Computer Safety & News

Key links are shared below: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/malicious-software-removal-tool-details.aspx Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) helps keep Windows computers free from prevalent malware. MSRT finds and removes threats and reverses the changes made by these threats. MSRT is generally released monthly as part of Windows Update or as a standalone tool available here for download.  – Reason for […]

Almost all operating systems lacking the MS17-010 protection were vulnerable.  However the large-scale attack was more “targeted” in nature to WIN7 specifically, as it appears to be more focused on unpatched WIN7 PCs as prime target in corporate world. Other O/S platforms were impacted –to lesser degree because O/S specific handling was not in place.   Kaspersky estimates […]

Internet or network worm attacks are usually large scale and quickly hit those with unpatched systems or using outdated technology.  Certainly the recovery of damaged equipment and lost business opportunity make this one of the top all time attacks.  But the fix was easily achieved by patching and re-building as needed any impacted machines.  This […]

I love this story of taking a trip in 1960 Cadillac convertible to a retro non-tech Bed & Breakfast.  It shares the need for IT professionals and power users to take a break, and enjoy a “digital detox” for a few hours or days. Back in August 2013, I personally cut the cord and do more […]

Researchers have discovered that a special file labeled as $MFT is used for specialized NTFS control functions.  While WIN10 does not appear to be affected, a “blue screen of death” abend may occur in Vista, WIN7, or WIN8 when attempting to access this file. The likelihood of occurrence is remote, as users must specifically hunt […]

Samsung is also introducing the “Galaxy Book 12” as a laptop/tablet (2-in-1 device) to compete with Microsoft and Apple models. This Windows 10 based device has some of best display technology available — but smaller battery size was noted as one weakness https://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/samsung-galaxy-book-12-review/ The Galaxy Book hits the reset button on Samsung’s 2-in-1 line, with […]

Microsoft is introducing the “New Surface Pro” to replace the “Surface Pro 4” as latest model.  Several improvements have been made and it’s more re-branded to be of a laptop or notebook computing device, rather than a tablet.  State of art INTEL Kaby Lake CPU chips also consume less power, generate less heat, and extend […]

A new major ransomware attack called “Jaff” has surfaced which is being massively spammed in the wild. It uses PDFs with malicious macros embedded in Word documents to avoid detection by many email scanners (as users may have to open documents to trigger AV detection due to the deep nesting of the malicious code within […]

Below are key resources documenting this recent monthly Microsoft Patch Tuesday release https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Microsoft+Patch+Tuesday+and+Adobe/22396/ http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/05/ms-tuesday.html https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance Today, Microsoft has release their monthly set of security updates designed to address vulnerabilities. This month’s release addresses 56 vulnerabilities with 15 of them rated critical and 41 rated important. Impacted products include .NET, DirectX, Edge, Internet Explorer, Office, Sharepoint, […]