Masque Attack
Masque Attack was a recent vulnerability involving Apple’s mobile operating system that would allow hackers to use web pages, text messages, and emails to trick people into downloading fake apps that disclose personal information.
The concern is that fake apps resembling real apps such as banks or email program could replace genuine apps installed through the App Store, and siphon personal data without user knowledge. Obviously there is a potential for a sneaky vulnerability on any device, but it’s noteworthy for Apple, which many of its users consider more resistant to hacks and problems.
There is no evidence the vulnerability is being used in the US, but the bug affects iOS 7 or later. 95 percent of Apple mobile devices could be vulnerable.
Apple issued a statement about the matter, that it does not know of any customers who were affected by the issue, and to only download apps from trusted sources.
How To Avoid This, whether you use an iPhone, or an Android or Windows device:
- Don’t install apps from third party sources. Only use Apple’s App store (or the appropriate one to your device) or your own organization if it has apps.
- Don’t click ‘install’ from a popup, even if the popup seems legitimate.
- If iOS says “Untrusted App Developer” click on “Don’t Trust” and uninstall the app.
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How to Build A Web Presence
Have you noticed that some companies, small or large, seem to have it together when it comes to their web presence? Their website is set up and interactive, their social media is engaging and popular, their presence seems to permeate every corner of the web. From Yellow Pages to Yelp, you know exactly who they are. How do they build a web presence?
The Web Presence and the Website
A basic website is your first step towards establishing a web presence. Your website should be a home-base for all of your web content. It’s what should pop up first in a search for your business. Your website is where people should be able to find all of your content in one focused location.
A website does not need to be overly complex or cluttered with information – in fact, there are benefits to keeping it clean and easy to navigate. Visitors to your site should be able to find out what your business is and how to contact you with minimal effort.
Don’t think you can just build a website and forget it. Websites only thrive in search engine rankings if you are providing valuable content to people and updating it regularly. If you don’t have any knowledge to share, you can set up a “News” page and let people know what your business is up to. This kind of content keeps people engaged and gives them a reason to come back.
The Web Presence and Social Media
It’s hard to avoid social media; along with Facebook and Twitter, G+ is making its way onto the stage, along with dozens of other more specialized forms of social media.
Do you really need all that? Well, it certainly helps. Giving people more possibilities to land on information about your business means they will be more likely to choose your business when the time comes. If you are already making regular updates to your website, consider utilizing a program such as Hootsuite to easily update all of your social media outlets at once with topically similar information.
What social media should you be on? Facebook, Twitter, and G+ are the biggies. Beyond that, if you have lots of images to share, Pinterest or Tumblr might be welcome additions.
The Web Presence and Directory Sites
The goal of directory sites is to make your business available on any site someone might happen upon. Anywhere from Superpages to Bing to Yelp, your company should have a page. Sometimes these pages might already be created and you must claim them to correct and update the existing information. At other times, you will get to set everything up from scratch.
Plenty of for-pay services offer to fill in all directory sites in one fell swoop. There are also sites such as Moz which scans everything for you and presents a nice To Do list on what you still need to fill in. This gives you a little more control over which information gets entered on each individual directory.
While you’re at it, if you have a physical location, be sure to check it out on Google Maps to make sure your info is valid. This information may be tied to your G+ account, so if you’ve already set that up, it might already be accurate.
Final Thoughts
If this all seems a bit much and hard to keep up with, don’t throw your hands up and miss out on potential business. Contact Appletree Mediaworks. We will be more than happy to work with you and help boost your web presence.
What is Ello?
Ello?
Much of the tech or social-media sided web has discussed Ello. These conversations frequently come in the same breath as something disparaging about Facebook, which gives indicator that it is presumably, a competitor. But just what is Ello, and is it going to live up to the hype! Read on for some answers, and some noncommittal predictions.
The New Kid
To begin with, the obvious: Ello is a new social media platform. If Facebook and Twitter had a child, and that new-kid artsy hipster child was just a little too cool to hang out with Tumblr with its weird (and occasionally questionable) hobbies, and found G+ – product of influential parents – to be absurdly outgoing and trying way too hard? That might be Ello.
But Why?
