Even if You Don't Click, You Could be Victimized

Not all that long ago, it was easy to avoid malware, but that's no longer the case. "Don't click that link" is still essential advice, but it's not complete. Just visiting a trusted site can expose you to malware and in September links to malware-infected sites were being served by Google's DoubleClick ad network. Some of the threats are all but invisible to antivirus programs, too.

This campaign was of particular interest because it affected DoubleClick, which usually vets ads well. In this case, the user was passed through several locations on the way to the malware.

The initial link was served on an advertisement that offered the opportunity to purchase a report on a used vehicle if you had the car's VIN. The Malwarebytes blog described it this way: This ad looks legit but hides a silent redirection to an exploit page. Once again, no user interaction is required to trigger the redirection and anyone running an outdated Flash plug-in is at risk of getting exploited.

The key point is that the infection didn't depend on a user clicking the link. The malware used Javascript that was hidden within a Flash image. Users who had updated versions of Flash were safe, but computers running unpatched versions of Flash would have the malware installed.

That one reason is why it's important to install security updates provided by applications as well as security updates provided for the operating system.

Flash, in particular, is a commonly-used plug-in. You'll find a Flash application below that's used to play an interview with Jerome Segura, the senior security researcher at Malwarebytes. Flash is also the application that I use to stream the weekly podcast from the TechByter Worldwide website.

Segura says that the threat is probably worse than you think it is because it doesn't depend on your accidentally clicking a poisoned link ...

If your system doesn't support Flash, here is a direct link to the MP3 audio file.

Malwarebytes provides free and paid versions of antimalware and anti-exploit applications. I have used the free version of Malwarebytes Antimalware for several years and recently decided to shell out a few dollars for the paid version.

In a few weeks, I'll let you know what I think of the paid version in comparison to the free version.

Who Else Better to Team Up with Nielsen than Adobe

Nielsen, the TV ratings firm, and Adobe Systems say they'll work together to provide ratings services that go far beyond television sets. Some alliances make more sense than others and, at first glance, this one seems like genius. Nielsen may know television, but Adobe knows print, Web, and just about everything else.

Advertisers have probably noticed that television viewership has changed dramatically in the past decade. The old broadcast networks are often also-rans behind several cable-based networks. In addition, people can watch videos on computers, tablets, and phones. Advertisers are trying to figure out where to put their money and basic Nielsen ratings just don't provide the information they need.

Operations such as Netflix are also in competition with traditional networks because they're now creating their own programs. Recently, HBO (which is owned by Time Warner) announced a deal with CBS to create a system that will allow people to watch some programs without need for a cable television or satellite subscription.

But Nielsen ratings look only at the information they receive from viewers and earlier this month Nielsen had to admit that a database error probably resulted in wrong information being provided for several months of TV ratings for the broadcast networks.

And, of course, the two companies explained the arrangement in a video:

Short Circuits

Zoho Expands its Online Office Suite

Zoho has been around for nearly a decade with an assortment of cloud-based applications that's larger than what Google offers and now Zoho has announced plans to expand its offerings. Zoho's parent company has been in business for almost 20 years.

The expansion goes beyond word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and customer relations management applications. The new Zoho Subscriptions program will add Zoho Books, an accounting application.

Early in Zoho's history, the user interface varied significantly from one application to another. The company has taken a fiscally conservative approach to building the business, having never accepted venture capital. That is highly unusual. The privately held company apparently has no plans to provide a huge payout to the originators by going public and that is even more unusual.

Initially Zoho will offer a 6-month trial of both Zoho Subscriptions and Zoho Books for $50 per month (OK, $49 really) with no limit on transactions. Those who stick around after 6 months will pay $50 ($49) per month for a plan that covers the first 50 credit card transactions and charges $5 for every additional 50 transactions.

The accounting process handles invoicing and payment information, then generates a receipt and reports the income to Zoho Books. The integration process is key to the new program and the goal is to eliminate situations that require users to enter the same information in several locations.

Zoho has both free and paid services and you'll find them all on the Zoho website.

Something Unusual at Yahoo: Profits

Yahoo surprised Wall Street this week by posting profits that were considerably ahead of what analysts expected. CEO Marissa Mayer announced that mobile revenue exceeded $200 million in the 3rd quarter that she thinks the company will hit $1.2 billion for the year.

That's quite a change for a company that has been struggling. Yahoo when combined with Tumblr, which it owns, has nearly half a billion users on mobile devices. That's an increase of 17% from last year.

Mayer said most Yahoo business units are reporting better performance -- mobile, advertising, and services are all doing better. And the company still holds $43 billion in stock for China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The company is trying to determine how to obtain value from those investments and to do it in a way that won't incur a large tax debt.

Third quarter revenue was $1.15 billion, which beat Wall Street's projections by about $100 million. Excluding one-time income and stock compensation costs, the company reported 52 cents a share, which is close to double the 30 cents per share that analysts had expected.

The Alibaba and Yahoo Japan stock have been important in maintaining Yahoo's overall value. There has been talk of a merger between Yahoo and AOL, an idea that's been pushed by the Starboard Value hedge fund.

Bullying Is Alive and Well Online

A study by the Pew Research Center says that online harassment and bullying have affected more than half of all online users. The incivilities reported by Pew include threats of violence and anonymous e-mails.

One of the more visible incidents involved a critic of violent computer games. Anita Sarkeesian was forced to cancel a speech at Utah State University because the university could not guarantee her safety. Recently passed legislation in Utah explicitly allows concealed guns to be carried on college campuses.

The objective of the Pew survey was to quantify harassment in all forms on the Internet. This could range from relatively mild invidents (name calling, for example), but also includes stalking, physical threats, and sexual harassment.

Nearly 75% of survey respondents reported having witnessed harassment. Of those who had personally experienced harassment, a little over half said that it had been in a milder form. In total, about 40% of Internet users said they had been harassed in some way.

Pew surveyed 2800 adults, so the report doesn't touch on the problem of cyberbullying by teens. However, an earlier study (2012) found that teens were more likely than adults to witness such behavior on the Internet, and specifically on social-media sites.

Half of people who said they had been harassed also said that they didn't know the person who attacked them (based on the most recent incident). Surprisingly, particularly in light of recent news accounts, men reported harassment more often than women did.

CBS Goes Digital (Sort of)

Streaming video on demand. CBS. Should these terms be in the same sentence. Apparently some of the folks at Black Rock have decided that they should. As I mentioned in the Nielsen-Adobe account earlier, CBS has decided that streaming video is the future. Who will be next -- ABC? NBC?

All Access for $6 (OK, $5.99) per month will offer thousands of episodes of popular CBS shows, those currently on the air and others that aren't. Current-season shows will be available the day after they air. It's available now at CBS.com. Memo to marketers: Could marketing people who insist on prices that end with "9" or "99" please just get a life! You're not fooling anyone by saying that it costs $5.99 or $99 or $29.99. We know that it's really $6, $100, or $30 -- and probably more because of tax, shipping and handling, and whatever other "gotcha" fees you can add to the price.

CBS will also add a library of older programs and in 14 metro markets local CBS stations can be live streamed. Football broadcasts, though, will not be available.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves says that the service is a way to monetize the network's content "in the ways that viewers want it."

Some CBS programs are already available on Netflix.

Up to 6500 episodes of current and past programs will be available at any time for streaming. Current programs will come with ads, but the older programs will not.