Steam Web sites hacked / defaced: 'Gamer data exposed'

"Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums," Gabe Newell, co-founder of Steam developer Valve Corp., said in a statement posted to the Steam site.

"We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums," he added. "This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information."

The statement said there was no evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information was stolen or that protection on the credit card numbers was cracked. "We don't have evidence of credit card misuse at this time," Newell said. "Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely."

And while some forum user accounts were compromised, it did not appear that any Steam accounts were compromised, the company said. However, people who may have used the same password on their forum and Steam accounts should change the passwords, Newell advised.

"We will reopen the forums as soon as we can," he wrote. "I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience."

Meanwhile, the company said its investigation is ongoing.

According to a screenshot of the forum defacement, it appeared as if hacking site Fkn0wned was taking credit for the breach. Some forum users later reported getting e-mail spam that appeared to come from the hacking site, according to gaming blog site Kotaku.com.

But a post on the Fkn0wned site denied responsibility. "I can say I didn't authorize anyone to do what happened so Fkn0wned shouldn't be held responsible," a statement from the founder said. "If a member performs illegal actions in our name, there's not much we can do about that other than to ask that member to stop. If a rival site is deliberately trying to bring us down by placing the attention of Valve's legal department on us, there's not much we can do about that either. It's how this scene works and I'll have to accept that."

source: CNet

*Note: The contents above doesn't belongs to the author

Anonymous Hackers hack neo-Nazis website & leak personal info of 16,000 Finns

Anonymous Hackers have successfully hacked the neo-Nazi website and published the database of its 16000 membership application database containing personal data of some applicants from all around the country. The hack was motivated by an apparent desire to shame the Finnish government into improving data security.

In a Statement Anonymous says "We have no tolerance for any group based on racial, sexual and religion discrimination as well as for all the people belonging to them and sharing their ideologies, which is the reason why we decided to carry out last Monday's attack.". Authorities are investigating the security breaches, according to an online message attributed to Anonymous Finland.

According to the Helsingin Sanomat, the published information seems stolen from several sources: the Work Efficiency Institute, Student Alliance Osku, WinNova Länsirannikon koulutus Ltd, and Aducate - Centre for Training and Development at the University of Eastern Finland.

Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer of the Finnish internet security firm F-Secure, dubbed the attack 'irresponsible'.Israel recently rubbished claims that Anonymous had caused the failure of several governmental websites, putting the outage down to a server failure.

source: The Hacker News

*Note: The contents above doesn't belongs to the author

How your outdated version browser threatens your security

For most of us, the Web browser is the first application we use when we turn on a computer. It's how we check email, read the news, chat with friends and do just about everything.

What many users don't realize, however, is that the Web browser is the most important security defense our computers have — and yet 60 percent of the browsers accessing the Internet today are outdated. An outdated browser ends up impacting everyone's security, privacy and performance.

How new browsers protect you

Modern browsers try to provide security for users in three different ways, explained Roger Thompson, chief emerging threats researcher for ICSA Labs in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

For example, said Thompson, all modern browsers have "blacklists" of known malware sites and try to prevent users from visiting them. This method works well if the malicious sites are well-known, but online criminals try to move websites around by changing domain names and IP addresses faster than security researchers can update the blacklists — so sometimes this doesn't work.

Some browsers, such as Google Chrome, also run applets and executable code in a "sandbox," meaning that the code and applets can't affect other parts of the browser or the operating system. Again, this doesn't always work.

And all modern browsers have a somewhat regular patch cycle, in which developers fix vulnerabilities to prevent direct attacks.

A good illustration of how a browser can act as the first line of defense is with regard to shortened URLs, or Web addresses.

URL-shortening services such as bit.ly, tinyurl.com or is.gd are handy to use when including links in instant messages, text messages or Twitter posts. Unfortunately, URL shorteners also mask the actual URLs they lead to, and give no warning that links might be drive-by downloads or exploits waiting for unsuspecting victims.

Fortunately, some enterprising software developers have created a way to find out where you're going.

"There are plug-ins available for Chrome and Firefox that will automatically expand short URLs to their actual address when viewing pages containing such links," said Harry Sverdlove, chief technology officer of Bit9, a Web security company in Waltham, Mass. "These are useful when using Facebook or Twitter from a browser, common places where malicious links are hiding in short URLs."

