Computer Stuff

Any time & Any where IP Surveillance for Your Life default password

2011-05-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

If you happen to have a DVR system and want to access it remotely via Any time Any where IP Surveillance for Your Life web interface you may be wondering what the default username and password for the supervisor account is.

Since that information isn’t included with the manual and bunch of web searches rendered NOTHING, I decided top post it here.

Username: admin,
Password: admin

H264 Streaming Viewer from AV TECH

Craigslist account holders beware - Phishing Alert!

2010-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

If you have a craigslist account you may have received an email notification about your account suspension. The subject line may read as follows: Account Suspension Notice.

It seems to come from Craigslist.org (accounts@craigslist.org) where in fact it's a spoofed email.

If you click on the link in email you will be taken to a phishing site: http://www.craigslisites.org/mycc/accounts/myclacc=/index.htm

Not surprisingly the screen you're looking at, seemingly resembles craigslist's account log in page.

DON'T enter your craiglist account info, as it will most likely be compromised!

The real craigslist account log in page has a valid SSL certificate present on the page:

Further, if you look up whois info on: www.craigslisites.org you get the following info.
The domain registered at Tucows appears t short-lived, as it was just registered yesterday - see below:

Domain ID:D158970743-LROR
Domain Name:CRAIGSLISITES.ORG
Created On:24-Apr-2010 14:23:28 UTC
Last Updated On:24-Apr-2010 14:23:29 UTC
Expiration Date:24-Apr-2011 14:23:28 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Tucows Inc. (R11-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Status:TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:ADDPERIOD
Registrant ID:tuuErU8rzJ0f7Ftt
Registrant Name:John Davie
Registrant Organization:John Davie
Registrant Street1:Yarmouth St, 20
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:boston
Registrant State/Province:US
Registrant Postal Code:02108
Registrant Country:IT
Registrant Phone:+39.16179876617
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:ardisfragmin318cw@hotmail.com
Admin ID:tubljOcclTkGd8g1
Admin Name:John Davie
Admin Organization:John Davie
Admin Street1:Yarmouth St, 20
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:boston
Admin State/Province:US
Admin Postal Code:02108
Admin Country:IT
Admin Phone:+39.16179876617
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:ardisfragmin318cw@hotmail.com
Tech ID:tu5dx2oY82l8wI3t
Tech Name:John Davie
Tech Organization:John Davie
Tech Street1:Yarmouth St, 20
Tech Street2:
Tech Street3:
Tech City:boston
Tech State/Province:US
Tech Postal Code:02108
Tech Country:IT
Tech Phone:+39.16179876617
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech FAX:
Tech FAX Ext.:
Tech Email:ardisfragmin318cw@hotmail.com
Name Server:DNS2.TECHNORAIL.COM
Name Server:DNS.TECHNORAIL.COM
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
Name Server:
DNSSEC:Unsigned

Enough said?

SPAM sent though Skype. Spyware, malware or virus?

2008-10-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

This message just popped in Skype chat window today:

[7:17:24 PM] Online Notice ® says: WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
=============================

ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected malware on your computer !

Affected Software:
Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows XP
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft Windows Win98
Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Impact of Vulnerability: Remote Code Execution / Virus Infection /Unexpected shutdowns

Recommendation: Users running vulnerable version should install a repair utility immediately

Your system IS affected, download the patch from the address below ! Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction.

http://www.registryscan.cc/?q=scan

Not surprisingly, the information rendered from whois database query makes it clearer that it’s not so legitimate site, just by looking at demographics and the registration date.

WHOIS information for: registryscan.cc:
[whois.enom.com]
=-=-=-=
Visit AboutUs.org for more information about registryscan.cc
AboutUs: registryscan.cc

Registration Service Provided By: Unpicked.com
Contact: support@unpicked.com
Visit: http://www.unpicked.com

Domain name: registryscan.cc

Registrant Contact:
Andrej Kazanski
Andrej Kazanski

Pod Nahorjem 150
Referral URL:www.unpicked.com
Prague, CZ 44300
CZ

Administrative Contact:
Andrej Kazanski
Andrej Kazanski (akazanski@europe.com)
+420.2495614
Fax: +420.2495614
Pod Nahorjem 150
Referral URL:www.unpicked.com
Prague, CZ 44300
CZ

Technical Contact:
Andrej Kazanski
Andrej Kazanski (akazanski@europe.com)
+420.2495614
Fax: +420.2495614
Pod Nahorjem 150
Referral URL:www.unpicked.com
Prague, CZ 44300
CZ

Status: Locked

Name Servers:
dns1.name-services.com
dns2.name-services.com
dns3.name-services.com
dns4.name-services.com
dns5.name-services.com

Creation date: 09 Sep 2008 10:39:09
Expiration date: 09 Sep 2009 10:39:09
=-=-=-=

What is it?
It appears to be another rouge program posing as security scanner. Scam!

