zahir.in » September 2007 – 2

Fashion in Motion

Vishaal S Shah — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Rocky S – a rising star in the world of international fashion started his career by designing for a departmental store called “Roopam”. And today, he dresses some of the biggest celebrities, right from super hunk Hrithik Roshan to Shilpa Shetty (yeah the famous nemesis of Jade Goody from Big Brother). Creating a website for a name like Rocky S is in itself, an overwhelming endeavor.

The black and white logo was our inspiration from which the layout took shape. We went on to create the same feel with the website as well. The color black is used in abundance and the layout is understated by design.

The website is consciously kept subtle to give due importance and attention to the Rocky S designs that adorn the website. (Of course, it is awfully difficult not to be swept away by the designs!!!)

An out-and-out designer website with silent backgrounds, minimalist text and sleek animation – just the right canvas to showcase a designer’s work! A novel approach of keeping the flash files light and linking the images externally, makes the website load faster.

What you have is a truly international website that keeps you longing for more!

The Lord of Good Times!

Vishaal S Shah — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:49:39 +0000

He is cute, has chubby cheeks, big ears and is really mischievous. He is known for his intellect and is fêted for warding off obstacles. No, I am not talking about the blue eyed sunny boy in your neighborhood. I am talking about Lord Ganesha – the elephant God. Worshiped by more than 100 million devotees in India and abroad, He is as cute and lovable as the Gods can get.

Of the various legends associated with Lord Ganesha, the most popularly accepted version says that Ganapati, as he is fondly called, (It means “the common man’s God”) was created by Goddess Parvati (wife of Lord Shiva) because she needed someone to guard the house while she took a bath. However, Lord Shiva happened to come there. Ganesha didn’t recognize him and hence didn’t allow him to enter. Enraged and upset, Lord Shiva beheaded Ganesha. Later when he realized that he had beheaded his own son, Lord Shiva fixed the head of an elephant in place of Ganesha’s head. That’s how Lord Ganesha acquired the image of the elephant-headed God.

Ganesh Chaturthi is Lord Ganesha’s birthday. The festival was revived by Lokmanya Tilak (a freedom fighter) to spread the message of unity and to defy the colonists who had banned public assemblies. The festival kindled a feeling of togetherness and formed a background for the political leaders who inspired people to fight for independence.

Sixty years hence, Ganesh Utsav is still celebrated with unmatched zest and vigor. Infact the preparations begin months in advance. The 11-day festival begins with the installation of beautifully sculpted Ganesha idols in homes and mandaps (large tent setups). Colorfully decorated and depicting religious themes or current events, these setups are a visual treat. Many cultural events are organized and people participate with a lot of enthusiasm and passion. After ten days of music, dance, fasting and feasting, people bid farewell to the Lord and take the idols for immersion in the waters. Emotions run high as people chant praises of the Lord.

Ganesh Utsav mirrors the soul of India. Every year this festival manages to rouse emotions and brings about an inexplicable sense of togetherness. There are instances wherein Muslim and Christian families celebrate this festival with an unheard of faith and fervor. Eagerly awaited every year, this festival has become an intrinsic part in the life of Indians.

Ganesha touches western shores:

Some interesting photos from PHIans:

What is Phishing?

Malay Shah — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:36:58 +0000

In computing, phishing is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques. Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay and PayPal are two of the most targeted companies, and online banks are also common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to give details at a website, although phone contact has been used as well.

Link manipulation

Most methods of phishing use some form of technical deception designed to make a link in an email (and the spoofed website it leads to) appear to belong to the spoofed organization. Misspelled URLs or the use of sub domains are common tricks used by phishers, such as this example URL, http://www.yourbank.com.example.com/. Another common trick is to make the anchor text for a link appear to be valid, when the link actually goes to the phishers’ site.

Phishing example:

This is one of the latest phishing scam seen in India.
Here are the both the URLs, they are same, except there is a space (%20) at the end of the phishing URL.

The Fake Site: https://infinity. icicibank. co.in/BANKAWAY? Action.RetUser. Init.001= Y&AppSignonBankId= ICI&AppType=corporate&abrdPrf=N%20

Actual Site: https://infinity. icicibank. co.in/BANKAWAY? Action.RetUser. Init.001= Y&AppSignonBankId= ICI&AppType=corporate&abrdPrf=N

Anti-phishing

SpoofStick is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites.Go to our weblogs this page to download Spoofstick for IE and Mozilla.

SpoofStick: Anti-Phishing Add-on for IE and Mozilla

Malay Shah — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 06:30:00 +0000

SpoofStick is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL. The attacker then tries to trick people into going to the spoofed site by sending out fake email messages or posting links in public places – hoping that some percentage of users won’t notice the incorrect URL and give away important information. This practice is sometimes known as “phishing”.

SpoofStick makes it easier to spot a spoofed website by prominently displaying only the most relevant domain information. It’s not a comprehensive solution, but it’s a good start.

You can customize the color and size of the SpoofStick display to suit your tastes and make it harder for a fake site to try to “spoof” SpoofStick with a static graphic.

SpoofStick contains no adware, spyware, nagware or other unhealthy additives.

Download SpoofStick for Internet Explorer.

Download SpoofStick for Firefox.