Archive for March, 2006
What are Social Bookmarks?
March 29th, 2006

What are Social Bookmarks?

A social bookmark is a link created by a web user that is categorized and viewed by the public. If you have ever had bookmarks at work and moved to a new job and wanted access to your old links then you will immediately understand the signifigance of the social bookmarks. They offer a way in which users can access their bookmarks from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection and a way for users to have control over the classification of those bookmarks.

Social bookmark buttons on a blog are especially powerful. These are buttons on a blog and/or website that allow readers to submit articles they like to Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit and other socially moderated bookmarking/news/feed sites at the click of a button. Readers will also be able to add articles to feed readers such as Google Reader, My Yahoo! and Bloglines. This is a great way to advertise as each link from another site (known as a back link) will give more ranking on search engines. It also allows for something known as social marketing optization.

3spots at Blogspot has one of the most comprehensive posts on social bookmarking and code for blogger, wordpress and Typepad/MoveableType!

Reference:

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking

Nature Publishing Groups. Social Bookmarking Tools (I).

Posted in blogging, Howto, security, SMO, social bookmarks, tutorials/tools by Bruce Brown
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al-Qaeda's hacker caught; 'Terrorist 007', Exposed
March 28th, 2006

For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key conduit for al-Qaeda

read more | digg story

Posted in security by Bruce Brown
1 Comment
Ophcrack 2.2 Password Cracker Released
March 28th, 2006

Ophcrack is a Windows password cracker based on a time-memory trade-off using rainbow tables. This is a new variant of Hellman's original trade-off, with better performance. It recovers 99.9% of alphanumeric passwords in seconds.

read more | digg story

Posted in security by Bruce Brown
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Why Social Bookmarking and Service Links: Social Market Optimization
March 28th, 2006

Why Service  Links?
Service links are the little buttons you see on blogs that allow the user to submit your article to your online bookmarking account.
      Consider  Social Marketing Optimization (SMO)The best  thing about these service links is social marketing optimization. Social        marketing  optimization is where you allow your readers some control of the ranking,  content or look of your site.  Service Links allows your readers to show their  approval of your content by bookmarking it or saving it in their own accounts  across the web.  These accounts, such as Del.icio.us, actually publish all        user content to the web for all to see. The reader also chooses the labels  associated with your content and exposes that same content to like minded  readers who may have been previously unaware of your presence.  SMO is allowing  your readers to syndicate your content, that is what service link do.  This is the current direction of the World Wide Web (Pakii/SMO).

For more information on Social Marketing Optimization check out Mr. T.L. Pakii's site on the subject: Blogging for Fun and Profit/SMO!

Posted in blogging, blogging/blog howto, Howto, security, SMO by Bruce Brown
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DNS servers do hackers' dirty work
March 25th, 2006

In a twist on distributed denial-of-service attacks, cybercriminals are using DNS servers–the phonebooks of the Internet–to amplify their assaults and disrupt online business.

read more | digg story

Posted in security by Bruce Brown
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Adware: too many popups
March 24th, 2006

I have way too many pop ups, what can i do to get rid of them?

Pop-ups are not just annoying. They can be a sign of intrusive spyware or even malware (also known as trojans, virus, worms). As you surf on the Internet and get pop-ups it may seem that all of these ads are coming from somewhere on the Internet outside of your computer. The truth is some may be coming from your own system!

Take a look at my Add/Remove Programs list.

This is a list of all the adware I have on my system. To get to your own Add/Remove Programs list go to Start | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs.

If your list of programs looks like mine, you may want consider removing some of them.

How can you tell Malware/Spyware/Adware from the software you need?

Many times you can not. If you are uncertain about an application do not remove it. Here are some ways that you can tell what to remove:

1) Adware Keywords: Webenhance, web optimize, surf, internet optimizer

2)    When ads pop up read the borders. Many times you’ll see the name of the company or application that is serving the ads. Many times that same name will be in the Add/Remove Programs list

3) Type the name of the Add/Remove Programs listed into Google or Yahoo!

4)    Look in the Task Manager. Adware applications are often resource hogs. You can use Task Manager to look at what applications are taking up most of the resources Removing Adware.

Always try and uninstall the applications if it will allow you.

Other tips:

Don’t use Internet Explorer < 6.0 with service pack 2 (check your Internet Explorer by clicking Help | About Internet Explorer) Use Firefox Do not surf the Internet as the Administrator of your computer (create accounts, make limited account with no admin priviledges that you surf from, if you have to download log on as the admin to do it) more on: too many pop ups while net surfing

Posted in adware, security by Bruce Brown
2 Comments
Warning Your Computer is In Danger
March 23rd, 2006

Warning Your Computer is in Danger

“Windows Security Center has detected spyware/adware infection! It is strongly recommended to use special antispyware tools to prevent data lass. Click here to install the latest protection tools!”

I picked this one up from one of my favorite haunts, warez/serial cracks.  Those sites are teaming with fresh malware.

How do you go about removing these cute little pop ups?

Tags: , , ,

Powered by Qumana

Posted in Malware, Malware/Malware Removal, security, spyware scumbags by Bruce Brown
2 Comments
Security Flaws Could Cripple Missile Defense Network
March 22nd, 2006

The network that stitches together radars, missile launch sites and command control centers for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) ground-based defense system has such serious security flaws that the agency and its contractor, Boeing, may not be able to prevent misuse of the system

read more | digg story

Posted in security by Bruce Brown
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Social engineering reloaded
March 22nd, 2006

The purpose of this article is to go beyond the basics and explore how social engineering, employed as technology, has evolved over the past few years. A case study of a typical Fortune 1000 company will be discussed, putting emphasis on the importance of education about social engineering for every corporate security program.

read more | digg story

Posted in security by Bruce Brown
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What is VCClient & VCMain?
March 18th, 2006

What is VCClient / VCmain?

VCClient and VCmain are assocciated with Surf Sidekick. You can get more
information on Surf Sidekick at www.surfsidekick.com. VCClient actually
delivers ads to
your computer.

It will be loaded in:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\VCClient\VCClient.exe

VCClient disabled the Task Manager on my system.

Problems you may see:

  • Pop-up upon logon about “VCMain.exe” and “VCClient.exe”
  • Sluggish PC performance
  • Solicitations to purchase false spyware/malware removal software
  • Errors followed by PC shutdown
    Can not access the Internet or any other programs

Here are some trojan applications email data from my computer to external sources.  These came loaded with VCClient:

How to Remove VCCLient HERE..

Posted in Malware, Malware/Malware Removal, security, spyware scumbags by Bruce Brown
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