Security

Patch Tuesday

February 12, 2019, 13:20(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) 3 Comments

Updates available for all supported versions of Windows.
Office updates available too. (how to check for Office updates)

Win10 1809 – February 12, 2019—KB4487044 (OS Build 17763.316)
Win10 1803 – February 12, 2019—KB4487017 (OS Build 17134.590)
Win10 1709 – February 12, 2019—KB4486996 (OS Build 16299.967)

Windows 8.1 – February 12, 2019—KB4487028 (Security-only update)

Windows 7 – Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 update history

Office 365 11231.20174 and other versions

Note from Microsoft:
February 11, 2019 12:45 PM PST
Windows Update customers were recently affected by a network infrastructure event caused by an external DNS service provider’s global outage. A software update to the external provider’s DNS servers resulted in the distribution of corrupted DNS records that affected connectivity to the Windows Update service. The DNS records were restored by January 30, 2019 (00:10 UTC), but downstream effects continued. We believe the issue to be fully mitigated because the majority of local Internet Service Providers (ISP) have refreshed their DNS servers and customer services have been restored. If you are still encountering download failures, please contact your local ISP.
While this was not an issue with Microsoft’s services, we take any service disruption for our customers seriously. We will work with partners to better understand this so we can provide higher quality service in the future even across diverse global network providers.

Data Privacy Day

January 28, 2019, 12:59(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) Leave a Comment

Data Privacy Day (known in Europe as Data Protection Day) is an international holiday that occurs every 28 January. The purpose of Data Privacy Day is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. It is currently observed in the United States, Canada, Israel and 47 European countries.
Wikipedia

How to protect yourself this Data Privacy Day – Naked Security
Today is Data Privacy Day. And, to celebrate, we asked our security experts to share their top tips for protecting your privacy online.

Data Privacy Day: Check Your Security Settings on Email, Facebook, & Google
This year, privacy proponents will have more on their mind than whether you’re still using “password” as an actual password. If you have multiple email addresses, for example, do you have two factor authentication (2FA) set up? Has the ancient Hotmail account you used when you signed up for Facebook in 2005 since been compromised? And say, how much information do social media platforms have on you, anyway? Here’s how to make sure your virtual locks aren’t rusted over.

I think most of you guys practice decent security. But, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Are those close to you practicing good security? Their lack of security and over-sharing information can be putting you at risk. Might wanna pass on these articles.

Cell Phone Companies Are Selling Access To Customer Location Data

January 8, 2019, 14:44(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) Leave a Comment

Motherboard – I Gave a Bounty Hunter $300. Then He Located Our Phone
T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are selling access to their customers’ location data, and that data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and others not authorized to possess it, letting them track most phones in the country…
The bounty hunter did this all without deploying a hacking tool or having any previous knowledge of the phone’s whereabouts. Instead, the tracking tool relies on real-time location data sold to bounty hunters that ultimately originated from the telcos themselves, including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint, a Motherboard investigation has found. These surveillance capabilities are sometimes sold through word-of-mouth networks…
Motherboard’s investigation shows just how exposed mobile networks and the data they generate are, leaving them open to surveillance by ordinary citizens, stalkers, and criminals…
Don’t think it’s a big deal? This could be your Mom’s, wife’s, girlfriend’s, or daughter’s phone…

Patch Tuesday

January 8, 2019, 13:32(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) 6 Comments

Windows Update
Updates available for all currently supported versions of Windows. Updates for Flash and .Net available where applicable.

Windows 7
January 8, 2019—KB4480970 (Monthly Rollup)
January 8, 2019—KB4480960 (Security-only update)

Windows 8.1
January 8, 2019—KB4480963 (Monthly Rollup)
January 8, 2019—KB4480964 (Security-only update)

Windows 10
1809 – January 8, 2019—KB4480116 (OS Build 17763.253)
1803 – January 8, 2019—KB4480966 (OS Build 17134.523)
1709 – January 8, 2019—KB4480978 (OS Build 16299.904)

– – – – – –

Wise Disk Cleaner 10.1.5 Released
Download (I use portable) | Release Info

Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:

Hey Apple, what happens on iPhones doesn’t stay there, and your ‘clever’ CES ad is promoting a dangerous illusion
That’s a cute ad you have in Las Vegas for the CES tech convention. “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone” is both a good dig at your rivals and a clever restating of Sin City’s popular catch phrase.
But it’s literally a lie. What happens on customers’ iPhones doesn’t stay on them — and you know it.
Preach

Survey: Americans Warming to Use of Facial Recognition Tech
I’m not sure I buy the results of the study. If it is even close to true then, well, SMH.

