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Tokyo MK Taxi: En behagelig tur hele veien til ditt reisemål

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Tokyo MK Taxi: En behagelig tur hele veien til ditt reisemål

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Mange mennesker som reiser i dag velger å velge tjenesten til flyselskaper som de er mye mer praktiske. Mest spesielt hvis du er fra en lang flytur, og du vil ikke stresse deg selv med å finne en drosje og vente i kø bare for å få en tur. Flyplasstransportene sørger for at du får en komfortabel tur helt til destinasjonen, de er et flott alternativ til drosjer og andre transportmidler som du får transporteres med en ren privat bil med en profesjonell sjåfør som gir en generell glede å din tur.

Flyplasstransport er nå tilgjengelig for individuelle kunder, familier, ledere, små eller store grupper. Alle kan nyte problemfri transport til og fra flyplassen uten å bekymre seg for noe. Her er noen fordeler med flyplasstransporttjenester og hvorfor du bør vurdere det neste gang du reiser:

Tilgjengelig og praktisk

Å bestille en flyplasstransport er enkel og en enkel prosess. Det er ikke behov for papirverk fordi alt du trenger å gjøre er å bestille flyplasstransporten på forhånd, og det vil sikkert vente på deg utenfor flyplassen når du har landet. Med bruk av Tokyo MKs online reservasjonssystem, vet du nøyaktig hva du får fra deres utmerkede flyplasstransport. Overføringen din vil foregå på en veldig gjennomsiktig måte som hjelper deg med å spare mye tid og problemer.

Sikker og effektiv

Hvis du planlegger å reise til et fremmed land der du ikke er kjent med de lokale regler og regler for kjøring, er en flyplasstransport med en kunnskapsrik sjåfør det beste valget. Du kan stole på at sjåføren din skal ta deg til reisemålet ditt trygt og til tider for sjåførene ikke bare er kjent med lokalområdet, men han kan også kommunisere effektivt med deg også ved å bruke vanlig språk som engelsk.

Komfort og bekvemmelighet

Flying kan være veldig utmattende, spesielt hvis det er en lang og stressende flytur. Derfor er det bedre å velge en tjeneste som vil komme deg helt til reisemålet, mens du leter deg tilbake og lade opp på baksetet på bilen. Dessuten lindrer det ikke tanken på at noen venter på deg utenfor flyplassen for å hente deg i et fremmed land?

Luksuriøs bilpark

Hvis du går for en flyplasstransport, bør du vite at det finnes forskjellige luksuriøse bilmodeller å velge mellom. Fra SUV til sedans, kan du enkelt bestille den typen kjøretøy som passer best for dine behov alt du trenger å gjøre er å forsikre deg om at du bestiller din overføring online eller på forhånd.

Når det gjelder flyplasstransporttjenester, kan du stole på Tokyo MK Taxi, som har gitt trygghet og bekvemmelighet for kunder både i inn-og utland via deres online-bokningssystem (Sky Web Online Service) og deres globale webside Narita / Haneda. Online reservasjonssystem for Los Angeles MK. Tokyo MK Taxi har Lexus-gruppentusiaster som omdefinerer måten du reiser i stil.

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Online Security Leaked NSA point-and-pwn hack tools menace Win2k to Windows 8

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Online Security Leaked NSA point-and-pwn hack tools menace Win2k to Windows 8

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Microsoft claims it has patched most of the exploited bugs

Updated The Shadow Brokers have leaked more hacking tools stolen from the NSA's Equation Group – this time four-year-old exploits that attempt to hijack venerable Windows systems, from Windows 2000 up to Server 2012 and Windows 7 and 8.

The toolkit puts into anyone's hands – from moronic script kiddies to hardened crims – highly classified nation-state-level weaponry that can potentially compromise and commandeer systems around the world. This is the same powerful toolkit Uncle Sam used once upon a time to hack into and secretly snoop on foreign governments, telcos, banks, and other organizations.

The files range from Microsoft Windows exploits to tools for monitoring SWIFT interbank payments. Ongoing analysis of the leaked documents and executables has revealed Cisco firewalls and VPN gateways are also targets.

The Shadow Brokers tried auctioning off the stolen cyber-weapons to the highest bidder, but when that sale flopped with no buyers, the team started releasing the gear online for free anyway.

"The shadow brokers not wanting going there. Is being too bad nobody deciding to be paying the shadow brokers for just to shut up and going away," the group said in a typically garbled blog post.

