Trojans are often used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against targeted systems, but just what is a DDoS attack and how are they performed?
At its most basic level, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack overwhelms the target system with data, such that the response from the target system is either slowed or stopped altogether. In order to create the necessary amount of traffic, a network of zombie or bot computers is most often used.
Zombies or botnets are computers that have been compromised by attackers, generally through the use of Trojans, allowing these compromised systems to be remotely controlled. Collectively, these systems are manipulated to create the high traffic flow necessary to create a DDoS attack.
Use of these botnets are often auctioned and traded among attackers, thus a compromised system may be under the control of multiple criminals – each with a different purpose in mind. Some attackers may use the botnet as a spam-relay, others to act as a download site for malicious code, some to host phishing scams, and others for the aforementioned DDoS attacks.
Several techniques can be used to facilitate a Distributed Denial of Service attack. Two of the more common are HTTP GET requests and SYN Floods. One of the most notorious examples of an HTTP GET attack was from the MyDoom worm, which targeted the SCO.com website. The GET attack works as its name suggests – it sends a request for a specific page (generally the homepage) to the target server. In the case of the MyDoom worm, 64 requests were sent every second from every infected system. With tens of thousands of computers estimated to be infected by MyDoom, the attack quickly proved overwhelming to SCO.com, knocking it offline for several days.
A SYN Flood is basically an aborted handshake. Internet communications use a three-way handshake. The initiating client initiates with a SYN, the server responds with a SYN-ACK, and the client is then supposed to respond with an ACK. Using spoofed IP addresses, an attacker sends the SYN which results in the SYN-ACK being sent to a non-requesting (and often non-existing) address. The server then waits for the ACK response to no avail. When large numbers of these aborted SYN packets are sent to a target, the server resources are exhausted and the server succumbs to the SYN Flood DDoS.
Several other types of DDoS attacks can be launched, including UDP Fragment Attacks, ICMP Floods, and the Ping of Death. For further details on the types of DDoS attacks, visit the The Advanced Networking Management Lab (ANML) and review their Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) Resources.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Common Botnets
A botnet is a collection of compromised (infected) computers under the collective control of remote attackers. The malware on the infected computer is known as a bot, a type of backdoor or remote access trojan (RAT). Bots communicate with botnet command and control (c&c) servers, enabling the remote attacker to update existing infections, push new malware, or instruct the infected computer to carry out specific tasks. In general, the presence of the bot gives the remote attacker the same abilities as the legitimate logged in user.
Botnets are used for everything from delivering spam, phishing attacks, data theft, to distributed denial of service attacks. Most botnets sell 'space' or 'services' on the botnet to bidders who may then deliver additional malware or use it for additional malicious purposes. These botnets-for-hire make it difficult to define what any specific botnet is intended to do, as that intent may change depending on the bidder.
Common botnets include the following:
• Asprox Botnet
• Gumblar Botnet
• Koobface Botnet
• Mariposa Botnet
• Storm Botnet
• Waledec Botnet
• Zeus Botnet
Are You in a Botnet?
A botnet is a collection of infected computers under the control of one or more attackers. These botnets are used for a variety of criminal purposes – all of which pose serious risk to the infected user as well as to the entire Internet community.
Once your computer is under the control of a botnet, it may be used to spam others, host phishing sites and other illicit files, infect or attack others, or have adware and spyware foisted on it so the attackers can collect from various affiliate advertising programs.
Even worse, many of today’s threats include keylogging capabilities. Of special interest to the attackers are your personal financial details – once stolen they are used for everything from credit card fraud to outright identity theft. In short, it’s not just your computer at risk – it’s your wallet.
The Botnet Population is Huge
According to a study by McAfee, "at least 12 million computers around the world (are) compromised by botnets." That means the botnet operators are controlling a population rougly the size of Guatemala. In fact, the number of infected systems would place it at about 70 out of 230 sovereign states and territories. More than Greece, bigger than Hungary, Belgium, Portugal or Cuba, and just a million behind Zimbabwe and Ecuador. The Czech Republic, Bolivia, Sweden, and the Dominican Republic would all be smaller.
While broadband users are favorite targets, dial-up users are equally vulnerable. Various studies have demonstrated that an unpatched, unprotected system can be compromised in as little as 5 minutes online. And if you're thinking it can't happen to you, think again.
It's All About the Money
Viruses, worms, and Trojans have evolved far beyond the childish pranks of yesteryear. Today's attackers are serious criminals - in it for the money - and your system spells international currency. Botnet operators get somewhere between 15 to 40 cents per infected computer, which means they need thousands of infected computers to make serious cash. And with all the focus on money, and not on notoriety, you can bet they'll make every effort to stay under your radar and get onto your system.
To ensure the greatest chance of survival, malware authors routinely submit their creations to online scanners. They repeat this process over and over again, until they've successfully created a virus, worm, or Trojan that the scanner won't detect. And that's the one they'll use to attack your system.
This means the vast majority of new viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious software may not be detected by most antivirus or antispyware scanners until after (a) it's been discovered and (b) you've applied the necessary updates. But the malware authors have a trick for this, too. They also craft their malicious code to cripple the scanners such that the necessary updates may never take place.
Become Actively Engaged in Your Own Security
This isn't to say that antivirus isn't needed. Antivirus software is a must - and on a properly managed system, it's invaluable. But it's not a panacea and if it's your only line of defense, chances are it will be breached. Security isn't a passive endeavor and to stay secure you must become actively engaged in your own protection.
Achieving good computer security can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, following the few simple steps outlined below can provide a good measure of security in very little time.
Use antivirus software and keep it updated. You should check for new definition updates daily. Most antivirus software can be configured to do this automatically.
Install security patches. Vulnerabilities in software are constantly being discovered and they don't discriminate by vendor or platform. It's not simply a matter of updating Windows; at least monthly, check for and apply updates for all software you use.
Use a firewall. No Internet connection is safe without one. Firewalls are necessary even if you have a dial-up Internet connection - it takes only minutes for a a non-firewalled computer to be infected.
• Free ZoneAlarm Firewall
• Using the Windows Firewall
Secure your browser. Many labor under the dangerous misconception that only Internet Explorer is a problem. It's not the browser you need to be concerned about. Nor is it a matter of simply avoiding certain 'types' of sites. Known, legitimate websites are frequently being compromised and implanted with malicious javascript that foists malware onto visitors' computers. To ensure optimum browsing safety, the best tip is to disable javascript for all but the most essential of sites - such as your banking or regular ecommerce sites. Not only will you enjoy safer browsing, you'll be able to eliminate unwanted pop-ups as well.
Take control of your email. Avoid opening email attachments received unexpectedly - no matter who appears to have sent it. Remember that most worms and trojan-laden spam try to spoof the sender's name. And make sure your email client isn't leaving you open to infection. Reading email in plain text offers important security benefits that more than offset the loss of pretty colored fonts.
Treat IM suspiciously. Instant Messaging is a frequent target of worms and trojans. Treat it just as you would email.
Avoid P2P and distributed filesharing. Torrent, Kazaa, Gnutella, Morpheus and at least a dozen other filesharing networks exist. Most are free. And all are rife with trojans, viruses, worms, adware, spyware, and every other form of malicious code imaginable. There's no such thing as safe anonymous filesharing. Avoid it like the plague.
Keep abreast of Internet scams. Criminals think of clever ways to separate you from your hard earned cash. Don't get fooled by emails telling sad stories, or making unsolicited job offers, or promising lotto winnings. Likewise, beware of email masquerading as a security concern from your bank or other eCommerce site.
Don't fall victim to virus hoaxes. Dire sounding email spreading FUD about non-existent threats serve only to spread needless alarm and may even cause you to delete perfectly legitimate files in response.
Remember, there's far more good than bad on the Internet. The goal isn't to be paranoid. The goal is to be cautious, aware, and even suspicious. By following the tips above and becoming actively engaged in your own security, you'll not only be protecting yourself, you'll be contributing to the protection and betterment of the Internet as a whole.
Botnets are used for everything from delivering spam, phishing attacks, data theft, to distributed denial of service attacks. Most botnets sell 'space' or 'services' on the botnet to bidders who may then deliver additional malware or use it for additional malicious purposes. These botnets-for-hire make it difficult to define what any specific botnet is intended to do, as that intent may change depending on the bidder.
Common botnets include the following:
• Asprox Botnet
• Gumblar Botnet
• Koobface Botnet
• Mariposa Botnet
• Storm Botnet
• Waledec Botnet
• Zeus Botnet
Are You in a Botnet?
A botnet is a collection of infected computers under the control of one or more attackers. These botnets are used for a variety of criminal purposes – all of which pose serious risk to the infected user as well as to the entire Internet community.
Once your computer is under the control of a botnet, it may be used to spam others, host phishing sites and other illicit files, infect or attack others, or have adware and spyware foisted on it so the attackers can collect from various affiliate advertising programs.
Even worse, many of today’s threats include keylogging capabilities. Of special interest to the attackers are your personal financial details – once stolen they are used for everything from credit card fraud to outright identity theft. In short, it’s not just your computer at risk – it’s your wallet.
The Botnet Population is Huge
According to a study by McAfee, "at least 12 million computers around the world (are) compromised by botnets." That means the botnet operators are controlling a population rougly the size of Guatemala. In fact, the number of infected systems would place it at about 70 out of 230 sovereign states and territories. More than Greece, bigger than Hungary, Belgium, Portugal or Cuba, and just a million behind Zimbabwe and Ecuador. The Czech Republic, Bolivia, Sweden, and the Dominican Republic would all be smaller.
While broadband users are favorite targets, dial-up users are equally vulnerable. Various studies have demonstrated that an unpatched, unprotected system can be compromised in as little as 5 minutes online. And if you're thinking it can't happen to you, think again.
It's All About the Money
Viruses, worms, and Trojans have evolved far beyond the childish pranks of yesteryear. Today's attackers are serious criminals - in it for the money - and your system spells international currency. Botnet operators get somewhere between 15 to 40 cents per infected computer, which means they need thousands of infected computers to make serious cash. And with all the focus on money, and not on notoriety, you can bet they'll make every effort to stay under your radar and get onto your system.
To ensure the greatest chance of survival, malware authors routinely submit their creations to online scanners. They repeat this process over and over again, until they've successfully created a virus, worm, or Trojan that the scanner won't detect. And that's the one they'll use to attack your system.
This means the vast majority of new viruses, worms, Trojans and other malicious software may not be detected by most antivirus or antispyware scanners until after (a) it's been discovered and (b) you've applied the necessary updates. But the malware authors have a trick for this, too. They also craft their malicious code to cripple the scanners such that the necessary updates may never take place.
Become Actively Engaged in Your Own Security
This isn't to say that antivirus isn't needed. Antivirus software is a must - and on a properly managed system, it's invaluable. But it's not a panacea and if it's your only line of defense, chances are it will be breached. Security isn't a passive endeavor and to stay secure you must become actively engaged in your own protection.
Achieving good computer security can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, following the few simple steps outlined below can provide a good measure of security in very little time.
Use antivirus software and keep it updated. You should check for new definition updates daily. Most antivirus software can be configured to do this automatically.
Install security patches. Vulnerabilities in software are constantly being discovered and they don't discriminate by vendor or platform. It's not simply a matter of updating Windows; at least monthly, check for and apply updates for all software you use.
Use a firewall. No Internet connection is safe without one. Firewalls are necessary even if you have a dial-up Internet connection - it takes only minutes for a a non-firewalled computer to be infected.
• Free ZoneAlarm Firewall
• Using the Windows Firewall
Secure your browser. Many labor under the dangerous misconception that only Internet Explorer is a problem. It's not the browser you need to be concerned about. Nor is it a matter of simply avoiding certain 'types' of sites. Known, legitimate websites are frequently being compromised and implanted with malicious javascript that foists malware onto visitors' computers. To ensure optimum browsing safety, the best tip is to disable javascript for all but the most essential of sites - such as your banking or regular ecommerce sites. Not only will you enjoy safer browsing, you'll be able to eliminate unwanted pop-ups as well.
Take control of your email. Avoid opening email attachments received unexpectedly - no matter who appears to have sent it. Remember that most worms and trojan-laden spam try to spoof the sender's name. And make sure your email client isn't leaving you open to infection. Reading email in plain text offers important security benefits that more than offset the loss of pretty colored fonts.
Treat IM suspiciously. Instant Messaging is a frequent target of worms and trojans. Treat it just as you would email.
Avoid P2P and distributed filesharing. Torrent, Kazaa, Gnutella, Morpheus and at least a dozen other filesharing networks exist. Most are free. And all are rife with trojans, viruses, worms, adware, spyware, and every other form of malicious code imaginable. There's no such thing as safe anonymous filesharing. Avoid it like the plague.
Keep abreast of Internet scams. Criminals think of clever ways to separate you from your hard earned cash. Don't get fooled by emails telling sad stories, or making unsolicited job offers, or promising lotto winnings. Likewise, beware of email masquerading as a security concern from your bank or other eCommerce site.
Don't fall victim to virus hoaxes. Dire sounding email spreading FUD about non-existent threats serve only to spread needless alarm and may even cause you to delete perfectly legitimate files in response.
Remember, there's far more good than bad on the Internet. The goal isn't to be paranoid. The goal is to be cautious, aware, and even suspicious. By following the tips above and becoming actively engaged in your own security, you'll not only be protecting yourself, you'll be contributing to the protection and betterment of the Internet as a whole.
Malware and Vulnerabilities
Common Botnets
A botnet is a collection of compromised (infected) computers under the collective control of remote attackers. The malware on the infected computer is known as a bot, a type of backdoor or remote access trojan (RAT). Here is a collection of the most common botnets.
Asprox Botnet
The Asprox botnet was originally a botnet used primarily to deliver phishing scams. In 2008, the Asprox botnet began employing the bots to discover and use SQL injection on vulnerable Active Server pages on weakly configured websites.
Gumblar Botnet
Gumblar, known in Japan as Geno, is a unique botnet - it not only creates a botnet of compromised PCs, it also backdoors compromised websites enabling continued remote access and manipulation.
Koobface Botnet
Koobface spreads through social networking sites, most prevalently through Facebook. Generally, Koobface relies on social engineering in order to spread. The Koobface message is designed to trick recipients into clicking through to a fraudulent website and either (a) enter their Facebook (or other social networking) credentials or to accept the installation of malware disguised as a video codec o…
Zeus Botnet
Zeus, often spelled ZeuS, is a crimeware botnet typically engaged in data theft. Zeus is also often referred to as Zbot. Zeus is not a single botnet nor a single trojan, but rather refers to an entire family of trojans and their respective botnets.
Storm Botnet
The Storm bot is a backdoor component that allows remote surreptitious access to infected systems. The Storm-infected computers (collectively, the Storm botnet) are outfitted with a spam relay component (to send spam through infected computers) and a peer networking component (to enable the remote attackers to communicate with the bot infected computers).
Mariposa Botnet
Mariposa is Spanish for butterly. In computer lingo, Mariposa is a botnet created by the Butterfly bot kit. Mariposa is typically spread via instant messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing networks and as an autorun worm.
Waledec
Waledec, also spelled Waledac, is the name of a botnet used to relay malicious spam. The Waledec distributed spam often consists of fraudulent greeting cards and breaking news events.
CDC / H1N1 Vaccination Scam Infects Victims
Attackers are sending email disguised as correspondence from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The email claims an H1N1 vaccination registration is required. Those who comply with the request won't be registering with the CDC - instead they will be infecting their computer with a version of the Banker trojan
Remove SecurityTool Scareware
securitytool scareware rogue scanner process explorer safe mode registry editor securitytool rogue scareware regedit blocked task manager security tool
Fear-Based Reporting: Have You Been a Victim?
Fear sells. Whether intentional or otherwise, this can sometimes work to the advantage of the media and the disadvantage of consumers. Have you ever been influenced by fear-based reporting, only to find out later that the reports were wrong?
Conficker: More Conflict than Worm
Barely a week after the 60 Minutes April Fools' Conficker doomsday update failed to materialize, the closely watched Conflicker.C did finally manage an update. And in an ironic twist, the worm itself debunks much of the hype surrounding it.
PowerPoint Zero Day Vulnerability In-the-Wild
Microsoft has released Security Advisory 969136 warning of a newly discovered zero day PowerPoint vulnerability. The flaw impacts PowerPoint versions found in Windows versions of Office 2000, 2002, 2003, and Office 2004 for Mac.
60 Minutes, Conficker, and April's Fool
Is the Conficker worm set to detonate some evil payload on April 1st? According to 60 Minutes, it seems so. Here's the non-FUD behind the Conficker worm.
Downadup.AL aka Conficker.B Worm
Downadup.AL aka Conficker.B is a network worm that spreads via autorun, dictionary attacks on weakly protected network shares, and by exploiting the vulnerabilities described in MS08-067. The worm disables services related to automatic updates, error reporting, the Windows Security Center service, and the Windows Defender service. To prevent access to protection and removal tools, the worm also b…
Autorun Worms: How to Remove Autorun Malware
Autorun worms spread from USB/thumb drives as well as fixed and mapped drives. Autorun worms typically drop or download additional malware, usually backdoors and password stealers. Here's how to remove an autorun worm.
