Keylogging Software Discovered in Samsung Laptops

CNET
March 30, 2011

A security researcher says he discovered keylogging software installed on two brand-new Samsung laptops that could be used to monitor all activities on the computer remotely.

Mohamed Hassan, founder of NetSec Consulting, discovered StarLogger software on Samsung laptops with model numbers R525 and 540 after running security scanning software on the systems after he bought them last month, he writes in a guest column in Network World posted today.

Windows-based StarLogger starts up when the computer is turned on, records all keystrokes made on the computer, can be difficult to detect, and can be set to periodically send surreptitious e-mails with information gleaned from the computer to a predetermined e-mail address, with screen capture images attached.

A Samsung representative told CNET this afternoon that the company would looking into the matter. Late this evening, Samsung Australia said in a statement that the keylogger reports were “not true. Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE [antivirus software] that mistook a folder created by Microsoft Live Application for…key logging software, during a virus scan.”

Hassan said when he called and logged an incident report with Samsung on March 1, support personnel initially denied that keylogging software was on Samsung laptops and then referred him to Microsoft, saying “all Samsung did was manufacture the hardware,” he writes. Eventually, a supervisor got on the phone and confirmed that Samsung put the software on the laptop to monitor machine performance “and to find out how it is being used.”

“In other words, Samsung wanted to gather usage data without obtaining consent from laptop owners,” Hassan wrote.

How to detect and remove StarLoggerHe said he contacted three public relations representatives at Samsung for comment and went public with the matter after they failed to reply after one week.

The incident could incur the wrath of customers similar to the backlash that occurred after Sony BMG Music Entertainment sold copy-protected compact discs that installed so-called rootkit software hidden inside computers in 2005. Sony was forced to recall 4.7 million of the discs.

Obama authorizes secret support for Libya rebels

Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Reuters

Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, within the last two or three weeks, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with the matter.

Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment.

News that Obama had given the authorization surfaced as the President and other U.S. and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Gaddafi’s opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces.

The United States is part of a coalition, with NATO members and some Arab states, which is conducting air strikes on Libyan government forces under a U.N. mandate aimed at protecting civilians opposing Gaddafi.

In interviews with American TV networks on Tuesday, Obama said the objective was for Gaddafi to “ultimately step down” from power. He spoke of applying “steady pressure, not only militarily but also through these other means” to force Gaddafi out.

Obama said the U.S. had not ruled out providing military hardware to rebels. “It’s fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into Libya, we probably could. We’re looking at all our options at this point,” the President told ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.

U.S. officials monitoring events in Libya say that at present, neither Gaddafi’s forces nor the rebels, who have asked the West for heavy weapons, appear able to make decisive gains.

While U.S. and allied airstrikes have seriously damaged Gaddafi’s military forces and disrupted his chain of command, officials say, rebel forces remain disorganized and unable to take full advantage of western military support.

SPECIFIC OPERATIONS

People familiar with U.S. intelligence procedures said that Presidential covert action “findings” are normally crafted to provide broad authorization for a range of potential U.S. government actions to support a particular covert objective.

In order for specific operations to be carried out under the provisions of such a broad authorization — for example the delivery of cash or weapons to anti-Gaddafi forces — the White House also would have to give additional “permission” allowing such activities to proceed.

Former officials say these follow-up authorizations are known in the intelligence world as “‘Mother may I’ findings.”

In 2009 Obama gave a similar authorization for the expansion of covert U.S. counter-terrorism actions by the CIA in Yemen. The White House does not normally confirm such orders have been issued.

Because U.S. and allied intelligence agencies still have many questions about the identities and leadership of anti-Gaddafi forces, any covert U.S. activities are likely to proceed cautiously until more information about the rebels can be collected and analyzed, officials said.

“The whole issue on (providing rebels with) training and equipment requires knowing who the rebels are,” said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA Middle East expert who has advised the Obama White House.

Riedel said that helping the rebels to organize themselves and training them how use weapons effectively would be more urgent then shipping them arms.

According to an article speculating on possible U.S. covert actions in Libya published early in March on the website of the Voice of America, the U.S. government’s broadcasting service, a covert action is “any U.S. government effort to change the economic, military, or political situation overseas in a hidden way.”

ARMS SUPPLIES

The article, by VOA intelligence correspondent Gary Thomas, said covert action “can encompass many things, including propaganda, covert funding, electoral manipulation, arming and training insurgents, and even encouraging a coup.”

U.S. officials also have said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose leaders despise Gaddafi, have indicated a willingness to supply Libyan rebels with weapons.

Members of Congress have expressed anxiety about U.S. government activities in Libya. Some have recalled that weapons provided by the U.S. and Saudis to mujahedeen fighting Soviet occupation forces inAfghanistan in the 1980s later ended up in the hands of anti-American militants.

There are fears that the same thing could happen in Libya unless the U.S. is sure who it is dealing with. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, said on Wednesday he opposed supplying arms to the Libyan rebels fighting Gaddafi “at this time.”

“We need to understand more about the opposition before I would support passing out guns and advanced weapons to them,” Rogers said in a statement.

“The whole issue on (providing rebels with) training and equipment requires knowing who the rebels are,” said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA Middle East expert who has advised the Obama White House.

