Friday, February 29, 2008

That Wi-Fi network you thought was secure? It ain't

Businesses using some of the more advanced methods for securing connections to Wi-Fi access points need to take a hard look at the configuration settings of client computers. So say researchers who have documented a simple way to impersonate trusted networks.

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Tips, Tricks and Tweaks for Windows Users

Here's a great site with excellent content that covers a broad range of information with video tutorials for learning some of the most impressive web applications and software available today. From computer security to Windows XP system utilities you'll find the information you need here.

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German court limits cyber spying

Germany's highest court has restricted the right of the security services to spy on the computers of suspected criminals and terrorists.

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10 Linux Security Tips

Ways to keep your computer under your control.

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10 Computer Security Tips, How Many Are You Applying? | Keit

Right off… I’m not a security expert. I’m just a guy who got attacked, and learned some hard lessons.Let ask you a question…What price do you place on security?Getting your computer hacked, or email cracked is a crime of opportunity.

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Security skills of IT workforce lacking, survey finds

A majority of organizations are in need of IT workers with security, firewall and data privacy skills, but more than 40% of 3,500 tech professionals surveyed by the Computing Technology Industry Association said their IT employees are not proficient in such skills.

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Tips To Prevent Hackers in Your Computer

Internet security is a major issue these days. People called hackers spend millions of dollars trying to figure out how to get into your computer. The dangers of computer hackers increase every day. This website is an excellent source of red hot tips to help you enjoy your computer and your use of the internet with an exceptional degree of comfort

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New AVG Internet Security 8.0 | Get Reviewed!

Grisfot has recently released the newest version of AVG Internet Security 8.0 is which promises to protect you online activities.

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Oregon State increases reliance on Macs

Apple's popular 'Get a Mac' TV spots are also causing a stir, according to Dave Nevin, IT manager for college community network."The Mac vs. PC ads are very compelling marketing; and I think they've had sway," Nevin said.

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Mac vs. PC vs. Linux -- South Park Style

Gabe Schwarzer, the video creator who brought us the original Mac vs. PC "South Park" style parody ad is back with a sequel. It lags for some part - but the ending is funny.

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Trojan targets Windows Mobile

McAfee has unearthed a Windows Mobile PocketPC Trojan that disables security, installs via a memory card, can’t be uninstalled and makes itself your home page.

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M$ lowered Vista reqs to help Intel sell incompatible chips

So now that the "Vista Capable" lawsuit is a full-blown class action, the judge has unsealed all 158 pages of emails between Microsoft execs trying to sort out what went wrong with the sticker program. While bits and pieces have been blacked out, what remains is still fairly incredible...

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NASA uses Fedora - a lot!

Jack Aboutboul, Red Hat Community Engineer, had the chance to visit NASA and take a look around. While there he discovered that they use Fedora a lot, from live video distribution to Houston to data analysis of the Columbia crash. Read on for more details and lots of pictures!

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Ten Nigerians arrested in Spain for email lottery scam

IT security and control firm Sophos has reminded computer users about the danger of internet scams following the arrest of ten people in Spain alleged to have defrauded victims via an email lottery scam.

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Invisible dots left by printers 'breach privacy'

European Union justice watchdogs are concerned that “Big Brother” computer printer technology that allows security agencies to track printed documents might breach privacy laws.

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Tips For Improving Users' Security Awareness

Some of the biggest threats to computer and network security come from end users who aren't particularly tech-savvy or have been educated about safe computing practices on-line. This article has some advice on the sorts of things those of us that end up providing PC support for friends, family and colleagues can do to better inform them.

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Microsoft scrambles to quash 'friendly' worm story

Microsoft is moving to counter scathing comments over a security paper authored by researchers at its Cambridge facility,which suggests computer worms can be used for good...

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Security Breach Of Desktop Hard Drive At Mass. School Dept.

It had to happen sooner or later. A hard drive, on what I assume to be a desktop computer, was stolen from the Malden headquarters Department of Education, in Massachusetts. An auditor for the department arrived to work last week only to find that his computer wouldn’t work. Assistance was requested, and the technical workers identified...

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Why Do I Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me?

Spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of all PCs today. These unobtrusive, malicious programs are designed to silently bypass firewalls and anti-virus software without the user’s knowledge. Once embedded in a computer, it can wreak havoc on the...

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Vineyard Victim To Computer Theft and Security Breach

J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines notifying the Attorney General’s office in New Hampshire that two computers were stolen from their office at company headquarters. A reconstruction of the computer data showed that one of the computers contained the names and Social Security numbers of J. Lohr employees. A copy of the letter to be sent affected..

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HOW TO: Create a Ghost Boot CD

Full fledged HOW TO with files necessary to create a working Ghost Boot CD. Works great for IT shops with multiple computers that have different NICs, but want tighter security than booting from a USB drive. Full fledged HOW TO with files necessary to create a working Boot CD.

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Disk encryption may not be secure enough, new research finds

Computer scientists have discovered a novel way to bypass the encryption used in programs like Microsoft's BitLocker and Apple's FileVault and then view the contents of supposedly secure files.

