Archive for the ‘Security’ Category

Facebook Instant Personalization

Published by technicalguy on February 2nd, 2011 - in Security, Small Business Technology, Social Media

Facebook Instant Personalization

Here we go again

Today Facebook released “Instant Personalization”, a feature that allows granted Facebook partners to use your public information in your Facebook profile and use it to personalize their own pages. This would be websites like the Bing search engine, Pandora, and Yelp, that can use your name, picture, gender, and connections, to potentially personalize the results.

This is yet another breaking down of the Facebook privacy wall and what bothers me the most is that the change is enabled by default. Many will probably never know the change occurred.
Here’s an interesting overview of how privacy has changed at Facebook over time with the Electronic Frontier Foundation timeline.

Bottom line is, know what information of yours Facebook deems as “public”.
If you haven’t already done so, you should review what information of yours is determined to be public at Facebook and clean it up accordingly. (more…)

Facebook Security update

Published by technicalguy on January 27th, 2011 - in Security, Social Media

Facebook has finally released a secured browsing option for their website.

Facebook now offers the ability to browse their site using HTTPS, which will help to eliminate hacker problems with the likes of Firesheep and others.
Be aware though that this feature is not turned on by default, you must go you your Account Security section of your profile and click on Secure Browsing (https) to activate it.
This is a good Facebook security update, especially if you are a road warrior and/or spend time browsing Facebook in coffee shops and other public places.

Facebook Giving Access to your Home Address and Cell Phone

Published by technicalguy on January 17th, 2011 - in Security, Social Media

Have a look at this article from Sophos – it seems Facebook is tearing down the privacy wall again and offering Application Developers access to your personal home address and your cell phone number.

If you haven’t already done so you should immediately review your security settings on Facebook and remove any information you are not comfortable to reveal to a 3rd party unknown individual.

Here’s our article on a previous Facebook privacy update that includes guides to help you make these important changes.

2011 Business Ideas

Published by technicalguy on January 3rd, 2011 - in Computers, Network, Security

Here we are, at the beginning of 2011.

Have you thought out goals or resolutions for the year? What will you do differently?

As a small business owner and entrepreneur the questions might be: What have you learned from 2010? Is there a new direction for 2011? What part of your business needs attention in 2011? What is your market going to do in 2011?

Here’s my thoughts from the IT perspective. (more…)

Your Personal Wikileaks?

Published by technicalguy on December 15th, 2010 - in Security, Small Business Technology, Technology

Wikileaks

Okay, so you probably don’t have secrets at the level of the US government – but you still have confidential data. Business trade secrets, personal and private information about you, and employees. Stop and think for a moment: what disruption and breakdown would occur if that information was stolen, or made public? (more…)

Princess Mariana Spam

Published by technicalguy on August 11th, 2010 - in Email, Security

I received this very targeted spam message this morning referring to the Princess Mariana Luxury Yacht

princess_mariana_megayachtHello

I’m Captain Anthony Fernadez, 32years Old working with PRINCESS MARIANA LUXURY YACHT in United Kingdom, I managed the Hotel Operation Department of One of the Mega Yacht sailing around the Europe and Caribbean Island.

I came across your Ads courtesy of Craigslist Computer Expert section, I urgently need your Services as almost 7-8 PCs at the Passenger/Guest cabin just got affected with Virus giving bad performances..I would like to know if you can repair the 8PCs and i need updated operating system along with Anti-virus,Active firewall prevention Programs and installation of other software and general services of the PCs which i’ll make necessary arrangement on getting the PCs send to you.Kindly let me know your charges of services for this 8PCs and time frame of its readiness as i urgently need it to be fix..

I hope to read from you soon and provide your Workshop Address as the Shipping Company will have it send forward to you with immediate effect and most important i’ll like to know the Charges of services for the 8pcs Asap..await your quick responds

Warm Regards,

Captain Sir. Anthony Fernadez”

The same day I received this email:
Hello,
I got your contact and i was just checking if you will be available to repair and install some applications on 11(Eleven) PC .
Get back to me for details if you’ll be available.

