Limewire Is Here To Stay
Judging by the hacked computers we are seeing coming into our shop, our students will not stop using the Limewire file sharing program. I thought we could simply have parents NOT allow their children to install Limewire, but judging by the “repeat” computers that are coming in, this is not the case. Oh well… So I’ll take another stance and provide tips for safe file sharing while using Limewire or other popular file sharing tools such as BearShare.
What is Limewire?
Limewire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program that lets you search and share files with other people on the Internet. Limewire is free to download and free to use. The majority of file sharing is music, however you can also share movies and other video, including pornography. REMEMBER, not only are you looking at files on millions of other computers, but those millions of other computer users are looking at YOUR files! That is what “FILE SHARING” implies.
There are several problems with using a file sharing program like Limewire. The following information will show you how to keep from exposing your computer and your personal files from viruses and identity thieves.
What not to share
When you install Limewire, the program asks you if you want to search you computer for media files to share. This is where the first security problem can arise. Limewire will automatically search your hard drive for any media files then ask you if you want to share the folder those files are stored in. Unfortunately this search almost always asks the user if they want to share the windows system folder. If you were to share your windows system folder you will be sharing all of your computer's primary files to the internet and in worse case scenarios your password files will be exposed to these file sharing programs. The next folder to avoid sharing is My Documents. What sorts of files are saved in My Documents? Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, digital photos, your tax documents, scanned documents. Almost every program saves in My Documents by default. Then there are the people who find it easier to share their entire c:\ drive rather than go through the bother of finding the files they wish to share. These make everything on your computer accessible to the internet. So what should you do to share files? The safest way to share files is to create a directory set the directory's permission to read/write only. Then tell Limewire that is the only directory that you wish to share from.
What not to open
Anything, Do not open any files that you download from a file sharing network without scanning the file for viruses first. Viruses can look like any type of file and you are downloading these files from strangers. Virus writers and spammers will flood sharing networks with their malicious files. A favorite technique of virus writer is to name viruses similar to the most popular downloads.
Limewire is not a free iTunes
Downloading copyrighted material can get you into a lot of trouble. So how can you tell what material will not get you into trouble. Limewire will let you know when you are downloading unlicensed content. If it is unlicensed then it can get you into trouble. A good rule of thumb is if you have seen it in the movie theater or the music store then you probably could get in trouble for downloading.
A couple more rules of thumb: If you are letting your children run Limewire on your business computer, all those business files may very well be exposed to hackers. One other thought to consider is once you are hacked, you will need to reinstall your entire operating system and all your programs and data. Professionally done, that costs around $200.00. Two hundred bucks equals two hundred legitimate music downloads from iTunes. Something worth considering….
Thanks to crcit.net for supplying much of this information.

Spyware back in the Spotlight

One word comes to mind when researching the recent influx of malicious software flying around the Internet and mysteriously downloading onto Windows PC’s: BEWARE. Well, there is another word: DANGEROUS. Last month Symantec, the popular anti-virus company (Norton), released their semi-annual "State of Computer Vulnerabilities" report. And it doesn't look good for our home computers. Especially for Windows based computers.

With all the activities high school students engage in over the Internet, many home computers will be more vulnerable to attacks from malicious software than ever before. This software, also known as malware, adware, Trojans and spyware, is VERY difficult to remove. Actually it’s impossible to remove. Spyware programs have become so sophisticated; they now re-build themselves after an anti spyware sweep of the hard drive. The reality now is the infected computer must have its hard drive reformatted, and Windows re-installed.

Keep in mind these are NOT virus programs, and anti-virus software will NOT prevent these programs from being installed on Windows computers. The programs are triggered into action by Internet users clicking to certain web sites, or downloading software they think is “free”. Virtually all “free” software on the Internet is laced with malicious software.

Just this week, a new variant of spyware hit the newswires: the Spam Thru Trojan. When you get hit with this one, your computer becomes a “spam server”, sending thousands of spam emails throughout the Internet. Nice huh? It gets worse. It is so sophisticated that is has its own anti-virus and anti spyware software built in so that it can shut down all the other malicious programs that may be running on the hijacked computer. Now why would it do that? Because all spyware programs use the computers resources, and by shutting them down, the Spam Thru Trojan then has available all of these resources to become a better spam server! All of this can happen on your Windows computer, at home or at work.