Things you need to know before even considering 1and1 as your web hosting company

2008-10-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

For some is probably old news that 1and1 hosting isn’t the best choice around for your business hosting and it might just be worth as a fart in a windstorm. I’ve heard some even say that 1and1 hosting sucks and not to use it for anything and so on.

I have been using 1and1 since around 2001 or so and I have a couple of hosting packages with the, one so-called 1&1 Professional Linux and 1&1 Business Package which I use for static sites hosting.

I have had may hiccups along the way and tolerated them somehow, but today's experience made me realize that I need to look for a new, reliable hosting company.

One of my sites’s been running very slow throughout the day and towards the end of the day I started to get network timeout messages and internal server error 500, etc. Eventually the site became totally inaccessible. No access via FTP either.

Now, even though the affected site isn’t mission critical yet, the fact that it was down for a few hours reflects negatively on the company, not to mention that it’s bad for search engine reputation.

Major problem with 1and1 technical support:

• When calling, especially after business hours, the chances are that you get transferred to their call center in India and these guys usually are not much help, except for documenting your case, opening a trouble ticket and escalating it at best
• Naturally, they’re never able to give you any ETAs for any problems
• Oftentimes the technical support staff you interact with doesn’t seem to have much of a tech background and who don’t know what they are talking about
• A couple of times I’ve been called names other than my own while communicating with tech support and just tonight I received an email follow-up to an issue that didn’t pertain to my account. That only tells me that tech support personnel somehow mixed up my account information with other customers. Scary. Eh?

Conclusion:
Web hosting packages offered by 1and1 are surely cheap, but the quality of their technical support continues to suffer despite all of the customer satisfaction surveys that they send around after closing every trouble ticket.

You get what you pay for.

Onforce discriminatory practices???

2008-10-03T14:53:00.001-07:00

If you never heard about Onforce, they claim to be an online platform / marketplace that connects computer repair services and IT consulting professionals with the consumers needing those services. They work across the US and Canada.

Well, we decided to give it a shot and join just to explore the endless opportunities for business growth and just for networking possibilities. We signed up back in 2007.

A part of the provider account setup process is that you add your skills, verify any pertinent computer certifications and take their online tutorials about the service. In order to have your service profile activated you have to complete their platform 101 training and exam online. In essence, this platform 101 and 102 it’s just series of simple questions pertaining to their service features, rules, etc. Surprisingly they don’t even have their own credentialing system and use www.surveymonkey.com online survey service to collect and store this info. I found this very odd, especially that they call themselves a platform.

Long story short, I added all of my pertinent computer certifications (Microsoft, Comptia) to my service profile and to my astonishment I hit a roadblock when attempting to “pass” their 102 and 102 tests!?!

I followed their procedures to the T, took their online tests though survey monkey and after having waited a week I decided to follow up since there was NO signs of any confirmation of tests. I contacted them via email and they responded pretty promptly, but the robotic email just advised to go through online training and complete the platform 101 test AGAIN!
I emailed them back asking if they had any records of my test results, but I didn’t hear back at all. Oh well.

After a week, I took the bullet and decided to take the 101 test again and in order to get to it you have to go though the tutorial again. So I took another 30-45 min to do so. Then took the test and this time around I saved the survey monkey URL, which seems to be unique.

The very next day I followed up via email simply to ask if they received results of my test, but I didn’t get any replies this time. Go figure.

Perhaps what had happened to me is an isolated incident, but based on my experiences I will NOT recommend Onforce to any IT company or individual.

Coincidently, I stumbled upon Ripoff Report website on which there’s quite a few reports from various sources about Onforce being a rip-off, not treating its members fairly. Here’s just a few heading just to name a few:

• OnForce, Computer Repair, Jeffrey Leventhal, Ripoff Does Not Pay Contractor Taken For Large Amount Of Money New York New York Internet
• Rebuttal Onforce DO NOT USE ONFORCE EVER Lexington Massachusetts
• OnForce Blows No way can you make money with them ripoff New York New York
• OnForce ripoff Shady Unqualified Techs Internet

Take a look.

