Our Networking forum encompasses topics related to network topology, routers, data encryption, security and other OS-independent network configurations.
4,394 Archived Topics
Remove Filter
Sun Microsystems managed to fix multiple security vulnerabilities in JDK and JRE months ago now, so why has it taken Apple so long to finally plug pretty much the same Java holes in Mac OS X? Apple has known that its Java implementation has been, quite frankly, screwed since way …
We were all treated this week to a lovely example of why it's a good idea to use standard email for government business (or corporate business, for that matter). First, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin mentioned that [URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090903044.html"]she used Yahoo Mail[/URL] for some of her email, which is a …
I've been doing a piece lately that's involved me talking to a number of IT support types and they're all coming out with similar comments and views: too many managers, they're saying, are declaring that something is an IT issue when actually it's no such thing, it's a management thing. …
Are you participating in Hack Week? That's Novell's open invitation to the world for suggestions on how to improve its openSuse Linux distro running through this Friday, Aug. 29. And you might just even win a prize. Calls for porting [URL=http://www.gnome.org/projects/tomboy/]Tomboy[/URL] to Windows (and maybe even Mac OS X), adding …
Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, posted a [URL="http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/706950"]nasty smackdown [/URL]on security nerds and their obsession with security in the gmane.linux.kernel newsgroup. Linus is referring to security professionals who feel that security should be the only focus for bug fixes and patches. His argument is that all bugs are …
I guess you could call it karma. HD Moore's company, BreakingPoint, found that traffic was being diverted to a scammer Google page. This kind of cache poisoning attack on DNS servers is not unusual, however this particular case was because HD Moore is the man who created the Metasploit hacking …
While the full story behind [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2842.html"]San Francisco city government computer engineer Terry Childs[/URL] hasn't yet come out, one thing is certain: the mainstream media is ignorant about technology. Moreover, either the city government and prosecutors are deliberately painting things in as negative a light as possible in order to force …
According to the [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/27/internationalcrime.hacking?gusrc=rss&feed=technologyfull"]Observer newspaper this morning[/URL] Gary McKinnon, the British hacker accused of what US prosecutors refer to the biggest military computer hack of all time, has claimed he was threatened with a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay. His lawyers are using this as part of their defence against …
Claiming he was protecting San Francisco city government's computer system from incompetent coworkers, computer engineer [URL="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/22/BAGF11T91U.DTL"]Terry Childs[/URL] changed the system's passwords and then for more than a week refused to give them to anyone, even after being arrested. Childs was under four felony counts for blocking administrative access to the …
Security researchers within the Marshal TRACE Team have [URL="http://www.marshal.com/trace/traceitem.asp?article=714"]warned[/URL] that malicious spammers are using fake United Parcel Service invoices in order to deliver a malware payload. Always looking for a new and convincing hook to snare the unsuspecting user into downloading malicious components from the web, this new attack utilises …
The Advanced Research Team of security tools vendor Ounce Labs has identified two vulnerabilities in the Spring framework for Java. The vulnerabilities have the potential, the team says, to allow an attacker to “subvert the expected application logic and behavior,” and gain control of an application and access any personal …
It's that time of year in the UK once more - the Wimbledon grand slam tennis tournament is upon us. Here in the UK we believe this is the most important tennis tournament in the world. When you talk to a French person they'll tell you the same thing about …
Amazingly, according to [URL="http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/20/teen-faces-years-hacking"]The Inquirer[/URL], an Orange County hacker is facing an incredible 38 years in prison if found guilty of several counts relating to hacking into his school computer. It seems that Omar Khan, 18, of Coto de Caza, California hacked into computer in order to change his grades. …
[URL="ttp://www.kaspersky.com"]Kaspersky Lab[/URL] is warning the public at large to be on the lookout for a new version of the blackmail virus Gpcode which has started to appear in the wild. This particularly nasty twist on the virus format encrypts your files using an RSA encryption algorithm, this time with a …
[URL="http://www.verdict.co.uk"]Verdict Research[/URL] has published a report which suggests that the credit crunch is benefiting web-based businesses as consumers in the UK flock to the Internet in search of money saving bargains. With £15bn ($30bn) spent online by UK consumers in the last 12 months, [URL="http://www.startups.co.uk/6678842909857992097/online-sales-rise-by-a-third.html"]according to the research[/URL], this equates …
The [URL="http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/53/34/40724457.pdf"]Malicious software (malware): a security threat to the Internet economy[/URL] report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development over the weekend suggests that the PC malware infection rate in the US has hit 25 percent. These OECD cybercrime infection findings are highly disturbing, admits Geoff Sweeney, CTO …
