Computer Monitoring

This article advocates for computer monitoring in the workplace. According to the article, doing so can secure data by blocking websites or alerting people to new threats or malware. Overall, the only legitimate reasons the article gave for monitoring computers was to ensure that employees in a business are using the computers for work purposes only. The only reasons in the article for network security do not require computer monitoring software to be effective. Websites can still be blocked and emails regarding threats can still be sent via email. The fact that employees might not support this kind of “safety” was addressed very briefly but overall, it didn’t seem to really be considered. This is a very good example of people trying to avoid the problem of network security instead of addressing it and educating employees about the threats they are supposedly being protected from.

The article can be found here: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-effects-computer-monitoring-workplace-897.html

Should should social networking sites be allowed in the workplace?

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/111011-insider-social-networks-252988.html

This article discusses the current debate on whether social media websites like Facebook or LinkedIn should be allowed to be used in the workplace. For example, many companies believe that social websites are very distracting to have in the workplace, because it causes several of their employees to not be able to complete their work in a timely manner because they are always getting distracted. Also, many social networking sites can pose as a major security threat to some companies, because they are an easy source of viruses and spam which could filtrate into the company if their employees become infected by it. Although social networking sites can be bad for many companies they can also be put to good use for journalists and reporters as they can easily use the information from these websites to be able to better cover and write a story for their job. In my opinion, I believe that employees should not really be allowed to use social media sites while they are at work, because it causes a lot of distractions and it prevents many people from actually getting all of their work done.

Cloud based storage

While storing data on the cloud is extremely handy and useful, centralizing all of your data into one single location may be a vital mistake.  Since all of your data is centralized away from your computer it is easy to access regardless of what computer your on, under any operating system.

The big flaw in doing this is that if some unintended party were to gain access to this data it had now all been centralized for them.  In doing so if any security of this were to be comprimised to corrupted this means all of the data for millions of users would have been stolen/corrupted simultaneously prvoding a huge security threat.

Comodo Firewall

There are several key features which sets Comodo Firewall apart from any other firewall on the market today.  Comodo combines the cusomizability and large amount of configuration options with a very an extremely intuitive and easy to use interface and knowledgebase.  By doing this Comodo is now perfect for both the amateur user who is new to firewalls, and the techy who wants to customize every possible option.

Comodo monitors every piece of network activity occuring with your computer and always gives you control over what to allow and what to disallow along with always remembering your decisions.  Comodo quickly learns your user behavior to deliver you personalized protection with its very attractive GUI while its DDP-based (default deny protection)  security keeps you informed and your computer as safe as possible.  With its exensive databases and information about over 2 million applications if in doubt to whether to allow an application to access your computer Comodo will already have prepared a detailed report of its analysis and recomendations.

Electronic boarding passes for airplanes

 

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/travel/testing-e-boarding-passes.html

 

There is currently a new technological advanced that has been made in the airplane industry in regarding the use of electronic boarding passes instead of paper ones. For example, there are applications now available on smart phones that will allow individuals to be able to now use electronic boarding passes right from their cell phones. Over 75 different airports in the United States are now allowing its passengers to use electronic boarding passages for their flights. The way this works is that you will have your boarding pass sent to your smart phone via email or text message and then you will present the message containing a bar code that can be scanned by the airport security and again when you arrive at the gate. One advantage to using electronic boarding passes is that most people already are going to have their cellphones with them and so no they won’t have to worry about losing or misplacing their boarding passes anymore. Also, some disadvantages though are that your cellphone could die and therefore you would be unable to produce your electronic boarding pass to be scanned and e-boarding can only be used if there is only one person in your reservation. In my opinion, I believe that we should just stick with using paper boarding passes instead of electronic ones, because not everyone has smart phones and also there is no need to advance the technology to start using electronic boarding passes at airports anyways.

Peerblock: Protect Yourself

 

Peerblock is a software application which ‘knows bad’ computers and prevents them from accessing your computer.  Peerblock does this by having a list of different computers, associations, governments, corporations, machines flagged for anti-p2p activities, and countries.  From these lists you can select which of them you would like to block form accessing your computer.

