Why A Little Prevention Can Go A Long Way: Taking A Look At Apple’s Newest Security Glitch

Security issues are always problematic, nerve wracking, and potentially dangerous. While we might expect that non-tech savvy people have unsecured operating systems, even tech companies with a long history and respectable reputation aren’t immune when it comes to making a mistake regarding security.

In late November, when the news of a security breach spread quickly, Apple had little time to find a way to fix the potentially dangerous problem on the Mac OS High Sierra. Just in case you were offline or disconnected from the major comings and goings of the tech world, here’s a brief synopsis of what happened.

A Major Scare on Mac OS High Sierra

Gaining full access to a computer system should never be easy. Unfortunately, when a glitch occurred in High Sierra’s security, virtually any user could replace a username and password with “root” whenever prompted to enter in secure information.

What is “root” and why is it a big deal? According to Apple, the user account named “root” is a superuser (or a Mac administrator) who has reading and writing privileges to other parts of the computer, which includes files in other Mac OS user accounts.

Normally, the “root” user is disabled and you can enable certain functions after following a long sequence of steps. When any High Sierra user had access as a Mac Administrator, this made systems extremely vulnerable (especially on computers where there were multiple users).

While many users weren’t interested in admin privileges or didn’t feel threatened because they are the only one who uses the computer, it was a big security scare that needed a fast fix. Apple was able to remedy the issue, with little criticism, and for now, High Sierra is operating as normal, which is a huge relief for Apple and its users, alike.

What Do We Learn From This Security Scare? 

Not only do we learn that even professional, knowledgeable, and reputable companies make mistakes, but having extra security on your computer, such as programs like Total Av, can save you from spending money on fixing the issue or worrying about if any of your personal information is in someone else’s hands.

Many tech companies offer good security and have automatic updates for all of their users, but there’s nothing wrong with taking the initiative to make your computer as secure as possible.

While Apple may have learned its lesson to tighten up its security, there’s always a chance that another security scare, much like the High Sierra debacle, can arise at any moment and make millions of computer users at risk of a security breach.

If you add a little extra security to your computer your computer and your information will stay safe is all other security measures fail. Worried that you may be “too protected?” When it comes to securing your computer, and all the information on it, there’s no such thing as being too protected.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

This is something every computer owner dreads. No one wants to leave their PC vulnerable to viruses, malware, or theft of personal information. Unfortunately, this is all too common, not just for Windows users but for Mac users as well. With more and more tech lovers choosing to purchase Apple products, it is essential that your computer is protected. But don’t worry, there are many antivirus programs to choose from these days, and some are more effective than others. Not sure which to choose? Then we might have the suggestion for you. This review of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac will help you narrow down the search.

You want your computer to be fast, efficient, and protected, and Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac delivers on all three. Not only does it work to block and remove adware, detect malware, and scan your computer effectively, but also it does not slow down your computer. Many of us put off that important computer scan for one simple reason. We have work to do and need our computer running quickly, but most antivirus programs slow down absolutely everything. Even something as simple as opening up your web browser can feel like a time-consuming task. Not with Bitdefender. It does not negatively affect the speed of your computer, which means you can get your work done and keep your computer safe and protected.

It doesn’t end there, however. There are many other positive aspects of this antivirus program, such as accuracy. Independent tests have shown that Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac detected 100% of on-demand malware and 96.5% of on-access malware. Why is this significant? Both of these scores are well above the industry average (which is 91.3% and 91.2%, respectively). This antivirus program does not perform a quick surface scan. It goes above and beyond. What does that mean exactly? You can feel good knowing that the program is giving you an in-depth, complete, and accurate virus scan. That will lead to some much deserved peace of mind.

Perhaps one of the best features of this antivirus program is the Autopilot. You just turn on Autopilot and that’s it; the Bitdefender program automatically monitors your computer throughout the day. It pays attention to any and all changes, and this ensures that your computer is always protected. Just like the rest of this streamlined design, the Autopilot feature is simple and easy to use. All you need to do is click on a button. From that point on, you won’t have to deal with any irritating pop up windows and reminders. Plus your computer will continue to run at its normal speed, no slowing down and no hassle.

