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Online tools that help millions of Americans work from home may be exposing both workers and businesses to cybersecurity risks, a new report from the Department of Homeland Security has found.

Newly discovered malware, dubbed "Backoff," was found to have infiltrated computer networks through commonly used remote desktop software such as Microsoft's Remote Desktop, Apple Remote Desktop and Chrome Remote Desktop, says the report.

"Backoff" was used for a number of attacks on retailers, analysts found, and it was almost never detected by standard anti-virus software.

Hackers used it to retrieve customers' credit card data through several retailers' Point of Sale (PoS) systems, the Homeland Security report said without naming the retailers affected. Citing anonymous sources, the New York Times reported that they include Target, Neiman Marcus, P.F. Chang's, Sally Beauty Supply and Goodwill Industries International.

In the Target security breach last winter, hackers apparently gained access to the company's computers and PoS system through the network of a third-party vendor, later identified as a heating and refrigeration company that did business with Target.

Working with the Secret Service, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, and Chicago-based Trustwave Spiderlabs, experts found that several variations of "Backoff" have been active since October 2013, and have been linked to at least three separate forensic investigations. The malware's capabilities include logging keystrokes, uploading discovered data, updating malware and executing further malware.

The Homeland Security report also suggested some strategies to help prevent attacks by "Backoff" or other types of PoS malware. They include:

More than three million employees telecommuted as of 2012, according to data released by Global Workplace Analytics, and many use some version of the remote access software vulnerable to this security breach.

Now that details of "Backoff" have been published, Homeland Security says it expects companies will quickly update their anti-virus software to detect it.

But even after this particular security gap is addressed, Point of Sale systems will remain a tempting target for cybercriminals. According to a Symantec report released in February, attackers who steal credit card numbers as well as the cards' security codes from a retailer's PoS system can turn around and sell the data for up to $100 per card.

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Remote access software vulnerable to hackers

Handymen and gardeners to be cut from pensioners' homes across Hampshire

9:50am Thursday 31st July 2014 in News

PLANS to axe funding for gardening and handyman services to sheltered accommodation and frail pensioners homes across Hampshire were rubber-stamped yesterday.

Hampshire County Councils adult social care and public health boss Cllr Liz Fairhurst approved recommendations to pull the plug on the service in a bid to save 7.6m. It comes as the council faces a 102m budget black hole.

Other plans that were agreed included replacing emergency alarms fitted in properties with state-of-the-art telecare sensors.

When a pensioner is in trouble the sensors automatically contact a call centre, which in turn phones a nominated helper.

But only those in the greatest need will receive telecare, leaving hundreds of elderly residents across the county without the ability to summon emergency help.

Cllr Fairhurst said: Adult services must make 43m of savings by the end of 2015/16 and with our limited means, ensure that our services can continue to support those with the highest need, and are sustainable for the future.

Hampshire Age Concern chairman Chris Perry said he understood that the council had to balance its budget but the loss of services would impact negatively on older people.

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Handymen and gardeners to be cut from pensioners' homes across Hampshire

FLORHAM PARK Officials dream of giving the aging municipal pool a $1M makeover is inching closer to fruition.

Community Services Director Carl Ganger said Tuesday that the borough would accept bids for the work at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5.

The contract will be awarded sometime after that, possibly in September.

Borough Councilman William Zuckerman, the councils liaison to Gangers group, called the pending project exciting.

This is going to be exciting, he said Tuesday. Well be fixing a 50-year-old pool weve never done much with. Better, were using no taxpayer money for the work.

An ordinance allowing the borough to issue $950,000 in bond anticipation notes for the work was adopted in the spring. The remaining $50,000 will be taken from the boroughs capital improvement fund as down-payment.

Zuckerman said the work would begin soon after the contract is awarded, with the pool ready for the 2015 season.