"The Shadow Brokers rather being getting drunk with McAfee on desert island with hot babes. Maybe if all surviving WWIII the shadow brokers are seeing you next week. Who knows what we having next time?"

For IT managers and normal folks, the Windows-hacking arsenal, which dates to around mid-2013, is the most concerning. It contains exploits for vulnerabilities that can be used to hack into unpatched Windows systems, from Windows 2000 to Windows 8 and Server 2012. In some cases this can be done across the network or internet via SMB, RDP, IMAP, and possibly other protocols.

If you have a vulnerable aging machine with those services running, it is possible they can be hijacked using today's dumped tools – if not by strangers on the 'net then potentially by malicious employees or malware already on your network. If you're running the latest up-to-date gear, such as Windows 10, none of this will directly affect you – but not everyone is so lucky. There are plenty of organizations out there that cannot keep every box up to date, for various reasons.

The leaked archive also contains the NSA's equivalent of the Metasploit hacking toolkit: FUZZBUNCH.

Matthew Hickey, cofounder of British security shop Hacker House, told The Register FUZZBUNCH is a very well-developed package that allows servers to be penetrated with a few strokes of the keyboard. The toolkit has modules to install a backdoor on invaded boxes to remote control the gear and romp through file systems.

"This is a nation-state toolkit available for anyone who wants to download it – anyone with a little bit of technical knowledge can download this and hack servers in two minutes," Hickey said. "It's as bad as you can imagine."

He pointed out that the timing of the release – just before Easter – is also significant. With much of the Western world taking it easy on Zombie Jesus weekend, some organizations may be caught short by the dumped cache of cyber-arms.

It looks as though the NSA is keeping up with its habit of amusing nomenclature. The files include an exploit dubbed ENGLISHMANSDENTIST, which appears to trigger executable code on victims' desktops via Outlook clients. Other examples include but are not limited to:

·         ESKIMOROLL, a Kerberos exploit targeting Windows 2000, Server 2003, Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2 domain controllers.
·         EMPHASISMINE, a remote IMAP exploit for later versions of Lotus Domino.
·         ETERNALROMANCE, a remote SMB1 network file server exploit targeting Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Server 2008, and Server 2008 R2. This is yet another reason to stop using SMB1 – it's old and vulnerable.
·         ETERNALBLUE, another SMB1 and SMB2 exploit. Below is a video showing ETERNALBLUE compromising a Windows 2008 R2 SP1 x64 host via FUZZBUNCH to install a remote command execution tool called DOUBLEPULSAR.
·         ETERNALCHAMPION, another SMB2 exploit.
·         ERRATICGOPHER, an SMB exploit targeting Windows XP and Server 2003.
·         ETERNALSYNERGY, a remote code execution exploit against SMB3 that potentially works against operating systems as recent Windows Server 2012.
·         EMERALDTHREAD, an SMB exploit that drops a Stuxnet-style implant on systems.
·         ESTEEMAUDIT, a remote RDP exploit targeting Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP to install hidden spyware.
·         EXPLODINGCAN, a Microsoft IIS 6 exploit that targets WebDav on Server 2003 only.
·         EASYPI, one of a few files in the dump detected by antivirus packages as containing code from the NSA's nuclear centrifuge-bothering malware Stuxnet, suggesting the spy agency reuses code from mission to mission.

Microsoft had no comment on the leaks at time of publication, but its engineers should be scrambling to fix the flaws exploited by the tools, where they can. Most of the exploited software is no longer officially supported. Given Redmond's increasingly secretive approach to patching, we hope they'll be more open about upcoming updates to address the NSA-exploited security holes.

Swift on insecurity

The second directory is labelled SWIFT but doesn't include tools to hack the interbank payments system directly. Rather it enables the surveillance of payments that go through service bureaus used by SWIFT's banking customers.

"SWIFT is aware of allegations surrounding the unauthorized access to data at two service bureaus," a spokesperson for the group told The Reg.

"There is no impact on SWIFT's infrastructure or data, however we understand that communications between these service bureaus and their customers may previously have been accessed by unauthorized third parties. We have no evidence to suggest that there has ever been any unauthorized access to our network or messaging services."

The data appears to originate in September 2013 and details how operatives could penetrate the firewalls and monitor the transactions of the largest SWIFT Service Bureau of the Middle East, called EastNets.

The EastNets hack was dubbed JEEPFLEA_MARKET and includes PowerPoints of the company's network architecture, passwords for the system, and thousands of compromised employee accounts from different office branches.

