Technological News Snippets - January 12th 2008

Warning on Stealthy Windows Virus – BBC News, January 11^th 2008 –

In the last month, the malicious program has racked up about 5,000 victims – most of whom are in Europe. Many are falling victim via booby-trapped websites that use vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s browser to install the attack code. Experts say the virus is dangerous because it buries itself deep inside Windows to avoid detection.
The malicious program is a type of virus known as rootkit and it tries to overwrite part of a computer’s hard drive called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This is where a computer looks when it is switched on for information about the operating system it will be running. …
Once installed, the virus, dubbed Mebroot by Symantec, usually downloads other malicious programs, such as keyloggers, to do the work of stealing confidential information. Most of these associated programs lie in wait on a machine until its owner logs in to the online banking systems of one of more than 900 financial institutions.
The Russian virus-writing group behind Mebroot is thought to have created the torpig family of viruses that are known to have been installed on more than 200,000 systems. This group specializes in stealing bank login information.
Security firm iDefense said Mebroot was discovered in October but started to be used in a series of attacks in early December. …
Although the password-stealing programs that Mebroot installs can be found by security software, few commercial anti-virus packages currently detect its presence. Mebroot cannot be removed while a computer is running. Independent security firm GMER has produced a utility that will scan and remove the stealthy program.
Computers running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 that are not fully patched are all vulnerable to the virus.

What is America All About?

There is trouble in federal government – but state governments, like in my state, doesn’t fare much better when it comes to scandal, broken promises and just plain corruption. Governor Jim Doyle, Wisconsin, during his campaign not only promised in 2006 that he would not raise taxes – but claimed that his opponent would. Just before the election of 2006, Governor Doyle and his administration were under investigation concerning deals made with casinos in Wisconsin and even during the campaign there were allegations of illegal campaign funding. In addition, he had vetoed Wisconsin citizens the right under the Second Amendment, and in a move to override the veto, the Wisconsin legislators didn’t prove their worth either – but enough Wisconsin voters gave him their vote and kept most of those legislators in office. Now you can hear people complain about the outrageous tax hike and how it has raised everything in many aspects of our lives – fuel, cigarettes, real estate, state government fees – which in turn raised our garbage collection fees to 33% more than last year. And some of those complainers voted for Doyle. These things were denied by the Green Bay Gazette, which since pulled that article.

How can people complain when they keep the same people in office (true for local, state and federal government) that has caused or allowed such outrages to continue? If you want the same old stuff, the same old politics as usual syndrome to continue – voters must clean house. Quit thinking about political parties and focus on the candidates. Even I, who rarely can find a Democrat worth examining, much less vote for (recently) – I still seek the one or two individuals who could break the hold on that political party that the socialist elites, “Sociocrats”, led by the likes of the Clintons, Kerry, Kennedys, et cetera from power over the once true liberal political entity. And the same applies, at a lesser degree, but nonetheless critical need of reformation, to the GOP who are supposed to be conservatives.

Patriot Whistleblower - Story of Sibel Edmonds

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. Nicholas C. Lassman

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts. Abraham Lincoln

…  whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. Patrick Henry

 

I have sat on the Sibel Edmunds story for a few days, although the full story goes as far back as before September 11th, 2001. The recent revelations, however, is quite recent for reasons you will soon find out. When something as big as this is revealed, I like to wait until the media frenzy quiets down, as well afford the time to do my own research. There is a possibility that the personae dramatis involved here could be a vast network in this real-life drama.

In case you are wondering what I am referring to or who this Sibel person is – here is a transcript from Wikipedia entry …