I cannot find anything specifically on the Internet about a spam of this type – and there is no immediate call for anything, except to contact them.

/Technicalguy

Facebook privacy settings – over time

Published by technicalguy on May 9th, 2010 - in Security, Social Media

If you have a Facebook account and haven’t been following their privacy changes, you should.

The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook – a great graph that shows how much of your profile is public from 2005-2010 (http://bit.ly/94EIIr)

Click on the years, shown on the right, to see the difference.

And here’s a great article by Jeff Jarvis that I think hits the nail on the head as to the difference between “A public”, and “THE public”.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2010/05/08/confusing-a-public-with-the-public/

We want to share ourselves with the public, but we want to choose who that public is. This is what is being taken away by Facebook.

IF you haven’t already done so, you should review your personal information on Facebook and remove anything you are not comfortable for everyone on the Internet to know about you.

iPhone hacked at Pwn2Own 2010

Published by technicalguy on March 25th, 2010 - in Security, SmartPhone

Apple security takes another hit at the Vancouver Pwn2Own 2010 contest

Vincenzo Iozzo and Ralf Philipp Weinmann lured the target iPhone to a rigged Web site and exfiltrated the SMS database in about 20 seconds. (full article here) and Charlie Miller, who I’ve talked about before, hacks Safari again.

Interesting that hackers appear to be so focused on the Apple products now.

What your thoughts about Apple’s security measures?

New Year’s Resolution – Change your Password!

Published by technicalguy on January 13th, 2010 - in Security

Changing your password may well be the biggest impact on your online security this year

When was the last time you changed your password? I mean REALLY changed it – not just add a 1 to the end, or swapped it to the “other” password your regularly use.

We continue to hear about identity theft and yet the common complaint is; “I just can’t remember all these passwords!”. Are you using the same password you used in high school? Are you still using your mother’s maiden name, or your home phone number? Maybe it’s your birthday or year you were born.

A study of 32million passwords reveals that only 3.8% of passwords include special characters. Full Report

Courtesy:net-security.org

This same study states that the most common passwords are: (are you using one of these?)

123456
12345
123456789
Password
iloveyou
princess
rockyou
1234567
12345678
abc123

This year – 2010 – right now, go out and change your password for ALL your social sites and subscription logins. Is it really that hard? I don’t even care if it’s all the same password for all the sites, just make it different – much different than you had before.

Password Ideas

This time, when you come up with a password, do something different. Make it two words from a poem, or the name of Obama’s dog. Get fancy and use “$” or “%” for an “S”, “@” for an A, “0″ (zero) for a “O”. Instead of “collegiates” make it “C0ll#giate$”. Make it something different – even if you have to write it down for the first week.

Also, make it more than seven letters or numbers. (DON’T use “123456789″) In fact try for nine letters with fancy characters. That would be a great password!

2010 is just starting. Make your personal world safer with one easy change.

Change your password.

/Technicalguy

Do not reply to Facebook new login system spam!

Published by technicalguy on December 28th, 2009 - in Email, Security, Social Media

I received the following email, supposedly from Facebook

A review of the link imbedded in this email shows that it points to:

http://www.facebook.com.hutijillitl.com/usersdirectory/LoginFacebook.php?ref=685939766133543484442926010224411111313460130602

Notice that it starts with “facebook.com” but continues on to the actual domain which is “hutijullitl.com”

YOU DO NOT WANT TO RESPOND TO OR CLICK ON ANY LINKS WITHIN THIS EMAIL!

facebook

Dear Facebook user,

In an effort to make your online experience safer and
more enjoyable, Facebook will be implementing a new login system that
will affect all Facebook users. These changes will offer new features and
increased account security.

Before you are able to use the new login system, you will be required to
update your account.

Click here
to update your account online now.

If you have any questions, reference our New User
Guide.

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

Update your Facebook account

Update

This message was
intended for .

Facebook’s offices are located at 1601 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA
94304.

No virus
found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG – www.avg.com

Version: 9.0.722 / Virus Database: 270.14.121/2589 – Release Date: 12/27/09
01:18:00

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