TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Security

Random Weekend Stuff…

By

Disqus Acquired
I forgot about this. Comment system Disqus got bought out by a marketing firm.
I deleted my account.

Thinking About Building A New PC Soon
This will be my main PC. Intel i7-8700 based (Z370 chipset). I’m thinking no overclocking. May switch to Nvidia GPU. This also may be a Linux PC with Windows in VMs.
Dual M2’s (non-RAID) + a 4TB HD. 960 EVOs for the M2s as I do not think the Pros are worth the money.
This PC needs to last several years.
Any thoughts?

Ancestery DNA Testing
At a Christmas party talking to a guy with the same last name as me. He says his Dad just got an ancestry DNA test and he was only 10% Welsh and 90% Western European. We discussed issues like migration and conquering being factors. I asked him what he thought about the privacy implications of the DNA test. I got a blank stare. I explained that you basically sign away all rights and that you’ve no idea what they are doing with your data. This could have profound effects not only for his Dad but, his Dad siblings, him and his siblings, his children, and their children… Not sure if what I was saying got through and I moved the conversation on to another topic.
I don’t agree with Chuck Schumer on much of anything but he had a great quote a few days ago:
“When it comes to protecting consumers’ privacy from at-home DNA test kit services, the federal government is behind. Besides, putting your most personal genetic information in the hands of third parties for their exclusive use raises a lot of concerns, from the potential for discrimination by employers all the way to health insurance,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “That’s why I am asking the Federal Trade Commission to take a serious look at this relatively new kind of service and ensure that these companies have clear, fair privacy policies and standards for all kinds of at-home DNA test kits. We don’t want to impede research but we also don’t want to empower those looking to make a fast buck or an unfair judgement off your genetic information. We can find the right balance here, and we must.”
Schumer added, “There is no point to learning about your family tree if your privacy gets chopped down in the process.”

Gillette Fusion Manual Men’s Razor Blade Refills, 12 Count – $23.95
Must clip $6 coupon (see pic below)
Amazon will tell you it is a total of $24.04 off but this is $29.95 at Walmart.com so the net savings is actually $6.

Wednesday Random Stuff…

By

Google Chrome Updated
” The Chrome team is delighted to announce the promotion of Chrome 63 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks.
Chrome 63.0.3239.84 contains a number of fixes and improvements — a list of changes is available in the log. Watch out for upcoming Chrome and Chromium blog posts about new features and big efforts delivered in 63.
This update includes 37 security fixes.”
Download

Battle For The Net
https://www.battleforthenet.com/
“The new chairman of the FCC was a top lawyer at Verizon. Now he’s calling for a vote to kill net neutrality. We’re protesting at retail stores across the U.S. to demand that Congress stop Verizon’s puppet FCC from destroying the Internet as we know it.”
Join The Protest

Monday Random Stuff…

By

The Intel Management Engine Issue
Most Intel chipsets have the Intel Management Engine. We will call this IME. IME is in a separate, tiny microprocessor on your motherboard. IME does stuff “during boot-up, while the computer is running, and while it is asleep”. You’ll need to do a little reading to fully understand it but security and privacy experts say this is a security and privacy risk.
PC manufacturers are now selling systems with IME disabled.
You can try and disable this yourself. There isn’t any way in h-e-double-toothpicks I would attempt it.
Got IME?
Download, extract, and run the following. It will tell you your IME version if you have it and check for the current vulnerability.
Intel-SA-00086 Detection Tool
Further reading:
Intel Management Engine Flaws Leave Millions of PCs Exposed
Intel’s Management Engine is a security hazard, and users need a way to disable it

The Net Neutrality Discussion – What The Tech (FF video to approx the 47 minute mark)

uMatrix Firefox Add-on

By

I’m trying a new add-on called uMatrix. It is from the same guy that brought you uBlock Origin.
“uMatrix: A point-and-click matrix-based firewall, with many privacy-enhancing tools.
*For advanced users.*
uMatrix put you in full control of where your browser is allowed to connect, what type of data it is allowed to download, and what it is allowed to execute. Nobody else decides for you: You choose. You are in full control of your privacy.”
As stated above, this is for advanced users. Like Noscript it can make using the web difficult at first until you train it.
If you are using uMatrix, or you try it please let me know what you think.
In the pic below I have disabled my usual extensions of Noscript and uBlock Origin so I can get a true picture of what is going on.

***I’ve said this before and I will say it again.
Do not whitelist 3rd party ad servers on any site, including this one. I know other website operators beg you to whitelist for their site. Ads track you, ads often get caught serving malware. I have Google Ads because I average enough per month to help keep this site going. I hope you are smart enough to never see them. How I finance my site is my problem not yours. You do not need 3rd party connections to have an ad on your site. I reference the Torguard ad in the right sidebar. I created it. Readers see the unintrusive ad and can click on it if they are interested. There is no connection to a 3rd party.

Net Neutrality

By

Google news search – net neutrality

The FCC has announced it will repeal Net Neutrality. They are ignoring the will of the people.

EFF – Today—and Every Day—We Fight to Defend the Open Internet
“Today, we heard from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about its plans to devastate Network Neutrality. Instead of responding to the millions of Americans who want to protect the free and open Internet, the FCC instead is ceding to the demands of a handful of massive ISPs, like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T…
The FCC’s new approach invites a future where only the largest Internet, cable, and telephone companies survive, while every start-up, small business, and new innovator is crowded out—and the voices of nonprofits and ordinary individuals are suppressed. Costs will go up, as ISPs take advantage of monopoly power to raise rates on edge providers and consumers alike. And the FCC’s proposed plan adds salt to the wound by interfering with state efforts to protect consumer privacy and competition.”
There is a link at the bottom of this article to help you contact your Congressmen. It took me about 3 minutes to do it and that was with a custom message. PLEASE take 3 minutes to protect the future of the internet.