Update: 10/06/2008

Shortly after making this post (less than 24h) I had received a few apologetic follow-up emails from Onforce staff offering help with activation process. Not only they offered help with expediting activation of my profile but they have also acknowledged the failure of their training authentication system.

Frankly, I was surprised how seriously the issue was taken (at least how it was expressed in emails) and how many people were personally involved to eradicate the problem. That tells me that someone listens.

It didn’t take more than 12h and I received an email from Verification stating that my Onforce profile was active and available to buyers creating Work Orders. I just wish this was a bit easier :)

Let’s see what happens next.

M0re of West African Scam / Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud in Internet Web Mail Frauds and Email Letter Scams

2008-09-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know how these guys are finding me, but is just received this email:

-----Original Message-----From: Bernie Immanuel [mailto:ankringan_tugu@hotmail.com]

Sent: Tue 9/23/2008 6:11 PM
To: xxxxx xxxxxxx
Subject: Inquiry

Dear Sir/Madam,

Good day,
I have visited your website. I'm quite interested on your products.If it is possible, I would like to order from you.
Do you have stock cisco product, - Type product : Cisco 7206VXR /NPE G2 - Qty Order : 1 Unit Can you ship this order to singapore via DHL or UPS Express?And term of payment for the item mentioned above, Will you accept to a credit card for payment in this transaction? I should be pleased if you could send me your new complete price list and other information. We would be grateful if you could send this information as soon as possible. We look forward to your replay and thank you for your coorporation in this matter.

Your Sincerely,

Bernie Immanuel _________________________________________________________________

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that's another poorly executed African email scam.

Please, at least they should have come up with some Anglo-Saxon name, like: Adam Smith or John Brown that used email me wanting to pay lots of dough for our services…lol

I thought I warn those that never seen one before.

Unable to load google home page: 403 forbidden…

2008-09-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Google happens to be set to my home page in internet browsers I use. This afternoon, as soon as I launched IE and Firefox I was presented with this message: 403 forbidden…

We're sorry...

... but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.
We'll restore your access as quickly as possible, so try again soon. In the meantime, if you suspect that your computer or network has been infected, you might want to run a virus checker or spyware remover to make sure that your systems are free of viruses and other spurious software.
If you're continually receiving this error, you may be able to resolve the problem by deleting your Google cookie and revisiting Google. For browser-specific instructions, please consult your browser's online support center.
If your entire network is affected, more information is available in the Google Web Search Help Center.
We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope we'll see you again on Google.

To continue searching, please type the characters you see below:

(Here goes captcha window)

Well, since I’ve never experienced this before first thing I did was to scan that very PC for virus, spyware, malware infections. Of course Symantec Antivirus says that it’s up-to-date and everything is cool.

Using alternate virus detection programs rendered the following results:

Registry Keys Infected:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{2e9937fc-cf2f-4f56-af54-5a6a3dd375cc} (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> No action taken.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{741de825-a6f0-4497-9aa6-8023cf9b0fff} (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> No action taken.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{147a976f-eee1-4377-8ea7-4716e4cdd239} (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> No action taken.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{56256a51-b582-467e-b8d4-7786eda79ae0} (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> No action taken.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Multimedia\WMPlayer\Schemes\f3pss (Adware.MyWebSearch) -> No action taken.

Restarted PC and after that things seems to be back to normal. I'm not convinced that the malware infection found was the cause here though. Anyone has any thoughts on this?

SK Holdings Company Ltd. Domain Registration Center scam / spam email

2008-09-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last night, we received a message from Lily Chen - someone who says they’re going to try to use our domain name in China, etc. or poses as a registrar just trying to get us to contact them to have those domain names secured through their company, etc. It sounds pretty vague and shady.

After spending a few min on research it turns out that it’s poorly designed and SPAM email Made in China :) and it can be safely ignored and deleted.

Here’s the body of message:

Dear CEO,

We are a domain name registrar centre in HongKong.and in charge of the registeration in Asia.We have something important need to confirm with your company.

