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Now, Every Keystroke Can Betray You
LA Times ^ | 9/18/05 | Joseph Menn

Posted on 09/18/2005 5:35:49 PM PDT by Crackingham

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To: Nita Nupress
Download Win Patrol and run it. I'll bet that you will find more things that can be disabled in the start up. If you pay Win Patrol a fee they will give online support to identify each program that it finds and give detailed info so you can decide if you want to disable it or remove it.

How old is the LT? Has it ever had the "Pepsi Syndrome"?

Could be the mouse pad, not software...

41 posted on 09/18/2005 10:23:57 PM PDT by ChefKeith ( If Diplomacy worked, then we would be sitting here talking...)
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To: Nita Nupress
Also download and run this HiJackThis
42 posted on 09/18/2005 10:28:17 PM PDT by ChefKeith ( If Diplomacy worked, then we would be sitting here talking...)
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To: ChefKeith
Just a quick note to everyone. A lot of spyware is installed when people download freeware programs.

Even though I use a Mac, I don't install freeware, except from the Apple web site, or other trusted sources, like Adobe.

Mac OSX notifies you before it will download any executable, and asks whether you're sure you want to download it. You also have to enter the system administrator password to install it, even if you are logged on as the administrator. This prevents a lot of problems. It also requires you to give permission the first time a program runs, and requires you to give permission to get a password from the keychain (the storage area for passwords), the first time a program asks for it.

A lot of these are options on Microsoft, but apparantly it ships with all the doors unlocked, and you have to know how to change the settings.

I also turn off Java and Javascript if I'm going to a site I don't completely trust. Just a few things to keep the gremlins off the hard drive.

43 posted on 09/18/2005 11:18:24 PM PDT by Richard Kimball
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To: Richard Kimball

Agreed

These are things that I have been using for over a year and have had no trouble.

I just make sure they come from a reputable download site.


44 posted on 09/18/2005 11:26:01 PM PDT by ChefKeith ( If Diplomacy worked, then we would be sitting here talking...)
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To: ChefKeith

Thank you so much for the tips. I'll try this evening (or asap) and let you know if I find anything.


45 posted on 09/19/2005 5:33:46 AM PDT by Nita Nupress
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To: Nita Nupress

By any chance are you using an optical mouse? They get bizarre if dropped to often. If no optical mouse I think you have a laptop hardware problem. ALSO- You can always reformat and see if that solves the problem.


46 posted on 09/19/2005 5:40:01 AM PDT by dennisw (If you can serve a cup of tea right, you can do anything. - Gurdjieff)
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To: Prime Choice
"network and utility outages don't evoke a sense of terror; they evoke a sense of annoyance"

A few weeks ago, I would have said that being couped up in a stadium for a few days with limited food and water was an annoyance. I think they guys with the powerpoint slides are underestimating the seriousness of this problem. We are heavily dependent on the integrity of the automatic update process at Microsoft, Symantec and a host of other companies. AFAIK, there is no oversight of what they ship to your computer
47 posted on 09/19/2005 6:48:06 AM PDT by beef (Who Killed Kennewick Man?)
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To: beef
If I was OBL, I would do everything I could to get a bunch of my boys working at MS in the group that runs the Windows Update service.
Suspect Claims Al Qaeda Hacked Microsoft

Suspected member of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, Mohammad Afroze Abdul Razzak, claimed that Islamic militants infiltrated Microsoft and sabotaged the company's Windows XP operating system, according to a source close to Indian police.

Afroze, arrested by Mumbai (Bombay) police Oct. 2, has admitted to helping plot terrorist attacks in India, Britain and Australia, India's Hindustan Times newspaper reported Saturday.

During interrogation, Afroze, 25, also claimed that a member or members of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, posing as computer programmers, were able to gain employment at Microsoft and attempted to plant "trojans, trapdoors, and bugs in Windows XP," according to Ravi Visvesvaraya Prasad, a New Delhi information systems and telecommunication consultant.

Prasad, moderator of an Internet mailing list on south Asia security and information warfare, told us that Afroze made the claims in a police confession. Officials in the Mumbai police commissioner's office were not immediately available for comment.

Of course, this raises the question: if they succeeded, how would anybody tell the difference?
48 posted on 09/19/2005 7:14:42 AM PDT by steve-b (A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom)
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To: upchuck

Somebody with physical access to the computer can install the keylogger and tell ZoneAlarm to give it permission. If the user doesn't check the list of permitted programs, this will go undetected.


49 posted on 09/19/2005 7:18:06 AM PDT by steve-b (A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom)
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To: Crackingham

Every Breath You Take bump.


50 posted on 09/19/2005 9:11:49 AM PDT by clyde asbury (Happiness is Ypsilanti, Michigan in my rear view mirror.)
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To: ChefKeith
Just because the screen shows "******" to the user the programs still see the PW.

How can that be unless they are looking at the actual keystroke information?
I am no expert, but I just thought the article implied these programs rip off passwords by reading keystrokes.

The only way to be sure of security is to not use the online banking.

Well that's not going to happen.

I have online banking, online Master and Visa credit cards, online 401K account, CD's, Money Market, Cell phone, online bill-paying etc etc.
It's too late to go back to the stone age now.

I just monitor all my accounts a couple times a week.
And if necessary I will change passwords on a regular basis.

51 posted on 09/19/2005 4:12:12 PM PDT by Jorge (Q)
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To: steve-b
Someone with physical access can install a hardware keylogger that works with any USB or PS2 keyboard.

If you have'nt physically secured the machine you have no security.

52 posted on 09/19/2005 4:21:44 PM PDT by Dinsdale
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To: Prime Choice

The first thing I do to secure a PC is disable VB and VB script. 99% of folks using a PC woild never know if Visual Basic has been removed, and it kills a majority of trojans in one simple step.


53 posted on 09/19/2005 4:33:14 PM PDT by Petruchio ( ... .--. .- -.-- / .- -. -.. / -. . ..- - . .-. / .. .-.. .-.. . --. .- .-.. / .- .-.. .. . -. ...)
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