Raw Story – What is net neutrality? FCC to roll back Obama-era rule
“If the internet is a data highway system, internet service providers like AT&T, Comcast or Verizon are supposed to function as road crews, not toll booth operators. “Network neutrality” means that all internet service providers must treat data that travels over their networks “without discrimination in favor of particular apps, sites or services.” In other words, net neutrality prohibits the internet service providers from slowing down, blocking or speeding up certain content in favor or detriment of other content. It also prevents the giant internet service providers from stifling competition from other enterprises such as Netflix or Google.”
Thanks Scott!

New York Times – FCC Plans Net Neutrality Repeal in Victory for Telecoms
“The Federal Communications Commission announced on Tuesday that it planned to dismantle landmark regulations that ensure equal access to the internet, clearing the way for companies to charge more and block access to some websites.”

NPR – FCC Unveils Plan To Repeal Net Neutrality Rules
“The vote is expected to repeal so-called net neutrality rules, which prevent broadband companies from slowing down or blocking any sites or apps, or otherwise deciding what content gets to users faster.”

The Washington Post – FCC plan would give Internet providers power to choose the sites customers see and use
“Former Democratic FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, who drafted the 2015 net neutrality rules, called Tuesday’s move “tragic,” adding that “if you like your cable company, you’ll love what this does for the Internet.
“The job of the FCC is to represent the consumer,” he said in an interview. “Tragically, this decision is only for the benefit of the largely monopoly services that deliver the Internet to the consumer.””

iVerge – FCC announces vote to destroy net neutrality next month
“This is a puzzling plan and one that the FCC has to be well aware will not offer any legitimate consumer protections. Companies’ terms of service and related policies aren’t meant to protect consumers, they’re meant to protect companies — and they can change at a moment’s notice. While it’s entirely possible that a company could violate its own policies and get in trouble with the FTC, a company could also just promise open internet protections until it doesn’t feel like following them any more, rewrite its policies, and then implement new and potentially discriminatory practices.”

Popular Mechanics – FCC Is Revving Up to Destroy the Internet As We Know It
“The Federal Communications Commission, under Chairman Ajit Pai, is preparing to completely undermine the founding principle that has defined a free and open internet since the foundation of the World Wide Web. The FCC has today released a plan to completely roll back all net neutrality legislation under the guise of “restoring internet freedom.“

Get Off Of Facebook

By

Y’all know I am not a fan of social media, especially Facebook. IMHO social media isn’t good for your emotional well-being, is a privacy and security nightmare, and is bad for society in general. I’ve posted numerous examples here in the past. Below is another one. It is written by Sandy Parakilas, former operations manager, platform team at Facebook.
We Can’t Trust Facebook to Regulate Itself

“I led Facebook’s efforts to fix privacy problems on its developer platform in advance of its 2012 initial public offering. What I saw from the inside was a company that prioritized data collection from its users over protecting them from abuse. As the world contemplates what to do about Facebook in the wake of its role in Russia’s election meddling, it must consider this history. Lawmakers shouldn’t allow Facebook to regulate itself. Because it won’t…Facebook knows what you look like, your location, who your friends are, your interests, if you’re in a relationship or not, and what other pages you look at on the web…Facebook knows what you look like, your location, who your friends are, your interests, if you’re in a relationship or not, and what other pages you look at on the web…But when I was at Facebook, the typical reaction I recall looked like this: try to put any negative press coverage to bed as quickly as possible, with no sincere efforts to put safeguards in place or to identify and stop abusive developers…The company won’t protect us by itself, and nothing less than our democracy is at stake.“

This is the second anti-facebook statement by a former high-ranking Facebook employee this month.
Is anyone listening?

Patch Tuesday

By

Time To Run Windows Update
5 – Critical Security Updates
73 – Important Security Updates
1 – Moderate Security Update
(See end of this post for full info.)

Windows 10 – November 14, 2017—KB4048954 (OS Build 15063.726 and 15063.728)
Addresess 19 fixes and several security issues (See end of this post for full info on security issues.)

Adobe Flash Player and Shockwave Player Security Updates
APSB17-33 Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player
Download for IE
Download for Firefox, Opera
APSB17-40 Security update available for Adobe Shockwave Player
Download

Firefox 57
The all-new Firefox Quantum I mentioned this morning is now available to download.
Those having issues with the new FF and old add-ons can use the Firefox Extended Support Release.
Like it or no? New poll up in the right sidebar.

Fedora 27 Is Out
“The Workstation edition of Fedora 27 features GNOME 3.26. In the new release, both the Display and Network configuration panels have been updated, along with the overall Settings panel appearance improvement. The system search now shows more results at once, including the system actions…GNOME 3.26 also features color emoji support”
I stopped reading right there. If anything invloving a fracking emoji is one of your main features you have failed. It’s like they are taking cues from Apple.

CompuServe Forums Calling It Quits
Yeah, I didn’t know they still existed either.
[Read more…] about Patch Tuesday

Microsoft Security Advisory 4053440

By

Securely opening Microsoft Office documents that contain Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) fields
The title says it all.
There is a vulnerability in MS Office and it is being actively exploited. Though you can edit the registry to block attacks as a temporary fix I don’t recommend it. Why? Because I actually read what Microsoft had to say, “The attacker would have to convince the user to disable Protected Mode and click through one or more additional prompts.” That means you have to download a malicious document, open it, and accept the “Enable editing” prompt. I don’t believe y’all are that stupid. Microsoft will fix this by and by.