The attackers installed bypasses in the company's firewalls and then worked through two management servers to set up monitoring stations on nine of their transaction servers, and presumably fed that data back to analysts.

"While we cannot ascertain the information that has been published, we can confirm that no EastNets customer data has been compromised in any way," said Hazem Mulhim, CEO of EastNets in a statement.

"EastNets continues to guarantee the complete safety and security of its customers' data with the highest levels of protection from its SWIFT certified Service bureau."

A second weapon, called JEEPFLEA_POWDER, targeted an EastNets partner in Venezuela and Panama called BCG Business Computer Group. Administrator accounts were targeted using attack code dubbed SECONDATE and IRONVIPER. No data was collected at the time, according to the slides in the dump.

It's not surprising that the NSA would be targeting banks in the Middle East – given the terrorist threat and the 14-year war the US has been fighting in the regions – and its focus on Venezuela and Panama could be related to drug money or the US' somewhat rocky relationship with both countries. Spies do spying, right?

Where's James Bond when you need him?

The Equation Group's ODDJOB folder appears to contain spyware that runs on Windows machines up to Server 2008, and, like other NSA software nasties, it is rather modular: you can plug features into it by adding more modules.

The directory contains instructions on how to set up ODDJOB with Microsoft's IIS 7 and, once installed, the malware can be updated remotely to gain new attacks and monitoring tools. It can use HTTP and HTTPS to receive and install its new code.

"ODDJOB will expect an encrypted payload. To encrypt the payload, open the Builder and navigate down to the 'Payload Encryption' section," the instructions read. "Select an Unencrypted Payload, ie, what you want to run on target. Then select an encrypted payload, which is really a dummy file for now. Then select exe or dll, depending on whether the Unencrypted Payload is an exe or dll."

Based on an Excel spreadsheet shared with the malware, ODDJOB is effective on Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7, although in each case only the Enterprise versions of the operating systems, rather than consumer builds.

"This is a worst-case estimate for which Windows releases will work with ODDJOB," the spreadsheet states. "An updated version of bits is available as a download for many of these releases, such as XP SP1. Also, ODDJOB v3 will fallback gracefully from HTTPS to HTTP. So, when in doubt, throw HTTPS at the target."

How's that vulnerability hoarding looking now?

This latest release is going to be uncomfortable reading for the NSA. Not only has some of its classic exploits – thought to be worth maybe a couple of million on the gray market – been burned in a single day, the agency has also known for months that its Equation Group goodies are in the hands of crooks who are going to leak the files.

Could the NSA have considered the programs lost for good, and alerted Microsoft, Cisco and others, to fix the vulnerabilities before the tools were dumped all over on the web? Microsoft says no one has given it any form of heads up on the materials leaked by the Shadow Brokers thus far.

Now all these cyber-arms are in the hands of anyone who wants them. Governments with an interest in hacking America – ie, all of them – can now use these. Even worse, every script kiddy on the planet is going to be downloading these tools and using them this weekend for hacking around online for older, vulnerable gear.

Updated to add

Microsoft reckons it has already patched the exploited bugs except for ENGLISHMANDENTIST, ESTEEMAUDIT and EXPLODINGCAN, which don't work on supported versions of Windows, eg: Windows 7, 8 and 10, and so won't be patched anyway. If you've been keeping up with your Patch Tuesday updates, you should be protected, according to Microsoft.

What's rather curious is that a Redmond spokesperson claimed earlier on Friday: "Other than reporters, no individual or organization has contacted us in relation to the materials released by Shadow Brokers."

In other words, apparently no one privately tipped off Microsoft about the exploited security bugs so that they could be fixed – not the brokers and not the NSA. And yet it now turns out Microsoft quietly patched a bunch of the SMB vulnerabilities exploited by the US spy agency in March this year. And then the Shadow Brokers went public with the SMB exploits exactly a month later. What fortuitous timing for Redmond!

Today, the software giant's principal security group manager Phillip Misner said: "Microsoft triaged a large release of exploits made publicly available by Shadow Brokers ... Customers have expressed concerns around the risk this disclosure potentially creates. Our engineers have investigated the disclosed exploits, and most of the exploits are already patched."

How odd, but also: what a relief. If you want to check which exploits affect which operating systems, someone's made a handy table here.

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Online Security Leaked NSA point-and-pwn hack tools menace Win2k to Windows 8

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Galveston News Reviews: Rosenberg Library's March Treasure

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Galveston News Reviews: Rosenberg Library's March Treasure

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Antique Pocket Watches

Today’s watches - worn on the wrist - are increasingly high-tech, providing not only the time and date, but also GPS navigation, fitness tracking, and internet access. However, for most of history, people carried simple watches in their pockets in order to tell time. Also called “pocket clocks” pocket watches were used until WWI when the wrist watch was developed.