Sality Virus
Sality is a family of file infecting viruses that spread by infecting exe and scr files. The virus also includes an autorun worm component that allows it to spread to any removable or discoverable drive. In addition, Sality includes a downloader trojan component that installs additional malware via the Web.
Winthb 'Virus' Tied to Backdoor Trojans
A family of backdoor and autorun trojans are working together to plague users. One symptom that may appear - the drive volume name and icon may be changed. The more insiduous aspects of the infection are far more silent and may be overlooked when users attempt manual removal.
A Storm of Scary Email
In recent weeks, a rash of spam has been sent that bear much resemblance to the all-too-familiar tactics of the Storm botnet.
Most Damaging Malware
All malware is bad, but some types of malware do more damage than others. That damage can range from loss of files or total loss of security. This list (in no particular order) provides an overview of the most damaging types of malware.
Easily Remove the MonaRonaDona 'Virus'
The MonaRonaDona 'virus' is a self-advertised 'virus' that isn't even a virus at all. It's a non-replicating program (i.e., a Trojan) that loads when Windows is started, changing the Internet Explorer title bar to read MonaRonaDona and displaying a message which blocks access to your legitimate running programs.
What is JS/Psyme (and How to Get Rid of It)
Many users have experienced repeated warnings of infection by Psyme each time they open their browser. Depending on the antivirus in use, the name given in the warning may be any of the following: Downloader.Psyme (Symantec), Troj/Psyme (Sophos), Trojan.VBS.KillAV (Kaspersky), TrojanDownloader.VBS.Psyme (CA),Trojan.Downloader.JS.Psyme (Kaspersky), VBS/Petch.A (F-Prot), VBS/Psyme (McAfee)
What is the Storm Worm?
The so-called Storm worm is actually not a worm, but rather a family of Trojans that typically include a backdoor, SMTP relay, P2P communications, email harvester, downloader, and often a rootkit.
U.Z.A. O/S Eliminator Worm
The so-called "U.Z.A. O/S Eliminator" worm appears to have originated in Maldives sometime in late July or early August 2007. The worm exploits the autorun feature, enabling it to spread from removable USB/thumb drives to other computers.
Freedom / Outlaw Worm
The Freedom 'virus' is a worm that infects local and USB drives, disables access to Task Manager, Registry Editor and other system utilities, and may try to delete MP3 files found on infected systems. Here's how to clean it.
Trojan.MeSpam Makes You the Spammer
Instead of relying on bots to do the dirty work, Trojan.MeSpam makes you the culprit. Once infected, every forum post you make, every webmail you send, and every blog comment you leave will also deposit a link pointing to a nefarious website.
Rinbot Worm Prompts Repeated Denials
Is Rinbot the little worm that isn't? Or is it simply the worm that no one wants to acknowledge exists? Here's a timeline of this "non-threat".
Storm Worm
The Storm worm spreads via email, using a variety of subject lines and message text that may masquerade as news articles or other current events.
Skype Chatosky Worm: Friend or Foe?
Thanks to the Chatosky worm, I uncovered some things about the Skype service that I might not otherwise have known.
Qspace Javascript Worm Targets MySpace Users
MySpace users are yet again a victim of another targeted attack. Dubbed JS_QSPACE.A by antivirus vendor Trend Micro and JS.Qspace by Symantec, the Javascript worm exploits a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability embedded in a malicious Quicktime .MOV file.
Rontokbro aka Brontok Worm
A mass-mailing email worm that also spreads via USB and thumb drives, the Rontokbro worm - also know as Brontok - takes a multifacted approach to defy detection and removal.
Stration Email Worm
Stration is a mass-mailing email worm that attempts to download a file from a remote server. The worm may inject itself into certain running processes, potentially causing it to bypass firewalls or other security software.
Stration Worm
Stration is a mass-mailing email worm that may attempt to download files from a remote server.
VML FUD FAQ
There's a lot of misinformation being disseminated around the recently discovered VML vulnerability. Here's an attempt to address those misconceptions and alleviate some of the fears.
Zero-Day VML Vulnerability Impacts IE, Windows
A zero-day vulnerability in the Windows implementation of Vector Markup Language (VML) impacts all supported versions of Internet Explorer, all supported versions of Microsoft Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000, and recent versions of Outlook and Outlook Express.
Are You in a Botnet?
With 12 million infected systems under their control, botnet operators are controlling a population rougly the size of Guatemala. In fact, the number of infected systems would place it at about 70 out of 230 sovereign states and territories worldwide.
Popular Antivirus Apps *Do* Work
The more a story gets told, the more the original story gets changed by each new storyteller. Sometimes, the story gets so far removed from the original, that the entire intent of the story is lost and new intent construed. Such is the case with the story of antivirus effectiveness, which was recently put through the spin cycle, wrung out, and reformed by Charlie White, editor of the Gizmodo gadget blog.
McAfee Downplays Security Flaws
Vulnerability researchers at eEye Digital uncovered serious flaws in McAfee security products that could allow attackers to gain remote control of affected systems.
Yahoo worm: JS/Yamanner
An early-morning report on a security mailing list led to the discovery of Yamanner, a mass-mailing email worm that impacted Yahoo webmail users.
Gamblers Lose Big with Free Tool
Every successful gambler knows how to handle a certain amount of risk, and how to minimize their losses. But a free tool that promised to help gamblers get the most out of the game turned out to be a Trojan that scammed them out of their winnings.
Hoot Worm Preys on Company
It seems a disgruntled employee targeted their enterprise with a worm that causes pictures of a rather odd looking owl to print on nearly 40 printers specific to the targeted firm.
Nugache Worm
Nugache is a worm that may spread via email, IM, or P2P networks.
Ransomware: Trojans demand money from victims
Having your computer infected with a virus or other malicious software is upsetting enough. But over the past year, a new type of attack promises to be even more disconcerting. Dubbed ransomware, this new attack infects the system, encrypts the files, and then demands payment from its victims.
QuickBatch Trojan Targets the Blind
There is no such thing as a good virus, but some viruses are more despicable than others. Case in point, the newly discovered W32/QuickBatch.G!tr Trojan that specifically targets members of the blind community.
Bagle worm variant warns: 'Lawsuit Against You'
Bagle worm variant that spreads via email and fileshares/P2P networks warns of 'Lawsuit Against You'
Nyxem aka Blackmal worm
Discovered on January 17, 2006, the Nyxem worm has a dangerous payload that executes on the 3rd of each month, overwriting files with specific extensions.
2005: Top Ten Malware Events
Here's the best and worst of 2005 from a malware perspective.
2003: Year of the Black Sheep
It seems appropriate that the Chinese dubbed 2003 as the Year of the Black Sheep. Among other things, the sheep is a symbol of untidiness - and from a virus standpoint, the year was indeed a mess.
2002: Virus Writers Contribute to SPAM
The year 2002 ushered in a new era of malicious marketing code
2001: Year of the Virus
Detecting email-borne viruses every 18 seconds, MessageLabs calls 2001 The Year of the Virus
WMF Image Handling Exploit
A serious vulnerability in Windows Fax and Picture Viewer can allow remote attackers to use .WMF image files to gain control of your system.
Sober.X Worm Description
Sober.X is a mass-mailing email worm that sends itself in either English or German depending on the recipient's domain. In addition to mass-mailing, Sober.X terminates processes related to various antivirus and security programs.
Sober.U Worm
Sober.U arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sober.T Worm
Sober.T arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
sober.s Worm
sober.s arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sober.R Worm
Sober.R arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sony Stinx Trojan
The Sony Stinx Trojan exploits the Sony DRM cloaking technology (aka rootkit) installed by music CDs published by Sony after March 2005. This allows the malware to be hidden from view - effectively masking its presence even from most antivirus scanners. The Sony Stinx Trojan installs an IRC Backdoor Trojan that allows remote access to compromised PCs, downloads other malware, and disables the Windows XP firewall.
Slapper worm gets facelift: Linux Lupper worm, aka Plupi and Lupii
The Linux Slapper worm has been given a facelift and this time BBS admins and web bloggers are the target. The new worm has been given a half dozen new names, including Linux/Lupper worm Linux.Plupi, Backdoor.Linux.Smal, ELF_LUPPER.A and Exploit.Linux.Lupii.
Sony President Defends Rootkit
the President of Sony BMG's Global Digital Business, Thomas Hesse, defends Sony's installation of a rootkit by declaring, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
Sony Rootkit Strikes Sour Note
If you've purchased a Sony-labeled music CD since March 2005 and used it on your PC, chances are it installed a rootkit that can be easily exploited by virus writers.
Alleged Botnet Creators Arrested
Dutch police have announced the arrests of the alleged author of W32.Toxbot and two alleged accomplices.
First Sony PSP Trojan
PSP.Brick impacts the Sony PSP game console, flashing critical system files and rendering the console unbootable. The newly discovered PSP.Brick isn't technically a virus - it's a Trojan. But the news surrounding PSP.Brick could be described as a polymorphic virus - it spreads fast and the story changes with each reporter it infects.
IM Worms Pose Signficant Threat
Since January 1, 2005, at least 358 descriptions have been published for specific IM threats.
Kelvir Instant Messenger (IM) worm
The most prevalent IM worm is Kelvir family of worms that target MSN Messenger users.
Agent.AD Trojan nabs headlines from London attacks
Just hours after BBC published a news report titled "London attackers 'meant to kill'", the Agent.AD Trojan email stole the headline and part of the copy, using it as a ruse to entice victims into opening its infected attachment.
AIM worm impersonates iTunes app
IM worms continue to expand their repertoire of social engineering tricks. W32/Olameg-net, a.k.a. Opanki.Y and AIM/Megalo, installs itself to the Windows System directory as itunes.exe, presumably trying to disguise itself as the popular Apple iTunes application.
Michael Jackson suicide spam a Trojan
Malware authors eager to capitalize on the Michael Jackson trial have been sending booby-trapped spam messages claiming the pop-singer has attempted suicide.
Mytob.BI worm
Discovered May 31, 2005, Mytob.BI is a mass-mailing email worm that compromises system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software, disabling the XP SP2 firewall, and modifying the HOSTS file to prevent access to antivirus updates and certain other websites.
Mytob.AR
Discovered May 30, 2005, Mytob.AR is a mass-mailing email worm that compromises system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software, disabling the XP SP2 firewall, and modifying the HOSTS file to prevent access to antivirus updates and certain other websites.
Prevent the Mytob worm
The Mytob variants are mass-mailing email worms that compromise system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software and modifiying the Registry to disable the XP SP2 firewall.
Sober.P turns to spam
The Sober.P worm has morphed into a spam Trojan, sending politically-charged messages from infected systems.
Sober hangover begins
The Sober.P worm abruptly stopped its mass-mailing at midnight GMT on May 9th, presumably entering its second stage of infection.
Firefox flaws rated extremely critical
Firefox flaws rated extremely critical
Sober.P worm threatens
Discovered May 2, 2005, Sober.P (also known as Sober.O) is a mass-mailing email that sends itself in either German or English language, depending on the intended recipient's domain.
Crog IM worm
The Crog worm edits the system registry to lower security settings, modifies the HOSTS file to redirect access to various security sites and shuts down processes associated with various security software.
Kelvir IM worms
Three new IM worms, Kelvir.A, Kelvir.B, and Kelvir.C were discovered by antivirus vendors on March 6th and 7th, 2005.
Bagle.BE worm
Discovered on March 1, 2005 in conjunction with several mass-spammed Bagle-like Trojans, Bagle.BE arrives in an email with a blank subject line
Troj/BagleDl-L
Troj/BagleDl-L is a Trojan, not a worm, and does not contain mass-mailing capabilities. However, Troj/BagleDl-L was mass-spammed via email during the morning of March 1st, 2005.
Bagle.AZ worm
Like Bagle.AY, Bagle.AZ is a mass mailing email and P2P filesharing worm with downloader capabilites.
Bagle.AY worm
Bagle.AY is a mass mailing email and P2P filesharing worm with backdoor and downloader capabilites. As with previous variants and most modern email worms, the worm uses its own SMTP engine to spread via email and the From address is spoofed.
MyDoom.AM hijacks HOSTS
MyDoom.AM is a mass-mailing email and P2P filesharing worm that modifies the HOSTS file to prevent infected users from accessing certain antivirus vendor sites.
Lovgate.W worm
A mass-mailing email and filesharing worm, Lovgate.W also contains backdoor capabilities
A stocking full of coal: Multiple flaws in Windows could lead to compromise
Ever wonder what Bill Gates gets for Christmas? This year, the Chinese security firm VenusTech delivered three new Windows exploits just in time for the holidays.
Zafi.D worm spreads Christmas fear
A new variant of the Zafi worm, dubbed Zafi.D, sends itself as a Christmas greeting - in a variety of languages depending on the recipient's domain.
MakeLOVEnotSPAM mask worn byTrojan
Dubbed TrojanDropper.FakeSpamFighter and Troj/Mdrop-IT, the Trojan masquerades as the Lycos infamous MakeLOVEnotSPAM screensaver
Sober.I worm
Sober.I is a mass-mailing email worm that sends itself in both German and English, depending on the infected users' operating system language. Sober.I uses is own SMTP engine to send itself to email address found on infected systems, spoofing the From address.
Bofra.A worm exploits SHDOCVW.DLL flaw
Bofra.A worm exploits SHDOCVW.DLL flaw
Klez Help Center
The Klez virus uses a variety of techniques to fool and aggravate users
Homepage Virus
Also known as Homepage, this e-mail worm was discovered in the wild on May 8th, 2001
IRCsome McVeigh Video a RAT
Alleged movie of Timothy McVeigh execution really the Subseven remote access Trojan.
Sobig.E worm
The Sobig.E worm spreads via email. The Sobig.E worm attachment is a ZIP file.
Virus Encyclopedia
From your Antivirus.About.com guide, an encyclopedia of virus and hoax descriptions. Includes PC, Macintosh, Unix, Active Content, and Wireless infectors.
AntiVirus Research Center
Timely and searchable information concerning viruses currently in-the-wild and even those that are not.
AVP's VirusList
So comprehensive, it might be somewhat difficult to navigate. Well worth the effort, AVP delivers the definitive virus encyclopedia.
Hoaxes and Myths
Though not a virus, hoaxes and myths can still cause downtime and loss of productivity due to unwarranted panic. Rob Rosenberger maintains a plethora of information concerning these non-threatening threats.
Computer Virus Info
From F-Secure, an alphabetized database of virus descriptions. Search by exact name or keyword.
Panda Virus Descriptions
From the makers of Panda Antivirus, an encyclopedia searchable by name, category or family. The database is prefaced by an introduction to computer viruses and a handy glossary of terms.
The WildList
Compiled from various reporting agencies and individuals. Listing all viruses actually causing active infections worldwide, the wildlist is updated monthly.
Virus Analyses
One very long list of just some of the viruses detected by Sophos.
Virus Information Library
The McAfee AVERT Virus Information Library includes detailed information on viruses as well as popular hoaxes and myths.
WildList Virus Descriptions
F-Secure simplifies the WildList by linking descriptions to the names of the viruses reported to be in the wild. Updated monthly.
http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/Latest_Malware_and_Vulnerabilities.htm
A botnet is a collection of compromised (infected) computers under the collective control of remote attackers. The malware on the infected computer is known as a bot, a type of backdoor or remote access trojan (RAT). Here is a collection of the most common botnets.
Asprox Botnet
The Asprox botnet was originally a botnet used primarily to deliver phishing scams. In 2008, the Asprox botnet began employing the bots to discover and use SQL injection on vulnerable Active Server pages on weakly configured websites.
Gumblar Botnet
Gumblar, known in Japan as Geno, is a unique botnet - it not only creates a botnet of compromised PCs, it also backdoors compromised websites enabling continued remote access and manipulation.
Koobface Botnet
Koobface spreads through social networking sites, most prevalently through Facebook. Generally, Koobface relies on social engineering in order to spread. The Koobface message is designed to trick recipients into clicking through to a fraudulent website and either (a) enter their Facebook (or other social networking) credentials or to accept the installation of malware disguised as a video codec o…
Zeus Botnet
Zeus, often spelled ZeuS, is a crimeware botnet typically engaged in data theft. Zeus is also often referred to as Zbot. Zeus is not a single botnet nor a single trojan, but rather refers to an entire family of trojans and their respective botnets.
Storm Botnet
The Storm bot is a backdoor component that allows remote surreptitious access to infected systems. The Storm-infected computers (collectively, the Storm botnet) are outfitted with a spam relay component (to send spam through infected computers) and a peer networking component (to enable the remote attackers to communicate with the bot infected computers).
Mariposa Botnet
Mariposa is Spanish for butterly. In computer lingo, Mariposa is a botnet created by the Butterfly bot kit. Mariposa is typically spread via instant messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing networks and as an autorun worm.