How to protect yourself

As Thompson pointed out, browser vendors are good about providing updates and patches that improve security by fixing vulnerabilities that bad guys exploit. But after that, it's up to the user himself to take action by actually downloading the updates, or upgrading the browser to the latest version.

You can check the version number of your browser by going to the Help button on your browser's menu and checking the “About” section. (On a Mac, click the name of the application next to the apple icon in the upper left of the screen.) Often, the "about" pop-up window will prompt you to check where there might be updates available.

For those who use Internet Explorer, Spiezle has this important piece of advice: "If it says Internet Explorer 6 ... run, do not walk to the nearest free download of Internet Explorer 9."

(If you're still running Windows XP, update to Internet Explorer 8, the latest version you can install.)

Internet Explorer 6 has been the target of a number of malicious attacks over the past decade; newer versions of Internet Explorer are much more secure.

Does it matter which browser you use? Spiezle and Thompson disagree on that question.

While Thompson said that today's browser upgrades have leveled the playing field when it comes to security, Spiezle pointed out that there still are differences among them, and each user has to assess which is best for his own uses.

"You need to look at not only the security features, but also privacy features, as well as support for the latest technologies," Spiezle said.

source: Msn BC

*Note: The contents above doesn't belongs to the author.

Are you on Pwned list?

2011 has been called the year of the data breach, with hacker groups publishing huge troves of stolen data online almost daily. Now a new site called pwnedlist.com lets users check to see if their email address or username and associated information may have been compromised.

To now, there are nearly 5 millions emails and usernames has been discovered by malicious persons, and the numbers are still counting.

Try to find out yours at http://www.pwnedlist.com/

read full article: http://bit.ly/tYfy3v

source: KrebsOnSecurity

Facebook: 600,000 accounts hacked a day

Every 24 hours 600,000 Facebook accounts are subject to attempted hacking or violation, Facebook has revealed.

The Social Network™ disclosed details of hacking activity as it unveiled new measures to protect user’s privacy. “We are adapting and responding to new threats everyday and will continue to roll out new ways to protect your account,” Facebook said.

In a blog post, Facebook revealed new tools to help users access their accounts if they are locked out and help prove your identity through your friends. “It's sort of similar to giving a house key to your friends when you go on vacation - pick the friends you most trust in case you need their help,” it explains.

And now, Facebook attempt to prevent all these happen with the two new security features.  For people who don't know, you can read here: http://bit.ly/uZ5NSe.

read more at http://bit.ly/rAgquj

source: The Register

3 Things You Should Know Before Welcome the Facebook's New "Timeline"

1. Get your friends’ settings right and audit your friends.
Whenever there are big changes on Facebook, outrage follows. Then it fades and Facebook grows. You can expect a similar cycle as Timeline rolls out. The Timeline is designed to tell your story through the content you’ve posted on Facebook. Some will find that unsettling.

The fact that Facebook built a setting that automatically makes all of your past posts “Friends Only” along with the slow roll out of Timeline indicates that Facebook is anticipating some backlash. Facebook has made the basic friend settings easy and you can now easily change the settings on any old post.

2. Check how you are tagged
Anyone can now tag anyone on Facebook. And if a friend tags you in something it could end up in your profile. You can always remove a tag but unless you have your settings right, a joke picture could pop up right at the moment a potential employer happens to click on your Timeline.

Go to the arrow in your upper right corner > Privacy Settings> Under “How Tags Work” click “Edit Settings.”

3. Edit your apps.
An app can write directly to your “wall”/timeline if you’ve given it permission to do so. Fact is you probably don’t remember if you’ve done so. And now apps play a more prominent role in your profile. So you should go through your approved apps and delete any that you are a) not using and b) would never like to see show up in your profile.

Go to the arrow in your upper right corner > Privacy Settings> Under “Apps & Websites” click “Edit Settings”> Under “Apps You Use” click “Edit Settings”> Click the light blue “x” next to any app you want to get rid of. Now, whenever you use an app, actually read the permissions the apps want. And it the app can write to your profile, your activity will become visible in your timeline.

read more at http://bit.ly/vaqkku

Miley Cyrus Hacker Seeks Jail Pass

I am stunned when I read this, according to the smoking gun, the hacker asked the a federal judge to spare him prison time when he appears Monday for sentencing on felony spamming and computer fraud charges.  He has been charged due to cracking Miley Cyrus Gmail and posted the private photos of Miley Cyrus online.

