Mahesh Kukreja - Webmaster, SEO Blog, Make Money Online » security

WordPress 2.8.5: Security Hardening Release

Admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:53:36 +0000

WordPress has released a new version of it’s famous blogging software! It’s latest version is WordPress 2.8.5. This release consists of several security features. WordPress recommends that all sites must be upgraded to this new version of WordPress to ensure that you have the best available protection.

Some of the features of this release are:

A fix for the Trackback Denial-of-Service attack that is currently being seen.
Removal of areas within the code where php code in variables was evaluated.
Switched the file upload functionality to be whitelisted for all users including Admins.
Retiring of the two importers of Tag data from old plugins.

To upgrade WordPress go to Tools > Upgrade in your WP Admin. Just select “Upgrade Automatically” or “Download 2.8.5″ and upgrade it manually.

Related Posts

Related Websites

Panda AntiVirus free 1 year License give away

Admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:01:21 +0000

Last week, I posted about ZoneAlarm’s free 1 year license. This week again I am posting about a free AntiVirus License give away! This time it’s Panda AntiVirus.

The license give away will be on 22nd October, 2009. Also on the same day, Windows 7 is going to be launched!

The free give away will be available for 24 hours. You can download your free copy within that time. Panda Security is compatible with Windows 7. So, those of you, who are planning to upgrade to Windows 7 have a good option of getting free Panda Security for 1 year. Also, Panda Security is already compatible with earlier versions of Windows.

The give away will start in about 26 hours and will be valid for 24 hours. Follow these easy steps to free your computer of viruses, hackers and other cyber-criminals:

1) Register here on 10/22/09

2) Download Internet Security 2010

3) Receive an activation code for one free year and use it

P.S. Like the last week’s ZoneAlarm’s free download link was tweeted to me by @kumarankush, this time also my friend Kumar tweeted me the link to this free give away. Thanks once again Kumar! Also, I thank @shubhankar for tweeting the link to Kumar!

Related Posts

Related Websites

How to change WordPress username through phpMyAdmin

Admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Many of you may be knowing that changing WordPress login username is one of the ways to protect your WordPress blog. After a fresh install of WordPress on your host, you sign in with the default username “admin“. You cannot change this username directly from the Admin panel.

But don’t worry! There’s another way to change this username. It’s through phpMyAdmin. This is not a new hack/method. But, it’s quite useful from security point of view, esp. for WordPress newbies.

Following are the steps to change WordPress username through phpMyAdmin:

Step 1: Login to your phpMyAdmin using your SQL Database username and password

This can be done through cPanel of your host.

Step 2: Browse to your blog’s database

Step 3: Find wp_users:

(Edit the default WordPress table prefix “wp_” if needed)

Once you click on browse in your wp_users database, you will be shown the users on this blog. Scroll down to the ID which says user_login as admin(by default). Once there click on edit button, the edit button will appear as a pencil logo.

Step 4: Edit the values:

Once clicked on edit, you will be taken to a page that appears as below. Here the second field user_login will have admin under the value column. Change this from admin to anything you prefer.

Once done with the change save and click go on the page.

There we have changed the WordPress user from the default admin to something we prefer. This is one way to ensure your WordPress blog is one step secure than it was before.

Happy Blogging.

Related Posts

Related Websites

French Hacker “Hacker Croll” compromised Twitter

Admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:22:34 +0000

A French computer hacker is thought to have tapped into Twitter’s internal system, gaining access to millions of accounts including that of US President Barack Obama.

The hacker, under the name “Hacker Croll“, posted a series of screenshots showing him viewing internal website settings and the private details of user accounts.

The screenshots show Croll looking at the behind-the-scenes details for the account of US President Barack Obama, including the IP address of the last person to use it.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone confirmed unauthorised access was gained by an outside party during the week, but said only 10 individual accounts were viewed.

Mr Stone did not reveal whose Twitter accounts had been hacked, but he assured Twitter users no account information was altered or removed.

All affected parties had been contacted and Twitter was conducting a independent security audit of its internal systems, he said.

According to a report on PC World, Croll gained access to the system by finding the password of a Twitter employee.

