Networking Forum

Raising privacy and civil liberties issues, job applicants to the city of Bozeman are not only required to list all their social media accounts, but their passwords as well. “Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs …

Today, I'm announcing my new Linux company, HookLineNSinker, Inc. (HLNS) which will produce a new commercial Linux distribution: Pricey Linux. HLNS products include Pricey Linux Enterprise, Pricey Linux Small Business Server and The Pricey Linux Desktop. There are also Pricey Linux Support options for those of you who need 24x7 …

Hackers managed to get root access to a large Internet Service Provider, reportedly via a zero day vulnerability over the weekend, and destroy data from 100,000 websites as a result. The UK-based ISP, VAServ, has [URL="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/08/webhost_attack/"]stated[/URL] that the attackers apparently exploited a vulnerability in virtualisation software called HyperTM in order …

I guess that is what you might call a turn up for the books, as the US [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1506.html"]Department of Homeland Security[/URL] announces the 16 members which have been sworn in to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Especially when you consider that one of them, Jeff Moss, is best …

Some people are complaining that the company hoping to map the availability of broadband Internet is too closely tied to the same major telecommunications and cable companies that stand to benefit from the more than $7 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known …

Ever wondered just how big the Internet is? I know I have, and during my search for an answer I have discovered along the way [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1437.html"]how fast it is[/URL] and [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4387.html"]how much spam it produces[/URL]. But now I know how big it is as well. When it comes to size, …

Where would we be without the hole in the wall, that magical machine that provides us with cash whenever we need it? Where would we be without online banking, that magical system that lets us pay our bills via the Web? Customers of the HSBC bank in the UK found …

Remember the 14 million missing email messages from the White House under President George W. Bush? [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3815.html"]Remember[/URL] the (albeit flawed) court order (issued days before President Barack Obama's inauguration) directing the Bush White House to figure out what happened to them? Never mind. A federal appeals court recently ruled that …

A new [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4387.html"]Symantec[/URL] survey has discovered that people are more likely to check the oil in their car than they are to back up valuable data. When you consider that our computers are so much more than mere work machines, that they have become very much woven into the fabric …

The FBI has confirmed reports that it was forced to shut down it's external unclassified email network "as a precautionary measure" following the discovery of a virus infection. I am led to understand that the particular virus concerned has been identified by the FBI but this information has yet to …

This is a good idea. Not for the first time the American President is keeping his earlier word. This time he is appointing a [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8073654.stm"]Cyber Tsar[/URL]. This, it strikes me, is an excellent idea. In the UK we have a data protection commission and a commissioner in charge of that. …

The latest Symantec [URL="http://www.messagelabs.com/intelligence.aspx"]MessageLabs Intelligence Report[/URL] has landed on my desk and makes for the usual rather depressing reading. I guess that most depressing of all, if not surprising when you take a look at your inbox or worse still your junk folder, are the figures relating to spam activity …

There has been no shortage of data loss by the military over the last year or so, from [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22897/53/"]US Army files found on eBay MP3 player[/URL] through to more than [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/uk/publicsector/government/information-governance/secure-data-disposal.aspx"]600 laptops going missing from the UK Ministry of Defence[/URL]. However, usually these losses concern data such as names and …

A survey of leased line Internet connections from 6000 organisations covering speeds ranging from 256Kbps right up to Gigabit Ethernet has revealed that as many as one in six are loaded to a degree where performance impacts are likely. NetEvidence, a network performance management outfit, undertook the research, and was …

InterOp 2009 is a success by anyone's measure but it's been a mixed bag for me so far. Internet access on the show floor is almost non-existent. For a major tech show like this, it's absolutely ridiculous. You'd think that Internet access would be a standard feature of any technical …

Ever wondered why your WiFi doesn't work as well as you expected, especially if you live in a highly populated part of town? The obvious, and oft-repeated, answer is that all those WiFi networks trying to work in the same vicinity just end up causing network edge congestion and that …

Recently Google has hit the headlines with [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4163.html"]concerns over privacy[/URL] courtesy of Street View mapping, plus [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4305.html"]allegations of trademark infringements[/URL] with the Android open source mobile phone OS. The latest headlines, though, look like returning to the heart of Google: the search engine. Google SERPs malware manipulation has hit new …

Kaspersky Lab has successfully [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/daveyw/2009/02/23/kaspersky-patents-malware-removal/"]patented yet another bit[/URL] of security technology. This time it is a new heuristic analysis technology which allows security ratings to be assigned to software based entirely upon behaviour patterns during emulation. Is this something to get excited about? Well, yes, if you look beyond the …

