[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, June 27, 2011

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:


1. McAfee Security for Mac Hotfixes Available for MIT

2. Mac OS X Update Released

3. Tip of the Week: Securing Your Gmail Account



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1. McAfee Security for Mac Hotfixes Available for MIT

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On June 23rd, Information Services and Technology (IS&T) released a series of hotfixes for McAfee Security 1.0 for Macintosh.


McAfee Security 1.0 is the virus protection application recommended by IS&T for users of Macintosh OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and OS X 10.5 (Leopard). McAfee Security for Macintosh replaces McAfee's VirusScan for Macintosh.


To improve the performance and stability of McAfee Security 1.0, IS&T recommends that all McAfee Security Suite users install the newly released hotfixes.

Instructions for downloading and installing are available in Hermes: <http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/BgCtAQ>


If you use a Macintosh and don't have McAfee Security 1.0 on your computer, IS&T strongly recommends that you install this virus protection software. Note that after downloading the software, the hotfixes will also need to be installed.

You can download it from IS&T's website: <http://ist.mit.edu/services/software/macsecurity/1x>


For help with installing or using McAfee Security 1.0, contact the IS&T Help Desk at helpdesk at mit.edu<mailto:helpdesk at mit.edu> or 617.253.1101. You can also submit a request online: <http://ist.mit.edu/support#form>



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2. Mac OS X Update Released

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Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.8 last week to address various security and stability concerns including:


 *   An enhancement to the Mac App Store in preparation for Mac OS X Lion
 *   Resolve an issue that may cause Preview to unexpectedly quit
 *   Identify and remove known variants of the virus Mac Defender
 *   Improve support for IPv6
 *   Improve VPN reliability


Users should receive the update automatically through their Software Update tool. You can also download it from the Internet here:

<http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1400>


More information on the update can be found here:

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4561>



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3. Tip of the Week: Securing Your Gmail Account

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Earlier this month Google announced that a hacker obtained access to hundreds of Gmail counts, including those of senior U.S. government officials. Account holders found that someone sent emails to all their email contacts, with bogus messages, such as attempts to extract funds from their friends and acquaintances (your classic "mugged in London" scam).


Google provides a new opt-in security feature for their customers, called 2-step verification. It makes your Google account significantly more secure by helping to verify that you're the real owner of the account. This verification process requires two independent factors for authentication, much like you might see on your banking website.


The Google Blog explains how you can set this up on your account:

<http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/advanced-sign-in-security-for-your.html>


In addition, it is a good idea to:

 *   choose a unique, hard to crack password
 *   make sure you enable the "always use https" option in your Gmail settings
 *   set the External Content setting to "ask before displaying external content"
 *   check to see if your Gmail messages are being forwarded without your permission
 *   check the "last account activity" information, provided in small print at the bottom of each webpage on Gmail



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Read all Security FYI Newsletter articles online at http://securityfyi.wordpress.com/.

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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Communications Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://ist.mit.edu/security


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