According to zdnet.com, Sony and SunnComm are pulling the OTHER DRM uninstaller from the web and it will be replaced with a safer version of the uninstaller. Researchers blogging at freedom-to-tinker.com had detailed serious vulnerabilities in the uninstaller for the DRM software made by SunnComm (called MediaMax). The companies say an effort will be made to contact the 223 users who had downloaded the uninstaller for the MediaMax software.
Category: Security
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Apple iTunes vulnerability on Windows
eEye has discovered a remotely expoitable security vulnerability in Apple’s iTunes software. It affects iTunes 6 and prior and the current security updates (released yesterday) do not address the issue. News.com has coverage as well. Earlier they reported that it affected “all operating systems”, however now they are saying that it’s only been found on Windows systems using iTunes.
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GMail security problem fixed
Google’s not had a great week it would appear (Sony’s had worse… but that’s another story). The Analytics launch was somewhat rocky from most accounts and there is a GMail security bug that’s been announced and fixed. Details on the bug are here, and a writeup is also here.
Apparently a flaw in the authentication method that Google used could allow a user to log in under another account and read messages as well as pose as a legit user.
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Keyloggers a growing problem
It’s interesting some years ago when viruses on Windows machines were SOOOO plentiful it seemed like that’s all I spent my time cleaning up, I thought… “you know, most viruses are prankster-ish programs. They rearrange icons, maybe cause Windows to crash, or send random files out to others, but they could be MUCH worse.” Since then, we’ve seen viruses used as delivery tools for mail relays (so that spammers can have more “safe havens”, we’ve seen viruses bring in spyware, both of the last two for “fun and profit”. I don’t know that we’ve really seen the WORST that a virus could be designed to do. However, I’m afraid we’re getting there.
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OTHER Sony DRM software has security flaws too.
You almost want to bury your head in the sand at this point if you’re Sony…. Freedom-to-tinker has some details. The last couple weeks the XCP copy protection that Sony uses has been the center of a Firestorm for rootkit capabilities and massive security problems. Well, it seems the OTHER Digital Rights Management (DRM) software they use ( SunnComm MediaMax ) has some serious flaws too.
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TRUSTe will offer certification for adware
TRUSTe has announced a program to certify software downloads. Among them are certifications for adware and “trackware” (spyware?). The bullet summary for the article claims this will bring an end to “unwanted popups”. A clip from the article reads as follows…
To be placed on the whitelist, adware and trackware must prominently disclose the types of advertising that will be displayed, personal information that will be tracked, and user settings that may be altered, and must obtain user opt-in consent for the download. An easy uninstall with clear instructions must be provided, and advertisements must be labeled with the name of the adware program. Program participants must maintain separate advertising inventory for users of certified applications. To move legacy users to certified advertising inventory, they must obtain new opt-in consent.
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Windows Denial of Service via RPC vulnerability
The Sans Institute is reporting on a vulnerability in Windows 2000 and XP SP1 (sp2 and 2003 not affected), that “could allow an attacker to levy a denial of service attack of limited duration”. It appears that valid login credentials are necessary for this. There is no patch yet, the best solution at this point is to firewall off services that are not necessary.
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The best way to get rid of the Sony DRM rootkit
The SecurityFix has a great how to article for the general public on the best way to remove the Sony DRM rootkit that’s been big news the last two weeks in tech circles. First, DON’T use Sony’s removal software as that introduces more security problems. Hopefully Sony will get together a removal for THAT eventually. Right now though, Microsoft has updated it’s malicious software removal tool to remove the Sony rootkit. This link is to Windows Live Safety Center, which will give a page with, among other things, a button that says “Full Service Scan” in the lower right hand corner.
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Spammers/ phishers looking to get past “turin test” images
A lot of web sites these days use “turin tests” to keep from having automated bots sign up for mail or other services. (Or post entries to a forum or something.) For those that don’t know, a turin test is a test designed to filter machines from people. I doubt I’m the only one that has occasionaly found one of those squiggly letter/number images to be so distorted that I’ve failed the test… Anyway, it seems that there is a new trend in phishing/spamming emails. From incidents.org they’re seeing some mass mailing attempts that seem to be aimed at getting people to identify “Captcha” graphics for them. (A captcha is basically the random number image used in many online turin tests.)
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Beware web links from untrusted sources
There are flaws in Opera and Internet Explorer which could allow URL’s in the address bar to be obfuscated. One of the safest approaches is to be wary of web links from unknown or untrusted sources. To quote….
Claudio “Sverx” has discovered a weakness in Opera and Internet Explorer, which can be exploited by malicious people to trick users into visiting a malicious website by obfuscating URLs displayed in the status bar. The problem is that the browser fails to show the correct URL in the status bar if an image control with a “title” attribute has been enclosed in a hyperlink and uses a form to specify the destination URL. This may cause a user to follow a link to a seemingly trusted website when in fact the browser opens a malicious website.