How-To Geek

Week in Geek: FBI Plans to Increase Monitoring of Social Networks

This week’s edition of WIG is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as the botnet apps found in the official Google Android Market, Mozilla’s plans to add a reset button to Firefox, the operator of the Kelihos botnet was a former anti-virus firm employee, and more.

Photo by phillip torrone.

Weekly News Links

  • FBI to step up monitoring of social media sites amid privacy concerns
    The FBI plans to step up the monitoring of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and has asked for help building an app to constantly monitor the sites.
  • Twitter to censor content in some countries
    Twitter says it will block tweets, if and when required, from users in specific countries rather than implement a worldwide filter. The move signals a marked change for the microblogging service deemed pivotal in the uprisings which swept the Middle East region.
  • North Korean government labels cell phone users as war criminals
    In North Korea, using a cell phone could come with the accusation and punishment of being a war criminal.
  • Security experts put pressure on industrial control system makers
    According to a report on Wired’s Threat Level blog, a group of security service providers have published exploits for security vulnerabilities in components used in industrial control systems that could be used to compromise or disrupt these systems.
  • DHS disputes memo on purported railway computer breach
    The Department of Homeland Security is disputing a government memo obtained by Nextgov.com that said a targeted attack on the computer network of a railway company in the Northwest disrupted train service in early December.
  • O2 fixes phone number leak, explains muck-up
    O2 has fixed the issue that causes customers’ mobile numbers to be shared with websites they visit from their phones. In a post on its own site, the network admitted that between 10 January and 2pm today, customers’ phone numbers could have been accessed by sites that don’t belong to the network’s roster of ‘trusted partners’.
  • Video conferencing systems as spying tools
    During an investigation conducted over the course of three months, security expert HD Moore found that many video conferencing systems can be easily accessed over the internet.
  • ‘Citadel’ Trojan Touts Trouble-Ticket System
    The proprietors of a new ZeuS Trojan variant are marketing their malware as a social network that lets customers file bug reports, suggest and vote on new features in upcoming versions, and track trouble tickets that can be worked on by the developers and fellow users alike.
  • Microsoft: Worm Operator Worked at Antivirus Firm
    In a surprise filing made late Monday, Microsoft said a former technical expert at a Russian antivirus firm was the person responsible for operating the Kelihos botnet, a global spam machine that Microsoft dismantled in a coordinated takedown last year.
  • Symantec tells customers to disable PCAnywhere
    Symantec is urging customers to disable PCAnywhere until it issues a software update to protect them against attacks that could result from the theft of the product’s source code.
  • Trojan downloader is a problem for virus scanners
    The Microsoft Malware Protection Center has found a trojan downloader that does not have any suspicious routines in its initial state and is therefore difficult for virus scanners to detect.
  • Millions caught up in Android botnet
    Security firm Symantec has uncovered a massive botnet that may have lured millions of unwitting Android users into downloading malware infected apps from the official Google Android Market. Includes list of affected apps.
  • Google wants ability to ‘combine’ your user data
    Google is planning to rewrite its privacy policy to grant it explicit rights to “combine personal information” across multiple products and services, the company said this past Tuesday. Previously, it had only implicit rights to do so.
  • No Picnik: Photo-editing site’s users blast Google
    Ever since Google CEO Larry Page announced plans to put “more wood behind fewer arrows” last June, the Web giant has cleaved a few dozen services from its portfolio, everything from Google Health to Google Labs. But none of the cuts has caused as much outcry and as many allegations of Google underhandedness as the closing of its Picnik photo-editing service.
  • Firefox to Get a ‘Reset’ Button
    Mozilla is planning to add a ‘reset’ button to Firefox. The idea is to enable users to repair their Firefox install or revert to a default state, while also retaining their data, bookmarks, history and so on. Work is underway on implementing the feature, which will be accessible in several ways.
  • Mozilla’s BrowserID moves forward
    Mozilla’s BrowserID project, which aims to provide a simpler, more portable decentralised login and identity management platform, has moved forward with its first deployment within the non-profit organisation.
  • Open WebOS committed to fall 2012
    Hewlett-Packard kicked the first open source component to WebOS out the door this past Wednesday, along with a calendar for when its source code will be completely open.
  • Fedora relocates operating system under /usr/
    The Fedora developers are currently working on implementing the plan to move all files stored in the Linux distribution’s /bin/, /sbin/, /lib/ and /lib64/ directories to equivalent sub-directories in /usr/.
  • Google’s SPDY Incorporated Into Next-Gen HTML, Offers TCP Enhancements
    Google’s efforts to improve Internet efficiency through the development of the SPDY (pronounced “speedy”) protocol got a major boost this past Tuesday when the chairman of the HTTP Working Group (HTTPbis), Mark Nottingham, called for it to be included in the HTTP 2.0 standard.
  • Next Xbox to prevent you from playing used games?
    Will the next Xbox restrict you from playing your favorite used games?

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Comments (2)

  1. January 29, 2012 10:21 pm
    vistual

    what a GREAT compilation!
    i was worried about not being up to date since ive been slacking on reading the articles.

  2. January 30, 2012 9:00 pm
    Asian Angel

    @vistual – Thanks for the compliment! ^_^ The Week in Geek posts are the result of a week’s worth of gathering, selecting, and sorting to get the final product that you see here. ^_^

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Asian Angel is our very own Firefox Fangirl who enjoys working with multiple browsers and adores Linux. She also loves 'old school' role-playing games.

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