According to reports the most serious forthcoming threats to IT security will be revealed during the Gartner Security Summit in Washington this coming week, and it looms like the consumerization of IT will be right there front of stage. Something that Gartner research fellow, John Pascatore, describes as the Gen …
Mac OS X is safer today than it was Tuesday, thanks to Apple. The company on Wednesday posted [URL= http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1141]Security Update 2008-003[/URL], containing forty one performance and security fixes for the enhanced Active Directory, AirPort, iChat, Mail, Time Machine and several other components of the company’s operating system. It also …
In a [URL="http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;649220418;fp;16;fpid;1"]comprehensive review[/URL] of the new ZonaAlarm virtualized security environment that is ForceField, Roger Grimes praises the elegant user interface. While admitting to being a big fan of Check Point and the ZoneAlarm brand, Grimes remains skeptical of these kind of virtualization products and it would appear with good …
According to the UK government, new proposals within the [URL="http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/page2461.asp"]Communications Data Bill[/URL] are being put forward in order to prevent and detect crime as well as protect national security. The government argues that unless legislation is amended to reflect changes in technology, the ability of public authorities to counter criminal …
Speaking at the [URL="http://www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/eforum/default.aspx"]Westminster eForum[/URL] on Web 2.0 in London, the VP of legislative affairs with AT&T, Jim Cicconi, has claimed that without investment the Internet's current network architecture will be at full capacity by 2010. That's just 24 short months from now, and with the ever increasing volume of …
A new deal struck between Microsoft and its Linux ally Novell (SuSE Linux) is headed for mainland China. Microsoft claims now that Linux violates 42 of its patents (down from over 200 a year ago) and that purchasing SuSE Linux will indemnify Linux users from lawsuits for patent infringement. Thanks …
When he took the reins almost two years ago, new Novell President and CEO Ronald Hovsepian, was going to lead the charge in driving the Linux acceptance and conversion. Recently he said that the Desktop Linux market, in the next 3 to 5 years, is mainly enterprise-related and that the …
Rather surprisingly, Kaspersky Lab has forecast that the security threat landscape will increase by more than 20 million programs by the end of 2008 when compared to the 2007 year-end figures, a ten-fold increase no less. That is worth repeating: the number of [B]new[/B] malicious applications in circulation by the …
Researchers at web gateway security specialists [URL="http://www.finjan.com"]Finjan[/URL] have uncovered an underground crime data exchange service which is highly sophisticated in nature. The exchange, known as SellCVV2, promotes the sale of fraudulent credit card data, offering not only volume discounts for fraudsters with bigger ambitions, but guarantees as well. According to …
Computerworld is [URL="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9071638&source=rss_news6"]reporting the possibility[/URL] of a worm or bot in the wild that is specifically targeting D-Link branded routers. It refers to a three year old vulnerability which Symantec security researchers believe is being exploited by a new exploit. Apparently, the Symantec security response team has seen an increase …
According to [URL="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9070840&intsrc=hm_list"]reports[/URL] it would appear that Microsoft has confirmed the presence of a critical vulnerability which impacts upon users of MS Word for Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 SP1. Shame it has taken many weeks for Microsoft to admit this, and only after a second security vendor recently …
[URL="http://po-ru.com/about/"]Paul Battley[/URL] is a software developer from London who can probably lay claim to being the biggest thorn in the side of the BBC right now. No sooner had the mighty British Broadband Corporation [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7293988.stm"]announced[/URL] that his hack which allowed people to download iPlayer TV streams meant for an iPhone …
A hearty slap on the back must go to authorities in South Korea who have [URL="http://www.sophos.com/news/2008/03/lee-shin-ja.html"]arrested and charged[/URL] the 41 year old ex-CEO of an antivirus software company with distributing fake security scareware. Lee Shin-ja was formerly CEO with security outfit Media Port, and stands accused of distributing the 'free' …
According to the [URL="http://www.timesonline.co.uk"]Sunday Times[/URL] one couple got more than they bargained for courtesy of the almost extortionate charges that mobile phone companies are allowed to levy in Europe when it comes to sending text or data while 'roaming' away from your home country. Although the case in question might …
The Cult of the Dead Cow, the infamous hacking collective, has released a Google hacking utility called Goolag Scan that brings the ability to search the information engine for web-based data that is normally hidden to anyone wannabe with a web browser and half a brain. It does this by …
How long before [URL="http://www.skype.com"]Skype Ltd[/URL]. ends up as an item for bid on eBay? Ever since its acquisition by the Internet auction site, Skype has been a rudderless boat — and without a captain, following the departure of cofounder Niklas Zennstrom, who took £2.8 billion of Skype’s £5.2 billion value …
It has been estimated that something in the region of 70 percent of the ATMs in current use are based not on the proprietary hardware, software and communication protocol platforms of old but instead on PC/Intel hardware and commodity operating systems, the most popular being Windows XP embedded. In fact, …