Waledec
Waledec, also spelled Waledac, is the name of a botnet used to relay malicious spam. The Waledec distributed spam often consists of fraudulent greeting cards and breaking news events.
CDC / H1N1 Vaccination Scam Infects Victims
Attackers are sending email disguised as correspondence from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The email claims an H1N1 vaccination registration is required. Those who comply with the request won't be registering with the CDC - instead they will be infecting their computer with a version of the Banker trojan
Remove SecurityTool Scareware
securitytool scareware rogue scanner process explorer safe mode registry editor securitytool rogue scareware regedit blocked task manager security tool
Fear-Based Reporting: Have You Been a Victim?
Fear sells. Whether intentional or otherwise, this can sometimes work to the advantage of the media and the disadvantage of consumers. Have you ever been influenced by fear-based reporting, only to find out later that the reports were wrong?
Conficker: More Conflict than Worm
Barely a week after the 60 Minutes April Fools' Conficker doomsday update failed to materialize, the closely watched Conflicker.C did finally manage an update. And in an ironic twist, the worm itself debunks much of the hype surrounding it.
PowerPoint Zero Day Vulnerability In-the-Wild
Microsoft has released Security Advisory 969136 warning of a newly discovered zero day PowerPoint vulnerability. The flaw impacts PowerPoint versions found in Windows versions of Office 2000, 2002, 2003, and Office 2004 for Mac.
60 Minutes, Conficker, and April's Fool
Is the Conficker worm set to detonate some evil payload on April 1st? According to 60 Minutes, it seems so. Here's the non-FUD behind the Conficker worm.
Downadup.AL aka Conficker.B Worm
Downadup.AL aka Conficker.B is a network worm that spreads via autorun, dictionary attacks on weakly protected network shares, and by exploiting the vulnerabilities described in MS08-067. The worm disables services related to automatic updates, error reporting, the Windows Security Center service, and the Windows Defender service. To prevent access to protection and removal tools, the worm also b…
Autorun Worms: How to Remove Autorun Malware
Autorun worms spread from USB/thumb drives as well as fixed and mapped drives. Autorun worms typically drop or download additional malware, usually backdoors and password stealers. Here's how to remove an autorun worm.
Sality Virus
Sality is a family of file infecting viruses that spread by infecting exe and scr files. The virus also includes an autorun worm component that allows it to spread to any removable or discoverable drive. In addition, Sality includes a downloader trojan component that installs additional malware via the Web.
Winthb 'Virus' Tied to Backdoor Trojans
A family of backdoor and autorun trojans are working together to plague users. One symptom that may appear - the drive volume name and icon may be changed. The more insiduous aspects of the infection are far more silent and may be overlooked when users attempt manual removal.
A Storm of Scary Email
In recent weeks, a rash of spam has been sent that bear much resemblance to the all-too-familiar tactics of the Storm botnet.
Most Damaging Malware
All malware is bad, but some types of malware do more damage than others. That damage can range from loss of files or total loss of security. This list (in no particular order) provides an overview of the most damaging types of malware.
Easily Remove the MonaRonaDona 'Virus'
The MonaRonaDona 'virus' is a self-advertised 'virus' that isn't even a virus at all. It's a non-replicating program (i.e., a Trojan) that loads when Windows is started, changing the Internet Explorer title bar to read MonaRonaDona and displaying a message which blocks access to your legitimate running programs.
What is JS/Psyme (and How to Get Rid of It)
Many users have experienced repeated warnings of infection by Psyme each time they open their browser. Depending on the antivirus in use, the name given in the warning may be any of the following: Downloader.Psyme (Symantec), Troj/Psyme (Sophos), Trojan.VBS.KillAV (Kaspersky), TrojanDownloader.VBS.Psyme (CA),Trojan.Downloader.JS.Psyme (Kaspersky), VBS/Petch.A (F-Prot), VBS/Psyme (McAfee)
What is the Storm Worm?
The so-called Storm worm is actually not a worm, but rather a family of Trojans that typically include a backdoor, SMTP relay, P2P communications, email harvester, downloader, and often a rootkit.
U.Z.A. O/S Eliminator Worm
The so-called "U.Z.A. O/S Eliminator" worm appears to have originated in Maldives sometime in late July or early August 2007. The worm exploits the autorun feature, enabling it to spread from removable USB/thumb drives to other computers.
Freedom / Outlaw Worm
The Freedom 'virus' is a worm that infects local and USB drives, disables access to Task Manager, Registry Editor and other system utilities, and may try to delete MP3 files found on infected systems. Here's how to clean it.
Trojan.MeSpam Makes You the Spammer
Instead of relying on bots to do the dirty work, Trojan.MeSpam makes you the culprit. Once infected, every forum post you make, every webmail you send, and every blog comment you leave will also deposit a link pointing to a nefarious website.
Rinbot Worm Prompts Repeated Denials
Is Rinbot the little worm that isn't? Or is it simply the worm that no one wants to acknowledge exists? Here's a timeline of this "non-threat".
Storm Worm
The Storm worm spreads via email, using a variety of subject lines and message text that may masquerade as news articles or other current events.
Skype Chatosky Worm: Friend or Foe?
Thanks to the Chatosky worm, I uncovered some things about the Skype service that I might not otherwise have known.
Qspace Javascript Worm Targets MySpace Users
MySpace users are yet again a victim of another targeted attack. Dubbed JS_QSPACE.A by antivirus vendor Trend Micro and JS.Qspace by Symantec, the Javascript worm exploits a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability embedded in a malicious Quicktime .MOV file.
Rontokbro aka Brontok Worm
A mass-mailing email worm that also spreads via USB and thumb drives, the Rontokbro worm - also know as Brontok - takes a multifacted approach to defy detection and removal.
Stration Email Worm
Stration is a mass-mailing email worm that attempts to download a file from a remote server. The worm may inject itself into certain running processes, potentially causing it to bypass firewalls or other security software.
Stration Worm
Stration is a mass-mailing email worm that may attempt to download files from a remote server.
VML FUD FAQ
There's a lot of misinformation being disseminated around the recently discovered VML vulnerability. Here's an attempt to address those misconceptions and alleviate some of the fears.
Zero-Day VML Vulnerability Impacts IE, Windows
A zero-day vulnerability in the Windows implementation of Vector Markup Language (VML) impacts all supported versions of Internet Explorer, all supported versions of Microsoft Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000, and recent versions of Outlook and Outlook Express.
Are You in a Botnet?
With 12 million infected systems under their control, botnet operators are controlling a population rougly the size of Guatemala. In fact, the number of infected systems would place it at about 70 out of 230 sovereign states and territories worldwide.
Popular Antivirus Apps *Do* Work
The more a story gets told, the more the original story gets changed by each new storyteller. Sometimes, the story gets so far removed from the original, that the entire intent of the story is lost and new intent construed. Such is the case with the story of antivirus effectiveness, which was recently put through the spin cycle, wrung out, and reformed by Charlie White, editor of the Gizmodo gadget blog.
McAfee Downplays Security Flaws
Vulnerability researchers at eEye Digital uncovered serious flaws in McAfee security products that could allow attackers to gain remote control of affected systems.
Yahoo worm: JS/Yamanner
An early-morning report on a security mailing list led to the discovery of Yamanner, a mass-mailing email worm that impacted Yahoo webmail users.
Gamblers Lose Big with Free Tool
Every successful gambler knows how to handle a certain amount of risk, and how to minimize their losses. But a free tool that promised to help gamblers get the most out of the game turned out to be a Trojan that scammed them out of their winnings.
Hoot Worm Preys on Company
It seems a disgruntled employee targeted their enterprise with a worm that causes pictures of a rather odd looking owl to print on nearly 40 printers specific to the targeted firm.
Nugache Worm
Nugache is a worm that may spread via email, IM, or P2P networks.
Ransomware: Trojans demand money from victims
Having your computer infected with a virus or other malicious software is upsetting enough. But over the past year, a new type of attack promises to be even more disconcerting. Dubbed ransomware, this new attack infects the system, encrypts the files, and then demands payment from its victims.
QuickBatch Trojan Targets the Blind
There is no such thing as a good virus, but some viruses are more despicable than others. Case in point, the newly discovered W32/QuickBatch.G!tr Trojan that specifically targets members of the blind community.
Bagle worm variant warns: 'Lawsuit Against You'
Bagle worm variant that spreads via email and fileshares/P2P networks warns of 'Lawsuit Against You'
Nyxem aka Blackmal worm
Discovered on January 17, 2006, the Nyxem worm has a dangerous payload that executes on the 3rd of each month, overwriting files with specific extensions.
2005: Top Ten Malware Events
Here's the best and worst of 2005 from a malware perspective.
2003: Year of the Black Sheep
It seems appropriate that the Chinese dubbed 2003 as the Year of the Black Sheep. Among other things, the sheep is a symbol of untidiness - and from a virus standpoint, the year was indeed a mess.
2002: Virus Writers Contribute to SPAM
The year 2002 ushered in a new era of malicious marketing code
2001: Year of the Virus
Detecting email-borne viruses every 18 seconds, MessageLabs calls 2001 The Year of the Virus
WMF Image Handling Exploit
A serious vulnerability in Windows Fax and Picture Viewer can allow remote attackers to use .WMF image files to gain control of your system.
Sober.X Worm Description
Sober.X is a mass-mailing email worm that sends itself in either English or German depending on the recipient's domain. In addition to mass-mailing, Sober.X terminates processes related to various antivirus and security programs.
Sober.U Worm
Sober.U arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sober.T Worm
Sober.T arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
sober.s Worm
sober.s arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sober.R Worm
Sober.R arrives in an email message that may be in either German or English language, depending on the recipient's domain.
Sony Stinx Trojan
The Sony Stinx Trojan exploits the Sony DRM cloaking technology (aka rootkit) installed by music CDs published by Sony after March 2005. This allows the malware to be hidden from view - effectively masking its presence even from most antivirus scanners. The Sony Stinx Trojan installs an IRC Backdoor Trojan that allows remote access to compromised PCs, downloads other malware, and disables the Windows XP firewall.
Slapper worm gets facelift: Linux Lupper worm, aka Plupi and Lupii
The Linux Slapper worm has been given a facelift and this time BBS admins and web bloggers are the target. The new worm has been given a half dozen new names, including Linux/Lupper worm Linux.Plupi, Backdoor.Linux.Smal, ELF_LUPPER.A and Exploit.Linux.Lupii.
Sony President Defends Rootkit
the President of Sony BMG's Global Digital Business, Thomas Hesse, defends Sony's installation of a rootkit by declaring, "Most people, I think, don't even know what a Rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
Sony Rootkit Strikes Sour Note
If you've purchased a Sony-labeled music CD since March 2005 and used it on your PC, chances are it installed a rootkit that can be easily exploited by virus writers.
Alleged Botnet Creators Arrested
Dutch police have announced the arrests of the alleged author of W32.Toxbot and two alleged accomplices.
First Sony PSP Trojan
PSP.Brick impacts the Sony PSP game console, flashing critical system files and rendering the console unbootable. The newly discovered PSP.Brick isn't technically a virus - it's a Trojan. But the news surrounding PSP.Brick could be described as a polymorphic virus - it spreads fast and the story changes with each reporter it infects.
IM Worms Pose Signficant Threat
Since January 1, 2005, at least 358 descriptions have been published for specific IM threats.
Kelvir Instant Messenger (IM) worm
The most prevalent IM worm is Kelvir family of worms that target MSN Messenger users.
Agent.AD Trojan nabs headlines from London attacks
Just hours after BBC published a news report titled "London attackers 'meant to kill'", the Agent.AD Trojan email stole the headline and part of the copy, using it as a ruse to entice victims into opening its infected attachment.
AIM worm impersonates iTunes app
IM worms continue to expand their repertoire of social engineering tricks. W32/Olameg-net, a.k.a. Opanki.Y and AIM/Megalo, installs itself to the Windows System directory as itunes.exe, presumably trying to disguise itself as the popular Apple iTunes application.
Michael Jackson suicide spam a Trojan
Malware authors eager to capitalize on the Michael Jackson trial have been sending booby-trapped spam messages claiming the pop-singer has attempted suicide.
Mytob.BI worm
Discovered May 31, 2005, Mytob.BI is a mass-mailing email worm that compromises system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software, disabling the XP SP2 firewall, and modifying the HOSTS file to prevent access to antivirus updates and certain other websites.
Mytob.AR
Discovered May 30, 2005, Mytob.AR is a mass-mailing email worm that compromises system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software, disabling the XP SP2 firewall, and modifying the HOSTS file to prevent access to antivirus updates and certain other websites.
Prevent the Mytob worm
The Mytob variants are mass-mailing email worms that compromise system security by terminating processes related to various antivirus software and modifiying the Registry to disable the XP SP2 firewall.
Sober.P turns to spam
The Sober.P worm has morphed into a spam Trojan, sending politically-charged messages from infected systems.
Sober hangover begins
The Sober.P worm abruptly stopped its mass-mailing at midnight GMT on May 9th, presumably entering its second stage of infection.
Firefox flaws rated extremely critical
Firefox flaws rated extremely critical
Sober.P worm threatens
Discovered May 2, 2005, Sober.P (also known as Sober.O) is a mass-mailing email that sends itself in either German or English language, depending on the intended recipient's domain.
Crog IM worm
The Crog worm edits the system registry to lower security settings, modifies the HOSTS file to redirect access to various security sites and shuts down processes associated with various security software.
Kelvir IM worms
Three new IM worms, Kelvir.A, Kelvir.B, and Kelvir.C were discovered by antivirus vendors on March 6th and 7th, 2005.
Bagle.BE worm
Discovered on March 1, 2005 in conjunction with several mass-spammed Bagle-like Trojans, Bagle.BE arrives in an email with a blank subject line
Troj/BagleDl-L
Troj/BagleDl-L is a Trojan, not a worm, and does not contain mass-mailing capabilities. However, Troj/BagleDl-L was mass-spammed via email during the morning of March 1st, 2005.
Bagle.AZ worm
Like Bagle.AY, Bagle.AZ is a mass mailing email and P2P filesharing worm with downloader capabilites.
Bagle.AY worm
Bagle.AY is a mass mailing email and P2P filesharing worm with backdoor and downloader capabilites. As with previous variants and most modern email worms, the worm uses its own SMTP engine to spread via email and the From address is spoofed.
MyDoom.AM hijacks HOSTS
MyDoom.AM is a mass-mailing email and P2P filesharing worm that modifies the HOSTS file to prevent infected users from accessing certain antivirus vendor sites.
Lovgate.W worm
A mass-mailing email and filesharing worm, Lovgate.W also contains backdoor capabilities
A stocking full of coal: Multiple flaws in Windows could lead to compromise
Ever wonder what Bill Gates gets for Christmas? This year, the Chinese security firm VenusTech delivered three new Windows exploits just in time for the holidays.
Zafi.D worm spreads Christmas fear
A new variant of the Zafi worm, dubbed Zafi.D, sends itself as a Christmas greeting - in a variety of languages depending on the recipient's domain.
MakeLOVEnotSPAM mask worn byTrojan
Dubbed TrojanDropper.FakeSpamFighter and Troj/Mdrop-IT, the Trojan masquerades as the Lycos infamous MakeLOVEnotSPAM screensaver
Sober.I worm
Sober.I is a mass-mailing email worm that sends itself in both German and English, depending on the infected users' operating system language. Sober.I uses is own SMTP engine to send itself to email address found on infected systems, spoofing the From address.
Bofra.A worm exploits SHDOCVW.DLL flaw
Bofra.A worm exploits SHDOCVW.DLL flaw
Klez Help Center
The Klez virus uses a variety of techniques to fool and aggravate users
Homepage Virus
Also known as Homepage, this e-mail worm was discovered in the wild on May 8th, 2001
IRCsome McVeigh Video a RAT
Alleged movie of Timothy McVeigh execution really the Subseven remote access Trojan.
Sobig.E worm
The Sobig.E worm spreads via email. The Sobig.E worm attachment is a ZIP file.
Virus Encyclopedia
From your Antivirus.About.com guide, an encyclopedia of virus and hoax descriptions. Includes PC, Macintosh, Unix, Active Content, and Wireless infectors.
AntiVirus Research Center
Timely and searchable information concerning viruses currently in-the-wild and even those that are not.
AVP's VirusList
So comprehensive, it might be somewhat difficult to navigate. Well worth the effort, AVP delivers the definitive virus encyclopedia.
Hoaxes and Myths
Though not a virus, hoaxes and myths can still cause downtime and loss of productivity due to unwarranted panic. Rob Rosenberger maintains a plethora of information concerning these non-threatening threats.
Computer Virus Info
From F-Secure, an alphabetized database of virus descriptions. Search by exact name or keyword.
Panda Virus Descriptions
From the makers of Panda Antivirus, an encyclopedia searchable by name, category or family. The database is prefaced by an introduction to computer viruses and a handy glossary of terms.
The WildList
Compiled from various reporting agencies and individuals. Listing all viruses actually causing active infections worldwide, the wildlist is updated monthly.
