Dave Murphy's Student Resources Blog
At the recent Chaos Communications Congress, Steven J. Murdoch, a researcher in the security group at the University of Cambridge, discussed how clock skew can be used to facilitate a digital attack against anonymity networks. Clock skew, the tendency for a computer’s clock to become less precise when heated, can reduce the efficacy of anonymizers, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Tor network.
Have you recently been receiving messages from a number of new friends? If so, you are either a good person or a one of the millions of spam victims. Experts estimate that 90% of e-mail traffic is spam, and those spammers claiming to be your friend may not really have your best interests at heart.
Creating a geographically-flexible workspace* has always been my dream. It took me ten years from the time that I first added this goal to my business plan to finally implement it. Since April 1, 2000, I have been working from a home office, a suite of 1,400 square feet that includes a private conference and reading room, office space, and a work room with a long bench upon which I can repair computers and assemble books. I even have my own kitchen and lavatory. If my refrigerator were a little larger, I could comfortably live here!
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Web sites must be hosted on a computer that is connected to the Internet. Domains, the alphanumeric names given to Web sites, must be registered and assigned to the site. Otherwise, it we be much more difficult to locate Web sites and practically impossible to address e-mail messages.
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Sensitive digital data must be securely erased, once a computer system is marked for disposal!
As a rule of thumb, installing and uninstalling software applications does slow down a Microsoft Windows system, because the system registry becomes more complex. However, some utility products carry a low system footprint, and I judge, offer specific value that cannot be obtained through the applications included with Microsoft Windows, thereby outweighing a minor reduction in system performance.
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Data files must be secured, especially if they were stored on a portable media device (USB thumb drive, CD, DVD) or a notebook computer. In addition to securing the data, the files must also be duplicated in a safe place.
I keep each of my systems backed up using Norton Ghost. I duplicate the Norton Ghost backup images on the server, a portable hard disk, and DVD. With Norton Ghost, I can easily restore my primary Microsoft Windows partition (C: drive), in the event of any problem. I have never had to rebuild a primary partition since I began using Norton Ghost, about 12 years ago. It has saved my hide countless times!
Flash memory devices have a write-erase life cycle of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 sets. I never thought of flash memory as being limited to the number of times a section of the media could be reused; I assumed that the media would be similar to hard disks, which fail mechanically before the media loses its ability to store and retrieve data.
The only fully-secured computer is one that is turned off. It is impossible to guarantee total security, especially once a computer is connected to a network, including the Internet. The best for which an IT manager (or an individual user) may hope is that the installed antivirus, antispam, and firewall applications are stronger than the attacks the computer receives.
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
It is a simple matter to secure sensitive data using a freeware application.
A firewall, whether it is hardware or software, controls the flow of network traffic, in both directions. Unlike a hub or switch, which route traffic from one network address* to another.
Google, Inc. seems to hope that thousands, possibly millions, of internet users will trust their digital data to the Mountain View, California company, the same one that sings forth the anthem “Don’t be evil.”
University of Michigan researchers have developed the first scalable quantum computer chip using principally the same semiconductor manufacturing process as integrated semiconductor chips. The researchers have been able to trap and control a single atom within a processor chip.
Do you carry a cellphone? Do you know that your cellular service provider knows where your phone is? By extension, if you carry your phone with you, your cellular service provider knows where you are. Cellular phones can be located, accurate to within about 300 yards, whenever they are turned on. Since most cellular phone users keep their phones on and with them most of the time, it is quite probable that their ongoing whereabouts are being automatically tracked.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment attempted to protect some of its music CDs from digital piracy by automatically installing copy protection software on the computers of users who attempted to play the music CDs on their computers. The security tool is a system root kit, and it restricts copying of the music on the CD. In response to a widespread outcry from consumers and security experts, Sony BMG Music Entertainment created a downloadable patch that will disable the root kit security program; however, the patch leaves the affected computer open to anyone’s downloading software to the computer.
While it is illegal to use a handheld cellular phone while driving in some states, and experts agree that holding a cellular conversation while driving is a contributing cause to driver distraction, it seems that some states may have found a way to take advantage of the popularity of road-bound cellular phones.
Westchester County, New York, a suburb of New York City, may become the first area in the country to require wireless networks to be secured. Wi-Fi hot spots, such as those found in coffee shops, book stores, and recreational areas are popular not only with average citizens, but also with crackers seeking to collect credit card data and other personal information.
A new worm, named P2Load.A, is in the wild. Once infected, users of Google’s search engine are redirected to a spoofed site in Germany that looks just like the powerhouse search engine’s main page. Spoofed search results include new, top-of-list links to advertisers who are not a member of Google’s desired advertiser list.
Google, Inc., the search engine (and everything else) company has released a beta version of a blog search site that offers similar features to its most-popular web search engine. The new search engine scans blogs, the popular online journals that offer both professional journalists and citizen pundits simple access to online publication. Google Blog Search should give a bit of much-wanted visibility and authority to the burgeoning blogosphere.