pnorth writes “Malware writers that sell toolkits online for as little as $400 will now configure and host the attacks as a service for another $50, according to email offers cited by security experts. A technical account manager at authentication firm Vasco said that cyber crime is becoming so business-like that online offerings of malicious code often include support and maintenance services. He said ‘it was inevitable that services would be sold to people who bought the malware toolkits but didn’t know how to configure them. Not only can you buy configuration as a service now, you can have the malware operated for you, too.’” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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22,2 meters is the world record. this is just crazy.

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Marine renewable energy is a new form of readily available energy. The basic principal is to use the ‘motion of the ocean’ to generate electricity by moving underwater rods. These rods create a vortex of energy that will soon be able to replace conventional energy sources.

“For the past 25 years, engineers—myself included—have been trying to suppress vortex induced vibrations. But now at Michigan we’re doing the opposite. We enhance the vibrations and harness this powerful and destructive force in nature,” said VIVACE developer Michael Bernitsas, a professor in the U-M Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.

Just a few cylinders could possibly power an anchored ship or a lighthouse. An array of VIVACE cylinders about the size of a running track could produce energy at 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour and power about 100,000 houses. U of M is now working on possibly deploying a pilot project in the Detroit River within the next 18 months. [UMich via Gizmag] [Gizmodo]

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"HI GUYZ! KAN I PLAY"

Harry Markopolos from Whitten, Massachusettes came out with guns blazing when he began his judicial enslaught on the SEC.

Over 8 years ago, Mr. Markopolos began informing Government officials of the Bernard Mardoff ponzi scam. When asked why he did not come out sooner, he replied something to the extent of “They would give my name to a hitman and have me killed.” Republican Congressman Spencer Bekas points out that Markopolos “laid out in full detail” the extent of the corruption all while wearing gloves to conceal his fingerprints. Markopolos attributes the lack of response to “fear of taking on a big player” as well as a high level of incompetence.

UPDATE: Tomorrow, Harry Markopolos will release information on another Madoff Scam.

Below is a video detailing the events that transpired recently in court.

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Business, Fraud, Harry Markopolos, Ponzi scheme, Republican Congressman Spencer Bekas, SEC, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, United States Hide

I thought this was really funny. 

You will probably get ad nauseam from me about caring for our office surroundings.   So here is another approach:

When the trash basket at our “kitchen area” is overflowing DON’T take the time to bind it up and throw it out let the other person do it.   It’s good for their soul.

When you use the toaster oven and microwave and leave crumbs on the table or whatever - DON’T clean it up when you done - leave it for the other person.  It’s good to let your co-worker benefit from this service to you.

When you take the last bit of toilet paper - DON’T replace it with another roll so it’s handy for the next person - just leave it for that person so they can practice their yoga positions while trying to unwrap another roll.

ditto when you take the last but of paper towels to clean your hands - the next person can just wipe their hands on their jeans, dress - it will save the environment some paper.

 

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Image via CrunchBase

Here at the Microsoft Security Response Center, we investigate thousands of security reports every year. In some cases, we find that a report describes a bona fide security vulnerability resulting from a flaw in one of our products; when this happens, we develop a patch as quickly as possible to correct the error. (See “A Tour of the Microsoft Security Response Center”). In other cases, the reported problems simply result from a mistake someone made in using the product. But many fall in between. They discuss real security problems, but the problems don’t result from product flaws. Over the years, we’ve developed a list of issues like these, that we call the 10 Immutable Laws of Security.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a patch that will protect you from the issues we’ll discuss below. It isn’t possible for Microsoft—or any software vendor—to “fix” them, because they result from the way computers work. But don’t abandon all hope yet—sound judgment is the key to protecting yourself against these issues, and if you keep them in mind, you can significantly improve the security of your systems.

On This Page

Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore
Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore
Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it’s not your computer anymore
Law #4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your website, it’s not your website any more
Law #5: Weak passwords trump strong security
Law #6: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy
Law #7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key
Law #8: An out of date virus scanner is only marginally better than no virus scanner at all
Law #9: Absolute anonymity isn’t practical, in real life or on the Web
Law #10: Technology is not a panacea

Law #1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

It’s an unfortunate fact of computer science: when a computer program runs, it will do what it’s programmed to do, even if it’s programmed to be harmful. When you choose to run a program, you are making a decision to turn over control of your computer to it. Once a program is running, it can do anything, up to the limits of what you yourself can do on the computer. It could monitor your keystrokes and send them to a website. It could open every document on the computer, and change the word “will” to “won’t” in all of them. It could send rude emails to all your friends. It could install a virus. It could create a “back door” that lets someone remotely control your computer. It could dial up an ISP in Katmandu. Or it could just reformat your hard drive.

