Tag Archives: Computer Security

Google v China, and Baidu v Iran

Google announced that it believes that China is responsible for cyber attacks on Google China. Google is now unwilling to censor search results in China (The Guardian).

Google China

Google China. by Phillipe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, about to begin a tour of Asia, said “We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation.” (The Guardian / NY Times).On their blog (here), in a post entitled “A New Approach to China” Google said:

“In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google.” Continue reading →

Conficker Virus, AKA Downadup Worm

In traditional warfare, as General George S. Patton (wiki) put it “The object of war is not to die for your country; but to get the other /guy/ die for his.”

In this new age of cyber-warfare we lose food, sleep,  time and money.  Personally, I’d rather lose a few night’s sleep, a weekend, and some cash than an arm, a leg, my sanity, my life, or one of my kids.

I’m inclined to think that “conficker,” aka “downadup” will bad. I know of four law firms in NewYork City that have been hit by viruses in the past week. Two were the conficker virus. The third was not. I don’t know the details on the fourth. Microsoft has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people responsible for conficker. Microsoft wouldn’t offer a $250,000 reward for chopped liver.

Here are the details:

Advice – if you’re using Windows, Mac, or Linux:

  1. Change your passwords. The best passwords are comprised of at least 8 symbols, consisting of a mix of  letters, numbers or punctuation marks.  To make it easy to remember, use “3” for “e” and “1 for ‘I’.  Use composite words, then mix ’em up. For example “baseball” could become “Bas3ba11.” And punctuation in the middle always helps. “Bas3-ba11!” Don’t use the same password for your banking that you use for Amazon, Facebook, Flicker, etc. Continue reading →