I am no great fan of the concept of National ID Cards, although my reasoning is not so much based upon distrusting the 'if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear' argument nor even the 'big brother invasion of privacy' paranoia which seems to grip most of the …

Virgin Media has released the results of research carried out into just how much the British actually understand the Internet, and those results show that on the whole the nation is pretty much baffled by broadband. The study, which quizzed more than 3000 internet users, discovered that broadband jargon confuses …

Last week, former UK Prime Minister and current Quartet Envoy to the Middle East on behalf of the EU, UN, US and Russia, [URL="http://www.tonyblairoffice.org/"]Tony Blair[/URL] was hacked. Well, the [URL="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tony-Blair-Faith-Foundation/53370916629"]Tony Blair Faith Foundation on Facebook[/URL] was hacked according to reports at any rate. It seems that the site was flooded …

On the day that the annual [URL="http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2241289/european-commission-criticises"]Infosec[/URL] show starts in the UK we have a call for a Euro cyber security tsar. I was surprised at this. In many ways it's the perpetuation of all that I feel is bad about security management. A handful of readers might have heard …

I had a call this morning asking me to go on the radio tomorrow morning. It was from BBC London and I'll be on at 7.20am UK time, thanks for asking - discussing this story about the [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8019948.stm"]terrorist Cyberthreat to the 2012 Olympics[/URL]. The man suggesting there is such a …

Would you steal sensitive data from your employer if the price was right? According to a new survey conducted in the financial heart of London by [URL="http://www.infosec.co.uk"]Infosecurity Europe[/URL] reveals that 37 percent of those asked would do just that. While 63 percent remain honest, the cost of corrupting the remainder …

According to [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/21/hackers-us-fighter-jet-strike"]reports[/URL], the Pentagon has been subject to a successful hacking attack with details of the F35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter and the most expensive jet fighter ever, the target. Apparently, design data including that of the $300 billion jet project electronics system, have …

As I've written before ([URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2335.html"]here[/URL] and [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4177.html"]here[/URL]), the Linux desktop in danger of extinction. If operating systems could be placed on the Endangered Species list, I'd lobby for it. Perhaps this is a legitmate task for the [URL="http://www.linuxfoundation.org"]Linux Foundation[/URL]: Preserve the Linux desktop. I'm not quite ready to give up …

A [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=aa6e0660-dc24-4930-affd-e33572ccb91f&displaylang=en"]Microsoft security report[/URL] has 'revealed' that some 97 percent of the emails travelling across the Internet are actually unwanted spam. Well duh, like I didn't realise it was such a big problem. Actually, I didn't, to be fair. Mainly because just about every other security report I have read …

It has not exactly been the best of weekends for [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/daveyw/2009/04/03/google-to-buy-twitter/"]Twitter[/URL], and for those whose tweeting has been hijacked by not one but two worms it could easily be considered the worst of times. It all started when people noticed that a lot of their followers seemed to be recommending …

The [URL="http://www.bluetooth.com"]Bluetooth Special Interest Group[/URL] has confirmed that Bluetooth 3.0 will be released on April 21st. The Bluetooth 3.0 specs are expected to allow users to see much faster speeds when used in conjunction with 802.11n Wi-Fi while we await the arrival proper ultra-wideband technology. Still, the faster link speeds …

The US Army has successfully finished field testing the Warfighter Information Network - Tactical. Better known as WIN-T for short, a $10 billion secure and mobile broadband communications network for the modern army soldier in battlefield situations. The 4th Brigade tests have been putting WIN-T through its paces, linking together …

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr got together for a rare live performance, and according to [URL="http://www.scmagazineus.com/Paul-McCartneys-website-hacked-to-distribute-malware/article/130330/"]reports[/URL] it would seem the bad guys thought that a spot of media friendly Beatle-mania presented [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3824.html"]the ideal time to target[/URL] McCartney's website. Security specialists ScanSafe told me that its 24/7 Web security scanners first …

As the Chief Security Officer at telco giant AT&T, Edward Amoroso knows a thing or two about cybercrime. Which is why he has been giving testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation specifically assessing how vulnerable the US is on the cybersecurity front and proposing …

Almost a year has passed since I wrote, [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2329.html"]Novell CEO Disses Embrace of Desktop Linux[/URL] where I told you how Ron Hovsepian, Novell CEO, totally slammed Linux as a desktop operating system and now another major CEO comes out publicly against Linux on the desktop. Red Hat's CEO, Jim Whitehurst, …