Here is the reality: Symantec detected 47 new browser vulnerabilities in the first 6 months of 2006, representing a 52 percent rise over the 25 vulnerabilities recorded in the latter half of 2005. By vulnerabilities they mean all malware variants. What can you do about prevention of infection? For one, do not download any software that is claimed to be “free”. Especially file sharing software or game cheat sheets. A certain hack if you do. Ever hear of LimeWire? This is a very popular file sharing program. Maybe, just maybe, their claim that their software is free of malware is true. Why take a chance? I would never.

Don't think it's important to run Microsoft Security Updates?
Here are TWO weeks worth of Patches from Microsoft

Madrid, October 13, 2006 - This week's report looks principally at the latest security bulletins released by Microsoft as part of its policy to publish security updates every second Tuesday of the month. These bulletins offer solutions for a range of errors and vulnerabilities in the company's systems and applications. The report also takes a look at two malicious codes: Nedro.B and Haxdoor.NJ.
Microsoft has made ten security bulletins available to users. These address vulnerabilities rated as "critical" (six), "important" (one), "moderate" (two) and "low" (one) according to their severity:

* MS06-056: Fixes a vulnerability (cross site scripting) in servers with .Net Framework 2.0. This flaw has been rated as "moderate".
* MS06-057: Updates Windows Shell to avoid remote code execution. Affects Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003. Rated as "critical".
* MS06-058: Fixes six vulnerabilities in PowerPoint and is rated as "critical".
* MS06-059: Resolves four vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel also rated as "critical".
* MS06-060: Update to fix a "critical" vulnerability in Microsoft Word.
* MS06-061: Includes an update to solve two Microsoft XLM Core Services vulnerabilities. Microsoft rates this bulletin as "critical". It applies to Windows NT4 SP6, 2000, XP and Server 2003.
* MS06-062: Update to fix Microsoft Office vulnerabilities. It affects Microsoft Office, Project and Visio. Rated as "critical" by Microsoft.
* MS06-063: Resolves two vulnerabilities in the Windows Server service. Rated as "important", it affects Windows 2000, Server 2003 and XP.
* MS06-064: Fixes three denial of service vulnerabilities on TCP/IP IPv6 systems. Microsoft gives this bulletin a "low" severity rating. It applies to Windows XP and Server 2003 systems.
* MS06-065: Fixes a vulnerability affecting Windows XP and Server 2002, more precisely, "Windows Object Packager. Rated as "moderate".
The first malicious code in this week's report is the W32/Nedro.B.worm worm, designed to affect Windows operating systems. It spreads across IRC and the Yahoo! instant messenger.
Nedro.B takes a series of actions in order to go unnoticed by users and evade detection and elimination:
* It prevents access to the Windows Registry.
* It alters the system to execute the worm's code whenever files with the following extensions are run: art, dat, avi, ini and pif.
* It assigns the Microsoft Word icon to .scr files (screensavers) to make them less suspicious to users.
* It hides .bat, .com, .exe and .scr files from view (all these files are executables and therefore potentially dangerous).
* It deletes the "Run" option from the "Start" menu.
* It prevents users from browsing the hard disk through Windows Explorer.
* It terminates numerous security applications.
These actions not only enable Nedro.B to hide itself, but also leave the system vulnerable to other malicious codes.
Haxdoor.NJ is a backdoor Trojan that gathers different types of passwords from the infected computer, such as those for logging in to a session and for using the Outlook and The Bat mail clients. Haxdoor.NJ also tries to steal any passwords to eBay, e-gold and paypal systems. If it gets this information, it sends it to the creator of the malicious code using a rootkit detected as Rootkit/Haxdoor.NJ.
Haxdoor.NJ needs to be spread by an attacker as it cannot spread itself automatically. This rootkit also opens three random ports to enable the creator to collect the data.
In order to spread, Haxdoor.NJ injects its code in the Windows explorer.exe process, thereby ensuring it is run on every system startup. To prevent the Windows XP SP2 firewall from doing its job, it alters the firewall settings so that it is treated as an authorized application.

