"Color Picker" Browser Extension Becomes Malware
Recently, several articles have been published about several browser extensions that have started shipping malware. Many of these extensions were previously benign and were “trusted” and “verified” by the browser vendors.
This article focuses more on one of the C&C domains used by the extension:
hxxp(s)://admitclick.net.
Low-Hanging Fruit
I swear I’ve seen this domain before, or maybe I’m thinking of
doubleclick.net, in any case, domains that have “click” in them set of my
alarm bells.
Windows Update Error 0x80070780
These last two months a couple of the servers I maintain at work were failing to install the monthly update rollup. Usually when updates start failing, we tend to reach for a server rebuild instead of troubleshooting the black box that can be Windows Updates – after all the error messages and codes they display to end users aren’t exactly… descriptive. This particular error code doesn’t make Microsoft’s list of common errors and mitigation.
Optional Parameters Required to Close WebSockets in Safari Without Errors
At work, I wrote some JavaScript to do a quick test to make sure a WebSocket connection can be made from our users’ computers. We’re a Citrix shop, and most of our users use the HTML5 client, which requires WebSockets to work.
If a WebSocket can’t connect, or an error is thrown, a message is shown to encourage the user to reach out to their IT department to resolve whatever firewalls or security software might be in the way.
GitHub Pages + Jekyll, a poor choice
Some of you will say that using GitHub in the first place is a poor choice, and you’d be correct.
GitHub, and in fact Jekyll, would like you to believe that GitHub is a perfectly fine place for hosting your Jekyll site, and it is, provided you want to do absolutely nothing fancy. As, for reasons I’m not sure GitHub has publicized, they lock down what plugins you can use, and if you’re not using an approved plugin, you’re SOL.
YouTube Continues Its War on Its Users and the Planet
Even though the YouTube app on my Apple TV hasn’t been updated since December 7, 2023 (version 4.22.01), YouTube is still able to change how their app works. This is nothing new and apps have been able to change their behavior without publishing a new version to an app store.
I believe that most good developers want to write good software, that gives the user a choice, and works for the user. Google either isn’t hiring any of these people, or are able to make them forget their convictions for that good Google paycheck.1
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