Our latest edition of WIG is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as no Office 2013 support for XP and Vista, a new Chrome Dev Channel feature frees web apps from the browser, one in five hacked logins match Microsoft Accounts, and more.

Weekly News Links

• Google: Unapproved Chrome extensions require manual install
  Google just made it much harder to install extensions that are not on the Chrome Web Store. The goal is to improve the browser’s security by making malicious extensions a pain to install.
• New Chrome feature frees Web apps from the browser
  Google has enabled a technology called “packaged apps” that could mean more powerful Web apps — and a more powerful Chrome OS and Chrome Web store.
• Firefox “new tab” feature tweaked following privacy concerns
  Mozilla has implemented changes to Firefox 14 that address concerns raised by privacy-conscious users over the “new tab” feature in Firefox 13.
• Mozilla publishes first Firefox OS nightly builds
  Nightly builds of Mozilla’s open source Firefox OS for mobile devices are now available to download from the project’s FTP server for testing.
• Linux developers working on Windows UEFI secure boot problem
  With Windows 8 PCs with UEFI secure boot locks on their way, Linux developers are working on addressing its problems.
• Ubuntu’s Unity desktop bolted onto Fedora
  The GNOME:Ayatana project on the openSUSE Build Service now includes a repository of RPM packages that allow the Unity desktop – which was mainly developed by Canonical for its Ubuntu Linux distribution – to be installed in Fedora 17.
• Mark Shuttleworth: ‘We Didn’t Want Ubuntu To End up Like Windows 8′
  Mark Shuttleworth has spoken about the design and thought process behind the creation of Unity, and how it’s impacted on Ubuntu multi-device strategy.
• Google snatches up Sparrow team to work on Gmail
  Google has acquired Sparrow, a popular e-mail client for Apple’s Mac and iOS. Its founders says the staff is joining the Gmail team.
• Google discontinues old version of Google Analytics
  Web giant supported old version of the statistic service after releasing a version that focused on real-time results. That support ended July 18th.
• Zoho Office Integrates with Google Drive
  Google users can now open their documents using Zoho’s Writer, Sheet & Show applications. Of course, this integration is not just for viewing your files using Zoho’s apps, but you can also edit your documents and save them back to Google Drive.
• XP and Vista users, no Office 2013 for you
  The new Office suite will support only Windows 7 and 8 on the desktop, leaving users of older Windows versions out of the running.
• Does it still make sense to buy Microsoft Office?
  Though the Microsoft Office suite still drives the business world, aren’t most consumers better off with something that costs a lot less — or costs nothing at all?
• Microsoft takes steps to drown Google Apps before it’s too late
  According to a new report, the company is doing everything from cutting prices to increasing commissions to resellers to stop enterprise customers from using Google Apps.
• Facebook Adds Controls To Curb Cyberbullying
  Facebook has long been adamant about preventing cyberbullying, and the company announced recently that more controls are in place so teens can feel safer on the social network.
• Facebook users not as satisfied as Google+ users
  Facebook’s reputation for customer satisfaction continues to tarnish, while Google+ pops up on a customer satisfaction index for the first time and makes it to the top of the social network pyramid.
• How Google is becoming an extension of your mind
  Commentary: Google could have us all headed for a mind-blowing future — if the company can back away from targeted advertising and better help users manage their personal information.
• BYOA should be encouraged, but within limits
  More employees bringing third-party or homebrewed apps into corporate space without permission, which companies should provision, instead of restrict, as it boosts productivity and innovation, observers suggest.
• Windows 7 SP1 “technical error” violated Microsoft’s antitrust deal
  The European Commission is investigating Microsoft’s failure to offer European users of 28 million Windows 7 PCs a choice of Web browsers, which Microsoft is required to do under a December 2009 antitrust agreement.
• EU trustbusters tire of Microsoft tricks, probe Windows 8
  Just days after opening a new Microsoft investigation, European antitrust regulators have broadened the scope. The software giant already faces possible multi-billion dollar sanctions for non-compliance with a 2009 agreement. The European Competition Commission has since added Windows 8 to the investigation.
• UK Judge tells Apple to run adverts Samsung doesn’t copy iPad
  According to the Bloomsberg News Agency a UK judge has ordered Apple to publish a notice on its website and in various newspapers and magazines informing visitors and readers that Samsung did not copy the design of the iPad.

Security News

Note: We have three articles on the Dropbox problem from different sources to share with you (listed in reverse chronological order).

