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Firefox disables out-of-date Java plugins

Dave Farquhar security April 4, 2012firefox, JRE, malware

Firefox is advising users to disable vulnerable Java versions on Windows. I actually saw this in action on a machine yesterday–a machine that has to run a slightly dated version of the JRE because a vendor hasn’t certified their product with the current version yet. Read more

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Macintosh malware continues to evolve

Dave Farquhar Macintosh, security April 3, 2012April 15, 2017apple, mac os x, macintosh, malware, os x, pc world, STIG, vulnerability

Security experts have long warned that [Apple’s] delay in delivering Java patches on Mac OS could be used by malware writers to their advantage, and the new Flashback.K malware confirms that they were right. — PC World magazine

Last week I argued that a Macintosh-based botnet currently being distributed via Word document would likely change distribution methods, perhaps to a PDF document, in order to spread itself more effectively.

That, to my knowledge, hasn’t happened, but today I learned of the above example of Mac malware doing exactly that, jumping from Java vulnerability to Java vulnerability. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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End of the innocence for Mac security

Dave Farquhar Macintosh, security March 30, 2012Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader, antivirus, apple, firefox, mac os x, macintosh, malicious code, malware, Malware Domains, microsoft word, office 2007, os x, pdf files, spyware, trojan horse, vector, vulnerability, yahoo

Antivirus vendor Kapersky has identified a new trojan horse targetting Macintoshes. It spreads a botnet based somewhere in China via an infected Microsoft Word document, typically sent as an e-mail attachment.

The spin is that if you don’t use Word on your Mac, you’re safe. That’s true–this week. But going forward, it’s going to take more than that. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Securing wi-fi isn’t about price gouging

Dave Farquhar security March 28, 2012October 11, 20191990s, firewall, john c dvorak, Love Letter, malware, Missouri, New Madrid Fault, spam, WEP, wi-fi

The so-called wi-fi golden era is over, and apparently being glad about it makes me an absolutist.

But John C. Dvorak is wrong. This isn’t about making people pay for Internet access. It’s pure security. Toilets and drinking fountains are free because the majority of people don’t abuse them. The Internet can’t be wide open and free like a public restroom because when it was totally wide open and free in the 1990s, too many people abused it. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Apply your monthly patches just as soon as you can

Dave Farquhar security, Windows March 14, 2012excel, malware, net view, Patch Tuesday, SQL, terminal server, vulnerability

There are only six patches in this month’s edition of Patch Tuesday, and only one of them is critical, but it’s a big one.

The critical patch fixes a flaw in Remote Desktop Protocol, something typically only present in the business-oriented flavors of Windows. But if you don’t know whether you’re affected, it behooves you to let Windows update whatever it wants to update. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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The old days of viruses

Dave Farquhar security, Viruses March 8, 2012March 26, 2025antivirus, CIO, CISM, cissp, computer security, firewall, intel, John Dominik, journalism, Love Letter, malware, Missouri, public internet, spam, symantec, university of missouri, VBS

Blogging pioneer John Dominik, inspired by my Michelangelo memories, wrote about his memories of viruses later in the decade. So now I’ll take inspiration of him and share my memories of some of those viruses. I searched my archives, and at the time it was going on, I didn’t write a lot. I was tired and angry, as you can tell from the terse posts I did write.

Dave Farquhar

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Customize Firefox before it hits the ground on a new PC

Dave Farquhar Software March 5, 2012firefox, Keep Firefox, malware, Malware Domains, ramdisk, Vacuum Places

Here’s a nifty-looking program: Firefox Addon Maker, which allows you to create customized Firefox installer packages.

This is helpful if you install Firefox a lot, whether in corporate or home settings.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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This is why you disable stuff you don’t think you need

Dave Farquhar security December 28, 2011malware, RIAA, vulnerability

This is going to sound like gloating, so I’m going to apologize for that right up front. A few weeks ago, I recommended you keep WPS disabled except for brief intervals for convenience. I had no specific reason in mind. Just in case. Just in case, you know, a vulnerability in WPS got discovered.

Well, one got discovered.

Dave Farquhar

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Adblock Plus adds an option for allowable ads

Dave Farquhar Software December 14, 2011android, malware

Adblock Plus, starting with version 2.0, is going to start allowing acceptable ads, something I see as a good thing.

I’m not against advertising–I use it on my own site. I’d prefer not to have an all-or-nothing approach to ad blocking. In fact, I only started blocking ads when I started getting malware that I expected was coming from booby-trapped ads. I stopped getting the malware when I started blocking all ads, so draw your own conclusions.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Yesterday was Patch Tuesday again

Dave Farquhar security October 12, 2011October 11, 2011code execution, malware, Patch Tuesday

I’m way too tired to do the kind of Patch Tuesday writeup I did last month, so I’ll just remind you, and hope that suffices. This month we have vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer, Silverlight, and .NET, some of which can cause remote code execution, which is a holy grail for spreading malware. So apply those updates. The Silverlight update applies to Macintoshes as well.

Dave Farquhar

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