Came up in an email convo with a reader and friend:
SiriusXM stations I mostly listen to:
Hair Nation ’80s Hair Bands
Ozzy’s Boneyard Ozzy’s Classic Hard Rock
Classic Rewind ’70s/’80s Classic Rock

Out Of Band Update

December 19, 2018, 15:51(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) Leave a Comment

CVE-2018-8653 | Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the scripting engine handles objects in memory in Internet Explorer…

Updates for all currently supported Windows versions.

Windows 10
Build 1809 – December 19, 2018—KB4483235 (OS Build 17763.195)
Build 1803 – December 19, 2018—KB4483234 (OS Build 17134.472)
Build 1709 – December 19, 2018—KB4483232 (OS Build 16299.847)

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 update history pages not updated as of this writing.

Patch Tuesday

December 11, 2018, 14:52(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) Leave a Comment

Windows Updates available. “Addresses an issue” as well as many security updates.
I recommend backing up and updating as soon as you can.

Windows 10
Build 1809 – December 11, 2018—KB4471332 (OS Build 17763.194)
Build 1803 – December 11, 2018—KB4471324 (OS Build 17134.471)
Build 1709 – December 11, 2018—KB4471329 (OS Build 16299.846)

Windows 8.1
December 11, 2018—KB4471322 (Security-only update)
December 11, 2018—KB4471320 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 7
December 11, 2018—KB4471328 (Security-only update)
December 11, 2018—KB4471318 (Monthly Rollup)

Blocking A Programs Internet Access Via The Windows Firewall

November 30, 2018, 08:22(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Many programs on your computer access the internet even though they don’t need to. They phone home for a variety of reason including telemetry and checking for updates.
I don’t need or want most programs phoning home for any reason. Still, they try.
With programs getting more invasive I thought it would be appropriate to show you how to block their access to the net.
[Read more…] about Blocking A Programs Internet Access Via The Windows Firewall

Patch Tuesday

November 13, 2018, 14:17(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 have updates.

Windows 7
November 13, 2018—KB4467106 (Security-only update)
November 13, 2018—KB4467107 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 8.1
November 13, 2018—KB4467703 (Security-only update)
November 13, 2018—KB4467697 (Monthly Rollup)

Windows 10
Build 1809 –
November 13, 2018—KB4464455 (OS Build 17763.107)
November 13, 2018—KB4467708 (OS Build 17763.134)
Build 1803 – November 13, 2018—KB4467702 (OS Build 17134.407)
Build 1709 – November 13, 2018—KB4467686 (OS Build 16299.785)
Build 1703 – November 13, 2018—KB4467696 (OS Build 15063.1446)

Additionally Windows 8.1 & 10 have Flash updates.

Win10 “October” Update
Windows 10, version 1809 Re-Released
When you have it offered to you is anyone’s guess.
Media Creation Tool / ISOs available here: Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File)

The Facebook Dilemma

November 1, 2018, 14:55(EDT) By Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound)

This topic has been making the rounds for a couple of days. I wanted to watch the entire thing before I passed it along.
The Facebook Dilemma is two, 50+ minute videos of a PBS Frontline special. It is the story of the dangers of Facebook. The first video deals more about the dangers to individuals. The second is about the dangers Facebook presents to society and democracies around the world. It then circles back to the dangers to individuals.
You’ll learn not only about these topics but about the stunning greed, arrogance, tone deafness, and outright deceit on these issues from the highest levels of Facebook.
In the end the only solution is to #DeleteFacebook.

“The promise of Facebook was to create a more open and connected world. But from the company’s failure to protect millions of users’ data, to the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation, mounting crises have raised the question: Is Facebook more harmful than helpful? On Monday, Oct. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, FRONTLINE presents The Facebook Dilemma. This major, two-night event investigates a series of warnings to Facebook as the company grew from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room to a global empire. With dozens of original interviews and rare footage, The Facebook Dilemma examines the powerful social media platform’s impact on privacy and democracy in the U.S. and around the world.”

PBS Frontline – The Facebook Dilemma