This week we learned how to make your Android phone tell you where you lost it, sync your media across your entire house with XBMC, customize and tweak your system tray icons in Windows 7, learned how to start using QoS (Quality of Service) on a router, had fun with a unique set of grab bag icon packs, and more.

Photo by pasukaru76.

Weekly News Links

• Mozilla works to fix Firefox add-on compatibility
  Mozilla is planning to address Firefox add-on compatibility issues as new versions of the browser hit the Web more often.
• A year after the fork: LibreOffice is growing and going strong
  This past Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of The Document Foundation (TDF) and the LibreOffice project, a promising community-driven fork of OpenOffice.org (OOo). The project has seen considerable growth during its first year of existence.
• Lawmakers seek FTC probe of Facebook post-log out tracking
  Two U.S. congressmen have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook’s practice of tracking users even after they have logged out.
• What does your mobile carrier know about you?
  Just what personal information does your mobile carrier store about you, and for how long? A memo from the Department of Justice sheds some light on this question.
• Security becoming a must on smartphones (Inside Apps)
  A recent study conducted by security software provider McAfee found that the amount of malicious software, also known as malware, targeting Android had jumped 76 percent since the previous quarter, a remarkable rise in just three months.
• Android flaw can disable, corrupt AV tools
  Consumers using Android-powered devices will have another security risk to contend with after a security expert pointed out that a “component” within the operating system (OS) can be exploited to disable installed antivirus software, even corrupting the software to become another malicious app.
• Mac trojan pretends to be Flash Player Installer to get in the door
  Hot on the heels of last week’s Mac malware posing as a PDF is a new piece of malware posing as something even more insidious: a Flash player installer.
• Apple updates malware definition list to defend against PDF trojan
  Apple has added another entry to its XProtect malware signature list to defend against a new Mac trojan that masquerades itself as a PDF file.
• Sophos tackles new BlackHole RAT malware variant for OS X
  BlackHole is a backdoor server program RAT (Remote Access Tool) that runs on an infected system and allows a remote user to interact with the system by sending shutdown commands, displaying screen messages, opening URLs, and requesting usernames and passwords.
• Hacked MySQL.com used to serve Windows malware
  The MySQL site, whose open-source repository serves some of the most popular Web sites, has been hacked and was being used to serve malware to visitors running Windows before it was cleaned up this past Monday.
• Free Microsoft Security Tool Updated to Clean Kelihos Zombie PCs
  Microsoft has released an updated version of the free Malicious Software Removal Tool designed to help identify and clean zombie computers that are part of the Kelihos / Waledac 2.0 botnet. Download link included
• First solutions for SSL/TLS vulnerability
  Security specialists have suggested using RC4 to remedy the SSL/TLS vulnerability that became known to the wider public last week.
• Microsoft releases fix-it tools for SSL/TLS vulnerability
  Microsoft has released an advisory pointing out the potential information disclosure risk in SSL/TLS that exists when CBC mode is used in combination with AES.
• Browsers tackle the ‘BEAST’ Web security problem
  Browser makers are devising ways to protect people from a security protocol weakness that could let an attacker eavesdrop on or hijack protected Internet sessions.
• Mozilla considers disabling Java in Firefox
  The Firefox developers are currently discussing whether to disable Oracle’s Java plug-in as a potential workaround for the recently disclosed SSL/TLS vulnerability.

Random TinyHacker Links

• Good looking PowerPoint for lazy people
  What if you could take a crappy PowerPoint slide deck, only with text, and turn it into something visual and good looking? This free plugin automatically designs presentations for you.
• Generate your own For Dummies book cover
  You’ll surely have a laugh generating geeky covers.
• How to improve your password security
  Even though many websites talk about LastPass and its usefulness in improving password security, not too many show how to actually use it. This article does that and shares important watchouts and principles to keep in mind when working to improve your password security.
• Fixing wireless network connections which stop working
  Do you have problems with a wireless network which, all of a sudden stopped working? Check out this troubleshooting guide.
• Doing Cool Stuff With Your Wireless Networks
  Did you know that you can place your wireless network connections in a list of priorities and have Windows  7 connect to them in the order you specified? Or, have you been wondering how to stop Windows  from connecting automatically to a network?

Super User Questions

See the great answers to these questions from this week’s ‘most popular thread’ at Super User.

• Why is it so hard to find a file in Ubuntu?
• Verifying that open source software hasn’t been tampered with
• Google Chrome detected as PWS:Win32/Zbot by MSE
• Which font would save more printer’s ink/toner?
• How does recaptcha know you aren’t entering bogus translations of the pictures?

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

Indulge in some great reading this weekend with our hottest HTG Main articles of the week.

• How to Enable the Hidden Windows 7 Admin Account Using the Registry
• How to Dual Boot Windows 7 and 8 Without Re-Partitioning (Using VHD)
• How to Use a Single Mouse and Keyboard Across Multiple Computers
• How to Backup Profiles, Repair, and Tweak Windows Settings Using D7
• Online Safety: Understanding Hackers, Phishers, and Cybercriminals

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

Round out your weekend reading with our most popular ETC posts of the week.

• If Photoshop was a Real-Life Desktop [Image]
• The Best Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Ever [Humorous Image]
• When There Really are ‘Bugs’ in the System [Humorous Image]
• Score a Free Usenet Account at XSUsenet
• 14 Epic Tech Failures [Infographic]
• If Only all EULAs were this Easy to Read Through [Image]
• Interactive Cable Map Showcases High Speed Undersea Cables Around the World
• Chaos [Wallpaper]
• Amazing Time-lapse Video of Auroras as Seen From the ISS [Video]
• Star Wars Skies – Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor [Triple Wallpaper]

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

Have fun tweaking and adding functionality to your desktop this weekend using these great articles from one year ago.

• Beginner’s Guide to Rainmeter: Display System Stats on Your Desktop
• How to Make a Rainmeter Skin Stick to the Desktop Without Moving
• How To Set Up a Desktop To-Do List with GeekTool in Mac OS X
• Customize Your Windows 7 Taskbar Icons the Easy Way
• How to Create a Shortcut That Nukes Every Running Windows App

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• Learning the Binary System
• Blocking Cookies
• A Laptop Equals a Lost Lap
• Shoe Phones and Odor Eaters
• 12 Step Programs