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Security

Submission + - New Vecebot Trojan Targets Anti-Communist Bloggers (threatpost.com)

chicksdaddy writes: Threatpost is reporting that a new family of Trojan Horse programs is being used to stifle political opposition to the Communist Party in Vietnam, according to an analysis by researchers at SecureWorks. The Trojan, dubbed Vecebot, is a new family of malware and has been linked to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against bloggers who have written critically of the ruling Communist Party and Chinese mining operations in the country, SecureWorks said.

Comment Splitting a botnet. (Score 1) 61

Couldn't it be possible to have a botnet upgrade into different versions, allowing it to split?

Clarification:
Virus writer releases virus A and sets up control server A.
Botnet A gets large, and the writer is worried about authorities, so he sets up servers B and C, as well as writing two updates.
Botnet A gets update B or update C from control server A.
The update installs the new virus and removes the old one.
Botnet B gets large, virus writter sets up servers D and F.
Process continues.

If it's split before the AVs pay any considerable attention(or if you split enough to confuse them), a writer could write a fast spreading botnet, without having to worry about it getting too large.

I would imagine that setting up new servers and updates might be a hassle though.

Submission + - Amazon Prohibits Associates From Using All Pay-Per (amazon.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Amazon Inc, has privately contacted Associates that Amazon will withold all earnings from Associates that bid on any generic words on sites such as Google.

Amazon claims that Associates bidding on generic words such as "books", "literature", "poultry", "widget" , etc, are violating Amazon's Associate Agreement, because it might match with phrases like "Amazon widget" or "Amazon poultry".

Associates who bid on any PPC terms will have their complete earnings withheld, and their accounts closed.

Unfortunately, Associates who publicly state that it happened, will have their accounts closed and all earnings withheld. Amazon makes slight changes to each email so they can track anyone who posts the email publically, and to make it difficult to find other Associates who complain publically about the issue.

Submission + - E-voting machine votes 100% wrong (newbernsj.com)

steveha writes: The New Bern, NC Sun Journal newspaper reports that some local voters have seen the e-voting machine record the exact opposite of the voter's request. There is a button to vote a straight Republican ticket, and when pushed, it voted a straight Democrat ticket. A local voter observed this behavior four times in a row; the fifth time, the button worked correctly. If ATMs were this unreliable, no bank would use them. Why is this level of failure acceptable in voting machines?
Desktops (Apple)

Submission + - powerbook and streaming video

An anonymous reader writes: I have an old PowerBook and I thought it would work well for streaming internet video on my TV. How would you set it up so that it works well with simple input devices (i.e. smart phone, wireless mouse) and has a slim operating system that doesn't tax the system too much?
The Courts

Xbox Live Class Action Being Investigated 453

eldavojohn writes "Were you negatively affected by the recent ban on Xbox Live for modifying hardware you own? Did you modify yours for homebrew or altering things you paid for and not to engage in piracy? Abington IP would like to hear from you and may be able to help. From that page: 'If you are an Xbox Live subscriber, had your modified Xbox console banned from Xbox Live, were not refunded a prorated sum for the time left on your subscription, or have experienced other problems as a result of being banned, and would like to participate in a class action against Microsoft, please submit your information below.' Someone is finally standing up for the legitimate hobbyists. Should Microsoft worry?"
Security

Microsoft Denies It Built Backdoor Into Windows 7 450

CWmike writes "Microsoft has denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. 'Microsoft has not and will not put "backdoors" into Windows,' a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld story Wednesday. On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 'to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide.' Thursday's categorical denial by Microsoft was accompanied by further explanation of exactly how the NSA participated in the making of Windows 7. 'The work being discussed here is purely in conjunction with our Security Compliance Management Toolkit,' said the spokeswoman. The company rolled out the Windows 7 version of the toolkit late last month, shortly after it officially launched the operating system."
Microsoft

Microsoft Leaks Details of 128-bit Windows 8 581

Barence writes "Microsoft is planning to make Windows 8 a 128-bit operating system, according to details leaked from the software giant's Research department. The discovery came to light after Microsoft Research employee Robert Morgan carelessly left details of his work on the social-networking site LinkedIn. His page read: 'Working in high-security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and long-term projects. Research & Development projects including 128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM.' It has since been removed."
Privacy

Security / Privacy Advice? 260

James-NSC writes "My employer is changing its policy towards employee use of social networks. I've been asked to give a 40-minute presentation to the entire company, with attendance mandatory, on the security and privacy concerns relating to social networking. While I was putting it together, I ended up with some miscellaneous information that pertains to security/privacy in general, for example: the emerging ATM skimming (mainly for our European employees), a reminder that email is not private, malware/drive-by in popular search results, etc. Since these topics don't directly relate to the subject I've been asked to address, I've ended up with a section titled 'While I have you...' I'm going to have the mandatory attention of every employee and I thought it would be a great opportunity to give advice on security/privacy issues across the board. As it's an opportunity that one seldom gets, I certainly want to utilize it fullly. If you had the attention of an entire company with employees in the US, UK, Asia, and Australia, what security / privacy advice would you give?"

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