During the month of March, Rosenberg Library will exhibit an assortment of antique pocket watches from its museum collection.

Pocket Clocks

By the late 1400s, small, spring-driven clocks were being manufactured in Italy and Germany. The earliest European watches only had an hour hand; the minute hand did not appear until the late 1600s. Typically, the watch face was covered by a hinged brass plate rather than with glass. These watches were often worn on a chain around a neck, and only later were watches carried in a pocket. Pocket watches were usually attached to a chain to prevent them from being dropped or broken.

Pocket Watch Styles

There are three main types of pocket watches: open-face, hunter, and demi-hunter. An open-face watch lacks a protective cover over the crystal but is covered by a thick piece of glass. Conversely, hunter watches have a thin glass face but are protected by a metal cover which opens with a springed hinge. This keeps the watch from getting dirty or scratched. A demi-hunter also has a springed hinge cover, but it features a glass panel on the outer cover so that the time can be read without opening it. Cases for pocket watches were most often made from metal, though less durable ceramic and glass cases were also manufactured.

American Watch Makers

Although early Americans owned watches imported from Europe, pocket watches were not manufactured in America until the 1830s. Even then, American-made watches were only produced on a small scale and many people could not afford to purchase them. However, by the mid-1850s, innovative American companies (including Elgin, Waltham, and Hamilton) had developed machine-made, interchangeable watch parts and had begun to utilize assembly-line production. This enabled American watch makers to offer mass-produced watches at a low price to consumers.

In 1896, the mail order firm of R.H. Ingersoll and Bros. began selling wholesale watches for $1 apiece. Dubbed “The Watch that Made the Dollar Famous” Ingersoll’s dollar watches became wildly popular and within 20 years, 40 million units had been sold. Despite this initial success, Ingersoll and Bros. declared bankruptcy in 1921 during the post WWI recession.

For higher-end consumers, the iconic American jewelry firm Tiffany and Co. also produced pocket watches. Tiffany partnered with Patek Phillipe, a prestigious Swiss watchmaking firm which produced a line of luxury, handcrafted watches for the Tiffany brand in its Geneva factory.

The Emergence of the Wristwatch

During WWI, the trench watch was developed. This was a transitional design combining elements of both the pocket watch and the wrist watch. Military personnel found it more convenient to wear a watch on the wrist than to carry it in a pocket. This trend spread to the general public, and by the 1940s, wrist watches had become the much preferred timekeeping accessory.

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Galveston News: Researchers Find New Gene Interaction Associated With Increased MS Risk

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Galveston News: Researchers Find New Gene Interaction Associated With Increased MS Risk

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A person carrying variants of two particular genes could be almost three times more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, according to the latest findings from scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Duke University Medical Center.

One of these variants is in IL7R, a gene previously associated with MS, and the other in DDX39B, a gene not previously connected to the disease.

The discovery could open the way to the development of more accurate tests to identify those at greatest risk of MS, and possibly other autoimmune disorders, the researchers said.

The findings are published in the latest issue of Cell.

A disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, MS is a major cause of neurological disease in younger adults, from 20 to 50 years of age, and disproportionally affects women. While treatable, there is no cure for MS, which can lead to problems with vision, muscle control, balance, basic body functions, among other symptoms, and could lead to disability.

Available treatments have adverse side effects as they focus on slowing the progression of the disease through suppression of the immune system.

Thanks to the collaboration between scientists at UTMB, Duke, University of California, Berkeley, and Case Western Reserve University, researchers found that when two particular DNA variants in the DDX39B and IL7R genes are present in a person’s genetic code, their interaction can lead to an over production of a protein, sIL7R. That protein’s interactions with the body’s immune system plays an important, but not completely understood, role in MS.

“Our study identifies an interaction with a known MS risk gene to unlock a new MS candidate gene, and in doing so, open up a novel mechanism that is associated with the risk of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases,” said Simon Gregory, director of Genomics and Epigenetics at the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute at Duke University Medical Center and co-lead author of the paper in Cell.

This new information has potentially important applications.

“We can use this information at hand to craft tests that could allow earlier and more accurate diagnoses of multiple sclerosis, and uncover new avenues to expand the therapeutic toolkit to fight MS, and perhaps other autoimmune disorders,” said Gaddiel Galarza-Muñoz, first author on the study and postdoctoral fellow at UTMB.

