Ed Bott is a freelance technical journalist and book author. All work that Ed does is on a contractual basis.

Since 1994, Ed has written more than 25 books about Microsoft Windows and Office. Along with various co-authors, Ed is completely responsible for the content of the books he writes. As a key part of his contractual relationship with publishers, he gives them permission to print and distribute the content he writes and to pay him a royalty based on the actual sales of those books. Ed’s books are currently distributed by Que Publishing (a division of Pearson Education) and by Microsoft Press.

On occasion, Ed accepts consulting assignments. In recent years, he has worked as an expert witness in cases where his experience and knowledge of Microsoft and Microsoft Windows have been useful. In each such case, his compensation is on an hourly basis, and he is hired as a witness, not an advocate.

Ed does not own stock or have any other financial interest in Microsoft or any other software company. He owns 500 shares of stock in EMC Corporation, which was purchased before the company’s acquisition of VMWare. In addition, he owns 350 shares of stock in Intel Corporation, purchased more than two years ago. All stocks are held in retirement accounts for long-term growth.

Ed does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

The massive Flashfake attack on thousands of Mac computers has formally exposed the vulnerability of Apple’s operating system.

Kaspersky Lab security expert Costin Raiu

Kaspersky Lab security expert Costin Raiu explained that in the next few months, similar attacks will likely occur which exploit two main things: outdated software and the user’s lack of awareness.

The Russia-based Internet security company, however, has created a list of tips that can help Mac users ensure that their devices remain secure.

“If you follow these steps, keep everything updated and be aware of these attacks, your chances of becoming yet another random victim will be greatly diminished,” Raiu reminded.

1. Create a non-admin account for everyday activities — create a non-admin user where you only log in as administrator when you need to perform administrative tasks. This greatly helps to limit the damage from zero-day threats and drive-by malware attacks.

2. Use a Web browser that contains a sandbox and has a solid track record of fixing security issues in a prompt manner — Google Chrome is updated more often than Apple’s built-in Safari browser. Google Chrome also comes with a sandboxed version of Flash Player that puts up a significant roadblock for malicious exploits. It has also a silent, automatic update mechanism that removes the burden of patching security vulnerabilities.

3. Uninstall the standalone Flash Player — Adobe’s Flash Player has been a common target for hackers as it allows them to take complete control over target computers. Removing it will significantly lessen security risks.

4. Solve the Java problem — Java is also a preferred target for exploit writers looking to plant malware on your machine. It is recommended to have it completely uninstalled.

5. Run “Software Update” and patch the machine promptly when updates are available — Many of the recent attacks against Mac OS X took advantage of old or outdated software. Commonly exploited suites include Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader/Acrobat, and Oracle’s Java. It is recommended to update to 2011 as soon as possible. Be sure to apply the fixes and reboot the machine when necessary.

6. Use a password manager to help cope with phishing attacks — Mac comes with a built-in password manager, the “Keychain,” which generates unique and strong passphrases for a device’s resources. Whenever the cyber-criminals manage to compromise one account, they will immediately try the same password everywhere — GMail, Facebook, eBay, PayPal and so on. Hence, having a unique strong password on each resource is a huge boost to your online security.

7. Disable IPv6, AirPort, and Bluetooth when not needed — Turn off connectivity services when not in use, or when not required. These include IPv6, AirPort and Bluetooth — three services that can be used as entry points for hacker attacks.

8. Enable full disk encryption (MacOS X 10.7+) or FileVault — In MacOS X Lion, Apple updated their encryption solution (FileVault) and added full disk encryption. Now known as “FileVault 2”, this has the advantage of securing the entire disk instead of just your home folder and can be very useful if your laptop gets stolen.

9. Upgrade Adobe Reader to version “10” or later — Adobe Reader is also a preferred target of cybercriminals. Version 10 includes numerous security enhancements which make it a lot safer than any previous versions.

10. Install a good security solution – It is no longer true that “Macs do not get viruses.” After six years, the situation has changed considerably. The Flashback trojan which appeared in September 2011 caused a huge outbreak in March 2012, which amounted for over half a million infected users worldwide. Thus, a security solution is absolutely required for any Mac user. One can easily download and install a trial of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac.

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Glenn Mangham, the Facebook hacker who stole the social network’s source code, has gone public with a deeper explanation of how he penetrated the website.

The 26-year-old student, of York, posted a lengthy writeup on his blog and a video, saying that he accepts full responsibility for his actions and that he did not think through the potential ramifications.

