This week we learned how to make free Android or iPhone ringtones from any YouTube video, “halt Windows automatic rebooting, enable Unity Menus in Chrome, & set up tabbed PuTTY windows”, enjoyed a great new set of Geek Deals, “fix phantom HDMI sound problems, change HTC keyboards to the default Android keyboard, & log every URL visited on your network”, had fun customizing our desktops with a seaside vacation theme, and more.
Photo by levork.
Weekly News Links
Chart courtesy of Imperva.
- Web apps attacked every two minutes, study finds
The average Web-based application is hit by a cyberattack once every two minutes, says a report out this past Tuesday by security firm Imperva. Detailing its findings in its “Web Application Attack Report” for July, Imperva found that Web applications are attacked around 27 times per hour.
- Report: Breach exposes data of 35 million S. Koreans
Personal information of 35 million South Koreans has been compromised as a result of a hacking attack on the company that runs the country’s biggest social network and a major Web search engine, according to reports.
- Skype update enables account theft – Update
The recent update to Skype 5.5 for Windows contains a severe security vulnerability that allows attackers to get control of your Skype account, according to security expert David Vieira-Kurz.
- ICQ vulnerable to account theft – Update
In security advisories for ICQ and the ICQ web site, security researcher Levent Kayan warns that both the ICQ instant messenger for Windows and the ICQ web site contain vulnerabilities that potentially allow attackers to take control of a user’s ICQ account.
- phpMyAdmin updates close critical security holes
Versions 3.4.3.2 and 3.3.10.3 of phpMyAdmin close a total of four security holes in the open source database administration tool. According to the phpMyAdmin developers, the security releases address two “critical” vulnerabilities that could lead to possible session manipulation in swekey authentication or remote code execution.
- US government warns of potential Stuxnet variants
Security experts at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fear that variants of the Stuxnet worm could threaten important US infrastructures.
- How a security researcher discovered the Apple battery “hack”
A security “noob” mistake has left the batteries in Apple’s laptops open to hacking, which could result in a bricked battery or, in a worst case scenario, fire or explosion.
- Expert hacks car system, says problems reach to SCADA systems
Researcher Don A. Bailey will be showing at the Black Hat security conference next week how easy it is to open and even start a car remotely by hacking the cellular network-based security system. Even more disturbing is the message that demonstration brings, that cars aren’t the only things at risk.
- Automated stock trading poses fraud risk, researcher says
An emphasis on speed and a lack of security makes automated trading in financial markets ripe for exploitation and fraud, a security researcher warned this past Wednesday.
- Street View cars grabbed locations of phones, PCs
Google’s Street View cars collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices around the world, a practice that raises novel privacy concerns, CNET has confirmed.
- 10 dangerous things users still do online
Despite knowing better, users still engage in dangerous behavior while on the Internet, IT security experts said.
- Oracle releases ‘buggy’ Java SE7
Oracle released its first full version of Java this past Thursday, but developers have reported bugs that can crash virtual machines, corrupt data and cause errors in applications.
- Mozilla eyes mobile OS landscape with new Boot to Gecko project
Mozilla has announced a new experimental project called Boot to Gecko (B2G) with the aim of developing an operating system that emphasizes standards-based Web technologies. The initial focus will be on delivering a software environment for handheld devices such as smartphones.
- Google Plus Deleting Accounts En Masse: No Clear Answers
A striking number of Google+ accounts have been deleted as the new social network struggles with its community standards policy around real names – alienating and frightening the people it aims to serve.
- Why I was banned on Google+ (and how I redeemed myself)
A tale of Google’s creepy privacy behavior and how the search giant may be blowing it on its best social networking success to date.
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