MySpace In Sex Assault Probe
(CBS) HARTFORD, Conn. Police are investigating whether as many as seven teenage girls have been sexually assaulted by men they met through the ultra-popular Web site MySpace.com. Users of the social networking site, which is similar to Friendster or The Facebook create profiles that can include photos, personal information and even cell phone numbers. "It is a predator's dream come true, this Web site," said Middletown Police Sgt. Bill McKenna. "Because not only can you see them, but you can see their friends. You can find out where they go to middle school and high school." In a statement Thursday, MySpace.com said it was committed to providing a safe environment for its users and to working with state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to address his concerns. RELATED Gilroy School Bans Popular Social Website Website May Shed Clues Into Livermore Teen's Death Keeping Your Teen Blogger Safe From Predators Police Offer Tips On Protecting Kids OnlineMySpace.com also said it has a series of initiatives designed to protect its users against inappropriate conduct and content. They include dedicating workers to monitor the site 24 hours a day, reviewing every image hosted by the site and working with law enforcement agencies. This advertising-supported site, which was acquired last year by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, presents a veritable smorgasbord of teenagers, organized by community and high school, reports CBS News technology analyst Larry Magid. "If you know the name of your local school and the sex and age of teens you’re seeking, you can find them on MySpace. What’s more, in most cases, you can find pictures, names and photos of their friends; details about where they were born; what they like; and where they hang out," Magid said. "In many cases, you can also find their full names and cell phone numbers."The site, which includes safety tips, also prohibits use by anyone younger than 14, though a disclaimer says the people who run the site can't always tell if users are lying about their ages. Online, identity can be easily veiled, altered or completely invented. MySpace.com is designed to give users a personal homepage with easy networking and messaging to friends, but with a fake name and few photos of someone else, an entirely fictitious profile can be born. Blumenthal said Thursday that his office has received numerous complaints from parents who say their children can easily post and view inappropriate and sexually suggestive material on MySpace.com. He referred complaints to Chief State's Attorney Christopher Morano. "As a parent, I find it appalling and abhorrent that a Web site would so poorly police its pages," Blumenthal said. "This Web site is a parent's worst nightmare." McKenna said none of the Middletown incidents appeared to have been violent. He said the girls, ages 12 to 16, say they were fondled or had consensual sex with men who turned out to be older than they claimed. In one case, McKenna said, a man traveled more than 1,000 miles to meet a Connecticut girl whose profile was posted on the site. It's possible for MySpace visitors to search users by schools, ages or geographical area. Magid tested out the site, by searching for young women in his area. He writes: "One of the girls, who is 16, has a sexually suggestive word as part of her user name. Thanks to MySpace, I have a pretty complete picture of her life. I know the day she was born, the hospital she was born in, her full name, where she goes to school, what she likes to eat, what time she goes to bed at night and her favorite fast-food restaurant." He said it is difficult to determine the exact number of victims because some girls have been reluctant to disclose that they met their assailants online. McKenna said Middletown police are warning parents to monitor their children's use of MySpace and similar sites. The Middletown Board of Education is so concerned that it is setting up a forum on the issue. "We just want to get the ball rolling in terms of educating parents," McKenna said, adding that many may not be aware of the site. "I never heard of it up until two or three months ago when our first one came in. There's no parental controls."
http://www.topix.net/forum/city/vernon-rockville-ct/TJSQ5D6L1KCB58QPD/p2

