Cisco Talos: Spam at levels not seen since 2010

Spam is back in a big way – levels that have not been seen since 201o in fact. That’s according to a blog post today form Cisco Talos that stated the main culprit of the increase is largely the handiwork of the Necurs botnet, stated the blog’s author Jaeson Schultz.+More on Network World: The weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories of 2016 (so far!)+“Many of the host IPs sending Necurs' spam have been infected for more than two years. To help keep the full scope of the botnet hidden, Necurs will only send spam from a subset of its minions. An infected host might be used for two to three days, and then sometimes not again for two to three weeks. This greatly complicates the job of security personnel who respond to spam attacks, because while they may believe the offending host was subsequently found and cleaned up, the reality is that the miscreants behind Necurs are just biding their time, and suddenly the spam starts all over again. At Talos, we see this pattern over, and over again for many Necurs-affiliated IPs,” he wrote.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco Talos: Spam at levels not seen since 2010

Spam is back in a big way – levels that have not been seen since 201o in fact. That’s according to a blog post today form Cisco Talos that stated the main culprit of the increase is largely the handiwork of the Necurs botnet, stated the blog’s author Jaeson Schultz.+More on Network World: The weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories of 2016 (so far!)+“Many of the host IPs sending Necurs' spam have been infected for more than two years. To help keep the full scope of the botnet hidden, Necurs will only send spam from a subset of its minions. An infected host might be used for two to three days, and then sometimes not again for two to three weeks. This greatly complicates the job of security personnel who respond to spam attacks, because while they may believe the offending host was subsequently found and cleaned up, the reality is that the miscreants behind Necurs are just biding their time, and suddenly the spam starts all over again. At Talos, we see this pattern over, and over again for many Necurs-affiliated IPs,” he wrote.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BrandPost: Virtualizing WAN capabilities

Virtualization has dramatically transformed data center infrastructure and now it’s time for wide area networking (WAN) to undergo a similar transformation.Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) heralds a new era of networking in which WANs are software-centric, rather than tied to proprietary, inflexible hardware devices.“NFV eliminates the need for proprietary hardware; and enables routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, content delivery systems, end-user devices, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) nodes, and almost any other network function to run as software on virtual machines,” according to Roopashree Honnachari, industry director of business communications services with Frost & Sullivan.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This $139 computer can be a PC or robot and will run Windows 10 desktop

Many Raspberry Pi-like developer boards are available, but most can't run Microsoft's Windows 10 desktop operating system. OS versatility is a strong suit of the new SolidRun Q4 board.SolidRun can run multiple versions of Windows 10. It has the flexibility to be a PC or a board to use to create cool gadgets.The SolidPC Q4 is packed with fast processors, memory, storage, and ports that make it a viable Windows 10 PC. It's cheap at US$139, but here's the bad news: You'll need to buy the Windows 10 desktop OS separately, and its price starts at $119.99.The board computer will need to be configured to meet the minimum requirements of Windows 10, which is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage for a 64-bit version of the OS. SolidRun Q4 supports up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM and has up to 128GB of internal flash  storage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Working around Apple’s inexplicable email app change

For the second time in a row, I find myself unmotivated to upgrade my iPhone. The 6S had nothing that appealed to me, and the 7 is a downright turn-off with its lack of a headset jack. Five years after Steve Jobs' death, and this is what passes for innovation at Apple. The only thing preventing a defection on my part is all the apps I've invested in won't transfer to Android, and I don't feel like repurchasing all of them.+ Also on Network World: Settings in iOS 10: Every notable change you need to know +In addition to the decidedly unappealing phone, iOS 10 made a baffling move that has left me wondering what Jony Ive, Apple’s chief designer officer, and Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, are thinking. One of the more welcomed features in previous versions of iOS was the Trash All feature in Apple Mail. Prior to that you had to manually select every email for deletion.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

60% off ZeroLemon ToughJuice USB-C 30000mAh Macbook Compatible Power Bank – Deal Alert

ZeroLemon describes their ToughJuice power bank as the world's toughest external battery pack, with 30000mAh capacity and a rugged anti-shock exterior. With enough juice to get you up and running again and again on a single charge, ToughJuice provides up to ten charges to a smartphone, two charges to a tablet or multiple charges to nearly any other device. It features four USB ports (1 QuickCharge 2.0 port, with legacy 5V/2A support and 3 Ports for 1A charging) but more importantly it features USB-C/Type-C Compatibility: the USB-C/Type-C port makes the battery pack compatible with the new MacBook, charging at 5V/2.5A and other USB-C powered devices. The device averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 200 people (read reviews), and its list price is currently discounted to $79.99. See the discounted ZeroLemon ToughJuice power bank now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

More than 840,000 Cisco devices are vulnerable to NSA-related exploit

More than 840,000 Cisco networking devices from around the world are exposed to a vulnerability that's similar to one exploited by a hacking group believed to be linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.The vulnerability was announced by Cisco last week and it affects the IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR software that powers many of its networking devices. The flaw allows hackers to remotely extract the contents of a device's memory, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive information.The vulnerability stems from how the OS processes IKEv1 (Internet Key Exchange version 1) requests. This key exchange protocol is used for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other features that are popular in enterprise environments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

