White House Declines to Name Agencies Hit by ‘Shady RAT’ Attacks

The White House said Wednesday that it is aware of the widespread “Operation Shady RAT” hacking effort, but declined to say which particular U.S. agencies were affected.

“We are aware of this report and its contents. While we do not comment on outside reports, detecting and blocking cyber intrusion is a key cyber security goal for this administration, working across government and with the private sector,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said during a Wednesday briefing. “Cyber threats to information and communications infrastructure pose an economic and national security challenge for the United States and our partners, which is why the President has made cyber security one of his top priorities.”

Earlier this week, security firm McAfee released a report that provided details on “Operation Shady Rat,” a hacking campaign dating back to 2006 that targeted multiple U.S. government agencies, the United Nations, foreign governments, and many technology companies and defense contractors. McAfee said the effort took down 72 targets, making it perhaps the largest concerted hacking attempt in history. What’s more, McAfee suggested that “thousands” more could’ve been affected.

The report, however, didn’t specify which agencies were affected, except to say that “Shady RAT” involved four U.S. government agencies, four U.S. state governments, county governments in Northern and Southern California and Nevada, as well as 12 unidentified U.S. defense contractors.

“On the issue of which agencies were affected, we are working with all federal departments and agencies to deploy defensive tools, such as the Einstein Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems,” Carney said yesterday.

The Einstein system is intended to provide the government with early warnings about cyber attacks against federal networks, near real-time identification of malicious attacks, and automated disruptions of those strikes. The first version of Einstein dates back to 2003 and the second phase rolled out in 2008. It is now deployed at 15 out 19 departments and agencies and in 2010, Einstein 2 sensors picked up 4.5 million “hits,” or alerts based on pre-determined intrusion detection signatures. The Department of Homeland Security is currently working on Einstein 3, “which will provide DHS with the ability to automatically detect and disrupt malicious activity before harm is done to critical networks and systems,” DHS said in June.

“As with all intrusions, we employ an ‘all of government approach,’ with the appropriate agency in the lead. We refer you to DHS and FBI for more information,” Carney said.

Those agencies have not yet commented on “Shady RAT.”

Carney declined to discuss when the White House was told about the attacks. “I can only tell you that we are aware of it,” he concluded.

In a statement, the United Nations said it was investigating to see whether or not an intrusion took place.

By Chloe Albanesius

How to Connect Your Laptop to Your TV

If you’re like me, you have a lot of movies and music on your computer. You might sit in front of your laptop enjoying your media collection while you browse the Web and chat with friends. It works well, but when you have a huge 40+-inch HDTV and home-theater setup a few feet away, consuming your media on a 15-inch laptop screen with tinny integrated speakers seems silly. Wouldn’t it be great if you could pipe what’s on your laptop screen to your HDTV, and treat it just like another monitor? And wouldn’t accessing your collection of movies and music through your HDTV be awesome? Well, you can do both of those things, relatively easily, in a variety of ways.

There are plenty of options for displaying your laptop on your HDTV. Many of them are excellent ways to watch your movies and listen to your music. Only some of them are appropriate for Web browsing, videoconferencing, or other computer-reliant activities, however, and due to slight lag with current wireless display technologies, only a wired connection is suitable for playing most action-oriented PC-based games. Here are your options for connecting your laptop to your HDTV. First consider what you want to do, then choose the way that’s right for you.

Best for Gaming: Run a Cable
Many recent notebooks offer built-in HDMI outputs, and those that don’t, typically have DVI ports (which can connect to HDMI ports through an adapter) or VGA ports (which can connect to PC ports found on most HDTVs). If you don’t mind being physically tethered to your screen by a length of cable, you can just plug it in and treat your TV like a second monitor. Since the HDMI/DVI/VGA connection can be video-only (a decreasingly common trend, but a possible one, especially if you use a DVI-to-HDMI adapter), you might need to use an audio patch cable to connect the notebook’s audio to either the HDTV or a nearby set of speakers. Still, a direct, wired connection is the best method if you value speed over all else. With a cable, you’re guaranteed zero latency between the notebook and the HDTV, making twitch gaming (first-person shooters and other action-heavy games) possible.

Pros: Lowest latency option. The only method suitable for fast-action gaming.
Cons: Requires a physical cable, keeps you tethered to your HDTV. Might require a separate audio connection.

Convenient if Your Laptop Has It: WiDi
If you have a laptop manufactured in the last few years, it might already have Intel Wireless Display technology, or WiDi, built in. WiDi is a common feature for midrange and high-end laptops, especially ones that emphasize multimedia and home entertainment. Many of Best Buy’s laptops include WiDi, offering 57 different models with the feature built-in. If it does, you can purchase a WiDi receiver like the $100 Netgear Push2TV HD, plug it into your HDTV, and wirelessly put your desktop on the big screen without even as much as a dongle. This system works very well for playing movies and browsing the Web on your HDTV, but slight latency keeps it from being ideal for fast-action games.

Pros: Wireless video and audio without plugging anything into your notebook. Supports 5.1-channel audio output.
Cons: Not a standard feature in all laptops. Too laggy for fast-action gaming. WiDi 2 necessary for 5.1 audio support.

Simple Setup: Wireless HDMI connectors
If you have an HDMI port on your laptop and don’t want to run a cable from the computer to your HDTV, you can still put that port to good use with a wireless HDMI kit, like theVizio XWH200 Universal Wireless HD Video & Audio Kit, Asus WiCast, and Rocketfish 4-Port Wireless HD Kit. Wireless HDMI systems let you plug your notebook into an HDMI transmitter and your HDTV into an HDMI receiver, and have them act as if a single long cable ran between the two devices. Some kits, like the Rocketfish 4-port kit and the Vizio XWH200 kit, can double as HDMI switches, handling up to four HDMI devices at once and switching between them with a remote.

The main drawback to wireless HDMI devices, and wireless HDMI switches in particular, is that you still need to make the room and set up the transmitter just right. Multiple-port kits tend to be too large to keep close to the notebook, and are usually more suited for cabinets and racks where multiple pieces of home theater equipment might be sitting. Even the one-port WiCast has a power-hungry transmitter that requires either two free USB ports or an AC adapter, making it less than ideal for quick-and-simple connections between your laptop and HDTV. The audio and video quality are identical to running an HDMI cable, but, like all other wireless solutions, the potential for slight latency makes it less than ideal for twitch gaming.

Pros: As easy to configure as a straight HDMI cable connection.
Cons: Requires a wired connection to the transmitter, so there’s still physical tethering.

Other Options: Direct Wireless Display Adapters
WiDi isn’t the only way to hook up your notebook wirelessly to your HDTV. Several proprietary sets let you connect the two with USB and HDMI adapters. The Warpia StreamHD stands out as one of the best, with a solid design and a very simple installation process: Just install the wireless manager, and plug the adapter in. It automatically registers as an additional display adapter, letting you mirror or extend your desktop to the wirelessly connected display. It’s responsive and functional, and while it’s not quite responsive enough for fast-paced games (though more deliberate, thoughtful games like Civilization V work just fine), it works great for almost any media. As a bonus, it can support 5.1-channel surround sound, output through an optical audio connection.

The Veebeam HD works similarly, using a USB adapter on the notebook to wirelessly send a picture to the HDTV. Unfortunately, it suffers from even more latency than the Warpia StreamHD, so there’s no gaming-friendliness here. In fact, since the display lag is so great on the Veebeam HD, it’s really only useful for playing movies and TV shows, where you just have to press play and sit back.

Pros: Doesn’t require onboard hardware, including any video output, on your laptop.
Cons: Transmitter takes up a USB port. Latency is more unpredictable than WiDi.

Just the Movies: Media-Specific Set-Top Boxes
If you only want to watch movies and listen to music you keep on your laptop, several devices offer a streamlined media-playback experience for a low price, but it comes at the cost of little to no actual screen-sharing functionality. The Apple TV and Orb TV (and Orb BR Blu-ray disc for PlayStation 3 can access your iTunes library and movie collections on your laptop, without actually serving as another screen for the laptop.

While both Apple TV and Orb devices offer ways to make your music and movies playable on your HDTV without running a direct cable, they require a Wi-Fi connection through a local hotspot. If you don’t have a wireless router, you can forget about using them. Of course, if you have a notebook, odds are you’re already enjoying the fruits of Wi-Fi in your home. The biggest issue with these devices is their nature of strictly loading movie and music files and accessing online content. Neither device works as a display adapter like all of the other solutions.

Pros: Lets you access all your media files and many Web content services
Cons: Doesn’t actually put your laptop’s desktop on the HDTV, so you can’t browse the Web or play games.

DEF CON Hacker Event in Las Vegas: Informing and Terrifying

The DEF CON hacker event in Las Vegas is said to be the most dangerous place in the world to use a computer. The four-day event at the Rio is a cash only convention where people can go to learn computer hacking, lock picking, and security breaching.

Described as instilling at least “some level of terror,” DEF CON’s purpose is to inform people about the risks of the cyber world. It tests one’s ability to stay secure on the public Wi-Fi Network at DEF CON. It’s a family affair and even the most confident users will be taken down a notch or two when they see their partial password and log-in name on the large projection screen that Brian Markus calls the “Wall of Sheep.”

Markus spends his time at the Rio’s conference center shaming those who consider themselves “un-hackable.” Another well-known “good hacker,” Dan Kaminsky, says, “If you walk onto a battlefield, you might get shot.” The DEF CON hacker event is not only a battlefield, it’s an eye-opener.

CNN reports that the DEF CON hacker event not only tests one’s computer security, but brings to light other issues, such as credit card swiping, a method of reading credit cards still tucked “safely” away in a wallet, using a Walkman sized reader with an antenna.

Sending a text can easily be hacked, changing the message with potentially disastrous results, says security researcher Austin Street. Imagine sending “Sell it all” and having it changed to “Buy it all.”

DEF CON isn’t in the hacking business for malicious reasons, they say. The hackers hope that by being playfully “victimized,” people will open their eyes to the risks of the digital world, understand more about the technology, and be safer.

Friday, 17-year-old Cherry Rose de los Reyes picked her first lock. “Who in the world wants their daughter to pick a lock?” you gasp. It’s all about the false sense of security, DEF CON says, and when you think about it, it’s an important way to teach your children of how vulnerable they really are.

Buy Computer – Needy families offered cheap Internet service, computers

Comcast is partnering with Miami-Dade schools to offer needy families discount high-speed Internet, computers and training.

How it works

•  High-speed Internet service for $9.95 a month from Comcast, plus taxes, with no activation or equipment charges.

•  A voucher to buy a computer for less than $150 plus tax.

•  Online training to learn more about computers and the Internet.

•  Families with children in the National School Lunch Program can qualify.

The program will be introduced at 9 a.m. on Aug. 4 at Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, 1801 NW First Pl. in Miami, as part of a “town hall’’ meeting about getting needy families online.

It’s not just about Google for that research project.

Nearly everything Miami-Dade students — and their parents — need for school can be done online.

Check homework assignments. Work on extra tutoring. View digital textbooks. Check children’s grades. Or email their teachers.

But 72 percent of families in the county’s neediest neighborhoods didn’t have Internet service at home in 2008, when Miami-Dade County Public Schools last did a survey.

A program launching this week in partnership with the Comcast cable provider seeks to change that. Families with children who qualify for free school lunches can sign up for low-cost, high-speed Internet, buy a computer at a discount and take free Internet training.

“Access to the Internet is akin to a civil rights issue for the 21st Century,” said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president. “It’s that access that enables people in poorer areas to equalize access to a quality education, quality healthcare and vocational opportunities.”

As part of its merger with NBC Universal earlier this year, Comcast is required to provide 2.5 million low-income households with high-speed Internet for less than $10 a month; computers for less than $150 a month; and digital literacy training, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and others will launch the Internet Essentials program Thursday at Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in Miami.

Miami-Dade marks the second kick-off for the program, which Comcast debuted in Chicago earlier this year with plans to eventually offer it in 4,000 school districts across the country.

It isn’t the first local attempt to close the digital divide. But the latest strategy targets the three main challenges facing families who don’t have Internet access, Cohen said: The cost of a computer; the cost of high-speed Internet (usually about $50 a month); and digital illiteracy — not understanding how the Internet works or why it is important.

“We hope attacking all three of those barriers in a single integrated program is the best way to move the needle,” Cohen said.

The company has pledged to offer the program for three school years. Cohen declined to say how much it will cost the company, but said it was a “seven-figure plus committment.”

The company will guarantee the price for high-speed Internet service — $9.95 a month — as long as a family has a child who receives a free lunch in the National School Lunch Program and lives within Comcast’s service area. (Comcast is not available in some parts of South Florida, such as Miami Beach.)

ELIGIBILITY

For the 2011-2012 school year, a family of four making $29,055 a year would qualify — about 60 percent of the 300,000-plus students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Among those students: Aura Herrera’s two sons, Roger, 10, and Marco, 5, who attend Morningside Elementary School. The family doesn’t have Internet or a computer at home. So when Roger needs to work on a school project — like researching snakes — or when Marco wants to practice his numbers in an online exercise, the boys go to the library to use a computer.

“Since everything is so advanced, it’s very important,” Herrera said of the Internet. “Before things weren’t so advanced.”

On a recent afternoon, Herrera checked out two laptops at Lemon City Branch Library on Northeast 61st Street — one for her and one for Marco. He played games. She tried to check an email from her nieces in Guatemala, who are eager for their aunt to join Facebook.

At the county branch, people can only use the laptops inside the library for an hour at a time, up to two hours a day.

Other programs that provide computers, training and Internet access have also tried to close the digital gap. In Miami Beach, city residents can get discounts on computers and receive free wireless Internet service, although it’s not accessible above the second floor of a building.

The Elevate Miami initiative, led by the city of Miami, has installed 350 computers with Internet access in parks and senior centers since 2004. The program has evolved over the years, at times partnering with the Miami-Dade school district to distribute computers. But funding has fallen.

ANOTHER EFFORT

In another effort funded with federal money, the Miami-Dade school district aims to distribute 6,000 refurbished computers — $25 each for families — and establish 10,000 one-year free Internet connections to qualifying students in poor-performing schools. The program started in the 2010-2011 school year and will continue for a second year. Eligible parents will be notified.

“One of the things that we found when we were trying to get people to enroll, parents would often ask, why do I need this?” said Deborah Karcher, chief information officer for Miami-Dade Public Schools.

“The kids are helping us answer that question better than anybody. The kids are telling their parents, ‘This is what I’m looking at, this is what I’m learning,’ ” she said.

By LAURA ISENSEE

Buy Computer

New computers are faster than ever!  New laptops are portable and reliable with next generation processors; and desktop computers have high resolution HD displays.  In today’s computer market, there are literally unlimited choices of how to buy a computer, and what kind of computer you should buy?