Our last edition of WIG for October is filled with news link coverage on topics such as Microsoft may not issue a second Windows 7 service pack, Windows Media Center is free for Windows 8 Pro users for limited time, CyanogenMod logged swipe gestures used to unlock Android devices, and more.

Weekly News Links

• Yahoo will ignore Do Not Track for IE10 users
  Microsoft’s decision to turn on Do Not Track by default in the next Internet Explorer — instead of leaving users to opt out — prompts Yahoo to ignore it.
• Firefox beta introduces Social API with Facebook Messenger
  Mozilla is introducing a new Social API in the latest beta version of Firefox, which provides the browser with the ability to integrate with social media sites. When enabled, the new social functions are displayed in a permanent sidebar alongside the usual page content.
• Safari users hit by Facebook certificate error
  A hosting error for Facebook’s embedded services resulted in a brief but widespread error for Safari users.
• Google renames Google Drive apps, releases them to Chrome Web Store
  Google Drive users will find new standalone Web apps in Chrome for the popular software suite.
• How to get the Chromebook’s free goodies
  If you have a Chromebook, any newer Samsung Chromebook, you can get a free 100GBs of Google Drive storage and 12 free Gogo in-air Wi-Fi passes. Here’s how to get them.
• Google brings Now functionality to Windows 8 with search app
  The app, similar to those available for iOS and the BlackBerry OS, lets users search online without needing to fire up a browser. However, it will not work on Windows RT-based systems such as the Surface tablet.
• Microsoft will likely skip a second Windows 7 service pack
  In a break with traditional release schedules, Microsoft will probably not issue a second Windows 7 Service Pack, according to The Register. The Service Pack bundles the company’s monthly updates and also usually provides additional security and performance updates. It’s meant to help IT managers (and many home consumers as well) install fixes in one fell swoop, without having to keep tabs manually on monthly updates.
• Microsoft Office 2013 RTM Available for Download
  Microsoft has just released two different RTM versions of Office 2013 and Exchange on TechNet, allowing all those who have a subscription to download the new productivity suits.
• Office 2013 Web Apps final version now live on SkyDrive
  SkyDrive users will find their online office documents now launching in the new and final edition of Office 2013 Web Apps.
• Windows Media Center Offered for Free to Windows 8 Users for a Limited Time
  “If your PC is running Windows 8 Pro and you’d like to get Windows 8 Media Center Pack so you can watch and record live TV with Windows Media Center, you can take advantage of the following special offer: for a limited time, get Windows 8 Media Center Pack for free,” Microsoft says on its website.
• Microsoft reverses ‘Mature’ games ban in Euro Windows Store
  Games like Doom 3 and Bioshock were banned in the European Windows 8 Store over a ratings discrepancy, but now that’s changed.
• Ubuntu Tweak 0.8.1 Released: Install in Ubuntu 12.10
  The developer of Ubuntu Tweak, Tualatrix announced that the development and maintenance of Ubuntu Tweak will be continued and released Ubuntu Tweak 0.8.1 with bug fixes and Love Wallpaper HD.
• Canonical Hire ‘Faenza’ Designer to Work on New Ubuntu Icon Set
  Canonical has hired Faenza icon maker Matthieu James to work on a new icon set for Ubuntu. James’ squared Faenza icon set is one of the most popular third-party icon sets on Linux, having been downloaded 661,689 times from its DeviantArt page alone.
• Diablo III Linux Players Banned by Blizzard
  Diablo III is the latest action role-playing game released by Blizzard Entertainment and more importantly, it can be played on Linux, under Wine. The only problem with this solution is that it will probably get users banned.
• Microsoft boss confirms more hardware on the way
  As it set the stage to release its first branded tablet, the Surface, Steve Ballmer said that the software giant will develop yet more gadgetry.
• Yahoo acquires mobile recommendations startup Stamped
  Yahoo makes its first acquisition under the leadership of new CEO Marissa Mayer: Stamped.
• E-book sellers sending settlement credit options to customers
  If you bought an e-book published by Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster in the last two years, you might be eligible for some store credit.
• Dangerous Minds on Facebook’s “bait and switch” for publishers: “I want my friends back”
  Over at Dangerous Minds, Richard Metzger writes about the damage to indie web publishers wrought by Facebook’s ever-changing policies about who sees your content, and what it will cost you to get your content in front of people who’ve already signed up as friends/fans.
• Software Engineers Are In Demand, And GitHub Is How You Find Them
  GitHub’s rapid adoption by coders means that it has become a one-stop shop for people looking for talent.
• State of Sexism in FOSS
  Women’s issues have become accepted concerns in open source. What is there to show for all the effort?

