I have not been much of a security guy in the past, but with new dangers around every corner I have been spending more time in the category. I was reading an article recently and I had one of those why didn’t I think of that? moments. Well to sum it up I had to update my wireless security because the long funky password that I knew was strong enough to sentry anyone who would care to access my network doesn’t matter. Apparently the passcode is transmitted attached to data when the wireless network is in use and there are a few fairly easy to learn methods of extracting the code from the transmission. Once you have the code you can access the network at any time. So the solution for now is not to use good ‘ol WEP shared key security anymore. The newest one on my router is WPA-2 and it has a nice big space for a secure code. Since you only have to enter this when you are connecting a wireless device for the first time you can make it long and complex. I used a phrase with some punctuation and capitalization play.
In addition to an increased level of wireless security WPA is also ready for the wireless N standard. I am guessing it is not that obvious in the setup instructions that N does not support WEP because I have heard from a couple people who had to spend some time finding out the hard way.
So it’s time to move on. Sorry WEP, it’s not you, it’s me.
Posted in networking, Security - No Comments
There are many rules about passwords that you may already know. These rules are now often forced upon you when creating them (ex. “Your password must contain at least one number, capital letter, the name of a non-crayola color…”). I don’t usually spend much of my time being paranoid about every aspect of computer security, but some recent research has helped me look at passwords from a different angle.
I will start with my standard password speech. To make it easy I recommend using a password that is a word or phrase that you will never forget where you replace some of the letters with numbers that are similar to them. For instance you could pick your favorite flowers, petunias, and make it p37un1as. You can also add a capital letter at the beginning and symbols to make it more secure, P37un1@s!. Because it is still based on the word you will not forget you simply have to remember which characters you replaced and should be able to figure it out in a few tries. Making it something you remember will also prevent you from writing it down and hopefully not affixing it to your computer.
What I have noticed recently is that if you have one of these nicely made passwords you are going to use it everywhere so you are nice and safe all the while remembering how to get into all of these various places online. Wrong! Have you ever noticed that secure sites like banks and stores have that whole ‘Secure Authentication’ thing. Well the whole reason behind that is when you type any information into your web browser, like passwords, it will be encrypted into a lump then sent over the Internet to its appropriate destination where it is decrypted and verified. This prevents interceptions of this sensitive data between point A and B because all they will get is the lump and not even know what it is let alone want to spend a bunch of time molding it into letters and numbers. So if you use the same password on insecure transmissions (non-lumping sites) there is a chance of interception and what is stopping this entity from trying this new shiny bit of information on the other sites you visit.
Ok, new rule, make different security levels. All the passwords can still be nice letter/number/symbol glyphs as mentioned earlier, but you can make separate passwords depending on how important/secure the sites are. Banks/Credit Card type sites with the most secure multi-word abscure personal fact type. Utilities and ‘Just paying a bill’ sites having a normal 7+ character word with at least 1 number and a capital. Finally a junk password for social networking, forums, coupon clubs, fan sites, etc.
Some of the most secure sites like banks have a new optional feature where they can send you a message on your cell phone each time you login from a new or cookie-cleaned computer. This is a great feature because your password and your phone would both have to be compromised to login to this bank. (Don’t store your password in your phone 
)
Start changing those passwords. Change passwords as often as you can. Think of it like a game. Every time you see a news story about identity theft or a blog about password security, update those passwords.
S7r@w83rry-F13ld2-F0r3v3r!
Here are some links:
Microsoft Password Checker
Verisign – How SSL Works
Special discounts on Norton software.
Posted in Home Computing, Internet - No Comments
If you didn’t already know, Windows Vista has a built in Internet filter to block unwanted web garbage from the little one’s eyes. I recommend turning this on and having a separate user on the computer for this age group. You should put a password on the adult account and leave the filtered account limited and easy to access.
The way most web protection filter’s work is they cross reference each location that appears in the browser with a rating database. It is not just good and bad anymore. You are able to set up a level of the filter to allow only child approved sites, block only adult sites, or something in between including a DYI blacklist.
There are many people out there that don’t know this setting exists or don’t worry because the users of their computer have good judgment. What I am recommending is turn this feature on for everyone. Make sure it does not block the sites you wish to travel to and you can leave access to the unrated sites because it could be a new weather or news site you are blocking. Set users on the computer based on access restriction. Block the youngest ones from the social sites and keep them viewing the places you want them to go. Give the older ones the same access you have allowed them in the past but choose to restrict what you know to be off limits. Even on your account click on the most lenient filter if you must, but remember you can always disable the filter if there is a particular site you need to view.
What are you talking about Rich? I don’t need limits. I am a grown adult!
There are many reasons to filter today’s Internet viewing. Even the top name security programs are starting to have ‘Safe Web’ and ‘Safe Search’ features. The sites that are being blocked through this massive list of no no’s are not just grown eyes only sites. These sites could be malicious spyware sites, scams, unwanted advertisements, or even fake sites that promise the content you are looking for and then deliver nada. When you travel to these sites your judgment is keen and you go back to the next result, but during that brief visit there could have been attack on your browser for spyware, malware, virus, or even hijack. With the filter enabled you are given a warning when the site is blocked allowing you to think again before entering and most of the time just go to that next result without hesitation. Same thing with the kids and their spaces and faces. They see ads for things like “Make money testing Chewing Gum” and “Free Pink Pony Laptop!”. Its not that they have bad judgment, but that their curiosity on a seemingly harmless ad could end up junking up your machine. I am not saying that your expensive protection software that you renew yearly isn’t doing its job. Just there are some more little things you can do to prevent annoyances and take control of what you and your family are exposed to on today’s web.
Here are some links:
Posted in Home Computing - No Comments
It’s not just a vaccination anymore. There are too many terms for the problemware invading your computer nowadays. I think the industry finally settled on just Virus and Spyware, but for a while there people were using terms like Adware and Malware also. I would have thought they would have settled with malware instead of spyware because malware covers anything malicious while spyware is a term for a program installed in your computer to gather and return information or spy.
Anyway, so how about all those choices out there. Even after you pick a brand by asking that relative that is supposed to be a wiz and that elder shopper showing you the latest consumer reports you still have to choose a package. It seems like the major players have settled into a small/medium/large scaling system. Most consumers will base their choice by price at this point. If they really want to be protected and they have the extra cash they will buy large etc. This choice should be made based on the computer it will be installed on and not the price. If you are protecting an older computer that does not have much memory or speed and you are not planning on upgrading either of these statistics than you don’t need large. Yes, large will protect you more, but at what expense on performance. It may use what little resources you had left just to keep running in the background and then when you want to actually use the computer you have to wait much longer to complete a task. My advice for the older computer is buy the small option for basic protection. It will prevent a total crash by detecting and removing most baddies. If you are running at least 1GB RAM with XP or 2GB RAM with Vista then you can go for medium or large. Some software companies don’t have a large, but the difference between their medium and large are usually minimal.
Right now I am trying out Microsoft OneCare which I would think to be a ‘meduim’ even though Microsoft does not have a full line of choices like Symantec or McAfee. Another medium that I would recommend would be Kaspersky. They have a internet security package that is about the same price as its competition and boasts a couple bullet points that outweigh the others. The next one I want to try out is made by a company called eset. They say on their site that they were awarded by some major publications, but I think I found them through a google search and not by reading one of the reviews.
Thats all for now. Hope the info helps.
Posted in Software, Virus Removal - 1 Comment