It can sometimes take years before an MS patient is properly diagnosed allowing the diseases to progress and resulting in further damage to the nervous system before treatment begins.

With more accurate measures of risk, health care providers would be able to screen individuals with family histories of MS or with other suspicious symptoms. It could lead those with certain genotypes to be more vigilant.

“One could envision how this type of knowledge will someday lead to diagnose multiple sclerosis sooner and, now that we have promising therapies, a doctor could start the appropriate treatment more quickly. It is not out the realm of possibility to imagine a path for screening for other autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 Diabetes,” said Dr. Mariano Garcia-Blanco, Professor and Chair of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at UTMB, and co-lead author of the paper.

For Garcia-Blanco the fight against MS is personal. He was already working on research related to MS when in 2012 he found out his daughter, then in her late 20s, had been diagnosed with the disease. Garcia-Blanco said this refocused his efforts on his MS related work.

“I’m much more aware now of how the work we do in the lab could someday lead to something that can be used to help those who have to live with MS”, Garcia-Blanco said.

Other study authors include Farren B.S. Briggs, Irina Evsyukova, Geraldine Schott-Lerner, Edward M. Kennedy, Tinashe Nyanhete, Liuyang Wang, Laura Bergamaschi, Steven G. Widen, Georgia D. Tomaras, Dennis C. Ko, Shelton S. Bradrick and Lisa F. Barcellos.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, National MS Society Pilot Award, Duke University Whitehead Scholarship, Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize funds from Duke University School of Medicine, start-up funds from UTMB and funds from Mr. Herman Stone and family for MS research.

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Careconnect Health Insurance Group Review: How Much Water Do You Really Need?

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Careconnect Health Insurance Group Review: How Much Water Do You Really Need?

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Google “how much water should I drink each day,” and you get upwards of six million hits -- half of them, probably, telling you to drink eight 8-ounce glasses every day and the other half telling you to ignore that advice. Here’s the good news: Most healthy people drink enough water and other liquids by simply responding to their thirst (which is the first sign of dehydration), says Nancy Copperman, RD, assistant vice president of public health and community partnerships for Northwell Health. Still, Copperman says, people do make a number of common mistakes when it comes to staying hydrated in the heat. Here are her rules for healthy summer drinking:

1. Eight isn’t enough.

The eight-by-eight rule (eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily) may be easy to remember, but the current recommendations for daily fluid intake from the Institute of Medicine are actually even higher: about 13 cups a day for men and 9 cups a day for women. That may sound like a lot, but it becomes less daunting if you spread your liquid refreshment throughout the day -- definitely the best way to do it, says Copperman.

2. Your needs change with the weather (and your altitude…and other factors).

Think of the IOM recommendation as a baseline, but know that you may need to drink extra if you’re exercising, or if you’re in a hot or humid environment. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should also get additional fluids, as should anyone at a high altitude. “If you live on Long Island and you’re vacationing in the mountains, you should drink more than you normally would,” says Copperman.

3. Tea and coffee count toward your total...

“We used to think that coffee and tea were dehydrating because caffeine is a diuretic,” says Copperman, “but studies have found it really doesn’t have a major effect.” So it’s fine to drink coffee and tea as part of your daily fluid intake. Just make sure you’re not only drinking caffeinated beverages throughout the day, because that can cause other health issues. And limit milk and sugar, which add calories.

4. …but steer clear of soda.

Yes, soda is a tasty way to rehydrate – but it’s a major source of empty calories. What’s more, studies have shown that a habit of drinking soda or other sweetened beverages raises your risk of diabetes. If you’re engaging in strenuous activity for more than 30 minutes, a sports drink containing electrolytes and a modest amount of sugar can be helpful. In general, though, your best defense against dehydration is water.

5. Tired of drinking? Try eating your water.

Watermelon is about 92% water, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine – and cucumber has it beat at 97% water. Even fruits and veggies that are less obviously water-logged, like cauliflower and spinach, can be good sources of H2O. So are liquid-based foods like soups, puddings, and popsicles. Want to get your fluid the trendy way? Coconuts are a hydration gem, says Copperman. She recommends plain coconut water (with no sugar added). Not only does it contain electrolytes like potassium, it has a naturally sweet taste. To your health!

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Security and Risk Online: Fake Retail Apps Are Surging Before Holidays

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Security and Risk Online: Fake Retail Apps Are Surging Before Holidays

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Hundreds of fake retail and product apps have popped up in Apple’s App Store in recent weeks — just in time to deceive holiday shoppers.

