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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 17 Issue 33
Volume 17, Issue 33 Atari Online News, Etc. September 4, 2015
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2015
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1733 09/04/15
~ Firebee Update News! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Metal Gear Solid V!
~ 'Aqua Blue' PS Vita! ~ Intel Skylake Delivers ~ New Chrome Update!
~ DoS on Traffic Cameras ~ Mortal Kombat X Nixed! ~ Super MArio Maker!
-* Secret Service Agent Guilty! *-
-* Microsoft Word Intruder Is Revealed *-
-* Potential Sanctions Over China Cyber Hack! *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Reluctantly, I wish everyone a happy Labor Day weekend! I say
reluctantly only because this weekend signifies the unofficial
end of summer. True, it's only unofficial, but for many people,
this weekend is for returning to school, and wrapping up all
things pertaining to the summer months. It's almost like a
3-week mourning period until the summer really ends!
As I mentioned last week, things are starting to get back to
"normal" as far as the magazine goes. I'm getting used to the
new Windows 8.1 system (No, I haven't upgraded to Windows 10
yet!) and finding certain pieces of software that I was using
to put the magazine together. I haven't received any negative
feedback, so hopefully everyone is still able to get the magazine
and access its contents again! If not, let me hear from you and
we'll see what can be done better.
In the meantime, it's time to start planning the long holiday
cookout schedule, and see what we need to have an enjoyable
weekend. I hope that you all have a great weekend too, and
remember to celebrate responsibly!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
FireBee Update News
by Fred Horvat
Last Saturday I went to the annual Atari Columbus Group's Swap
Meet. I brought my FireBee, Raspberry Pi, and an old Macbook 15
Laptop with me. I connected the FireBee to a 15 LCD monitor,
keyboard, and mouse I also brought with me. The goal was to
introduce people to the FireBee who have never heard of it and to
show it to people who have never seen it but were aware of it.
The Raspberry Pi I had with me if someone wanted to see Aranym or
Hatari in action on the Pi. The Laptop I Hatari and many
different Aranaym builds that I created or downloaded.
Over the next 4 hours I had serious discussions with a few Atari
and Computer enthusiasts about the FireBee. The most curious
user was an Amiga user. He wanted to know as much as possible on
the hardware. I had the FireBee Box with me that had all the
specifications printed on the back and I even shut the machine
off and took the cover off so he could see all the chips and
workmanship that went into producing the machine. After that he
wanted to know a lot more about FreeMiNT and plain TOS. I spent
over 1 hour with this person discussing mostly Atari and FireBee
hardware. Then the other people I spoke with had heard of the
FireBee and were curious to see one in action. I had web sites
saved to the SD card via the Save Function F3' in Netsurf web
browser. I was able to call up web pages on the FireBee and
they could see the speed and rendering capability of some
familiar web sites in Netsurf and Highwire.
Besides answering questions on the FireBee many Atari Users were
asking about FreeMiNT. All of them have heard of it but very few
had given it a try or never had it successfully going years ago.
Much similar to me. I tried a couple of times in the early 2000's
but never was satisfied on what I had installed. So I showed them
FreeMiNT on the FireBee but mostly the different Aranym builds I
had on the laptop. I discussed with them all the different parts
and if they wanted Unix capabilities we discussed SpareMiNT. I
showed AFROS, NAES 2.0, and my EasyMiNT 1.80 builds. All but one
user was interested in trying FreeMiNT in Aranym. The one person
was interested in setting up his TT030 again and trying FreeMiNT.
I suggested to all of them to download Aranym http://aranym.org/
and AFROS http://aranym.org/afros.html or the AFROS LiveCD
http://aranym.org/livecd.html Then there is a very nice full
Aranym build that has just about everything an Atari User would
need to have a fully functioning system called EasyARAMiNT.
https://sites.google.com/site/emaappsarch/news/finallythebetaishere
I felt that these two pre-built systems would get someone a feel
of Aranym and more importantly a feel of a modern Atari system
running FreeMiNT. Lastly I suggested that if they felt
comfortable after a while with these builds to create their own
with EasyMiNT.
http://atari.st-katharina-apotheke.de/home.php?lang=en&headline=EasyMiNT&texte=easymint
With EasyMiNT they can customize the installation anyway they
wanted. With or without SpareMiNT etc...
That's it for this week.
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sony To Launch Aqua Blue PS Vita!
