I’ve been doing technology support long enough to tell you that many of the problems that people experience with computers are self-inflicted. I even have clients who truly believe they have a little black cloud hanging over them every time they sit down in front of a computer, and having witnessed their track records first-hand, I make sure to keep my tech poncho handy. It’s hard to deny empirical data that clearly indicates some folks might be better keeping their distance from expensive or important technology. Today, however, some of my tech-kryptonite clients can hold their heads high because…guess what?! In the case of a large number of computers built with Intel CPU’s the technology problems plaguing those PCs might have been the hardware and not them!
“I’ll need an old priest and a young priest.“
Unfortunately for Intel, exorcising this particular demon won’t be nearly so simple (or cinematic). The tech manufacturer most widely known for making CPUs used in just about every desktop computer, laptop and server on this planet has recently admitted that they created, manufactured and sold two entire generations of CPUs with a flaw that basically causes them to commit electrical seppuku by requesting more voltage than they can safely handle. Intel’s Raptor Lake 13th and 14th generation CPUs have been installed in PCs since late 2022 all the way through today, and no one’s quite sure how many PC’s might be affected because it’s very difficult to determine if your repeated crashing is from a fried CPU or you are just one of my “stormy” tech friends.
After strongly denying this for several weeks, Intel finally came clean and admitted to the manufacturing defect, and after some prodding from the industry, also committed to extending warranties on retail CPU’s (ie. sold in boxes for installation into computers by system integrators, hobbyists and MSP’s like yours truly) by 2 more years. And after a little more prodding from their biggest customers, extended that same 2-year grace to OEM computers as well – these would be the ones you buy from Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc. Additionally, Intel is prepping a firmware update for mid-August that will supposedly rectify this nasty bug, but sadly, the fix won’t do anything for CPUs that have already lobotomized themselves. For that, you’ll need to seek a warranty replacement. As someone who has gone through that particular process more times than should be allowed by the Geneva Conventions, make sure you get your “waiting boots” on and keep your favorite stress toy handy. The next few months are going to be a hoot. And by “hoot” I mean nothing at all resembling such a thing. Thanks, Intel.
New week, new punching bag: this time, Intel returns to the spotlight with yet another flaw in its CPUs, up to and including the most recent 9th generation processors as well as going back as far as ones produced in 2008. This week has been absolutely bananas for technology issues so I’m going to keep the literary gymnastics to a minimum. Truth be told, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the technical details of this latest exploit, but here’s a simplified explanation of what I understand so far.
What this means for you: apply updates and stay patched!
Two independent groups of researchers as well as Intel themselves have been quietly working on identifying a new, serious exploit in how Intel CPUs operate. Unlike typical security flaws that can be patched with software, vulnerabilities like this one, dubbed RIDL, Fallout, or MDS (depending on who you talk to) are a result of how the CPU was designed to operate. This new flaw, along side the two previously announced Spectre (2017) and Fallout (2018) vulnerabilities, fall into a class of exploits that are based on a core design of Intel architecture originally built to help computers run faster. Put as simply, predictive processing guesses what the CPU is going to be asked to do next and have the necessary code or data already loaded into nearby caches. Previous exploits looked at the predictions, and the latest basically looks at the guesses that turned out to be wrong or unused. Each discarded guess only contains a few bytes of data, but given a focused attack repeated thousands or millions of times, the leaked data can eventually be amassed into a significant security breach.
Interestingly enough, Intel has known about this particular flaw for an undisclosed amount of time, and has already been working with major industry players like Microsoft, Google, Apple and the usual Windows PC manufacturers to patch or mitigate the vulnerability, which may or may not already be applied to your equipment. At this point, unless you really like reading technical bulletins like this one, I’d recommend paying close attention to update notifications from your computer’s manufacturer as well as applying security patches to your various devices, regardless of their business or personal focus. As with the previous two vulnerabilities, Intel and manufacturers are being cagey about pointing out exactly which updates might be addressing this particular issue, or even if they’ve already been fixed (as many manufacturers will assert), and Intel itself is downplaying the severity of the flaw, despite differing opinions from the independent research groups. Intel discounts the severity based upon the relative sophistication required to exploit the flaw, but researchers rightly point out that though the flaw may be hard to exploit, the data it exposes is highly sensitive and previously thought completely secure.
By the time you read this, Apple will be on day two of quarantining group calls in its video chat app, FaceTime. Why? Oh, how about a nasty eavesdropping bug that would allow callers to listen in on recipients before they pick up the call? Not necessarily ground-shaking in terms of espionage or cybercrime, but potentially embarrassing or even relationship-destroying, especially for an app that is heavily used for non-business calls. To add to the embarrassment of everyone, discovery of this bug is credited to young teenager trying to set up a group chat with his Fortnite friends. Thanks, Fortnite?
