Computer Security Quarterly Report - Panda Labs

Panda Labs has released a very nice write-up about the current Computer Security threats and what users face today in the ever ongoing battle against security threats, ID and Personal Data Theft, viruses, spyware, malware, and others.



Executive Summary:

At 62.16%, Trojans account for most of the malware, implementing scrambling and distribution functions.

Trojans that steal users' personal details through distribution channels provided by spammers continue to increase.

Storm Worm is still active and continues using social engineering techniques to spread massively.

Scrambling, encryption and packaging techniques aimes at making malware detection more difficult are on the rise.

Social engineering techniques that exploit the information published on social networks for identity theft are also increasing.

Its numerous users have made Symbian a target platform for malware creators.


Read the White Paper "Quarterly Report Panda Labs (January - March 2008)" here on our Homepage.


Thanks and Credit goes to Panda Secuirty for providing this write-up.

Minneapolis Hot Spots...

A while back I put together this cool mashup of hot spots in Downtown Minneapolis.

I listed great places to eat or cool places to check out.

Check it out for yourself, here. Downtown Minneapolis Hotspots


Other References:

• Wayfaring is a great site that lets you build your own Google Map Overlays, just like the one I built above. Check it out here: http://www.wayfaring.com/
  

• Check out our Partner Site, Minneapolis Restaurants Review here for more cool places to eat in Minneapolis. http://minneapolisrestaurants.ning.com/
  

Google Talk Chatback...

Today Google announced a great new add-on to Gtalk, that allows users visiting sites like this, to chat with the owner or person in charge.

This is such a cool idea that we've decided to implement this right away.

Here's the skinny from Google's Talkabout Blog...

"Today we're launching a new Google Talk feature that lets visitors to your web site chat with you. We call it "chatback" because instead of you doing all the talking on your blog, your visitors can talk back to you. Sure, they could leave comments, but those are public and hard to use for a real conversation. With chatback, it's a real instant message session."

Export Outlook Contacts to Google Gmail...

Here are some helpful instructions on how to Export Outlook Contacts to Gmail.

I was doing this myself and found this:

Export Outlook Contacts

1. In Outlook, on the File menu, click Import and Export.
2. Click Export to a file, and then click Next.
3. Click Comma Separated Values (Windows), and then click Next.
4. In the folder list, click the Contacts folder, and then click Next.
5. Browse to the folder where you want to save the contacts as a .csv file.
6. Type a name for the exported file, and then click OK.
7. Click Next.
8. Click Finish.

Import Contacts into Google Gmail

1. Log on to Gmail, and then click Contacts at the top of the page.

   The Contacts list opens in a new window.

2. Click Import Contacts.
3. Click Browse, and then navigate to the .csv file that you created in the "Export Outlook Contacts" section of this article.
4. Select the file, and then click Import Contacts.

After your contacts are imported, a dialog box appears and displays the total number of contacts imported.

Notes

• Outlook Contacts without an e-mail address are not imported.
• Outlook distribution lists are not imported. Gmail does not support distribution lists.
• If an Outlook Contact that matches an existing Gmail contact is imported, your Outlook Contact information replaces the Gmail contact.

You can find the original post here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011489021033.aspx

Engadget HD / Engadget Mobile

In the interest of keeping this Blog Fresh, I thought I'd "steal" the RSS feed that Engadget so graciously provides and share the feed right here on Digital Fray.


I know many of you are interested in the latest HD tech and Mobile sector, and thought I could share where I get my daily fix of this type of info.

Check it out on the right...


Thanks to Engadget for providing the RSS feed.

Links:
Engadget HD
Engadget Mobile

GoogleDocs - now with Forms!

A new feature tacked on to GoogleDocs is the new "form" feature.

This feature is great because it makes it simple for anyone to create a form and have it emailed to any recipient.

Before, you'd either have to build your own database, install a form application and share it with your recipients, or tediously build a form in Word. ACK!

Now, specifically in Google spreadsheets, you can design and create a form and send it to any email recipient.

When the user submits the form it automatically updates the spreadsheet with the responses.


Check out the official bit here:
http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2008/02/ … start.html




...