For many people, the word "[B]encryption[/B]" invokes images of spies, clandestine operations and World War II, or [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsa"]NSA[/URL] code breakers feverishly working to decipher enemy messages. Actually, encryption is a priceless security tool that any business can easily use to keep sensitive information confidential and safe from prying eyes. Unfortunately, …
[B]Rumors and speculation about why five undersea cables to the Middle East have been severed — and what it means for IT security[/B]. Since [B]Jan. 30, 2008,[/B] there has been a troubling pattern of underwater anarchy. At first, it was reported that two, then three, then five undersea [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-optic"]fiber-optic[/URL] cables …
When you think of security, it's a good bet that some of your thinking drifts to hackers and crackers. These are both security threats that you have to take into account. But do you know the difference? Well, some people do, and although many of them don't want their names …
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicodemo_Scarfo,_Jr."]Nicodemo Scarfo Jr[/URL], a well-connected member of the [B]New York[/B] and [B]Philadelphia[/B] organised crime families, knows all about keylogging. But rather than using the technique to steal or launder money, he was brought down by the [B]Magic Lantern[/B] [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keylogger"]keylogger[/URL] that the FBI installed on his computer via a Trojan. It …
If we're honest every one of us imagine what we'd do with a few million in the bank. The yacht in Cannes, the private jet in Nice, possibly our own football team, and maybe a few other high maintenance accessories top our list of must-haves. But of course the question …
It has been a couple of months now since a Russian security researcher, Evgeny Legerov, confirmed that the widely deployed media software RealPlayer was vulnerable to a zero-day exploit. The Russian company, Gleg, is in the business of selling information on such exploits and security flaws. Unfortunately, according RealNetworks's Vice …
In today's heightened threat environment, it is a constant battle for IT security departments to stay on top of all possible attacks and vulnerabilities they could encounter. With insider threats on the rise and the continuous danger posed by external hackers, coupled with the alarmingly quick development of stronger and …
It has been a long time coming, but a virus writer has finally been arrested by the Japanese authorities. According to security specialists [URL="http://www.sophos.com"]Sophos[/URL] law enforcement agencies in Kyoto, Japan, have arrested three men who stand accused of plotting to infect users of a popular P2P file-sharing network with a …
A CIA analyst speaking at the SANS 2008 SCADA and Process Control Summit in New Orleans has admitted that hackers have not only been able to penetrate the power grids of several countries, but also successfully cut power to several cities, all from the relative safety of the Internet. Central …
Kaspersky Lab has [URL="http://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=204791980"]published its list[/URL] of the most prevalent viruses for the end of 2007, and although an email worm retains the top spot the more interesting stuff is happening immediately below it in the rankings of shame. Specifically, the second, fourth and seventh places which are all occupied …
Nick Breese is a researcher with New Zealand based security outfit [URL="http://security-assessment.com/"]Security-Assessment.com[/URL] and found himself giving a presentation at the Kiwicon hacker conference in Wellington earlier this week. His presentation looked at the use of the PlayStation 3 games console to crack passwords, and Breese concluded that when compared to …
Research commissioned by Internet security software makers [URL="http://www.avguk.com/stop-cybertheft"]AVG[/URL] has revealed that one in three people in the UK have experienced some kind of cyber theft over the Internet. What's more, it is also one of the UK's most feared crimes, outranking burglary, assault and robbery according to the independent study …
[URL="http://www.mcafee.com"]McAfee Inc[/URL]. has today released the results of new research which found that nearly one in four people in Europe are putting themselves at increased risk of online fraud or identity theft simply because of poor password habits. The research, of 3500 consumers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain …
In the UK last year there were a staggering 3,237,500 cybercrimes committed according to a new [URL="https://www.garlik.com/index1.php?page=cybercrime"]report[/URL] from online identity specialists [URL="http://www.garlik.com"]Garlik[/URL] in collaboration with leading criminologists. Do the math and that works out to one cybercrime committed every ten seconds in the UK alone. Of these, some 60 percent …
According to a report in the [URL="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9dba9ba2-5a3b-11dc-9bcd-0000779fd2ac.html"]Financial Times[/URL] of all publications, the Chinese military has hacked the Pentagon in what it describes as the most successful cyber attack on the US defense department to date. Although the Pentagon has acknowledged that a computer system which serves the office of US …
A Symantec Security Response [URL="http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/weblog/2007/08/a_monster_trojan.html"]posting[/URL] suggests that Monster.com, the huge job hunting website, has been subject to an online attack resulting in the theft of personal data in the form of resumes of its users. "We analyzed a sample of a new Trojan, called Infostealer.Monstres, which was attempting to access …
Jeff Jones is a Strategy Director in the Microsoft Security Technology Unit, part of the team trying to make Microsoft products more secure, poor guy. No surprise that he publishes a vulnerability report on his Microsoft TechNet hosted [URL="http://blogs.technet.com/security/default.aspx"]Security Blog[/URL] which always seems to suggest that Microsoft Windows is far …
The End.