Originally created by a group of designers and developers to be a private social network, Ello strives to be different right off the bat. And in a world of multiple social media platforms, it needs to. Ello caters to users who are burned out on Facebook’s unilateral decisions and catering to advertising, and to users who are disenfranchised with the notion of being a data-gathering product of Facebook. Ello’s big boast is that it does not collect and sell your data to advertisers, and never will. Instead, Ello claims that it will have special features which users can purchase if they want, and that is how the company intends to fund the platform. Will that be enough to support the massive number of invite-only users trying out the platform? Comments sections the internet over are on fire over this question.
The Platform
Visually, Ello is stark, and fairly easy to figure out because it is designed to be simple. White background, with blacks and grays – it looks the part of extreme minimalism and a courier –style typeface. You can customize your page and add a little color by giving yourself a header image, not unlike Twitter, and adding an avatar.
Adding friends is a little like following people on Twitter, and you can type @users to address someone in particular. The Omnibox is your basic post-box, people have the ability to comment, and you can upload media. There is no ‘like’ button, but Ello states that in the near future it will have a ‘Love’ button.
You have two options for following people – Friends, or Noise. Noise is @ello, and populated by photographers, designers and graphic artists at this time. Much like Tumblr, Ello is set up to accept animated GIFs and may find itself rapidly integrating with the same sorts of users that populate the more visual social media platforms. Friends, on the other hand, is the wall where you view people you have friended and the things that they post.
Beyond this, the ‘Discover’ area is where you get a search bar which, at this point, seems about clunky and less useful than it could be. Ello’s feature list promises to improve this, along with the addition of an emoji index, user blocking, audio integration, multimedia commenting, and mobile apps.
But will it last?
This remains to be seen. A number of social media platforms have popped up only to burn out rapidly through the years, and Ello’s pride is also its disadvantage: with no income from advertisers, the question on whether it could handle long term widespread popularity has been debated extensively. It could be a momentary fad, getting attention from people that want desperately to escape Facebook and its games only to die shortly after, it could fall into a particular niche audience, or perhaps it will prove to be a true alternative.
Time will tell, and Ello has time. The platform is still in beta, and still invite-only. It’s definitely worth watching.
Websites and the CryptoPHP Infection
Could Your Site Be Infected?
If your website uses a content management system such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, you will want to be aware of the CryptoPHP infection. Like many infections of this nature, the CryptoPHP infection is both sneaky, and can spread the maliciousness once it’s there, so it’s good to be aware of it if you may have the potential to encounter it.
So Just What Is it?
CryptoPHP is an infection that works like a botnet. It is a sophisticated program that uses your website to conduct illegal “black-hat” SEO tactics such as adding links to other, possibly malicious websites. It can also upgrade itself, and since it communicates with other servers it can update itself and behave as a drone that could do anything from sending spam to attacking other sites.
How Do You Get it?
CryptoPHP is acquired by downloading and installing a theme to their WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal site – specifically a free theme found online. The infected theme has a nulled script that contains a line of code that appears to include PHP but instead appears to call on an image. Hidden inside the image is the real, malicious code.
How Can I Prevent It?
There are a few simple ways to avoid infection:
- Don’t use free downloaded themes on your site – it is difficult to tell what is infected and what is not.
- Don’t accumulate extra “unused” themes just sitting around on your site. It’s easy to collect dozens of these while trying them out, but best to reduce this number as much as possible. Your current theme and ones in development are all you really need.
- The sites we here at Appletree Mediaworks LLC create are CryptoPHP-free.
How To Know If You’re Infected
For WordPress: Install the Wordfence plugin and enable the option to scan images – CryptoPHP hides in a png image, but is actually obfuscated code. This will detect the infection.
Other sites: Download all source code and search for this line:
<?php include(‘assets/images/social.png’); ?>
Our sites here at Appletree MediaWorks LLC are CryptoPHP-free. If you have concerns over your own sites, or have any questions on keeping your website up to date and secure, contact us or visit our blog for more information.
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For More Information on CryptoPHP – http://www.wordfence.com/blog/2014/11/wordpress-security-nulled-scripts-cryptophp-infection/
How to Clean Up Your Computer
Have you ever noticed your computer starting to run slower for no apparent reason? Does Windows seem to take a while to boot up when it has no business crawling along like that? Has your browser become bogged down with a half-dozen tool bars of dubious origin?
