hit-toques.com

Monday, January 2, 2006

Microsoft Windows metafiles have been discovered to be a vector for computer viruses, as they are treated as image files, but can execute machine code. Windows metafiles often use the extension .wmf files, but they may also execute if their extension is .jpeg, .png or any other common image extension.

This vulnerability affects any Windows software which displays images, including instant messenger software, email clients, and web browsers. Firefox reduces the vulnerability by asking a user before executing Windows metafiles, but metafiles masquerading as another format will still be executed automatically by the operating system.

Microsoft has not yet issued a patch for the vulnerability, prompting Ilfak Guilfanov to release an unofficial patch. Microsoft’s security advisory recommends unregistering shimgvw.dll to disable handling of Windows MetaFiles. Critics point out that shimgvw.dll could become re-registered by malicious processes or other installations. They also suggest that malicious Windows Metafiles could merely remain “dormant” until shimgvw.dll is re-registered.

The exploit has been used to attack online forums which allow embedding of image files via <img> tags, prompting some gaming forums to disable <img> tags [1]. Any site accepting image media upload, such as avatars, will also be vulnerable if this site accepts .wmf files, possibly masquerading as another media file format.

The exploit has also been used by an instant messaging worm, which appears to provide a backdoor for later exploitation via an IRC bot [2].

The McAfee antivirus company said the WMF vulnerability is being exploited to drop over 30 variants of the Bifrose backdoor trojan horse, and exploitation by other malware is likely. McAfee estimates the first generation of such exploits had infected more than 6% of their customer base by 31 December 2005.

“The WMF vulnerability probably affects more computers than any other security vulnerability, ever,” said Mikko of F-Secure. [3]

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Members of Australia’s Health Services Union (HSU) will go on strike in Victoria next week in a dispute over stalled wage and career structure negotiations. Over 5000 physiotherapists, speech pathologists and radiation therapists will walk off the job next week, effectively closing the state’s 68 largest health services.

The strike will force the closure of intensive care units and emergency departments across the state.

It is feared the strike could continue into Easter.

National secretary of the HSU, Kathy Jackson said admissions would be crippled, while intensive care patients would have to be evacuated to New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia as hospitals will not be able to perform tests or administer treatment.

“When an ambulance shows up you can’t admit a patient without an X-ray being available, you can’t intubate them and you can’t operate on them,” she said.

“If something goes wrong in an ICU you need to be able to X-ray, use nuclear medicine or any diagnostic procedure,” said Ms Jackson.

Ms Jackson said the HSU offered arbitration last year, but the state government refused. “They’re not interested in settling disputes, they hope that we are just going to go away.”

“We’re not going away, we’ve gone back and balloted the whole public health workforce in Victoria, those ballots were successful, 97 percent approval rating,” she said.

The HSU is urging the government to commence serious negotiations to resolve the dispute before industrial action commenced.

The government has offered the union a 3.25 per cent pay increase, in line with other public sector workers but the union has demanded more, but stopped short of specifying a figure.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said the claim would be settled according to the government’s wages policy. “The Government is always willing and wanting to sit down and negotiate with the relevant organisations . . . we have a wages policy based around an increase of 3.25 per cent and, above that, productivity offset,” he told parliament.

The union claims it is also arguing against a lack of career structure, which has caused many professionals to leave the health service. Ms Jackson said wages and career structures in Victoria were behind other states.

Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said he was not in support of the proposed strike and called on the government to meet with unions. “There could not be a more serious threat to our health system than has been announced today.”

“We now have to do whatever is possible to stop this strike from proceeding,” he said.

The opposition leader will meet with the union at 11:30 AM today.

Victorian Hospitals Industry Association industrial relations services manager Simon Chant said hospitals were looking at the possible impact and warned that patients may have to be evacuated interstate if the strike goes ahead.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

On Saturday, a few hundred people attended a gaumutra party (cow urine party) to fight off COVID-19. The party was organised by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (All India Hindu Union) president Swami Chakrapani where the attendees consumed cow urine to prevent themselves from being infected by the coronavirus. Reuters estimated around 200 people attended the event held at the Indian capital city of New Delhi.

Speaking to Reuters, an attendee Om Prakash said, “We have been drinking cow urine for 21 years, we also take bath in cow dung. We have never felt the need to consume English medicine”.

