Mozilla 3.0 & above - store data in SQLite embedded database

I have read before one of the security bulletin from CyberSecurity ( the IT arm of Malaysian Ministry of Science , Technology & Innovation), for Q2 2010.

It mentioned that it is possible to extract user browsing history information from Mozilla 3.0 version browsers & above. This is because browsing history data is stored in the embedded SQLite database, of the Mozilla browser.

Check the article "Mozilla Firefox: Forensic Examination Using SQLite Manager" , in the Q2 2010 edition of the CyberSecurity e-Security bulletin.


CyberSecurity e-Security Bulletin Volume 23 (Quarter 2/2010)

Google Toolbar - sends information to Google

I think it is safe to say, that the majority of people who surf the Internet, have browsers which has Google Toolbar installed.

Did you know that the Google Toolbar sends certain information back to Google? There is some companies which prohibits usage/installation of Google Toolbar in their company PCs or laptops, because of this reason. Eventhough the information sent primarily consists of your browsing habits & sites visited, it is good enough reason for companies to prohibit usage of the toolbar.


See the links below for details :
Google.com : Features that send information to Google

Google Toolbar : Choose you configuration

About Norton Power Eraser

 

My in-laws PC had a malware issue.

Symptoms :

- Browser windows popping up showing gambling and spam related websites.

- Idle browser windows suddenly redirected to porn sites

These nuisances was affecting the browsing experiences, and it is annoying. I realised I needed to use a anti-malware tool to get rid of it. The PC was already running Microsoft Security Essential (MSE), but that did not detect & remove the malware involved, after running several scans.

As such I used the Norton Power Eraser (NPE) :

a) It goes deep into Windows registry & processes to check malware , spyware & rootkits ( these are tough to remove malicious applications).

b) It is free to use & download , you can Google it to download the software

c) The scanning process does not take long , and it is thorough in removing these malware

 

After I ran a scan (normal + rootkit option, need PC reboot) using the NPE, some viruses were detected & removed. The scan did not take long , about 5 minutes. Oddly enough , the PC was running Microsoft Security Essential (MSE , a freeware anti-virus from Microsoft ), and MSE did not detect these. Hmmm….

NPE Scan result ( gotcha you viruses !)

Well guys, you can use NPE for quick removal of stubborn viruses/worms/malware/spyware/rootkits which is not detected by your standard AV software.

Ciao !

Six things you can do with your USB thumbdrives

The article below, titled "CNET How to : Six cool things to do with your USB flash drive" grabbed my attention.

It shows you what you can do with any spare USB thumbdrives you have.

However, most tasks mention is appropriate for USB drives with at least 8GB space or more, as most require a lot of space. Well, thats my opinion.

CNET How to : Six cool things to do with your USB flash drive

LiveScribe SmartPen

Technorati Tags: LiveScribe,smart pen

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I saw an ad in CNET.COM , about a smart pen called LiveScribe.

It can write on a special invisibly dotted paper , and save whatever you are writing in the pen’s memory. You can download the written notes & recorded audio (if any) to your PC.

One cool thing is that it has a digital voice recorder (with microphone in the smartpen), and it can pinpoint the voice conversation in the recording, to the specified notes being discussed.

See the Youtube channel video below :

 

Links :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livescribe

http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/

Microsoft Windows Live Writer

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Live Writer 2011,hongkiat.com

I was going through hongkiat.com website, when I bumped into a review of offline blog writers article. After reading the blog article, I decided to try out the Microsoft Windows Live Writer.

It was free, and kind of felt like I was using a simple version of Microsoft Word 2010.

I liked the software , and now using it for all my blog posts.

Below are some screenshots from the Microsoft Windows Live Writer.

Note : This blog post is written entirely on Windows Live Writer.

 

The Picture Collages Maker software

Recently I bumped into blogs which showcased tiled / collage based images . And these were personal blogs, the collage images looks good on the blog, establishing a brand look.

I searched the Internet and discovered the Picture Collages Maker software. I downloaded the setup file, and setup was a breeze. Inside the software , you can customize any images to any collage layout or template. It can make professional looking material, and it is easily used by people who are not experts in image editing.

The collage background can be adjusted as gradient color, image background, photo based, pattern and from clipart.

I personally feel this is a great tool for bloggers and professional to create nicely presented images , in a collage !

I have made a few samples of the various picture collage templates, using my son Adithya photos.
The images are superb !

Visit Picture Collages Maker website ( http://www.picturecollagessoftware.com ) to check out this product .




Compilation photos of my son , Adithya

AV-Comparatives.org - F-Secure as 2010 Product of the year

Based on AV-Comparatives.org , which is an independent testing entity for anti-virus products , has recently concluded the following :

AV Product of the Year
2008 - AVIRA antivirus
2009 - Symantec
2010 - F-Secure

It seems there was a tight race where majority AV excelled is various fields of tetsing, so it was concluded to judge the "Product of the year" based on the product with the most improvements, to encourage AV companies to innovate and establish continous improvement on their products.

I was hoping Symantec would have won consecutively....

Check out the reports as below :

www.av-comparatives.org : Summary Reports

Another one bites the dust .......... more layoffs in the smartphone industry

I just read about RIM ( the makers of Blackberry smartphones ) has just laid off 11percent of their North America region workforce.

What's worse is that last month, one of the employers accused RIM managers of failing to make bold decisions ........ hmmm ..........

Engadget.com : RIM axes 2000 jobs, changes managers in effort to halt decline

Symantec antivirus on top of Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

Based on Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection (EPP) report for December 2010, Symantec Endpoint Protection v12 solution is at the forefront of threat protection.

Key findings :
a) Symantec continues to perform well in numerous tests of malware effectiveness (AV-Test, NSS Labs, PassMark) compared with peers.
b) Symantec provides good port and device controls, mobile device synchronization and the best firewall of any ranked vendor.
c) The software hass large disk footprint, but is very fast and light on memory usage...

Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (17-Dec-2010)