That’s why it’s important to never run, or even download, a program from an untrusted source—and by “source,” I mean the person who wrote it, not the person who gave it to you. There’s a nice analogy between running a program and eating a sandwich. If a stranger walked up to you and handed you a sandwich, would you eat it? Probably not. How about if your best friend gave you a sandwich? Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn’t—it depends on whether she made it or found it lying in the street. Apply the same critical thought to a program that you would to a sandwich, and you’ll usually be safe.

Top Of Page

Law #2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

In the end, an operating system is just a series of ones and zeroes that, when interpreted by the processor, cause the computer to do certain things. Change the ones and zeroes, and it will do something different. Where are the ones and zeroes stored? Why, on the computer, right along with everything else! They’re just files, and if other people who use the computer are permitted to change those files, it’s “game over”.

To understand why, consider that operating system files are among the most trusted ones on the computer, and they generally run with system-level privileges. That is, they can do absolutely anything. Among other things, they’re trusted to manage user accounts, handle password changes, and enforce the rules governing who can do what on the computer. If a bad guy can change them, the now-untrustworthy files will do his bidding, and there’s no limit to what he can do. He can steal passwords, make himself an administrator on the computer, or add entirely new functions to the operating system. To prevent this type of attack, make sure that the system files (and the registry, for that matter) are well protected. (The security checklists on the Microsoft Security website will help you do this).

Top Of Page

Law #3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

Oh, the things a bad guy can do if he can lay his hands on your computer! Here’s a sampling, going from Stone Age to Space Age:

• He could mount the ultimate low-tech denial of service attack, and smash your computer with a sledgehammer.
• He could unplug the computer, haul it out of your building, and hold it for ransom.
• He could boot the computer from a floppy disk, and reformat your hard drive. But wait, you say, I’ve configured the BIOS on my computer to prompt for a password when I turn the power on. No problem – if he can open the case and get his hands on the system hardware, he could just replace the BIOS chips. (Actually, there are even easier ways).
• He could remove the hard drive from your computer, install it into his computer, and read it.
• He could make a duplicate of your hard drive and take it back his lair. Once there, he’d have all the time in the world to conduct brute-force attacks, such as trying every possible logon password. Programs are available to automate this and, given enough time, it’s almost certain that he would succeed. Once that happens, Laws #1 and #2 above apply.
• He could replace your keyboard with one that contains a radio transmitter. He could then monitor everything you type, including your password.

Always make sure that a computer is physically protected in a way that’s consistent with its value—and remember that the value of a computer includes not only the value of the hardware itself, but the value of the data on it, and the value of the access to your network that a bad guy could gain. At a minimum, business-critical computers like domain controllers, database servers, and print/file servers should always be in a locked room that only people charged with administration and maintenance can access. But you may want to consider protecting other computers as well, and potentially using additional protective measures.

If you travel with a laptop, it’s absolutely critical that you protect it. The same features that make laptops great to travel with – small size, light weight, and so forth—also make them easy to steal. There are a variety of locks and alarms available for laptops, and some models let you remove the hard drive and carry it with you. You also can use features like the Encrypting File System in Microsoft Windows® 2000 to mitigate the damage if someone succeeded in stealing the computer. But the only way you can know with 100% certainty that your data is safe and the hardware hasn’t been tampered with is to keep the laptop on your person at all times while traveling.

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Thanks to ch0pstickninja for teaching the world about the menu, and for Fire for assisting with research.

Coke vending machines are everywhere. They’re getting more and more like regular computers

with LEDs that show little “ICE COLD” messages and whatnot. Well, there’s a lot more to those little built-in computers than you may think. Included in the low-level operating system that these babies run on is an actual debug menu that gives you access to all sorts of machine information and possibly gives you free cokes in older machines.

WHICH MACHINES WORK?