Riedel said that helping the rebels to organize themselves and training them how use weapons effectively would be more urgent then shipping them arms.

According to an article speculating on possible U.S. covert actions in Libya published early in March on the website of the Voice of America, the U.S. government’s broadcasting service, a covert action is “any U.S. government effort to change the economic, military, or political situation overseas in a hidden way.”

Monsanto experimenta ilegalmente com Milho Transgênico

NaturalNews.com
Adaptação Luis R. Miranda

Relatos recentes da Índia dizem que a multinacional de biotecnologia Monsanto novamente viola suas leis ao, clandestinamente, experimentar com milho geneticamente modificado (GM), sem obter permissão. Nitish Kumar, primeiro-ministro do estado indiano de Bihar, escreveu recentemente uma carta ao ministro do Meio Ambiente da Índia, Jairam Ramesh explicando a situação. Poucos dias antes, Ramesh havia recusado a autorização para Monsanto plantar milho transgênico.

Quando ele descobriu que a Monsanto havia conspirado com milho geneticamente modificado na Índia, embora a aprovação do Comité de engenharia (GEAC) e do Conselho Indiano de Investigação Agrícola (ICAR) não havia aprovado a permissão, Kumar contacto imediatamente ao ministro do ambiente. Kumar escreveu uma carta para Ramesh e mostrou sua oposição ao milho transgênico, e logo pediu para bloquear as permissões que Ramesh tinha dado para Monsanto plantar milho no mês de dezembro, 2010.

Acontece que a Monsanto começou com o plantio de milho transgênico em várias partes do Bihar, bem como em vários outros estados da Índia, enquanto a aprovação final estava pendente. GEAC e ICAR pareciam ter concordado com esta pratica, informalmente, e a Monsanto continuo com as plantações experimentais.

“Isso é absolutamente chocante, já que vem depois da da revisão da berinjela Bt, o primeiro exemplo de culturas geneticamente modificadas que foi introduzido na India. “É enganoso”, afirmou Suman Sahai do Gene da Campaign, uma organização que trabalha para proteger e controlar localmente os recursos genéticos e da soberania alimentar. “A permissão foi dada secretamente. Isso não está certo. Nos opomos firmemente. A autorização deve ser eliminada em todos os estados, não apenas em Bihar.”

Monsanto também violou a “distância de isolamento” que é uma exigência para restringir o plantio de transgênicos a uma certa distância das plantações não-transgênicas. Esta pratica foi adotada depois que incidentes anteriores demonstraram que os transgênicos podem facilmente contaminar os não-GM e que os GM arruínam a integridade dos campos.

Monsanto experimenta ilegalmente con maíz transgénico

NaturalNews.com
Adaptación Luis R. Miranda

Informes recientes de la India dicen que el gigante multinacional de biotecnología Monsanto una vez más viola la ley en ese país al plantar, de forma clandestina, maíz genéticamente modificado (GM) sin haber recibido permiso para hacerlo. Nitish Kumar, primer ministro del estado indio de Bihar, escribió recientemente una carta al ministro de medio ambiente de la India Jairam Ramesh explicando la situación. Apenas unos días antes, Ramesh había negado el permiso a Monsanto para sembrar los cultivos en absoluto.

Cuando descubrió que Monsanto había conspirado genéticamente en la India aunque el Comité de Aprobación de Ingeniería (GEAC) y el Consejo Indio de Investigación Agrícola (ICAR) le negaran el permiso, Kumar se indignó. Kumar había escrito una carta a Ramesh para mostrar su oposición al maíz transgénico, y poco después pidió a Ramesh bloquear las siembras de maíz de Monsanto que había aprobado por primera vez en diciembre.

Pero resulta que Monsanto comenzó con su plantación de maíz transgénico en varios lugares de Bihar, así como en varios otros estados de la India, mientras la aprobación final aún estaba pendiente. Parece que GEAC y ICAR estaban de acuerdo, informalmente, con que Monsanto continuara con sus plantaciones experimentales.

“Esto es absolutamente chocante, viniendo como viene bajo la sombra de la revisión de la berenjena Bt, el primer ejemplo de cultivos genéticamente modificado que se introdujo en la India. Es engañoso “, dijo Suman Sahai del Gene Campaign, una organización que trabajan para proteger el control local sobre los recursos genéticos y la soberanía alimentaria. “El permiso se ha dado subrepticiamente. Esto no está bien. Estamos firmemente opuestos. El permiso debería ser eliminado en todos los estados, no sólo Bihar. “

Monsanto también violó el “la distancia de aislamiento” que es un requisito que restringen las plantaciones de transgénicos a una cierta distancia de las plantaciones no transgénicas. Incidentes previos han revelado que los transgénicos pueden fácilmente contaminar los organismos no modificados genéticamente y que los GM arruinan de la integridad de los campos de cultivo.

Significant Filament Eruption & Coronal Mass Ejection

Solar Watch

A magnetic filament on the sun’s northern Hemisphere erupted on March 29th, hurling part of itself into space. The major portion of debris is expected to miss Earth, however some Auroral effects could be seen in 2-3 days as the spread of the Coronal mass ejection was 180 degrees.

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