Virus Analyses
One very long list of just some of the viruses detected by Sophos.
Virus Information Library
The McAfee AVERT Virus Information Library includes detailed information on viruses as well as popular hoaxes and myths.
WildList Virus Descriptions
F-Secure simplifies the WildList by linking descriptions to the names of the viruses reported to be in the wild. Updated monthly.
http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/Latest_Malware_and_Vulnerabilities.htm
Mailinator - - A Very Disposable Email Account
Mailinator - - A Very Disposable Email Account
Free Service Description:
Mailinator offers you any email address you want -- for a few hours. This may make Mailinator the ultimate disposable email account. You can make-up an email address using the mailinator domain and use it as a temporary junk email account.
How do I use this free service?:
After you have given out your made-up email address you then go to Mailinator.com and check that account for any email received. The email is kept for a couple hours and then deleted. You don't need to register with Mailinator at all. Mailinator just collects all email to any address using the mailinator.com domain. You just type in the address you just gave out and any email to that address is displayed.
That sounds cool but what good is it?:
Mailinator has basically just one purpose. It allows you to receive email for a short period of time without giving out your own email address. If you need an email address to register on a site that you are not sure you trust, use a Mailinator address. You can get your confirmation email to validate your registration. There is no worry about getting spam because you never need to check that account again.
What are the drawbacks of the free Mailinator address?:
Since email is deleted after a couple hours you cannot use a Mailinator account as a permanent email address. There is no security on a Mailinator account. Anyone can check any account as long as they know what it is. It's best not choose a common address like a first name or a common word. You also cannot send email from a Mailinator account.
What are the risks in in using the Mailinator site?:
There are none as long as you understand that mail is deleted after a couple hours and that anyone can check it if they know the address you used. Since Mailinator does not require a registration you are not giving them any personal information.
Free Service Description:
Mailinator offers you any email address you want -- for a few hours. This may make Mailinator the ultimate disposable email account. You can make-up an email address using the mailinator domain and use it as a temporary junk email account.
How do I use this free service?:
After you have given out your made-up email address you then go to Mailinator.com and check that account for any email received. The email is kept for a couple hours and then deleted. You don't need to register with Mailinator at all. Mailinator just collects all email to any address using the mailinator.com domain. You just type in the address you just gave out and any email to that address is displayed.
That sounds cool but what good is it?:
Mailinator has basically just one purpose. It allows you to receive email for a short period of time without giving out your own email address. If you need an email address to register on a site that you are not sure you trust, use a Mailinator address. You can get your confirmation email to validate your registration. There is no worry about getting spam because you never need to check that account again.
What are the drawbacks of the free Mailinator address?:
Since email is deleted after a couple hours you cannot use a Mailinator account as a permanent email address. There is no security on a Mailinator account. Anyone can check any account as long as they know what it is. It's best not choose a common address like a first name or a common word. You also cannot send email from a Mailinator account.
What are the risks in in using the Mailinator site?:
There are none as long as you understand that mail is deleted after a couple hours and that anyone can check it if they know the address you used. Since Mailinator does not require a registration you are not giving them any personal information.
Police your Password Recovery Options
Police your Password Recovery Options
Cybercriminals can hijack your online accounts to order items at your expense, gain access to your email, or use your good name to send spam, malware and scams to people you know. One way attackers can gain access is by taking advantage of lax security in your password reset and recovery options for the account.
Most online services offer some means of recovering forgotten passwords. This typically consists of answering a few questions, after which a new password is emailed to the account on record. While this method is convenient, it can leave you at greater risk unless you follow a few simple security precautions.
1. Make sure the email address specified for the account is a valid, monitored email address.
2. Make sure the answers to the password recovery / reset option are not easily guessable.
Skipping either of these steps makes it far easier for attackers to gain control of your account. For example, a "throwaway" email address could easily wind up registered to another user. This means that any attempts to recover or reset your password, will result in that password being sent to the wrong person. Make sure the email address you have specified for the account is active, in your name, and monitored regularly.
Most security related questions can be either easily guessed or discovered through a quick online search. For example, things like the name of the school you attended or the town you were born in may be part of your public social networking profile.
Your best bet is to pick a nonsensical answer to the question. Instead of entering your favorite pet's name, input a completely bogus response that only you will know. Avoid easily guessed single word responses like 123456, password, or other dictionary words or sequential number responses. Attackers can simply enter lists of commonly used words/number sequences until one gets accepted. Use a passphrase instead - a favorite quote or short phrase with all spaces removed.
Some online accounts will allow you to enter a mobile phone number. If a password reset or recovery is requested, you'll receive a text message alerting you. If available, this is one of the most secure methods you can use. However, phones can be lost or stolen, so remember to still have a valid email on file with the service and use hard-to-guess passphrases for the security questions.
Cybercriminals can hijack your online accounts to order items at your expense, gain access to your email, or use your good name to send spam, malware and scams to people you know. One way attackers can gain access is by taking advantage of lax security in your password reset and recovery options for the account.
Most online services offer some means of recovering forgotten passwords. This typically consists of answering a few questions, after which a new password is emailed to the account on record. While this method is convenient, it can leave you at greater risk unless you follow a few simple security precautions.
1. Make sure the email address specified for the account is a valid, monitored email address.
2. Make sure the answers to the password recovery / reset option are not easily guessable.
Skipping either of these steps makes it far easier for attackers to gain control of your account. For example, a "throwaway" email address could easily wind up registered to another user. This means that any attempts to recover or reset your password, will result in that password being sent to the wrong person. Make sure the email address you have specified for the account is active, in your name, and monitored regularly.
Most security related questions can be either easily guessed or discovered through a quick online search. For example, things like the name of the school you attended or the town you were born in may be part of your public social networking profile.
Your best bet is to pick a nonsensical answer to the question. Instead of entering your favorite pet's name, input a completely bogus response that only you will know. Avoid easily guessed single word responses like 123456, password, or other dictionary words or sequential number responses. Attackers can simply enter lists of commonly used words/number sequences until one gets accepted. Use a passphrase instead - a favorite quote or short phrase with all spaces removed.
Some online accounts will allow you to enter a mobile phone number. If a password reset or recovery is requested, you'll receive a text message alerting you. If available, this is one of the most secure methods you can use. However, phones can be lost or stolen, so remember to still have a valid email on file with the service and use hard-to-guess passphrases for the security questions.
Online Security Tips Defending Yourself Against 3 Common Online Attacks
The Internet has become a dangerous place in which to do business. To remain secure online, you need to maintain a strong defense on several fronts. Here are tips for defending your email, social networking sites and online bank accounts and from hackers.
Email Security
Spear Phishing attacks that target victims by name have become a serious and sophisticated threat. The emails fabricated by spear phishers may be addressed to a C-level employee or appear to come from a trusted individual within an organization.
The spear phisher's modus operandi involves tricking the victim into clicking on a link leading to a bogus web site. This infected site will secretly install data logging software designed to record the victim's key strokes. Once they have pirated information such as user names and passwords, spear phishers have been known to suck company bank accounts dry.
As one example, spear phishers identified key employees at companies such as Google and Adobe and then back-tracked to find out the names of their friends. The hackers then compromised the friends' social network accounts and used them trick the targets into clicking on infected links.
Said Sam Curry, Vice President of RSA:
This is a loud message for the commercial world, which is: wake up, this isn't all happiness and goodness and new business. Doing business on the internet is as risky as sending ships through the Panama Canal.
Here are just a few steps that you can take to protect yourself and your company from spear phishing;
• Be suspicious of any emails requesting confidential information, and verify the request with the company or individual named in the email. Just clicking on a malicious web link can infect your computer,
• Limit the amount of personal information you provide on social networking sites,
• Use strong passwords.
Social Networking Attacks
ID Theft expert, Robert Siciliano related how a white hat hacker used Facebook to breach a company's physical security and infiltrate their network. It is a perfect illustration of how employees can compromise themselves and their companies through a careless use of social networking.
In the article, the hacker describes stealing the identity of a company employee found on Facebook:
On the day we intended to breach the facility, our guy was dressed with a shirt embroidered with our client's logo, and armed him with business cards, a fake company badge, and his laptop. Upon entering the building, he was immediately greeted by reception. Our man quickly displayed his fake credentials and immediately began ranting about the perils of his journey and how important it was for him to get a place to check his email and use a restroom. Within in seconds, he was provided a place to sit, connection to the Internet, and a 24×7 card access key to the building. Later that evening, he returned to the empty office building to conduct a late-night hacking session. Within a short period of time, he had accessed the company's sensitive secrets.
Most people drop their guard on Facebook. And why not? After all, on Facebook, you're surrounded by people you "know like and trust." How could you possibly be in danger with 6 bazillion "friends" to look out for you?
Online Banking Protection
If your company does high value online banking transactions, limit those activities to a secured, stand alone computer that has no access to email or web browsing, The American Bankers Association now recommends that businesses use a dedicated PC for online transactions.
Cybercriminals are writing malware to create fraudulent Automatic Clearing House (ACH) and wire transfers. In order to hijack your transactions, a criminal must first insert the malware onto one or more of your company's computers. Infecting a computer is much easier if that computer is connected to the internet or used for email.
In particular, the ABA recommends
commercial banking customers carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone, hardened and completely locked down computer system from which e-mail and Web browsing are not possible.
To add another layer of protection, consider implementing "locked down computing" for your online transactions.
Devices such as IBM's ZTIC (Zone Trusted Information Channel) are designed to protect online bank customers from a "man in the middle" attack. In this scenario, an attacker intercepts an online transaction as it occurs, and re-directs funds to a fraudulent account.
The ZTIC is a smart card reader that attaches to a computer used for online banking. During a transaction, it bypasses the web browser completely and establishes a secure connection with the bank. This approach is referred to as "locked down computing" and lets users see exactly how their transaction is being directed. If a hacker attempts to channel funds to a frauduent account, the user can immediately abort the transaction.
Email Security
Spear Phishing attacks that target victims by name have become a serious and sophisticated threat. The emails fabricated by spear phishers may be addressed to a C-level employee or appear to come from a trusted individual within an organization.
The spear phisher's modus operandi involves tricking the victim into clicking on a link leading to a bogus web site. This infected site will secretly install data logging software designed to record the victim's key strokes. Once they have pirated information such as user names and passwords, spear phishers have been known to suck company bank accounts dry.
As one example, spear phishers identified key employees at companies such as Google and Adobe and then back-tracked to find out the names of their friends. The hackers then compromised the friends' social network accounts and used them trick the targets into clicking on infected links.
Said Sam Curry, Vice President of RSA:
This is a loud message for the commercial world, which is: wake up, this isn't all happiness and goodness and new business. Doing business on the internet is as risky as sending ships through the Panama Canal.
Here are just a few steps that you can take to protect yourself and your company from spear phishing;
• Be suspicious of any emails requesting confidential information, and verify the request with the company or individual named in the email. Just clicking on a malicious web link can infect your computer,
• Limit the amount of personal information you provide on social networking sites,
• Use strong passwords.
Social Networking Attacks
ID Theft expert, Robert Siciliano related how a white hat hacker used Facebook to breach a company's physical security and infiltrate their network. It is a perfect illustration of how employees can compromise themselves and their companies through a careless use of social networking.
In the article, the hacker describes stealing the identity of a company employee found on Facebook:
On the day we intended to breach the facility, our guy was dressed with a shirt embroidered with our client's logo, and armed him with business cards, a fake company badge, and his laptop. Upon entering the building, he was immediately greeted by reception. Our man quickly displayed his fake credentials and immediately began ranting about the perils of his journey and how important it was for him to get a place to check his email and use a restroom. Within in seconds, he was provided a place to sit, connection to the Internet, and a 24×7 card access key to the building. Later that evening, he returned to the empty office building to conduct a late-night hacking session. Within a short period of time, he had accessed the company's sensitive secrets.
Most people drop their guard on Facebook. And why not? After all, on Facebook, you're surrounded by people you "know like and trust." How could you possibly be in danger with 6 bazillion "friends" to look out for you?
Online Banking Protection
If your company does high value online banking transactions, limit those activities to a secured, stand alone computer that has no access to email or web browsing, The American Bankers Association now recommends that businesses use a dedicated PC for online transactions.
Cybercriminals are writing malware to create fraudulent Automatic Clearing House (ACH) and wire transfers. In order to hijack your transactions, a criminal must first insert the malware onto one or more of your company's computers. Infecting a computer is much easier if that computer is connected to the internet or used for email.
In particular, the ABA recommends
commercial banking customers carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone, hardened and completely locked down computer system from which e-mail and Web browsing are not possible.
To add another layer of protection, consider implementing "locked down computing" for your online transactions.
Devices such as IBM's ZTIC (Zone Trusted Information Channel) are designed to protect online bank customers from a "man in the middle" attack. In this scenario, an attacker intercepts an online transaction as it occurs, and re-directs funds to a fraudulent account.
The ZTIC is a smart card reader that attaches to a computer used for online banking. During a transaction, it bypasses the web browser completely and establishes a secure connection with the bank. This approach is referred to as "locked down computing" and lets users see exactly how their transaction is being directed. If a hacker attempts to channel funds to a frauduent account, the user can immediately abort the transaction.
Online Banking Security 7 Best Practices for Online Banking Security
Sending your bank transactions surfing across the web can be as hazardous as piloting a ship through pirate-infested waters. Here are seven best practices for online banking security.
Use a Dedicated PC
The American Bankers Association now recommends that businesses use a dedicated PC for online transactions. Cybercriminals are writing malware to create fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) and wire transfers. In order to hijack your transactions, a criminal must first insert the malware onto one or more of your company's computers. Infecting a computer is much easier if that computer is regularly connected to the internet or used for email. In particular, the ABA recommends that "commercial banking customers carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone, hardened and completely locked down computer system from which e-mail and Web browsing are not possible."
Lock Down Your Computer
So-called "locked down" computing creates a secure channel between your PC and your bank's server. IBM's ZTIC is one hardware solution that you can use to secure your online transactions.
Establish Dual Control
Work with your bank to establish "dual control" over your account. Once this safeguard is in place, two individuals from your organization will need to log on and authorize any transaction. With dual control in place, a hacker would need to breach two computer accounts in order to commit a fraudulent transaction.
Get Alerts
You can also request that your bank send email confirmations of online transactions. This will provide you with an early warning of any fraudulent activity.
Use Strong Passwords
Treat your password like a toothbrush; change it often, and don't ever share. Strong passwords are the first line of defense in your online kingdom. Follow this link to rea more about creating strong passwords.
Check Account Balances at the End of the Workday
Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions are not usually processed until the next business day. If you catch a fraudulent transaction at the end of a business day, you may be able to cancel it before any funds are transferred.
Don't "Friend" Strangers
An article by ID Theft expert, Robert Siciliano should give every CIO and CSO heartburn. Siciliano relates how a white hat hacker used Facebook to breach a company's physical security and infiltrate their network. The same techniques could be used to to hack into online banking accounts. Siciliano says that most people drop their guard on Facebook. And why not? After all, on Facebook, you're surrounded by people you "know, like and trust." The author's bottom line: "Mom told you not to talk to strangers. I'm telling you not to "friend" strangers, because they could be scammers. Scammers are watching. They know that once you are on Facebook, your guard goes way down."
Use a Dedicated PC
The American Bankers Association now recommends that businesses use a dedicated PC for online transactions. Cybercriminals are writing malware to create fraudulent Automated Clearing House (ACH) and wire transfers. In order to hijack your transactions, a criminal must first insert the malware onto one or more of your company's computers. Infecting a computer is much easier if that computer is regularly connected to the internet or used for email. In particular, the ABA recommends that "commercial banking customers carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone, hardened and completely locked down computer system from which e-mail and Web browsing are not possible."
Lock Down Your Computer
So-called "locked down" computing creates a secure channel between your PC and your bank's server. IBM's ZTIC is one hardware solution that you can use to secure your online transactions.
Establish Dual Control
Work with your bank to establish "dual control" over your account. Once this safeguard is in place, two individuals from your organization will need to log on and authorize any transaction. With dual control in place, a hacker would need to breach two computer accounts in order to commit a fraudulent transaction.
Get Alerts
You can also request that your bank send email confirmations of online transactions. This will provide you with an early warning of any fraudulent activity.
Use Strong Passwords
Treat your password like a toothbrush; change it often, and don't ever share. Strong passwords are the first line of defense in your online kingdom. Follow this link to rea more about creating strong passwords.
Check Account Balances at the End of the Workday
Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions are not usually processed until the next business day. If you catch a fraudulent transaction at the end of a business day, you may be able to cancel it before any funds are transferred.
Don't "Friend" Strangers
An article by ID Theft expert, Robert Siciliano should give every CIO and CSO heartburn. Siciliano relates how a white hat hacker used Facebook to breach a company's physical security and infiltrate their network. The same techniques could be used to to hack into online banking accounts. Siciliano says that most people drop their guard on Facebook. And why not? After all, on Facebook, you're surrounded by people you "know, like and trust." The author's bottom line: "Mom told you not to talk to strangers. I'm telling you not to "friend" strangers, because they could be scammers. Scammers are watching. They know that once you are on Facebook, your guard goes way down."