So what is the verdict? Is Bitdefender Antivirus a good choice? If you are looking for a solid antivirus program, then this is it. Bitdefender Antivirus is simple, easy to use, fast, effective, and it has handy additional features like Autopilot. You will never have to worry again! Keeping your computer - and all of your private information - safe has never been easier. This antivirus program allows you to stop, scan, and move on with your day.

Three Entry Points for Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting (XSS) can be more of an annoyance than a serious threat in some instances. However, there are circumstances where XSS is used for malicious purposes, where hackers may easily exploit your information and wreak havoc. This can be especially dangerous to your sensitive data if your website contains vulnerabilities that welcome exploits.

According to a report by Symantec, 84 percent of the security vulnerabilities documented by this security expert were attributed to XSS committed on websites in 2007. It has been concluded that at least 68 percent of existing websites for that year were vulnerable to XSS attacks.

It is good practice for developers and testers to be fully aware of the possibility that every one of your data entry points could be targeted for an XSS attack. Web applications are at high risk for malicious actions committed through the:

• Hijacking of user accounts
• Access to sensitive data and ability to modify that data
• Bypassing of controls for access
• Presentation of fraudulent content

The Most Common Entry Point

Session cookies are the most common way that XSS is used to exploit user information. A session cookie is used to store the user’s identity while logged into a website. If another site is opened while logged into the first website and XSS is present, the second website could hijack the session cookie from the first. The hijacker would be able to use the session cookie in their browser, in addition to using the information to impersonate the user on the initial website. Depending upon the nature of the first website that the session cookie has been hijacked from, the results could be very damaging.

Examples include:

• If the user is logged into a banking website, the hacker could use the session cookie to impersonate the user and conduct transactions that will remove cash from the user’s bank account.
• Banking information can be accessed from shopping sites and allow the hacker to make purchases with that information.

Additional XSS Entry Points for Web Applications

Forms. Web forms such as login forms, if improperly coded can be vulnerable to XSS. If the hacker takes advantage of this vulnerability and injects a script into the login form, the script will send them the user’s password—allowing hackers access to the user’s account where changes or purchases could be made.

Examples include:

• If a login form is compromised for a shopping website, a hacker could then impersonate the user and make purchases using whatever pre-stored means of payment are entered into the account.
• With so many users neglecting to follow the best practices with password security, the hacker could potentially access many different websites just by assuming that the credentials for each are the same.

URLs. If a hacker sends an email to a user with what appears to be a legitimate URL, could infact be a malicious script that is embedded within the URL. Once the user has been lured to the legitimate site, they log in and the script sends the session cookie to the hacker.

Examples include:

• An attack such as this can also be attributed to postings on social networking websites. The hacker could post a message with XSS code hidden within it. An unsuspecting user clicks on the URL and their information is sent to the hacker who can then steal their credentials and make changes to their account.
• The hacker could impersonate the user and post messages on social network websites that are malicious in nature, possibly resulting in the user being banned from the website

Best Ways to Avoid XSS Attacks

By identifying vulnerabilities for XSS attacks on your websites, you are taking the first step toward preventing and mitigating the problems that could result. Developers can reduce their risk of XSS attacks by adopting the following practices:

• Validating output by sanitizing data HTML encoding to eliminate malicious characters.
• Avoiding inserting user-controlled data in script code and reducing the amount of allowed HTML.
• Using server-side validation to detect request containing malicious exploits.

XSS is more common than many users realize, with vulnerabilities discovered even across major brands. Developers using sound XSS practices and thoroughly testing for vulnerabilities save end users from the potentially devastating effects of an attack via XSS.


Fergal Glynn is the Director of Product Marketing at Veracode, an award-winning application security company specializing in secure software supply chain and other security breaches with effective risk assessment tools like secure software supply chain toolkit.

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of GFI for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
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