Want to know who's watching you on internet ??

Hey guys out there, it’s been long  time am back to write a blog.

Was just (and still) stuck with some college and placements issues....... Aah problems are always going to follow you. Just chill and make a way out.

To be out of stress and tensions , I thought to surf on net and do a little bit of timepass.

 
The word “net” means the great “INTERNET” which I consider as a different world, which is very much similar to our world in which we live. I like to say the internet world as Cyber-World.

Now coming back to the topic , I want to directly focus on what is the main intention of this blog.

I want to start the problem with a small introduction to a real world problem.

In a real world , if someone(stranger) is following you or keeping a watch on you, then “HOW” would you able to know??

Answer is straight forward and that is you can identify them easily as they can be around you always.

Now let’s take this problem into the Cyber-World(The world of internet) and ask yourself the same question. “If someone is following you or keeping a watch on you, then “HOW” would you able to know?”

I guess your faces would be like these…..hahaha... I don't know about you but my reaction at first was the same like these kids...... ;-)

Well  , there are different ways to solve this issue and I will show you one of them.

You will need following.

    1)      A computer or laptop…….:-D

    2)      An internet connection. 

    3)      Mozilla Firefox.

Open “FIREFOX” browser ,open "google.com" and type “collusion add on” in the search bar.

Click on the first link as shown above and you will get somewhat as shown below..

Just click on “Add to Firefox”  and it will get installed.  (YOU SHOULD BE IN FIREFOX and NOT IN ANY OTHER BROWSER like CHROME or INTERNET EXPLORER)

Now after installing it in your  firefox browser , you will get a small icon at the bottom right of your browser as shown below..

This add-on's name is “Collusion” .
It helps you to know that who is keeping eye on you and your data when you are online(surfing on net) .

There are many websites , some legal and some illegal , which keeps track of your data and keeps tracking your activities.

“Collusion add-on” will show you that who is tracking your activities and who is keeping watch on your data…

I will try to explain you this addon on basis of my usage of “Collusion”

For clarity , here’s activity screenshot from my laptop.

The highlighted circles shows the websites that you actually visited.

The grey type circles represent the sites that you have not visited.

The lines between circles show our cookies and all stuff that is passed between them.

When you click on these circles , this add-on will show you the information related to that site.

Look at the image above………

I have just visited 7 to 8 websites and the number of websites that started tracking my data are more than 20……What the Heck !!!! Aren’t you shocked ….?
Why would you shock as these websites are actually tracking my data….  :-D :-D

But my dear buddies….Right now you are reading this blog , which means you are on the internet , so someone must have already started watching you…..Be-Aware....!!

That's all for this time.... Will be back soon with something which needs to be shared.

......Bye....

Surf Safe.....Be Safe.

A complicated malware named "FLAME"

Hey pals,
How are you all?
I am fine and happy with vacations which are soon going to end.


Recently when I was surfing related to Cyber-war and Cyber-attacks, I came across a very important and threatening topic which was related to "Malware" .


In olden days wars were large and needed a huge army 

Now the day is not away when Cyber-Wars are going to start, actually the next pic shows that its already started.

This view is of Pentagon.

The future wars will definitely held with cyber-attacks.

My next blog will explain, how a cyber attack can bring down a complete nation.

For now I want to discuss a step that was initiated against Cyber-Security.

A complicated malware was discovered whose name is "Flame".


This malware was active since last 2 years ( may be more, exact prediction is not available yet to anyone).

FLAME

By looking at this photo don't assume that this malware has capability to burn your system into ashes. :-D.

It can cause more damage than you can think.

Till date it was believed that "Stuxnet" was the most complicated and harmful malware. I can't explain everything about stuxnet here as it would be too long, for more information on stuxnet, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet .

"Flame" was so well coded and designed that even the professionals were not able to detect its presence but recently due to some flaws , it was detected and they say that it may take even a complete year to understand this malware till the depth.

The approximate size of "Flame" was 20 to 22 mb and trust me, a malware with such size is considered pretty large in Cyber-security aspects.

It is believed that Swiss-Army is behind this malware but recent surveys and predictions revealed that "Flame" may be U.S or Israeli creation.

Malware analysts at the security firm Bitdefender say they’ve found a unique capability within Flame’s code that would potentially allow it to steal data even from computers that aren’t connected to the Internet or to other networked machines. Instead of simply uploading stolen data to a remote server as traditional spyware does, Flame can also move the target information–along with a copy of itself–onto a USB memory stick plugged into an infected machine, wait for an unwitting user to plug that storage device into an Internet-connected PC, infect the networked machine, copy the target data from the USB drive to the networked computer and finally siphon it to a faraway server.

Spreading itself over an infected USB device is hardly a new trick for malware. But Bitdefender’s researchers say they’ve never before seen a cyberespionage program that can also move its stolen digital booty onto the USB stick of an oblivious user and patiently wait for the opportunity to upload it to the malware’s controllers.

“It turns users into data mules,” says Bitdefender senior malware analyst Bogdan Botezatu. “Chances are, at some point, a user with an infected flash drive will plug it into a secure computer in a contained environment, and Flame will carry the target’s information from the protected environment to the outside world…It uses its ability to infect to ensure an escape route for the data. This is is somewhat revolutionary for a piece of malware.”

Flame was designed to use the same .lnk autorun vulnerability first exploited by the NSA-built Stuxnet malware to invisibly install itself on USB devices. To hide its trove of stolen data on the user’s device, Flame copies both itself and its data to a folder labelled with a single “.” symbol, which Windows fails to interpret as a folder name and thus renders as invisible to the user.