A yajña (literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, or offering) was conducted at the start of the meeting and a poster of coronavirus, personified as an avatar of the Hindu god Narsimha, was displayed. At the event, ABHM president Chakrapani said “Coronavirus has come because of the people who kill and eat animals. When you kill an animal, it creates a sort of energy that causes destruction in that place”.

In February, Chakrapani said, “Corona is not a virus, but avatar for the protection of poor creatures. They have come to give the message of death and punishment to the one who eats them”.

COVID-19 was previously announced to be a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO’s situation report dated March 16, the virus claimed 6606 lives, and 167,515 cases were reported of this disease. The WHO’s website said: “While some western, traditional or home remedies may provide comfort and alleviate symptoms of COVID-19, there is no evidence that current medicine can prevent or cure the disease. The WHO does not recommend self-medication with any medicines, including antibiotics, as a prevention or cure for COVID-19.”

However, addressing the global leaders, Chakrapani proposed: “I request all the presidents and prime ministers of the world to take cow urine on a daily basis. You have all these scientists who don’t know the cure, we have the cure given to us by the gods”.

Chakrapani had said, “Corona was quiet in India because of yajña rituals. But these ignorant, arrogant Telangana ministers have challenged corona by killing animals and eating chicken in public, that there is a speculation of seeing the most formidable form of corona. Thus, these ministers should promptly seek forgiveness from corona, else it would be a disaster that noone can stop.” ^{((hi))Hindi language: ??????? ???? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???????? ?? ?? ?????, ??????? ????????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ????????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??, ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?????, ?????? ????? ?? ??????, ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????} Earlier this month, Chakrapani told ThePrint, “Just like we organise tea parties, we have decided to organise a gaumutra party, wherein we will inform people about what is coronavirus and how, by consuming cow-related products, people can be saved from it”.

Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and politicians of the Hindu-nationalist party Bharatiya Janta Party had previously cited the medicinal benefits of cow urine. Similar sentiment was shared by a Minister of Legislative Assembly from Assam earlier this month. Suman Haripriya of the Hajo assembly said “Coronavirus is an airborne disease and it can be cured by using gaumutra and cow dung.”

According to the reports by Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, there are at least 142 cases in India, of which three patients have died. 14 have recovered so far in the country. Multiple schools and colleges are closed across the country as a precautionary measure to slow down the spread of this virus. Passengers at airports are being screened to ensure safety.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Authorities say that “violent terrorists” attempted to blow up sites in the Xinjiang province of the country. Police say at least 11 people were killed, all except one were reported to be the attackers responsible for the blasts. Police say three more were arrested and another three are “still at large.”

Monsters and Critics.com quote Deutsche Presse-Agentur as saying witnesses on scene reported a plane flying over the town of Kuqa which was followed by 20 large “flashes”, but “no fire or smoke” which was then followed by “sporadic” gunfire. According to Xinhua the explosions occurred at about 3:20 local time (19:20 GMT) and 4:00 (20:00 GMT).

Despite the claims by police, Xinhua stated that authorities sealed off the town where the attacks have occurred and exchanged gunfire with the terrorists killing at least one while another, strapped with explosives, detonated himself. One other terrorist was injured and one was arrested. Military personnel were also reported to have been dispatched to the area. One early report stated that the government offices in Kuqa are unaware of any bombings.

The explosions, which witnesses report as home-made, were directed toward shopping centers, government buildings, hotels and military offices. At least two police cars were also destroyed by the blasts. Xinhua reports that the bombs were “bent pipes, gas canisters and liquid gas tanks.” One attacker drove a three-wheeled bike packed with explosives into the public safety building in Kuqa, which killed one security official and injured two civilians. Hours later, while police were hunting for more suspects, several terrorists began to throw bombs at them. Police killed two, while three others who were strapped with explosives detonated themselves.

Police and government officials refuse to confirm or deny the reports by Xinhua.

The Xinjiang region has a strong independence movement, largely in the form of 8 million Muslim Uyghurs. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement wishes to create an independent Islamic state out of part of what is currently Xinjiang. China has stated that the Uyghur separatists are the biggest potential terrorist threat to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

No one has claimed to be responsible for the blasts.