He allegedly boasted on an online forum of breaking into the Yahoo! email account of an employee and then finding the employee’s Twitter password in an old email.

It is the second time Twitter has suffered a security breach this year.

In January another hacker gained access to a staff account by guessing the password.

The hacker then posted fake updates to a number of high-profile accounts including Britney Spears and Mr Obama.

Related Posts

Related Websites

Microsoft Releases IE8, Improves Security

Admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:37:13 +0000

Microsoft plans to make its Internet Explorer 8 browser available on Thursday, along with a company-commissioned report claiming IE8 is more secure against malware than rival browsers from Mozilla and Google.

Users will be able to download IE8 in 25 languages at 12:00 noon Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday from Microsoft’s IE Web site and its online download center.

Microsoft has been preparing users for IE8 for a good year now, stressing performance improvements, better support for Internet technology standards, the addition of new features to help people keep track of most visited sites and favorite sources of information, and of course, security, as highlights of the new browser.

According to the report Microsoft released Thursday, based on research conducted by NSS Labs, IE8′s Release Candidate 1 was 69 percent effective at catching malware before it did damage to a user’s system. Mozilla Firefox 3.07 came in second with a 30 percent effectiveness rate, with Apple Safari’s 3 in third place with a 24-percent rate and Google’s Chrome 1.0.154 in fourth place with 16 percent effectiveness rate

NSS Labs said in the report that the data was collected from tests conducted in just over 12 days from Feb. 26 through March 10 in its labs in Austin, Texas. During the course of the test, the company said it monitored connectivity to ensure the browsers could access the live malware sites being tested, and performed 141 discrete tests. The margin of error of the tests was 3.76 percent, according to NSS Labs.

Amy Barzdukas, a senior director at Microsoft, acknowledged that it might be a conflict of interest for Microsoft to sponsor a report in which IE8 came out on top in terms of security. However, she encouraged people to “look closely at the results” before making a judgment call on the validity of the report.

IE8 will be included as part of the Windows 7 OS. However, for the first time since adding browser technology to its operating system, Microsoft will give users the ability to turn off IE8 as a feature in the system.

Related Posts

Related Websites

5 Free Security Softwares – Must Use

Admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 07:14:14 +0000

Here are 5 Free Security Softwares that you can use to combat your fear against Adwares, Viruses, Trojans, etc.

1.Avast Home Edition: Best Free Antivirus

Avast is one of the best antiviruses I recommend to my friends. It is free and has many features which many of the Antiviruses lack. I have known it for more than 3 years. Until now no virus, Spywares, Adwares, Worms or Trojan has been able to invade my computer. It protects you from IP attacks as well. It has Web Shield, Standard Shield, Email Shield, P2P Shield etc. It has a very nice user friendly interface and the scanning is faster than most of the Antivirus out there. Use it to know it better.

Link: Avast Home Edition Homepage

2. Comodo Firewall Pro: Best Free Firewall

Comodo is very well known in the field of security, especially web security. They provide many free and paid products but the best ever software they produced is their Firewall. Its free and no other firewall is as good as this one. I have been a tester of firewalls. If you search on internet about leak test you will know that the only Firewall to pass the entire leak test is no other than Comodo Firewall. I personally downloaded leak test softwares and tested it myself. It passed with 100% score. It is very powerful and no software can transfer data to internet without your approval.

Warning: This software is very powerful. It sometimes become annoying approving access to softwares (after some days it will be OK, it won’t disturb you much) but if you are very much concerned about security then this is the best.

Link: Comodo Firewall Homepage

3. Key Scrambler Personal: Best Free Anti Key logger for internet users (Browser Add-on)

Are you worried about key loggers? Someone might have installed a key logger in your computer and using it to get your usernames and passwords. That person might know which sites you are visiting. Well do not worry much, here is the best solution. Use Key Scrambler. It works as a layer between any monitoring systems (Key loggers etc). When you type anything this software scrambles whatever you type. For example you typed “Apple” but key logger will not be able to catch it, instead it will get wrong data like “:T7$n”. So you are safe from key loggers. I am using it for more than a year.