Security News

• Google Drive opens backdoor to Google accounts
  The Windows and Mac OS X desktop clients for Google’s Drive file storage and synchronisation service open a backdoor to users’ Google accounts which could allow the curious to access a Drive user’s email, contacts and calendar entries.
• Phony certificates fool faulty crypto in apps from AIM, Chase, and more
  Researchers have uncovered defects in a wide range of applications running on computers, smartphones, and Web servers that could make them susceptible to attacks exposing passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data.
• DoS vulnerability affects older iPhones, Droids, even a Ford car
  DoS vulnerability affects older iPhones, Droids, even a Ford carThe iPhone 4 and a slew of older devices from Apple, Samsung, HTC, and other manufacturers are vulnerable to attacks that can make it impossible to send or receive data over Wi-Fi networks, a security researcher said.
• CyanogenMod logged swipe gestures used to unlock Android devices
  CyanogenMod, an alternative open-source firmware distribution for Android smartphones and tablets, has been recording the swipe gestures used to unlock the devices, a developer involved in the open-source project said. The issue has been corrected in an update.
• Android apps used by millions vulnerable to password, e-mail theft
  Android applications downloaded by as many as 185 million users can expose end users’ online banking and social networking credentials, e-mail and instant-messaging contents because the programs use inadequate encryption protections, computer scientists have found.
• Offensive Facebook email leads to Blackhole malware attack
  Facebook users are warned to be on their guard against unsolicited emails they might receive suggesting that someone has left an offensive comment about them on their wall.
• Spammers find way to link .gov domains to scams
  The .gov domain is reasonably trusted by users as being a safe place, but spammers have recently figured out how to make .gov URLs redirect to malicious content.
• Backdoor in computer controls opens critical infrastructure to hackers
  Software used to manage equipment in power plants, military environments, and nautical ships contains an undocumented backdoor that could allow malicious hackers to access sensitive systems without authorization.
• Lost+Found: Hacking keyloggers, honeypots and the return of TDL4
  Too short for news, too good to lose; Lost+Found is a roundup of useful security news. This time: Hacking a hardware keylogger, setting up a free cloud-based honeypot with Amazon EC2, a GUI for ping.exe, the supposed return of TDL4 and a hotel master key disguised as a dry erase marker.
• French hacker captures 500,000 Euros with smartphone trojan
  According to a report from the BBC, a 20-year-old French hacker has defrauded over 17,000 people with his custom-developed trojan disguised as legitimate smartphone applications, earning him approximately half a million euros.
• Service Sells Access to Fortune 500 Firms
  An increasing number of services offered in the cybercrime underground allow miscreants to purchase access to hacked computers at specific organizations. For just a few dollars, these services offer the ability to buy your way inside of Fortune 500 company networks.
• Google, Yahoo and Microsoft fix email security flaw
  The companies, which had been using insufficiently long keys to sign emails coming from their domains, have brought in longer keys after being warned of a serious spoofing risk.
• The snapshot of rising cybercrime
  Based on a report from Verizon, snapshots of cybercrime can be viewed in the financial, health, retail and hospitality sectors.
• Security researcher experiments with patching Java
  With Oracle planning to wait until next February, security researcher Adam Gowdiak decided to take matters into his own hands by developing a patch for a critical security vulnerability he had discovered in Java. He has posted a report on his efforts to security mailing list Full Disclosure.
• Java still has a crucial role to play—despite security risks
  Java has its security flaws, but it isn’t going away any time soon—after all, many important applications run on the technology, especially in business settings. Still, numerous users are worried enough about vulnerabilities that they restrict Java’s ability to run on their machines.
• Top 25 common, attackable passwords: Stop using ‘ninja’ and ‘jesus’
  New data has revealed the 25 most common and easily crackable passwords on the web — is yours on the list?