Design Your Own Levels in 'Super Mario Maker'
And much, much more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sony To Launch Aqua Blue PS Vita in US on Nov. 6
At the GameStop Managers Conference held on Tuesday, Sony said that
it will be launching a new and different shade - 'Aqua Blue' - for
its PlayStation Vita handheld gaming console.
According to the new PS Vita color announcement made by Sony, the
Aqua Blue model of PS Vita - which has been available only in
'Black' color since its 2012 launch - will hit the US markets on
November 6. It will be priced at $200.
With regard to the availability of the new Aqua Blue PS Vita in
the US, Sony said that the model will be available exclusively
from GameStop.
Sony has also revealed that it is producing only a limited
quantity of Aqua Blue PS Vita models; and that it does not plan
to manufacture another batch of the shade once the initial stock
runs out. As such, for customers who are sure that they want to
go in for the Aqua Blue PS Vita while it is in stock, Sony has
opened a pre-order portal.
Meanwhile, Sony is also, interestingly, pitching its PS Vita by
highlighting the fact that the handheld is "home to more than
1,000 games and sports the ability to stream most PlayStation 4
games from your PS4 via Remote Play." The company also asserts
that "with the recent launch of PlayStation Now on PS Vita and
titles like Super Time Force Ultra, Super Meat Boy, and
Minecraft: Story Mode making their way to PS Vita, it's the
perfect time to pick up the system."
Mortal Kombat X for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Canceled
The long-delayed PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Mortal
Kombat X have finally been canceled by publisher Warner Bros.
Interactive, according to a statement posted on the company's
community forums.
The publisher cited quality reasons for the delay in its
statement, which reads:
After months of development, Warner Bros. Interactive
Entertainment has come to the regrettable conclusion that we
cannot release Mortal Kombat X for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Please know our teams worked diligently to meet the quality
standards set by the current-gen versions of the game. We were not
able to get the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions to the quality expected
of a Mortal Kombat game and are very sorry for not being able to
deliver the products as originally planned.
The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions were originally slated for release
in April. The publisher later changed the game's release window
to summer, but the game was reportedly delayed to fall.
Mortal Kombat X was released for PlayStation 4, Windows PC and
Xbox One on April 14. While NetherRealm Studios developed the
current-generation console versions of the fighting game, the PC
and previous-generation ports were handled by High Voltage
Software.
'Uncharted 4' To Launch on March 18
We now know when treasure hunter Nathan Drake will begin his first
adventure for the PlayStation 4.
Publisher Sony confirmed the video game Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
will launch on March 18, 2016. Sony detailed the launch of
arguably one of the company's biggest video game properties in a
post published Monday.
Multiple special editions will be available for players to
pre-order, including a $120 collector's edition including a
premium statue of Nathan Drake.
A Thief's End takes place three years after the conclusion of
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, with the franchise's lead
character enjoying retirement. However, he gets pulled back in
to treasure hunting by his brother Sam.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Is a Fantastic Finale
Roughly 15 minutes have passed since I touched down near a remote
Soviet outpost in the wilds of Afghanistan. In that time, Ive
cultivated herbs, stolen a Russian transport truck, shot a
half-dozen soldiers with tranquilizer darts, ridden a horse,
fired an antiaircraft gun, and stuffed an unconscious man into a
porta-potty. That last part was just for fun.
This is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain in all its
wonderfully over-the-top glory. The Phantom Pain is the latest
and, according to series creator Hideo Kojima, the last in the
long-running Metal Gear Solid franchise. Kojima has made similar
claims following the release of previous Metal Gear games, but
considering the epic falling out between the legendary designer
and series publisher Konami, he might be right.
And thats just fine, because out of the many excellent games in
the Metal Gear series, The Phantom Pain is perhaps the finest.
In true Metal Gear fashion, The Phantom Pain is equal parts
stealth gameplay, political intrigue, and ham-fisted drama. If
youve never played one of these games, youll want to spend a
few hours perusing Wikipedia to catch up on the series
incredibly convoluted backstory.
The Phantom Pain follows the tale of the Kiefer Sutherland-voiced
mercenary Snake (aka Punished Snake, aka Venom Snake, aka Big
Boss told you it was convoluted) as he and his comrades in the
private military organization Diamond Dogs seek vengeance against
the shadowy government organization Cypher. You accomplish this
by using a mix of stealth and action across multiple locales.
Even Snakes favorite stealth tool, the cardboard box, is here.
The story takes plenty of insane turns, but compared to other
Metal Gear Solid games, there are fewer plodding, lengthy
cut-scenes. The plot takes a backseat to the gameplay and in
this case, thats a very good thing.
