Lost+Found: Unicode upsets and PRISM presaged

Too short for news, too good to lose; Lost+Found is a roundup of useful and interesting security news. In this edition: McAfee's deinstalllation guides, Spy Pi, the coming Javapocalypse, Spotify's Unicode upset, BSides BSlides, and PRISM presaged.

• For the last ten years, John McAfee has had nothing to do with the anti-virus firm he founded. But that doesn't mean that he isn't ready to offer YouTube deinstallation tips for McAfee's anti-virus software.

• You can cross an onion with a Raspberry Pi to get a Tor Router, but what do you get when you cross a Raspberry Pi with a notebook power adapter? A remarkably well camouflaged spying tool is the answer.

• Security experts like to curse about the insecurity of Java. But according to the trailer for the movie Javapocalypse we'd be a lot worse off without it. Unfortunately, it's not a real movie... yet.

• A vulnerability allowed attackers to compromise any accounts with the Spotify music service and that vulnerability only existed because the company allows Unicode characters such as ☃ in a username. The pitfalls that await Unicode-supporting companies are looked at in a blog post from Spotify Labs.

• If you are among those who weren't at the BSides Security Conference held in Rhode Island, you'll now be able to find the slides for the event online.

• PRISM? Don't say that there weren't plenty of warning signs and omens.

(djwm)