This week we learned how to mount a System Restore Point to restore a single file, install Android on an HP Touchpad, “remove the shortcut arrow in Windows 7, remap the Caps Lock Key, & disable Google Instant”, found out how you offer computer help from afar, had fun getting Halloween stationary ready with a great set of fonts, and more.

Photo by mac_filko.

Weekly News Links

Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

• Microsoft report: Users responsible for half of all infections
  In its latest security report, Microsoft finds that only 5.6 per cent of all infections with malicious software are the result of security holes. Almost half the time (45 per cent), users infect their computers by launching malicious software themselves.
• Phony Netflix Android app steals account data
  It looks like a legitimate Netflix app, but it’s not. There’s an Android app circulating that looks very much like the real Netflix mobile app, but it’s actually a Trojan that steals account information. Has image showing the real and fake versions side-by-side.
• Latest Adobe Flash Trojan for OS X gets revised
  According to F-Secure, the new Trojan variant (called OSX/Flashback.B) now tries to inject code into areas of the system that require administrative access, such as within Application packages like Safari and Firefox.
• Impressed by FBI trojan, Germans write their own—and national scandal ensues
  It has been pretty chaotic in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet ever since the Chaos Computer Club dumped some alarming technology news in her lap. Turns out that the German government’s “lawful interception” application, supposedly designed only to monitor IP telephone calls, is just a little more powerful than the police let on.
• Anti-virus software fails to deal with government trojan
  Since last Monday at the latest, all virus scanners will issue an alert when an attempt is made to load the trojan that was exposed by the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) onto a computer.
• WineHQ access credentials harvested
  Attackers have used phpMyAdmin, an open source database administration tool, to access the WineHQ project’s database and harvest users’ appdb and bugzilla access credentials.
• Fedora Project forces security reset for all users
  The Fedora Project has posted an announcement advising current users of the Fedora Account System to change their password and SSH public key before 30 November or risk their accounts being marked as inactive.
• Researchers hack crypto on RFID smart cards used for keyless entry and transit pass
  Researchers at a German university have published a paper detailing a security exploit of the Mifare DESfire MF3ICD40, a widely used RFID smart card. The exploit, which uses an approach previously used to break other wireless crypto systems, demonstrates that even the relatively strong encryption algorithms used in “touchless” smart cards can be broken with a small investment of time and equipment—exposing the shared crypto key and the data stored on them.
• Microsoft: 340 Million PCs Using Out-of-Date Browsers at Risk of Infections
  Microsoft is warning that users of in excess of 340 million computers worldwide are at risk of infections from malicious code because they’re running out-of-date browsers.
• Cybercriminals go for easy money: Facebook and Bitcoin users
  Bank, credit card and PayPal accounts aren’t as lucrative treasures for cybercriminals — not like they once were. New security measures make pilfering accounts more difficult than years past. So the bad guys are going after easier money and, in process, younger users.
• Consumers still complacent over mobile security
  The uptake of mobile security tools is not as high as that of desktop due to the low number of breaches and lack of awareness, but users cannot afford to be complacent, caution Pavel Luka, CTO of the Eastern European security vendor, ESET.
• Congressman raises privacy concerns over Amazon Silk
  Amazon’s anticipated tablet, the Kindle Fire, is still a few weeks away from release, and it’s raising legal issues and questions in every direction.
• IRS said to be auditing Google offshore asset transfers
  The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is bringing “more than typical scrutiny” to an audit of Google over how the Web giant has valued software rights and other intellectual property it licensed abroad, according to a Bloomberg report.
• Ubuntu Linux heads to the clouds
  Last week, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company Canonical CEO Jane Silber announced at the OpenStack cloud software conference that HP has chosen Ubuntu as the lead host and guest operating system for its Public Cloud.
• LibreOffice gaining momentum, heading to Android, iOS, and the Web
  An announcement made this week at a LibreOffice conference in Paris revealed that a number of French government agencies plan to adopt the open source office suite. The LibreOffice development community is also working on a number of ports, with the aim of bringing the software to mobile platforms and making it accessible through Web browsers.

Random TinyHacker Links

• Why Windows Explorer in Windows 8 Rocks!
  It seems that Windows Explorer has been heavily redesigned in Windows 8 and it includes lots of cool features. Here’s a list with twelve of them.
• How the On-Screen Keyboard Can Be Useful
  Have you ever wondered about the cool things you can do with the On-Screen Keyboard in Windows? This tutorial gives an overview of all the important things it is capable of doing.
• iOS 5 Full Feature Roundup
  A good roundup of all the new features in the latest iOS release.
• Google Engineers “Hate” Google Plus
  This article is based on a fun & mostly true rant from a Google engineer.
• Landscapes, A Beautiful Time Lapse Video
  This spectacular video has been making the rounds.

Super User Questions

If you have questions, then Super User has the answers you need.

• How do I browse a hard drive that has viruses?
• What happens when an SSD wears out?
• Are torrents less efficient than regular downloads?
• Unintentional mouse movements, am I paranoid?
• Is it safe to use a regular marker (Sharpie, etc.) to write on a CD-R disc?

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

Get caught up on your weekly reading with our hottest HTG Main articles of the week.

• Best Windows 7 Explorer Tips and Tricks
• How To Anonymize and Encrypt Your BitTorrent Traffic
• How to Control a Remote Computer Using Only Your Chrome Web Browser
• Online Safety: Who Says Macs Don’t Get Viruses?
• 3 Easy Tips to Fix Ugly Edges When Removing Backgrounds

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

Put the fun back into your weekend reading with our most popular ETC posts of the week.

• A Comparison of Hard Drive Sizes 1979 – 2011 [Image]
• Here’s Why Disabling the Windows Pagefile is Pointless
• Got Caught not Reading the EULA [Funny Image]
• Streaming Neon Computer Line Graphics [Wallpaper]
• You Know Your Browser is Having a Bad Day When… [Funny Image]
• Screen Hack Turns Your Cellphone Screen into a Multidimensional Display
• When CAPTCHAs turn Mathematically Evil [Image]
• The Matrix is a Remix [Video]
• Brighten up Your Desktop with the Autumn Theme for Windows 7
• Craft a DIY Book Bug for Covert Listening

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

Brush up on your BitTorrent skills and more this weekend with these great articles from one year ago.

• BitTorrent for Beginners: Protecting Your Privacy
• BitTorrent for Beginners: How To Get Started Downloading Torrents
• How To Make Your Own Torrents Using uTorrent
• How to Hack Your Wii for Homebrew Games and DVD Playback
• Use Your UPS to Gracefully Shut Down Your PC During Power Outages

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• Do You and Your Friend want some Cookies?
• Unable to Retrieve his Lost Homework
• Taking the Paperless Office Concept too Far
• He is a Mouser
• Upgrading