Week in Geek: Security Flaw in Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) Exposed

Our first edition of WIG for the new year is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as phishing attacks targeting new Apple users, HTC’s discontinuation of locked bootloaders, Verizon’s surrender to public pressure over the extra $2 fee, and more.

Weekly News Links

Wi-Fi ‘protected set-up’ not so protected after all
The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team warned this week of a security flaw in a popular tool intended to make it easier to add additional devices to a secure Wi-Fi network.
Tools published that exploit router flaw
Researchers have released two tools that can be used to exploit a vulnerability in a protocol that makes it easier to set up secure home Wi-Fi networks.
Phishing attack targets new Apple users
Cybercriminals looking to cash in on new Apple users sent out a “vast” e-mail phishing attack on Christmas day to fool people into giving out their personal information and credit card details, noted one security vendor.
Huge portions of the Web vulnerable to hashing denial-of-service attack
Researchers have shown how a flaw that is common to most popular Web programming languages can be used to launch denial-of-service attacks by exploiting hash tables.
28C3: New attacks on GSM mobiles and security measures shown
At the 28th Chaos Communication Congress (28C3) in Berlin, security researchers have demonstrated a new technique for attacking GSM mobile phones.
Google under fire for travel search placement
Google is taking heat from travel companies that say the search engine is giving preferential treatment to its own travel search tools over those of competitors.
U.S. takes bite out of Oracle’s Google lawsuit
Oracle has been dealt a blow in its ongoing patent infringement case against Google.
Secret subpoena aimed at Twitter user not so secret anymore
Massachusetts authorities apparently thought that asking nicely would suffice to keep secret their subpoena for information on a Twitter user involved with Occupy Wall Street. They thought wrong.
Tor Project creates safer Internet
Web tools such as those provided by The Tor Project which help hide the origins of online communication and, thus, the identity of people participating, increase anonymity and security. Whether the good outweighs the bad here, though, is a “philosophical and moral question”, says one observer.
Verizon caves to public pressure and dumps $2 fee
Verizon Wireless caved to pressure from outraged consumers and a possible probe by the Federal Communications Commission and backed off of a plan to charge customers a $2 fee to pay their wireless bills online.
HTC makes locked bootloaders a thing of the past
As promised by HTC CEO and president Peter Chou, all HTC Android devices launched after September 2011 can have their bootloaders unlocked.
Apple ponders facial recognition features for iOS
Instead of sliding to unlock your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you could one day simply point it at your face.
A look ahead: 2012 is Microsoft’s turning point
2011 for Microsoft was all about telling us what to look forward to. 2012 will be when that talk becomes real. 2012 will be when lots of Microsoft’s talk becomes real.
Google: Five things to look for in 2012
It may be a measure of Google’s dominance that some of the most important events for the company next year will likely take place in courtrooms and government offices.
GoDaddy bows to boycott, now ‘opposes’ SOPA copyright bill
“Dump GoDaddy Day” appears to have worked. GoDaddy, the domain register targeted by online activists in response to its enthusiasm for a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright bills, has finally denounced the legislation in response to a boycott scheduled for this past Thursday.

Random TinyHacker Links

Using Snap on Two or More Monitors
Were you disappointed that you cannot snap windows side by side on a multi monitor configuration? Actually… you can do this, just in a different way than on a single monitor.
The Top Internet Security Suites of 2011-2012
Check this summary from 7 Tutorials.
Screen Savers – Are they really saving your screen?
Have you ever wondered why are they called Screen Savers?
Infographic: Retrospective of Firefox in 2011
An infographic detailing Mozilla Firefox’s achievements during 2011.
Far Out and Funky Google Chrome Icons
Kelley/Mouse meets Mountain View