The counterfeiters have masqueraded as retail chains like Dollar Tree and Foot Locker, big department stores like Dillard’s and Nordstrom, online product bazaars like Zappos.com and Polyvore, and luxury-goods makers like Jimmy Choo, Christian Dior and Salvatore Ferragamo.

“We’re seeing a barrage of fake apps,” said Chris Mason, chief executive of Branding Brand, a Pittsburgh company that helps retailers build and maintain apps. He said his company constantly tracks new shopping apps, and this was the first time it had seen so many counterfeit iPhone apps emerge in a short period of time.

Some of them appeared to be relatively harmless — essentially junk apps that served up annoying pop-up ads, he said.

But there are serious risks to using a fake app. Entering credit card information opens a customer to potential financial fraud. Some fake apps contain malware that can steal personal information or even lock the phone until the user pays a ransom. And some fakes encourage users to log in using their Facebook credentials, potentially exposing sensitive personal information.

The rogue apps, most of which came from developers in China, slipped through Apple’s process for reviewing every app before it is published.

That scrutiny, which Apple markets as an advantage over Google’s less restrictive Android smartphone platform, is supposed to stop any software that is deceitful, that improperly uses another company’s intellectual property or that poses harm to consumers.

In practice, however, Apple focuses more on blocking malicious software and does not routinely examine the thousands of apps submitted to the iTunes store every day to see if they are legitimately associated with the brand names listed on them.

With apps becoming more popular as a way to shop, it is up to brands and developers themselves to watch for fakes and report them, much as they scan for fake websites, said Ben Reubenstein, chief executive of Possible Mobile, a Denver company that makes apps for JetBlue Airways, the PGA Tour and the Pokémon Company, among others.

“It’s important that brands monitor how their name is being used,” he said.

Apple removed hundreds of fake apps on Thursday night after The New York Times inquired about the specific app vendors that created many of them. Other apps were removed after a New York Post article last week drew attention to some of the counterfeits.

“We strive to offer customers the best experience possible, and we take their security very seriously,” said an Apple spokesman, Tom Neumayr. “We’ve set up ways for customers and developers to flag fraudulent or suspicious apps, which we promptly investigate to ensure the App Store is safe and secure. We’ve removed these offending apps and will continue to be vigilant about looking for apps that might put our users at risk.”

In September, Apple also embarked on a campaign to review all two million apps in the App Store and remove “apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines or are outdated.” The company says that a significant number of apps have been removed and that the review is continuing.

Despite Apple’s efforts, new fake apps appear every day. In some cases, developers change the content of an app after it has been approved by Apple’s monitors. In other instances, the counterfeiters change their names and credentials, and resubmit similar apps after one round of fakes is discovered.

“It’s a game of Whac-a-Mole,” Mr. Mason of Branding Brand said.

On Friday, for example, an entity calling itself Overstock Inc. — an apparent attempt to confuse shoppers looking for the online retailer Overstock.com — was peddling Ugg boots and apparel through a fake app that was nearly identical to one banished by Apple on Thursday.

The same Chinese app developer, Cloaker Apps, created both fake Ugg apps on behalf of Chinese clients.

Jack Lin, who identified himself as the head of Cloaker, said in a phone interview in China that his company provides the back-end technology for thousands of apps but does not investigate its clients.

“We hope that our clients are all official sellers,” he said. “If they are using these brands, we need some kind of authorization, then we will provide services.”

Mr. Lin said Cloaker charged about 20,000 renminbi — about $3,000 — for an app written in English.

But like so many of the apps his company produces, Cloaker is not what it purports to be. Its website is filled with dubious claims, such as the location of its headquarters, which it says is at an address smack in the middle of Facebook’s campus in Menlo Park, Calif.

In the interview, Mr. Lin at first said he had offices only in China and Japan. When asked about the California office, he then claimed to have “tens of employees” at the Facebook address.

China is by far the biggest source of fake apps, according to security experts.

Many of the fake retail apps have red flags signaling that they are not real, such as nonsensical menus written in butchered English, no reviews and no history of previous versions. In one fake New Balance app, for example, the tab for phone support did not list a phone number and said, “Our angents are available over the hone Monday-Firday.”

Data from Apptopia show that some of the fake apps have been downloaded thousands of times, although it is unclear how many people have actually used them. Reviews posted on some of the apps indicated that at least some people tried them and became frustrated. “Would give zero stars if possible,” wrote one reviewer of the fake Dollar Tree app. “Constantly gets stuck in menus and closes what you were doing and makes you start over.”