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Splash ID For Blackberry Two Word Review: Flexible Security

True story. I was at a $500 million++ client yesterday. One executive (who will remain nameless) had all his passwords “securely” hidden (drum roll please) on a tattered piece of paper taped to his desk under his computer monitor. If this sounds like you (or someone you know) — please do better with your password management.

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Phishers cash in on genuine warning with vishing scam

Cybercriminals clone bank switchboard to trick worried customers. IT security and control firm Sophos is warning computer users to be extra vigilant about any emails which claim to come from financial institutions, no matter how genuine the correspondence appears.

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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Why Training Camp Should Be Your Choice For Certification

Last year I attended the 9 day Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator bootcamp in Bushkill, PA hosted by Training Camp. Their facilities, training, instructors, and support people are the best in the business. They take care of you from the moment you arrive till the moment you depart. Like other training facilities out there, they offer a wide array of Microsoft, Cisco, Comptia, and Sun certifications, along with many others. But what sets the Training Camp apart from the others is the atmosphere, and the sincere goal to ensure you leave camp with your certifications.
How do they do that? Well, there's no magic bullet. It takes many layers to achieve this. First, the accommodations are first rate. I stayed in an efficiency apartment, basically. It was a resort villa, complete with a full kitchen (bigger than the one in my home), a great room with TV, fireplace, dining table, and a bathroom. And that's just the downstairs. The upstairs has a full bath and a good size bedroom with a TV. Not that you get to spend much time there, but when you leave the classroom, you can eat, and study in comfort, and sleep in peace.

Next, they provide for all meals except dinner. The classroom and instructor are available 24 hours a day. They keep a well stocked kitchen with a vast variety of quick and easy snack and meals, as well as your favorite junk food; that's brain food for us geeks.

or lunch we ate for free buffet at the resort restaurant. We did have to provide our own dinner, but they provided a shuttle to take us to the local grocery store twice a week to get things we needed. That way when we left class we had food in our room, we could make something quickly and resume studying.

In the classroom they have wireless internet access, so bring a laptop. You're gonna need it to copy over the work files for the homework and study time back in your room. Otherwise you may wind up staying at classroom till midnight to study.

The instructors are top rate. My instructor was not some guy that liked computers and took the tests; he had real world experience, and he was my age so he'd been around the block and back a few times. He understood how this technology worked, not only in the private sector, but for the government sector as well.

The training material has withstood the test of time, and is geared to provide the most effective means to both learn and pass the exams. The schedule is tight, and optimized to ensure all the relevant material is presented and absorbed before a student walks into the testing center. Because the instructors are so well versed in the material, students are immersed in constant review of the material, especially on the day of the exam, and right up until they walk to the testing center.

While the conventional wisdom is that bootcamps are considered short term learning, and that you won't retain much of what is presented, that simply isn't true. Someone, who at one time was very influential to my career, said that bootcamps were cheating, although he allowed training money to be spent on them. I guess it's subjective to how you best learn, but I disagree. Being 40 something, and having adult ADHD, I found it to be the best way for me to learn. I learned more in those 9 days, then I learned in all the 40 hour block classes I attended on the same subjects. In this forum I HAD TO LEARN IT, because I HAD TO PASS THE TEST. At the Training Camp, the instructors make sure you are confident you know the material and can pass before you leave the classroom and walk to the testing center. The biggest shot in the arm is when you pass that first test. You come back to class, and you say "bring it on!"

Here are some other reasons the Training Camp should be your choice for certification. The Training Camp is the only 3rd party vendor authorized to administer the CISSP exam. The Training Camp was founded in 1998, they're 10 years old. They have centers at all these locations:



United States:
Atlanta, GA,
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Huntsville, AL
New York, NY
Orange County, CA
Orlando, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Pocono Mountains, PA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Seattle, WA
Stamford, CT
Vienna, VA

Canada:
Mississauga, ON
Ottawa, ON

They recently opened a State-of-the-Art New Facility in Vienna, VA . The New Location Represents Comprehensive, State-of-the-Art Training To Serve the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan Area.

While I haven't attended another bootcamp, others I know have. Their experiences are not as positive, and they didn't get the full certification when they left. The primary goal of the bootcamp is to leave with your certification, period. Everything else is gravy.

Now don't miss understand me, I would much rather work with someone with a ton of experience and no certification, then someone with little experience and a certification any day of the week and all day Sunday. But the reality is that a certification, like a degree, is what gets your resume noticed. In the end it adds more chat-ching to your wallet.


Regards

John Crawford



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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Thieves Remove Personal Info in Providence Diocese Theft

Thieves who broke into the Diocese of Providence stole a computer that contained a major amount of personal data on diocese employees.Diocese spokesman Michael Guilfoyle said the theft occurred last weekend between Friday night and Saturday morning.He said four computers were taken, and one had personal information on about 5,000 employees

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No Disk Encryption: Personal Data Compromised For 4,000

Marine Corps Bases Japan officials are investigating the Jan. 11 theft of a laptop computer, which contained personally identifiable information for as many as 4,000 clients of Marine Corps Community Services' New Parent Support Program.

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Who Dosen't Want A Faster More Secure Computer?

20 (mostly free) downloads that help speed up your PC or boosts it's defenses. All are recommend by the Editors at PC World.

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72 Tips for Safer Computing

From the basics to the extreme, here are the tricks that will keep your computer, you, and your family secure and safe.

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