Tech Readers » Security

India – The World’s Biggest Spam Source

Mikey Mell — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:14:13 +0000

Internet Security Firm, Kaspersky has recently honored India as the top source of spam in the whole world.

The firm noticed that an average of 79.8% of global email traffic was spam during the third quarter of 2011. Out of these figures, 14.8% of the spam originated in India, while Indonesia and Brazil holds the second and third place with 10.6% and 9.7% respectively. This means that India, Indonesia and Brazil are the three major sources of spam during that quarter.

According to AFP, it seems that crackdowns on sending junk email in other countries have sent spammers to India wherein laws on the practice are little bit lenient. We cannot also neglect the massive Internet user-base of India, which is the third largest after China and the United States all across the world. So, lenient laws and its massive user-base together encourage the spammers to turn to India.

The Internet Security firm, Kaspersky told AFP that the big problem is lack of awareness of technical issues in India which encourages cyber-criminals to create ‘botnets’ of computers to carry out spam attacks without letting users to become aware of any such activity.

The entire issue is now under legal debate in the Indian government’s court so as to devise certain laws to make the country’s position secure on the grounds of spam epidemic.

Sony Apologizes for the Break-in, Offers Compensation. What About the Stolen Data Dude?

Tech Readers — Sun, 01 May 2011 16:30:52 +0000

Sony, Today announced that parts of PlayStation Network will be online this week and gamers will be compensated for not being able to use it.

PlayStation Network, which enables users to play games with other users and friends around the globe and download movies and games over the Internet, went down when officials realized that a hacker has stolen the personal data of 77 million members of PSN family. Official did not announced the break-in until 22nd April.

Kazuo Hirai, Sony’s No. 2 apologized on behalf of the Company and said that a thorough investigation is taking place into the matter. Other reports say that Sony has taken FBI help in this regard.

“This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry. These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber security,” said Kazuo Hirai, executive deputy president of Sony Corp.

“We take the security of our consumers’ information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data.”

PlayStation 3 and PSP, PlayStation Home, friends list and chat functionality will be enable later this week but users will be required to change their account passwords before being able to use the services.

So, how Sony calculated the compensation, here is how: PlayStation Network users are offered 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus service and existing PlayStation Plus service subscribers will receive an additional 30 days for free. Fair enough? I think No.

Sony did not talk much about the stolen data. What would happen to the 2.2 million hacked credit cards up for sale? And the address, and the phone numbers, etc. etc.?

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Sony Hacking Dilemma: 2.2 Million Credit Card Details Up for Sale

Tasadduq Bashir — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 10:39:45 +0000

News are that, 2.2 million credit card details are currently up for sale to the highest bidder, worst case scenario. Unknown hackers tried to sell these details to Sony before listing them on underground credit card sales forums, reported by PSX-Scene.

What really is frustrating that CCV security codes were thought to be safe until now because it were registered to the card’s owner, by this I mean using the compromised card should be piece of cake. Sony HQ & those 77 million plus compromised PSN users will surely shiver once they know what actually has happened.

If you registered your credit card with PSN, be very careful using it online, telephonic transactions or by any other means. One got to be very careful specially when something like this breaks up.

This is just a headline so expect more to follow once we get a glimpse of that.

Sony Admits Massive Data Breach, Including Credit Card Details

Tech Readers — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:32:44 +0000

This is going to be the worse week for Sony. Earlier, Sony PlayStation Network was taken down by hackers and today the company has officially confirmed that Sony suffered massive data breach. Continue reading to know how worse it has gone.

In a press release today, Sony confirmed that (PlayStation Network) PSN and Qriocity accounts have been compromised between April 17th to 19th which resulted in to the theft of personal details including usernames, emails, addresses and even worse Credit Card details of 77 million users in just one go. It is said that this is one of the largest Internet security break-ins ever.

Sony response to the whole situation is to “keep an eye on your credit card statements” (wow). If after all this, something pinching inside you wants you to sign into the PSN, Sony expect to have its service back in around a week.

Sony Press Release on Security Breach

Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:
We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:

Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and

Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports.

How to Remove Fake “Antivirus Live”

Tech Readers — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:09:12 +0000

You might have heard of many fake Anti virus software. If you haven’t, its the right time to open your eyes. Antivirus Live is one of them. If you did not install any software and it pops up on the screen asking you to scan your computer, DO NOT DO IT. Do a little research on the Internet and find out the details before you press “Scan” button. These software are installed on your computer to gather your personal details.

