Category Archives: Security

posts about IT security

Email snooping

The article on WashingtonPost.com Set a Hacker Alarm on Your Web Mail Box outlines a potential problem with webmail accounts and proposes a ‘clever’ solution. The problem they report is that hackers can break-in to your webmail account and read … Continue reading

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DDoS without malware

The BBC’s article Net criminals shun virus attacks advises that creative criminals have found a way to launch a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) without directly infecting users’ machines with malware. One attack seen by Prolexic in May exploited … Continue reading

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FBI enjoys a bot roast

The FBI has gone public over Operation Bot Roast (press release | FBI news archive) an ongoing cyber crime initiative to disrupt and dismantle “botherders” and elevate the public’s cyber security awareness of botnets. The Feds also list the names … Continue reading

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Super Bowl prank

I saw this on Bruce Schnier’s blog – as he puts it – a fantastic story of a major prank pulled off at the Super Bowl this year. Read more about this and other social engineering stories at Bruce’s blog.

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Faster WEP cracking

It turns out that WEP (the first generation wireless encryption standard) is more vulnerable to hacking than was previously thought. Erik Tews, Andrei Pychkine and Ralf-Philipp Weinmann (cryptographic researchers at the cryptography and computer algebra group at the technical university … Continue reading

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Have you changed the default password on your router?

A news story from SANS advises that research indicates about half of router owners have not changed the password from the default. They use this in the context of a malicious scripting:

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Schneier on Video

On 10th June 2006 security expert Bruce Schneier gave a talk “Counterterrorism in America: Security Theater Against Movie-Plot Threats” at the ACLU New Jersey Membership Conference. The video is just over an hour long and it’s available via Bruce’s blog … Continue reading

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HotSpotVPN

If you use public hotspots (wired or wireless) without encrypting your network traffic (web, email, etc.) you run the risk of having your privacy and security compromised. For example, checking your email using your favourite email client can give away … Continue reading

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File server address

The URL for my web-based file server is jamesbliss.com/server NB. Login is required.

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Windows virus infects Apple iPods

Did you buy a Video iPod after September 12, 2006? If so, you may be one on the unlucky 1% who took delivery of their new prized possession complete with the Windows RavMonE.exe virus. Ooops! Apple is understandably miffed. I … Continue reading

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