There’s a very strict list of vending machines that have the debug menu. First off, they’re all COCA-COLA product vending machines. This means the giant, un-missable picture on the front must show any of the following: Coke, Dasani (Water), Barq’s Root Beer, Vanilla Coke, Cherry Coke, Sprite, Evlan (water), Fanta, Fresca, Frutopia, Hi-C, Sprite Remix, Mad River, Mello Yello, Minute Maid, Nestea, Odwalla, Mr. Pibb/Pibb Xtra, Planet Java, Power Ade, Seagram’s Ginger Ale, Simply Orange, Sparkletts, or Tab. Of course anything Diet or Caffeine free works too.

The machine must have an LED screen. Some of the older ones just allow the LED to be set to a price amount and won’t have the debug menu. You’re safer if the little LED is telling you something. Usually it will scroll a little message like “Ice Cold Cokes”. Newer machines are more likely candidates.

ACCESSING THE MENU

To enter the menu, there’s a button combination. HERE’S THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO REALLY REMEMBER:

[4]-[2]-[3]-[1]

The buttons are numbered depending on how they are positioned. They will either be vertical (more likely), or in horizontal rows of 4 buttons per row. If it is vertical, the first button is #1, the one below it is #2, and so forth. If the buttons are in horizontal rows, the first button is #1, and the one to the right of it is #2. The numbers work like a type writer after that. In rows of 4, the first button of row 2 will be button #5. So, to review, getting in to the debug menu looks like this:

COKE MACHINE::::::

$1.00 ——-

————-

[ Coke ] <– Hit this button last

[ Coke ] <– Hit this button second

[ Diet Coke ] <– Hit this button third

[ Sprite ] <– Hit this button first

[ And so on ]

————-

Some text should show up on the LED (probably the word “Error”, we’ll explain what it means next sections). If nothing happens, your machine doesn’t have the debug menu.

NAVIGATION

To navigate from option to option (What they are is next section), remember the numberings we gave the buttons. They work as follows:

Button [ 1 ] - Exit/Back

Button [ 2 ] - Up

Button [ 3 ] - Down

Button [ 4 ] - Select

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/12/48/

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Federal Reserve announced a new program to help the battered market for short-term business loans - taking its closest step yet to lending directly to businesses.

The program addresses commercial paper, a form of short-term funding that is crucial to many businesses operations.

Commercial paper is sold by major corporations and most of the nation’s leading financial institutions. They use the proceeds to fund day-to-day business operations. It is bought primarily by money market fund managers and other institutional investors.

Before the current credit crisis, there was nearly $2 trillion of commercial paper outstanding and was mostly issued for short terms - never more than nine months - and thus had to be renewed frequently.

For investors, it was considered a very safe investment to purchase and one that could be easily resold to other investors.

In the past month, the amount of money outstanding in commercial paper loans has fallen 11% to a seasonally adjusted $1.6 trillion on Oct. 1 from $1.82 trillion on Sept. 10.

The decline in available funding indicates only part of the market’s problems, however. Investors have also become unwilling to buy longer-term paper - beyond a week or two - from even companies and financial institutions with top-flight credit ratings.

Federal Reserve officials speaking on background to reporters said that the overwhelming majority of the paper outstanding is coming up for renewal in the next several days and companies needing to use the money could face trouble when they try to renew it.

CNN

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. won the backing of Warren Buffett, the world’s preeminent stock-picker, as the Wall Street firm seeks to raise cash from investors whose faith in the investment-banking business model has been shaken.

For Goldman, Buffett’s endorsement came at a price. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., led by the 78-year-old billionaire, is buying $5 billion of perpetual preferred stock with a 10 percent dividend. Berkshire also gets warrants to buy $5 billion of common stock at $115 a share at any time in the next five years. The common stock closed yesterday at $125.05, providing Buffett with an instant paper profit of $437 million.

“It’s a hell of a deal for Buffett,” said Brad Hintz

Read more at Bloomberg.com

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Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he’s confident several countries will take steps comparable to the $700 billion plan he proposed to buy bad mortgage-related securities to address the global financial crisis.

“We are talking very aggressively with other countries around the world and encouraging them to do similar things, and I believe a number of them will,” Paulson said on ABC News‘ “This Week” program.

Paulson yesterday asked Congress for unfettered authority to buy devalued mortgage-related securities from investment firms in an effort to keep the financial system from coming to a standstill. The proposal would prevent courts from reviewing the Treasury’s actions while raising the nation’s debt ceiling.

German Finance Ministry spokesman Stefan Olbermann said members of the Group of Seven industrial nations are in “ongoing talks about the situation on financial markets worldwide.” Finance ministers from the G-7 countries meet in Washington on Oct. 10.

Original 

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