Mr. Mason says consumers want to shop online and they search for apps from their favorite stores and brands.

“The retailers who are most exposed are the ones with no app at all,” he said. Dollar Tree and Dillard’s, for example, have no official iPhone apps, which made it easier to lure their customers to the fake apps.

But the counterfeiters have also mimicked companies that do have an official presence in the App Store, hoping to capitalize on consumer confusion about which ones are real.

The shoe retailer Foot Locker Inc., for example, has three iPhone apps. But that did not stop an entity calling itself Footlocke Sports Co. Ltd. from offering 16 shoe and clothing apps in the App Store — including one purporting to be from a Foot Locker rival, Famous Footwear.

Similarly, the supermarket chain Kroger Company has 20 iPhone apps, reflecting the various retail chains in its empire. An entity calling itself The Kroger Inc. had 19 apps, purporting to sell things as diverse as an $80 pair of Asics sneakers and a $688 bottle of Dior perfume.

Some of the fake apps have even used Apple’s new paid search ads to propel them to the top of the results screen when customers search for specific brands in the App Store.

Jon Clay, director of global threat communications for Trend Micro, an internet security firm, said Apple’s tight control over the iPhone had historically kept malicious apps out of its App Store. Fake apps appeared more often on Google’s Android platform or on third-party app stores, he said.

But that is beginning to change. Shortly after the Pokémon Go game was released in the United States in July, for example, a spate of fake iPhone apps related to the game appeared, especially in countries where the game was not yet available.

“The criminals are going to take advantage of whatever is hot,” Mr. Clay said.

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Coalition Against Insurance Fraud: Slip and falls, the
big waste

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Coalition Against Insurance Fraud: Slip and falls, the
big waste

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Scams suddenly real when guy fakes tumble during bus ride

Imagine coming home from a long day at work. You climb on a full bus. Soon the vehicle suddenly screeches to a halt. An elderly man outside falls onto the pavement. The bus hit him at a stop light, he screams in seeming pain. The passengers have to clear out, and you’re still a mile from home.

You hear ambulance sirens rushing to the scene. Yet nobody’s fooled. Children and adult passengers are calling out this fraudster. They’re yelling things like, “He just wants to get money!”

You remember sitting in the front of the bus, and it never touched the man … at all. No bump, no thump.

If you’re wondering if that insurance grab happened … it did … to me.

I’m an insurance-fraud researcher with the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. I read about and see videos of fraudsters faking slip and fallsall the time. They seemed like a fantasy until I saw this guy’s scam first-hand.

Slip-and-fall cons may steal billions of dollars a year. Honest businesses are sued. They pay in higher premiums. We pay in higher prices at the cash register.

Some fraudsters place liquid detergent or other slippery stuff on supermarket floors. They sit down on the floor and scream they slipped on the mess. They’re blithely unaware that security cams record every false move.

Selena Edwards of California claimed a scalding cup of hot coffee with a loose lid slipped off and burned her hand at a McDonald’s drive-thru. But she’d used a photo of someone else’s burned hand. And her medical records also were forged. Edwards was convicted.

Some consumers even joke about it on social media.

Slip-and-falls are a quick way to make big bucks, people often yack. Search the hash tag #BoutToSlip on Twitter. You’ll see youngsters joking about slipping and falling to claim insurance money. This kind of peer-to-peer chatter can egg others to fake a money-grabbing slips.

Or check out the #insurancefraud hash tags on Vine and Instagram. Plenty of quick videos of young people joking how to pay college tuition by scamming insurers with bogus tumbles.

My experience on the bus plus my research with the Coalition made one thing clear: Slip-and-falls are a big waste for everyone. This is especially true of scammers who end up with permanent criminal records after their cons slipped, fell and broke.

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Moss Adams Business Consultants: Sustainability Audits

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Moss Adams Business Consultants: Sustainability Audits

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We comment on IOSCO's non-GAAP financial measures - International
Organization of Financial Securities Regulatory Commission

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We comment on IOSCO's non-GAAP financial measures - International
Organization of Financial Securities Regulatory Commission

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Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited has responded to the International Organization of Securities Commissions' Consultation 'Proposed Statement on Non-GAAP Financial Measures'. We support addressing the issue of non-GAAP financial measures at a global level as it is pervasive, and believe it is in the best interests of global securities markets if the proposed statement applied consistently in all IOSCO jurisdictions and is not overlaid with local guidance.