Thats because The Phantom Pain is the first open-world Metal
Gear game. Whereas previous Metal Gears shuttled you down
relatively linear paths, The Phantom Pain tosses you into large,
beautiful sandboxes. You can steal an enemy jeep and drive from
one part of the map to the other, exploring run down villages
and Soviet checkpoints and generally making a mess of the place
at your leisure.
That openness also affects how you approach your missions. Want
to run in like Rambo, guns blazing, firing your entire ammo
belt? Go right ahead. Want to stick to the shadows and
stealthily sneak into a facility? You can do that, too. Its
probably smarter.
You can destroy a bases communications equipment to prevent
soldiers from calling in reinforcements. Or wait for nightfall
yep, theres a real day/night cycle and cut the lights to a
building so you can easily sneak by enemies. If you take the
stealth route, you can take down guys using close-quarters
combat (CQC) or your trusty tranquilizer gun or sneak up behind
them and put them in a headlock. Once theyre in your grasp,
you can either interrogate your captives, knock them out, or
send them the way of Old Yeller.
Adding to The Phantom Pains open-world ambitions are two new
mechanics: the Phantom Cigar and Reflex mode. The Phantom Cigar
is a cigar that you equip to speed up time. This beefy spliff
comes in handy when you want to quickly change the day/night
cycle without having to wait around. Its a Metal Gear blunt
a rest mechanic with a dank twist and its a perfect
representation of how adept Kojima and Co. are at turning a
pretty straightforward feature into something ridiculous.
Reflex mode, meanwhile, provides you with an extra few seconds
to react when a guard spots you. When active, Reflex mode lets
you either dispatch your enemy via deadly force or take them
down with a choke or CQC. Guards taken down while youre in
Reflex mode dont alert their comrades.
In general, The Phantom Pains controls are tight and
satisfying, which is important when moving so much as a
millimeter in the wrong direction can mean the difference
between successfully navigating past a guard and taking a machine
gun to the face.
The one bugaboo I have with the games controls has to do with
its cover system. Ideally, this lets you automatically stand
flush against a wall when you walk up to it. This way you can
easily move up and down hallways and peek around corners without
getting spotted. Unfortunately, the mechanic is pretty
touch-and-go. Sometimes youll lean against the wall; sometimes
youll just stand next to it like an idiot.
The battle on the ground is just one part of the game, however.
The Phantom Pain also includes a rather in-depth base building
mechanic. A former oil rig dubbed Mother Base serves as a safe
haven for you and the Diamond Dogs, allowing you to research
upgrades (BETTER CARDBOARD BOXES!), new weapons, and launch
missions. To pay for upgrades, youll need to complete story and
side missions as well as collect resources scattered about the
world. Usually, theyll be in enemy bases, but occasionally
youll find gems lying out in the open, ripe for the taking.
A base is only as good as the soldiers manning it, and from the
outset youre pretty shorthanded. To grow your ranks, you can
capture enemy soldiers on the battlefield and send them to your
base. How? By strapping them to a balloon, naturally. The
Fulton Surface-to-Air recovery system shoots unconscious
soldiers into the sky and, weather permitting, deposits them
safely on Mother Base. You can do this with all sorts of things,
too, from large items to I am not making this up bears.
Because you never know when you might need a bear.
Yes, its silly, and, no, it doesnt make any sense. But thats
what makes the Fulton perfectly Metal Gear. The series has always
toyed with crazy sci-fi conceits; using gigantic balloons to ship
stuff back to your home base is par for the course.
Its also one of the best-looking games around. Afghanistans
rocky landscapes are meticulously detailed, and the characters,
as always, look incredible. Kiefer Sutherland does an admirable
job voicing Snake, who for decades was voiced by series mainstay
David Hayter. Those are big shoes to fill, but Sutherland
handles it well.
Few games are this ambitious, and even fewer manage to integrate
so many different gameplay styles so smoothly. From the
off-the-rails exploration to the overwrought dialogue, quirky
villains, and men locked in porta-potties, Metal Gear Solid V:
The Phantom Pain is the perfect expression of creator Hideo
Kojimas vision for his beloved franchise and a fitting end to
his time at the helm. But more than that, its just plain fun.
Dont miss it.
Design Your Own Levels in 'Super Mario Maker'
Crowds don't always have the most positive connotation.
You've got your mobs, your rabbles, even your riots. Once in a
while, though, you get a group of folks coming together for the
common good. That's exactly what Nintendo has managed to
organize with the release of Super Mario Maker for the Wii U.