Link: Key Scrambler Personal Homepage

4. RoboForm: Best Password Management Software

Ok so by using Key Scrambler you are safe from key loggers but think if you do not have to type you username and password at all, no data will be stolen. This is what RoboForm can do. RoboForm is the best in Password Managements. It can store your passwords and you can secure all your username and password data with a master password. You do not need to remember all your login data. With one click you can input you login data in website and login without typing anything. It saves a lot of time, especially if you have lots of memberships/login. I have membership at more than 100 sites, so I use RoboForm to mange my logins. You can use RoboForm for free with full feature and automation if you have not more than 10 logins.

Link: RoboForm Homepage

5. Advanced System Care Free: Best Free Utility for Windows

OK I agree this is not a security software, than why is it listed here. Just two reasons, first it has Spyware Removal, which detects the presence of Spywares and removes them and also protect from them in advance. The other is Privacy Sweep; (remember we also need to be protected from data theft). You need to remove the tracking cookies placed by many website. Some are safe but some might be harmful. Privacy Sweep removes those data and makes you system cleaner. (I also advice to use the ‘Junk Clean File’ option in it. You can save lot of hard disk space.)

Link: Advanced System Care Free Homepage

Hope this list is useful for you.

-Mahesh.

Related Posts

Related Websites

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is Vulnerable to Attacks

Admin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:10:40 +0000

Hi Guyz, Just got the news.

Microsoft Internet Explorer users, beware. There’s a security flaw in all versions of the browser that leaves you wide open for attack. At least two million computers have already been infected.

The exploit doesn’t require users to click on links or download software from the Internet. Rather, it infects users when they open a Web page. The goal is to steal passwords, according to security experts, gain access to financial data and otherwise steal the victim’s identity.

“Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer,” said the company in a release on its Web site. Microsoft did not offer information on when a patch might be available.

Unpatched and Dangerous

Security flaws in browsers are certainly nothing new. But the difference with this one is there is no patch. No fix from Microsoft means that millions of Internet users may be at risk of infection simply from browsing the Web, according to Graham Cluley, a senior security consultant at Sophos.

“We are seeing infections on pornographic Web sites — and it’s not clear if these have been hacked or have been deliberately set up to infect surfers,” Cluley said. “Of course, Web-site attackers don’t just target porn sites. We see something like 20,000 new infected Web pages every single day — that’s one every 4.5 seconds — and the vast majority of those are legitimate sites that have been compromised by the likes of an SQL injection attack.”

How to Protect Yourself

Some computer users may be tempted to switch, if only temporarily, to alternative browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. Even Microsoft has suggested this as a temporary workaround.

However, Cluley cautions that all browsers have vulnerabilities and can be exploited — and switching the browser all employees use in a corporate setting isn’t a practical option. With so many attacks being discovered all the time, he continued, enterprise Web protection is a must.

“There’s no such thing as a 100 percent flaw-free Web browser,” he stressed. “To reduce the risks, you need to change your surfing behavior and ensure that your systems are properly protected with up-to-date antivirus software, patches and firewalls.”

Whatever the browser choice, Cluley said users need to ensure they have up to date, effective security in place. Quality generic detections are proven to be effective against new malware, and URL filtering can add a significant layer of protection against Web-borne threats, he advised.

Password Management

Password management is also an issue. Sophos’ research reveals that 40 percent of people use the same password for every Web site they visit. That means if hackers manage — through this flaw or other means — to steal your password, it might unlock a huge amount of other information for them.

“Regardless of this current exploit, therefore, it is essential that people take greater care over their passwords,” Cluley said, “not just choosing hard-to-crack non-dictionary passwords, but also ensuring that they don’t use the same password for everything.”

Out-of-Cycle Patch Coming?

Cluley expects Microsoft is feverishly attempting to build a fix for this problem. But a fix won’t come overnight. Microsoft, he said, also has the challenge of testing the patch before it is released.

“After all, no one wants Microsoft to roll out a patch that doesn’t work, or one that causes more problems than it attempted to solve,” Cluley said. “We don’t know yet when Microsoft will be in a position to release a fix, but much of the online world is waiting for it with bated breath.”

Related Posts

Related Websites