But this one might be a more welcome one. It’s called Monster Mind. Monster Mind is supposed to be a cyber defense system that fights and neutralizes foreign cyber attacks against the US. It can also launch an attack against perpetrators. This program can find malicious international tracking and find, then blocks threats from around the globe. One computer science professor says if the NSA knows how malicious calculations can lead to a cyber attack, and I do believe they have the knowledge, then they can be stopped before they get started. Remember the 20th century Cold War era? They had programs that could allegedly shoot down and stop potential nuclear missiles. Monster Mind would be similar to that in the Internet world. Let’s say international hackers built malware to wipe out US banks of billions of dollars, or build codes to rob the FBI or other US agencies of security secrets, or a worm was built to disrupt the air traffic controller system or train system or highway grid system. The NSA’s Monster Mind system can counter that before any damage can be done.
Not only that, Snowden believes Monster Mind can launch a counter attack with no human intervention. Not surprising, the NSA refuses to comment about Monster Mind, or if it’s even real. On paper, this sounds like a great concept. Let’s not be naive: there are hackers out there who would love to do us harm. So if we can stop the madness before it stops, we should..or should we? Snowden brings up ethics to Monster Mind. In order to spot the malicious traffic, all traffic would have to be analyzed and watched, which could violate the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. So is the NSA’s Monster Mind program a good deal?
Yahoo is one of the most popular email service providers today. It’s also one of the most hacked. Now Yahoo is fighting back. At a Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas, Yahoo officials announced end-to-end capabilities for all Yahoo Mail users. This should be ready in 2015. End-to-end encryption is like a narrow tunnel exclusively for the email sender and receiver, squeezing uninvited parties like cyber hackers and dare I say it, government agencies out. The ironic thing is, Yahoo was one of the last email carriers to provide SSL encryption. They only did this after they found out lack of SSL encryption gave the NSA better opportunity to read and collect our email addresses and address books.? They’re also working to build end-to-end encryption for a mobile app. Now I already know what skeptics are saying. They’re probably saying this isn’t going to change much, if hackers want to get in, they’re going to, the NSA will find another way to get in, etc. But let’s give Yahoo Mail for trying to do something. Of course, Google Chrome already has an end-to-end encryption. But if trail and error and competition is what it took to get Yahoo to launch so a program, then better late than never. I wonder how many email consumers Yahoo lost because of lack of protection. So I say let’s give this program a chance. Do you think end-to-end encryption will keep Yahoo emails safer?
China and Apple seemed to have good business relationship. Could that relationship be in jeopardy?
China banned ten Apple products, including the iPad, iPad Mini, Mac Book Pro and Mac Book Air, from being bought with public money because of security concerns. This mandate is coming from the Chinese government. Apple is just the latest US technology company to be excluded from Chinese government purchases. You can thank tensions between the two nations over hacking and cyber security. One nation is constantly blaming the other. Symantac Corp.’s antivirus protection had been banned, so has Microsoft’s energy-efficient computers.
Guess how much China contributed to Apple’s economy last quarter? China made Apple over $37 billion, about 16 percent of their total revenue for that total. I will admit, there has been hacking stories between China and the US. But whose doing the majority of it? For instance, Apple rejects claims that China’s communist Central Television reports that iPhone software could leak government secrets. I’m not giving Apple any moral awards, but I’m sticking with Apple on this one. And I’m wondering is China using this scare tactic to build their own devices, using American companies’ technology to do so? And now China is virtually pulling the plug on the company that is bringing their economy billions, not to mention jobs? Have they ever heard the phrase, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”?
The Internet has no signs of slowing down. In fact, by 2020, the Internet is expected to contribute over 1.3 trillion dollars a year. Don’t you think hackers are going to want a piece of that?
According to sobering research by Hewlett-Packard, there are 250 different security flaws and vulnerabilities for just the top ten most popular products the Internet can be used with. These include webcams, televisions, multiple device controllers, even home alarm systems. Such devices often run of generic versions of Linux, and manufacturers often don’t put the same effort to secure such items as they would a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Hewlett Packard VP Mike?Armistead believes companies are in such a rush to get these products to the store shelves they’re taking little time to protect against even the most elementary attacks.
