The Facts About Ebola: How The Disease Can (And Can’t) Be Spread

In the wake of recent developments involving the ongoing outbreak of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, officials from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reaching out to make certain that people have the facts about the dangerous viral disease. On September 30, CDC tests confirmed… Read the rest of this entry »

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The Politics Of Disaster Relief

By Art Gallagher, artvg@aol.com

When disaster hits, natural or man made, Americans put aside their differences and come together to handle the emergency.

We saw it with 9-11. Most recently in New Jersey we saw it with Superstorm Sandy.

Once the emergency is over and the federal money is flowing, the politics…partisanship and patronage starts.  We saw it with 9-11. We’re living it with Sandy.

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FEMA Makes A Deal With Russian Emergency Ministry

By Art Gallagher

Photo courtesy of The Ministry of Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Consequences of Natural Disasters

During the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it gave me and my neighbors great comfort when we were greeted by State Police Officers from Mississippi and Illinois when were coming back to Highlands.  It felt good to know that fellow Americans from far away were here for us in our time of need;  that trained police and other first responders were here to protect our lives and property along side our local police and first responders.

I’m not sure I would have felt as comforted if I had to pass through a checkpoint manned by armed Russian soldiers or police to get to my home.

That could happen in future disasters under an agreement that FEMA signed with the Russian Emergency Ministry last week, according to a press release by EMERCOM of Russian.

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Computer Security Experts: Disable Java Unless You Know You Need It

By Art Gallagher

Oracle released a fix to the Java vulnerability we reported last night.     The company said another update is due out “soon.”  You can access the fix here.

Or, you can do what multiple computer security experts are suggesting and disable or uninstall Java unless you know you need it.

MoreMonmouthMusings is not a tech site and doesn’t pretend to be.   If you want more technical information, we recommend:

KrebsOnSecurity

arstechnia

Computerworld

Mashable

NakedSecurity

ZDNet: Security experts on Java: Fixing zero-day exploit could take ‘two years’

Technical comments from anonymous sources are not welcome on this post. If you are a known commenter with a valid email address, your contributions are welcome.  If you are a new commenter who wants to contribute technical information, your comment will be moderated until your identity is verified.

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Department of Homeland Security Issues Warning To Computer Users

By Art Gallagher

If you’ve been surfing the net over the last few days,  you are very likely at risk for identity theft.  Your networks could be at risk. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that hackers have discovered and are exploiting a flaw in Java security that could allow the installation of malicious software and malware on your computer.

DHS is recommending that computer users disable or uninstall Java until further notice.

Most anti-virus, firewall and malware detection programs are not preventing this vulnerability from being exploited.

For instructions on disabling or uninstalling Java click here.

This is a serious problem that has not yet been widely reported in the media.

For more detailed information, read this article by Brian Krebs at KrebsOnSecurity.com

UPDATED: Computer Experts Recommend Disabling Java Unless You Know You Need It

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