Home Network Security Guide...

This is a repost of a previous entry here for Home Network Security.

It's very useful and for those of you looking for an end to end explanation for securing your home network, look no further.

This guide is very detailed. It's not for the faint of heart, it includes a wide variety of explanations to the various security threats out there.

Visit security-forums.com here.

Google Maps Street View + Realtor Tools

Recently Google Maps was able to fill in more of their "Street View" perspective for Downtown Minneapolis.


For Realtors, this can be used as another great way to differentiate themselves.


Learn more about our Real Estate Technology Enhancements Program.


You can check out this great new "Street View" on Google Maps here.

Latest Service Offerings from Digital Fray...

Digital Fray is now offering the following services in Minneapolis:

• Google Adwords Setup
• Social Networking Setup Services
• Point of Sale Configuration and Setup
• Real Estate Technology Enhancements Program

Visit the Digital Fray Homepage for more info...

Great list of Fixes to common Windows XP problems...

I went through several of these and felt it was worth linking to. Thanks to PC World's, Scott Dunn who has compiled this very helpful list of fixes.

Check his article out here: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=11481


I think the "Auto-run" reference to a list of valid processes is very useful indeed.

Interesting statistics on American's Computer Security

Interesting article over here at Foxnews.com regarding American's awareness and knowledge of Computer Security.

"WASHINGTON — Most Americans believe their computers are protected against viruses and spyware, but scans found that a large number had outdated or disabled security software, according to a poll released on Monday."

Fully 87 percent of Americans polled said they had anti- virus software, 73 percent said they had a firewall and 70 percent said they had anti-spyware software, according to the survey by security software maker McAfee Inc (MFE) and the National Cyber Security Alliance.

But when pollsters asked to remotely scan the respondents' computers, the story turned out to be very different.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Cybersecurity Center.

While 94 percent of those polled had anti-virus software, just half had updated it in the past month, the survey showed. Eighty one percent had a firewall protecting private information, but just 64 percent had enabled it. And 70 percent said they had anti-spyware software, but only 55 percent had enabled it.

Spyware not only monitors what a computer user does, but can also install software without the user's consent and interfere with the computer in other ways."

iPhone or Blackberry Curve?

I recently asked my friend who is biased (he owns an iPhone) which should be, my very much needed, next phone purchase.

Here is the excerpt:

Today is a very special day.

It marks the release of the Blackberry Curve for Tmobile

what's funny, is i've been drooling over this phone for over a year

but despite my excitement, over this past weekend, it occurred to me that maybe I should be buying an iPhone(considering the recent price drop and it's potential for Hyroi)

the only issue remaining is the fact that I'd have to use one of the SIM hacks, as I'm not eager to sign up to ATT so, my question is - do I buy the BB now and whenever the 2nd generation iPhone comes out, consider it then.

1. Hyroi will probably be up and running by then

2. having the BB would give us another testing point

Switched from ZoneAlarm to Kaspersky...

Recently I have been noticing some poor load times on Firefox and major delays in Windows XP startup, so I investigated it a bit further and concluded that ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2006 that I had been running was taking up most of my CPU resources.

A few weeks back I had come across several reviews of the top Anti-Virus programs, and Kaspersky's kept showing up in top rankings.

I decided to make the switch. I downloaded the free trial of their version of the "3-in-1" security suite. I'll post my review and results once I get a feel for it.

What are your experiences with Anti-Virus, or more specifically, Kaspersky's latest iteration?

Bypass Phonebank Prompts...

"Reach a Real Person Immediately Using this Database Charting 500 Business Support Phone"

This is a great resource that maps out phone bank prompts. Use it to get to a real person.

http://gethuman.com/print.html

The Digital Fray Gaming Series... Part #2

This is the second installment in the DF Gaming Series.

We're featuring games for their various addictiveness, and creative twist on the oft repetitive market of gaming.

This one was a personal favorite, as I have always enjoyed the fighting games, especially back when arcades were more pervasive in the 90's.

Play it here.


Have fun!

