IAS CompUCast #1

Hello and Welcome to the Premier episode of Internet AdCom Services’ CompUCast – our official Podcast.

As an added benefit to our clients and for the Tech community as a whole, I will be posting periodically these Podcasts covering the hot trends in the Consumer and Technology communities, as well as covering some important How-To information about the various computer systems available.

For CompUCast, This is Todd Eglow!

For this premier Podcast, I will be focusing on the issue of Security.  With the advent of Broadband Internet bandwidth as the popular connection choice to the Internet, my main focus for all recommendations always stresses the importance of keeping our Computers Secure and Safe from intruders.

CompUCasts will also discuss current technology news and trends of interest.

To set up an appointment, please send an email to ias@interadcom.com or call us at 646-808-0764.

Hot News

To begin, this first full week of the New Year started with the huge Computer and Electronics show in Las Vegas , the CES 2006 show.

In future CompUCast Podcasts, I will look at some of the specific hot items that may be of interest.

The trend from CES, as always, is for smaller devices and more wireless access to the Internet.  Of special interest may be the door finally opening to an In-Demand Video system that may actually work.

In the 4^th Quarter of 2005, Apple introduced their 5^th Generation iPod, which has unofficially been dubbed the Video iPod.  In addition, Apple began to sell full Music Videos and TV Shows via their iTunes Music Store.  At the CES Convention, Yahoo and Google both laid out their plans to begin to provide a similar service, with Google even going so far as partnering with the new CBS Corporation to sell shows such as Star Trek and CSI.  Additionally, Charlie Rose will also begin selling his old interviews via the Google Video Service.

Stay tuned for more news about these downloadable Video Services, some of which we will be able to carry with us in our portable devices.

Security

Now on to discuss recent security trends.  With the rising popularity of Internet Broadband services, such as Cable modems and DSL connections, many homes and offices have established internet connections that allow for easy intrusions and attacks.

Part of the problem is the fact that at the time the Personal Computer was becoming popularized in the early 1990’s, little thought was being given to having an open door into the computer via these internet connections.

One of the best suggestions to not become “infected” with some sort of computer bug or virus or other attack, is to never open up an Email attachment unless you are 100% sure of the source of the email…. And even then, you still may need to be concerned if the person you trust is not that computer savvy.

But even taking all the security measures necessary to safeguard your home or office computers may not be enough. 

WMF Vulnerability

In November, 2005, a new Flaw in Windows machines was discovered.  Referred to as the Windows Metafile/Zero-Day bug, the Windows Metafile format, also known by the acronym WMF, is a reference to an imaging format for the Windows PC platform that will display Microsoft Windows graphics drawing library.

With this latest “bug” which was discovered at towards the end of 2005, All versions of Windows from Windows 98 through ME, NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 are known to be vulnerable, and a large and rapidly growing number of malicious exploits are already circulating in the wild. As of this warning, at least 57 exploits had been discovered.  The fear is, that the exploits are being actively used to install malware and Trojans into user's machines. Viruses and worms are expected to appear shortly.   http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Another recommendation is to make sure that all Anti-Virus programs are kept up-to-date with their current database updates.

Prior to Microsoft releasing their official patch for this bug, a 3^rd Party fix from Russia became very popular.  If

For more information, surf to our Show Notes for a link to Steve Gibson’s Security Now page.  And while Microsoft has been slow in releasing a patch on their own, it would be suggested to consistently run Windows Update on a regular basis.

3^rd Party Fix

While some of the large corporations (http://www.informationweek.com/software/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801150) have voiced some concerns over the current solution, others, such as Steve Gibson’s Security Now Podcast, have urged all Windows XP and 2000 users to install a 3^rd Party fix.

Closing

That’s it for CompUCast Episode #1.  If you have any questions, please surf to our Web Site, located at www.InterAdCom.com and click on the Email link.  We have also set up an RSS feed for these Podcasts.  Simply surf to our Web Site and copy and paste this RSS Address into a client software application such as iTunes to receive these podcasts automatically in the future.  If you need assistance in setting this up, please call.

We can be reached via Skype by typing in “interadcom”, all in small letters.