What this means for you
Probably not much, except if you use FaceTime for group chats which is now unavailable until Apple fixes the issue. At the moment, there is no firm ETA on the fix which “…will be released in a software update later this week,” per Apple’s official statement. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first security bug for FaceTime’s group chat feature which is not even a full year old. Last fall a security researcher was able to exploit a flaw in group chats to bypass the lock screen and view a user’s entire address book. Thanks to the internet and the always connected nature of iOS devices, bugs like these are typically fixed quickly, and unlike Android phones which suffer from a fractured operating system environment and inconsistent update policies controlled by competing manufacturers, Apple is able to react quickly to these situations. Score one for the fruit company!
It’s become a tradition here for many folks to do some technology shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The savvy shopper can often find great deals on otherwise expensive items, and if they are willing to brave the insanity of brick-and-mortar shopping on Black Friday, can sometimes get an amazing deal on the year’s hottest technology. Tablets are up at the top of everyone’s gift list, and cheap Android-based tablets are popping up everywhere, including a batch of sub-$100 tablets made by lesser-known (or unknown!) manufacturers that are flying off the shelves of discount retailers like Walmart and Walgreen’s. Unfortunately, these cheap tablets are shipping with a variety of security flaws that could pose a serious threat to you or your business.
What this means for you:
A detailed analysis performed by Bluebox Security walks through the flaws of 12 sub-$100 tablets, but I’ll simplify: if you’ve bought one of the tablets on their list, you should absolutely not access any of your important email, banking or business-service accounts with this device. The age-old rule of thumb applies here: you get what you pay for, and paying less than $50 for a tablet gets you a very unsecure device that should only be used for the most casual entertainment purposes. It is also highly unlikely that these devices can be made secure, as many of the flaws come from older versions of the Android operating system. Due to the limitations of the low-cost hardware use to build these tablets, upgrading the OS is highly unlikely without some serious hacking, and should only be attempted by a trained professional. At that point, you should really question whether the overall cost was really worth the initial savings. Long story short: these sub-$50 tablets should only be used as toys and never for serious business or personal use.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
A flaw in an Android open source web browsing app found on nearly half the active Android user base could potentially be used by malicious websites to steal user information. Reported by white-hat hacker Rafay Baloch earlier this month, this bug affects the Android Open Source Platform browser – also known as “Android Browser” – which was the default browser on all Android phones shipped prior to Android OS 4.2, when Google switched the default browser to Chrome. Even then, parts of Android Browser were still being used by other OS applications up until version 4.4, when Google swapped those parts out for Chromium ones. A survey of web browsers used shows that nearly half of all Android users may be using Android Browser actively, which could equate to nearly 40 million potential victims.
What this means for you:
Note that “Android Browser” (with capital B) is the actual name of this program, and should not be confused with the Chrome app, which is also an “Android browser” – as in it’s an app that lets you browse the internet on your Android device. If you still have the Android Browser app installed on your 4.X Android phone, you should replace it with Chrome. However, this may only solve part of the problem, as many other apps that have some form of internet browsing built into it may be using the flawed engine embedded inside the app itself, and there is no clear way to know for sure without asking the developer.
Now that Google has officially acknowledged the bug, a fix is supposedly in the works, but hasn’t said when it will release the update, which will have to be delivered as part of an OS update (ie. going from 4.3 to 4.4) and not throught Play Store. Also, it’s not clear whether that update will trickle down to the many apps that still use the engine to power their own embedded browsers. For now, stick to using Chrome, and be wary of apps that have built-in web browsing capabilities.
Researchers at Bluebox Security have published an unsettling discovery in the Android operating system that is the digital equivalent of a law enforcement official neglecting to verify if your driver’s license is actually real whenever you submit it as proof of your identity. Oh, and this little bug has been around since version 2.1 of the OS, which was released in January 2010. The real problem with this bug (aside from it being over 4 years old and still unpatched) is that it has the potential to grant malware written to take advantage of this bug an unprecedented level of access to your phone. While Google has acknowledged Bluebox’s finding, there is still no word on when this serious flaw will be fixed.
What this means for you:
Normally, Android apps installed on your phone are “sandboxed” into their own spaces, preventing them from interacting with other apps without permission. However, there are a certain set of apps that are allowed access to other apps, ostensibly to provide services to those apps. A well known example of a “super-privileged” app is Adobe’s Flash Player (before it was removed from the Play Store in Android 4.4) which was granted privileges to other apps primarily to provide rendering and playback services for Flash content. Each app comes with its own security certificate that is supposed to verify the apps identity and authenticity. Except because of the above-mentioned bug, your Android phone doesn’t bother to verify if the certificate itself was issued by a proper authority. Oops.
Until Google fixes this bug, be very careful installing new apps that appear on the Play store, especially if you are directed to one via suspicious email or social media. Even though Google supposedly checks every single app made available on the Play Store, hackers and security researchers have been able to sneak malware into the store for a short period of time. And definitely do not side-load apps. Hopefully I don’t need to explain just how bad having malware on your phone could be, especially one that could interact with things like your contact list, banking apps and social media accounts.
