SDS

all the ssl blacklists are updates. we can return to thinking we are safe. Apple included the patches in a Security Update, Firefox updated to 6.0.2. Jailbroken iOS users can update or install “sslfix” in Cydia to get the protections that apple has yet to release.

After watching Moxie’s BlackHat talk, we seriously need to fix SSL. It is holding up too many technologies to be this insecure.

A bit of ransom-ware by the name of Mac Defender is exploiting a default setting in safari that will automatically launch any installer package that you download. It still requires the user to go through the steps of installing the software including entering their administrator password. Apparently this hasn’t prevented hundreds of users from installing the bogus software. It seems to do nothing but pop up ads and messages to lure the user to pay $79.99 to remove the infection. Easy, free removal instructions are available here. But let this be a lesson. Don’t type your password if you don’t know why it is asking for it. Don’t install things you didn’t know you downloaded.

Gawker Media (Lifehacker, Gizmodo, etc.) was hacked by a group calling themselves #gnosis and their entire user database (as well as source code for the sites) was posted to a popular torrent site.  Downloaded already no doubt by hundreds or even thousands of would be nar do wells.  What does this mean?  what can we learn?  More then 50,000 users used “password” for their password.  Read the oficial statement here.  I did enjoy the irony of Facebook connect users being safe from this.  If you had an account on any of these sites, your information is compromised and i prey you don’t reuse your password.  Change it, change it fast.  Millions of user’s Data was exposed (names, emails, passwords). The ramifications of this breach will continue over the next few weeks as users accounts on other services begin to wreak havoc.

here is a humerious comic about password reuse:
http://xkcd.com/792/

nice holidays, nice mellow evening.

the easiest way is with umbrella.  the hardest part is to put your phone in restore mode and plug it into a computer to get it’s unique id.  after that, you reboot your phone normally and put it away. it is never modified.  Umbrella is run on a computer and it requires that unique id.  the data is actually retrieved directly from apple’s servers and may differ in version from the software on your devise.  you can even cache your blobs on saurik’s server right form umbrella without ever violating your apple warrantee or modifying your devise in any way.

overview of the process and reasons:
http://www.saurik.com/id/12

official umbrella site:
http://thefirmwareumbrella.blogspot.com/