Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:14:05 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/ ComTek Computer Services Inc. en-us http://www.comtek4u.com/images/logo.jpg http://www.comtek4u.com/ no-reply@comtek4u.com http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19 SAN JOSE, Calif. - Microsoft Corp. has taken the rare step of warning about a serious computer security vulnerability it hasn't fixed yet. The vulnerability disclosed Monday affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating software. It can allow hackers to remotely take control of victims' machines. The victims don't need to do anything to get infected except visit a Web site that's been hacked. Security experts say criminals have been attacking the vulnerability for nearly a week. Thousands of sites have been hacked to serve up malicious software that exploits the vulnerability. People are drawn to these sites by clicking a link in spam e-mail. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:14:05 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18 A couple of weeks ago, It was all about the new Wolfram Alpha search engine and it was news chatterr all over the web for nearly 2 weeks. This week, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine is getting a lot of press. At first glance, the Bing search engine looks clean and fresh. Searching is ultra-fast and easy to read. Like Google, however, the Bing search engine also presents many ads at the top and sides of the search results. In fact, the layout of Bing and its results eerily (or blatantly) match that of Google. The true test of this new search engine will be the results it provides. I will test it from time-to-time, but it will take awfully good search results to tear me from Google. What about you? Have you tried Bing? What are your thoughts on its design and results? Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:40:25 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17 The attackers behind a series of rapidly spreading website compromises have begun using a new domain to deliver their malicious code, security experts said on Monday. The attacks, collectively referred to as 'Gumblar' by ScanSafe and 'Troj/JSRedir-R' by Sophos, grew 188 percent over the course of a week, ScanSafe said on Thursday. The Gumblar infections accounted for 42 percent of all infections found on websites last week, Sophos said on Thursday. Over the weekend, the Chinese web domain used to deliver the malicious code — gumblar.cn — stopped responding, according to Unmask Parasites, a service used to detect malicious code embedded in web pages. The attacks' malicious payload has, however, continued to be delivered from a different source, the martuz.cn domain, Unmask Parasites said in an advisory published on Monday. Thu, 21 May 2009 09:13:40 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=16 The first documented bug in the Windows 7 Release Candidate (build 7100) is a doozy. Yesterday, Microsoft published Knowledge Base article 970789, which provides details of a problem that affects the 32-bit (x86) English-language version of Windows 7 build 7100. The problem, in short, is that the installer incorrectly sets access control lists (ACLs) on the root of the system drive. The longer version is described as follows: In the English version of Windows 7 Release Candidate (build 7100) 32-bit Ultimate, the folder that is created as the root folder of the system drive (%SystemDrive%) is missing entries in its security descriptor. One effect of this problem is that standard users such as non-administrators cannot perform all operations to subfolders that are created directly under the root. Therefore, applications that reference folders under the root may not install successfully or may not uninstall successfully. Additionally, operations or applications that reference these folders may fail. Tue, 12 May 2009 09:49:30 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=15 SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The Conficker worm's April 1st trigger date came and went without the bedeviling computer virus causing any mischief but security specialists warn that the threat is far from over. Conficker did just what the "white hats" tracking it expected -- the virus evolved to better resist extermination and make its masters tougher to find. "There are still millions of personal computers out there that are, unknown to their owners, at risk of being controlled in the future by persons unknown," said Trend Micro threat researcher Paul Ferguson. "The threat is still there. These guys are smart; they are not going to pull any obvious strings when there are so many eyeballs on the problem." Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:27:04 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14 I usually have a pretty good idea of how widespread a particular piece of malware is by the number of incidents of infection that I come across. But when it comes to the Conficker worm (aka Downadup or Kido), I get the feeling that while there’s a lot of hype surrounding this latest bit of malware, actual infections are much lower than some would want you to believe. However, over the past few days the number of enquires I’m getting in relation to Conficker has skyrocketed Some antivirus companies love to hype malware because it’s a great way to sell security products. While Conficker isn’t new (it’s been around since November last year), the April 1st trigger date gives security firms the opportunity to ratchet up the hype a couple of more notches (and help drive concerned users straight into the hands of cybercriminals). However, it’s important to note that it’s unclear right now as to what will happen come the trigger date. However, what is clear is that you will need to be infected to be at risk of anything happening at all. Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:23:49 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13 - Computer-virus infections don't cause your machine to crash anymore. Nowadays, the criminals behind the infections usually want your computer operating in top form so you don't know something's wrong. That way, they can log your keystrokes and steal any passwords or credit-card numbers you enter at Web sites, or they can link your infected computer with others to send out spam. Here are some signs your computer is infected, tapped to serve as part of "botnet" armies run by criminals: • You experience new, prolonged slowdowns. This can be a sign that a malicious program is running in the background. • You continually get pop-up ads that you can't make go away. This is a sure sign you have "adware," and possibly more, on your machine. • You're being directed to sites you didn't intend to visit, or your search results are coming back funky. This is another sign that hackers have gotten to your machine. Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:00:52 -0600 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11 By now, you've probably read early reviews or seen comercials about Window's Vista. With this latest version of its operating system, Microsoft has added animated displays and memory-hungry transparent overlays. With its heavy use of software running in the background, speed and memory are important issues if you are considering making an upgrade to this new operating system. Should you upgrade or not? The answer depends on factors like the age of your current hardware and version of your current Windows operating system. But more importantly, you should decide whether or not you're dissatisfied with your current computer. Is it running too slow? Are your applications running efficiently? Are you a casual or power user? Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:37:43 -0700 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10 If you haven't changed the default password on your home router, let this recent threat serve as a reminder. Attackers could change the configuration of home routers using JavaScript code, security researchers at Indiana University and Symantec have discovered. The researchers first published their work in December, but Symantec publicized the findings on Thursday. The researchers found that it is possible to change the DNS, or Domain Name System, settings of a router if the owner uses a connected PC to view a Web page with the JavaScript code. This DNS change lets the attacker divert all the Net traffic going through the router. For example, if the victim types in "www.mybank.com," the request could be sent to a similar-looking fake page created to steal sensitive data. "I have been able to get this to work on Linksys, D-Link and Netgear routers," Symantec researcher Zulfikar Ramzan said. "You can create one Web site that is able to attack all routers. My feeling is that it is just a matter of time before phishers start using this." Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:03:10 -0700 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9 While the possibility of an avian flu epidemic looms over the world, hackers are using this concern as a hook to spread a vicious computer virus. The virus is hidden in a Microsoft Word document that is attached to an email with subject lines such as "Outbreak in North America" and "What is avian influenza (bird flu)?" Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:21:24 -0700 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8 Navigating Know How Don't have a wheel mouse and don't want to buy one? Okay. Just use the arrow keys to scroll up and down on Web pages. This works great and you don't have to position your mouse on that tiny scroll bar. Here's another tip. Have you ever found that after a few clicks you have windows open all over the screen? All you have to do is hold down the Shift key while clicking the close button on the topmost window to close the selected folder and all of its parent folders. Also, if you have several programs running at the same time, you can use the ALT+ Tab key to cycle through the open programs to get to the one you want to use. Tue, 06 Dec 2005 16:48:45 -0700 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7 01/18/2005 A spam e-mail asking for donations to help victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster contains a new virus, security experts warned yesterday, saying the attack represents a “new low” by hackers. According to security firm Sophos, the message contains the heading “Tsunami Donation! Please help!” It encourages readers to open an attachment for further information. Doing so triggers an attempt to load the new W32/VBSun-A worm onto computers. Tue, 18 Jan 2005 13:14:24 -0700 http://www.comtek4u.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6 Antivirus companies suspect that a copycat coder has written the new virus. Systems infected with the Sasser worm randomly scan local networks and the Internet to look for Windows PCs that have not been updated with the latest Microsoft patch. The worm functions in a very similar way to the MSBlast worm, which caused millions of dollars in damage and disruption last summer. Mon, 17 May 2004 17:00:44 -0600