After YouTube: The beginning of the end?
Now that Google has snatched up the leading online video site, will rivals shell out big bucks, or will the competition dry up for smaller sites?
By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
October 10 2006: 5:17 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Has the online video shakeout only begun or is the bubble about to burst?
Google's $1.65 billion agreement to acquire YouTube Monday is the latest, splashiest and most expensive of deals involving companies in the nascent online video business.
Industry experts say that Google's rivals, both traditional media companies and Internet firms like Yahoo!, need to reevaluate their online video strategies now that the search engine kingpin and online video leader have joined forces.
"I think certainly there is going to be a lot of activity. I don't think anybody wants to cede the market to Google and there are a lot of media companies that are poised to do something," said Greg Kostello, founder and CEO of vMix, a privately held video site.
But some caution that media companies also have to be careful of overpaying.
"You do need to react to this deal if you are a competitor but it's just a matter of how. Google is inflating the value of the market overall because they can afford to do so," said Bill Wise, chief executive officer of Did-it Search Marketing, a paid search advertising firm based in New York.
The $1.65 billion price tag for YouTube may in fact mark the beginning of the end for this latest dot-com craze. Instead of forcing other media firms to make acquisitions, it could scare them off.
"YouTube is a 67-person company in an unproven market that hasn't made any money. So it's seemingly ridiculous amount of money to spend," Wise said.
Who's next?
To that end, other privately held online video search firms with a notable amount of traffic, companies like Metacafe, Heavy.com, Guba and Break.com, could find themselves being able to command much higher prices in a sale than they would have before Google bought YouTube.
"For any of YouTube's competitors, they have to be doing back flips," said Michael Goodman, program manager of digital entertainment with Yankee Group, a tech research firm. "If you are another video sharing site, you have to be thinking please let there be someone else out there that wants to buy."
David Carson, the co-CEO of Heavy.com, agreed that the price Google (Charts) was willing to pay for YouTube caught many by surprise.
"The deal is pretty significant in many ways. It certainly made everyone stop and pay attention. Nobody was expecting the valuation to be as high as what it was," he said.
Carson said that Heavy.com, which has been the subject of takeover rumors with companies such as Viacom (Charts), News Corp. (Charts) and Yahoo (Charts) often mentioned as suitors, is not looking to sell but that he would entertain the thought of a sale if a good exit strategy presented itself.
Yahoo may have to act quickly
So will any of Google's competitors be willing to spend to keep pace with Google? Scott Kessler, an equity analyst with Standard & Poor's, says that Yahoo, which warned of softness in the online ad market last month and has also been hit by delays to its important new search advertising platform, may have no choice but to make a move.
Yahoo has been rumored to be in talks to buy social networking site Facebook and could be forced to make a move sooner rather than later. A spokesperson for Yahoo was not immediately available for comment.
"This increases the pressure on Yahoo to do something. There is this perception that Google is not just executing well but that it is also being more aggressive," Kessler said.
Other companies may not have to make such drastic moves though.
Microsoft (Charts), which was said to be interested in YouTube, announced last month that it was starting a YouTube rival called Soapbox. And late yesterday, the company said in a statement that it has no plans to make an online video acquisition to counter Google's move.
"We evaluated acquiring this type of technology several months ago. We decided to build our own offering, focused on driving better customer and advertiser experiences through integration with Microsoft assets and services that reach an estimated global audience of 465 million consumers," a Microsoft spokesman said.
"We are excited about the potential we are seeing in the beta of Soapbox on MSN and believe building our own solution is a more cost-effective way to compete in this new space," the spokesman added.
However, Wise said that if Soapbox flops, Microsoft could be the one company that can go out and match Google with a big deal of its own.
"The only company that can potentially keep up with the rising prices that Google has set is Microsoft. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does in response to this," he said.
Analysts said that News Corp., which owns the popular MySpace social networking site, has quickly built its MySpace Videos site to the number two spot behind YouTube. So it probably doesn't need to make a deal and should just concentrate on promoting MySpace more aggressively.
"News Corp. already has a burgeoning online video business with MySpace," said Kessler. A spokeswoman for Fox Interactive Media, the News Corp unit that includes MySpace, had no comment about the Google-YouTube deal.
Bubbles or bargains?
Other media firms have also been increasing their presence in the online video market and could step up their investments even further since they have only spent a relatively small amount so far.
Sony bought online video sharing site Grouper in August for just $65 million. Viacom bought iFilm last year and Atom Entertainment in August for a combined $250 million.
And AOL, which like CNNMoney.com is a unit of Time Warner (Charts), has bought a slew of online video assets lately, most recently video search firm Truveo and online video advertising company Lightningcast. Terms of those deals were not disclosed but sources estimated that AOL paid about $50 million for Truveo.
"There will be acquisitions from the big boys. Video needs to be a component of any serious Internet player," said Eric Chin, a partner with Bay Partners, a venture capital firm based in Cupertino, Calif.
And Heavy.com's Carson said that larger media companies may wind up looking to scoop up some of the remaining online video sharing sites because they feel that it is easier to purchase an existing business than invest in building up their own.
"I think some media conglomerates will make smaller acquisitions and you might see some that make some surprising moves based on the YouTube deal. Some companies are starting to realize that maybe they have to buy," he said.
To be sure, YouTube, which has more than 100 million videos downloaded a day and commands nearly half the share of the online video market, was the most sought after of all the privately held video sites. It is the proverbial flavor of the month.
But Yankee Group's Goodman pointed out that News Corp. paid only $590 million for MySpace last year.
"Is this an Internet boom or bust? When you see a nearly three times increase in what Google paid for YouTube than what News Corp paid for MySpace for a company with even less of a business model than MySpace, you have to ask those questions. This could be the precursor of the Internet bust part 2," he said