Post of Miley Cyrus Privacy Exposed.

Full Article: http://bit.ly/urg9CO

Two New Facebook Security Features

Facebook will adding two new security features to help the users gain back the access after the account get hijacked by malicious person.  

Examples, a malicious person hijack your account and first of all the thing they will do is change your password to stop letting you access your account.  Yet, you may not able to access your email to gain back the reset password.

And now, the first feature is to make three keys before enter the house.  Three of the keys can be given to your trusted friends, each person will get one of the key.  *Note: user can choose three to five friends 

 

It sounds pretty simple huh? And the second feature is for the person who not able to generate a secure key from their brain.  

The features will roll out expected on the coming week.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/uWVAg5

How Facebook - Ticker Exposing Your Privacy Without Your Knowledge

Facebook has launched the ticker couple months ago since the interface has been updated to the latest one.  A lot of people complained about there is no privacy, I can be a stalker and stalk the girl I admire everyday by just looking on the ticker updates.  Well, I bet most of us hate it right? However, we still accept it because we want the services from Facebook, we adapted to the services ain't it?

A Brazilian security researcher has posted a video on YouTube and show us how the ticker expose your privacy without your knowledge.

*Just play at 01:15 to skip all the introduction*

Original Video: http://bit.ly/ux9Wtu

15 Year Old Indian Researcher Created a Malware for xbox kinect

Ever heard of any malware for xbox kinect?  According to The Hacker News, a 15 year old indian kid crated a malware that utlizes Microsoft Kinect to secretly capture pictures and upload to a picasa account.

The malware code-named 'gawde' and the 15 year old indian kid named 'Shantanu Gawde'.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/rpFTGk

Facebook Spams Evolved

The links usually redirect in two steps to a Canadian Pharmacy website where various (fake) meds are offered at unbelievable prices.

We have noticed a new type of mail which at the first glance seems to be from the mentioned category . This time, there is  a text:

“Please call +7 951 xyzq”.

According to its prefix, the number is from Russia. I am not an expert in international phone numbers, but if we consider that the numbers starts with “9″ then I think I can assume that it is a very expensive number.

Can it be that the Canadian Pharmacy spam doesn’t bring anymore enough money to the spammers and they are searching for new methods of getting some easy money?

Fortunately for us, the spam is malformed and it is quite easy to detect it as spam.

But this opens a new chapter in Facebook related spam – now those who are not aware of such scams can lose some serious money.

Facebook will never ask you to call any number. They will also never sent you such a notification and definitely your Facebook Inbox will never get full.

We strongly advise all users to never call any number present in such emails.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/rAmdBE

Operation Hackerazzi: FBI Arrests Alleged Hacker for Stealing Naked Photos of Hollywood Stars

FEDERAL officials on Wednesday arrested a 35-year-old Florida man,Christopher Chaney and charged him with 26 counts of cyber-related crimes against Hollywood stars following an 11-month federal probe dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi".

Twitter was ablaze earlier today with messages claiming to link to naked pictures of film actress Scarlett Johansson, which were allegedly stolen from her iPhone by a hacker earlier this year.The photographs may or may not be of Scarlett Johansson, but I would suggest that every hot-blooded male exercises some restraint as it's extremely possible that cybercriminals might exploit the interest to post dangerous links on the web designed to infect computers or steal information.To gain access to these email accounts, Chaney would search through details of celebrity lives within magazines as well as social media accounts like Twitter and figure out possible passwords. 

Once Chaney cracked the password, he would setup email forwarding to send a duplicate version of all emails to his personal account. This allowed Chaney to continue receiving emails after the password was reset. Gaining access to one account also allowed Chaney to access the address book and discover more celebrity email addresses. Chaney faces 26 counts of identity theft, unauthorized access to a protected computer and wiretapping. If convicted on all counts, Chaney could receive 121 years in prison for his crimes.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/nY4OsF

Fraud Mail from Bank

Banks are well aware that criminals will use any trick they can to get control of your money. To stay ahead in the cat-and-mouse game, financial institutions use one-time passwords and verification codes that render most conventional phishing attacks useless. Thus online criminals have had to innovate quickly.