On Sep 17, 2008,we received a formal application form from M-Super Corp who applies to register

internet trademark:kontech

And the domain names:
kontech.asia
kontech.cn
kontech.com.cn
kontech.com.hk
kontech.com.tw
kontech.hk
kontech.in
kontech.tw

During our auditing procedure we find out that the M-Super Corp has no trade mark, Intellectual property, nor patent even similar to that word.we have the duty to inform you this matter. If you do not know this company, we doubt that they have other aims to buy these domain names. Now we have not finished the registration of M-Super Corp yet, in order to deal with this issue better, please let someone who is responsible for trademark or domain name contact me as soon as possible.

Best Regards,
Lily Chen.
Auditing Director
________________________________________

Fax: + 852 8226 1055
Email: lily.chen@sk-network.org
Web: http://www.sk-holdings.net
________________________________________
Confidentiality Notice:This is a letter for confirmation. If the mentioned third party is your business partner or distributor in Asia please DO NOT reply. We will automatically confirm application from your business partner after this audit procedure.we have to notify you,and our registration organization are not responsible for any dispute questions about trade mark,intellectual property nor patent after they succeed in registration.hope you can understand.thank you.

09/23/2008

Thre goes a follow-up email from Lily flagged with high importance:

From: Lily Chen [mailto:lily.chen@sk-network.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:13 AM
To: Kxxxxx Mxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Read: (To the CEO) Regarding Domain Name "kontech "Importance: High

Dear Sir/Ms,

We did not receive your reply until now. I have been helping you in the whole course, but we need your cooperation, We don't hope the domains be registered under your unknown.So we sent email to inform your company to protect your interest.Do you mean that you want to give up the registration? If so, we will sign the registration agreement with the third party . So please confirm whether you need to reserve your rights. Waiting for your further reply as soon as possible. If any question, do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards
Lily
Auditing Director

Safe to ignore/delete

Email: UPS VIRUS - not ahoax this time

2008-09-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Email: UPS VIRUS - not a hoax this time

I received this email and was about to ignore it, but after a few min of research it turns out to be a real thing.

There's even a warning on UPS site about this virus threat.

If you get similar email I'd suggest that you delete immediately and permanently!

Subject: UPS VIRUS

The newest virus circulating is the UPS Delivery Failure. You will receive an email from UPS Packet Service along with a packet number. NOTE: The word packet is mis-spelled on this line. It will say that they were un-able to deliver a package sent to you on such and such a date. It then asks you to print out the invoice copy attached. DON'T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHES THE VIRUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC operators at work and home. This virus has caused Millions of dollars in damage in the past few days.

Snopes confirms that it is real:

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp

Another Domain Scam: US Copyright Registry

2008-03-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Domain Scam: US Copyright Registry

Another email scam scheme is making is spreading around.

It just came to my mailbox.

At first it looks very official, especially that it references US Copyright Registry email, but if you closer you can definitely tell that is another scam geared toward unsuspecting domain owners.

Supposedly it’s a final notice, while I’ve never received any prior notices!?!

And… You are required to advise the US Copyright Registry of your intent to license this website… Give me a break!!!

US Copyright Registry
244 Fifth Ave, Suite #2279 New York, NY 10001-7604 www.USCopyrightRegistry.com support@USCopyrightRegistry.com Toll Free: 1-800-634-5760
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
ATT: Mateusz Krzesiczan ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT info@domain.com Address: Philadelphia 19103 Phone: +XXX.XXX.XXXX www.kontech.net	Notice Tracking Number: CR34159XXX
Please be advised that the above noted website has not been protected and is now available for copyright registration
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW
TITLE 92, Sec. 107 to 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following: Rights of attribution and integrity: the author shall have the right to claim authorship of that work, and prevent the use of his or her name as the author of any work which he or she did not create. Be advised: Protecting a website is the responsibility of the owner of the website and must be registered through the United States Patent and Trademark office to legally prevent others from infringing on the owners rights and copying a website. It is the responsibility of the website owner to complete registration to protect their intellectual property and bring suit in federal court for infringement and obtain statutory damages up to $150,000. Domain name and trademark registration does not register your website for copyright registration and it is the responsibility of the website owner to register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to complete registration Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the website owners registered copyright as provided by sections 106 through 122 who infringes on the copyright registration may sued in federal court for infringement and obtain injunctions on such terms as it may be reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement. In the event of infringement, the infringer is liable for: The website owners actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or statutory damages, as provided by subsection (c). (b) Actual Damages And Profits. – The website owner of copyright is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the actual damages. In establishing the infringer’s profits, the website owner of copyright is required to present proof only of the infringer’s gross revenue , and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work. © Statutory Damages. – Except oas provided by clause, the website owner of the copyright may elect, at any time before final judgement is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually. registration by a third party, the UDRP may be applied under the following conditions. You are required to advise the US Copyright Registry of your intent to license this website if registration is administered through the UCR as this is your final notice. Note: you may disregard this notice. If you disregard this notice or fail to reply: UCR and the United States Patent and Trademark office will NOT be liable for infringement of your website, interruption of business activity or business losses.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY If you fail to reply to this notice this website will NOT be registered through UCR to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You must advise us of your intent to secure your website in order for registration to be completed through UCR.
Call 1-800-634-5760 Notice Tracking Number: 34159XXX The information in this letter contains confidential and/or legally privileged information from the notification processing department of the UCR. This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) named above. Email support@USCopyrightRegistry.com if you do not want to receive further updates from UCR. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents for this letter is strictly prohibited.