• Dropbox finds no intrusions, continues spam investigation
  After some Dropbox users started seeing a sudden increase in spam, even if they only use their e-mail address for the file storage service, Dropbox launched an investigation and even hired experts to further look into the issue. The company has posted an update on its findings so far: zip, zero, zilch.
• Dropbox hires “outside experts” to investigate possible e-mail breac
  Dropbox users have been complaining for a couple of days about spam delivered to e-mail accounts they created solely to log into Dropbox. There have been no reports of unauthorized activity on Dropbox accounts, but it’s happening to enough users that Dropbox is investigating the matter with its internal security team. The company has also brought in “outside experts” to find out if there has been a breach.
• Spam attack on Dropbox users
  Spammers are currently sending large volumes of spam to users of cloud storage service provider Dropbox. In almost all cases, the spam is for suspicious-looking online casinos.
• Skype squashes bug that sends messages to random contacts
  Skype has fixed a bug in its client that sent users’ private instant messages to other contacts whom the messages were never intended for. Microsoft has started releasing hotfixes for the affected versions, starting with Windows and Linux.
• Trojan attack on Maplesoft customers
  Cyber criminals have used an elaborate multi-stage concept to attack Maplesoft customers: the perpetrators accessed the software company’s customer database and then asked customers to install a malicious “security patch” on behalf of the company.
• Virus warning: Someone tagged or added a photo of you on Facebook
  Scammers are spamming a new e-mail that claims you were tagged in a photo added on the social network. The e-mail includes a link to a webpage that uses the Blackhole exploit kit to put malware onto your computer, before quietly redirecting you to a Facebook profile as if nothing was amiss.
• Microsoft also warns of fake Skype malware app on Android
  Cybercriminals recently created a fake Skype app for Android that is really malware in disguise. Microsoft, which owns Skype, has finally caught on and is warning its users about the threat.
• New contacts stealing Android malware spotted in the wild
  Security researchers from NQ Mobile’s Security Research Center have detected a new Android malware that silently steals the contacts of infected devices, and sends them back to the malicious attackers.
• Security hole in Amazon’s Kindle Touch
  The web browser built into Amazon’s Kindle Touch eBook reader contains a serious security hole: when a user navigates to a specially crafted web page, the Kindle will execute arbitrary shell commands as root.
• New Yahoo app vulnerability explains Android spam
  After a Microsoft engineer claimed an Android botnet was sending out spam from Yahoo accounts, Google denied the allegations. Now a newly discovered vulnerability in the Yahoo Mail app for Android explains how an attacker could be sending out the spam from the mobile devices.
• Apple Mac in-app purchases hacked; everything free like on iOS
  While Apple is working hard to fight the hacking of its In-App Purchase program for iOS, the same hacker has pulled off almost an almost identical scheme for the Mac. Just like on iOS, this means you can purchase in-app Mac content without actually paying.
• Move over, Flame: New Messiah-themed malware targets Iran, Israe
  Researchers have discovered another piece of espionage malware targeting sensitive organizations in the Middle East, this time siphoning e-mails, passwords, computer files, and nearby conversations from more than 800 PCs operated by critical infrastructure companies, financial institutions, and government agencies.
• NVIDIA hackers publish user data
  Late last week, NVIDIA confirmed that the database for its forums web site had been broken into by unauthorised third parties, with data from more than 400,000 registered users affected. A hacker group calling itself “Team Apollo” has now claimed responsibility for the breach which caused NVIDIA to take the site down.
• One in five hacked logins match Microsoft Accounts
  About 20 percent of compromised credentials, exposed via hacks on other service providers, match Microsoft Account logins due to password reuse.
• Q2 2012: Flashback infects 10% of Macs, Android malware up 300%
  A new Q2 2012 report finds that the Flashback Trojan infected 10 percent of home networks with Mac computers during the month of April while Android malware numbers quadrupled during the quarter.
• Online identity theft up 200% since 2010
  Following the recent slew of attacks against various websites that resulted in millions of user accounts being compromised, comes this little statistic: fraudsters traded 12 million pieces of personal information online in just Q1 2012.
• Cyberheist Smokescreen: Email, Phone, SMS Floods
  Brian Krebs shares his experiences with a hacker attack against his Gmail account where it was being ‘used’ to beta test a private service now offered openly in the criminal underground. A service that can be hired to create highly disruptive floods of junk email, text messages and phone calls.
• When good Android apps go bad — a security lesson
  After loading a legitimate Android app onto Google Play, researchers were able to update it with malicious functionality without triggering the malware detection system. Whoops.
• Companies unlikely to pursue ‘active defense’ strategy
  There are pros to actively defending corporate networks from cyberattacks by creating “honeypots” and other distractions, but most companies unlikely to have budgets or right manpower to do so, observers note.
• Senators call for probe of electric grid cybersecurity
  After a CNET article reports potential security vulnerability with the electric power grid, two U.S. senators call for a federal investigation.