Besides a new snack bar, improvements will include a new one-half meter dive stand with a 10-foot diving board, sand blasting the pools shell and the application of a new pool shell finish with swimming lane lines, installation of handicap lift chairs that are ADA compliant, a pressure testing pool, new concrete deck around the pool with an underground deck drainage system, and installation of a steel gutter circulation system with a surge tank to maximize rim flow gutter control.

Officials have wanted to upgrade the pool for some time.

A few years ago, now former Councilman David Wikstrom polled residents on whether the pool should have such extensive work performed. The job, however, was never done.

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Florham Park closer to pool makeover

Workers began mobilization of the $2 million project this week.

"The DDA project will have two distinct segments the 168th/Johnson intersection, which must be completed by Aug. 29 so as not to impact (Grand Haven school) bus transports, Township Manager Bill Cargo said, and the remaining portion, which must be completed by Oct. 31 to ensure the (asphalt) plants are still open.

The project includes complete reconstruction of the street surface, installation of stormwater curb and gutter systems, and other improvements. A new water main will also be installed beneath the roadway, as the township plans to replace 4,300 feet of 12-inch, cast-iron pipe.

Township officials said early on in the process that the overall scope of work would be similar to what the City of Grand Haven did for recent improvements along Beechtree Street.

Cargo said the schedule for the first segment the 168th/Johnson intersection is as follows:

Mobilization: this week through Aug. 4 Removals: Aug. 5-6 Storm sewer work: Aug. 7-13 Earth work and grading: Aug. 14-18 Concrete work: Aug. 19-21 New aggregate base: Aug. 22-26 Asphalt paving with markings: Aug. 27-29

Read the complete story in todays print or e-edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

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GHT eyes $2M for project

Published: Fri, August 1, 2014 @ 12:03 a.m.

By Peter H. Milliken

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A team of architects and engineers estimates it will cost Mahoning County more than $8.1 million to restore its 103-year-old county courthouse.

That figure includes $5.4 million worth of architectural and structural repairs; $620,000 to replace the roof; and $184,000 to load, ship, restore and return the copper rooftop statues from storage to the courthouse, for a total of $6,204,000.

Contingency costs for unforeseen circumstances raise the total to $8,141,000.

The figures were contained in a report presented Thursday to the county commissioners by a 10-member architectural and engineering team.

The tentative project schedule calls for advertising for bids late this year and using the entire 2015 construction season, with the work possibly extending into 2016.

The restoration presents an extraordinary opportunity to breathe new life into a magnificent architectural monument and preserve the legacy of Mahoning County, and make the building safe, with the aim of prolonging its useful life for many generations to come, the report said.

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Mahoning commissioners hear $8.1 million courthouse restoration proposal

Two years ago, Blenheim man Pete Halligan fell from a ladder while cleaning his gutters and was lucky to walk away unscathed, but he was not going to let it happen again.

Halligan's fall triggered him to start up a safe gutter cleaning business - Gutter Sucker NZ.

Halligan employed contract worker Dean Marshall three months ago when the business started and hopes to launch a website next week.

Marshall works from the ground using an industrial vacuum cleaner to get leaves and muck out of gutters, Halligan said.

People normally cleaned their gutters by standing on a ladder and holding on to the side or climbing onto the roof, he said.

"The opportunity for people falling off is huge . . . I thought there has got to be an easier way."

So he started looking at alternatives. The idea originally stemmed from his accident though, Halligan said.

"I went up the ladder and dug my fingers in and put (the leaves) in a bucket that I had hanging on the ladder and I was leaning out to get the last bit and I came down.

"I didn't get hurt but I was shocked. But then I went up again 10 minutes later and fell down again."

He was happy to be able to offer a service that was safe for the homeowner and his contractor, Halligan said.

Continued here:
Ladder fall inspires gutter sucker

With California in the midst of a drought, some people are wondering how much conservation is too much.

Watch report:Stockton resident fined for letting grass turn brown

A Stockton man said Thursday he was trying to conserve water, but it's costing him -- big time.

