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Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
Patch Lady here with a kind reminder that at this time the release of 1809 has been paused while Microsoft investigates. If you’ve been hit by the bu
[See the full post at: Patch Lady – 31 days of paranoia – day 7]
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
This one looks really good. I wonder if I can get updates monthly on a TFHaaS plan.
https://www.amazon.com/Electro-Deflecto-Unisex-Foil-Size/dp/B01I497JAM/ref=sr_1_1
Oh my, Latka, and what a wonderful gift for that “very special” friend this could be!
And it’s a coed model too!
Now, if we are going to discuss social engineering, I must have a degree on that from Somewhere U by now, as every year, for more years now than I care to think of, I have had to do a required course on IT security, including a lesson on the number of ways one can get abused or worse on line and even in person or over the phone. And social engineering, of course, is always one of those dirty tricks covered in that lesson. So what the Parch Lady has written in the Main page and started this thread with sounds pretty familiar to me. (Although I don’t really know about the vast majority of my still unread email just sitting there waiting for me to open it in order to get me…) Which means that I am now a totally paranoid old guy that does not thrust anyone on line he does not know really, really well. But always with that distressing idea at the back of his mind that, on the Internet, one’s interlocutor or correspondent can really be a dog. Grrrr… Arf!
Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).
MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV
https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/crime/two-thirds-of-emails-sent-this-year-were-malicious-1.2278892
”
Two-thirds of more than half-a-billion emails sent during the first half of 2018 were malicious, making email-based threats a popular means of cyberattack, a new report revealed on Sunday.
Based on Email Threat Report, released by FireEye Inc, an intelligence-led security company, only one-third of more than half-a-billion emails sent during the same period were considered ‘clean’. In fact, one in every 101 emails had malicious intent.”
By the time it gets to you, your ISP or email platform has probably cleaned and blocked a lot of that… so my apologies I shouldn’t have used the words “In your inbox” …rather “sent to your inbox” as a better way to put it.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/crime/two-thirds-of-emails-sent-this-year-were-malicious-1.2278892
Two-thirds of more than half-a-billion emails sent during the first half of 2018 were malicious, making email-based threats a popular means of cyberattack, a new report revealed on Sunday.
The linked headline is misleading (in its use of two-thirds malicious). The actual report included spam in its figure of 68% blocked (and not actually delivered to an inbox):
The majority of emails organizations receive daily are considered spam or malicious. This point is highlighted in the data by the fact that only 32% of traffic seen was considered clean and sent through to an inbox.
Based on Email Threat Report, released by FireEye Inc, an intelligence-led security company, only one-third of more than half-a-billion emails sent during the same period were considered ‘clean’. In fact, one in every 101 emails had malicious intent.”
Yes, the report identified less than 1% as malicious.
The real message in the report is that 90% of malicious emails were phishing attacks and only 10% contained malware:
New FireEye Email Threat Report Underlines the Rise in Malware-less Email Attacks
If you upload a file to VirusTotal. It is theirs to keep. I would never upload any document that has personal information.
Remind me to blog about how you can upload the sha1 value to test rather than the file itself.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
I wish what I am posting now could be applied to the general population. I have Asperger’s Disorder, a form of autistic disorder. This means for the purpose of this discussion that I don’t receive social cues in a normal way, and I miss a lot of the “conversation” in most social situations. One effect of this disorder is that I don’t get the kind of social manipulations which can rope a lot of “neurotypical” people in. Combined with a lifetime of learning to be skeptical, I have managed to avoid most (but maybe not absolutely all) social engineering schemes.
I wish I could codify what it is about me that filters out the most common scamming techniques. But I haven’t got the research or social tools to make a full accounting of what the useful differences are, and to teach people how to ignore the cues I naturally miss.
Another side-effect of my disorder is that I just don’t have much interest in social media platforms or the kinds of feeds they promote. Maybe that’s not always a good thing, but maybe my missing out is something not to be feared or disrespected by others, but something to be emulated from time to time.
More research would seem to be justified. Just don’t use me as a “lab rat”, please. I prefer genuine friendships when I can sustain them.
-- rc primak
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