Category Archives: Security

All things related to keeping your systems and data safe from the ‘black hats’.

Security Alert: Storm “Loves You” to Infect Your Machine

Posted on by

Ok, so I don’t do this often, but I gotta an email this morning:

I Would Dream
From:
########@#####.### (e-mails hidden to protect the innocent)
To:
########@#####.###
Date:
Today 03:59:41

For You….My Love http://###.###.###/ (IP address also hidden)

Turns out that e-mail probably originated from a system compromised by the Storm botnet. If you do visit that page, you will get a nice little love note that tries to download a with_love.exe or withlove.exe. Both reported are malware. DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR ATTEMPT TO RUN SUCH A PROGRAM. Don’t become another victim.

The malware will probably try to infect your machine, making just another node in the Storm botnet. Botnet owners use their botnets to extort money from legitimate companies and individuals. If the targets refuse to pay up the botnet launches a coordinated and prolonged DDOS attack. These attacks function by overloading a target server with requests, cutting off the server from the rest of the Internet. The botnet continues to cut the target off the Internet, until the target pays the botnet owner.

Related Links:
http://www.trustedsource.org/TS?do=threats&subdo=blog&id=21

Groogy Weather, Groggy Me

Posted on by

Greetings again, and sorry about missing two day of updates. Dealing with stress, putting up with administrative nonsense, writing assignments, attempting to dance around illness and living with the sudden wacky cold-wet weather, puts me in a mood where I rather not even poke my nose from under the blanket. On the bright side, everything is falling into place.

The instructors of two of my course, kindly set the hand-in date for my course work until December 20. That gives me some breathing room, and lets me concentrate on the three assignments due on Friday. Next week I get to study for exams and work on the later assignments.

Carmen Hung, the new leader of our CSC454 or Business of Computing, handled getting everyone to work on the last assignment wonderfully. The paper still in the works, weighs in currently at a hefty 41 pages, and 24% of our term work. The business plan is coming along, not as fast as I wanted it. Still no complaints, as yesterday I came home late and crashed. I spent this entire morning getting over my tiredness “hangover”. When I finish blogging this entry, I will stock up on caffeine again.

Katarina Halan, classroom friend and almost my girlfriend, let me work with her on the CSC347 or Information Security assignment. We spent about 16 hrs on Sunday working only on the assignment. After hours of hacking, half-working and actual coding we finished the assignment. Thanks Kat for yesterday’s coffee “date”. Sorry about the Tim Horton’s coffee, next time I will buy some good coffee from Second Cup instead.

My last assignment after the “Business” course, deals with the unfortunate CCT209 Foundations of Research course. I am so behind in that course, it stopped being funny months ago. My group started on Monday, but since my e-mail to them, I saw no work. I guess I have to juggle this assignment and writing the business plan. Bother. Guys, you better get on the ball soon.

As for my open source project and my other blog, One-Time Trash Pad both I place on hold until I meet Friday’s deadline. I have too much at stake to deal with any side projects. If I don’t update this blog anytime before December 20, please do not be surprised. I will try my best, but no promises.

Until then wish me luck. I need all the luck I to overcome the stress, the weather and my own sluggishness.

Panic Supression and Firefighting

Posted on by

Day 3 of Hell week #1.
At least the security assignment is out of the way. I wish I could say the same about the library research assignments. Moral of the story: Don’t take too many assignment/paper courses in one term, and verify that the courses assignments are before the frigging midterm comes. Well too late now.

Got back to writing/editing articles today. Writing free-form seems to give me a morale boost, whenever I do so. So does blogging apparently. Only 5 more classes, 10 more assignments (half of them from writing), 3 more exercises and 3 exams. Then a nice break, from school.

I wonder what I will do during the break. Working part-time definitely. Partying? If I am lucky. Maybe I will get some book writing or coding done. But first things first, assignments. With those out of the way, the panic and constant firefights will all go away.

Blogging from the back of a Webmail site???

Posted on by

1

Well here it is my first blog from email. Why? Because I can.

Progress has been made in putting up a working Autotool build script for the revision-sim project. I got a bit lazy, but I plan to write up a few GNU standard docs and work on a code layout. I have to do a
similar thing for the visualize (data structures visualizations) project. Yup, those are my planned black ops for the next little while.

As a side note I have to decide upon a network setup, since I will be getting high speed Internet. I would prefer an ethernet based net, but I last thing I want is miles of Ethernet cable snaking its way around my house like a crazy, thin, blue snake. Most likely I will pollute the environment with a wireless router. Of securing such a thing is a bitch. Not to mention having to put schemes on my machine.  The one thing good from this experience will be some knowledge on networks, and being able to test all firewall, and thingies like that.

I got to meet Sarah, my best friend, Dima’s friend. So he was not making it all up. Go Dima go! 😉 Anyhow I have to run off and study…. err… hack some more. 😉