This week’s edition of WIG is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as 600,000+ Macs have been infected with Flashback malware, social media websites are useful tools for modern burglars, Microsoft was one of the top contributors to the Linux kernel in 2011, and more.

Weekly News Links

• Windows XP won’t give up top spot without a fight
  The decade-old OS scored a slight uptick in market share last month, showing that it may not relinquish its dominance so easily or so quickly.
• Internet Explorer reverses downward trend
  Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser is regaining lost users. According to the latest analysis by US market research company Net Applications, IE was the only browser to increase its user share in March.
• Firefox for Windows 8 beginning to take shape
  Mozilla is making progress in its effort to bring Firefox to Windows 8′s new Metro environment. Firefox for Windows 8 was announced earlier this year and will support both the traditional desktop Windows environment and the new Metro interface designed for tablets and other touchscreen devices.
• IE10 in Windows 8: Can pinned Web sites truly replace Favorites?
  The Windows 8 Metro flavor of IE10 jettisons Favorites, asking users instead to pin often-used Web sites. Is that a workable alternative?
• Linux kernel in 2011: 15 million total lines of code and Microsoft is a top contributor
  The Linux Foundation has released the 2011 edition of its kernel development study. The report provides insight into the status of Linux kernel programming and the level of developer participation. It shows the volume of total growth, the relative number of contributions from major sponsors, and other relevant metrics.
• Demand for social media password ‘crossing the line’
  Employers who demand for passwords to social network accounts as part of their reference checks are a “rare exception”, and they should not be given access, say industry watchers. However, they note that there can be benefits of using the platform to share information and bond with their supervisors, say industry watchers.
• ‘Cool’ image, messaging gain hacktivists public support
  Hacktivist groups are increasingly gaining popular support due to their causes being seen as legitimate and the “cool” image portrayed in the media, security insiders point out. Such support can deter people from working in the security industry and lead to even more breaches, they warn.
• Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare: Tools of the modern burglar?
  Most thieves can’t get enough social media. A survey of cons says it’s practically part of the job description these days.
• Girls Around Me and the end of Internet innocence
  Commentary: Thank you, I-Free, for ushering in a tipping point for online privacy. You freaked us out by showing us exactly what’s possible with the info we’re freely sharing online — and maybe it’ll finally make us all stop.
• MPAA’s former tech policy chief turns SOPA foe
  Hollywood’s ex-chief technology policy officer has become the latest critic of controversial Web site blocking laws, arguing they’re incompatible “with the health of the Internet.”
• Apple’s security code of silence: A big problem
  Security industry insiders have long known the Mac platform has its holes. The Flashback Trojan is the first in-the-wild issue that’s confirmed this, and big-time. More will follow unless Apple steps up its game.
• Pastebin.com arms itself against misuse
  The owner of Pastebin.com plans to monitor posted content more carefully. According to a BBC article, Jeroen Vader, the 28-year-old Dutch entrepreneur who bought the platform in early 2010, is going to hire employees to watch for any sensitive information that may be posted on Pastebin.com.
• U.S., U.K. firms selling spy gear to repressive regimes, says report
  The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper reports that a privacy group is raising the alarm about exports of surveillance equipment.
• It’s easy to get credit card numbers off used Xbox 360s
  A group of researchers at Drexel University have demonstrated a method of recovering credit card details and other sensitive information from used Xbox 360s, even after they have been “reset to factory defaults.”
• Apple and Mozilla take on Java vulnerabilities
  Apple has released a security update to its Mac OS X Java implementation and Mozilla has moved to blacklist all non-current versions of Java in Firefox, at least on Windows.
• Android bot attacks rooted smartphones
  Antivirus company NQ Mobile has discovered a variant of the DroidKungFu Android malware called DKFBootKit that targets users who have rooted their smartphones.
• Update of Android malware uses exploit to take over
  New Android malware variant needs no user control and works on phones that haven’t been rooted.
• Facebook ID theft threat impacts all iPhones, Dropbox
  The Next Web, re-creating a U.K. developer’s hack, says it has confirmed his findings: Facebook vulnerability affects all iPhones, not just jailbroken handsets.
• More than 600,000 Macs infected with Flashback botnet
  Russian antivirus company says half the computers infected with malware designed to steal personal information are in the U.S. — with 274 located in Cupertino.
• Mac Flashback malware: What it is and how to get rid of it (FAQ)
  The Flashback Trojan is the latest malware attack to target Apple’s Mac platform. Here’s your guide to what it is, whether you have it, and how to get rid of it.