Regardless, Botezatu says Flame’s USB-piggybacking trick fits with its profile as a highly sophisticated spying tool meant to steal a target’s most protected secrets–not just another cybercriminal keylogger designed to catch credit card numbers. “Most of the infrastructure it targets is highly contained, often without Internet access,” says Botezatu. “It’s natural for Flame to have a mechanism for moving data from one environment to another that doesn’t rely on Internet or network communications.”

Flame’s USB data-smuggling is just one of its unique features that have awed researchers. The spyware also used a previously unknown cryptographic attack to spoof a digital certificate that allowed its code to appear to have been created by Microsoft. That innovation is estimated to have required cutting-edge mathematics as well as the equivalent of $200,000 worth of computing power based on renting processor time from Amazon.

Kaspersky researcher Roel Schouwenberg suggests that Flame, which predates Stuxnet, may have been designed to “kick-start” the Stuxnet operation, performing reconnaissance on the target systems to prepare for Stuxnet’s physical attack.

Finally from the survey , the following figure shows the overall effects of "Flame"

The day is not far away when nations will have war with the help of computers and networks.

The question is not Whether such cyber-wars will occur or not, the question is when such Cyber-wars will occur ? ? ? 

Have a good day..

Surf safe and be Cyber-Safe....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using laptop other than "Laptop"

Hey guys,
How are you all...!!

Today in my free time I was literally getting bored and my laptop was there infront of me. There were so many things that I could do in laptop but a sudden thought arose that I can do several things "IN" laptop but "WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT I CAN DO 'WITH' MY LAPTOP....

Here are few funny examples..!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you get a power cut off but can't afford to waste time and want to really read (whatever it may be..
:-D )then use  laptop as a study light.

According to me, if you want to get maximum light from the monitor then one thing you can do is to increase the brightness but this will increase the consumption of laptop's battery and if electricity doesn't comes up early then battery power may end soon.

The best way is as following.
Go to "paint" and make a big rectangle,
Fill the background color as White,
Save this image and set it as wallpaper on your desktop.
That's it.... you will get enough light to study. (hahahaha)....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second thing you can do is to play with it.
Each and every person must have played games "IN" the laptop but I suggest you to play games "WITH" the laptop, ------:-D

Yeah , isn't it fun.....!!! I personally feel to do this when I am doing important task in laptop and it gets hanged.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When we buy a new laptop, its obvious that the older one gets replaced. If you have a brother/sister then you can give it to them , but I guess those days are gone. The brothers/sisters of today are smart enough and no matter what happens, they are not going to accept an old shit. ( My lil bro is the example, who says me to keep going with the old one and gift him a new 'laptop')

In such situation, you can sell the older laptop , but there will be no resale value.
So why dont you help your pet.... hmmm,, not a bad idea....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There's a new software soon gonnu be introduced in market which lets you know your weight, so that you can maintain your diet....

you will just have to do the following....... lol........

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you want to relax and if there's a single fly in your room then it can ruin your relaxation...I can understand how F**K it feels....At such times the next best thing you can do with your laptop is as shown below

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A person like me never want to be away from my laptop and so I mostly carry it with me. At certain places it can be very useful.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can even use it in kitchen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have heard alot from most of them saying "What should I do when my laptop becomes hot?" or many say that "I am fed up of my laptop getting hot like hell"...... Just use your brain and use it efficiently until it becomes cool..

AND THE RESULT WILL BE........

YAhooo..... Enjoy dish until laptop cools down... hahahaha.

Hope you enjoyed....!!!!! 

Keep smiling and Keep shinning .... :-))

India-The 3rd largest.

In terms of population , India stands at second rank. Its a good point but not so fascinating.
But it's really an honor to say that India is soon going to become 3rd largest in terms of internet usage.

By the end of this year, one in every 10 Indians will be an internet user, making the country the third-largest internet market in the world after China and the United States.

At the end of December, 121 million Indians will be accessing the internet at least once a week to check emails, chat or log on to a social network, a survey has found. India is adding internet users at the rate of almost 5-7 million a month, and at the current pace it will surpass the US, which has about 245 million users, in less than two years.

According to the survey by IMRB and the Internet & Mobile Association of India, the country's internet population was about 112 million by September. When this year ends, about 9 million more will be added, making India one of the world's top markets for Net-based businesses. 

For entrepreneurs such as Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Zomato.com, the Internet is changing the business landscape forever in favour of India. "Now startups look to India when planning to start a business... earlier they would flock to the US," he said.

About 2 billion people worldwide access the Internet and 25% of them are from China. India contributes about 6% to the world's Net population and the US 12.5%. 

Internet is growing at an unprecedented pace in India. Businesses are experimenting with new models, creating a snowballing effect. It has got the venture capitalists interested and the kind of valuations in the e-commerce space we are seeing are phenomenal," said Upen Rai, director at Times Internet. 

 

Even though the user base is vast, the total number of internet connections is just 14.7 million, of which 11.87 million are broadband links. This indicates that most people share internet access in offices or cyber cafes. An average unlimited broadband plan costing about Rs 750 per month is still too expensive in a country where the monthly per capita income is Rs 2,810. 

Of all the broadband connections, only 12% access the internet at 1 Mbps or higher speeds. About 54% of users access internet at speeds of 256 Kbps or lower, and for 34% the speeds are between 256 Kbps and 1 Mbps. 

Mumbai has the highest number of internet users (6.2 million) followed by Delhi/NCR (5 million), Kolkata (2.4 million) and Chennai (2.2 million). While common access points such as cyber cafes continue to be important, there has been a dramatic fall in access from cyber cafes. 

Access from home, at 37%, has grown at the cost of cyber cafes and access from offices. The survey found that of the active users, 48% used the internet at least six times a week and 28% used it daily.

 These were some of the surveys that went through and came with few results. Now lets see where India stands in future... :-)))