TinyHacker Links

• Productivity Apps in Windows 8 – Are They Any Good?
  Paul Thurrott published a good overview of the productivity apps included in Windows 8.
• The Thorough Guide to the Windows Store
  Are you looking for a complete guide to the Windows Store in Windows 8? Then read this tutorial.
• Free Webcast: 8+ Features You Will Love to Use in Windows 8
  Windows 8 has finally launched and is now available in retail channels for purchase. If you want to learn more about it before buying, don’t hesitate to register for this free webcast on October 31st.
• downrightnow Monitors Individual Website Status
  Website tracker downrightnow lets you know if your favorite website is experiencing downtime or maybe, possibly, it’s just you.

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• What Is the Purpose of the “Do Not Cover This Hole” Hole on Hard Drives?
• How Hackers Can Disguise Malicious Programs With Fake File Extensions
• Desktop Fun: Halloween 2012 Wallpaper Collection [Bonus Edition]
• 8 New Features in Ubuntu 12.10, Quantal Quetzal
• HTG Explains: Why You Shouldn’t Use a Task Killer On Android
• Choose Your Ubuntu: 8 Ubuntu Derivatives with Different Desktop Environments
• How To Log Into The Desktop, Add a Start Menu, and Disable Hot Corners in Windows 8
• How Is My Computer Able to Restart Itself?
• The Beginner’s Guide To Tabbed Browsing
• The Best Tools for Enhancing and Expanding the Features of the Windows Clipboard

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• 99 Life Hacks to Make Your Life Easier!
• 9 Gigapixel Photo Captures 84 Million Stars
• Show Some Respect for Your Grandpa [Humorous Image]
• Did Blowing Into Nintendo Cartridges Really Help?
• Google Naps [Comic]
• AllSparkCube Packs 4,096 LEDs into a Giant Computer Controlled Display
• Download the Spectacular Skies Theme for Windows 7
• Strange New World – U.S.S. Spirit NX-79995 [Wallpaper]
• The Lord of the Rings Project Charts Middle Earth by the Numbers
• The Plight of Internet Explorer [Comic]

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• Online Safety: Why You Should Give Up Windows XP For Good
• The Painless Way to Ditch Your Old Windows XP for a More Secure Linux
• Online Safety: Who Says Macs Don’t Get Viruses?
• How To Anonymize and Encrypt Your BitTorrent Traffic
• How to Remotely Lock or Wipe Your iOS 5 Device

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• The Win a Date with a Computer Geek Contest
• Careful about Terminology
• Unfulfilled Prom Wishes
• Extremely Precise Monitoring
• Is That Actually Good News or Not?
• Political Fact Checker Apps
• The Avatar Pic is a Poll Leader

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• Which Band Made More Money From Guitar Hero Than Any Of Their Albums?
• 8-Track Music Players Were Originally Invented For Use In What?
• Which Handheld Game System Sold Less Than 5,000 Units Upon Release?
• The Design of Apple’s FireWire Cable Was Influenced By What Unlikely Source?
• What Sci-Fi Novel Has Appeared On Military Reading Lists The World Over?
• Which 1980s Game Console Is Still In Active Production?
• NASA Carefully Timed Space Shuttle Flights To Avoid What?