Keeping your computer cleaned up is not always something that comes to mind, but a little regular maintenance will keep it running smoothly.
Virus Protection
All PCs should have some form of virus protection and most, in fact, do. Newly purchased computers might come with McAfee or Norton Antivirus, but these programs often have special features that are free for a limited time, but then proceed to nag you once they expire. Fortunately, there are several free and reliable antivirus programs available, including Avast and AVG. Microsoft also distributes Microsoft Essentials for free, which runs quietly and discreetly in the background.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure to uninstall any antivirus program you may already have before installing another – doubling up on antivirus software can create more problems than it prevents. If your computer is sluggish, check to make sure that you have only one antivirus program installed.
Your job is to make sure your antivirus is running, up to date, and scheduled to scan regularly.
Popup Blockers
Most browsers come with popup blockers, but malware often finds its way in through ads, so installing an add-on such as Adblock Plus can reduce the likelihood of malicious advertising infecting your computer. However, do not go overboard with the addons. Occasionally, legitimate plugins will be purchased and compromised by shifty companies that use them to inject malware into your computer. Consider each plugin wisely, and uninstall them when you don’t need them anymore.
Anti-Malware Software
I know what you’re thinking – what is this and what about the antivirus software? The problem with malicious programs is that there are many kinds, and they evolve and change, so that old protection software may not catch everything. Further, there are many kinds – from tracking spyware to software that hijacks your browser. While doubling up on antivirus software may do more harm than good, having secondary anti-malware software does help – this is where MalwareBytes comes in.
MalwareBytes should be updated and run on a regular basis. It digs out things that your antivirus might not have caught, and then may ask to reset your computer to further dislodge any bad software it finds. Let it do its job – it’s one of the better pieces of software out there.
Taking Out the Trash
Another handy piece of software for keeping your computer running smoothly, CCleaner will get rid of old temporary files, history files, clean up the remains of uninstalled software, and much more. It also has an option to uninstall software you don’t need any more and makes it easy to deactivate programs that run in the background, eating up valuable system resources.
Deactivating software that runs in the background when your computer first starts up will speed up the process drastically. Be careful with this tool because you might need unexpected things (your antivirus software, some drivers and video software) – but do you really need parts of Adobe Acrobat checking for updates every time you turn on the computer? Probably not.
Driver Updates
Speaking of updates – drivers rarely bother you, but they can benefit from occasional updates as well. Updating your hardware drivers can boost computer performance and keep things running smoothly, especially in an older computer. Slimdrivers is a free program that will scan your computer and detect when drivers need updating. It will even download the correct drivers and initiate the update process without having to leave the program.
Software Updates
A lot of your software will update automatically, but it is still a good idea to keep track of what’s been updated, and manually update what is behind. Windows, Firefox, Chrome, and IE can be checked for updates. Flash, Acrobat, and Java will prompt you for updates, quite frequently. Go ahead and update them as they come in. Updates often patch security holes.
Defrag, Defrag, Defrag
When you’re all done, defrag that thing. Defrag is part of Windows (though you can get better or more visually appealing versions of the software). It crunches together fragmented files, giving your computer a little added boost. If you’re using a Mac, fire up Disk Utility and Verify and Repair your disk permissions.
Dust That Thing
If you’re feeling bold and don’t mind cracking your desktop computer open, get some canned air and dust out the machine. You’ll be amazed (and maybe a little scared) at just how much dust gathers on electronics – dust gums up the works and holds in heat that your computer does not need.
Be smart about it though – if your computer is under warranty you may not want to go meddling around inside. Warranties aside, always make sure the computer is unplugged before prying open the case. It also helps to ground yourself on something so you don’t inadvertently shock some delicate computer chip with a static charge from your finger. Also, remember that you’re messing with delicate electronic equipment. You don’t want to bring an industrial shop vac to the machine (yes, sadly, this has been done). It is possible to knock things loose if you bump or nudge cards or cords, so make sure they are seated properly before closing everything back up.
While you’re at it, take a look at that keyboard. It may need a little more than canned air.
Wrapping It All Up
Once everything is taken care of, it never hurts to create a backup or restore point, in case something malicious does find its way onto your computer. Along with good practices for keeping nuisance programs off your computer (I’m looking at you, toolbars and ‘free games’), regularly cleaning your computer can keep it running smoothly for years.
