US-CERT Technical Cyber Security Alert TA12-024A warns of Anonymous DDoS attacks

Anonymous has made the news lately with their attacks on many sites, with the most prominent being government sites. US-CERT released this info yesterday:   National Cyber Alert System Technical Cyber Security Alert TA12-024A “Anonymous” DDoS Activity Original release date: January 24, 2012 Last revised: — Source: US-CERT Overview US-CERT has received information from multiple sources about coordinated distributed denial-of-service …

Suddenly people cannot get to the internet at my business

So you have been cruising along at your business for years and all has been great, but now, out of the blue, people on your network are having trouble viewing websites. You found that if you reboot that firewall (pull the plug on the thing since there is no power supply) that YOU get back online right away, but then …

WatchGuard posts list of “PCI Pitfalls for Retailers”

Watchguard, provider of quality firewall and security products for small, media and enterprise business made a “Social Media Release” today that outlines a list of PCI Pitfalls for Retailers. It is quoted below  in its entirety but can be found here. I’ll be posting about the new WatchGuard XTM 33 designed for Small/Medium businesses, and may be ideal for retailers! …

Google’s personal search results can be turned off if you prefer not to see them

Over on lifehacker.com there is a great post about how to turn off the Google personal search results feature. The instructions for doing so are simply to click on the settings cog at the top of the Google page, then select “Search Settings”. Next find “Personal results” and select “Do not use personal results”. This makes the “Hide personal results” …

Secure IT Alert: Adobe patches address Reader & Acrobat vulnerabilities

Homeland Secure IT Alert for Wednesday, January 11, 2012 Yesterday was Adobe’s first patch day of the new year and the security bulletin describes a total of six vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat X 10.1.1 and older, on both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac. The issues that are addressed are considered “critical” in nature and the solution is to …

Charter starting initiative to replace older generation docsis 1 and 1.1 modems

We have been informed by our Charter rep that starting today (January 10, 2012), Charter is starting an initiative focused on removing older generation docsis 1 and 1.1 modems from the customer user base that currently subscribes to MAX, PLUS and ULTRA. The email included the following information: This is a company-wide project focused on technically positioning our customer base …

Could your next internet connection be satellite based? ViaSat would like to believe so.

Satellite internet connections have been around for a while, and if you have used that technology, you have likely been disappointed. Hughes probably has the highest market penetration, and those using it have been quick to complain about caps and upload speed. This is where ViaSat comes in. They revealed their home satellite system at CES and Engadget has a …

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for January 2012 – Happy New Year!

Microsoft rings in the new year with updates!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! The Advance Notification outlines 7 bulletins that cover updates from “important” to “critical” in Microsoft Windows (XP / Server 2003 / Vista / Server 2008) and Microsoft Developer Tools & Software. Most will require a restart, or at least MAY require a restart. On the Advance Notification page you …