| Alert: Waladec Worm (Spreading via Valentine’s Day Spam) |
| and Win32/Conficker/Downadup Worm |
 The Waladec Worm is infecting computers with a Valentine’s Day-related email being spread through spam email messages. The email has a link to a page with about a dozen hearts on it and asks “Guess which one is for you?” A user is prompted to download an executable file (possible names - youandme.exe, onlyyou.exe, you.exe, and meandyou.exe (please note that these file names may change at any time) and then a malicious code is installed.
Also continuing to spread - the Conficker worm (Win32/Conficker/Downadup) - nine million computers have been infected and the worry is that it is still spreading. It is a critical threat for Windows 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003. An emergency patch was issued back in October by Microsoft to fix a hole in unpatched windows machines that allowed the worm to spread via USB and other removable storage devices. The worm also has the ability to figure out weak network passwords. An infected machine provides its location and information to a host machine, which attempts to find other IP addresses to spread the worm.
To prevent security issues, it is important to -
• Install antivirus software, and keep virus signatures up to date.
• Do not follow unsolicited links and do not open unsolicited email messages.
• Use caution when visiting untrusted websites.
• Use caution when downloading and installing applications.
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| Facebook Concerns & Issues |
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 Those who use Facebook often easily put information on it without thinking of the repercussions that can come about. Personal information posted such as email address, birthdate, details about education or work, current address, phone number, IM screen name, is often times done with little thought as to how it can be used maliciously by others. Too often those on Facebook abundantly place information on their page believing it is safe and that it cannot be used in a negative way or to do sabotage, and with little thought to what hackers could do.
Today many are hearing of the identity theft of a man named, Bryan Rutberg, but this is not the first case of identity theft. In February of 2008, Fouad Mourtada, age 26, was arrested in Casablanca for trying to steal the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco. There have been other cases of abuse and concern as well. People should know that Facebook does not have a contact telephone number to contact an individual if there is abuse of a site or criminal activity. They say that with so many users they do not have a staff to support it. Facebook does have a security team and says it will respond quickly if a form is filled out on their web site complaining about account takeovers and privacy concerns. However, Bryan Rutberg, disputes that saying he never received a reply to the email he sent and it was only through a cousin who had a friend working in Facebook was he finally able to get his account disabled.
Because Facebook often sends it users email and many have login pages, Bryan Rutberg, believes the scammer most likely got his password because he fell for a phishing email and logged in thinking it was a real email from Facebook when it was not, thereby allowing for his password to be stolen by the scammer.
Along with the other tips listed below, Facebook suggests that you be sure that when you are logging in, you are at the official Facebook website -
• Be suspicious of anyone, even friends who ask for money. Verify their circumstances independently, preferably by direct telephone contact.
• Don't use the same password for all Web accounts,- something many Web users do. Because Facebook is so popular, criminals who manage to steal any user's password will surely try it on Facebook.com.
• Have more than one contact email address, in case one is compromised.
Victims of a scam or any issue with Facebook identity theft should fill out the form at Facebook's home page - http://tinyurl.com/aateoy
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| Dell Entering the Cellphone Market |
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 In February, at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Dell is expected to announce two iPhone and Blackberry competitors, code-named MePhone, that will function on Google Android OS and Microsoft Windows Mobile software. Specifications on the phones have not been released as of yet, however, it has been said that one will be a touchscreen only while the other will have a slide-out keyboard. There has also been no mention as to who the phone carrier will be for the phones. In 2007 Dell was looking for opportunities with smartphones and hired a former phone chief from Motorola, Inc., Ron Garriques, but until next month he is unable to work on a phone due to a noncompete clause signed with Motorola. John Thode, also a former employee of Motorola, has been working on the phones and also was in charge of developing Dell’s netbooks, mini PCs, which sell for $500 or less.
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| Cox to begin testing New Bandwidth Management Practices |
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 Cox Communications has announced they will be testing a new way to manage network congestion. According to the plan laid out by the company, they will divide the network traffic into “time-sensitive traffic” and “non-time-sensitive traffic.” This will allow them to effectively allocate appropriate network bandwidth to these two segments. The goal is that during periods of congestion on the network more bandwidth be given to time-sensitive traffic like email, VOIP, web browsing and VPN connections, and reduced bandwidth to non-time-sensitive tasks like Peer to Peer file sharing, software updates and Usenet (news group related). The delay experienced in non-time-sensitive tasks will be minor and in return will increase the speed for time-sensitive tasks. This step by Cox will make the user experience more productive during occasional congestion on the network.
The important information to note here is that Cox will only follow the segmenting protocol when the network is congested and at all other times bandwidth will stay equal for all traffic. Testing will begin in February for only the Kansas and Arkansas markets; Cox will notify customers when expansion in to other markets takes place.
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| IT Industry Going Green |
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 Technology contributes to climate change by its emission of carbon dioxide, however, the IT industry is now working on developing new power management tools to reduce its harmful effect on the environment. According to Gartner research firm, the tech industry on par with the aviation industry, contributes 2% of carbon emissions globally. Their estimate comes from the in-use time of PCs, servers, cooling, fixed and mobile telephony, local area network (LAN), office telecommunications and printers. Also taken into account, is the energy used to design, manufacture and distribute large-volume devices, namely PCs and cell phones, including all commercial and governmental IT and telecommunications infrastructure worldwide.
IT companies are hoping to upgrade or develop power management technology that will turn off computers or other devices in order to be greener, save energy and cut cost. In February, Cisco Systems will launch EnergyWise, software able to monitor devices, their energy consumption and turn them off when they are idle. It will be installed in phones, laptops and access points, then computers; in 2010 it will be ramped up to manage heating, air conditioning, elevators, lights and security systems. Energy consumption will be monitored and potentially save companies a lot of money. Another British software provider, 1E, with a similar product, is helping their government, large banks and businesses save money and cut emissions.
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| Other News |
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 Take a Peek –
Visit the following link to view ten phones previewed at the 2009 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas January 8-11th -
http://tinyurl.com/brcvtm
Did you know?
After monitoring 430 million email messages in 2008, using its TrustLayer Mail service, Panda Security has found that almost 90% of them are Spam. A little over 1% contained malware.
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