Top Ten Ways to Get Infected
How your online habits leave you and your computer at risk
Keeping safe online takes more than just installing a few security programs. To protect both you and your computer, here are the top ten bad habits you need to avoid.
1. Browsing the Web with javascript enabled by default
Today's attackers are more likely to host their malicious files on the web. They may even update those files constantly using automated tools that repackage the binary in an attempt to bypass signature-based scanners. Whether through social engineering or through website exploit, the choice of browser will be of little help. All browsers are equally susceptible to Web-based malware and this includes Firefox, Opera, and the much maligned Internet Explorer. Disabling Javascript on all but the most trusted sites will go a long ways towards safer web browsing.
2. Using Adobe Reader/Acrobat with default settings
Adobe Reader comes pre-installed on most computers. And even if you never use it, just the mere presence can leave your computer at risk. Vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat are the number one most common infection vector, bar none. Making sure you stay up-to-date with the latest version of Adobe products is imperative, but not foolproof.
3. Clicking unsolicited links in email or IM
Malicious or fraudulent links in email and IM are a significant vector for both malware and social engineering attacks. Reading email in plain text can help identify potentially malicious or fraudulent links. Your best bet: avoid clicking any link in an email or IM that is received unexpectedly - particularly if you do not know the sender.
4. Clicking on popups that claim your computer is infected
Rogue scanners are a category of scam software sometimes referred to as scareware. Rogue scanners masquerade as antivirus, antispyware, or other security software, claiming the user's system is infected in order to trick them into paying for a full version. Avoiding infection is easy - don't fall for the bogus claims.
5. Logging in to an account from a link received in email, IM, or social networking
Never, ever login to an account after being directed there via a link received in an email, IM, or social networking message (i.e. Facebook). If you do follow a link that instructs you to login afterwards, close the page, then open a new page and visit the site using a previously bookmarked or known good link.
6. Not applying security patches for ALL programs
There are dozens of security vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited on your system. And it's not just Windows patches you need to be concerned with. Adobe Flash, Acrobat Reader, Apple Quicktime, Sun Java and a bevy of other third-party apps typically host security vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited. The free Secunia Software Inspector helps you quickly discover which programs need patching - and where to get it.
7. Assuming your antivirus provides 100% protection
Don't believe everything your antivirus does (or rather doesn't) tell you. Even the most current antivirus can easily miss new malware - and attackers routinely release tens of thousands of new malware variants each month.
8. Not using antivirus software
Many (probably infected) users mistakenly believe they can avoid malware simply by being 'smart'. They labor under the dangerous misconception that somehow malware always asks permission before it installs itself. The vast majority of today's malware is delivered silently, via the Web, by exploiting vulnerabilities in software. Antivirus software is must-have protection.
Of course, out-of-date antivirus is almost as bad as no antivirus software at all. Make sure your antivirus software is configured to automatically check for updates as frequently as the program will allow or a minimum of once per day.
9. Not using a firewall on your computer
Not using a firewall is akin to leaving your front door wide open on a busy street. There are several free firewall options available today - including the built-in firewall in Windows XP and Vista. Be sure to choose a firewall that offers both inbound and (as importantly) outbound protection.
10. Falling for phishing or other social engineering scams
Just as the Internet makes it easier for legitmate pursuits, it also makes it easier for scammers, con artists, and other online miscreants to carry out their virtual crimes - impacting our real life finances, security, and peace of mind. Scammers often use sad sounding stories or promises of quick riches to hook us into being willing victims to their crimes. Exercising common sense is one of the best ways to avoid online scams. For extra help, consider installing one of the free anti-phishing toolbars
Keeping safe online takes more than just installing a few security programs. To protect both you and your computer, here are the top ten bad habits you need to avoid.
1. Browsing the Web with javascript enabled by default
Today's attackers are more likely to host their malicious files on the web. They may even update those files constantly using automated tools that repackage the binary in an attempt to bypass signature-based scanners. Whether through social engineering or through website exploit, the choice of browser will be of little help. All browsers are equally susceptible to Web-based malware and this includes Firefox, Opera, and the much maligned Internet Explorer. Disabling Javascript on all but the most trusted sites will go a long ways towards safer web browsing.
2. Using Adobe Reader/Acrobat with default settings
Adobe Reader comes pre-installed on most computers. And even if you never use it, just the mere presence can leave your computer at risk. Vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat are the number one most common infection vector, bar none. Making sure you stay up-to-date with the latest version of Adobe products is imperative, but not foolproof.
3. Clicking unsolicited links in email or IM
Malicious or fraudulent links in email and IM are a significant vector for both malware and social engineering attacks. Reading email in plain text can help identify potentially malicious or fraudulent links. Your best bet: avoid clicking any link in an email or IM that is received unexpectedly - particularly if you do not know the sender.
4. Clicking on popups that claim your computer is infected
Rogue scanners are a category of scam software sometimes referred to as scareware. Rogue scanners masquerade as antivirus, antispyware, or other security software, claiming the user's system is infected in order to trick them into paying for a full version. Avoiding infection is easy - don't fall for the bogus claims.
5. Logging in to an account from a link received in email, IM, or social networking
Never, ever login to an account after being directed there via a link received in an email, IM, or social networking message (i.e. Facebook). If you do follow a link that instructs you to login afterwards, close the page, then open a new page and visit the site using a previously bookmarked or known good link.
6. Not applying security patches for ALL programs
There are dozens of security vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited on your system. And it's not just Windows patches you need to be concerned with. Adobe Flash, Acrobat Reader, Apple Quicktime, Sun Java and a bevy of other third-party apps typically host security vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited. The free Secunia Software Inspector helps you quickly discover which programs need patching - and where to get it.
7. Assuming your antivirus provides 100% protection
Don't believe everything your antivirus does (or rather doesn't) tell you. Even the most current antivirus can easily miss new malware - and attackers routinely release tens of thousands of new malware variants each month.
8. Not using antivirus software
Many (probably infected) users mistakenly believe they can avoid malware simply by being 'smart'. They labor under the dangerous misconception that somehow malware always asks permission before it installs itself. The vast majority of today's malware is delivered silently, via the Web, by exploiting vulnerabilities in software. Antivirus software is must-have protection.
Of course, out-of-date antivirus is almost as bad as no antivirus software at all. Make sure your antivirus software is configured to automatically check for updates as frequently as the program will allow or a minimum of once per day.
9. Not using a firewall on your computer
Not using a firewall is akin to leaving your front door wide open on a busy street. There are several free firewall options available today - including the built-in firewall in Windows XP and Vista. Be sure to choose a firewall that offers both inbound and (as importantly) outbound protection.
10. Falling for phishing or other social engineering scams
Just as the Internet makes it easier for legitmate pursuits, it also makes it easier for scammers, con artists, and other online miscreants to carry out their virtual crimes - impacting our real life finances, security, and peace of mind. Scammers often use sad sounding stories or promises of quick riches to hook us into being willing victims to their crimes. Exercising common sense is one of the best ways to avoid online scams. For extra help, consider installing one of the free anti-phishing toolbars
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)
Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)
The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential validates that an individual has the comprehensive set of skills necessary to perform a particular job role, such as database administrator or enterprise messaging administrator. MCITP certifications build on the technical proficiency measured in the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications, therefore you will earn one or more MCTS certifications on your way to earning an MCITP credential.
MCITP candidate profile
MCITP candidates are capable of deploying, building, designing, optimizing, and operating technologies for a particular job role. They make the design and technology decisions necessary to ensure successful technology implementation projects.
Why get certified?
Earning a Microsoft Certification validates your proven experience and knowledge in using Microsoft products and solutions. Designed to be relevant in today’s rapidly changing IT marketplace, Microsoft Certifications help you utilize evolving technologies, fine-tune your troubleshooting skills, and improve your job satisfaction.
Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned IT professional, becoming certified demonstrates to customers, peers, and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and taking on greater challenges. In addition, certification provides you with access to exclusive Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) resources and benefits, including opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of MCPs
By earning an MCITP credential, you distinguish yourself as an IT professional with the skills and proven job-role capabilities to effectively work with Microsoft technologies.
Certification
Required exam(s)*
Windows Client
MCITP: Consumer Support Technician
Exam 70-620
Exam 70-623
MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician
Exam 70-620
Exam 70-622
Windows Server
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator
Exam 70-640
Exam 70-642
Exam 70-643
plus either
Exam 70-620 or Exam 70-624
and
Exam 70-647
MCITP: Server Administrator
Exam 70-640
Exam 70-642
Exam 70-646
Microsoft SQL Server
MCITP: Database Administrator 2008
Exam 70-432
Exam 70-450
MCITP: Database Developer 2008
Exam 70-433
Exam 70-451
MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008
Exam 70-448
Exam 70-452
MCITP: Database Administrator
Exam 70-431
Exam 70-443
Exam 70-444
MCITP: Database Developer
Exam 70-431
Exam 70-441
Exam 70-442
MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer
Exam 70-445
Exam 70-446
Microsoft Office Project Server
MCITP: Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
Exam 70-632
Exam 70-633
Exam 70-634
Microsoft Exchange Server
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator
Exam 70-236
Exam 70-237
Exam 70-238
The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential validates that an individual has the comprehensive set of skills necessary to perform a particular job role, such as database administrator or enterprise messaging administrator. MCITP certifications build on the technical proficiency measured in the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications, therefore you will earn one or more MCTS certifications on your way to earning an MCITP credential.
MCITP candidate profile
MCITP candidates are capable of deploying, building, designing, optimizing, and operating technologies for a particular job role. They make the design and technology decisions necessary to ensure successful technology implementation projects.
Why get certified?
Earning a Microsoft Certification validates your proven experience and knowledge in using Microsoft products and solutions. Designed to be relevant in today’s rapidly changing IT marketplace, Microsoft Certifications help you utilize evolving technologies, fine-tune your troubleshooting skills, and improve your job satisfaction.
Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned IT professional, becoming certified demonstrates to customers, peers, and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and taking on greater challenges. In addition, certification provides you with access to exclusive Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) resources and benefits, including opportunities to connect with a vast, global network of MCPs
By earning an MCITP credential, you distinguish yourself as an IT professional with the skills and proven job-role capabilities to effectively work with Microsoft technologies.
Certification
Required exam(s)*
Windows Client
MCITP: Consumer Support Technician
Exam 70-620
Exam 70-623
MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician
Exam 70-620
Exam 70-622
Windows Server
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator
Exam 70-640
Exam 70-642
Exam 70-643
plus either
Exam 70-620 or Exam 70-624
and
Exam 70-647
MCITP: Server Administrator
Exam 70-640
Exam 70-642
Exam 70-646
Microsoft SQL Server
MCITP: Database Administrator 2008
Exam 70-432
Exam 70-450
MCITP: Database Developer 2008
Exam 70-433
Exam 70-451
MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008
Exam 70-448
Exam 70-452
MCITP: Database Administrator
Exam 70-431
Exam 70-443
Exam 70-444
MCITP: Database Developer
Exam 70-431
Exam 70-441
Exam 70-442
MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer
Exam 70-445
Exam 70-446
Microsoft Office Project Server
MCITP: Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
Exam 70-632
Exam 70-633
Exam 70-634
Microsoft Exchange Server
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator
Exam 70-236
Exam 70-237
Exam 70-238
Only for Gmail : AMAZING ONE
Only for Gmail
Now Friends the very first Trick Of Gmail that I Love the most.
So, it goes like this, say i have a email id saurav1977@gmail.com
If my Friends wants to send a mail then they will send it at this email address.
Now, Let there be three friends of mine, there may be many, just talk about three at present.
Bithika
Seema
Neeta
If i want to give my friends a unique email id
For Bithika It could be " saurav1977+ Bithika@gmail.com"
For Seema It could be " saurav1977+ Seema@gmail.com"
For Neeta It could be " saurav1977+ Neeta@gmail.com"
So, its simple you could add anything after the initial mail by adding a "+" sign.
As all these Email Addresses saurav1977+ Bithika@gmail.com, saurav1977+ Seema@gmail.com, & saurav1977+ Neeta@gmail.com are the same as saurav1977@gmail.com
If you have a girlfriend/Boyfriend then impress her/him that how much you love her/him by showing her/him name mail id.
Note: This only works when you are sending mails, Not for logging into your account.
Enjoy.....
Now Friends the very first Trick Of Gmail that I Love the most.
So, it goes like this, say i have a email id saurav1977@gmail.com
If my Friends wants to send a mail then they will send it at this email address.
Now, Let there be three friends of mine, there may be many, just talk about three at present.
Bithika
Seema
Neeta
If i want to give my friends a unique email id
For Bithika It could be " saurav1977+ Bithika@gmail.com"
For Seema It could be " saurav1977+ Seema@gmail.com"
For Neeta It could be " saurav1977+ Neeta@gmail.com"
So, its simple you could add anything after the initial mail by adding a "+" sign.
As all these Email Addresses saurav1977+ Bithika@gmail.com, saurav1977+ Seema@gmail.com, & saurav1977+ Neeta@gmail.com are the same as saurav1977@gmail.com
If you have a girlfriend/Boyfriend then impress her/him that how much you love her/him by showing her/him name mail id.
Note: This only works when you are sending mails, Not for logging into your account.
Enjoy.....
VERY IMPORTANT : GOOGLE HACKING AND SEARCHING
Introduction
lGoogle Search Technique
–Just put the word and run the search
lYou need to audit your Internet presence
–One database, Google almost has it all!
lOne of the most powerful databases in the world
lConsolidate a lot of info
lUsage:
–Student …
–Business …
–Al’Qaeda …
And Man Moreeeee.............
Google Operators:
–Operators are used to refine the results and to maximize the search value. They are your tools as well as hackers’ weapons
lBasic Operators:
+, -, ~ , ., *, “”, |, OR
lAdvanced Operators:
–allintext:, allintitle:, allinurl:, bphonebook:, cache:, define:, filetype:, info:, intext:, intitle:, inurl:, link:, phonebook:, related:, rphonebook:, site:, numrange:, daterange
BASIC OPERATORS
Basic Operators
– (+) force inclusion of something common
– Google ignores common words (where, how, digit, single letters) by default:
Example: StarStar Wars Episode +I
– (-) exclude a search term
Example: apple –red
– (“) use quotes around a search term to search exact phrases:
Example: “Robert Masse”
– Robert masse without “” has the 309,000 results, but “robert masse” only has 927 results. Reduce the 99% irrelevant results
Basic Operators
– (~) search synonym:
Example: ~food
– Return the results about food as well as recipe, nutrition and cooking information
– ( . ) a single-character wildcard:
Example: m.trix
– Return the results of M@trix, matrix, metrix…….
– ( * ) any word wildcard
– Advanced Operators: “Site:”
– Site: Domain_name
– Find Web pages only on the specified domain. If we search a specific site, usually we get the Web structure of the domain
– Examples:
site:ca
site:gosecure.ca
site:www.gosecure.ca
ADVANCE OPERATORS 1.“Intitle:”
– Intitle: search_term
– Find search term within the title of a Webpage
– Allintitle: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the Web pages with the title that includes all these words
– These operators are specifically useful to find the directory lists
– Example:
Find directory list:
Intitle: Index.of “parent directory”
ADVANCE OPERATORS 1.“Intitle:”
– Intitle: search_term
– Find search term within the title of a Webpage
– Allintitle: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the Web pages with the title that includes all these words
– These operators are specifically useful to find the directory lists
– Example:
Find directory list:
Intitle: Index.of “parent directory”
“Inurl:”
Advanced Operators “Inurl:”
– Inurl: search_term
– Find search term in a Web address
– Allinurl: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in a Web address
– Examples:
Inurl: cgi-bin
Allinurl: cgi-bin password
“Intext;”
Advanced Operators “Intext;”
– Intext: search_term
– Find search term in the text body of a document.
– Allintext: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the text body of a document.
– Examples:
Intext: Administrator login
Allintext: Administrator login
“Cache:”
Advanced Operators: “Cache:”
– Cache: URL
– Find the old version of Website in Google cache
– Sometimes, even the site has already been updated, the old information might be found in cache
– Examples:
Cache: www.gosecure.com
“Daterange:”
Advanced Operators: “Daterange:”
– Daterange: -
– Find the Web pages between start date and end date
– Note: start_date and end date use the Julian date
– The Julian date is calculated by the number of days since January 1, 4713 BC. For example, the Julian date for August 1, 2001 is 2452122
– Examples:
2004.07.10=2453196
2004.08.10=2453258
– Vulnerabilities date range: 2453196-2453258
“Link:”
Advanced Operators “Link:”
– Link: URL
– Find the Web pages having a link to the specified URL
– Related: URL
– Find the Web pages that are “similar” to the specified Web page
– info: URL
– Present some information that Google has about that Web page
– Define: search_term
– Provide a definition of the words gathered from various online sources
– Examples:
Link: gosecure.ca
Related: gosecure.ca
Info: gosecure.ca
Define: Network security
“phonebook:”
Advanced Operators “phonebook:”
– Phonebook
– Search the entire Google phonebook
– rphonebook
– Search residential listings only
– bphonebook
– Search business listings only
– Examples:
Phonebook: robert las vegas (robert in Las Vegas)
Phonebook: (702) 944-2001 (reverse search, not always work)
The phonebook is quite limited to U.S.A
Google, Friend or Enemy?
