Pulling an account password can be hard or easy, it’s up to you.
The bottom line for when it comes to personal security on the internet is you must take care of it yourself. Many .com companies will make lofty promises of keeping your private data secured, but when things go bust they don’t take responsibility when your account is compromized.
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System commands saved by Bing, will show up as ‘search suggestions’.
Windows 8 users need to be aware that Bing will record system commands inputted locally. This is a big problem for businesses (and even individuals) if the commands are unique and track-able, as the commands are publicly displayed for anyone using the Bing via the ‘search suggestions.’
Companies like Google and Microsoft will, one way or another, find ways to track your user data, and it’s crucial that people are aware of what is being extracted from a computer console every time the power switch is flipped on.
By integrating Bing into the OS itself, the results may be beneficial as well as detrimental. When users search for something on a computer, those same keywords are recorded so that Bing can help other users find things on the internet quicker. For sensitive and private data (in this case system commands pointing to your network), the threat of hackers obtaining such information can become a major problem.
How to disable it
To prevent Bing from recording your system command inputs, go to your Search options in Windows 8 by pressing Windows + C, clicking on “Settings”, then “Change PC Settings”, “Search and Apps” and sliding the ‘Use Bing to search online’ to ‘Off.’
For more tips on how you can keep your information safe while using a connected device, contact your office IT professionals.
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Browser share according to W3Counter
The debate about which internet browser is the best has essentially ended. Personal preferences aside, the consensus among most casual users as well as developers is that Chrome, the Google-backed browser, is number one (for the time being).
Why should you pick Chrome over all other browsers? First and foremost, let’s consider the fact that the browser is constantly being revamped and tweaked by a huge community of developers worldwide. Google gave developers the source code for Chrome back in 2008. Since then, the open source Chomium project has thrived, leading to a robust and constantly updated browser.
AdBlock can be easily integrated into Chrome
What it comes down to is this, Google is allowing outside developers to tinker with Chrome. Among some of the crucial benefits resulting from the open collaboration of many brilliant minds are these:
Google, with its involvement in adding parts to the Internet of Things (IoT), has greatly improved the browsing experience for most average internet surfers. Much of the work done in the development of Chrome (past, present, and future) ultimately serves as medium for Google to grow and profit. However, Google is taking input from outside developers, and thus it has given the search giant an edge in the browser war over its competitors like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.
Although Chrome is an exceptional browser for almost everyone and every purpose, a tool for surfing the internet is only a piece of the personal computing experience. Chrome users will still need to consider what other tools will complement the browser, so that surfing the Internet becomes as secure as possible.
For more ideas and tips on staying safe and secure online, contact your office IT professionals.
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In mid-December Target disclosed that hackers broke into the company’s computer system and stole several millions of its members’ personal information. A month later and Target has just tripled the number of people that might be affected by the security breach.
According to Target’s latest revision, the recent security breach might affect one out of every five Americans—that is, roughly 70 to 110 million are susceptible to identity theft. The data stolen from Target’s database range from email addresses to credit card numbers, so the magnitude to which one’s identity is compromised will vary.
Given that the recent Target debacle gave hackers just bits and pieces of information on people’s financial data, the ensuing aftershock should not be as bad as some might predict. Target, to its own credit, has been proactive about mitigating the damages that its customers have or will experience because of the security breach. The company, and affiliating banking institutions, has reached out to members by issuing them new account numbers and credit cards.
Security experts, however, predict that the fraudulent activities that coincide with such a huge security breach will be an everlasting one if consumers don’t take matters into their own hands. Information such as emails and phone numbers can, if left in the hands of experienced cyber criminals, be used as tools to indirectly steal more personal information. When all the pieces of a person’s identity is pieced together, thieves can easily access their target’s banking accounts and make off with the loot with just a click of a mouse.
So what can you, as a consumer—especially if shop at Target, do to protect yourself if your personal information linked to a company like Target? First, check your banking statements for any unusual activities, and if something out of the ordinary occurs report it immediately to your financial institution. Next, Target members with a credit/debit card on record need to contact the company to make sure that the account number is completely erased from the database. As an extra preventative measure, take yourself off Target’s database completely—that is, make sure Target does not have your email, phone number, home address, etc.
There’s not much you can do once your personal data has been stolen from you, but what you can do is try to plug in the holes while you still can. Security analysts and firms that monitor the World Wide Web for activities regarding the intrusion and manipulation of peoples’ personal data saw a huge spike in black market activities since the breach occurred. Since most average consumers have no means of tracking down cyber criminals or stop their malicious activities, it’s up to the local authorities and banking institutions to stop them from draining out a bank account.
Target is working closely with private and government security/forensic experts to close up some of the holes, but only time will tell if people can once again trust the Target brand. One could say that it was a bad omen for Target to choose a bullseye for its logo as that image has mutated into a double edged sword. On one end, the retailer flourished as consumers flocked to the red buildings to make purchases, and at the same time gave away their personal information. On the other end, the bullseye also became an attractive target for hackers and cyber criminals, evident by the recent security breach.
For more details about security issues that can affect you or your business, contact your office IT support.
Update:
Target is offering customers affected by the breach 1 year of free credit monitoring. Sign up here.
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A Common Netgear Wireless Router. Model DG834G.
A number of Linksys and Netgear DSL modems have been found to be exploitable via a simple hole in the components’ firmware.
Eloi Vanderbeken recently took up the task of reverse engineering his Linksys WAG200G wireless DSL gateway’s firmware. At first he did it just for kicks, but during the process he found out even brand name tech components are just as vulnerable to hackers as off-brand products. Vanderbeken found out during his self-imposed hack-a-thon that his WAG200G DSL gateway was accessible to hackers via an undocumented port.
After Vanderbeken toyed around with the Linksys firmware, he was able to come up with a simple interface that allowed him to send various commands to the gateway without administration authentication. At first, Vanderbeken found that he couldn’t do much with the interface besides resetting the gateway to its factory settings. However, as he delved deeper into it, he found that he could inject some home-brewed command lines into the interface. These simple code injections allowed him to gain control of certain administrative properties using a wireless connection, and to reset the gateway’s web password.
People interested in the hack and are tech savvy enough can check out Vanderbeken’s published work on Github. Would-be hackers can do a few things with the script. Firstly, Vanderbeken only hacked his router because he wanted access to his router’s web console without having to input the admin password—which he forgot. So if you are the proud owner of these selective devices, you can be assured that they’re hack-able to both you and others with malicious intents. Chances are most people will rather reset their gateways the easy way by pressing the little red reset button on the back of their device using a pen tip. People looking for an adventure into the world of coding, however, might actually test out the scripts to see if their highly secured network is bulletproof or not.
Eloi Vanderbeken’s bruteforce code to test the vulerability.
Another thing to note is that the backdoor vulnerability in these LinkSys and Netgear components are only assessable locally. Meaning, a hacker would have to be in range of your Wi-Fi network for them to compromise your network and personal data.
Quite frankly speaking, unless your neighbor or a passerby knows exactly the type of router you’re currently using, they won’t bother to attempt to hack your network. The easiest solution, if you happen to own one of these vulnerable devices, is to name your wireless network something other than the router’s brand and model.
Often times, the routers come shipped with preconfigured settings which use the brand or model as the default wireless network name. If that is the case, simply log into your router, and change the network’s name. Next, you may also want to upgrade the product’s firmware, but keep in mind that different manufacturers have different firmware upgrade requirements. Check your product manuals or website before attempting to upgrade firmware, because one wrong move can render your router unusable.
If you need further help, contact your office IT support.
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