Although the kind of 1Gbit/s broadband service that is [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3250.html"]a reality in Japan[/URL] remains but a pipe dream for most people, the Brits can look forward to super-fast 60Mbit/s broadband real soon now. National telecoms carrier BT has announced that it will be installing upgrades to no less than 29 …

Well that didn't take long. No sooner had Microsoft officially launched [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2606.html"]Internet Explorer 8[/URL] to the waiting masses and talked up how new security features will ensure hackers will find it more difficult to exploit the new browser that guess what? Yep, a hacker exploits the new browser. During his …

Crikey! And there I was thinking we were slap bang in the middle of a global recession. Things can't be that bad, I guess, if a retailer can find $5.1 million to pay for a new domain name. Yet that is exactly what Toys R Us has paid out in …

Adobe has yet to patch a critical zero-day vulnerability in Acrobat and Reader applications which is in the wild and being exploited by malicious types using malformed PDF files. Now, more than two weeks after the exploit was reported by The Shadowserver Foundation and before Adobe can get the patch …

According to [URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29447088/"]reports,[/URL] the security relating to the official Presidential helicopter, Marine One, has been breached. It would appear that engineering and comms data, amounting to a complete avionics package including blueprints, about Obama's helicopter turned up on the computer of defence contractor who also had a P2P file sharing …

Reports suggest that Google Earth might have put the top secret British nuclear defence headquarters, at the Faslane HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland, at risk from terrorist attack after the satellite mapping shows clear images of the facility. The images are highly detailed and even show a couple of …

Is it good news from Sun Microsystems, if you are in the market for a generic communication protocol between a key manager and an encrypting device? Sun has announced what it claims to be the [URL="http://opensolaris.org/os/project/kmsagenttoolkit/"]release[/URL] of the first such protocol into an open source community as part of the …

It's that time of year when the Mobile World Congress hits Barcelona, and McAfee has taken advantage of the fact to announce findings from new research that shows mobile device manufacturers are now spending more time and money than ever on recovering from security incidents as well as experiencing more …

It seems that Microsoft thinks security threats are going to multiply as the recession continues to bite. It says [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7875904.stm"]here[/URL] that disgruntled and redundant employees will resort to foul means to take contacts to the next job. This sounds kind of familiar to me. Far be it from me to …

Today is [URL="http://www.saferinternet.org"]Safer Internet Day[/URL] 2009, apparently. Every year since 2004, one day in February has been designated as Safer Internet Day in order to promote a safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. It is aimed primarily at children and young people across the world. …

Some school kids in Louisiana got a surprise last Monday when sitting at their computers: the floating head of Barack Obama on-screen. They were amongst the first to be infected with the Obama-head worm which spreads via USB memory sticks courtesy of the Windows Autorun feature which is causing widespread …

President Barack Obama will be able to continue to use a personal digital assistant like the Blackberry he used during the campaign, which naturally required security improvements. But more important, the new administration has agreed that any messages he sends through the device will be subject to the Presidential Records …

McAfee has today announced that it has launched a Cybersecurity Expert Council which features security experts from some of the largest companies in the world, including the likes of BAE Systems, Dell and even NASA. Apparently the idea is for the CEC to provide what McAfee refers to as "real-world …

According to the [URL="http://www.dcexaminer.com/local/012909-Ex-Fannie_Mae_worker_charged_with_planting_computer_virus.html"]DC Examiner[/URL] a former contract worker with Fannie Mae has been indicted, and bailed, on charges of computer intrusion. It is alleged that Rajendrasinh Makwana dropped a virus into Fannie Mae software which had the potential to cause millions of dollars worth of damage if it had …

The Mayor of London, the totally eccentric Boris Johnson, has written a column in a national newspaper in which he champions fellow loon [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2863.html"]Gary McKinnon[/URL], the [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20017/53/"]NASA UFO hacker[/URL]. Currently busy fighting extradition to the USA on the grounds that, essentially, to do so would not be fair to someone …

I'm not talking about openssl, PHP, or even the Linux kernel but all the above plus every other program or bit of code on a Linux system. It's vulnerable. It's hackable. It can be changed at will by anyone because the source is open and freely available (the definition of …

Heartland Payment Systems, one of the biggest card payment processors in the US, has been the victim of what could well be the biggest security breach of its kind. Malicious software installed onto the Heartland network could have compromised as many as 100 million transactions according to numerous emerging reports. …