Extreme Tech Analysis by Wolf

This started as a joke and now it seems to be taking on a life of its own.

Have a great weekend!

-Wolf

Some people use the terms spyware and adware interchangeably as if they are the same thing. Sure  they are both designed to invade our privacy but their purposes diverge in several ways.

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Updated Alert:  Most visus hoaxes are notable for their lack of information and detail.  This poor quality in virus hoaxes must be stamped out, so here is a candidate for a more entertaining virus hoax.  Here is the “Neverland” Virus Hoax.

New virux Hoax ‘Neverland’

There is a new hoax virux that is going around. KrispyKreme and Microsoft announced on Friday. First seen in 1857, this virux cannot be deleted from your hard drive and changes solid-state storage devices such as Flash drives to a liquid state. If you discover you have got this virux, wear rubber gloves to transport your computer to the nearest INDUSTRIAL SHREADER.  It has paid off Snopes.com so they will not write about it.
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Just a quick idea.

Computer security is a habit.  There are a few things that need to be done consistently, and they are not difficult.  They are also not expensive.

• # Use a password on your computer.  These days, the threats you let in on your computer might be just bad habits your friends have.  You probably don’t distribute your car keys to all the people who come over to a party at your house, and you probably don’t want to allow anybody who comes over access to your personal stuff.  It’s none of their business.  The government has approved the airport search team to look at the content of your computer, if you are going on international flights.  This has obvious security and privacy issues, and if you have sensitive business files on your laptop or your home computer, you want them behind a password.  Unexpected users on your home machine might not be as careful as you are and you might collect spyware and worms from them going to unsafe sites. (more…)
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I am going to be speaking at the Atlanta SecureWorld Expo. This is my third SecureWorld, and I have been going to the Expo since they started having them. I was asked to post the details of the talk and so here they are. My segment is part of the 2-day conference pricing structure (less than the cost of an hour’s consultation for 2 full days of great speakers and industry leaders), and I will be available in the Exhibit area much of both days. I am trying to secure a special rate for my readers here, and as soon as I can I will post the results.

Penetration-Testing Tools You Need to Know
by Wolf Halton - Author, Speaker, Researcher
(co-author of Computer Security and Penetration Tools)
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Ballroom C
April 29th 2008
Cobb Galleria Centre
Two Galleria Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
Telephone: 770-955-8000

TWO DAY CONFERENCE $195
Conference Sessions, Conference Keynote Breakfast, Conference Reception, Exhibits and Open Sessions (Includes Lunch & 12 CPE Certificate of Attendance)

SECUREWORLD + $695
Extended Training Opportunities - Includes Two Day Conference Tracks
(16 CPE Certificate of Attendance)

EXHIBITS/OPEN SESSIONS…FREE
Exhibits / Open Sessions (Available With Online or On-site Registration)

http://secureworldexpo.com

An Internet search can net you hundreds of penetration testing tools, but which tools are going to help you the most to protect your network? What tools would you use in conjunction to see what was really going on in your wired network. The tools must be easy to use, and it must provide the best test you are capable of. Wolf Halton, security expert and open-source consultant, is here to set the story straight by giving you a “How to” virtual demonstration using the two best penetration tools available.

The Open Source movement has raised fear in the hearts of the closed-source traditional community. They consider the mere concept of making source-code readily available to be equivalent to letting people steal their corporate intellectual property. In response to this fear, software manufacturers have spent huge sums of money to infect you with this fear and make you suspicious of open-source projects and doubt the prudence of using open-source software in your organizations. Mostly, open source software distributors have not risen to the challenge to refute the claims. Wolf Halton, security expert and open-source consultant, presents The Seven Security Secrets of Open Source, to show you ways to improve profitability and lower the costs of doing business by using Open Source software.

Though my segment is non-free, the open Exhibit speakers are good.
OPENING KEYNOTE April 29, 2008
(Open Session) 9:30AM
Jeff Bardin, Director, Risk Management, EMC2
Cyber Jihad

April 30, 2008
INFRAGARD KEYNOTE BREAKFAST
(Open Session)
Keynote Speaker 9:30AM
Johnny Long, Professional Hacker,
Author & Researcher
“No-Tech Hacking”

LUNCHEON KEYNOTE 12:30PM
(Open Session)-Paid Conference Includes Lunch
Gordon Mitchell, President, Future Focus
How to Become A Counter-Spy in Three Easy Steps

LUNCHEON KEYNOTE 12:00PM
(Open Session)-Paid Conference Includes Lunch
Roger G. Johnston Ph.D., Manager, Vulnerability Assessment Team
Smirking and Vulnerability Assessments

So look at the SecureWorldExpo site for all the details. I look forward to seeing you there!

I have put up a web site called http://goodcoffeedirect.com/  My talent lies mostly in getting the sites working, and so this is an interesting one for me in that I am having to figure out how to market the site.  I have done a lot of reading on this topic, but this is really the first time I have taken a site into the category of successfully making sales.  Usually, the people I made sites for would handle that themselves.  Since this issue will be almost entirely about marketing and how to do it, I am doing this one at my blog on http://www.mymarketingmafia.com

If there is an interesting part that is more tech than marketing, I will write it up here.

My bags are packed, and I am going to Seattle WA in about an hours It is 6:00 am, and I have managed to sleep for about 2 hours. There are so many things to do.

In 2005, I was siting in the faculty office at a local college, where I teach a couple of classes on computer security. The faculty office at that time was a large room with one whole wall of windows that faced (mostly) West. Dr Alfred Basta came in and sat down beside me. He asked, “You are a hacker?”

We started planning a book on the details of hacking on that day. There was nothing available that showed what we believed needed to be shown. The books available were either far too technical for the average educated person (or even for the average 3rd-year college student majoring in IT Security) or far more common, they were far to general and unspecific. I call it “a 2000-yard view” like the understanding you would get about a culture by floating above it in a hot-air balloon. (more…)

What are the most common failures of laptop security?

Some of these are physical handling issues and some are web-surfing
issues. If you get these right, you have more than half the battle
against hackers won. (more…)