"I got a warning that says to provide adequate maintenance to (my) lawn or garden by watering, mowing or re-seeding," Martin Padilla said.

Padilla owns a property on Hemet Avenue in Stockton. He was warned about overgrowth of the shrubs and lawn, and said he came in and fixed the problem.

He shared photos to prove it.

"I got everything done -- nothing else to complain about except for watering the grass because the grass is not completely green," Padilla said.

But Padilla was still fined, and learned he owes more than $420.

The city of Stockton has water guidelines in place, which are the same issued every year.

Residents can only water their lawns between 6 p.m. and 11 a.m., and the city does not have water police patrolling.

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Stockton man fined for brown grass

Fred Lucas each year hopes for a relatively dry spring.

Rainy weather takes its toll on three of the upper soccer fields at Larry Mills Park.

Lucas, Plum Soccer Association president, said the rain water on the fields has no place to drain.

It's always a problem, he said.

Lucas is pleased that Plum Borough is proceeding with plans to fix the problem.

The borough is accepting bids for the work that is to include installation of a drainage system, re-grading the fields, spreading topsoil and seeding so the grass grows back.

Councilman Michael Dell said the money for the project is included in the 2014 borough budget.

Money was allocated for the soccer fields, Dell said.

The bids are scheduled to be opened on Aug. 4 and could be considered by council during the Aug. 11 voting meeting.

Plum's $11 million budget for 2014 includes about $180,000 for the total reconstruction of the upper soccer fields at the park, said borough public works building and grounds Supervisor Joe Fischetti.

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Reconstruction of Plums Larry Mills Park soccer fields to begin in September

(PRWEB) July 30, 2014

Homeowners, don't let your beautiful new lawn go to the bugs. Armyworms love to eat brand new sod but they dont originate there. Here are some facts about fall armyworms:

-Fall armyworms are not indigenous to the Southeast and cannot overwinter here.

-They aren't really worms, they are caterpillars.

-The caterpillars are the larval form of a subtropical moth that migrates here from the tropics in late summer. Some years they don't make it here, but when they do they typically arrive in July and can thrive until the first frost.

-They get their name from the caterpillar's behavior of moving across lawns in an army-like fashion.

-Armyworms are particularly attracted to new sod, and new sod is very vulnerable to damage.

-They do all their damage to lawns when they are in the caterpillar (or larvae) stage of their life cycle.

-Armyworm moths lay their egg sacs on homes, fencing, bushes, etc., but rarely do they lay eggs in grass.

-There is no "over the counter" preventative treatment available to homeowners for armyworms in the moth, egg, or pupae stages.

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Super-Sod Reminds Homeowners to Be on the Lookout for Fall Armyworms in Their Lawns

Thursday, July 31, 2014 10:34 PM EDT

By KEVIN ROBERTS

BRISTOL When players, coaches and fans arrive today for the Little League Baseball Eastern Regional, they will find a pristine baseball diamond infield with fresh grass at Breen Field.

What those who arrive may not realize is it was once a pristine softball field, complete with the full clay infield and pitching circle one would expect to find for softball.

The softball to baseball conversion takes place in less than a week. The work began last Friday at 8:15 p.m., not long after the Eastern Regional softball championship game concluded.

You have five and a half days to turn the field over and make sure its at the standard its supposed to be at, Eastern Region Assistant Director Patrick Holden said.

The transition went smoothly, according to Facilities Manager Dave Seeger.

Hummer Turfgrass Systems of Manheim, Penn., was subcontracted to do the sod work and it was funded by Little League International.

They have a very solid reputation, Holden said.

Hummer counts the Philadelphia Phillies, Penn State University and the Little League World Series fields of Lamade and Volunteer stadiums in Williamsport, Penn., among its clients. In the past, the sod had been done by the Eastern Region staff and local vendors, but the transition was made to Hummer.

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No easy task getting Breen Field set for play at Eastern Regional Little League tournament