If you have gotten into this this situation, you may wonder how to remove Antivirus Live. Follow the steps below to clean your computer:

Step 1: Download SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes.

Step 2: Restart your computer in Safe Mode by pressing F8 button.

Step 3: Install SuperAntiSpyware and perform a deep scan.

Step 4: Restart your computer again in Safe Mode and you should have gotten rid of Antivirus Live.

Step 5: If you are still not sure, install MalwareBytes and perform a complete scan.

Step 6: You will be provided with a list of malicious files. Remove them carefully.

Step 7: Reboot again and install a good anti virus.

Warning:

NEVER download install any unknown antivirus software.

Beware of Fake Antivirus Programs

Bilal Akram — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:37:58 +0000

Virus Creators and Malware Distributors are always looking for different ways to infect every computer and out of all these one of the best method they are using is by getting inside a user’s system through fake anti-virus softwares.

This method is best because users keep searching for free anti-virus software’s and when they find any of these, they would just move forward for a quick installation of the same. These Softwares would perform everything as mentioned in their installation features except actually scanning your computer and removing the virus from it.

Once installation is done fake anti-virus programs would start reporting you with virus infection alerts, parasite infection on the PC, system scan results which are bogus and show you fake security

Once you pay attention to them they will eventually ask you to buy their paid version, and you will be risking all your important data and information. When someone is notified that unless they don’t purchase the paid version of the software, all the data on their Hard Disk Drive would be lost or get corrupted, hence the normal computer owners would not mind paying a amount of 25 – 50$ range for these kind of tricky applications.

These softwares are distributed through different websites and blogs on the Internet in the form of free scanning tools which computer users instantly download without verifying there source nor the installation files and get tricked with the Fake Anti-Virus (Fake AV) products.

They create false alarms on the user’s computer and instruct the users to upgrade for keeping their computers secure and safe which is only possible by paying some amount of money to these scammer’s.

List of Fake Anti-virus Softwares:

Make a note of this list and try not to download any of these to the maximum extent possible.

1. Antivirus 7
2. CleanUp Antivirus
3. Security Central
4. Security Antivirus
5. Total PC Defender 2010
6. Vista Antivirus Pro 2010
7. Your PC Protector
8. Vista Internet Security 2010
9. XP Guardian
10. Vista Guardian 2010
11. Antivirus Soft
12. XP Internet Security 2010
13. Antivir 2010
14. Live PC Care
15. Malware Defense
16. Internet Security 2010
17. Desktop Defender 2010
18. Security Tool
19. Antivirus Live
20. Personal Security
21. Cyber Security
22. Alpha Antivirus
23. Windows Enterprise Suite
24. Security Center
25. Control Center
26. Braviax
27. Windows Police Pro
28. Antivirus Pro 2010
29. PC Antispyware 2010
30. FraudTool.MalwareProtector.d
31. Winshield2009.com
32. Green AV
33. Windows Protection Suite
34. Total Security 2009
35. Windows System Suite
36. Antivirus BEST
37. System Security
38. Personal Antivirus
39. System Security 2009
40. Malware Doctor
41. Antivirus System Pro
42. WinPC Defender
43. Anti-Virus-1
44. Spyware Guard 2008
45. System Guard 2009
46. Antivirus 2009
47. Antivirus 2010
48. Antivirus Pro 2009
49. Antivirus 360
50. MS Antispyware 2009
51. IGuardPC or I Guard PC
52. Additional Guard

How to Protect from Fake Anti-Virus Softwares:

You can stay protected from these scams by not downloading any of the above listed softwares to your computer and always download only Legit Softwares. Next you need to download and install Remove Fake Antivirus Software (http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Remove-Fake-Antivirus.shtml) which is a freeware application to remove all the Trojan’s and Viruses from your computer.

Finally it’s recommended to only install any of the following Free Antivirus Applications which are the best ones in removing malware from your computer and keep your computer secured.

1. Spyware Doctor

2. Sunbelt Software CounterSpy

3. Kaspersky Lab Internet Security

4. Norton Internet Security

5. Lavasoft Ad-Aware

6. MacScan (for Mac users)

Avoid Email Scams and Website Phishing Attacks: Six Simple Ways

Bilal Akram — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:15:20 +0000

Almost ever one have been receiving emails like – a message from eBay or Amazon.com that your account has been suspended , or an important message from your bank asking you to login and pay your bills. These emails look real and the login looks the same as that of a real site, but they are not the real thing.

