Critical Issue
This is Monday’s open trackback post. Link to this post and track back. More below the post body,
Very brief background, then a critical issue. Follow carefully.
It’s a given: Mass Media Podpeople and our political masters are going to lie, obfuscate and fabricate out their kiesters in order to lead us down whatever garden path they believe best for their agendas. Don’t believe that? Just check the fake news coming from Mass Media Podpeople about any one issue–take the Lebanon war–or the primo bullshit coming from our political masters–”Read My Lips Jr.” on amnesty for illegals, for example.
Recently, bloggers and other online “alternative media” have provided some relief from the bullshit. But internet watchdogs have an Achilles heel most don’t stop to think about carefully: site and personal computer security.
But do think about it. How many bloggers do you recall having come under DDOS attacks in the last year or having had their sites hacked? More than just some few. Check with your service provider and DO maintain the highest degree of security you can given their service structure, if you feel your blog could possibly come under attack.
But what about your own computer? Sure, you run the latest and greatest anti-virus software, firewall software and anti-spyware. Don’t you? And you DO make sure it’s all up to date at all times, right? Right? If you have a broadband connection (surely you do 
) you also run a decent HARDWARE firewall and have its security settings at a relatively high level. Right? And your wireless firewall/router is set for the highest level security/encryption it allows, too.
Of course. because, if some malware author could gain control of your system, you’re no better off than if some hacker gained control of your blog.
But what priviledges do you normally run when you log onto your computer?
Yeh, administrator, right?
Bad blogger, bad!
A pointer from a sysadmin emailing into Chaos Manor Musings to Defending Against New Rootkits That Beat BSD, Linux, Mac, Vista, AMD and Intel brings bad news to EVERY computer user who logs onto their system with administrator priviledges…
A proof-of-concept root kit that can take control of any system running with admin priviledges in any of the above mentioned systems has already been demonstrated.
And yes, there’s now no known defense EXCEPT not running your system under admin priviledges or, maybe just running your system under admin priviledges when disconnected from the network–*yech!* And NOTE: M$ Windows security updates will not download and install except under admin priviledge mode… Yeh, there are ways around that, too, but they are cumbersome.
You have been warned. Regularly running your system in admin mode instead of a lesser-priviledged user mode can leave you open to this kind of root kit zombie-ing (for whatever purpose such root kit author might desire).
We need our computers to keep our voices. Just use good sense and practice safe computing, OK? Don’t be the first to have yourvoice silenced by carelessness leaving you vulnerable to a malicious attack (he says as he goes to add another user account to his one machine that usually *cough* does run in admin mode. *heh* 
).
One small word of comfort: no such root kit is “in the wild” at this point. That anyone (who’s talking) knows of, that is…
As I said, this is an open trackback post. Link to this post and track back. If you want to host your own linkfests, check out
Also note the other fine blogs featuring linkfests at Linkfest Haven.
Posted: August 13th, 2006 under Blogroll.
Tags: stupid is as stupid does
Trackback URL for this post: http://www.thirdworldcounty.us/wp-trackback.php?p=2369
Comments
Trackback from Tidbits And Treasures
Time August 14, 2006 at 10:25 AM
“I am quite mad”…….
I?ve been watching Jordan?s View blog to see if he has found what he is looking for (his last post). But, he hasn?t posted again since May. But, in looking at other posts, I ran across his April post on the Christian Carnival. And, I read this:
…
Comment from Lyn
Time August 14, 2006 at 10:52 AM
Well, I can understand the “Big Boys” getting hacked (and hacked off by the intrusions, lol) but do you think we minor bugs in the ecosphere really are in danger? lgp
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time August 14, 2006 at 10:54 AM
Flown (into) the coop…
WASHINGTON – Scientists have discovered the possible presence of bird flu in wild mute swans in Michigan ? but it does not appear to be the most worrisome, highly pathogenic strain, the White House announced Monday….
Pingback from Camelotdestraideale.it » Blog Archive » L?Italia in Libano. Il centrosinistra mette al bando il pacifismo
Time August 14, 2006 at 12:18 PM
[...] Tracked back to third world county, The Bullwinkle Blog, Pirate?s Cove, Fulvia Leopardi [...]
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time August 14, 2006 at 12:48 PM
Maximilian Kolbe…
The two photos above were taken when Dear Wife and I visited Poland in August 2000. While there we visited Auschwitz. The first photo shows the gate to the concentration camp.
The second photo is of a memorial to Father Maximilian Kolbe….
Trackback from Tel-Chai Nation
Time August 14, 2006 at 3:50 PM
FOX journalists kidnapped in Gaza…
What makes this scary is that the terrorists who kidnapped them could be more lethal to FOX correspondents than to ones from CNN or CBS. Reuters has this report:…
Trackback from planck’s constant
Time August 14, 2006 at 3:53 PM
Israel Won in Lebanon – Iran Lost…
The blogosphere is lit up with posts that declare “Israel Lost” in Lebanon. That conclusion is reached because:
1) Israel didn’t win
2) Hezbollah didn’t lose
3) Israel accepted a ceasefire without declawing Hezbollah
4) Our MSM and the world pr…
Trackback from The Uncooperative Blogger
Time August 14, 2006 at 4:55 PM
Uncooperative Radio Podcast 08-11-06…
This is completely opinion, we are moving back to how I did my radio show, more talk on politics. Since the player functions fine at a 21k connect speed, I am no longer limiting myself to 30 minutes. However, I won’t try to go any longer.
Yesterd…
Trackback from Blue Star Chronicles
Time August 14, 2006 at 11:35 PM
Marines are Affected by Haditha Allegations…
What do we want from our Marines? Do we want them protecting us or do we want them hesitant to pull a trigger for fear a United States Congressman will accuse them of ?cold blooded murder??…
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time August 15, 2006 at 7:23 AM
The Knucklehead of the Day award…
This is going to be a controversial one. Today’s winner is Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld….
Trackback from Woman Honor Thyself
Time August 15, 2006 at 8:16 AM
TerroR: It’s HerE to StaY…
Tough new restrictions coming into force on Tuesday at Britain?s busiest airports are set to become permanent…….
……
Pingback from Camelotdestraideale.it » Blog Archive » Castro resuscita, ma ? vittima della dittatura. Bertinotti parla, ma farebbe bene a dimettersi
Time August 15, 2006 at 9:47 AM
[...] Tracked back to third world county, Linkfest Haven, Gianmario Mariniello, DestraLab [...]
Pingback from third world county
Time August 21, 2006 at 8:33 AM
[...] is a followup to a post made last week about the inadvisability of regularly running ANY computer in ANY OS with admins priviledges whileconnected to a network, especially the internet. Some users of WinXP Home edition have noted that they lose the abilility to even start or use some programs without admin priviledges. (Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe not. ) [...]
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time August 14, 2006 at 5:47 AM
The Knucklehead of the Day award…
Today’s winner is novelist Gunther Grass….