Does My Macbook Need Protection?

Apple has bragged for years that their computers were unlikely to be hacked and that it was even less likely that they could get viruses.

Check this out:

"a new security vulnerability in MacBook batteries means that it’s possible that future hackers won’t just try to steal your credit card numbers, but might actually cause your computer to meltdown instead.

The vulnerability was discovered by Accuvant security researcher Charlie Miller, who says that Apple’s MacBook batteries use default passwords on their MacBooks.

Why’s that a problem? Well, because the batteries use default passwords, the battery controller can be compromised by any malicious hacker who knows the password, giving him access to the low level hardware. This security hole can then be exploited in various ways, from just causing the battery to stop functioning to auto-installing malware. It can even cause full on overheating.

Miller got the passwords by backwards engineering one of Apple’s 2009 battery update.

The good news is that right now, this isn’t a major security threat. To get remote access to the battery of your MacBook, a malware developer would first have to figure out a way to bypass OS X’s security measures, which isn’t an easy task."

http://www.cultofmac.com/105843/hacker-your-macbooks-battery-is-vulnerable-to-viruses-malware-and-meltdown/

And there is more to come.

What can you do?

Well, DO NOT use Mac Defender! It's bad. see this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Defender

Also, I do not trust MacKeeper. There is a lot of contradictory information about it on the Net. Many praise it, but others are not as kind. I have had a certified Apple technician tell me that a possible cause of a recent Macbook meltsdown "could" have been caused by MacKeeper. My thought: Why take the chance?

One that I like is

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition

It seems to do very well at catching malware, because Mac's CAN get Trojan malware, especially if they connect to other computing devices.

Read reviews of the program and see what you think and ask me questions!

Protect Your Phones!

Your phones are full of your personal information. If you lose it, what will you do? I spoke with a parent yesterday whose iPhone plunged into the ocean last week. She has always kept a notebook with her contacts listed, but do the rest of us? Some people are using iCloud to synchronize their iPhones, but is that enough? What if you don’t use an iPhone but one of the Android or Blackberrys? These are questions you probably should figure out answers to.

And, now that you can use a phone for mobile banking, the dangers just keep increasing. Here is an excerpt from a recent article:

“…study released this month by computer security firm Symantec.

The study began with Symantec personnel "losing" 50 smartphones in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and the San Francisco Bay area. The smartphones were equipped with special tracking software that allowed researchers to find out what the people who found the phones attempted to do with them. They monitored what apps the finders attempted to open, what websites they attempted to access, and where they took the phone physically.

The results can't be comforting for those who keep and access sensitive financial information and conduct financial business on their smartphones. Here are some points from the study.

• An attempt to access an online banking app was observed on 43 percent of the devices.
• A "Saved Passwords" file was accessed on 57 percent of the phones.
• Sixty-six percent of the devices showed attempts to click through the login or password reset screens (where a login page was presented with username and password fields that were prefilled, suggesting that the account could be accessed by simply clicking on the "login" button).
• Of the 50 devices, the owner only received 25 offers to help, despite the fact that the owner's phone number and email address were clearly marked in the contacts app.

While the sample size of the study was relatively small, it does suggest that if you're using technologies like mobile banking, mobile payments and person-to-person payment apps and you lose your smartphone, it's very possible the person who finds it will attempt to use them to steal from you.”

Go to this link if you want more information.

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/banking/lost-smartphones-a-target-for-thieves/?ec_id=cmct_01_comm_PF_image_headline