For non-gamers or those who've been living under a POW block,
Super Mario Maker is a Mario level creator at its core.
Interestingly, it was originally born as a tool for Nintendo's
crackshot staff of designers to streamline stage creation for its
popular platforming franchise Super Mario Bros.
Like free speech, elections and the Interwebs, however, some
ideas are best realized when you get a large number of people
involved, and it's this democratization of sorts that truly makes
a level creator tool like Super Mario Maker realize its full
potential. Take it from someone who remembers what life was like
before the Internet was around and folks were pretty much
isolated in their own little corners of the world.
At the heart of Super Mario Maker is a collection of tools
designed to tap into the inner creativity of folks. Admittedly,
it can be quite intimidating at first, but the game does a good
job of easing aspiring designers into it. One way it does this
is by limiting access to all the tools until you've spent time
playing around with the level creation options you have
available. Eventually, you'll be able to unlock everything after
a few days.
One of the neat things about the level creator is how you can
toggle between the look of the original Super Mario Bros., Super
Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and the 2.5D New Super Mario
Bros. Nintendo's decision to include all these styles as opposed
to doing them one by one and spreading them across multiple game
releases is good news for gamers and their wallets. Super Mario
Maker also throws in a bunch of extra elements that weren't
present in the previous games. You can now bring in doors or
giant Goombas in a classic Super Mario Bros. level that uses the
look of the original game, for example. You can also let folks
play as other classic Nintendo characters or even foes such as
a Goomba. This allows players to create more fresh experiences
for even veteran players on top of the fact that they're
playing a new level.
Besides the new stuff, however, a key strength of Super Mario
Maker lies in the old, and by that I mean the rock solid controls
of the Mario series. Whether you're playing a classic looking
level or a New Super Mario Bros. stage, controlling your
character just feels right and has that classic feel that Mario
players know and love. You'll need those excellent controls,
too, as some of the community-created stages that you'll run
into can be quite brutal. See, in addition to uploading your
own creations, you can also try out the levels designed by other
players, which is one of the best parts of the game.
I must say that I'm incredibly amazed with some of the stages
created by other players. Whether it be a stage that lets you
chain jump on top of a bazillion goombas, creative fights with
Bowser and Bowser Jr., or a level that requires you to run
alongside a giant shell to trigger a cool bulldozing combo, the
creativity demonstrated by the Mario Maker community can be
astounding. In fact, they make me as jelly as Wendy Testaburger
because I know I can never make stages that are just as cool.
Also, while there may be difficult levels in there, none of them
are impossible as level creators are required to finish their
own creations before they can upload them. If you do find a
creator whose work you really like, you can follow them so you
can be updated every time they upload a new level. Rounding out
the list of features is Amiibo functionality for unlocking
various costumes or, in the case of the 30th Anniversary Mario
figure, a Big Mushroom powerup.
Admittedly, getting your creations noticed among a slew of
uploaded creations can be a challenge. The fact that you don't
have all tools accessible to you right off the bat also will be
a bummer for folks who want to fully get into the level creating
action right away without having to wait a few days to do so.
Also, while the game comes with extra baked-in modes such as the
100 Mario Challenge, I wish that it also came with a
full-fledged campaign.
Despite its issues, however, Super Mario Maker remains an
enjoyable title that makes the Mario world your oyster, er, Koopa
shell. Whether it be the game's ability to nurture your inner
level creator or inspire future game designers, Super Mario Maker
is a great example of the potential that lies in tapping the
power of the crowd. Even if you're terribad at stage design,
being able to enjoy the crazy creations of other folks makes it
worth the prize of admission. Now how about a Super Mario RPG
Maker, Nintendo?
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Heres Why Atari Fans Just Spent $100,000 on Video Games From A Dump
Jason Baldwin remembers playing E.T. The Extra Terrestrial on
his Atari when he was growing up in Alamogordo, N.M.: It was
awful. Not an hour after he started playing, he gave up on it.
Years later, he heard rumors that the game was so bad that Atari
trashed thousands and thousands of cartridges in his home town,
a city of 31,000 in southwest New Mexico. Turns out, the rumors
werent far off. Hundreds of thousands of games not just
E.T. were buried in the city landfill in the companys waning
years.
The massive cache of video game detritus has made for a payday in
Alamogordo. A crew dug up a sliver of the massive collection, and
the city auctioned about 900 games one by one to amass a tidy
sum just under $108,000, more than $120 apiece.
