Alton(ius) Blom

Microsoft

How to Block or Disable Flash In Microsoft Office

In the January 2019 update of the Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) Information Security Manual (ISM) there is a new requirement to block Adobe Flash in Microsoft Office. This article takes you through how to make this configuration change.

Microsoft

Microsoft remove Spectre/Meltdown Anti-virus Compatibility Checks for Windows 10 Updates

As part of the March 2018 Security Updates Microsoft have quite quietly announced that the AV compatibility checks that previously stopped devices from receiving updates have been removed for Windows 10 devices.

Apple

"Apple has deprecated Quicktime" - Trend Micro

According to Trend Micro and their Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), Apple has deprecated QuickTime for Windows. This means they will no longer fix security vulnerabilities. This is interesting as I have been asking Apple, through their security email address and their new Twitter support

Nessus

How I use Nessus and Newsblur to stay current with vulnerabilities.

I like to keep up to date with what vulnerabilities are doing the rounds, what could affect me, and what my colleagues will be spending their time on. Over time I've adopted a process that uses the New Nessus Plugins information and the Newsblur

Microsoft

Microsoft come to the party with information on Windows 10 updates

Today Microsoft have improved the information they report on cumulative updates for Windows 10. Microsoft have stated that the change is in response to customer feedback. What was happening? Until now the new cumulative update process for Windows 10 has been lacking detailed information

Java

Oracle says 'bye, bye' to Java Plugin

Well there you have it, Oracle have come out and stated that they're deprecating the Java Plugin for Browsers. At the moment it's still a little unclear when that will be. They firstly state that JDK 9 will deprecate the browser plugin, but will

Secunia

Why is Apple's QuickTime and iTunes 'most exposed to threats'?

Due to Secunia's latest quarterly reports Apple is getting a lot of bad press for being the most vulnerable vendor. This post is a quick summary of my investigation into why this is the case. In the beginning ... In Secunia's Q2 2015 report iTunes

Secunia

Apple Quicktime won't update to 7.7.8 on Windows 8 & 10

Due to Secunia's latest report Apple is getting a lot of bad press for being the most vulnerable vendor. I believe this can partially be explained due to Apple not updating QuickTime on Windows 8 & 10. Update 2015-10-31: My original theory that the

TV

TV shows try so hard. AKA what's wrong with this IP address?

Don't you love how TV shows and Movies are able to quickly attribute an IP address to a person? Much to my wife's chagrin I frequently voice my frustration at the way TV shows and movies portray IT, hackers, Infosec, and those 'in the

Microsoft

EMET to the Rescue of MSXML 4.0

Hello MSXML 4, it's been a long time, nice to see you again. Looks like I'll have the last laugh [insert evil laugh here] As you can tell, my blog has become a bit of a one-trick pony. I've focused most of my writing

MSXML

Uninstall commands for MSXML 4.0

In light of MSXML 4.0 no longer being supported by Microsoft, here's a list of commands that will remove the MSXML 4.0 SP2 parser and MSXML 4.0 SP3 parser (sometimes known as msxml4), along with any updates that are installed. These

Secunia

And it's official, MSXML 4.0 SP3 is out of support!

As anyone who's been following my journey with MSXML 4.0 you'll be glad to know that there is a definitive answer from Microsoft. All versions of MSXML 4.0 (including SP2 and SP3) are no longer supported, and will no longer receive security

Nessus

MSXML 4.0 SP3 may still be in support

Update - 2014-07-15: All versions of MSXML 4.0 are no longer supported by Microsoft and will not receive any further security updates. If you don't need MSXML 4.0, you should uninstall it. If you require MSXML 4.0 you should, at a

MSXML

MSXML 4.0 SP3 is no longer supported (via MS14-033)

A quick skim through MS14-033 has led me to discover that my all time favourite piece of Microsoft Software, MSXML 4.0, has been unsupported since the 12th of April 2014. I've just had a quick browse over Microsoft's June Security Bulletins and noticed

Secunia

Statistics for unsupported MSXML 4.0 SP2 are not improving

Recently released statistics indicate that the patching of the end of life and unsupported MSXML 4.0 SP2 is not really improving. Secunia have just released their Quarterly Country statistics[1] where they use the data gathered from their private / home user product to

Offense

Offense or Defense?

"Rather than defense being offense's child - could offense be the less mature, younger sibling who can only break things?" Two differing views on Security have been presented to me in the last 24 hours. Add to that a conversation with my

Microsoft

MS09-043 - Another issue with Microsoft updates

In keeping with my previous post here's another situation where a patch for a vulnerable Microsoft product can't and won't automatically be applied. Similar to MSXML 4.0 SP2, this occurs with older software with publicly available exploits already written. This scenario, once again,

Microsoft

MSXML 4.0 SP2 - When Microsoft software can't and won't auto update

With the imminent end of support for Windows XP, I take a look at another unsupported Microsoft product. Microsoft's MSXML 4.0 SP2 has been out of support since 2010 but is still widely installed (some estimates are around 39.5 of home PCs

Digital Ocean

What to make of Digital Ocean's data scrubbing

It's always great to get your thoughts and decisions questioned. Yesterday, after sharing a meal and talking all things tech with a friend I was asked: @altonius_au interested to get your take on Digital Ocean's 'failure to scrub' old

Digital Ocean

Hosting a blog and it's initial security config

True to my earlier posting, procrastination has gotten the better of me. The last few weeks have been spent ironing out the configuration of the altonblom.com site (yes the site has moved permanently to https, more on that shortly). One of the other

Ghost

American Pie, an unlikely motivator for starting a blog

So here it begins. I started the process of creating a blog when the Black Friday sales were on. I started putting together a mental checklist of what I needed to do between then and now, including: Choose domain Register domain Investigate hosting options