The Digital Fray Gaming Series... Part #1

This post marks the first of a series in online games that I'd like to feature and point out for their various addictiveness, and creative twist on the oft repetitive market of gaming.

"Flash Element TD" is the first notable game, created with flash. It's simple, addictive, and very fun!

Props to David Scott, the games creator.

PLAY Flash Element TD NOW!

If you enjoy this game, please donate to David's cause.

Interesting statistics from Lavasoft...

From the makers of Ad-aware, my favorite anti-spyware utility, comes a startling statistic. /Lavasoft/October Newsletter/:

"Spyware infections prompted almost one million U.S. households to replace their computers in the first half of 2006."
-Consumer Reports, State of the Net 2006

Running out and buying a new PC every time the computer gets bogged down from spyware can be a very expensive proposition (and not necessary).

It goes on to say...

"The total loss from all cases of fraud referred to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2005 was $183.12 million, with an average loss of $424 per complaint. This is up from $68 million in total losses a year earlier."
-FBI IC3"

This is very important as I tell all of my clients who are reporting slow computers, to first check for spyware, as it is most likely the cause of many people's performance degradation problems.

It should be no surprise either that it is now something that should be a routine for PC users to run Anti-spyware software often or even daily, and there shouldn't be any excuse, as Lavasoft's "Ad-aware" software is free.

New Discussion Forums!

We now have new Discussion Boards up and running.

For anyone who has general computer support questions, or wants to share technology ideas, this is the place to be!

Please post your questions in one of the appropriate threads:

1. Gaming
2. General Technology Discussions
3. Computer Support

DF Agents will be posting responses and encouraging technical discussions on the myriad of topics.

Thank you for participating!

(SEE LINK ON RIGHT)

Network Monitoring...

As a small follow up to Wireless Security, I stumbled across a pretty decent app that allows the monitoring of inbound, outbound, traffic, as well as several other handy indicators for those more inclined to network technology.

It also has a nice alert management feature that can be configured several different ways.

(30 day trial $75.00 for registration)

CommView Network Monitoring

Open WiFi Networks...

This is quite an interesting story, and a personal one too.

I currently live in a Condominium complex that has over 30 units. I came across the other day, a gentlemen who was literally sitting on the floor in the hallway, with a laptop.

My next thought was, "what is this guy doing?" for one, he isn't even wearing a shirt. Next, I thought "ahh maybe he's stealing Wifi?"

So I proceeded to ask him if he was a resident. He said yes, and I quickly asked him if he was piggybacking an open network. He said yes. This guy has been doing this now for 2 weeks, and is there in the morning when I leave for the day, and is often there when I come back.

Granted, this guy was sitting 5 feet outside my front door; it was a bit disturbing and in such a blatent manner. I told the property management that he was sitting in the hallway, but they seemed to balk at the message.

Now, I'm not happy about the whole situation with this guy, but most of the blame should be placed on the 3 open networks just in our end of the complex.

It mostly is because of the rapid growth in wireless access and little education about the ramifications to setting one up without knowing how to lock it down.

This is very common, as some people are mislead at the stores when they purchase the WiFi router and equipment. Often, they will be told "yes, this is all you need to get setup." and "once you plug it in and setup, you'll be able to surf the internet."

For many people, this is the main goal, and so security is either dismissed or not even mentioned in the first place.

The reason for this posting really is to raise awareness about open WiFi networks and how it can be a potential problem for you and others that may be on your network.

Simply put, there are several threats that arise when you are not running a secure WiFi network. It is your responsibility to make sure that in the least, you are SSID, WEP, secure, and employing the access point / router as your firewall. Even using a software firewall in addition to these steps, can be an added layer of protection and can be useful to alert you to access intruisions (ones that you may or may not recognize as real threats so education here is also important).

Regardless, there are several steps that can be taken to make sure someone can't easily hack your system, steal your personal information, sniff your data, or even the most obvious, simply steal your internet for free, while you pay the $40.00 bucks a month.

I have alerted the residents in my complex to call me if they want a free security assessment to figure out if they are secure or not.

If you or someone you know is running an open unsecured Wireless network, read up on how to secure it, or send an Email to Digital Fray.