I shouldn’t have worried that my special “Microsoft Zero-day Warning” graphic was going to gather dust. Would it surprise you to hear that a serious security flaw has been found in all versions of Internet Explorer up to the latest, version 11? This particular loophole allows attackers to use a specially crafted Flash file downloaded from compromised websites (like the ones linked to in spam, scams and phishing emails) to gain full access to your computer, and will likely lead to a badly infected computer and theft of your personal information. Though there are some band-aids offered by Microsoft, as of now there is no word whether this hole will be plugged by an emergency patch released soon, or on “Patch Tuesday” (2 weeks from now), or even later than that. Because of the severity of the security flaw, even the Department of Homeland Security is recommending everyone avoid using IE until this is fixed. Oh, and remember Windows XP? It won’t be getting patched, so yet another burning reason to switch browsers, and upgrade as soon as possible.
What this means for you:
This flaw is being exploited “in the wild” as you read this, though not widespread yet, and has thus far been used to target government employees and defense contractors. Given how large the target surface is, this exploit is highly likely to spread beyond these focused attacks. Unless your work requires it (or disallows the use of other browsers), you should stop using Internet Explorer for anything except known work-related websites. And if you have to use IE, you can disable the Flash add-on until the hole is plugged. This article from Microsoft explains how to do this, but make sure you use the little drop-down to the right of the headline to switch to the appropriate version of IE for specific steps. Chrome, Firefox or Safari are good alternatives to IE, and who knows, you may find that they can permanently replace IE for most of your web browsing tasks.
Usually Apple is able to sit on the sidelines of today’s technology security circus , enjoying a (debatable) reputation for being more secure than Windows and even Android. Unfortunately, it had to step into center stage this week and own up to a security flaw in its core networking code used in both iOS and OS X. And not just a little one either: this one affects how SSL-encrypted network traffic is handled, and it affects iPhones, iPads running iOS 6 or 7, and any computer running OS X 10.9 “Mavericks”.
What this means for you:
In a nutshell, the bug essentially prevents the affected device from verifying the identity of the certificate used to guarantee the SSL encryption. When your Apple device fires up a secure connection using SSL, the first thing it’s suppose to do is check the SSL certification of the destination by verifying it’s identity. Except, in the case of the bug, it doesn’t but reports back to the device that everything is OK. This would be the equivalent of putting a blind doorman in front of your bar to check ID’s. Apple has released a patch for iOS 6 and 7, but still has not issued a fix for the OS X platform.
For now, until you verify you’ve patched your mobile device with the latest security update for your version of iOS, I recommend against using any applications that transmit confidential data (your’s or your client’s) over the internet. On the desktop/laptop side, avoid using Safari until OS X is patched, and switch to a browser like Chrome or Firefox, both of which implement their own SSL code that is not affected by this flaw. To keep track of whether or not Apple has fixed this hole, you can visit: http://hasgotofailbeenfixedyet.com/
Update: As of Feb 25, Apple has issued a patch for OS X 10.9. Make sure your Apple devices update to the latest version of their corresponding operating system.
You thought you’d done a good thing: you finally listened to all the warnings and locked your iPhone with a passcode or, if you are one of the lucky few with a shiny new 5s, the new fingerprint lock. Sadly, one of Apple’s other famed technologies may betray you in the end. An Isreali security analyst has uncovered a significant flaw in iOS7 security when access to Siri on your iPhone’s lockscreen is enabled. The problem is part convenience and part bug: using Siri while your phone is locked allows you to make calls without having to punch in a passcode, something that is indispensible while driving, or when your hands are otherwise occupied. Unfortunately, using Siri in this manner leaves a back door open in the form of unfettered access to the phone app, while your phone is still locked. Oh, and did you remember that Siri responds to anyone’s voice, not just the owners?
What this means for you:
“How bad could this be?” I hear you asking. While in the phone app, the user can access the phone’s voicemail, send text messages, view the calendar and look through all the contacts in your phone. If you don’t consider that private, you are part of a very small minority on this planet. The fix is simple: disable access to Siri from the lockscreen. The recommendation: do it now if you care about your phone’s security. It’s likely Apple will fix this flaw, but will they do it in time to protect your confidential data?
Windows users will probably be unsurprised to note that Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash plug-in requires yet another patch. This time, unfortunately, Adobe is scrambling to release version 11.6 to rectify 2 serious security holes that are already being exploited in the wild, and not just on Windows machines; Macs and even Linux is affected by the latest flaws.
What this means for you:
The flaws fixed by the above release may allow malicious websites to install malware either from just visiting a compromised website, or by redirecting your browser to open infected Microsoft Word documents or Adobe PDFs. There are malware websites being found on the web right now that can take advantage of unpatched Flash plugins and they will wreak havoc on your computer.
Patch Flash now. Here’s how:
- Go to Adobe’s website: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ (works for any platform)
- Windows: Go to your Control Panel and look for the “Flash Player” control panel icon. Click the “Advanced” tab and then the “Check Now” button.
If you want to verify you’ve updated to the correct version, you can check it by visiting this link after patching: http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/