computer (To me!) Finally it was time to get a new computer as the old one was not working any longer for my needs and about a month ago passed away with a broken Graphic Card. After saving a few $$$ and considering my budget I got a good balance of power-computer and price. Here is configuration of my new computer (Click on images to see full size): ...

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What you need to know about BERserk and Mozilla

Author: Omid Farhang Published: September 25, 2014 Reading Time: 1 min

The Intel Security Advanced Threat Research Team has discovered a critical signature forgery vulnerability in the Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) crypto library that could allow malicious parties to set up fraudulent sites masquerading as legitimate businesses and other organizations. The Mozilla NSS library, commonly utilized in the Firefox web browser, can also be found in Thunderbird, Seamonkey, and other Mozilla products. Dubbed “BERserk”, this vulnerability allows for attackers to forge RSA signatures, thereby allowing for the bypass of authentication to websites utilizing SSL/TLS. Given that certificates can be forged for any domain, this issue raises serious concerns around integrity and confidentiality as we traverse what we perceive to be secure websites. ...

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Symantec to Overhaul Its Norton Security Line

Author: Omid Farhang Published: August 22, 2014 Reading Time: 3 min

Symantec is overhauling its Norton security software, going from nine products to just one as the company turns its attention to smartphones and connected devices. The new product, called Norton Security, doubles down on the company’s renewed focus on subscription models. In its most recent quarter, when Symantec reported a $236 million profit on a 2% gain in revenue to $1.74 billion, the company said it planned to optimize the Norton business while streamlining product support. ...

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New Facebook scams in 2014

Author: Omid Farhang Published: August 22, 2014 Reading Time: 3 min

So many Facebook scams in 2014 have been a little worrying even though at first they all seem innocent enough, but these are social scams to lure users in to gain money or access to computers. One particular Facebook scam this year was the “Robin Williams goodbye video”, which was apparently made before his death. This fake BBC News video is a scam and no such video exists. The “Robin Williams goodbye video” started to circulate on Facebook and asks users to share the video before they can watch it, DO NOT click on it. There is no video so no point on sharing it, Symantec explains in detail that when Facebook users click on the video it asks them to either fill out a survey or install an application. When the survey is complete the scammers gain money for each one completed. ...

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Happy Valentine's Day

Author: Omid Farhang Published: February 13, 2014 Reading Time: 1 min

Happy Valentine’s Day

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How NBC's Russian Hack Actually Happened, According to the Security Expert Who Set It Up

Author: Omid Farhang Published: February 10, 2014 Reading Time: 4 min

A couple days ago, NBC News ran a report pegged to the Sochi Olympics about Russian hacking. In it, correspondent Richard Engel uses a “brand new” smartphone to test out the Russian internet while hanging out in a Moscow cafe. “Almost immediately,” he says in the segment, “we were hacked.” Naturally, as the security consultant NBC hired for the segment explained today, it’s not true. ...

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Gates spends entire first day back in office trying to install Windows 8.1

Author: Omid Farhang Published: February 7, 2014 Reading Time: 1 min

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Bill Gates’s first day at work in the newly created role of technology adviser got off to a rocky start yesterday as the Microsoft founder struggled for hours to install the Windows 8.1 upgrade. The installation hit a snag early on, sources said, when Mr. Gates repeatedly received an error message informing him that his PC ran into a problem that it could not handle and needed to restart. ...

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The FBI is willing to pay top dollar to download some malware

Author: Omid Farhang Published: February 7, 2014 Reading Time: 2 min

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is willing to pay top dollar for the malicious, infectious software the rest of us pay to keep out of our computers, according to the Federal Business Opportunities website. A Monday price quote request by the Investigative Analysis Unit of the agency’s Operational Technology Division is asking computer security developers and retailers to help the agency build a library of malware for an undisclosed reason, letting the companies name their price. ...

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Victim Of Ritual

Author: Omid Farhang Published: July 11, 2013 Reading Time: 3 min

The “Victim Of Ritual” music video from the new album “Colours In The Dark” by Tarja Turunen is now visible worldwide Download the single & video via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Tarja_VOR Click here to pre-order the new album “Colours In The Dark”: http://www.tarja-coloursinthedark.com/ ...

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Avira starts blocking some browsers and email clients

Author: Omid Farhang Published: July 11, 2013 Reading Time: 1 min

Since yesterday, some Avira Internet Security users have only been able to use their web browsers if they first disable Avira Web Protection. According to Avira, some customers are getting a “data structure error” that requires a complete uninstall and fresh installation of the program. However, users in the Avira forum are saying that reinstalling does not solve all their problems: activating IPv6 support and the Drive-by protection causes new browsing issues – this appears to be a Java-related problem, particularly if the latest version, Java 7, is installed. Disabling browser protection is the only way to get around the problem. Chrome, Opera, Firefox and the Thunderbird email client are all affected. Avira has acknowledged that there is an issue with Avira Web Protection and the recently released Chrome version 28; the problem is currently being investigated. ...

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