Net Neutrality in a Nutshell
[iconsweet icon=”megaphone” color=”black” size=”32″] Listen to Appletree MediaWorks talk about Net Neutrality on The Union Edge Radio Show.
What Is Net Neutrality?
Net Neutrality is the idea that internet providers should treat all internet traffic the same way, wherever it comes from-whether it be a corporation like Google or Netflix, a small business website, or a start up. ISPs should not be able to charge more for access to certain services or create tiered systems that allow access to certain data and block or throttle others. Internet providers claim they are not against Net Neutrality, but their actions have shown otherwise.
Why Is This a Problem?
The current proposed two-tier system would allow that companies which can afford it would have access to an internet ‘fast lane.” The concern is that this would hurt startups and innovation and companies that do not have the resources to spend on the fast lane would be left with the slow lane where their ideas may never get off the ground.
Internet provider companies are dabbling in this already. Early last year, Verizon successfully challenged a court case that allowed it to disregard FCC regulations regarding blocking or ‘discrimination’ of internet traffic.
Broadband providers are classified as “information services” and NOT “common carriers” so the FCC lacks legal authority to regulate them as they do radio and television. If an ISP were classified as a common carrier instead, this would allow the FCC to ban “paid prioritization” or otherwise set rules in place.
Is It a Real Concern?
Companies have already gone the paid prioritization route. As a recent and noteworthy example, streaming media like Netflix and Hulu use large amounts of bandwidth. Comcast had been throttling Netflix – speeds declined nearly 30 percent – until Netflix agreed to pay up. Some agreed that Netflix should pay up due to higher bandwidth use – others disagreed and called this out as extortion and an abuse by the ISP.
Who Is For It? Who Is Against It?
Generally speaking, if you are a streaming service or use streaming services, run websites, use things like Facebook and Google, or ARE companies like Facebook or Google, you tend to be Pro-Net Neutrality. If you distrust the cable companies, think the upcoming Comcast/Time-Warner deal is too monopolistic, and want the internet to keep functioning as it has been, you are pro-Net Neutrality.
If you are a large ISP such as Verizon, Time Warner, or Comcast you are against Net Neutrality. If you heavily promote free market ideals and believe the market should work itself out, or if you have more distrust of the federal government than large telecom and cable companies, you tend to question Net Neutrality.
The President Steps In
The Net Neutrality issue has been contentious, with the FCC soliciting opinions from all manner of users on the FCC website.
Then early this week President Obama stepped up officially in favor of Net Neutrality, asking the FCC to classify it as a public utility. Obama has asked for the internet to be treated with regulatory protections as if it were classified under the Title II of Telecommunications Act. He has presented a four-tier plan: No blocking, no throttling, increased transparency, no paid prioritization.
President Obama, even if he appointed FCC Chairman Wheeler to the position, has no control directly over the FCC. Wheeler has balked at the suggestions, expressing frustration at the President’s statements. The FCC Chairman likely sees himself as being between a rock and a hard place, being a former lobbyist for the cable industry and longtime supporter for Obama campaigns. The FCC is unlikely to make a decision until 2015.
What Does This Mean For Us?
The internet may change as we know it, but nobody is quite sure on the long term ramifications. It may be harder to access specific sites, they may be slower. Startups may not have the opportunity to get off the ground. Cable companies say nothing will be slowed or throttled (we have seen this to be false) – just sped up in the case of the faster lane. We may have to pay for premium internet packages which permit us access to certain internet features, or menus of selected features. This is only speculation.
Specifically, concerns that Net Neutrality fail include: degraded service, higher costs, less innovation, uneven service (faster for some, slower for others – a local media outlet might have more trouble), greater technological divide by income and demographic.
What You Can Do
The best thing you can do is contact the FCC – you can go to their website and contact them online or call them. Write or call your members of congress. And learn more about the issue, become informed, and speak out. Savetheinternet.com has information on actions you can take.
[iconsweet icon=”megaphone” color=”black” size=”32″] Listen to Katie Dexter talk about Net Neutrality on The Union Edge Radio Show.
More Info
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102173519
http://gawker.com/what-is-net-neturality-and-why-should-i-care-the-non-g-1657354551
http://www.webpronews.com/obama-asks-fcc-to-reclassify-the-internet-2014-11
