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by mtomasek on December 31st, 2009, under General |
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Happy Holidays from Complete Solutions!
We wanted to give you all a quick update regarding computer security updates. The following are some directives to ensure you are in good shape heading into the new year.
First, and foremost, please install all available Windows updates from http://www.windowsupdate.com in the critical section and any optional updates related to Microsoft Office products. There were updates for Windows, Internet Explorer 8, Excel and Word as well as Microsoft Project this month that should be applied ASAP.
There is a new Firefox update available. Please upgrade to Firefox 3.5.6 (or legacy Firefox 3.0.16) As usual this update closes security vulnerabilities and improves safety and functionality for this software. Either visit http://www.getfirefox.com or check the installed software for updates.
There is a flaw in Adobe Acrobat products that can be neutralized with the following steps:
Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat using the instructions below:
1. Launch Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
2. Select Edit>Preferences
3. Select the JavaScript Category
4. Uncheck the ‘Enable Acrobat JavaScript’ option
5. Click OK
(full support info here: http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa09-07.html)
All Macintosh users should check software update for updated Java and Firmware updates this month. Specifically, Snow Leopard users should install the 10.6.2 system update.
As usual feel free to contact us with any questions related to these or other computer issues.
We hope everyone is having a Happy Holiday Season! Looking forward to working with you in the New Year!
–Complete Solutions
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Some good news and some bad news… The bad news is that it will be a few months before I can open the demo site that we will be running showcasing some of these exploits that we talk about in our blog. I think the best learning is to see it as it happens as we can go numb from hearing patch for security, don’t get hacked, etc. The good news is that I have a good reason for not having this ready…. We are introducing a new product…
First, read this… http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=4825&tag=nl.e550 It simply says that malware still gets past the new Windows 7 security measures… Now, imagine if your antivirus program misses a piece of malware or virus and you get infected. Now your machine is running slow, you are concerned about your passwords that you have and your financial information being compromised. You could do the following:
1. You could bring your computer in to the local computer store, they’ll either clean it out in a day or two (downtime!!!) or worse, they’ll format it because that’s how they fix virus infections. You will pay for a diagnostic, backing up your data only, installing the computer, most of the time they won’t even patch it, then you need to download Java, Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat, Office, and god knows what else you have on your computer. What about your favorites and personal settings like your wallpaper… The best part is the bill, look to spend at least $300 for something like that, some companies charge up to $600 for all of that, too.
2. Have Complete Solutions come out and starting at $79, they will install a special program that requires NO user interaction that runs in the background. If a virus was to get on your computer, all you have to do is reboot and it’s GONE. All of your data is safe, no downtime and hauling a computer to the store, quite honestly, it’s really cool… We have been working on and it’s ready to go for Windows Vista and Windows 7. Relax, Windows XP users, we are working on the XP version of this project, but it still has two rounds of testing yet as XP is running on technology from 2003, so it’s a little more work for us to get a safe, stable version of this for all of you out there (80% of the market).
Anyway, I have put together a very light version of the last month’s updates down below… Take some time to patch and keep yourself, and your private data, safe. The Mac patches, which are 58 patches, take care of a majority of critical issues that allow a hacker to gain control of your machine. The myth that Mac spreads about Mac being more secure than windows is because Mac has 10% of the market share, so if you were a criminal, would you put your time and effort into Mac or Windows with 90% market share? Be safe everyone…..
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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The first of many postings… Note all the major applications from this posting and the ones below, these are all day to day programs for many of us and they have holes all of the place…. Sun, which is the maker of Java, has patched their software, checkout http://www.java.com to patch yourself from 12 issues for free. These issues are rated as “highly critical” by third party groups.
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Adobe has also released 4 updates for critical issues… Shockwave is not Flash Player, a lot of people don’t use Shockwave for anything. If you aren’t certain that you have it installed, I would actually suggest that you DO install it since if you have an older version, most of them will be removed when you upgrade to the newer version. Check out, for free, http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-SHOCKWAVE for installation.
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Wow, 58 patches are coming out today for Mac, you can click on the top left of the screen for the “Apple” and hit “Software Update” for all the patches.
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Checkout www.firefox.com for the free updates to address these issues if you are using Linux, Mac, or Windows as it affects everyone. 6 critical fixes in 3.5.4 and 5 critical fixes for 3.0.15
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Adobe, because of all the patching issues they have been having, have gone to a quarterly patch cycle that affects Mac, Linux, and Windows. Simply put, update for free to Adobe 9.2 Reader, for free, at http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-READER and get the new version. If you are using Acrobat Pro, please follow the update procedure in the help menu of that program.
If you have a Mac, by default, there is a program called “Preview” that you probably use and unless you went out of your way to install Adobe Acrobat, you don’t have it….
by mtomasek on November 10th, 2009, under General |
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Microsoft had a ton of patches that were released and were critical in nature:
The first, was a critical rollup for Internet Explorer 8 and older (pretty much if you use IE, you were affected). Some of the exploits allowed a remote attacker to gain control of your computer, it’s actually a pretty interesting exploit that involves just having you, as a user, just view the page. Note that you don’t have to interact with it, just click the link and you are toast. Updates are for free at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
The second, was a patch for Outlook XP, 2003, 2007 and Visio Viewer for 2003 and 2007. Three particular issues can grant a hacker or automated program access to your machine, with your access without these patches… Checkout http://officeupdate.microsoft.com for the free patches, note the top right of the page that says “Check for Updates” as the page is a little disorganized.
The third group, is 11 patches, with six of them being critical that range in all sorts of issues for a lot of programs that everyone has installed on their machines. Checkout http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com if you haven’t and just get the free updates.
by mtomasek on September 20th, 2009, under Previous General issues |
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First, thanks for taking time out of your day to read my posts. I will continue to keep them simple and written for users, not techies…. I’m going to post monthly because it does a few things for everyone:
1. Allows me to introduce a new feature soon, which will be demonstrations of some of these exploits. I might make a little program that uses an exploit to open your calculator on your desktop. Maybe I’ll link to a trustworthy site that offers a demo. Sometimes I might offer video demonstrating the exploit. Regardless, you will have to clink a link to see the exploit or test your machine to see if it is patched and requires your interaction to see it.
2. Our customers who are maintenance customers get phone calls from us for severe issues that are zero day or need immediate attention, so what’s the point of posting an urgent message on the blog.
3. It limits emails that you get and makes better use of your time…
by mtomasek on September 20th, 2009, under Previous General issues |
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Firefox has an exploit that can give a user limited access to your computer. The exploit works by putting a fake error message on your computer, which once you acknowledge by hitting “OK”, it then actually runs the exploit on your computer. Free updates are available at Firefox’s website for version 3.0 and 3.5
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