This week, the Department of Homeland Security suggested disabling or uninstalling Java based on a CERT publication where they announced Java 7 fails to restrict access to privileged code. That original posting has been updated as recently as today, January 12, 2013. What does it all mean? Well, in a nutshell, if you have the vulnerable version of Java on your …
SC Department of Revenue cyber attack exposes 3.6 million social security numbers
A data breech due to a cyber attack on a South Carolina Department of Revenue web server has exposed a potential 3.6 million SC social security numbers and approximately 387,000 debit card numbers, however, the official report indicates that only a small portion of the card numbers were not encrypted. You can read about the attack timeline and response here and …
Microsoft Windows 7 Malware Infection Rate on the Rise
Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report, Volume 13 is full of information that will cause your eyes to bleed, but one tidbit that is important to take note of is that Windows 7 malware infection rates are on the rise. Computer World has a great article on the subject at this link, and a spiffy graph that looks like this: From the …
Octoberfest? No, it’s just time for a bunch of Microsoft Office Updates! Get ’em installed!
Here we are, another Patch Tuesday, where Microsoft makes updates available to their products. The Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for October 2012 indicates there are seven bulletins that will be addressed today. They include: Critical – Remote code execution – Affecting Microsoft Office and Microsoft Server Important – Remote code execution – Affecting Microsoft Office Important – Elevation of privilege …
Secure IT Alert: Patch your Microsoft Internet Explorer – Now….
This alert comes courtesy of the US-CERT National Cyber Awareness System and we highly recommend you apply the patches provided by Microsoft to protect your Internet Explorer browser immediately. Hackers are currently using the browser vulnerability to exploit systems. In addition to patching your systems, we recommend a bit of common sense, such as not visiting links which are sent …
SECURE IT ALERT: About that Apple iTunes 10.7 update – yeah, it fixes more than *160* different vulnerabilities!
Lately I’ve had a lot going on between our son, Brett Albertson (Easley High School football center #75) and his slew of activities, our daughter Megan in college, my band (Hot As A Pepper) and work. Because of these distractions I almost missed an important security update. A few days back, Apple released the 10.7 update of iTunes. While you …
Apple Mac users should be aware of “super dangerous” drive-by Java exploit
Microsoft Windows users are well versed in malware and are armed with a plethora of ways to help protect themselves and their computer from becoming infected, such as: Computer operating system updates downloaded and installed (Microsoft Windows) Support application updates updated regularly (Java, Adobe, Microsoft Office) Robust anti-virus and anti-malware installed and up to date Backups of systems in place …
Kaspersky Lab could use your help decrypting Gauss malware
I can’t recall another time when an anti-virus company did this, but Kaspersky Lab has reached out to the world at large to see if someone has what it takes to decrypt a portion of the Gauss malware that is designed to steal information from the infected computers. If you want to get in on the action, email theflame@kaspersky.com and …
Adobe releases patches to keep your Shockwave, Flash Professional, Photoshop and Illustrator secure
When prompted to install updates for your Adobe products, please do so… A number of patches are available that will address multiple vulnerabilities. This comes from our friend and partner, WatchGuard’s blog (follow the links through for Adobe’s official explanation): Adobe Patch Day: Shockwave, Flash Professional, Photoshop, and Illustrator Updates by Corey Nachreiner Severity: High Summary: These vulnerabilities affect: Adobe Shockwave Player, …
SECURE IT ALERT: Mac malware making headlines (this is not a repeat)
Homeland Secure IT Alert for Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Flashback was so last month. The new hotness is SabPub, which actually has been around for a while now, but only recently making its appearance in the headlines. Even though SabPub has been around for around two months, it was not discovered in the wild until a few days ago. Not …