Web of Risks
Students adore social-networking sites like Facebook, but indiscreet postings can mean really big trouble.
By Brad Stone
Newsweek
Aug. 21-28, 2006 issue - Cameron Walker learned the hard way that sharing information online can have unintended consequences. In 2005, the sophomore at Fisher College in Boston organized a student petition dedicated to getting a campus police guard fired and posted it on the popular college social network Facebook.com. Walker wrote that the guard "loves to antagonize students ... and needs to be eliminated." It was a poor choice of words. Another student informed school officials, who logged on and interpreted the comments as threatening. Though Walker claimed he was trying only to expose the guard's demeanor, he was expelled. He's now enrolled at another college and admits he made a serious mistake. "I was a naive 21-year-old," he says.
Creating a page on a social-networking site is now a cherished form of self-expression at universities around the world. Students use ad-supported services like Facebook, MySpace, TagWorld and Bebo to make friends, plan their social lives and project their personalities. The most popular site among college students is Facebook, with more than 8 million members. A student's personal Facebook page is usually a revealing, dynamic chronicle of campus life—one clearly not meant for the eyes of parents, teachers or anyone else older than 25.
But adults are taking notice. Sites like Facebook are accessible to nearly anyone willing to spend the time to gain access: teachers, school administrators, even potential employers and the police. Such online services can create the illusion of privacy where none actually exists. Facebook, in particular, was designed to emphasize privacy and intimacy. Only other users at your school (with the same college e-mail domain name), and those in networks you join, can see your home page. But determined off-campus visitors can persuade a student or alumnus to help them access the student's page.
What happens when the identity you reveal to friends suddenly overwhelms the façade you present to grown-ups? The results can be awkward—or worse. Photos from drunken parties, recollections of sexual escapades, profanity or threats—all these indiscretions, posted online, have gotten students suspended or expelled, or harmed job prospects. In a couple of decades, a presidential candidate may be called on to answer for a college misadventure that he or she impetuously detailed in a blog entry.
Harvard student Marc Zuckerberg and a few classmates designed Facebook in 2003 to facilitate contact among students. After it launched in early 2004, the service spread like the flu in a freshman dorm, first at Harvard and then to all 2,100 four-year colleges. Last year the company opened its digital doors to high schoolers. Early on, Zuckerberg left college and moved his fledgling enterprise to Silicon Valley, raising more than $35 million in venture capital. Facebook now has 100 employees and is supported by big advertisers like Apple and MasterCard.
Facebook's founders worried about privacy. That's why it isn't one big network but a series of connected smaller ones. "We decided early on that you get better information flow and more trust if you limit access to just those around you," says Zuckerberg. Besides restricting access to a student's classmates, Facebook offers extra privacy tools. Students can limit parts of their pages, such as photos, to specific people. Still, just 17 percent of customers ever change those privacy settings.
For many students, Facebook is not only an interactive diary and yearbook, but a pervasive way to stay in touch. Mitchell Perley, an Atlanta-born student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, is typical. On his page there's a photo with a friend at Disneyland, mentions of his membership in such Facebook groups as the Krispy Kreme Appreciation Society and listings of his favorite musicians and films. Perhaps most important, his page is linked to the pages of 99 friends at his college and 845 back home at various U.S. schools.
But not everyone's Facebook experiences have been positive. Brad Davis was a freshman at Emory in Atlanta in 2005 when he and friends commemorated a night of drinking by posting photos of themselves in their dorm, hoisting their libations. They created a Facebook group called the Dobbs 2nd Floor Alcoholics, named after their dorm. A dorm adviser saw the photos and reported the underage imbibers. The school ordered Davis and his friends to hang anti-drinking posters on their walls, and a citation went on their records.
The consequences for Jason Johnson were more serious. He was a student at the University of the Cumberlands, a Southern Baptist school in Williamsburg, Ky., when he created his own MySpace page. Visitors to his page could hear a favorite song, learn his birthday or find out he was gay. But Cumberlands' student handbook states that students must lead a "Christian life-style," which the school president explained included a ban on homosexuality. When school officials discovered Johnson's page, he was expelled. He hired a lawyer, who got the school to rescind the expulsion and let Johnson transfer with his academic record intact.
Students' indiscriminate postings may also get them into trouble when they're applying for a job or to graduate school. The postings could still be accessible online despite students' efforts to delete them. Even though companies are loath to admit it, researching candidates on social networks is becoming as easy and prevalent as entering their names into Google. Laurie Sybel, a director of career development at Vermont Technical College, had never looked at Facebook until she got a call from a big company about the internship application of a 19-year-old. The student was being rejected, Sybel recalls, because executives had viewed the student's Facebook page, which contained a photo of him holding a bottle of vodka. The company noted that the student was not only apparently breaking the law but demonstrating bad judgment by publishing the photo. In response, Vermont Technical, like other colleges, now integrates tips for social-network decorum into its career-guidance workshops.
Not all students want to temper their behavior. They point out that the Internet lets them express themselves and find like-minded souls. Still, adults aren't likely to stop prying any time soon. That means students who use Facebook and MySpace have a new burden. The Web may seem ephemeral, but what you casually post one night might just last a digital eternity. While social networking represents a powerful tool for today's students, they're advised to be prudent. Even if they have no plans to run for president someday.