In order to, steal your money, identity and even your credentials the criminals have built these fake websites and emails to get your login information or credit card numbers.

Let’s see what phishing really is?

According to Microsoft, one of the fastest mounting threats on the internet is Phishing (which is pronounced as “Fishing”) and it is a form of identity theft. It is designed to use fake websites to actual brands in order to steal important personal information such as user names, passwords, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers.

Many of the tactics Phishers uses includes creating and sending e-mail messages or links to deceitful Web sites or that appears to be valid, in order to get their dirty hands on your personal, financial, and password information.

Some simple ways you can avoid being the next victim:

1. Always try to type in address by your self to make sure that you are on the actual site not on the phony one. And try not to click any link that asks your login information or appearing to be from your bank.

2. For instance you do get an urgent message from the bank, try to call the phone number of your most recent bill, because most of the time Phishers even use bogus phone numbers and call centers to get your information. But in this way you can be fully sure the message is from the bank and not a scammer.

3. Always use the newest versions of web browsers. Some of the browsers come with a built in phishing filters which will stop you from visiting a website, like Firefox and Internet Explorer. Also install anti-virus software as well.

4. Always validate that you are on the right website. Make sure to check that the site has Security certificate and if it’s not present then you are probably on a phishing site.

5. This is for the people living in US, try to use a free financial service like Mint to monitor your finances – if unbalanced activity is detected, it will let you know immediately.

6. Try to report any suspicious activity to the website that is being scammed and your internet provider, in order to make other aware of these phishing websites and links.

How to Identify Online Money Making Scams

Block Web Ads with Ad Blocker – A Handy Firefox Extension

Bilal Akram — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:55:39 +0000

Ever wondered how to get rid of these annoying ads that persistently break off whatever you are doing while you work? These pesky ads will keep on coming and will try to break your concentration while you are working, perhaps reading a gripping article from Wikipedia or checking your emails. It is very hard to understand why these people are persistent in their never-ending spamming when they also know that you are not interested in whatever they are trying to sell.

Answer is simple; Ad Blocker has to come liberate you from this misery. And it seems like it is the only way to avoid the frustrating ads.

Ad blocker can also help parents in their effort to protect their children from the harmful and potentially unsafe pop-up ads for example; awful videos, documentaries and sometime pornography.

In addition to this, ad blockers will significantly increase the speed of your web browser. These popup ads take up your system resources and waste your time. But with an ad blocker installed, you can enjoy surfing the internet without being annoyed by these ads.

But we have to keep this in mind that ad blocker can’t stop all the web monkey business on its own. Sometime if there is a ‘malware’ present on your computer system it could make ad blocker stop functioning properly. To stop all this brutal preying of your computer system by immoral hackers, it is necessary that you get your hands on a virus detecting and removing software called antivirus to protect your system.

You can also find extensions for other browsers as well.

How Software like Skype Bypass Firewalls?

Bilal Akram — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:49:39 +0000

Some smart and specially engineered applications like Skype is known to get pass through the majority of secure networks and firewalls. How?

One of the worst nightmares for a network administrator is the P2P or peep-to-peer software application. These applications use some subtle tricks to by-pass the firewall so that they can exchange data packets with one another as quickly and directly as possible. Whereas firewalls are there to protects any packets from the outside world.

To protect computer systems from internet threats they are placed behind the firewall. Preferably, a router is there performing some firewall action or functions, like translating the PC’s local network address for the public IP address, this process is also called NAT (Network Address Translation). This means there is no direct access to the PC so connection need to be established from inside.

Now this seems to be a problem if two computers want to talk to each other the NAT firewall will block all kind of communication and decline all the calls for protection and this exactly what a network administration would be expecting.

Punching hole through the firewall

Anyone using Skype or similar applications knows that they work effortlessly behind the NAT firewall. The inventors of such application have come up with a solution.

For users to view websites and read emails firewall must let packets pass into the local network. Though, this only happens when it is convinced that the packets are response to a request made b y the user. So a NAT router keeps track of all the communication between the internal and the external computers and the port they were using and also maintains a log of all the entries.

Let me explain you with an example;

VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) uses a trick in persuading the firewall that the connection has established, and the firewall allows the incoming data packets. Instead of using TCP () the VoIP uses UDP which is a connectionless protocol and Skye also take an advantage by using this same protocol for communication. So the firewall only sees the addresses and the ports of the both the sender and receiver, and if the packet matches the entry in the NAT’s log, it will allow the communication to take place with a clear sense of right and wrong.