I didnt think they would fetch as much as they did, said
Baldwin, now a city commissioner in Alamogordo. I believe my
fellow city commissioners thought if we sold $5,000 worth or
$10,000 worth, we could make some improvements to the dump area
and maybe put up a little plaque or something.
Now, Susie Galea, Alamogordos mayor, says the town will likely
use some of the proceeds to build a memorial to what she calls
the myth of Ataris tomb.
The games werent worth all that much in their own right, Rick
Weis, who has collected some 2,000 cartridges for Atari 2600
games, said in an e-mail. Theyre fairly common titles, most
worth $5 or so.
But the cartridges ballooned in value as collectors clamored for
a piece of a video game myth, a tangible and smelly slice of
history representing an industry giants downfall.
The legend goes like this: The game was so bad that it led to
Ataris downfall in 1983 so bad that the company cut its losses
and buried millions of cartridges in the desert. And not just any
desert: Alamogordo is where Ham, the first chimp to go to space,
was buried. Roswell, N.M., is a two-hour drive to the east, and
the Trinity Site, where atomic bombs were tested, is two hours
north.
The reality isnt filled with so much intrigue: In 1983, Atari
was stumbling and started looking to get rid of surplus. As
Galea, the mayor, tells it, Atari had a warehouse in nearby
El Paso, Tex., and Alamogordos dump had lax environmental
rules. The disposal wasnt much of a secret: Researchers say it
was noted in newspaper articles at the time.
But nostalgia and fandom swirled around last years project to
excavate the games. Andrew Reinhard, an archaeologist on the
project who runs the Web site Archaeogaming.com, said he watched
E.T. games that were listed online for $2 the morning of the
dig go for $10 later in the day. Months later, a cartridge from
the landfill sold for more than $1,500.
Collectors find value that you and I would maybe raise our
eyebrows about. Collectors find value in things that we may
devalue, said Raiford Guins, a Stony Brook University professor
who studies video game history and has researched the landfill.
In those circles, he said, the landfill games have become the
holy grail for Atari collectors.
The history of the cartridges pulled from the dump of the
urban legend surrounding them, if not the games themselves
justifies the steep price they command, Weis said.
He owns just about every game made for the Atari 2600, but
still shelled out for a copy of Centipede, a game that
usually sells for a fraction of the $70 he paid.
Even if it's not the famous E.T. burial, it will still be
very historic for our community, Weis said. I wanted a small
piece of it.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
U.S. Said To Draft Potential Sanctions Over China Cyber Hacking
The Obama administration is drafting an escalating series of
actions, including economic sanctions and curbs on doing business
in the U.S., to punish China and other nations that persist in
hacking its corporate computer networks, according to two
administration officials with knowledge of the planning.
The measures have not yet been decided, the officials said, and
the administration is moving cautiously as actions being
considered include cyber retaliation, which could reveal
information about U.S. government and private cyber security
capabilities. It could also trigger further online or commercial
warfare that would be difficult to contain.
The actions under consideration wouldnt be targeted solely at
China, the officials said, speaking on the condition of
anonymity to discuss internal deliberations and classified
information. The moves were first reported by the Washington
Post.
While the U.S. believes that China is by far the most pervasive
and persistent hacker, Russian cyber spies and criminals are
generally more sophisticated and have stepped up their actions,
especially against U.S. financial institutions, amid tensions
over Russias actions in Ukraine.
The administration is also conscious of Chinas place as
Americas second-largest trading partner, a major holder of U.S.
Treasuries and an important player in policies toward North
Korea and Iran, one of the officials said. The discussions come
at a particularly sensitive time, given President Xi Jinpings
visit to the U.S. next month, when he will meet with President
Barack Obama.
Still, both officials said Chinese theft of U.S. trade and
commercial data has increased despite a series of diplomatic
warnings, so officials see no alternative to considering
economic sanctions.
One of the officials said other, classified retaliatory actions
by the National Security Agency are being considered and some
have been taken to punish China for hacking into U.S. government
databases. They said intelligence officials believe China is
seeking to expose undercover American officers and find
information to blackmail or bribe officials with access to
classified information to provide it to China.
There is widespread concern in the Central Intelligence Agencys
Directorate of Operations, the spy corps, that officers private
health, marital, financial and other information may have fallen
into Chinese hands, said one undercover officer, who also asked
not to identified given the sensitivity of the information.