“Strictly speaking what I did broke the law because at the time and subsequently it was not authorised,” Mangham wrote. “I was working under the premise that sometimes it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.”

Mangham implied he meant to contact Facebook once he had noticed the social networking site had observed his intrusions, which he did little to hide. He didn’t use proxy servers because he said it made auditing take longer due to the time delay between each request made to a server. He was also hoping that even when he got caught, Facebook would let him off the hook.

That didn’t happen. He was charged and eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of unauthorised access to computer material and unauthorised modification of computer data, according to The York Press.

Mangham was sentenced to eight months in prison in February, but the sentence was reduced to four months by an appeals court earlier this month. He was then eligible for release, subject to electronic monitoring and restrictions on his internet use.

Mangham used a vulnerability to download Facebook’s source code, arguably the company’s most valued and secret intellectual property.

Mangham portrayed himself as a security researcher who continued to probe Facebook because he wanted to look deeper for other security issues, since most systems have “a tough outer shell and a soft inside.” He wrote that in the past he had been paid by Yahoo for finding vulnerabilities.

He said he took steps to prevent damage to Facebook’s systems, hard-coding a delay in scripts he used to extract the source code to prevent “throttling of the server and impeding its availability.”

After he knew Facebook was on his trail, Mangham wrote he “panicked because I knew how bad it looked without sufficient context.” He maintained that “almost nobody” knew he had a copy of the site’s source code, and that he kept it “physically detached from the internet.”

“In many respects, it was better secured than the original,” Mangham wrote.

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Mangham’s copy of the source code would surely have been of interest to cybercriminals who attempt to use Facebook to perpetuate scams. But he wrote he had no intention of selling the code.

“It is also worth mentioning that I had the source code for just over three weeks with absolutely nothing to prevent me from making copies and redistributing it, this was more than enough time to have caused significant damage to Facebook or to find a buyer, if that had ever actually been my intention but quite clearly it was not,” Mangham wrote.

“When you consider that the only thing that stood between Facebook and potential annihilation were my ethics then I think the fact that it’s all still in good working order should serve as some proof that I’m really not one of the bad guys,” he wrote.

The hacker who stole Facebook’s source code has gone public with a deeper explanation of how he penetrated the world’s most popular social network.

Glenn Mangham, of York, England, posted a lengthy writeup on his blog and a video, saying that he accepts full responsibility for his actions and that he did not think through the potential ramifications.

“Strictly speaking what I did broke the law because at the time and subsequently it was not authorized,” Mangham wrote. “I was working under the premise that sometimes it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.”

Mangham implied he meant to contact Facebook once he had noticed the social-networking site had observed his intrusions, which he did little to hide. He didn’t use proxy servers because he said it made auditing take longer due to the time delay between each request made to a server. He was also hoping that even when he got caught, Facebook would let him off the hook.

That didn’t happen. He was charged and eventually pleaded guilty to three counts of unauthorized access to computer material and unauthorized modification of computer data, according to The Press newspaper in York.

Mangham was sentenced to eight months in prison in February, but the sentence was reduced to four months by an appeals court earlier this month. He was then eligible for release, subject to electronic monitoring and restrictions on his internet use.

Mangham used a vulnerability to download Facebook’s source code, arguably the company’s most valued and secret intellectual property.

Mangham portrayed himself as a security researcher who continued to probe Facebook because he wanted to look deeper for other security issues, since most systems have “a tough outer shell and a soft inside.” He wrote that in the past he had been paid by Yahoo for finding vulnerabilities.

He said he took steps to prevent damage to Facebook’s systems, hard-coding a delay in scripts he used to extract the source code to prevent “throttling of the server and impeding its availability.”

After he knew Facebook was on his trail, Mangham wrote he “panicked because I knew how bad it looked without sufficient context.” He maintained that “almost nobody” knew he had a copy of the site’s source code, and that he kept it “physically detached from the internet.”

“In many respects, it was better secured than the original,” Mangham wrote.

Mangham’s copy of the source code would surely have been of interest to cybercriminals who attempt to use Facebook to perpetuate scams. But he wrote he had no intention of selling the code.

“It is also worth mentioning that I had the source code for just over three weeks with absolutely nothing to prevent me from making copies and redistributing it, this was more than enough time to have caused significant damage to Facebook or to find a buyer, if that had ever actually been my intention but quite clearly it was not,” Mangham wrote.

“When you consider that the only thing that stood between Facebook and potential annihilation were my ethics then I think the fact that it’s all still in good working order should serve as some proof that I’m really not one of the bad guys,” he wrote.

Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com