How to change Windows XP product key

2008-02-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

Have you discovered that your current Windows XP key is pirated or illegal but you don't want to reinstall Windows XP to activate your new legal key?

No problem.

Here's how you can fix it in less than 15 min.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

If you're uncomfortable making registry changes, check out the tip at the bottom of the page.

1. Click on Start and then Run.

2. In the text box in the Run window, type regedit and click OK. This will open the Registry Editor program.

3. Locate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder under My Computer and click on the (+) sign next the folder name to expand the folder.

4. Continue to expand folders until you reach the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents registry key.

5. Click on the WPAEvents folder.

6. In the results that appear in the window on the right, locate OOBETimer.

7. Right-click on the OOBETimer entry and choose Modify from the resulting menu.

8. Change at least one digit in the Value data text box and click OK. This will deactivate Windows XP.

9. Click on Start and then Run.

10. Continue with steps how to change Windows XP registration key here

Online Banking Fraud and Internet Security

2007-10-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Online banking fraud is one of the principal threats that Internet users currently face. This year alone, online fraud has increased by almost 40 percent over last year. The convenience of online transactions – from eBay payments to banking operations – is counteracted by a criminal plague that is causing many users to feel unsafe when transferring money across the Web.

Banks and companies have designed different security strategies to try and make sure that the person logging in to a service really is who they claim to be. From cards with coordinates to virtual keyboards, numerous authentication systems have already been undermined by cyber-criminals — often using banker Trojans designed to attack a specific organization. This is what is known as a targeted attack.

If a user discovers that their bank account has been raided, they file a claim with their bank in order to receive reimbursement. However, the bank must also take quick action in order to stop the attack and prevent other users from falling victim to the fraud. To do so, they must identify the malware responsible, find a way to block its effects and actually implement the necessary measures. This usually takes them a minimum of 48 hours—a window of vulnerability during which time the amount of money lost could increase considerably.

The situation is as follows: banks and financial entities spend considerable sums on online security. Despite this fact, they have to cover huge financial losses every year despite “being protected”. Why? Because they didn’t check the weakest link in the authentication process: the user. If a user happens to be infected by a newly created banker Trojan, then all the banks’ security efforts could be in vain.

To solve this problem, Panda Security has created Panda Security for Internet Transactions. This service allows banks and other financial entities operating online to scan the users’ PCs for malware. If they find that the user is infected, access to the banking website is denied, stopping the fraud from entering the system.

Blocking access, however, is just one of the options, as the service is completely configurable. Clients can determine how the scan operates, if it is mandatory or not, what malware samples must be present on the user’s computer for a transaction to be prevented, if infected users are notified, how they are notified, etc.

The scan is totally transparent and takes place in real time, so users can continue using the Web without problems. It is also fast - taking less than five seconds. Using this technology, users can feel much more secure about making online transactions and the transmission of confidential data.

The speed and transparency of the service is a key element. If it were a slow or cumbersome process, many banks would rather assume the losses deriving from fraud than trouble their clients with an awkward process. This high speed is possible because the signature file and the other scan components are not downloaded onto the users’ computers; they just have to install a small ActiveX control the first time that they use the service. The rest of the process is online and contains information on over two million malicious codes—making it one of the largest malware databases ever created.

Banks and companies will see their expenses notably reduced thanks to this service, as there will be less fraud-related losses to cover. They will also have greater control, as they will know what malware is affecting their clients at all times and how to stop it.