The timing of any move is being debated, the officials said,
with diplomats and others arguing that making any kind of
announcement or imposing any retaliatory sanctions in advance
of Xis visit could cause unwarranted damage to ties. Some
officials have argued that Obama should warn Xi privately of
what will happen if the hacking continues but hold off taking
any action to see if China responds.
Such sanctions are already authorized by an executive order that
Obama signed in April, the officials said. It calls malicious
cyber-enabled activities a national emergency and authorizes
the Treasury Department to take action against individuals,
companies and other entities that engage in it. In announcing
it, one of the officials said, Obama noted that such attacks
can originate from a range of sources, underscoring the
possible breadth of the retaliatory actions being debated.
The actions that could trigger retaliation would have to meet a
threshold of damage thats still being debated, the officials
said, but high on the list will be impacting the U.S. financial
or energy infrastructure, a concern triggered by a destructive
hack of Sony Pictures that the U.S. said was carried out by
North Korea, and other intrusions into U.S. electric grids and
pipelines.
Microsoft Word Intruder Revealed
Start thinking back, and bring to mind the big "Malware In The
Media" stories of the last few years.
What did you come up with?
We let our minds go to town.
We visualised hyberbolic headlines like RANSOMWARE RAVAGES
BRITAIN and AMERICA UNDER ATTACK BY STATE-SPONSORED HACKERS.
In particular, our first thoughts were of two rather different
sorts of cyberattack, committed by two very different sorts of
operator:
Malware that aims far and wide in order to make as much
money for the crooks as quickly as possible. All publicity
welcome, especially if it convinces people that paying up
actually works. Example: CryptoLocker.
Malware targeted for a very specific purpose, such as
industrial or political espionage. Publicity unwelcome, because
the aim is to lie hidden until the bullseye is hit. Example:
Stuxnet.
There are certainly plenty of defensive lessons to learn from
each of these examples.
But there's a fascinating middle ground, where cybercrooks from
the first group are quietly adopting the more subtle approach of
the so-called Advanced Persistent Threatsters of the second
group.
And SophosLabs researcher Gabor Szappanos has just published a
paper looking into this phenomenon.
Szappi, as we usually refer to him here, is popular with Naked
Security readers with good reason: his papers are always both
interesting and informative, worthwhile not only for lay readers
but also for the more technical audience.
The paper is entitled Microsoft Word Intruder Revealed, and it
digs into a rather special facet of cybercrime: the malware
construction kit.
As the name suggests, Microsoft Word Intruder (MWI) focuses on
sneaking malware onto your computer using booby-trapped Word
files, rather than by using treacherous web links you have to
click, or by embedding malicious Flash objects into poisoned
online ads.
As Szappi explains in the paper, the creator of MWI is
effectively offering an exploits-as-you-need-them malware
creation service that "deskills" the Remote Code Execution (RCE)
part of malware distribution.
You no longer need to know how to exploit Word yourself.
For a modest fee, you can have your malware packaged into
personalised booby-trapped documents that you can email out to
prospective victims.
However, there are terms and conditions!
Objekt, the Russian operator of MWI, requires his customers to
tread softly.
You can deliver any sort of malware you like, but you have to
agree not to do massive spam runs or to draw unnecessary
attention to yourself.
In short, to buy into MWI you need to take the more subtle
approach of the targeted attacker, even if your goal is to make
money from anyone and everyone rather than to breach one
specific target.
Has this fusion approach worked?
Szappi's detailed research suggests that it has.
He found that MWI's niche market has helped dozens of cybercrime
groups to deliver many hundreds of different malware samples
from numerous different malware families covering most major
malware types.
Banking Trojans, bots, remote access tools: MWI has packaged
and delivered them all, without drawing much attention to
itself.
As Szappi concludes:
Even though the Microsoft Word Intruder kit is advertised
for targeted attacks, which are usually associated with
nation-state intrusions or other focused surveillance
operations, it seems that its primary users are money-making
cybercriminals aiming for smaller, less obvious, malware
campaigns.
It seems that some cybergangs are learning that less really
can be more.
Microsoft Word Intruder Revealed is not just a fascinating and
well-organised paper, it also gives you some solid advice on
real-world precautions you can take.
A well-recommended read.
Secret Service Agent Pleads Guilty To Stealing Silk Road Bitcoins
A former Secret Service special agent yesterday pleaded guilty
to diverting $800,000 worth of bitcoins into his own account
during an investigation into online black market site Silk Road.
Appearing in a San Francisco federal court, Shaun Bridges also
admitted money laundering and obstruction of justice charges.