Google, Friend or Enemy?
– Google is everyone’s best friend (yours or hackers)
– Information gathering and vulnerability identification are the tasks in the first phase of a typical hacking scenario
– Passitive, stealth and huge data collection
– Google can do more than search
– Have you used Google to audit your organization today?
What can Google can do for a hacker?
– Search sensitive information like payroll, SIN, even the personal email box
– Vulnerabilities scanner
– Transparent proxy
Salary
– Salary filetype: xls site: edu
Security social insurance number
– Intitle: Payroll intext: ssn filetype: xls site: edu
Financial Information
– Filetype: xls “checking account” “credit card” - intext: Application -intext: Form
Personal Mailbox
– Intitle: Index.of inurl: Inbox
Confidential Files
– “not for distribution” confidential
Google Hacking
Usually it takes a very long time to find something on google search, but isn’t it wonderful if you directly find the same whatever you want just by adding few more characters.
1. If you making a project for your school or for your collage then it will really very helpful if you got few e-books on the same topic. Say, if you are making a project over the topic ‘Networking’. Then go to google search and type networking filetype:pdf
2. If you are looking for your project materials in Doc file then use networking filetype:doc
3. If you are looking for any presentation on the topic networking then use networking filetype:ppt
4. And if you are a music freak and don’t want to waste time on surfing the whole internet just for your favorite song then try using this ?intitle:index.of? mp3 enrique . This search will show you all mp3 songs of Enrique all together and free of cost.
5. If you are a little bit computer conscious and want disc images of various operating systems and of games then try this inurl:vista filetype:iso . This search will give you download link of images of windows Vista.
GOOGLE HACKING REFERENCES
Google APIS:
www.google.com/apis
Remove:
http://www.google.com/remove.html
Googledorks:
http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/
O’reilly Google Hack:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/googlehks/
Google Hack Presentation, Jonhnny Long:
http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/modules.php?op=modload&name= ownloads&file=index&req=viewdownload&cid=1
“Autism: Using google to hack:
www.smart-dev.com/texts/google.txt
“Google: Net Hacker Tool du Jour:
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57897,00.html
lGoogle Search Technique
–Just put the word and run the search
lYou need to audit your Internet presence
–One database, Google almost has it all!
lOne of the most powerful databases in the world
lConsolidate a lot of info
lUsage:
–Student …
–Business …
–Al’Qaeda …
And Man Moreeeee.............
Google Operators:
–Operators are used to refine the results and to maximize the search value. They are your tools as well as hackers’ weapons
lBasic Operators:
+, -, ~ , ., *, “”, |, OR
lAdvanced Operators:
–allintext:, allintitle:, allinurl:, bphonebook:, cache:, define:, filetype:, info:, intext:, intitle:, inurl:, link:, phonebook:, related:, rphonebook:, site:, numrange:, daterange
BASIC OPERATORS
Basic Operators
– (+) force inclusion of something common
– Google ignores common words (where, how, digit, single letters) by default:
Example: StarStar Wars Episode +I
– (-) exclude a search term
Example: apple –red
– (“) use quotes around a search term to search exact phrases:
Example: “Robert Masse”
– Robert masse without “” has the 309,000 results, but “robert masse” only has 927 results. Reduce the 99% irrelevant results
Basic Operators
– (~) search synonym:
Example: ~food
– Return the results about food as well as recipe, nutrition and cooking information
– ( . ) a single-character wildcard:
Example: m.trix
– Return the results of M@trix, matrix, metrix…….
– ( * ) any word wildcard
– Advanced Operators: “Site:”
– Site: Domain_name
– Find Web pages only on the specified domain. If we search a specific site, usually we get the Web structure of the domain
– Examples:
site:ca
site:gosecure.ca
site:www.gosecure.ca
ADVANCE OPERATORS 1.“Intitle:”
– Intitle: search_term
– Find search term within the title of a Webpage
– Allintitle: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the Web pages with the title that includes all these words
– These operators are specifically useful to find the directory lists
– Example:
Find directory list:
Intitle: Index.of “parent directory”
ADVANCE OPERATORS 1.“Intitle:”
– Intitle: search_term
– Find search term within the title of a Webpage
– Allintitle: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the Web pages with the title that includes all these words
– These operators are specifically useful to find the directory lists
– Example:
Find directory list:
Intitle: Index.of “parent directory”
“Inurl:”
Advanced Operators “Inurl:”
– Inurl: search_term
– Find search term in a Web address
– Allinurl: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in a Web address
– Examples:
Inurl: cgi-bin
Allinurl: cgi-bin password
“Intext;”
Advanced Operators “Intext;”
– Intext: search_term
– Find search term in the text body of a document.
– Allintext: search_term1 search_term2 search_term3
– Find multiple search terms in the text body of a document.
– Examples:
Intext: Administrator login
Allintext: Administrator login
“Cache:”
Advanced Operators: “Cache:”
– Cache: URL
– Find the old version of Website in Google cache
– Sometimes, even the site has already been updated, the old information might be found in cache
– Examples:
Cache: www.gosecure.com
“Daterange:”
Advanced Operators: “Daterange:”
– Daterange: -
– Find the Web pages between start date and end date
– Note: start_date and end date use the Julian date
– The Julian date is calculated by the number of days since January 1, 4713 BC. For example, the Julian date for August 1, 2001 is 2452122
– Examples:
2004.07.10=2453196
2004.08.10=2453258
– Vulnerabilities date range: 2453196-2453258
“Link:”
Advanced Operators “Link:”
– Link: URL
– Find the Web pages having a link to the specified URL
– Related: URL
– Find the Web pages that are “similar” to the specified Web page
– info: URL
– Present some information that Google has about that Web page
– Define: search_term
– Provide a definition of the words gathered from various online sources
– Examples:
Link: gosecure.ca
Related: gosecure.ca
Info: gosecure.ca
Define: Network security
“phonebook:”
Advanced Operators “phonebook:”
– Phonebook
– Search the entire Google phonebook
– rphonebook
– Search residential listings only
– bphonebook
– Search business listings only
– Examples:
Phonebook: robert las vegas (robert in Las Vegas)
Phonebook: (702) 944-2001 (reverse search, not always work)
The phonebook is quite limited to U.S.A
Google, Friend or Enemy?
Google, Friend or Enemy?
– Google is everyone’s best friend (yours or hackers)
– Information gathering and vulnerability identification are the tasks in the first phase of a typical hacking scenario
– Passitive, stealth and huge data collection
– Google can do more than search
– Have you used Google to audit your organization today?
What can Google can do for a hacker?
– Search sensitive information like payroll, SIN, even the personal email box
– Vulnerabilities scanner
– Transparent proxy
Salary
– Salary filetype: xls site: edu
Security social insurance number
– Intitle: Payroll intext: ssn filetype: xls site: edu
Financial Information
– Filetype: xls “checking account” “credit card” - intext: Application -intext: Form
Personal Mailbox
– Intitle: Index.of inurl: Inbox
Confidential Files
– “not for distribution” confidential
Google Hacking
Usually it takes a very long time to find something on google search, but isn’t it wonderful if you directly find the same whatever you want just by adding few more characters.
1. If you making a project for your school or for your collage then it will really very helpful if you got few e-books on the same topic. Say, if you are making a project over the topic ‘Networking’. Then go to google search and type networking filetype:pdf
2. If you are looking for your project materials in Doc file then use networking filetype:doc
3. If you are looking for any presentation on the topic networking then use networking filetype:ppt
4. And if you are a music freak and don’t want to waste time on surfing the whole internet just for your favorite song then try using this ?intitle:index.of? mp3 enrique . This search will show you all mp3 songs of Enrique all together and free of cost.
5. If you are a little bit computer conscious and want disc images of various operating systems and of games then try this inurl:vista filetype:iso . This search will give you download link of images of windows Vista.
GOOGLE HACKING REFERENCES
Google APIS:
www.google.com/apis
Remove:
http://www.google.com/remove.html
Googledorks:
http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/
O’reilly Google Hack:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/googlehks/
Google Hack Presentation, Jonhnny Long:
http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/modules.php?op=modload&name= ownloads&file=index&req=viewdownload&cid=1
“Autism: Using google to hack:
www.smart-dev.com/texts/google.txt
“Google: Net Hacker Tool du Jour:
http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57897,00.html
USERNAME AND PASSWORD : VERY IMPORTANT
THIS BLOG IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY :
USERNAME AND PASSWORD
Search Username
– +intext: "webalizer" +intext: “Total Usernames” +intext: “Usage Statistics for”
Search Passwords
– Search the well known password filenames in URL
– Search the database connection files or configuration files to find a password and username
– Search specific username file for a specific product
– Inurl: etc inurl: passwd
– Intitle: “Index of..etc” passwd
– "# -FrontPage-" inurl: service.pwd (then crack it)
– Inurl: admin.pwd filetype: pwd
– Filetype: inc dbconn
– Filetype: inc intext: mysql_connect
– Filetype: ini +ws_ftp +pwd (get the encrypted passwords)
– Filetype: log inurl: “password.log
USERNAME AND PASSWORD
Search Username
– +intext: "webalizer" +intext: “Total Usernames” +intext: “Usage Statistics for”
Search Passwords
– Search the well known password filenames in URL
– Search the database connection files or configuration files to find a password and username
– Search specific username file for a specific product
– Inurl: etc inurl: passwd
– Intitle: “Index of..etc” passwd
– "# -FrontPage-" inurl: service.pwd (then crack it)
– Inurl: admin.pwd filetype: pwd
– Filetype: inc dbconn
– Filetype: inc intext: mysql_connect
– Filetype: ini +ws_ftp +pwd (get the encrypted passwords)
– Filetype: log inurl: “password.log
Google services
(1) Google Labs
My favourite online playground (although the offerings at the moment are a little dull). This is where new Google products are first given the beta label and unleashed onto an unsuspecting world for testing and commenting. If you try something out in Google Labs, you are invited to email the Google team involved with comments / suggestions / complaints (on two occasions, I got a personal reply back from a member of the team, discussing my comments).
The way I see it, this is a good way to influence future Google products by getting involved in a product’s development. How many Google users use Google products but don’t bother to provide any creative input to make them better? Next time a Google product doesn’t go as planned, don’t complain on a forum - contact Google and offer constructive advice & criticism!
(2) Google Pack
If you know an internet newbie who has not so much knowledge of the internet and software products (like my mother), Google Pack provides an excellent software package to start with (although I personally wouldn’t choose Norton and Real Player). Check out full program list here.
(3) Google Translate
Translate text or even complete webpages into eleven languages (you can even translate from “simplified” Chinese to “traditional” Chinese). As with all online translators, this won’t give you a 100% accurate translation (online translators can’t grasp things like idioms and contexts) but if you want to buy those crates of AK-47 assault rifles from that online shop in North Korea, Google Translate will let you overcome that Korean language barrier.
(4) Google Co-Op
Allows you to customize Google search results with your own self-rolled search engines. You can also provide information from your website as a subscribed link or if you are a specialist in a particular subject area, you can label and categorize search information which other people can click on. Again, this is another way you can actively help in making search much better (otherwise known as user-generated input).
(5) Google Code
This one is for the computer geeks (of which I am a honorary member). Allows you to find and download source codes and developer API’s to make mashups for Google products.
(6) Google News
Google News has been around for a while and is old-hat to many. But how many of you knew that you could customise the page to only see the news you want to see? Or the fact you can set up customised RSS feeds for the news subjects that interest you? Never miss another news story about Paris Hilton ever again. You can also use the new news archive to find very old news stories, either scanned pages of publications or online sources. Some free, others not.
(7) Google Patent Search
If you’re in business and you’ve developed a hot new invention, don’t you want to check first to see if anybody got in there before you and filed a patent? Google Patent Search will show you the patent applications for pretty much everything so you can see right away if you are the sole inventor of the combined coat hanger and cigarette lighter.
(8) Google Blog Search
One of my personal favourites as it helps me to find current blogs on my favourite subjects (and swell my 200+ RSS reading list even further). Find blogs catering to various subjects. Want to know if anybody shares your overwhelming passion for navel lint by blogging about it? GBS will help you out.
(9) Google Alerts
Want to know if anybody has been talking about you online? Maybe somebody trashed your website by insulting it in a forum? Or a disgruntled customer to your online shop made disparaging remarks in their blog? By setting up a Google Alert (with pre-defined search terms), you will get an email with links anytime Google finds something matching your keywords. Britney Spears probably has one set up now with the keywords “Britney” and “MTV Music Awards”.
(10) Google Catalogs
Guys rejoice! (and women too). Want to buy some Victoria’s Secret lingerie? Or perhaps a new light-sabre is in order for you trusty Jedi Knights? Google now offers the chance to browse through scanned pages of catalogs and magazines such as GQ and Cosmopolitan to find products you might be looking for. No more raking in bins looking for catalogs of women in bikinis - Google now gives them to you online!
My favourite online playground (although the offerings at the moment are a little dull). This is where new Google products are first given the beta label and unleashed onto an unsuspecting world for testing and commenting. If you try something out in Google Labs, you are invited to email the Google team involved with comments / suggestions / complaints (on two occasions, I got a personal reply back from a member of the team, discussing my comments).
The way I see it, this is a good way to influence future Google products by getting involved in a product’s development. How many Google users use Google products but don’t bother to provide any creative input to make them better? Next time a Google product doesn’t go as planned, don’t complain on a forum - contact Google and offer constructive advice & criticism!
(2) Google Pack
If you know an internet newbie who has not so much knowledge of the internet and software products (like my mother), Google Pack provides an excellent software package to start with (although I personally wouldn’t choose Norton and Real Player). Check out full program list here.
(3) Google Translate
Translate text or even complete webpages into eleven languages (you can even translate from “simplified” Chinese to “traditional” Chinese). As with all online translators, this won’t give you a 100% accurate translation (online translators can’t grasp things like idioms and contexts) but if you want to buy those crates of AK-47 assault rifles from that online shop in North Korea, Google Translate will let you overcome that Korean language barrier.
(4) Google Co-Op
Allows you to customize Google search results with your own self-rolled search engines. You can also provide information from your website as a subscribed link or if you are a specialist in a particular subject area, you can label and categorize search information which other people can click on. Again, this is another way you can actively help in making search much better (otherwise known as user-generated input).
(5) Google Code
This one is for the computer geeks (of which I am a honorary member). Allows you to find and download source codes and developer API’s to make mashups for Google products.
(6) Google News
Google News has been around for a while and is old-hat to many. But how many of you knew that you could customise the page to only see the news you want to see? Or the fact you can set up customised RSS feeds for the news subjects that interest you? Never miss another news story about Paris Hilton ever again. You can also use the new news archive to find very old news stories, either scanned pages of publications or online sources. Some free, others not.
(7) Google Patent Search
If you’re in business and you’ve developed a hot new invention, don’t you want to check first to see if anybody got in there before you and filed a patent? Google Patent Search will show you the patent applications for pretty much everything so you can see right away if you are the sole inventor of the combined coat hanger and cigarette lighter.
(8) Google Blog Search
One of my personal favourites as it helps me to find current blogs on my favourite subjects (and swell my 200+ RSS reading list even further). Find blogs catering to various subjects. Want to know if anybody shares your overwhelming passion for navel lint by blogging about it? GBS will help you out.
(9) Google Alerts
Want to know if anybody has been talking about you online? Maybe somebody trashed your website by insulting it in a forum? Or a disgruntled customer to your online shop made disparaging remarks in their blog? By setting up a Google Alert (with pre-defined search terms), you will get an email with links anytime Google finds something matching your keywords. Britney Spears probably has one set up now with the keywords “Britney” and “MTV Music Awards”.
(10) Google Catalogs
Guys rejoice! (and women too). Want to buy some Victoria’s Secret lingerie? Or perhaps a new light-sabre is in order for you trusty Jedi Knights? Google now offers the chance to browse through scanned pages of catalogs and magazines such as GQ and Cosmopolitan to find products you might be looking for. No more raking in bins looking for catalogs of women in bikinis - Google now gives them to you online!
GOOGLE ROCKS!!!
GOOGLE ROCKS!!!
I wanted to write on something but couldn’t think of any topic to write on. So I thought of writing on one of the biggest boon to people using Internet. No prizes for guessing the name. It’s undoubtedly THE GOOGLE. Without The Google life would have been difficult for Internet surfers. Google is the leading web company and the only software company that can give tough competition to The Microsoft. The one big worry that Bill Gates has is the success of google. It’s haunting his night’s sleep.