The scary thing is, one hack on one device can lead to a wildfire of hacks on other devices and? other systems. Look at the infamous Target breach back in December 2013. Plus, it’s difficult to imagine something like a remote controller being hacked. But think about how connected most things are today. Even your garage opener is probably connected to your home security system, which is probably connected to a computer related device. For many, Internet, cable TV and phone service fall under one bill. One way of combating a cyber attack is raising awareness, like I’m trying to do right here. Of course, you can do common sense things to lessen your chances of attack, like changing passwords and be careful who you give your information to. I think we should put pressure on manufacturers to do a better job building safety nets for their products. What else can be done to prevent a hackers’ playground?
In Europe, Google has implemented a ‘right to be forgotten’ service. What is that?
Google will delete countless links from it’s search engine. In May 2014, the European Union’s top court granted Europeans the right to request Google and other search engines remove information about them. So that when someone types their name up, that information will not exist. In the two months that followed, so far, Google has received 91,000 request throughout the continent, removing over 328,000 websites and URLs. Not all requests have been acted upon, but they will be. Microsoft has been watching this ruling close. Some European leaders are calling for even stricter privacy rights laws. But not all embrace the right to be forgotten. One UK group called Society of Editors believes this will lead to censorship and even kill freedom of speech throughout Europe.
Why do I even bring this up? First off, someone in Europe may read this. Second off, the right to be forgotten could be a trend throughout the world. Privacy rights vs. technology has been a hot button issue here in the United States and other nations for years. So the condition is just ripe for this ruling to come to other continents. Will right to be forgotten be embraced in the US? Maybe. I can think of many who would sign up for it. My only concern would be if a criminal or predator sign up for it and ask for his records to be removed from search engine sites. Then you’d have no way to conduct criminal background checks. Other than that, I would have no problem with right to be forgotten. If this came to the US, would you sign up for it?
Computer Geeks is a computer repair company headquartered in Boston, MA.? We enable our customers with free programs that can help them keep their computers clean. Computer Geeks has found that Avast 2014 is one of the better free antivirus choices on the market.
Now it is true that there are paid versions of Avast that give extra protection, but for the majority of our customers the free antivirus version is sufficient. Please note that just because you have antivirus protection that you are still vulnerable to possible infections. Computer Geeks would like to remind everyone that it’s important that you be diligent in what you click and what sites you visit. New viruses are created every day and unfortunately many times your antivirus definitions may not be up to date to fight them. So please be aware of some of the following suspicious items: emails from friends or people in your address book stating something has happened to them sounding unrealistic or strange, unfamiliar links sent to you via email, Facebook, Twitter and alike may also have viruses accompanying them.
As stated above, it is a team effort to keep viruses out of your computer. However it is possible that even with protection you can be infected. If infected with a virus of any kind, please note that Computer Geeks does computer repair in Boston and across the United States. The Avast solution is not only for consumers, but for standard computers in a business it can also be a great help. Computer Geeks also offers small business computer help if any businesses are in need.
If you already have antivirus but are not happy with it, once your subscription is finished with your former antivirus program, we would recommend uninstalling your antivirus and installing Avast and try it out for the free year they give you. You may download the free version here at Avast’s website.
p.s. There has been some known issues with the newest version of Avast conflicting with some programs. There is a deep screen feature in Avast 2014 that has been causing these issues. There have been reports that the newer downloads have this feature automatically shut off but please verify after your install and if you have Avast 2014 already please check to see if Deep Screen is on. Below is a step by step process on shutting off this feature to protect you against conflicts between Avast and other programs you may use.
Step 1:
First click the bottom right hand corner and select the Avast symbol and right click it. Once you do that click on open avast! user interface:
Step 2:
Now that the interface is opened you will want to go to the Settings section the left side at the bottom:
Step 3:
Finally you will want to click on Antivirus and go to the Deep Screen area and uncheck the box. Once done click OK at the bottom and you have successfully turned off the Deep Screen feature:
