Hacker Creates Plugin That Trashes Chrome’s Security
Reported by The Next Web, a developer created a plugin for the Google Chrome browser that can watch users’ login information and send that information to him via email. The programmer who created the attack, Andreas Grech, coded the plugin in jQuery. Grech is only demonstrating the attack and isn’t using it maliciously but it is more than a proof of concept, it’s real and in the wild. He details the attack on his blog and reveals the code behind the exploit. He says that he has tested it and it has been successful against major sites like Facebook, Gmail, and Twitter.
Grech’s explanation from his blog of how the attack works:
The Google Chrome browser allows the installation of third-party extensions that are used to extend the browser to add new features. The extensions are written in JavaScript and HTML and allow manipulation of the DOM, amongst other features.
By allowing access to the DOM, an attacker can thus read form fields…including username and password fields. This is what sparked my idea of creating this PoC.
The extension I present here is very simple. Whenever a user submits a form, it tries to capture the username and password fields, sends me an email via an Ajax call to a script with these login details along with the url and then proceeds to submit the form normally as to avoid detection.
Grech also mentions that while he used this attack to steal login information, it could also be used to steal cookies or hijack browsing sessions. This attack is a good reminder that IE isn’t the only vulnerable browser around and to be cautious when installing 3rd-party extensions. Until Google patches this hole, right now it is a good idea to be extra careful about checking whether a plugin comes from a reputable source.
“Sexiest Video Ever” Malware on Facebook
A new malware attack has been circulating Facebook lately which puts a link on the user’s newsfeed claiming to be the “sexiest video ever”. When clicked the program tries to access the user’s info and if they allow that it will prompt them to install a new version of a FLV video player and starts downloading an .exe.
The file it actually downloads is Hotbar Adware which puts a toolbar in the browser and displays ads based on browsing habits. The Facebook application will also post messages on friend’s walls with the same video link and “sexiest video ever” message.
If the user doesn’t allow the application to access their info they are safe.
If a user has gotten the malware the Daily Mail reports that Graham Cluely from security software developer Sophos said: “If you were one of them [that got attacked], you should scan your computer with an up-to-date anti-virus, change your passwords, review your Facebook application settings, and learn not to be so quick as to fall for a simple social engineering trick like this in future.”
Are You Losing Out On Search Engine Rankings?
Wordpress is without doubt the best platform you can use for building a website these days. With a level of functionality and suppleness that is unparalleled in ancient HTML sites, Wordpress is ideally suited to assist you in creating a dynamic, low maintenance, sensible, high ranking web site!
When it comes to installing Wordpress, it takes just a few clicks of a button to do. Unlike some scripts, you don’t need a degree in rocket science in order to put in this software. It can install in simply a few seconds with minimal input from you.
Configuring it isn’t very laborious to do either – it will run straight out of the box and work. However, if you wish to configure it for maximum impact then you need to know what you’re doing. A good set of Wordpress tutorials will show you the way to try to do this.
The great thing about Wordpress comes in its flexibility. You’ll be able to easily create a unique looking web site in any niche in minutes. You’ll be able to fully customise every facet of the style using themes and some html programming if you’re very feeling brave.
You’ll add new options to Wordpress using plugins to extend functionality and to make it even more flexible. These plugins will allow you to try add things like Adsense ads across your entire web site with a click of a button, manage paid advertising from web site sponsers, optimize your web site for the search engines and much more.
Of course, the power to change the site style with a click of a button is additionally a big selling point of this free software. You can update your web site very simply so that it suits any of the seasons or holiday events. This could have a huge difference in your sales as folks love to shop from sites that are relevant to the holidays. Plus, it makes your site look contemporary and newand that will bring back previous visitors.
Add to all of this the actual fact that Wordpress sites are loved by the search engines and have been designed from the ground up to be search engine friendly and you have a real winner on your hands.
Want to find out how to make money with Wordpress? You need the best Wordpress tutorials on the market from Wordpress Demystified. Visit today for a free guide to earning from your blog.
Wordpress has been specifically designed to be friendly to the search engines and therefore the search engines are very aware of this and eat up Wordpress sites. With out of the box support for RSS feeds and the flexibility to target on page SEO with the use of plugins, it’s ideally suited for SEO purposes. You’ll be able to fully customize the SEO facet of Wordpress and also the sensible marketer can build it even additional search engine friendly which leads to raised rankings.
Sometimes, a Wordpress primarily based web site can rank terribly well within the search engines terribly quickly if you’ve got created the location properly and paid attention to the SEO features.
Whether you are creating a sales letter, a squeeze page, a membership website, a looking cart of just a visible recent niche info site, then Wordpress is that the platform for you. Being easy to put in and use and powerful in its functionality it is positively becomng the platform of alternative for web site owners across the Internet.
Effective Website Content Writing And Its Impact To Your Online Business
Effective website content writing needs excellent research skills as well as excellent SEO writing ability. When properly done, it will generate website traffic by increasing your website’s search engine ranking. Effective website content writing requires concentration on important factors that include the relevance of the content to the product or service being promoted, the use of keywords appropriate for the content, the usefulness of the content to online readers, and loads more.
Useful and informative content can reward you well in your online business. High quality content always ensures website traffic and improved rankings in the search engines. Effective website content writing can spark the interest of visitors to purchase your products or services. For your content writing needs, you may need to find a reliable content writing service to provide your website with fresh and unique content regularly. Remember that one of the requirements to effective SEO is providing your website with up to date content.
Writing content for your website in order to increase your sales and revenue is not easy to do. To succeed, you must be able to create content that is both useful as well as effective. This task can be provided by a good content writing service. If you employ such service, you may be able to save a lot of time which you can use to focus on other aspects of your online business.
Some webmasters who attempt to create their own website content sometimes come up with very amateur looking and grammatically incorrect website content. Although this may not be always the result, having such content can hurt your website credibility. If you do not have the confidence that you can come up with good content, the wise decision to make is to hire a content writing service. Website content writing should be given careful consideration because this is a very important aspect of your online business.In the end it comes down to outsourcing. Instead of trying to be a Jack of all trades and do everything, outsource your content creation so that you can focus instead on the activities that truly make you money.
Internet Trends of the Past
Website design and development trends come and go quickly. It is always a good idea to keep your website up with current trends while not sacrificing any usability. The following 3 items are old website trends! If you are using any of these currently, consider a re-work of your site. If you’re getting ready to develop a new website, think about it long and hard before doing any of these!….
Splash Pages
A splash intro page is a welcome page. It is the source page a visitor sees when coming to your site. There is usually some kind of animation that welcomes the visitor, allowing them to watch the whole thing or “skip” and enter the site. While these can look good and might contain some data, here are a couple of reasons why this OLD trend no longer works:
- Splash Pages Annoy Visitors – People coming to your website are looking for information quick and fast. Splash Intro Pages waste your visitor’s time by forcing the visitor to take unnecessary steps to get at the content of your website. The main goal of a website is to provide easily accessible information to visitors and Splash Intro Pages stand in their way.
- Splash Pages Negatively Affect a Site’s Search Engine Ranking – Two of the most important things Search Engines look for are text-based content and text-based hyperlinks, neither of which is available on a splash intro page. The other goal of a website is to be found by Search Engines, and Splash Intro Pages make this difficult.
Music on your Website
Avoid adding music to your site! The only exception is websites created for musicians, entertainers, or multimedia-based sites. Background music was popular a few years back, but now it’s the sure mark of an amateur. If you’re still not convinced, here a few legitimate reasons not to have music on your site:
- Copyright Infringement – Unless you own the rights to the music, you run risk of being sued for copyright infringement.
- Slower Download Time – Music files are large and they cannot be compressed. They make your pages load slower and use up valuable bandwidth.
- People Have Different Tastes – What sounds good to you may annoy or offend someone else. Your website should be geared toward a wide viewing audience.
Flash Heavy Websites
If Flash is going to be used on a website, it needs to be used sparingly. The majority of your site should be HTML-based with only a few Flash elements to create visual interest. Here’s why:
- Search Engine Optimization – Websites made entirely in Flash are almost invisible to search engines. This means, even with specialized SEO, your website may not show up in Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other search engine’s results.
- Flash Lowers Usability – It requires the viewer to download software in order to view it. Although most people have Flash Player installed on their computers, if your site needs to reach a broad audience, the pros and cons of using Flash must be carefully weighed.
- Slower Download Time – Flash pages load slower, which can turn viewers away from your site.
So what does all of this mean? You can have a fresh and interesting website without some of these features. Using the most current trends and making a commitment to update and refresh your site on a regular basis will help ensure that the search engines can find you and that you won’t drive visitors away!
Hello world!
Well, here goes. Although I have designed and helped many people get started blogging, I have never started one of my own. I have tried to many times, but keep getting interupted by one thing or the other.
I will try to keep things relevant, but I won’t guarantee something about baseball, or my children, or some rant I have about the way our government does things, won’t pop out every now and then.
I have been designing, develpoing, and marketing websites for well over 15 years now, so I hope to write some things that will be helpful to those trying to navigate their way around the internet. If you have any questions or comments, all are welcome.