Google. This word that has been derived from the word googol means 10100 fits the goal of the google in building a large-scale search engine that can index as much as 10100 web pages online.The Google was initially a research project by two students from Stanford University called Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They not even in their wildest dreams would have thought that Google would do so well. The Google was initially called BackRub because of its unique ability to analyze the “back links” pointing to a given website. A complete anatomy of this search engine is beyond the scope of this blog and beyond my head as well. However if you want it you can mail me. Soon this BackRub earned a reputation due to its efficiency. Larry and Sergey continued to work to perfect their technology and by 1998 it was all done. The next worry that they had was that they needed the investors to invest on their potent search-engine. They soon got their first investor who was also a faculty member of Stanford and one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, Andy Bechtolsheim. He gave them a check of $100,000 and rest as they say is history. After that there hasn’t been any looking back for the Google.
Google is the company that every student wants to join and why not after all anybody would love to live in the luxurious Googleplex. Once you join google your life is like a heaven in Googleplex. But as they say, there are no free lunches in this world; it’s very difficult to get a job in google. They just select the best among the bests. But you can still dream to be in it, after all dreams do not cost you a penny.
Google has dominated almost every aspects of World Wide Web. Nowadays google doesn’t mean just a search engine. Now it has pioneered various other web services as well. You can just simply do everything with google. You can search anything with the help of its search engine. Its mailing service g-mail is better than that of yahoo and hotmail. It’s social networking website ORKUT has become a very important part of the youngsters life. I personally know many people who just cannot stay without ORKUT. If you want to download any video or songs then just go for YOUTUBE. It’s probably the best in this business. If you want to share your thoughts with people living anywhere in this world you can do this by using what it is called BLOGGER. You can create your web page and that too for free. With google, I guess there are some free lunches in this world. There are also other features like Adsense and Adwords that can make you earn through your website. It’s like getting almost everything from google and that too just by paying nothing.Google has really revolutionized our lives and its first of its kind that gives you almost everything and that too just for free. Although it earns through its advertisers but the best part is that we don’t need to pay anything.
So we come to the end of this post. It was just a short description on google. Just mail me with questions, suggestions, comments or simply anything. Goodbye! And have fun with technology.
I wanted to write on something but couldn’t think of any topic to write on. So I thought of writing on one of the biggest boon to people using Internet. No prizes for guessing the name. It’s undoubtedly THE GOOGLE. Without The Google life would have been difficult for Internet surfers. Google is the leading web company and the only software company that can give tough competition to The Microsoft. The one big worry that Bill Gates has is the success of google. It’s haunting his night’s sleep.
Google. This word that has been derived from the word googol means 10100 fits the goal of the google in building a large-scale search engine that can index as much as 10100 web pages online.The Google was initially a research project by two students from Stanford University called Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They not even in their wildest dreams would have thought that Google would do so well. The Google was initially called BackRub because of its unique ability to analyze the “back links” pointing to a given website. A complete anatomy of this search engine is beyond the scope of this blog and beyond my head as well. However if you want it you can mail me. Soon this BackRub earned a reputation due to its efficiency. Larry and Sergey continued to work to perfect their technology and by 1998 it was all done. The next worry that they had was that they needed the investors to invest on their potent search-engine. They soon got their first investor who was also a faculty member of Stanford and one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, Andy Bechtolsheim. He gave them a check of $100,000 and rest as they say is history. After that there hasn’t been any looking back for the Google.
Google is the company that every student wants to join and why not after all anybody would love to live in the luxurious Googleplex. Once you join google your life is like a heaven in Googleplex. But as they say, there are no free lunches in this world; it’s very difficult to get a job in google. They just select the best among the bests. But you can still dream to be in it, after all dreams do not cost you a penny.
Google has dominated almost every aspects of World Wide Web. Nowadays google doesn’t mean just a search engine. Now it has pioneered various other web services as well. You can just simply do everything with google. You can search anything with the help of its search engine. Its mailing service g-mail is better than that of yahoo and hotmail. It’s social networking website ORKUT has become a very important part of the youngsters life. I personally know many people who just cannot stay without ORKUT. If you want to download any video or songs then just go for YOUTUBE. It’s probably the best in this business. If you want to share your thoughts with people living anywhere in this world you can do this by using what it is called BLOGGER. You can create your web page and that too for free. With google, I guess there are some free lunches in this world. There are also other features like Adsense and Adwords that can make you earn through your website. It’s like getting almost everything from google and that too just by paying nothing.Google has really revolutionized our lives and its first of its kind that gives you almost everything and that too just for free. Although it earns through its advertisers but the best part is that we don’t need to pay anything.
So we come to the end of this post. It was just a short description on google. Just mail me with questions, suggestions, comments or simply anything. Goodbye! And have fun with technology.
Google's GDrive Could Replace your Hard Disk
This drive will allow users to save their data online and users will be able to access their data from any computer in the world
Taking cloud computing to a new level, Google is soon going to launch 'GDrive', a long-rumored online storage for its users.
GDrive would work as an online hard disk and could essentially work as a syncing device that will periodically update itself with the activities that take place on a computer, the Google Operating System has discovered.
Also discovered in a Google Apps CSS file is that there is reportedly an update for Google Docs on the way that would include a desktop client for syncing files with GDrive.
Since this drive will allow users to save their data online, users will be able to access their data from any computer in the world, as long as it is connected to an internet connection.
In fact, if you take Google provisions seriously, you've probably already shifted your photograph and document base to atleast one of the Google services that work as great archiving hubs. However, space restriction and reliability could be a user's concern while depending on the Google servers to save their precious data.
The GDrive could also partially replace the physical hard disk that a user needs to select an operating system (OS) for usage -- that is, after the initial booting. Google's online hard drive will merge all of Google's web based applications and make them available together.
================================
Internet giant Google plans to launch its Google Drive service, which could make PCs obsolete. The GDrive would allow users to access their personal computers from any Internet connection, eliminating the need for a hard drive. But some privacy experts are concerned about users storing personal files on Google's servers. Observer (London), The (01/25)
Taking cloud computing to a new level, Google is soon going to launch 'GDrive', a long-rumored online storage for its users.
GDrive would work as an online hard disk and could essentially work as a syncing device that will periodically update itself with the activities that take place on a computer, the Google Operating System has discovered.
Also discovered in a Google Apps CSS file is that there is reportedly an update for Google Docs on the way that would include a desktop client for syncing files with GDrive.
Since this drive will allow users to save their data online, users will be able to access their data from any computer in the world, as long as it is connected to an internet connection.
In fact, if you take Google provisions seriously, you've probably already shifted your photograph and document base to atleast one of the Google services that work as great archiving hubs. However, space restriction and reliability could be a user's concern while depending on the Google servers to save their precious data.
The GDrive could also partially replace the physical hard disk that a user needs to select an operating system (OS) for usage -- that is, after the initial booting. Google's online hard drive will merge all of Google's web based applications and make them available together.
================================
Internet giant Google plans to launch its Google Drive service, which could make PCs obsolete. The GDrive would allow users to access their personal computers from any Internet connection, eliminating the need for a hard drive. But some privacy experts are concerned about users storing personal files on Google's servers. Observer (London), The (01/25)
GOOGLE TOOLS :
MATERIALS
Google Automated Tools
– SiteDigger
– SiteDigger searches Google’s cache to look for vulnerabilities, errors, configuration issues, proprietary information, and interesting security nuggets on Web sites. See: http://www.foundstone.com
Google Materials
– Googledorks
– The famous Google Hack Website, it has many different examples of unbelievable things: http://johnny.ihackstuff.com.
Google Automated Tools
– SiteDigger
– SiteDigger searches Google’s cache to look for vulnerabilities, errors, configuration issues, proprietary information, and interesting security nuggets on Web sites. See: http://www.foundstone.com
Google Materials
– Googledorks
– The famous Google Hack Website, it has many different examples of unbelievable things: http://johnny.ihackstuff.com.
A list of google sites…
A list of google sites…No wonder I’m a google Fan
I love google,because they are open to all…..
Google
Google Scholar
Google Adsense
Google Adwords
Google Earth
Google Tool Bar for Firefox
Google Tool Bar for IE
Google Local
Google Froogle
Google Submit your Site
Google Satellite Pictures
Google Base
Google News
Google Groups
Google Blog
Google Blogger
Google Blog Search
Google Desktop
Google Print
Google Book Search
Google Image
Google Search
Google Search Cheat Sheet
Google Advanced Search
Google Talk
Google Gmail
Google Video
Google Alert
Google Finance
Google US Government Search
Google Linux Search
Google BSD Search
Google Mac/Apple Search
Google Microsoft Search
Google Web Search
Google Picasa
Google Translator
Google Page Creator
Google Dashboard Widgets for Mac
Google Blogger Web Comments Extension
Google Send to Phone
Google Transit
Google Reader
Google Web Accelerator
Google Ride Finder
Google Suggest
Google Site-Flavored Search Box
Google Froogle Mobile US
Google Froogle Mobile UK
Google Compute
Google Sets
Google Personalized Search
Google Pesonalized Homepage
Google SMS US
Google SMS UK
Google Glossary
Google Research Publications
Google Mars
Google Analytics
Google Local Business Center
Google Frugal Seller Services
Google Sitemaps
Google Video Upload
Google Books Partner
Google Mobile Partner
Google Gulp
Google Mini
Google Desktop Enterprise Edition
Google Toolbar Enterprise
Google Search Appliance
Google Store
Google Press Center
Google Jobs
Google Inside Google
Google Holiday Logos
Google Official Logos
Google Fan Logos
Google Investor Relations
Contact Google
Google Security Issues
Google Orkut
Google Permissions
Google Webmaster Info
Google Cached Links
Google Calculator
Google Currency Converter
Google Definitions
Google File Types
Google I’m Feeling Lucky
Google Movies
Google Music Search
Google News Headlines
Google Phonebook
Google Q&A
Google Search by Number
Google Site Search
Google Spell Checker
Google Stock Quotes
Google Travel Info
Google Weather
Google Who Links to You?
Google Pack
Google Newsletter
Google-Friends Newsletter Archive
Google Mobile
Google Code
Google Goopy
Google Explorer Canvas
Google Kongulo
Google LibJingle
Google Blogger for Word
Google Writely
Google Sketchup
Google Moms
Google Moms 2
Google Calender
Google Gum
Google Video Top 100
Google Da Vinci Code Quest
Google Romance
Google Why Use (Hacker Edition)
Google Search for Hackers
Google 3 Billion Milestone
Google Lucky
Google Registry Files 1 / 2
Google Current Communications
Google ????
Google Small Search
Google for IE Research
Google Elements Stats
Google Translate (Simple)
Google Loading
Google Reset
Google MentalPlex
Google University Search
Google Media Room
Google Milestones
Google Executives
Google Sitemap
Google
I love google,because they are open to all…..
Google Scholar
Google Adsense
Google Adwords
Google Earth
Google Tool Bar for Firefox
Google Tool Bar for IE
Google Local
Google Froogle
Google Submit your Site
Google Satellite Pictures
Google Base
Google News
Google Groups
Google Blog
Google Blogger
Google Blog Search
Google Desktop
Google Print
Google Book Search
Google Image
Google Search
Google Search Cheat Sheet
Google Advanced Search
Google Talk
Google Gmail
Google Video
Google Alert
Google Finance
Google US Government Search
Google Linux Search
Google BSD Search
Google Mac/Apple Search
Google Microsoft Search
Google Web Search
Google Picasa
Google Translator
Google Page Creator
Google Dashboard Widgets for Mac
Google Blogger Web Comments Extension
Google Send to Phone
Google Transit
Google Reader
Google Web Accelerator
Google Ride Finder
Google Suggest
Google Site-Flavored Search Box
Google Froogle Mobile US
Google Froogle Mobile UK
Google Compute
Google Sets
Google Personalized Search
Google Pesonalized Homepage
Google SMS US
Google SMS UK
Google Glossary
Google Research Publications
Google Mars
Google Analytics
Google Local Business Center
Google Frugal Seller Services
Google Sitemaps
Google Video Upload
Google Books Partner
Google Mobile Partner
Google Gulp
Google Mini
Google Desktop Enterprise Edition
Google Toolbar Enterprise
Google Search Appliance
Google Store
Google Press Center
Google Jobs
Google Inside Google
Google Holiday Logos
Google Official Logos
Google Fan Logos
Google Investor Relations
Contact Google
Google Security Issues
Google Orkut
Google Permissions
Google Webmaster Info
Google Cached Links
Google Calculator
Google Currency Converter
Google Definitions
Google File Types
Google I’m Feeling Lucky
Google Movies
Google Music Search
Google News Headlines
Google Phonebook
Google Q&A
Google Search by Number
Google Site Search
Google Spell Checker
Google Stock Quotes
Google Travel Info
Google Weather
Google Who Links to You?
Google Pack
Google Newsletter
Google-Friends Newsletter Archive
Google Mobile
Google Code
Google Goopy
Google Explorer Canvas
Google Kongulo
Google LibJingle
Google Blogger for Word
Google Writely
Google Sketchup
Google Moms
Google Moms 2
Google Calender
Google Gum
Google Video Top 100
Google Da Vinci Code Quest
Google Romance
Google Why Use (Hacker Edition)
Google Search for Hackers
Google 3 Billion Milestone
Google Lucky
Google Registry Files 1 / 2
Google Current Communications
Google ????
Google Small Search
Google for IE Research
Google Elements Stats
Google Translate (Simple)
Google Loading
Google Reset
Google MentalPlex
Google University Search
Google Media Room
Google Milestones
Google Executives
Google Sitemap
60 TOOLS + RESOURCES BY GOOGLE
With Google announcing the ability to increase your Gmail storage capacity this week, we decided to delve into other ways to extend and enhance Google’s popular webmail service. Presenting: 60+ tools and resources for Gmail.
Desktop Applications
GCount - An application for Mac OSX that alerts you to new mail.
gDisk - An app for Mac OSX giving the ability to turn Gmail accounts into storage drives.
gFeeder - A small ticker for your Gmail that will let you know at a glance what’s coming in for you.
GetMail - Allows you to migrate your emails from Hotmail to your Gmail account.
Gmail Drive - Another tool for turning your Gmail account in to a virtual storage drive, this one works directly from inside Windows Explorer.
Gmail Loader - For Windows or Linux, aids you in loading your email to your Gmail account.
GMailFS - Turns your Gmail space into a virtual drive that your Windows Explorer can see.
GotMailG - A Mac widget to display the number of unread messages in your inbox.
POP3/IMAP server for GMAIL in JAVA - Allows you POP3 access via your favorite mail reader to your Gmail account, IMAP still in development.
Send To GMail - With one click, you can back up any file you want from your computer to your Gmail account.
Firefox Tools
Better Gmail - Combines some of the most popular Greasemonkey scripts in to one extension. Includes things such as skins, saved searches, keyboard macros, and more.
Delegate to Remember The Milk - Adds a button to Gmail and allows you make to-do lists.
Dragdropupload - Allows you to drag your files to the attachment box.
GCalQuickTab - Allows you to quickly change between Google Mail and Calendar with keyboard shortcuts.
Gmail Checker - Allows you to check your Gmail for new messages.
Gmail Manager - Allows you to not only manage multiple accounts, but know how much mail and spam they have.
Gmail Notifier - Get notifications of new emails right in your browser.
Gmail RTL - Adds direction buttons to your email.
Gmail S/Mime - Allows you to send and receive encrypted emails.
Gmail Skins - Change the look of your inbox, insert HTML tables, use emoticons and more.
Google Toolbar - Official Google release of a toolbar with Gmail features.
Gspace - Turns your Gmail account in to a virtual web drive that you can upload files to and store them.
gTalk Sidebar - Incorporates Google Talk into your sidebar.
GTDInBox - A Getting Things Done tool that integrates into Gmail, helps you get organized.
WebMail Notifier - Checks your Gmail account for unread emails; works with other email services also.
Greasemonkey Scripts
Clean Gmail Print - Removes the Gmail logo when you go to print out your email
Folders4Gmail - If you prefer the old style of sorting mail in folders over labels, this is the script for you.
Force HTTPS for GMail, GCal, and GDocs - Forces the corner links in the Google apps to change over to HTTPS.
gDate2Cal 0.1 - Turns dates in Gmail in to links to take you to that day in Google Calendar.
Gmail + Reader Integration - Lets you use Google Reader with your Gmail account.
GMail Attachment Icons - Shows you an icon that lets you know what type of file is attached to an email without opening it.
Gmail attachment reminder v2.4.1 - Reminds you to attach a file your email if it appears you haven’t.
Gmail Contact List - Adds a contact list near the “To” field in compose.
Gmail Conversation Preview - Right click on a conversation to get a preview of it in a bubble.
Gmail Date Search - adds a Search by Date button to Gmail’s search form
Gmail Delete Button - RED Color - Turns the delete button red so there is less chance of hitting it accidentally.
Gmail Emoticons! - Puts an emoticons button next to the “Check Spelling” button to allow you to enter numerous different smilies.