Man-in-the-middle attack allow the attacker to intercept messages between you and your bank. The criminal then sends its own messages to both parties. Just this week, F-Secure Labs has observed multiple man-in-the-middle attacks against at least two Finnish Banks. Other new man-in-the-middle attacks utilize the computing power of our smartphones to trick us out of account information.

Here’s what you should know to keep the thieves out of your digital piggy bank.

1. Never click on links from bank e-mails.
When you’re busy, it’s easy to make a mistake and click on a bad link, especially on our phones. Sean Sullivan from F-Secure Labs says the best strategy is to, “Go to the bank via a browser bookmark.”

2. Know that criminals are targeting your smartphone.
F-Secure Labs has followed Spitmo, a man-in-the-middle attack that targets phones, since spring. And now an Android version has been spotted. This attack pretends to install application that protects the phone’s SMS messages. If you receive an SMS that asks you to install such software on your phone, take the time to contact your bank directly.

3. Keep your system and security software updated.
The registered owner of the site being used for this week’s Finnish bank attack owns more than 90 sites. So as one attack goes down, another one might go up. It’s important to have browsing protection that could prevent you from visiting a site hosting a known attack. And it’s even more important to make your PC is patched and protected. Our free Health Check makes that easy.

Bank robber Willie Sutton never actually said that he robs banks because “That’s where the money is.” But if he lived today, he might have tweeted it.

Criminals will never stop scheming of ways to get into your bank account. By staying aware of their latest tricks, you’ll do your best to keep your money where it belongs.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/mRBhes

Mikko Hypponen: Safe Internet Will Lead the Future

Guys, spend your 21 minutes of your life to create a better future of the Internet? A great talk from Mikko Hypponen in TEDx Rotterdam.

Original Video: http://bit.ly/rsmf2S

Miley Cyrus Privacy Exposed

The man, who is currently facing up to 121 years behind bars, has been charged with 26 counts of identity theft, wire-tapping and unauthorised access to protected computer.Chaney, who has been in contact with TMZ for the last two years, has contacted the gossip website with details on how he hacked into Miley Cyrus's Gmail account.

With celebrity phone hacker Christopher Chaney arrested, another hacker has reached out to TMZ to share how laughably easy it was for him to hack into Miley Cyrus‘ Gmail account. Here’s a lesson in the Internet, Miley: Don’t use the name of your best friend (which the Internet knows) as your security question.First he tracked down her Gmail name; though he doesn’t say what it is, I just did a quick Google search and came up with two possibilities through Yahoo! Answers already. Obviously that part won’t take long. When he tried to log in, he got a security question—the name of one of Miley’s girlfriends. All the hacker had to do was search which girl Miley’s been friends with the longest (could it have been Mandy, from their YouTube days?), and voila!

Someone needs to tell Miley that she should try to make her passwords harder to guess, maybe? Are you surprised that she used something so easy to access her account?

But Miley Cyrus is not the only one who uses friend's names, dog names and their own birthday date as security. This is not safe, even if you are not a celeb and have no nude pictures aboard. Try a bit of thinking. Instead of your best friend, name that little curly-haired girl you hated in kindergarten. For numbers, use the weight you wish you were. Or your SAT scores. Something memorable only to you!And for Miley Cyrus and Scarlett Johansson—better luck next time.

Original Article: http://bit.ly/noMo80

iPhone = Spy Phone?

What if a hacker could log every key you typed on your PC by placing a cellphone nearby? USresearchers have shown how this is possible using any smartphone available today.

At a conference in Chicago on Thursday, a group of computer researchers from Georgia Tech will report on another potential threat. The researchers have shown that the accelerometer and orientation sensor of a phone resting on a surface can be used to eavesdrop as a password is entered using a keyboard on the same surface. They were able to capture the words typed on the keyboard with as much as 80 percent accuracy.


Original Article: http://bit.ly/qp8wqU

Facebook: Turn Them On

Facebook is quietly rolling out the most dramatic updates to its privacy settings in a year. While critics have quickly dismissed the updates as typically lacking in user control, there are two new features that we believe you should turn as soon as they are available to you: Profile Review and Tag Review.


Profile Review keeps photos and posts tagged with your name from showing up on your profile without your approval. Tag Review gives you the ability to approve tags that are added to your pictures.


Here's how to activate your Profile Review and Tag Review...

Original Article: http://bit.ly/mR104m