Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook

Disturbing news from ComputerWorld. China is gearing up for “cyber warfare” while the United States blindly favors China with “Most Favored Nation” status, pandering to its Communist oppressive government, and free trade of endless toxic crap from the country…. unbelievable. Looking to gain the upper hand in any future cyber conflicts, China is probably spying [...]

I remain totally baffled at the amount of pre-owned computers out there today, just handed over to complete strangers without data removed completely. I’ve heard stories of individuals buying old bank computers on eBay, and lo and behold, the bank data is still there! Or of someone just giving someone else his/her computer without making [...]

Yes, WordPress users, believe it or not— there’s another WordPress update. It’s 2.8.1. WordPress 2.8.1 fixes many bugs and tightens security for plugin administration pages. Core Security Technologies notified us that admin pages added by certain plugins could be viewed by unprivileged users, resulting in information being leaked. Not all plugins are vulnerable to this [...]

In a rare move, Microsoft has released a statement notifying the public of a severe vulnerability in their software that they have not a fix for, yet. Microsoft is investigating a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Video ActiveX Control. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local [...]

Raise your hand if you have a love/hate relationship with your cell phone. *raises hand* While having a cell is a great convenience (I have a cheapo Tracfone), they are expensive. And insecure. I’ve known for a long time that cell phone transmissions are insecure– they are truly radio transmissions, and can be intercepted and [...]

Gone are the days when you could just connect your computer to your Internet connection and let ‘er rip. Viruses, worms, trojans, and malware are circulating on the Internet, seeking an open door or window (commonly called ports for computers) or an unsuspecting user who will download a file, open an email, or visit a [...]