It is, to sum up, a development that will reduce financial losses for banks and will notably increase end-users’ confidence in online transactions.

By Bruno Rodríguez, International Business Development Manager for Panda Security

Antivirus Solution on Steroids?

2007-10-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

What would be the “perfect” online antivirus solution?

For starters it would be easily accessible. It would work with existing antivirus and security software. It would work quickly and effectively without interfering with productivity. And it would be user-friendly.

Most importantly, it would detect even the hardest to find hidden malware and have the ability to remove it when found.

Finally, it would issue a full report of its findings, let the user know about potential vulnerabilities, and then disappear from the system without a trace.

Does such an antivirus solution exist? Yes it does. It’s called Malware Radar.

“Malware Radar is unlike anything currently available with respect to antivirus and Internet security solutions,” says Ryan Sherstobitoff, Panda Security’s Internet security expert. “To my knowledge, it is the most effective tool for finding and locating today’s new breed of super-secret, virtually undetectable malware that now infects a large percentage of computers and computer networks around the globe.”

Nothing is ever "perfect" of course, but Malware Radar is surprisingly ideal from a variety of viewpoints.

“This is what anyone who uses Malware Radar can expect: No matter how “protected” your system may be, no matter how much you are spending on your network security, the odds are pretty good that you will find hidden malware on your system using our technology,” says Sherstobitoff. “I realize that it can be shocking and somewhat unreal to find malware on a system – especially if you are a bank or Fortune 500 company – but we continue to find intruders on systems with security measures already in place.”

Sherstobitoff is speaking from experience. This past year he has been crisscrossing the country, demonstrating to various groups that they are not as protected with their antivirus solutions as they thought they were.

The truth of the matter is that the underlying dynamics of Internet security and computer malware has changed dramatically in the past few years. So successful have criminals been at hiding what they are doing, no one, it seems, is sounding the bell to let the general public know what is going on.

“For all intents and purposes, today’s malware is virtually invisible,” he states. “Criminals and hackers have gotten so sophisticated that they have created Internet invaders that can not be detected by traditional antivirus solutions. Today’s malware is able to slip past antivirus software and firewalls, and then reside on computer networks totally undetected. While residing on the system, they are usually stealing the computer network blind of all its confidential and profitable information.”

Panda Security seems to be one of the few antivirus companies that has tried to make the public at large aware of the seriousness of the problem. Because other providers lack the capability of detecting a large percentage of today’s malware, most of the industry isn’t anxious to talk about it. Panda, however, feels that it is very important that the public be informed.

“I think that it is extremely important that the general public find out for themselves that there is a problem with the Internet,” Sherstobitoff says referring to the current vulnerabilities in antivirus and Internet security software. “I don’t want corporations and businesses to take my word for it. I want them to go to the site and find out for themselves if they are infected.”

Assuming one intends to take advantage of this antivirus service, what can one expect to find?

“I think people will find that Malware Radar is a pretty amazing tool,” says Sherstobitoff. “There’s nothing to install. The user has a choice of a quick scan, or a much more thorough and in-depth audit. The size of the network doesn’t matter as Malware Radar is easy to deploy and comes with a distribution tool that the administrator can use to totally control what computers he wants scanned.”

After the audit, Malware Radar provides two full reports (type and quantity of malware detected and its exact location), the vulnerabilities detected, and the status of the current level of protection. One report contains the main results and recommendations; the other is a technical report with full details on each computer scanned.

“It’s important for potential users to know that Malware Radar is not going to conflict with the antivirus or security program that the user may have installed on the system,” explains Sherstobitoff. “Malware Radar is not meant to replace or interfere with any antivirus software program. After the scan is complete, Malware Radar leaves no trace of ever being on the system.”

Sherstobitoff says that Malware Radar is not an antivirus or Internet security program and that it is very important that the user continue to use an antivirus program after the scan is complete. What Malware Radar does do is take a kind of “snapshot” of the current state of any network on which it is used. It will give those who take advantage of it a complete picture as to just how well their system is being protected.

When the scan is complete, the administrator has the option of using Malware Radar’s cleanup tool. This is optional, but most find it extremely useful since the antivirus program in place isn’t seeing the hidden malware and therefore can’t remove it.