Habib Bank Ltd. Official Website Rated Red by McAfee SiteAdvisor

Tech Readers — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:41:02 +0000

McAfee SiteAdvisor is software that helps you stay away from potentially risky websites. The software also allows you to install browser plug-in, which immediately alerts you about malicious websites. Usually, the sites are rated Red, Yellow, and Gray.

Today, when I opened Habib Bank Ltd. official website habibbankltd.com, McAfee SiteAdvisor raised Red flag and alerted me that the website I am visiting could cause potential security risks. I am not saying, that Habib Bank has put something to get users’ information but there is something suspicious in the website code which McAfee SiteAdvisor cannot recognize and considered it a risky website.

Upon click the red flag, McAfee SiteAdvisor gave details about the issue and also explained that the website is getting links from McAfee Green Rated website so, it could be less harmful. But extreme caution is suggested.

Visit McAfee SiteAdvisor Official Website: http://www.siteadvisor.com/

Visit HabibBankLtd.com summary page on McAfee SiteAdvisor: http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/habibbankltd.com/summary/

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My MoneyBookers Account Got Hacked!

Tech Readers — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:01:50 +0000

Hacking is nothing new especially for people who work online. I have been using MoneyBookers (a payment processor) since long and have a quite good experience with them. As PayPal doesn’t support Pakistan, so, MoneyBookers is good payment alternative.

Lets get back to the story. I recieved a sum of middle $$$ from someone on 14th of January and I did not login to my account since then. Last night I logged in to my account and fewwwwww…. all money was gone (well not all… the guy left $1.5 there). The ‘hacked transaction’ took place on the vary next day of payment, 15th of January. I did not receive any receipt or payment acknowledgment. MoneyBookers locked my account because they thought, there was a security breach.

I called MoneyBookers customer support center and they told me that they had an idea that I did not authorize this payment and they locked my account BUT the money was gone to another account. They managed to send me back a portion of payment ($30.68) but the remaining amount, according to the customer representative is out of MoneyBookers system. I do understand that once the payment is withdrawn to Bank account, it is not possible to reverse it. So, in short, the remaining amount is not recoverable.

I thought, if I were a victim of Phishing site attack – dummy sites that provide the original website interface and when user put information into it, hackers receive it. I never click on links to go to payment processors website so, it was quite confusing for me. The person knows my email+ password+ date of birth. If you have used MoneyBookers, you would know that to release a payment, person has to confirm the Date of birth. Anyways, this is how these hackers work so, nothing astonishing.

My MoneyBookers is still locked and I have provided them the required documents. I am sure, my account will be unblocked soon.

To MoneyBookers users; change your primary email address and password!

Update: Its now more than 48 hours I have contacted MoneyBookers Support, but my account is still locked. I called them again and they said that it would take another 24-48 Hours (previously they told me 24 hours).

Ant Colony Optimization Techniques (ACO) for Digital Security

Tech Readers — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:45:44 +0000

The internet is a hotbed of malware and viruses and new securities have to be constantly evolved to counter the constantly evolving threats to digital security. The newest technique created is based on ants where the behavior of ants in a colony is mimicked in the virtual world to make security programs that are unbeatable or at least extremely secure.

In this innovative method, so called “digital ants” are programmed to play the same role that a real ant does. These ants survey the systems which they protect and once they detect any problem caused by a virus the concentration of ants in that sector of the system software is increased and this leads to the problem being solved in a very short period of time. The ants go to work on the malicious code known as Trojan horses or more commonly known as computer worms. The ants are localized on the spot when they detect an infraction by the malicious code and they go to work on the problem. The ant population is proportional to the severity of the attack and until the problem dies down the fixing continues. But if the attack cannot be completed then human help is at hand since attention would be drawn to the problem.

Swarm Intelligence is the branch of study that deals with many different inputs being analyzed to provide solutions for a problem at hand or to monitor situations. ACO comes under this branch.

Conceptually based on nature, this method is proving to be successful in digital security systems since it deals with an idea that already exists and works perfectly in the real world of the ants when they defend their colony against outside attack.

Experts in Computer Science say that the behavior of ants is best suited for providing security and resuming normal activity once the damage control is done.

Tech Readers » Security

India – The World’s Biggest Spam Source

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