how to avoid malware on flash drives

19.11.20: cyb/sec/how to avoid malware on flash drives:
co.quora:
. any computer is prone to infections from
visiting malware-infected websites or pdf's;
most usb peripherals contain firmware
that can be infected with malware,
so that a website can infect computer firmware;
then it can infect your flash drive firmware
which can then infect other computers.

bluff email ransomware for bitcoin# 1C2EbKJCZKtHMJawxBqyzZ9SHQVwRyfist

mis.cyb/sec/malware/
bluff email ransomware for bitcoin# 1C2EbKJCZKtHMJawxBqyzZ9SHQVwRyfist:
. this letter was in my spam
(Oct 6, 2019, 12:50 PM
subject: Hohe Gefahr. Konto wurde angegriffen.)
seeming to come from my own account;
but gmail warns there is no way to verify this;
it warns of a trojan but I use a chromebook,
which is not so prone to trojans.
. here is what the letter said
translated by google from german
(not necessarily the language of the attacker):

#NSA owns #linux even without #monolithic arch

2.19: cyb/sec/#NSA owns #linux even without #monolithic arch:
. I once thought the creator of linux
must be part of the NSA's conspiracy to
put vulnerabilities in open source:
he spurned the idea of a securable microkernel,
promoting instead the efficiency of a monolithic OS
written in the C programming language
which is notoriously difficult to secure .
. but if you look at all the other vulnerabilities
(such as USB support, and firmware rewritability),
a microkernel written in a safe language
would not have really mattered much .
. just look at what Chrome OS did with linux:
it removed many of the other vulnerabilities
and the linux core remains a survivor .

Defense sees cloud computing as insecure

news.cyb/sec/Defense sees cloud computing as insecure:
3.17: 3.29: summary:
. I'm interested in cloud computing primarily because
that is promoted by Google's Chrome OS platform;
however, what makes that platform most secure
is not so much that it relies on cloud computing,
but because it strictly controls the firmware
and this avoids advanced persistent malware .
. the usa's DoD (Dept of Defense) is moving to cloud computing
(saving money by outsourcing to private industry
instead of using DoD's own servers)
but they are not putting all their data there;
because, some of it is too sensitive .
. what they are hoping for
is that they can get private industry
to set up their servers on DoD property,
where physical access to the servers
can be monitored by the DoD .
. another issue is that top secret communications
are done on a network that is separate from
the public's internet .

@NafeezAhmed I love #google /AND/ the #NSA

1.23: news.pol/gemini/@NafeezAhmed I love google AND the NSA:
summary:
. I've been noticing that google's chromebook
is the only safe place to be
given today's firmware-based malware;
but also that it nudges you into cloud computing
which is an invasion of privacy .
. @NafeezAhmed recently wrote an article
asserting that google and other cloud suppliers
were nurtured by the CIA-NSA-MDDS program
in order to implement pervasive surveillance .

chromebook #ChromeOS #VerifiedBoot

12.12: web.cyb/sec/chrome's verified boot:

Verified boot provides a means of
getting cryptographic assurances
that the Linux kernel, non-volatile system memory,
and the partition table are untampered with
when the system starts up.
This approach is not "trusted boot"
as it does not depend on a TPM device
or other specialized processor features.
Instead, a chain of trust is created
using custom read-only firmware
that performs integrity checking on
a writable firmware.
The verified code in the writable firmware
then verifies the next component in the boot path,  and so on. 

11.8: news.cyb/chrome/doing well while ms declines:
. chromebooks grow while microsoft shrivels?
. promising better security makes a diff .
12.25: best-seller on amazon:
. the best selling laptop on amazon.com [2013.1]
was the Samsung ARM-powered, Linux-based Chromebook.

7.28: news.cyb/chrome/sec
/some vulnerabilities found but many avoided:
application-sandboxes-a-pen-testers-perspective .
see also pdf .

. Chrome OS kernel exploits are not easy,
but are of medium difficulty to pull off;
OS user mode exploits are very difficult,
and every other penetration test was
not even applicable to Chrome OS
-- these included off the shelf exploits,
and various sandbox leakages:
keylogging, remote webcam/mic access,
clipboard hijack, screen scraping,
file stealing, network shares access . 

printers for #EMP -proof #backup

12.12: summary:

. given that the policies of USA-Israel
are inciting such hostilities from
both dictators (China, Russia, Iran)
and muslims (Iran, Syria, ...),
there is a good chance USA will get
at least one EMP bomb in the next 3 years
that will destroy every electronics device
so that electronic backups of information
are not accessable until one can
import and afford another computing device .
. in the meantime,
a printout of all needed information
would come in quite handy .

you want my wot?!

11.4: pos.cyb/net.mywot/you want my wot?!
. after I found out I really need to
integrate mywot into chrome browser
in order to post reviews of sites;
I was not so sure I felt safe
having them read my every link;
and, with malware so good at cracking any site,
what is the purpose of a service like mywot
that pretends today's safe site
is likely to be tomorrow's safe site ?
12.15:
. simply trust who you have to;
and have separate virtual machines
for each level of trust;
eg, have at least these levels:
# banks,
# the pit for everyone else .
. when I want to use my bank,
I restart my chromebook
to have its verified boot flush the malware .

#badBIOS @dragosr vs Mac, Linux and PC

4: cyb/sec/#badBIOS/ 
30: summary:
. malware that spreads via usb devices
can infect other usb devices,
and the problem is not the os;
it is the hardware and usb standards
which expose the os to malware infection .
. Dragos Ruiu talks about a mac infection
which sounds like the one I got;
it prevented me from reinstalling the os;
and it started infecting my chromebook,
but the chrome os was able to clean it up .
. my 2005 ubuntu laptop was not so lucky .
. a laptop in my future that will likely do well
is one running the xen hypervisor,
hardened with the Qubes OS .
(see #Qubes #Xen vs Dragos Ruiu's #badBIOS).