“We think it is going to be a real eye-opener when the public use this service," predicts Sherstobitoff. “Companies that have used it have been able to get a true picture of the state of their computer network protection. Although it has at times been shocking to find hidden malware on their systems, it was also a relief for them to be able to remove the danger before too much damage was done. It is our hope that everyone takes advantage of this remarkable service. It really is an antivirus solution on steroids."

By Thomas Hardy Faulkner, Editor, Collective Intelligence

Are Considering IP Telephony? Don’t Overlook Disaster Recovery!!!

2007-10-19T10:27:00.001-07:00

Are Considering IP Telephony? Don’t Overlook Disaster Recovery!!!

As you consider which IP telephony system to choose for your organization’s needs, remember that unplanned downtime—whether it results from a sprinkler system that malfunctions in your head office to a Category 6 hurricane that temporarily knocks out an entire region of the country - is all but inevitable. Preparing to recover your voice system from an irritating inconvenience or a full-blown natural or man-made crisis must figure in your consideration of the various IP PBXs on the market. Here are a few considerations to help you build your disaster recovery plan for your IP phone system.

Highly Reliable Architecture. First, you’ll want to choose a voice system with a highly reliable architecture—reliable both from the standpoint of the necessary hardware and that of the operating system and applications running on it, such as auto-attendant and voicemail. System availability, with 99.999% availability widely considered the gold standard, is typically determined by comparing how often system hardware fails to the percentage of time the system is available.

Component Redundancy. Component redundancy will allow failover to another server, room or office in the next state should weather or another incident knock your IP telephony system offline for a while. A backup location in another town with dedicated networking infrastructure is a good place to start plotting out a disaster-recovery plan. Choose your secondary site based on your organization’s size, client base or business coverage area. Look for an IP PBX that supports N+1 redundancy. With N+1 redundancy, you’ll only need one additional system to backup all of the switches at a site. Some IP telephony providers support NxN redundancy, which means that you’ll need to buy a spare switch for each and every switch at a location if you want to be sure that phone service continues during an incident. Remember, NxN redundancy can get expensive fast!!!

Mean Time Between Failure Availability can be measured by calculating the average mean time between system failures (MTBF) of hardware components in the system. Per Wiki ‘Calculations of MTBF assume that a system is "renewed", i.e. fixed, after each failure, and then returned to service immediately after failure. The average time between failing and being returned to service is termed mean down time (MDT) or mean time to repair (MTTR).’

Ability to Work Remotely. If an event precluded workers from working in their usual offices and using their main telephone system, you need to find a system that simplifies the process of working remotely. You have to look for the system that gives users who must suddenly and temporarily work from home or a remote office the ability to go to another telephone on or off the network, log into a voicemail box, and assign internal extensions to external phone numbers that can be a cell phone or land line.

Network Redundancy. Next, think about network redundancy. Keep in mind that due to Quality of Service (QoS) issues, LANs and in particular WANs have lower reliability than do telecommunications systems like the PSTN. As such, you’ll want an IP telephony system that links both to the PSTN and backup WAN connections, which will permit the automatic re-routing of calls should a network become unavailable.

Backup Power. Lastly, you’ll need a plan for power backup to the office. If the organization rolling out IP telephony has redundancy built into its data network, the phones should still work if the power fails at the site. But if IP telephony switches go offline because servers go offline, IP phones will not work. Thus, a backup power source for the network is essential. For organizations with large physical plants, this may be less of an issue. Mid-sized or smaller companies that load up electrical outlets with copiers, printers and other gear must ensure that they have adequate power supplies in place to keep their IP telephony system online in the event of a power failure.

As you consider the move to IP telephony and how your organization would recover from a small power outage or a large-scale natural disaster, keep these considerations in mind. The preparation of a plan that will guide your organization is more than just a theoretical exercise - it’s common sense.

AOL freezing when opening Abode Reader document: "There was an error opening the document. The file could not be found"

2007-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

AOL freezing when opening Abode Reader document: "There was an error opening the document. The file could not be found"

This problem seem to have been plaguing AOL users, running XP ever since upgrading Adobe Reader to version 8.0 and manifest itself by freezing AOL when trying to open downloaded pdf attachments. Upon restarting AOL and when attempting to open it again you get the "There was an error opening the document. The file could not be found" message.

My client has a laptop running XP Media Center edition, with most recent windows updates and using AOL version 9.0. I’ve been searching multiple forums; including adobeforums.com for a workable solution and to date I haven’t found one. I was able to, however, find a workaround that might have been pointed out by someone in one of the forums. Here’s what I’ve done:

Initially I removed Adobe Reader 8.1.0, restarted Windows and installed Adobe Reader 7.0. Still no go.

