Friday, January 21, 2011

Did You Post that on My Wall?!


I often see posts on my wall from people that did not actually do the post. An App is doing this on their behalf. Often you give an App permission to post on your behalf or gain access to information about you and your friends without even knowing it. When you see a post from someone you know you often trust and click on it. This is exactly what the creator of the App is hoping for since it can pass on a malicious program to your computer or gain access to info in your profile or even your friend’s profiles.

Check your app settings to make sure you do not have any that can post on your behalf. You can check your setting under Account Settings – Privacy Settings – Apps and Websites. When you are on Privacy Settings look near the bottom of the page and you will see Apps and Websites.

On the next screen you can edit the setting under “Apps You Use” and make sure you are not allowing Apps to do things without your permission. I think you are going to be very surprised when you see the default permissions Apps have and what information they have access to. Don’t forget to check these settings often to make sure new Apps are kept under control and that the settings of the other Apps do not change back to their original settings.

I recommend you scan the list of Apps and delete any that you do not want. When you delete an App it will complain that if you delete the App it or you will not have access to things it needs. Ignore this and continue to delete the App. Take a minute to make sure you do not want or need the App before deleting it. I have been able to delete every App in the list and have not had any issues with anything not working properly on Facebook.

Do it now, rein in those unwieldy Apps and put them in their place. Don’t just do it for you, do it to protect you and your friends.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Microsoft Security Advisory (969136): Vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution

Microsoft Security Advisory (969136): Vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution

Deep Computer-Spying Network Touched 103 Countries - Business Center - PC World

Folks, we need to do a better job of protecting our networks.

Deep Computer-Spying Network Touched 103 Countries - Business Center - PC World

Conficker - Are we there yet?

Conficker has come and gone. It seems like a dud… or is it.

This worm got the attention of everyone from security experts to you. So what was all the hype about?

Was this done just to get some fame and recognition? Maybe the person or persons responsible for this wanted to show their ability. Maybe this is like a badge of honor in their circles.

Maybe the person or persons who amassed the number of infected computers did so to sell their collection to another for profit.

Maybe the intent was just to show how vulnerable we are and that this was a wakeup call to do a better job to protect ourselves.

Maybe this was a way to make us drop our guard, like when they weather guy breaks in and tells us that the perfect storm is coming only to fizzle out or go in a different direction. Only to find the next time the real one is on the way and you ignore the warnings… and then it hits and you are unprepared.

Whatever the reason this worm did not attack is beside the point. I think it was an eye opener for people to scan their computer and to backup their data. It is sad that people wait until an event like this to do what needs to be done on a regular basis.

Our office was overwhelmed with calls. Many wanted to know what to do to check their computer and others that wanted to know how to get rid of it.

So are we done with Conficker? I am not sure but I am concerned that someone would go through all this trouble just let their hard work go to waste. I think we still need to keep our guard up and use this experience to convert our straw homes to brick. I feel that the big one is coming and only those with brick houses are going to weather the storm.

What are your thoughts?

Tuesday, March 31, 2009