[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, July 2, 2010

[Monique Yeaton]

Enjoy the July 4th holiday. The newsletter is off next week so I hope you stay safe and enjoy the warm weather!


In this issue:

1. Adobe Releases Security Updates for Reader & Acrobat
2. Online Security When School's Out


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1. Adobe Releases Security Updates for Reader & Acrobat
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On June 29, Adobe published its security updates for Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat which were originally scheduled for July 13. Besides fixing a 25-day old zero-day vulnerability in the embedded Flash Player that Adobe ships with Reader, the updates fix 16 other vulnerabilities.

Affected systems:

Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.3.2 and earlier

Read the story here:
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/adobe-plugs-security-holes-in-pdf-reader-acrobat/6770>

Your system may prompt you to install the update or you can find the latest update of these products on the Adobe site here:
<http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/>


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2. Online Security When School's Out
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At home my online service provider is Comcast. The company recently sent out a communication highlighting some items to be aware of regarding online security. 

This is not meant to be a plug for Comcast. Regardless of the service provider you use at home, the information listed in the communication I received would benefit any family that wants to remain worry-free over the summer while kids are out of school, so I'm sharing it with you here:

Security Suites: Comcast provides a security suite for online protection to its customers at no additional charge. Find out if your service provider offers online security tools with your Internet package that helps block malware, spam and other cyber threats.

Family Tools: Comcast recommends a few tools you can download to make sure your kids are visiting safe websites and don't get into any trouble while sharing information with their "friends." Norton Online Family (https://onlinefamily.norton.com) and KidZui (kidzui.com) are the ones that Comcast recommends and there may be others you can download for free or a small fee from family-friendly websites.

Teaching Your Kids Safety: Keep your kids safe while they learn something new at the same time. Comcast suggests having them take the Cyber Summer Safety Challenge sponsored by Comcast/McAfee (http://security.comcast.net/get-smart/protect-your-family/Cyber-Summer-Safety.aspx). 

Staying Updated as a Parent: Finally, if you as a parent don't understand the threats, it will be difficult to keep your children from making fatal mistakes while surfing online. Learn about social networking dangers and how to avoid dangerous sites that can steal your personal information or download something nasty to your computer at home, and stay up to date with the latest software security updates. After all, your home computer is likely where you do your bills, store your photos, and file other personal correspondence. 

These additional resources may help you in your effort to protect you computer and family:

The National Cyber Security Alliance (Staysafeonline.org) has many suggestions for teaching children to protect themselves and their computer from online threats. Other sites to check out: iSafe.org and netsmartz.org.
Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org) - as president of this organization, Marsali Hancock speaks nationally and internationally on digital citizenship issues (safety, security and ethics/responsibility); the organization also addresses standards and priorities for K-12 educators.
Check with your cable TV & internet service provider to find out what special security tools and services they offer. These are security services by the big three in the Boston area: Comcast (http://security.comcast.net), AT&T (http://www.att.com/gen/sites/smartlimits?pid=8950) and Verizon (http://www.verizon.net/central/vzc.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=vzc_help_safety).

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Find current and older issues of Security FYI Newsletter: <http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/ehBB>


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






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