Computer forensics expert Bridges belonged to the Baltimore Silk
Road task force, a group formed to track down Ross Ulbricht, the
mastermind behind the online drug bazaar.
As part of that operation, the site's administrator - Curtis
Green - was arrested in January 2013.
Using Green's credentials, Bridges logged into the back end of
the Silk Road site and began locking drug dealers out of their
accounts, swiping 20,000 of their bitcoins along the way - an
act that would later lead Ulbricht to hire a contract killer to
eliminate Green, who he believed was responsible for the theft.
Bridges then diverted the virtual currency - worth around
$350,000 at the time - into an account under his control at the
now-defunct Mt. Gox.
At some point between March and May 2013, Bridges moved the
money - by then worth around $820,000 - into a Fidelity account
called Quantum International Investments LLC.
Bridges' plea agreement brought to light how he obstructed the
investigation of Ulbricht and Silk Road through his takeover of
Green's administrator account. He also impeded investigations
into his own wrongdoing by making several false or misleading
statements. The court also heard how Bridges had encouraged
another government employee to lie on his behalf.
Following the hearing, Attorney Haag said:
We depend on those in federal law enforcement having the
highest integrity and unshakeable honor, and Mr. Bridges has
demonstrated that he utterly lacks those qualities.
Bridges will return to court on 7 December for sentencing. Both
the money laundering and obstruction charges carry a maximum
term of 20 years in jail.
Though he has been released on bail, Ars Technica reports that
Bridges has been blocked from changing his name or other
personal details after Judge Richard Seeborg heard he may be a
flight risk.
Prosecutor Katherine Haun told the court how he had been trying
to change his name and social security number, an act explained
away by the defence who claimed that was in response to
concerns over identity theft in the wake of the OPM data breach.
Bridges is not the only federal agent to be accused of illegal
activity during the Silk Road investigation.
Carl M. Force of the DEA, who was also tasked with
investigating Ulbricht, recently pleaded guilty to charges of
stealing bitcoins, money laundering and extortion. He admitted
using numerous aliases in an attempt to sell information about
the investigation to the man known as Dread Pirate Roberts.
Force also attempted to extract $250,000 from Ulbricht after
he erroneously concluded that he had learned of his true
identity. He even attempted to form a partnership with Mark
Karpeles, the former CEO of Mt. Gox.
Force will be sentenced in October and he too faces a jail term
of up to 20 years in relation to the money laundering charge -
he has also begun to pay restitution of $500,000.
In a comment that could be attributed to Force just as much as
Bridges, Assistant Attorney General Caldwell said yesterday:
There is a bright line between enforcing the law and
breaking it. Law enforcement officers who cross that line not
only harm their immediate victims but also betray the public
trust. This case shows we will act quickly to hold wrongdoers
accountable, no matter who they are.
However the sentencing hearings go, neither of the ex-agents
will remain behind bars for as long as Ulbricht himself who, in
May 2015, was sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole.
Man Arrested After Posting Facebook Videos
of Him Tampering With Traffic Cameras
Have you ever wished that hackers would find a way to attack
the massive license plate reader databases that the
government's tracking us with?
dell, one guy has figured out how to unleash a denial-of-service
(DoS) on the cameras, though it's not exactly hat you'd call
"distributed".
Rather, Long Island, New York resident Stephen Ruth has come up
with a very localized attack.
It involves a long pole and a couple of balls. And yes, you can
take that multiple ways.
Stick a ball on the end of your pole, reach up and poke that
camera so it's pointing to the sky, and badda bing, badda boom:
you just saved taxpayers $10,000.
Well, that's how much Ruth estimated that he saved people.
Two videos - one posted on 21 August, one on 23 August - show
Ruth using a selfie stick to record himself as he uses a
painters pole to push the red light cameras face skyward.
His rationale, as he said in one of the viral videos:
This camera has gotten me numerous times for not waiting
3 seconds. Who's to say that I need to wait 3 seconds after I
clearly see that there's no one coming in my direction?
That video had been viewed 304,637 times as of Friday morning.
Yes, that's right - another criminal who posted evidence of his
crime on Facebook.
And then bragged about it. On Facebook.
Make no mistake, this guy's no dim bulb. Ruth knew he would get
caught, and he doesn't care.
Police told local news channel PIX11 that they got wind of the
videos and found that Ruth had allegedly tampered with four
cameras in Suffolk County, near the Long Island Expressway
Service Roads at Hawkins Avenue and near Ocean Avenue.