Tagging/Grafitti update... From Sierra Sun

The head custodian of North Tahoe High and Middle School got a surprise Friday morning when he arrived at work and found the new Tahoe City school vandalized.The Placer County Sheriff’s Office and school administrators are investigating the graffiti that covered doors, windows and walls around the campus in green spray paint. Between the school’s surveillance cameras and student input, authorities are verifying and investigating possible leads.
On Friday afternoon Deputy Russ Potts, the school resource officer, said there were suspects and that deputies were looking for a specific vehicle.“I’m reasonably sure it’s no current students at our high school,” Potts said. “We have some information we need to complete before we [make an arrest].”

He said that the North Tahoe community in general has a problem with “tagging” and the “whole gang mentality.” Whether it’s “KB Stoners,” “Crips,” “Bloods,” or “XIV,” graffiti is now seen along the North Shore, Potts said.“[Tagging] comes and goes. There are times where it’s worse and times where it’s not,” he said.

The weekend marked homecoming at North Tahoe High, and students showed their true colors by helping to clean the vandalized windows and doors. Parents also called to offer their services. The graffiti was nearly all removed, but the building will likely need re-painting, said Potts.“Students were very upset by what they saw. They take tremendous pride in this entire building,” said Bill Frey, North Tahoe High principal. “They came around very quickly and offered help scrubbing on windows.”

NTHS Get's Tagged with Grafitti Last Night

Not good news, but it did happen last night…
We’ll see if the surveillance cameras catch them…

For me, I feel personally violated. Other parents say this has broken their hearts.
We excitedly watched this new school being built for over a year and then this. It has become a symbol of pride for us…
Open house last Tuesday night was awesome! It felt like 100 % of the parents came.

And with our heads reeling from the Platte Canyon High School incident, I cannot believe how low or stupid people can get..

These vandals are sick people...we'll work until we find them...