Random TinyHacker Links

• Tips for the Customer Preview of Outlook 2013 (Beta)
  Provided by none other than the erudite, and all around good guy, Roady. His How-to Outlook site is one of the best sources for all issues pertaining to any version of Outlook.
• Cool Tip: Set Custom Icons and Labels for Removable Drives
  Geek fun for your favorite removable drives.
• Office 2013 Video Preview
  From YouTube: Experience the most powerful Office yet with new versions of your trusted applications and cloud services that connect you to your tools and documents where and when you need them. Check out a brief introduction to this exciting new version of Office.
• Windows 8 will be available on October 26th
  Steven Sinofsky announced at Microsoft’s annual sales meeting that customers will be able to get Windows 8 – whether in upgrade fashion or on a new PC – starting on October 26th.
• A Server is a Funny Looking Box [Video]
  From YouTube: This children’s book parody is part of Microsoft’s stayathomeserver.com viral marketing campaign. The author of the book is fictional.

Super User Questions

• Office 2013 offline installer
• Difference between Office 365 and Office 2013?
• Character Map in Linux?
• How to install a private user script in Chrome 21+?
• Good way to make a backup of Firefox settings?
• What’s the difference between ‘C’ and ‘CE’ functions on Windows calculator?
• How can I tell if one defrag utility is better than another?
• What’s the difference between traditional and heuristic virus scanning?
• Windows XP Corrupted Partitions
• Sync file folder on removable device with laptop and desktop

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• HTG Explains: Why Using Your Monitor’s Native Resolution Is Important
• The Best Websites for Watching Free Documentaries
• How to Make Your PC Wake From Sleep Automatically
• 10 Awesome Indicator Applets for Ubuntu’s Unity Desktop
• Desktop Fun: Rivers Wallpaper Collection Series 1
• How To Turn Your Nintendo DS Into a Retro Game Machine
• HTG Explains: What’s a Browser Cookie?
• Use the Magic SysRq Key on Linux to Fix Frozen X Servers, Cleanly Reboot, and Run Other Low-Level Commands
• How to Watch Netflix on Linux
• How to Edit Your System PATH for Easy Command Line Access

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• Social MEdia [Humorous Image]
• Inside Steve Wozniak’s Bursting Electronics Bag
• The Six Super Villains of Nerd Culture
• A Literal Lesson in Being Careful How You Choose to Name Your Domain [Images]
• Yesterday Shipping from Amazon [Humorous Video]
• Rubber Bands Compress Watermelon Into a Ball of Explosive Slow-Mo Goodness
• Caffeine Crystals at 40 Microns
• Video Games Vs. Real Life
• Mapping the Internet: Trans-Oceanic Cables and Termination Points
• The Best Way to Prank a Grammar Nazi When They Leave their Phone Unattended [Humorous Image]

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• How to Migrate from Facebook to Google+
• How To Download/Backup Your Gmail, Google+, Calendar, and Docs Data
• Beginner: How to Switch from iGoogle Back to Plain Google Homepage
• How to Setup Your Own Powerful Wiki on Your Windows PC
• How to Make Free Android or iPhone Ringtones From Any Youtube Video

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• How He Backs His Files Up
• Looking Through Criminal Facebook
• His Counter-Offer to Telecommuting
• Prehistoric Band Names
• Of Finances and False Profits
• His Belief in Backups may not be Helpful this Time
• It is Lonely at the Top

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• Which Character Serves As The Mascot of Pixar Animation Studios?
• Which Hollywood Action Hero Is A Lifelong Dungeons & Dragons Geek?
• Which Star Wars Actor Declined Billing As He Felt His Contribution Insignificant?
• Cydia, The Third-Party Alternative To The Apple App Store, Is Named After What?
• The Rules Governing Civil Discourse Online Are Known As What?
• Which Iconic Video Game Symbol Was Originally A Family Crest?
• Which Gaming Platform Consumes Less Energy Than A Light Bulb?