True Insight » Windows

YAAV (Yet Another Adobe Vulnerability)

Brett Edgar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:13:12 +0000

Another Adobe Acrobat vulnerability is being exploited in the wild. All versions up to and including 9.1.3 are vulnerable. The current exploit targets Acrobat and Acrobat Reader on Windows specifically, but all Acrobat variants (those for Linux and Mac OS X) are vulnerable. Apparently, using DEP (Data Execution Prevention) in Windows may thwart the attack (at the moment). DEP is an optional setting. Here is the Microsoft KB article about DEP, but their server is saying it’s “too busy” at the moment (4:11p). More information from the ISC is here.

Adobe is set to release an update on October 13. Until then, keep on your toes!

TRUE Network Security Monitoring customers: rest easier: if your resources are successfully attacked, we should see the results.

Microsoft Opens Its Protocols

Michael Oglesby — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:50:19 +0000

Last week, in a surprise move, Microsoft announced Open Access to Protocol Documentation[microsoft.com]. Microsoft is releasing their protocol technical specifications for interoperability with Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Exchange, and others. This means third party and open source software will be able to “talk” directly with Windows components that had previously been closed to them. This is quite a change for Microsoft, who until now kept their protocols propriety, forcing vendors to reverse-engineer the protocols. This should result in greater support between open source products and Windows. I hope other companies follow Microsoft’s lead.

Ugly pictures

Dominic Schulte — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:55:49 +0000

Did anyone notice this story on SecurityFocus? It’s an article discribing a series of attempted malware infections that were first reported by the SANS Internet Storm Center over Christmas. Apparently, three people reported buying digital picture frames made by the same manufacturer from three different Sam’s Club stores. When plugged into a computer, the malware on the picture frames attempted to perform various nasty things.

This type of threat is likely to increase as more and more devices become digitally aware. Your best bet for protecting yourself is to disable the autorun feature in Windows. That way you can scan and examine the devices you attach to your computer before the malware they may be hosting has an opportunity to become a part of your digital life.