Random TinyHacker Links

• Your Flash Player Version & Why Does it Matter?
  If you have Flash Player on your computer, then you should read this.
• Quick Tip – Open Multiple Windows of the Same App
  It can happen that you quickly need open more than one window of the same application. Opening multiple windows is the same as running multiple instances of the same application. Let’s see how this is done in Windows 7.
• How to Win a Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 License
  5 one-year licenses of Kaspersky Internet Security 2012, shared by the kind folks at Kaspersky Lab. To learn what you have to do, in order to be eligible to win one of the licenses, read this article.
• Send Free, Unlimited Files and Folders with WireOver
  Simply drop a file or folder and add an email address. The recipient clicks OK to begin the transfer and you are done.
• Gmail Tap
  More innovation from Mountain View…
• Nokia Makes Fun of the iPhone & Most SmartPhones
  Go behind the scenes and get the real story of the smartphone beta test.
• Bunnies should be eaten ears first, according to 76% of Americans [Infographic]
  Easter by the Numbers, a.k.a. Our Easter Candy Shame

Super User Questions

• How I can recover files when the folder shows empty but the files are not deleted?
• What are the Windows G: through Z: drives used for?
• What’s the fastest and automatic way to transfer 2GB of data between 2 PCs every night?
• How to delete a file that contains a backslash in the name under Windows 7?
• How to reboot/shutdown Windows 8 without the mouse?
• Why are half of my Metro apps in Japanese?
• Green bar on top of every (web) video, distorted colors too
• Chrome is reporting GMail has Invalid Server Certificate, how do I find out who’s fiddling with my certs?
• How does Google Chrome know where I am despite the fact that I’m using a proxy?
• What is the difference between 1080p and 1080i?

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• How to Use a 64-bit Web Browser on Windows
• The 50 Most Popular Geeky Humorous Images
• Here’s 6 Great Tricks for Windows 8 that You Probably Don’t Know
• Desktop Fun: Beaches Wallpaper Collection Series 2
• How to Sync Your Media Across Your Entire House with XBMC
• Become a Linux Terminal Power User With These 8 Tricks
• The Best How-To Geek Articles for March 2012
• 6 Great Alternative Browsers for Your Android Device
• How to Own Your Own Website (Even If You Can’t Build One) Pt 2
• Ask the Readers: How Do You Organize a Messy Music Collection?

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• Which Browser is the Best to Use When Running Your Laptop on Battery Power?
• What I.T. ‘Really Does’ with those Viruses [Humorous Comic]
• Um, Wrong ‘Mouse’… [Humorous Comic]
• Cool a Computer with Toilet Water
• Fiction to Reality Timeline Charts Introduction of Sci-Fi Concepts to Real Life
• If Facebook Were Invented In the 90s [Video]
• Floppy Autoloader Automatically Archives Thousands of Floppies
• Get Your Logical Fallacies Straight with this Rhetological Fallacies Chart
• Yay! New Email! [Funny Comic]
• Score Minimalist Wallpapers at Simple Desktops

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• Boost Networking Performance by Installing Tomato on Your Router
• Unleash Even More Power from Your Home Router with DD-WRT Mod-Kit
• The How-To Geek Guide to Making Your Own Custom Ethernet Cables
• Jailbreak Your Kindle for Dead Simple Screensaver Customization
• How to Find Thousands of Free Ebooks Online

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• Breakfast Tweets
• The Good News and the Bad News
• Defective GPS
• Just a Matter of Context
• A Different Definition of Clubbing
• Shaking Hands with Social Media
• Basements versus Bunkers

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• What Ancient Festival Was A Precursor to Modern April Fools Day Celebrations?
• The First Female Computer Programmers Were Called What?
• What Operating System Was Projected, But Failed, To Replace MS-DOS?
• Which Programming Language Is Named After The World’s First Computer Programmer?
• What Sci-Fi Franchise Yielded The Best Selling Instrumental Single Of All Time?
• What Substance Is A Key Component In Both Black and White Photography and Jell-O?
• Which Sci-Fi Movie Featured A Cameo Appearance By The Millennium Falcon?