TechBlog

h-online: Syrian activists, journalists and opposition group members are reportedly under attack by malware claiming to be a security tool that will help protect them against hackers. The fake “AntiHacker” tool is being spread through targeted phishing emails and via sites such as Facebook, and claims to provide “Auto-Protect & Auto-Detect & Security & Quick scan and analyzing” functionality. ...

h-online: A flaw in the built-in XML functionality of PostgreSQL (CVE-2012-3488) and another in its optional XSLT handling (CVE-2012-3489) have been patched, and the developers have released updated versions of the open source database with relevant fixes. The holes being patched are related to insecure use of the widely used libxml2 and libxslt open source libraries and the PostgreSQL developers advise anyone using those libraries to check their systems for similar problems. ...

MSDN: The August 2012 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer is now available via Windows Update. This security update resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, and Internet Explorer 9 on Windows clients and Moderate for Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, and Internet Explorer 9 on Windows servers For more information, see the full bulletin. ...

Symantec: Phishers continue to target Indonesian celebrities with adult scams. Phishing attacks on rock star Ahmad Dhani have already been seen. In July 2012, Symantec observed a phishing site that claimed to have an adult video of Indonesian actress and singer Aura Kasih. The phishing site spoofed a social networking brand and was hosted on a free Web hosting site. The adult scam came in light of a recent scandal surrounding the singer. An adult video, allegedly of Aura Kasih and pop star Nazril Irham, has been circulating recently in Indonesia over the internet and mobile phones. It is rumored that the video started appearing after Nazril Irham’s laptop was stolen. ...

Ubergizmo: Good news for those looking to get their hands on Windows 8 before everyone else does, the final build of Windows 8 has just been leaked online. This news comes a day after it was announced that the final version of Windows 8 had been finished. MSDN and TechNet customers won’t be able to download their version of Windows 8 until August 15th, an enterprise version of Windows 8 is currently making rounds at different file sharing websites across the web. ...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Google just took your phone a step closer to replacing your wallet in the mobile payment revolution. The company expanded its mobile payments platform, Google Wallet, to accept multiple credit cards. Users can now connect their Visa , MasterCard, American Express, or Discover cards with the new version of Google Wallet. It’s an update from the company’s previous partnership with MasterCard, Citigroup and Sprint. ...

Adobe wrote: Today, Flash Player 11.3.300.270 for Windows was released to address a crash that was occurring in the Adobe Flash Player Update Service (FlashPlayerUpdateService.exe). There are no other fixes or changes provided with this build. This release is available for Windows only, and affects the Active X and Plug-in installers, uninstaller, and msi’s (available on the distribution page.) No other platforms are affected. Please be aware that this release is not available from the Product Download Center (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer) which will continue to provide 11.3.300.268. We realize that this might cause confusion for some users. Due to the severity of this issue, we decided to make this build available immediately to help customers affected by this bug. Due to logistical issues and time constraints, we were unable to update the release on the Product Download Center. The next release of Flash Player will correct this disparity. Please note that unless you have been affected by the FlashPlayerUpdateService.exe crash, both 11.3.300.270 and 11.3.300.268 will be functionally identical. ...

TheRegister.co.uk wrote: Attack Surface Analyzer explains what apps do to your beautiful Windows installation Developers, developers …. *&^%%!!# developers who break Windows! That may well be a refrain that motivated Redmond to release a new software tool, Surface Analyzer 1.0, which explains how new apps impact Windows’ ability to repel the various varieties of naughtyware. Microsoft explains the tool’s powers thusly: Attack Surface Analyzer looks for classes of security weaknesses Microsoft has seen when applications are installed on the Windows operating system, and it highlights these as issues. The tool also gives an overview of changes to the system that Microsoft considers important to the security of the platform, and it highlights these changes in the attack surface report. Some of the checks performed by the tool include analysis of changed or newly added files, registry keys, services, Microsoft ActiveX controls, listening ports and other parameters that affect a computer’s attack surface. ...

BBC: Hacking group Anonymous has aided a global search for a cyber-vandal who defaced a charity website. Members of Anonymous helped track the attacker down to Madrid following a plea from the owner of the RedSky video production company. New Zealand-based RedSky asked for help after an attacker penetrated its website, erased data and left graffiti. The attack was reportedly carried out in a bid to impress Anonymous and join its ranks as a member. ...