If you have ever managed shared access computers, like computers in schools, public libraries, Internet cafes, kiosk machines, etc, you probably know how hard it is to keep the computers running in the long run, as well as keeping the security level high and up to date, without too much work and “hands-on”. What we [...]
Protect Public Computers with Windows SteadyState Part 1
October 7th, 2007 · Comments Off
The top 10 reasons Web sites get hacked
October 7th, 2007 · Comments Off
Web security is at the top of customers’ minds after many well-publicized personal data breaches, but the people who actually build Web applications aren’t paying much attention to security, experts say. They’re totally ignoring it,” says IT consultant Joel Snyder. “When you go to your Web site design team, what you’re looking for is people [...]
How to Trace a DDOS Attack
October 7th, 2007 · Comments Off
At most any time of the day, there’s a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack underway somewhere on the Internet. Yes, it’s still true, despite reports that some ISPs have experienced fewer DDOS attacks overall during the last six months. It’s a matter of quality, not quantity: "When DDOSes do occur, they are done with much greater [...]
FullDisk Encryption Is Partial Protection Analysts Say
October 7th, 2007 · Comments Off
Full-disk and file-based encryption should be combined to best prevent data leaks, according to security analysts and vendors. It seems to be in the news about once a month—another laptop disappears containing thousands of pieces of corporate or personal data. Now the legal department wants to know whether IT can confirm that some or all [...]
Defend your network from idle scanning
October 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off
If your organization’s intrusion detection system (IDS) identifies a scan of your network, and you just block that IP address, you likely haven’t addressed the real threat to your network. Black hats employ several stealth scanning techniques, and one of those threats is the idle scan. Idle scanning is a procedure that involves scanning TCP [...]
Think your jobs tough Try protecting Net access for the U.S. Army
October 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off
For most large companies, an attack that brings down the corporate network means millions of dollars in lost revenue and unhappy customers. But if the net defenders of the U.S. Army see their network go down or their defenses broken, the stakes are significantly higher; the lives of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are [...]
Six ways to fight back against botnets
October 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off
1. Hire a Web-filtering service.
Web-filtering services are one of the best ways to fight bots. These services scan for Web sites exhibiting unusual behavior or known malicious activity and block those sites from users. Websense, Cyveillance and FaceTime Communications are examples. All monitor the Internet in real time to find Web sites [...]
Beware the Default Password
October 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off
During the course of a recent security audit I was rather surprised to find a critical system still running with a default password. The default password has long been the bug bear of many the security admin. At the same time it has been the savior of many of us at one stage or another, [...]
Enforce Data Security Rules
October 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off
When asked at a recent hearing of the General Assembly’s finance committee why she didn’t come forth right away with details about the theft of a laptop containing confidential taxpayer information, state Commissioner of Revenue Services Pam Law testified that she was not really good with the press. "That’s not my style," she said.
Passive Network Analysis
September 30th, 2007 · Comments Off
In sports, it’s pretty much accepted wisdom that home teams have the advantage; that’s why teams with winning records on the road do so well in the playoffs. But for some reason we rarely think about "the home field advantage" when we look at defending our networks. After all, the best practice in architecting a [...]