Gmail Encrypt - Allows you to encrypt outgoing emails and create encryption keys.
Gmail FavIcon Alerts - Turns the Gmail favicon in the address bar in to a new mail alert.
Gmail from address selector - Lets you change the reply-to email address depending on who you are sending to. (i.e. sending to someone like “@work.com”, you choose your work address as the from address)
Gmail Full Width - Removes the advertising block on the right so that your mails take up the full width.
Gmail Google Calendar sidebar - Adds your Google Calendar to your Gmail display.
Gmail Lite - Removes ads, the footer, stars, and chats.
Gmail Macros - Allows you to create more keyboard shortcuts to speed up your Gmail experience.
Gmail Multi-User Login - For those of you with more than one Gmail account, this will give you a drop down menu with all of your accounts listed.
Gmail Multiple Signatures, plus Float - Will change your signature based on what return address you enter.
Gmail - One Click Conversations - Allows you quick access to the most recent conversations with a contact via a one click button.
GMail Header, Navigation and Ads Switcher - Can choose to hide or show the header, navigation bar, and ads by clicking a button.
Gmail - Zip Attachments and Download - Allows you to download all the attachments of an email by merely clicking on the paper clip icon.
GmailTo -Opens mailto: commands from websites in Gmail compose.
Google Air Skin - Script to use Air Skin in Gmail, Google Calendar, on Google.com, and Google Reader.
Label Colors - Lets you choose the colors of various labels so you can tell them apart easier.
Plaxo4Gmail - Allows you to sync your Gmail with your Plaxo info.
Saved Searches - Allows you to save a Gmail search so that you can just click on the saved search to do it again.
Miscellaneous
GBooks - Allows you to turn a Gmail account in to a bookmarks server.
gExodus - Allows you to export your emails from another account to your Gmail account in mbox format.
Gmail icon generator - Allows you to create a small graphic of your Gmail address to place on websites so that you may display your address without spam bots reading it.
Gmail Music - Store MP3 files in your Gmail account and play them on any computer.
Gmail Todo - Turn your Gmail into a helpful “To Do” list.
PhpGmailDrive - Retrieves a list of attachments from a Gmail account and enables you to list them on a website or blog for others to download.
You’ve Got Gmail - A plugin for the Trillian messenger program that lets you manage your accounts.
Desktop Applications
GCount - An application for Mac OSX that alerts you to new mail.
gDisk - An app for Mac OSX giving the ability to turn Gmail accounts into storage drives.
gFeeder - A small ticker for your Gmail that will let you know at a glance what’s coming in for you.
GetMail - Allows you to migrate your emails from Hotmail to your Gmail account.
Gmail Drive - Another tool for turning your Gmail account in to a virtual storage drive, this one works directly from inside Windows Explorer.
Gmail Loader - For Windows or Linux, aids you in loading your email to your Gmail account.
GMailFS - Turns your Gmail space into a virtual drive that your Windows Explorer can see.
GotMailG - A Mac widget to display the number of unread messages in your inbox.
POP3/IMAP server for GMAIL in JAVA - Allows you POP3 access via your favorite mail reader to your Gmail account, IMAP still in development.
Send To GMail - With one click, you can back up any file you want from your computer to your Gmail account.
Firefox Tools
Better Gmail - Combines some of the most popular Greasemonkey scripts in to one extension. Includes things such as skins, saved searches, keyboard macros, and more.
Delegate to Remember The Milk - Adds a button to Gmail and allows you make to-do lists.
Dragdropupload - Allows you to drag your files to the attachment box.
GCalQuickTab - Allows you to quickly change between Google Mail and Calendar with keyboard shortcuts.
Gmail Checker - Allows you to check your Gmail for new messages.
Gmail Manager - Allows you to not only manage multiple accounts, but know how much mail and spam they have.
Gmail Notifier - Get notifications of new emails right in your browser.
Gmail RTL - Adds direction buttons to your email.
Gmail S/Mime - Allows you to send and receive encrypted emails.
Gmail Skins - Change the look of your inbox, insert HTML tables, use emoticons and more.
Google Toolbar - Official Google release of a toolbar with Gmail features.
Gspace - Turns your Gmail account in to a virtual web drive that you can upload files to and store them.
gTalk Sidebar - Incorporates Google Talk into your sidebar.
GTDInBox - A Getting Things Done tool that integrates into Gmail, helps you get organized.
WebMail Notifier - Checks your Gmail account for unread emails; works with other email services also.
Greasemonkey Scripts
Clean Gmail Print - Removes the Gmail logo when you go to print out your email
Folders4Gmail - If you prefer the old style of sorting mail in folders over labels, this is the script for you.
Force HTTPS for GMail, GCal, and GDocs - Forces the corner links in the Google apps to change over to HTTPS.
gDate2Cal 0.1 - Turns dates in Gmail in to links to take you to that day in Google Calendar.
Gmail + Reader Integration - Lets you use Google Reader with your Gmail account.
GMail Attachment Icons - Shows you an icon that lets you know what type of file is attached to an email without opening it.
Gmail attachment reminder v2.4.1 - Reminds you to attach a file your email if it appears you haven’t.
Gmail Contact List - Adds a contact list near the “To” field in compose.
Gmail Conversation Preview - Right click on a conversation to get a preview of it in a bubble.
Gmail Date Search - adds a Search by Date button to Gmail’s search form
Gmail Delete Button - RED Color - Turns the delete button red so there is less chance of hitting it accidentally.
Gmail Emoticons! - Puts an emoticons button next to the “Check Spelling” button to allow you to enter numerous different smilies.
Gmail Encrypt - Allows you to encrypt outgoing emails and create encryption keys.
Gmail FavIcon Alerts - Turns the Gmail favicon in the address bar in to a new mail alert.
Gmail from address selector - Lets you change the reply-to email address depending on who you are sending to. (i.e. sending to someone like “@work.com”, you choose your work address as the from address)
Gmail Full Width - Removes the advertising block on the right so that your mails take up the full width.
Gmail Google Calendar sidebar - Adds your Google Calendar to your Gmail display.
Gmail Lite - Removes ads, the footer, stars, and chats.
Gmail Macros - Allows you to create more keyboard shortcuts to speed up your Gmail experience.
Gmail Multi-User Login - For those of you with more than one Gmail account, this will give you a drop down menu with all of your accounts listed.
Gmail Multiple Signatures, plus Float - Will change your signature based on what return address you enter.
Gmail - One Click Conversations - Allows you quick access to the most recent conversations with a contact via a one click button.
GMail Header, Navigation and Ads Switcher - Can choose to hide or show the header, navigation bar, and ads by clicking a button.
Gmail - Zip Attachments and Download - Allows you to download all the attachments of an email by merely clicking on the paper clip icon.
GmailTo -Opens mailto: commands from websites in Gmail compose.
Google Air Skin - Script to use Air Skin in Gmail, Google Calendar, on Google.com, and Google Reader.
Label Colors - Lets you choose the colors of various labels so you can tell them apart easier.
Plaxo4Gmail - Allows you to sync your Gmail with your Plaxo info.
Saved Searches - Allows you to save a Gmail search so that you can just click on the saved search to do it again.
Miscellaneous
GBooks - Allows you to turn a Gmail account in to a bookmarks server.
gExodus - Allows you to export your emails from another account to your Gmail account in mbox format.
Gmail icon generator - Allows you to create a small graphic of your Gmail address to place on websites so that you may display your address without spam bots reading it.
Gmail Music - Store MP3 files in your Gmail account and play them on any computer.
Gmail Todo - Turn your Gmail into a helpful “To Do” list.
PhpGmailDrive - Retrieves a list of attachments from a Gmail account and enables you to list them on a website or blog for others to download.
You’ve Got Gmail - A plugin for the Trillian messenger program that lets you manage your accounts.
10 GOOGLE SERVICES :
If you were to interview a broad cross-section of internet users and ask them about Google services, probably most of them would enthusiastically talk about Gmail or Google Reader. At the very least, they would mention Google’s superior search engine. But how many people do you think would discuss being able to set up customised RSS feeds in Google News? Or being able to download source code in Google Code? How many people would know that Google offers various possibilities for users to help improve their products?
Here are some Google services that need a lot more loving (cue Barry White music) :
(1) Google Labs
My favourite online playground (although the offerings at the moment are a little dull). This is where new Google products are first given the beta label and unleashed onto an unsuspecting world for testing and commenting. If you try something out in Google Labs, you are invited to email the Google team involved with comments / suggestions / complaints (on two occasions, I got a personal reply back from a member of the team, discussing my comments).
The way I see it, this is a good way to influence future Google products by getting involved in a product’s development. How many Google users use Google products but don’t bother to provide any creative input to make them better? Next time a Google product doesn’t go as planned, don’t complain on a forum - contact Google and offer constructive advice & criticism!
(2) Google Pack
If you know an internet newbie who has not so much knowledge of the internet and software products (like my mother), Google Pack provides an excellent software package to start with (although I personally wouldn’t choose Norton and Real Player). Check out full program list here.
(3) Google Translate
Translate text or even complete webpages into eleven languages (you can even translate from “simplified” Chinese to “traditional” Chinese). As with all online translators, this won’t give you a 100% accurate translation (online translators can’t grasp things like idioms and contexts) but if you want to buy those crates of AK-47 assault rifles from that online shop in North Korea, Google Translate will let you overcome that Korean language barrier.
(4) Google Co-Op
Allows you to customize Google search results with your own self-rolled search engines. You can also provide information from your website as a subscribed link or if you are a specialist in a particular subject area, you can label and categorize search information which other people can click on. Again, this is another way you can actively help in making search much better (otherwise known as user-generated input).
(5) Google Code
This one is for the computer geeks (of which I am a honorary member). Allows you to find and download source codes and developer API’s to make mashups for Google products.
(6) Google News
Google News has been around for a while and is old-hat to many. But how many of you knew that you could customise the page to only see the news you want to see? Or the fact you can set up customised RSS feeds for the news subjects that interest you? Never miss another news story about Paris Hilton ever again. You can also use the new news archive to find very old news stories, either scanned pages of publications or online sources. Some free, others not.
(7) Google Patent Search
If you’re in business and you’ve developed a hot new invention, don’t you want to check first to see if anybody got in there before you and filed a patent? Google Patent Search will show you the patent applications for pretty much everything so you can see right away if you are the sole inventor of the combined coat hanger and cigarette lighter.
(8) Google Blog Search
One of my personal favourites as it helps me to find current blogs on my favourite subjects (and swell my 200+ RSS reading list even further). Find blogs catering to various subjects. Want to know if anybody shares your overwhelming passion for navel lint by blogging about it? GBS will help you out.
(9) Google Alerts
Want to know if anybody has been talking about you online? Maybe somebody trashed your website by insulting it in a forum? Or a disgruntled customer to your online shop made disparaging remarks in their blog? By setting up a Google Alert (with pre-defined search terms), you will get an email with links anytime Google finds something matching your keywords. Britney Spears probably has one set up now with the keywords “Britney” and “MTV Music Awards”.
(10) Google Catalogs
Guys rejoice! (and women too). Want to buy some Victoria’s Secret lingerie? Or perhaps a new light-sabre is in order for you trusty Jedi Knights? Google now offers the chance to browse through scanned pages of catalogs and magazines such as GQ and Cosmopolitan to find products you might be looking for. No more raking in bins looking for catalogs of women in bikinis - Google now gives them to you online!
Here are some Google services that need a lot more loving (cue Barry White music) :
(1) Google Labs
My favourite online playground (although the offerings at the moment are a little dull). This is where new Google products are first given the beta label and unleashed onto an unsuspecting world for testing and commenting. If you try something out in Google Labs, you are invited to email the Google team involved with comments / suggestions / complaints (on two occasions, I got a personal reply back from a member of the team, discussing my comments).
The way I see it, this is a good way to influence future Google products by getting involved in a product’s development. How many Google users use Google products but don’t bother to provide any creative input to make them better? Next time a Google product doesn’t go as planned, don’t complain on a forum - contact Google and offer constructive advice & criticism!
(2) Google Pack
If you know an internet newbie who has not so much knowledge of the internet and software products (like my mother), Google Pack provides an excellent software package to start with (although I personally wouldn’t choose Norton and Real Player). Check out full program list here.
(3) Google Translate
Translate text or even complete webpages into eleven languages (you can even translate from “simplified” Chinese to “traditional” Chinese). As with all online translators, this won’t give you a 100% accurate translation (online translators can’t grasp things like idioms and contexts) but if you want to buy those crates of AK-47 assault rifles from that online shop in North Korea, Google Translate will let you overcome that Korean language barrier.
(4) Google Co-Op
Allows you to customize Google search results with your own self-rolled search engines. You can also provide information from your website as a subscribed link or if you are a specialist in a particular subject area, you can label and categorize search information which other people can click on. Again, this is another way you can actively help in making search much better (otherwise known as user-generated input).
(5) Google Code
This one is for the computer geeks (of which I am a honorary member). Allows you to find and download source codes and developer API’s to make mashups for Google products.
(6) Google News
Google News has been around for a while and is old-hat to many. But how many of you knew that you could customise the page to only see the news you want to see? Or the fact you can set up customised RSS feeds for the news subjects that interest you? Never miss another news story about Paris Hilton ever again. You can also use the new news archive to find very old news stories, either scanned pages of publications or online sources. Some free, others not.
(7) Google Patent Search
If you’re in business and you’ve developed a hot new invention, don’t you want to check first to see if anybody got in there before you and filed a patent? Google Patent Search will show you the patent applications for pretty much everything so you can see right away if you are the sole inventor of the combined coat hanger and cigarette lighter.
(8) Google Blog Search
One of my personal favourites as it helps me to find current blogs on my favourite subjects (and swell my 200+ RSS reading list even further). Find blogs catering to various subjects. Want to know if anybody shares your overwhelming passion for navel lint by blogging about it? GBS will help you out.
(9) Google Alerts
Want to know if anybody has been talking about you online? Maybe somebody trashed your website by insulting it in a forum? Or a disgruntled customer to your online shop made disparaging remarks in their blog? By setting up a Google Alert (with pre-defined search terms), you will get an email with links anytime Google finds something matching your keywords. Britney Spears probably has one set up now with the keywords “Britney” and “MTV Music Awards”.
(10) Google Catalogs
Guys rejoice! (and women too). Want to buy some Victoria’s Secret lingerie? Or perhaps a new light-sabre is in order for you trusty Jedi Knights? Google now offers the chance to browse through scanned pages of catalogs and magazines such as GQ and Cosmopolitan to find products you might be looking for. No more raking in bins looking for catalogs of women in bikinis - Google now gives them to you online!
Turn Any .exe File Into A Service
Turn Any .exe File Into A Service
This method has not been tested with Vista, though it is known to work with 2000/XP/2003 Server.
The following steps will allow you to turn almost any .exe file into a service. Please note that some .exe files will need command line parameters passed to run with functionality.
Log in with administrative privileges and then check that both INSTSRV.EXE and SRVANY.EXE are stored in a directory within the search path.
Take care where you put SRVANY.EXE because it must stay there for the service to run.
1. Open up an MS-DOS command prompt and navigate to where you saved the files.
2. Type the following command: INSTSRV [service name] SRVANY.EXE
where [service name] is the name of the service you are setting up. The service name can be anything you like, but you should make the name descriptive.
3. Remove service example:
INSTSRV [service name] REMOVE where [service name] is the service name.
4. Open up the Registry Editor (Click on the Start Button > Run, and type REGEDIT). Locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\[service name]
* From the Edit menu, click New > select Key, and name the new key Parameters
* Highlight the Parameters key
* From the Edit menu, select New > String Value, and name the new value Application
* From the Edit menu, select Modify, and type in the full path name and application name, including the drive letter and file extension
* Example: C:\Program Files\Network Monitor\netmon.exe
5. Close the Registry Editor.
6. You can now start the service from services.msc.
This method has not been tested with Vista, though it is known to work with 2000/XP/2003 Server.
The following steps will allow you to turn almost any .exe file into a service. Please note that some .exe files will need command line parameters passed to run with functionality.
Log in with administrative privileges and then check that both INSTSRV.EXE and SRVANY.EXE are stored in a directory within the search path.
Take care where you put SRVANY.EXE because it must stay there for the service to run.
1. Open up an MS-DOS command prompt and navigate to where you saved the files.
2. Type the following command: INSTSRV [service name] SRVANY.EXE
where [service name] is the name of the service you are setting up. The service name can be anything you like, but you should make the name descriptive.
3. Remove service example:
INSTSRV [service name] REMOVE where [service name] is the service name.
4. Open up the Registry Editor (Click on the Start Button > Run, and type REGEDIT). Locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\[service name]
* From the Edit menu, click New > select Key, and name the new key Parameters
* Highlight the Parameters key
* From the Edit menu, select New > String Value, and name the new value Application
* From the Edit menu, select Modify, and type in the full path name and application name, including the drive letter and file extension
* Example: C:\Program Files\Network Monitor\netmon.exe
5. Close the Registry Editor.
6. You can now start the service from services.msc.
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