2007 July

A computer term you should be familiar with is sandbox. Software developers often run their untested code in a protected environment called a sandbox. If the software misbehaves, the sandbox is shut down and everything returns to normal, no harm done. It’s a great way to prevent viruses and other malware from infecting your machine while browsing the web. [...]

In Maxim #7, I said that data security is senior to physical security. While true, physical security is only slightly less important. Taking steps to prevent theft of your computer is common sense. Sure, encrypt your data to make it useless to a thief if he manages to steal your hardware, but make it as difficult as possible [...]

I know you depend on this blog for security related information, but I just can’t resist posting this. Sometimes we security wonks just have to let loose and have some fun. After all, being too serious about things ain’t healthy.
I’ve already posted a link on Ask the Geek, but here it is again: Jay Leno [...]

We frequently hear news of a laptop holding sensitive information having been stolen. Bad in itself, but the reports often note that the information was unencrypted. Doubly bad. Certainly, physical security is important — you want to do everything you can to prevent physical access to, or theft of, your computer — but data security [...]

From USA Today:
“STOCKHOLM (AP) — She is a latecomer to the information superhighway, but 75-year-old Sigbritt Lothberg is now cruising the Internet with a dizzying speed. Lothberg’s 40 gigabits-per-second fiber-optic connection in Karlstad is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world, Karlstad city officials said.
“In less than 2 seconds, Lothberg can download [...]

In an effort to thwart removal efforts, the criminals who produce malware such as WORM_SOHANAD.AF have taken to disabling Windows Task Manager and Registry Editor. The technique isn’t new, but its use is on the rise according to SANS NewsBites Vol. 9 No. 53:
BotVoice-A… disables the Windows registry editor which makes cleaning up the mess [...]