Then I removed Adobe Reader 7.0 and ‘went back in time’ and installed Adobe Reader 6.0. Viola, it worked like a charm!

Although, it’s not most elegant fix, it works for my client so far.

Let’s hope someone finds a true fix that addresses this so annoying problem soon.

Good luck to all.

Edit:

You might ask where did I get Adobe Reader version 6.0.

Sure, I downloaded it from file hippo and I uploaded it here as well in case one of my clients needs it again: http://www.philadelphia-wedding-photography.com/download/AdobeReader6.0/AdbeRdr60_enu.exe

Also, keep in mind not to upgrade Adobe Reader to any higher version until official fix is found and published. I believe you can set Adobe Reader preferences not to check/install new updates.

SMC MEDIA ADAPTER 802.11G 54MBPS - Nice Toy for cheap

2007-04-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

I just got two of these this week and i've been satisfied so far.

Product Description

The EZ-Stream Wireless Audio Adapter is an innovative solution from SMC for your Home Entertainment Center. The new EZ-Stream 802.11g Wireless Audio Adapter is fast and easy to install on your 802.11b/g wireless network. The SMCWAA-G features a large flip-up LCD Matrix display and an infrared remote control for quickly selecting the audio tracks or Internet music station you want. The SMCWAA-G gives you the freedom to play the MP3 and WMA (unprotected/ protected) music files stored on your PC to any room of your home. You can specify audio tracks or Internet radio stations as "Favorites" by the click of a button, so with one menu you have quick and easy access to the songs or stations you listen to most.

Was able to successfully connect to my wireless network (which even had TKIP). I had to change the key to all lower case since the unit only allows lower case letters. Build quality cheap when you hold it but you wouldn't notice it from 10 feet away. Sound quality is fairly good. Instead of plugging in my laptop to the home theater this unit does the job. Just wish it had some facility to rate the songs played. Don't know how long it will last so keeping my fingers crossed.

Bottom line: It's the best toy you can get for the money. I only spent $25 at buy.com. It's very simple to set up and easy to use. In fact, it's so simple that you don't even have to read the manual! It only takes a few minutes for this device to be hooked up on your wireless network and recognizing your music server. Decent size, bright display makes it simple to read from the couch, even in the dark, and the remote works from more than 20 feet away. The SMCWAA-G works flawlessly with the Twonky Music server (via uPnP) on RedHat Linux and MacOS X as well as with MusicMatch on Windows.

One of the downsides on the unit is clearly inability to perform alpha searches via remote control. Another annoyance is that it occasionally misreads some MP3 tags reporting characters like Ÿ!~, etc. But I can deal with it. If you don't like get something like Netgear MP101 but you're going to spend ten times more.

Nice unit. the only difficulty was it wasn't entirely intuitive on how to use the remote to enter in the wep address but I obviously figured it out.

Is you antivirus program good enough?

2007-04-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Recent scans using a new technology indicate that security software may not be protecting your computer system as well as you might think.

Witness this increasingly common scenario. You have installed one of the more popular antivirus programs onto your computer or network. You've had the program on your system for some time now, and indications are that it is doing a decent job of protecting your system. Then, someone comes along and offers to scan your system to see whether or not you might be infected. Curious, you allow the scan. Lo and behold, you find that you have several Trojans and other hidden menaces residing on your network, actively stealing vital and confidential information.

The reality? All one need do is look at the recent headlines. Just last week, a national retail chain was broken into by cyber thieves. As a result, confidential information on some 45.7 million credit and debit cards was stolen.

What is most important to note about this theft and others like it is that these companies thought they were protected. Most of these companies are using what they thought was the best protection on the market. Unfortunately for them, they are finding out (too late) that the antivirus and security software they purchased isn't working.

The fact that most of the antivirus and security software that most companies buy isn’t really working against today’s new breed of super-secret Internet invaders is the dirty little secret in the industry. Companies know that their software isn’t doing a good job of protecting computer systems and they are not just not saying anything.

Can you afford to take that chance?

Please take a moment to find out for yourself whether or not you are protected. Go to http://echo3.bluehornet.com/ct/ct.php?t=1320638&c=1204784185&m=m&type=1&h=406686AAF614BD11C8C89916382C095A and perform a scan on your computer.