Deep breath time. We’ve covered a lot of good topics and it’s important at this point to take a close look at what we’ve talked about and think. “Am I overwhelmed?” If so that’s fine. Maybe you don’t have enough time to think about all of this network security stuff. Maybe, no matter how hard you try it doesn’t make sense.
Tag: computer
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Disinfecting a PC… part 5
OK, we’re moving on to BHOdemon to take care of the browser helper objects. Unfortunately it looks like BHODemon is not being currently maintained, the developer has had a housefire.
I am very sorry, but BHODemon is currently on hiatus, as I no longer have the time to devote to it (due to a house fire). You will not be able to download updates or upload reports, and I will no longer be answering emails. At some point, BHODemon may return. I would like to thank everyone for their support over the years.
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Network Security guide for the home or small business network – Part 4 – Know your software
Ok, so you’ve got a hardware firewall and you’ve got antivirus. You’re safe right? Well, not entirely. I’ve mentioned the flaws of antivirus. It’s always a step behind. A firewall doesn’t protect against unknown viruses, so what else is there to do? I’m going to tackle this in two steps. The first is to know what software is running on your system. Isn’t there a lot of that? How can I keep up?
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Artists revolting against DRM
This is under the security tab because DRM software protection has proven to be a computer security issue… Spyware Confidential is reporting on artists revolting against the Sony DRM. According to the story…
My Morning Jacket, the artists who recorded the copy protected CD “Z” I mentioned here, are doing more than protesting Sony BMG’s use of DRM spyware. They are revolting. Yesterday I read that My Morning Jacket was doing their own recall of the affected CDs. Now I see they are burning unrestricted copies of their CD and mailing them to users. Hmm… I wonder if they are breaking the law under the DMCA.
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How festive – the dasher worm…
The securityfix is reporting on a new worm that exploits an older Windows vulnerability. The worm is called dasher and is in at least it’s second iteration. Sans noticed an odd increase in port 1025 scans on the tenth of the month which was early activity of this worm. It looks like the first version of the worm didn’t work fully, but this second one does. It installs a keylogger.
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A couple warnings related to fake security sites
Sunbelt has this warning about yet another fake security site. This one is laid out a bit different than the others we’ve seen in recent days. It’s not quite the same spoof of the Windows Security Center, but it makes use of Microsoft’s security logo. (And it does say Security Center at the top of the page along with “Help protect your pc”.) From sunbelt…
For your block lists:
amaena[dot]com -
Beware: Wolves in sheeps clothing found on different sites (security scams)
This is another “wolf in sheeps clothing” alert. The Sunbelt blog has information and tips on a number of other sites that are posing as either the Windows security center page, or a page not found error. The windows security center spoof once again claims the following “Attention! Your system is under control of remote computer with IP address >>>>>>> The remote computer has access to the following folders on your PC: \windows\system32 \program files\internet explorer \my documents drive C;\ files, click here to download official anti-spyware software. Your private info is collected by w32.sinnaka.a@mm”
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Network Security guide for the home or small business network – Part 1 – A Hardware firewall
Computers can communicate over networks. (Surprise!) That’s how you’re reading this post. The machine that this site is hosted on is listening for requests for connection. When it receives a request it answers back with a web page. In fact, computers can listen for a great many different kinds of connection at the same time. In networking we talk about a computer listening on a given “port”. The web server for this site (and most web sites) listens on what’s called port 80. There are 65535 possible network ports that a computer can listen for incoming connections on.
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Network Security guide for the home or small business network – preface
OK, this is an ambitious idea, but the two articles on Titan Rain and the lack of IT security training has planted a bug under the saddle so to speak…. I don’t know how many parts will be in this series. In fact, I may add to it from time to time even after an initial series. This is intended as a “crash course” in the essentials of network security. It’s aimed at the home users and managers of small networks (small business owners?) that haven’t thought about network security before and maybe will be a reference of some value even to those that are more intermediate. The essentials of network security will be covered in the first few posts.
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More information on Titan Rain (“Hack attacks”)
Earlier this year there was an article or two about a rumored “hack attack” that was ongoing against US Government (and contractor) computer systems. The stories claimed that the attacks seemed to be coming from China. Today I’m seeing a couple of articles on the topic. First up is an AFP story on the problem it sounds as though little attention has been paid to hardening systems. There is speculation that the Chinese military is involved in the breakins. One incident was very neatly and methodically done, planting a backdoor in 30 minutes.