• Mac OS X,  Mac Security

    HellRaiser

    A new variant of HellRaiser is now out there. It is being called OSX/HellRTS.D and in order to get infected you would have to run a server daemon, shown below. HellRaiser is a RealBasic-based trojan horse that gives control of a Mac OS X system to an attacker. This can include searching through the file system and then transferring files, viewing the clipboard, sending audio, sending chats, viewing the screen, showing pictures, viewing spotlight indexes, controlling mail and rebooting (see the tabs below). A number of products will detect the OSX/HellRTS.D. trojan horse when using the latest definition updates, including the following (which links to the HellRaiser entry for each vendor):…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Macs in Enterprise Survey, etc.

    A couple of recent media items to note. The first is the Enterprise Desktop Alliance has released a new version of their annual Mac in the Enterprise survey. It can be found here: Apparently someone from CIO Magazine (one of the few that I read routinely) picked up on the release and did an article on it, which can be found here. While he agreed with many of the points from the survey he also seemed to be a little critical that integrating Macs into enterprise environments was all about TCO reduction. Some great points in both and whether you agree with the methodology or message of either, it’s still…

  • personal

    10 Billion Songs

    When the iTunes Store came out if you had told me that they would end up selling 10 billion songs you might have come across like a bit of an Austin Powers skit. But Apple has crossed 10 billion now in “staggering” fashion: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/02/25itunes.html

  • Mac OS X,  Mac Security

    Resetting Default Calendar App

    The ics file type. Apple isn’t the only one that builds applications that use it any longer and there have been a couple of instances where users install a 3rd party app only to find that their default calendar is no longer iCal. How to fix? Not a hard one. Simply locate a .ics file (there are typically plenty of these in ~/Library/Mail Downloads) and then do a Get Info on the .ics file (Get Info = command-i while clicked on the file). Once you have the Get Info box for the file up, click on the Open With field and select iCal. Then click on Change All. That should…

  • Mac OS X

    My Top 10 List of Firefox Add-ons

    Here is a quick list of my favorite 10 Firefox Add-ons: AdBlock Plus – Block annoying advertisements AppTabs – Allows you to shrink your Firefox tabs by right-clicking on them and clicking on AppTab, showing just the address bar icon (favicon) of the site. BabelFish – Automatically translate pages you visit. Better Gmail – Useful add-ons specifically geared to Gmail users. ColorfulTabs – Allows you to assign a color to a tab. Firebug – Edit CSS, HTML, JavaScript, etc. GreaseMonkey – Customize how pages appear to you. ShortURL Generator – Shorten URLs without going to a special page. SiteDelta – Get informed when your favorite sites change. Xmarks – Synchronizes…

  • Mac OS X

    Programmatically Changing the Mac OS X Browser

    I am starting to get a lot questions on how to change the default browser for Mac OS X. I don’t know if it’s in preparation for summer imaging or if it’s because people clicked the button to reset their default browser to Chrome and then realized that, while fast, it just isn’t Safari. Either way, the default browser is stored in the com.apple.LaunchServices.plist, inside the LSHandlers array. Now, changing this with a defaults command would involve copying all the information into said command and then dumping it back in after changing all entries of com.apple.safari to the information for the browser you actually want to use. If you do…

  • Mac OS X,  personal

    Friday?!?!

    It’s a random Friday. The radio on my central AirPort stops working. I reset the device, do everything I know to do, but while I can log into the device through AirPort Utility there is no SSID, no radio signal whatsoever. What to do? String a cable across the room so that it can get ripped out of a computer when the crazed, sweet & squealing toddler invariably streaks through the office? Not a chance. I’ll just run out to the closest Apple store and grab a quick replacement. So I hop in the car and drive to the mall. What is going on with parking? I finally find a…

  • Mac OS X,  Ubuntu,  Windows XP

    Cross Platform Screen Sharing: TiffanyScreens

    Sure, you can screen share using ARD – but to Windows? TiffanyScreens is a little application that can run on Mac, Windows or Linux. It allows you to share your screen to a number of client systems, very useful with presentation broadcasting, training and standard screen sharing. I’ve tested in my lab with Windows 7 and Snow Leopard and must say that I’m impressed by how well it shares screens and how zippy it is over my AirPort network. Nice little app that deserves a plug: http://www.tiffanyscreens.com

  • Business,  Mac OS X,  Ubuntu,  Windows XP

    H1N1 and Computer Labs

    Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (Athens, Georgia), I worked in computer labs. And I don’t think we cleaned the keyboards but once in the year before I moved into more department-specific IT. But now I’m a parent. And I keep hearing that we need to wash the hands of our children, that we need to keep everything they come in contact with sanitized and that we need to be prepared to take 7 business days to stay with them if they get sick or if something happens at their school (not that mine is in school yet). It isn’t that they want to keep our…