More than 840,000 Cisco devices are vulnerable to NSA-related exploit

More than 840,000 Cisco networking devices from around the world are exposed to a vulnerability that's similar to one exploited by a hacking group believed to be linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.The vulnerability was announced by Cisco last week and it affects the IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR software that powers many of its networking devices. The flaw allows hackers to remotely extract the contents of a device's memory, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive information.The vulnerability stems from how the OS processes IKEv1 (Internet Key Exchange version 1) requests. This key exchange protocol is used for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other features that are popular in enterprise environments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

More than 840,000 Cisco devices are vulnerable to NSA-related exploit

More than 840,000 Cisco networking devices from around the world are exposed to a vulnerability that's similar to one exploited by a hacking group believed to be linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.The vulnerability was announced by Cisco last week and it affects the IOS, IOS XE, and IOS XR software that powers many of its networking devices. The flaw allows hackers to remotely extract the contents of a device's memory, which can lead to the exposure of sensitive information.The vulnerability stems from how the OS processes IKEv1 (Internet Key Exchange version 1) requests. This key exchange protocol is used for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and other features that are popular in enterprise environments.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers sell tool to spread malware through torrent files

Be careful with what you torrent. A new tool on the black market is helping hackers distribute malware through torrent files in exchange for a fee.On Tuesday, security researchers at InfoArmor said they discovered the so-called "RAUM" tool in underground forums.It leverages torrenting -- a popular file-sharing method associated with piracy -- to spread the malware. Popular torrent files, especially games, are packaged with malicious coding and then uploaded for unsuspecting users to download.Using torrents to infect computers is nothing new. But the makers of the RAUM tool have streamlined the whole process with a "Pay-Per-Install" model, according to InfoArmor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers sell tool to spread malware through torrent files

Be careful with what you torrent. A new tool on the black market is helping hackers distribute malware through torrent files in exchange for a fee.On Tuesday, security researchers at InfoArmor said they discovered the so-called "RAUM" tool in underground forums.It leverages torrenting -- a popular file-sharing method associated with piracy -- to spread the malware. Popular torrent files, especially games, are packaged with malicious coding and then uploaded for unsuspecting users to download.Using torrents to infect computers is nothing new. But the makers of the RAUM tool have streamlined the whole process with a "Pay-Per-Install" model, according to InfoArmor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Lenovo laptops refuse to run Linux due to storage woes, not Microsoft evildoing

It looks like Linux lovers have another roadbump to watch out for beyond Microsoft’s slow tightening of the UEFI Secure Boot screws.Lenovo’s forums and the Linux subreddit are ablaze amidst reports of failed Linux installs on the Lenovo Yoga 900 13ISK2 and Ideapad 710S, as Tech Republic first reported. The howls intensified when an unverified person identifying herself as a “Lenovo Product Expert” answered a question about the issue on the Best Buy website with, “The system has a Signature Edition of Windows 10 Home installed. It is locked per our agreement with Microsoft.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to protect your mission-critical information

Given the vast and increasing volumes of data within organizations today, securing your data can seem an insurmountable task. But you can get your arms around it if you assess the value of your data and focus your attention on protecting your mission-critical information assets — the crown jewels.Yesterday, the nonprofit Information Security Forum (ISF) announced the availability of Protecting the Crown Jewels: How to Secure Mission-Critical Information Assets, the latest in a series of reports geared to helping organizations do just that."Businesses must prioritize the protection of mission-critical information assets," says Steve Durbin, managing director of the ISF. "Far too often, organizations consider the value of these assets, but fail to recognize the extent to which they are exposed to global security threats."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung has shipped 500,000 replacement Note 7 units to the U.S.

Samsung has announced it has just finished a shipment of 500,000 units of the Galaxy Note7 to carrier and retail outlets.The devices are to be available on Wednesday, September 21, meaning you can finally get a non-exploding model in exchange for the one you own. Those who were issued a temporary device by their carrier should also be eligible to swap it for a Note7.Those who have been forced to wait to buy a new Note7 also may be in luck. The Note7 is available on the online store for Verizon and Sprint right now. Other carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T still redirecting Note7 information on their site to a dedicated page with recall details, but they may very well resume sales soon.  If you were thinking of buying a Note7 but got stuck waiting because of the battery fiasco, your best bet is to contact your carrier.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco says router bug could be result of ‘cosmic radiation’ … Seriously?

A Cisco bug report addressing “partial data traffic loss” on the company’s ASR 9000 Series routers contends that a “possible trigger is cosmic radiation causing SEU soft errors.”Cosmic radiation? While we all know that cosmic radiation can wreak havoc on electronic devices, there’s far less agreement as to the likelihood of it being the culprit in this case. Or that Cisco could know one way or the other.A reader of Reddit’s section devoted to networking asks the question: “Has anyone ever seen ‘cosmic radiation’ as a cause for software errors in a bug report before? The ‘fix’ is to reload the line card. This did resolve the issue in our case. Anybody else experience this?”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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