The IP filtering abilities of Peerblock are second to none, and allow you to even block lists of hosts known for Ads.  Peerblock will let you know every IP that is being blocked for you and log it along with its details.  Of course, if need be you can always allow a computer to connect for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or permanently.  If you wish to protect yourself from unknown entities accessing your computer Peerblock is for you.

Laws of Security Administration

In this article (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722488.aspx), what they consider the “10 Laws of Security Administration” are covered. Not surprisingly, many of the laws they post are exactly what was covered in Cyber Self Defense.  The last one especially “Technology is not a Panacea” is what most people fail to realize. They go on to cover that there is no guaranteed safety from software or hardware alone. It takes lots of awareness, planning, and constant administration. All of the tips in the article should be obvious to anybody in a network security field, but it seems to be a very good article for people who don’t typically concern themselves with this area or tend to ignore it altogether.

Internet Explorer 9

     Internet Explorer has received a lot of flack in past years being that it had so many security flaws. It’s often treated like the red-haired step child of internet browsers. However, in recent years Microsoft has stepped up their game and produced a legitimate alternative to using Chrome or Firefox. Unlike past versions of IE, Internet Explorer 9 was actually made ground up with a security mindset.

Anytime you try to do something that could harm your computer Internet Explorer 9 warns you. For instance, when navigating to or downloading from a known harmful website it will suggest you navigate away. When downloading files it will scan it to make sure it is safe. Now that is not new to internet browsers but IE9 is able to detect “99% of the malware it encountered,” according to the NSS. Considering IE9′s origins this is a huge step forward for Microsoft.

 

Securing Wireless Networks

Along with many other recent technological advancements, wireless networks have become increasingly popular over the years. As with all new technological advancements, there comes possible security risks as well. Here are several ways to minimize the risks to your wireless network:

Change default passwords- Most wireless devices, such as wireless access points come pre-configured with a default administrator password in order to make setting it up simple and easy to the average consumer. These passwords should be changed immediately when you get your device because these passwords can be found easily online and provide little to no protection. By doing so an attacker cannot easily gain access to your device and take control of it.

Restrict access- Only authorized user should have access to your network. Access to your network can be restricted or allowed by filtering MAC addresses. There are several technologies that require wireless users to authenticate before accessing the network.

Encrypt the data on your network- WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) both encrypt information on wireless devices. WEP however, has a number of security issues, making it less effective than WPA, so you should especially look for hardware that supports WPA encryption. Data encryption helps secure your data and prevents it so that anyone who gains unauthorized access into your wireless network can’t see your data.

Protect your SSID- Avoid publicizing your SSID to prevent giving outsiders easy access to your network. It is suggested that you change your SSID to something that is not easily guessed.

Install a Firewall- It is in good practice to not only install a firewall on your network, but a host based firewall on all of your wireless devices as well. A host based firewall can prevent an attacker from directly tapping into your wireless network to circumvent your network firewall, and add an extra layer of security.

Maintain anti-virus software- You can reduce possible damage to your network and wireless devices by installing anti-virus software and keeping it up to date. Many of these programs also have features that help defend against and detect spyware and trojan horses.

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST05-003.html

Four years of Google Security

Google is hard at work on the forefront of the fight against malware. For over five years now, google’s safe browsing initiative has protected users from malware and sites that carry it. This article ( http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2011/08/four-years-of-web-malware.html ) shows google’s achievements on the analysis and growth of malware on the internet. Some things they have covered are rates of social engineering, IP cloaking, and new detection capabilities that are state of the art for the safe browsing initiative.

We should be glad that google works so hard to prevent viruses on the internet. As the blog will show us many viruses are impressive and can harm not only your computer, but your information. There is no better thing than being perfectly secure, and with the efforts of google and other anti-virus agents on the internet, we could in due time be looking at a new age free of viruses.