The comment letter makes a number of additional points, including:

• For the proposed statement to have maximum effect, we encourage IOSCO to develop a common definition of 'non-GAAP financial measure' and to determine which such measures should be subject to the common discipline
• It is important for the efficient operation of global capital markets that national and regional guidance is consistent and does not contradict the requirements of globally-recognised financial reporting frameworks
• We agree that the proposed statement should apply to 'any non-GAAP financial measure wherever the measure is disclosed outside of the financial statements' as it recognises standard-setters' responsibility in relation to financial statements, and is a way of achieving consistency in the use of non-GAAP financial measures across the annual report as a whole, but suggest that IOSCO works with the IASB to clarify what is considered to be an 'IFRS measure'
• We encourage IOSCO to determine a consistent scope, application and enforcement of the proposed statement, as it is assumed that it would encompass information on websites and other non-regulated information, and some securities market regulators regulate press releases and web-based material, but others do not.

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41 Amazing Internet Security Blogs - Heimdal Security
Company

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41 Amazing Internet Security Blogs - Heimdal Security
Company

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Introduction

How do we stay up-to-date with the latest security news? Where do we find the best security solutions to fight malware? Who can we follow to learn about the latest threats and online attacks so that we can protect ourselves?

With security in our minds, no matter we are common people or a big company name, we need to understand technology if we want to prevent data loss and privacy breaches.

But with so many security blogs out there, which one should we follow?

We have put together a list of security blogs from independent individuals and big names in the IT industry, so that you can benefit from their knowledge and insight. Therefore, if you need best practices, how-to articles, online safety research or the latest security news, feel free to bookmark this article and access it whenever you feel necessary.

1. Krebs on Security

Brian Krebs is the man behind Krebs on Security. Being hacked himself in 2001, he takes a personal interest in online security and is one of the well-known names in today’s security landscape. He covers topics from latest threats, privacy breaches and cyber-criminals to major security news.

2. Schneier on Security

Bruce Schneider is probably the most well-known name that you can recognize in our list, and was even called a “security guru” by The Economist. He wrote books, hundreds of articles, essays and security papers on security matters. At the same time, he is a known figure in the media environment which recognize him as an important voice for the online security, not only for his knowledge on the matter, but also because he knows how to express his opinions.

3. TaoSecurity

This security blog is run by Richard Bejtlich, Chief Security Officer at Mandiant and author of many books on security. With an extensive background on cyber-criminal world and malicious attacks on enterprise networks, he shares his experience on digital defense, network monitoring and detection on his security blog. Since a great number of network attacks come from China, he is specialized on Chinese online criminals.

4. US-CERT

This is the official website of the Department of Homeland Security, from USA.

Though it is not a classical security blog, its purpose is to improve Internet security by providing specialized and well detailed information on cyber-criminal activities, malware, phishing attempts and online threats. To use their own words: “US-CERT strives for a safer, stronger Internet for all Americans by responding to major incidents, analyzing threats, and exchanging critical cyber-security information with trusted partners around the world.”

5. Dark Reading

Dark Reading is a widely-read cyber security site that addresses professionals from the IT environment, security researchers and technology specialists. They use their experience and knowledge to provide articles, recommendations, news and information on IT security.

6. CIO

CIO is the place where you find news, information technology articles, insight and analysis on major data breaches and online threats. Covering multiple aspects of world wide web, it provides in-depth, content rich information for IT professionals and normal users.

7. Network Security Blog

Martin McKeay is the voice of this security blog, where you can find information and news on privacy and security issues. As Martin says: “I took up blogging as a means to extend my knowledge and test my ideas about security…”.

8. Security Watch with Neil Rubenking

Known for his direct and witty style, Neil Rubenking is the man you have to listen if you search for technical advice on the main security solutions, from firewalls, antivirus and antispam products to full security suites. Detailed reports and sharp analysis of security programs place him be on your follow list if you look for this type if information.

9. Paul’s Security Weekly

Paul’s Security Weekly, founded by Paul Asadoorian, brings you security news, useful technical articles, research studies and valuable information on hacking and cyber-crime through various channels, from blog posts, videos to podcasts.

10. PCMag.com

One of the most popular sites in the software industry, PC Magazine comes with reviews and studies on the latest products for online security. For an objective analysis of a product you may be looking, don’t forget to look for the dedicated article on this website.

Continue reading

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Corporate Intelligence at Hill & Associates

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Corporate Intelligence at Hill & Associates

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