TechBlog

A new KOOBFACE variant is again making the rounds in the social-networking scene. According to Trend Micro researcher, Norman Ingal, the malware employs Facebook’s Private Message feature to proliferate. The threat arrives as a Facebook private message that does not bear a subject but contains a supposed link to a YouTube video. Taking a closer look at the link, however, indicates that it is not an authentic YouTube link as in previous attacks. ...

Criminals like to attack the biggest target because BIGGER generally provides a better Return On Investment (ROI). Windows is a good example. Mac is indeed safer than Windows but it isn’t necessarily because Mac is more secure. Windows has a larger market share and that equals more potential victims. How about search engines? What is the biggest search engine on the block? Google — and the bad guys know it. The result? ...

Here’s a new vector: exploiting a Windows vulnerability through an Internet Explorer help menu Visual Basic script: “get ‘em to hit F1 and you own ‘em.” Microsoft is warning of a VBScript vulnerability in Internet Explorer (on Win2K, XP and Server03) that could be used to run malicious code. A malicious operator could create a web site that displays a specially crafted dialog box and prompts a victim to press the F1 key (help menu.) The exploit could then execute malicious code on a victim machine. (Windows versions that are not vulnerable are: Vista, Win7, Server08 R2 and Server08.) ...

Apple has sued smartphone maker HTC for patent infringement, citing 20 patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, architecture, and hardware, a statement from the company said this morning. A statement from Apple CEO Steve Jobs today said, “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” ...

Do you want to avoid unwanted telemarketing calls and SMS, arriving on your Mobile or Landline phones from Telecom companies which aim to provide additional services, promotions, offers, plans, tariffs, etc? National Do Not Call Registry (NDNC Registry) is a measure from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, whose main objective is to control Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) and let you get rid of it. To Register in NDNC Registry – Call 1909 (toll free) or SMS START DND to 1909 (toll free). In case you want to de-register yourself from the NDNC registry SMS STOP DND to 1909 (toll free). Alternatively, users can visit the ‘Do not Call/Disturb’ registration webpage of their desired telecom subscribers to apply for same. ...

More than 60 websites have been found to be hotbeds for SEO poisoning. Each of these domains host hundreds of possible matches for search keys. Also, the topics in one domain overlap with that of the other domain, thus making it possible that they will both emerge in the search results. Topics range from the Winter Olympics Luge Crash to the death of Alexander McQueen and even to NASCAR Schedule. ...

Last month, Baidu, the leading search engine in China, filed suit against US-based Internet registrar Register.com, in a legal event that took place at the height of the debate over Google’s continued business dealings with China. Baidu accused the registrar of changing its DNS records, so that customers were redirected to a completely different site purporting to represent the “Iranian Cyber Army.” But that original suit was heavily redacted, so we didn’t know the specifics of the alleged defacement. This week, US District Court in New York released the unredacted version of Baidu’s complaint, and now, as the man once said, we know the rest of the story. ...

Popular instant messaging, voice chat, and video conferencing client Skype and Skype Lite are no longer available on Windows Mobile devices. The company says, “We’ve chosen to withdraw Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile because we want to offer our new customers an improved mobile experience — much like the version that has proved so popular on the iPhone, and which is now available on Symbian phones. Our focus is on providing a rich user experience that allows you to enjoy free Skype-to-Skype and low cost calls as easily on the move as you do at your desktop. We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience.“ ...

Very funny: The story starts with an guy insulting everyone on the IRC channel. Most people there believed it was rather funny, but it got even more funny. For information: The dangerous hacker is called bitchchecker and the one being hacked and original author of the comments, who is talking here, is known as Elch. 127.0.0.1 is always the IP-adress of the computer you’re currently using, any request there will return to your computer. ...

In Additional to my last post: http://boelectronic.blogspot.com/2010/03/twitter-phished-its-easy-mistake.html We’ve received some questions regarding recent phishing attacks conducted against Twitter.com. Tweets and Direct Messages (DM) containing phases such as “This you??” or “LOL is this you” are linking victims towards a Twitter login phishing page. If the bait is taken and victim enters their password, Twitter’s infamous “fail whale” is displayed and the user is returned to their account. They might not even realize that their account details have been compromised. ...