He's doing it for the little guys, he said - the people whom
New York is bleeding with high taxes.
Here's what Ruth posted on Facebook on Wednesday:
To all the people thinking "why would he do that? Didn't he
think he was going to get arrested?" Of course I knew I would be
arrested. I did it for the people who come back from war and get
abused by these cameras. I did it because senior citizens are
getting these, the same ones that went to war for us. These same
seniors live in New York's high cost environment and are being
forced out of New York because of its high taxes.
I also did it because every vehicle that you see with an
out of state license plate is not receiving these tickets
regardless of who they are. These same people live in our state
and pay lower insurance rates because their cars are registered
out of state under someone else's name.
Ruth was in custody at the 6th Precinct in Selden, Long Island
as of Tuesday night, due to appear in court on Wednesday on
four counts of criminal tampering.
Intel's New Processors Bring 'Most Significant
Advancements in Computing'
Intel's latest generation processors - codenamed Skylake - will
deliver incredible performance gains, better battery life,
superlative graphics and the scope for PC makers to start getting
creative in terms of new shapes and form factors when they start
appearing in devices later this year.
Computer sales may be slowing down overall, but there is clearly
demand for mobile PCs, especially ultrabooks, hybrids and 2-in-1
devices -- computers that are proving popular enough to start
stealing sales from tablets.
But whatever PC you next decide to next purchase, chances are
that whatever its brand, from Acer to Apple, it will have an
Intel chip inside running the show, meaning that every time it
upgrades its chips, everyone benefits.
And with its new sixth-generation Skylake' processors, revealed
on Wednesday ahead of the official start of this year's IFA in
Berlin, Germany, the benefits are potentially huge.
"Sixth Gen Intel Core processors deliver some of the most
significant advancements in computing that we've ever seen," said
Kirk Skaugen, Intel senior vice president and general manager of
the Client Computing Group. "[They] are more responsive than ever
with enhanced performance, battery life and security. And they
can enable amazing new PC experiences like logging into your
computer with your face and having a personal assistant respond
to your voice."
Despite its leadership position, it has taken Intel time to
bring its processors in line with consumers' evolving PC-based
needs. But now that it has caught up, it's not resting on its
laurels.
Nearly half of the computers in use around the world today (500
million+) are between four and five years old and compared with
any of them, Skylake-powered PCs will feel like a quantum leap
forward. They offer a 3000% improvement on graphics (when
compared to Intel's best processor architecture from 2010),
over twice as much performance, and, in notebooks and other
mobile devices, the possibility of all-day battery life.
And of course, they will be the first chips from the company
truly optimized for Windows 10's most processor-hungry and
complex features.
However, the chips have also been created in a way that will
let manufacturers get creative with product design as well as
software, meaning that 2016 will be a year in which lightweight
devices get lighter still and streamline notebooks and tablets
can get even thinner without impacting on heat diffusion and
performance.
"The combination of 6th Gen Intel Core processors, Windows 10
and beautiful new systems from PC manufacturers make this the
best time ever to buy a new computer," said Skaugen.
A Much-needed Chrome Update Will Save More Battery and Memory
The Google Chrome browser has received a lot of flak for its
sluggish, battery-draining performance, but it seems like Google
may have a remedy.
Google announced Chrome 45, an update designed increase speed
and save battery life, on Friday in a blog post. This is the
latest in a series of improvements designed to make Chrome run
more smoothly, especially on laptops.
In May, an extension called The Great Suspender, which
automatically suspends unused (and memory-hogging) tabs in
Chrome, found a place in our browsers and our hearts. After
a certain user-specified time, unused tabs would get suspended
until clicked on again, a huge improvement to Chrome.
Now, Google seems to be taking a page or two from The Great
Suspender. When restoring tabs after closing Chrome, it will
load the most viewed tabs first, so you can access what you're
looking for more quickly. It can even halt tabs from restoring
if your computer's memory is taxed.
Chrome will also be able to detect if tabs aren't being used
and free up unused resources for tabs that need them. Google
says that this can save 10% of memory on average, with Gmail
and other memory-intensive web applications saving up to
nearly 25%.
These are welcome additions for anyone, but especially those
who use Mac laptops. With the update, expect a healthy jump
in performance and battery life.
To activate the update, open Chrome's Settings, click "about"
and follow the on-screen prompts. Your browser will restart
with the update activated.
Google says that more performance and efficiency-related
Chrome updates are in the pipeline.
=~=~=~=
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