“Less than a day after Apple announced a new two-factor authentication to better protect Apple ID and iCloud accounts, the company was scrambling to fix another major security hole with its own password reset tool.”
AddThis ThreatPost
Tag Archives: mac
One in four wireless networks are still unsecure
Annually our class studies wireless technology and its implementation into homes and industry. Surveys are conducted to analyze security used, transmit power and geographic location of wireless technology. According to Wigle.net, Security has improved over the last nine years. Home users are still setting up their wireless wrong by not providing a WPA2 (AES) form of encryption. Approximately 23% of home users still have open internet that neighbors or anyone passing by can use. (22 million are secure and 9 million remain unsecure!) Vendors have tried to make setting up wireless easy and secure by providing WPS and/or a setup utility disk that walks the user through step by step. Once you have secure wireless, you should change the password periodically to prevent users from learning what your passphrase is.
Wigle provides a map of wireless throughout the globe. As users find wireless, they upload their data to Wigle and the database is free to the public.
With GPS technology today, anyone including malicious wardrivers can map out coordinates of unsecured wifi. Make sure you secure your wifi.
See our other articles on wireless technology
Note: During a survey we do not use packet analyzers or methods to see data on the wireless networks.
How long will it take a file to transfer on a network or to download?
Numion has several excellent tools in order to estimate how long it takes a file to transfer on a network or to be downloaded from the internet. Of course these are estimates that are affected by overhead and other factors.
For example, if you have a 2.3 Gigabyte iso that you want to download and you don’t have anything on your network that is using traffic , you can estimate 4 hours and 19+ mins on a T1 with a 20% overhead.
You can download the calculator page and use it offline (Noted on the site).
Other calculators include stopwatch to measure your website loading speed, server requirements, server capacity and others.
Phrases you may hear in IT
Years ago we made a list of phrases we’ve heard in IT. These are phrases you may hear in the server room or when someone is on the phone with end-users.
“Try it and see…”
“Who knows?”
“Reboot it” ”It’s working now.”
“Ok, let me get this straight… “
“Is Google dumb today?”
“Why does every forum say check for a virus?”
“Did that hard drive just click?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Are we busy? Nah.”
“It worked yesterday.”
“How did they do that?”
“Try it again.”
“Try it now.”
“I don’t have a clue.”
“What do you think?”
“It should work now.”
“I don’t get it.”
“What the…”
“Really, did that just happen?”
“Is your caps-lock on?”
“Don’t tell me that.”
“I hope that just broke.”
“Did you see that?”
“Watch this.”
“That ain’t good.”
“That’s just great.”
“Did you see that?”
“How did that happen?”
“Don’t touch it until we can send someone.”
“Don’t let them touch anything.”
“They could break a steel block with a feather.”
“Did the lights just blink?”
“I don’t know.”
“You got me.”
“Let me think.” This is the time a manager will walk by when you are just sitting there.
“It’s a mystery.”
“We’re doing what?”
“Have you seen the DVD for _______?” Fill in the blank, this is the DVD you need…now.
“They need what?” This is always followed by “When?” Which in turn is followed by an answer
with the shortest possible deadline.
“Slow down. Now say that again.” This is an indicator of not listening even though you are
trying your best to not focus on the other 3000 things you have on your mind.
“Put paper in it.”
“How many times did they push print?”
“Do you hear that?”
“Where does this cable go?”
“Why does stuff always break on Monday?”
“Why does stuff always break on Friday?”
“What is that noise?”
“Hit it on the side.”
“Do you smell smoke?”
“Get your book off of the keyboard.”
“They need a what?”
“Who let them touch it?”
“They have a virus but they never get on the web?”
“You ever seen this?” This is almost always met with a “Nope.”
“When did you first notice this?” “Last month?” ”Why didn’t you say something?”
“You dropped it behind the rack?” This is usually met with a matter-of-fact look and the
response – “It will stay there until the end of time.” or ”It’ll be just fine.”
“Where did this come from?”
“I’m scared to reboot, it’s running fine now.”
“It was running fine until we rebooted.”
“That software is 10 years old and they want it installed?
“Don’t touch that!”
“Where’s a pen?”
“We’ll get that tomorrow?”
“Where did we put that memo?”
“What did we do with ________?”
“Where’s that adapter?”
“Who wrote these instructions?”
“You figure that out yet?”
“It’s ip was…”
Actions you will see -
IT personnel with eyes closed and their head when rebooting some servers.
Looking away during a reboot.
Looking down during a reboot.
Eyes looking at ceiling when thinking.
Leg shaking when sitting.
Pen tapping.
Pen clicking.
Pen wiggling.
Mouse shaking.
Hitting the spacebar really fast to wake a computer.
Mouse moving in slow circles during software installation.
Grabbing the installation window of software and moving it in slow circles during an install of
software.
Three or more IT personnel crowded around a monitor.
Heard a phrase in IT? Send us a comment.
One of the largest list of technical, DIY and how-to blogs on the web
As this year comes to a close, take a look at Rick’s Bookmarks4Techs site. A comprehensive list of nearly 500 blogs. This list is a valuable resource for anyone in today’s world who enjoys technology.
Just a few of the blogs -
Bill Mullins Tech Thoughts Daily News – A great site that has the latest news, terminology and freeware along with how-to articles, reviews and other great information.
Whats On My PC – Reviews, articles, portable-cloud-software apps and tons more.
Visit Bookmarks4Techs.
What is HashTab and how can it be used to verify files?
HashTab provides the hash algorithms’ in several formats. How is it used?
You can use HasTab by Implbits. HashTab installs a tab to the properties of a file.
Once you verify the file and upload it or email it, you can send the alphanumeric numbers to someone or post it on a website or blog prior to a file being downloaded. You can use the software to verify the numbers to see if you have the original hash.
Home computer users and students can use it for free. Link
Formats supported (above – has values)
Here is an example of the file emailed to myself (a second file exist now that it is downloaded). Did it change? No. I simply opened the file (original) and used the Compare Function and I can see it was ok.
What if the file was changed?
2013 Cyber Threats
2013 Predictions – Cyber Threats
Steve
- As BYOD takes off in the workplace and in education, the use of social media along with emails on BYOD devices will cause infections and loss of data
- IDS/IPS systems along with firewalls that are not implemented in medical facilities and doctors’ offices will cause data loss as records are moved online- The medical industry needs quality audits at all levels.
- DDoS attacks will increase (at this time, around 65% of companies experience this annually)
- Cyber attacks will increase against the U.S.
- Advanced SQL injections will lead to more data theft
- Use of social networking and personal surfing habits at work will continue to lead to corporate data loss
- Cheap Android tablets that don’t offer updates (security) are being sold at a record breaking rate this Christmas - this becomes the weakest link on home and business networks creating a vehicle for data loss
- Application Markets will try to stop malicious apps from being uploaded but the overwhelming demand of consumerization and application development outpace quality control on the source market. This will continue to allow malicious software to be uploaded.
- Outdated insecure applications will continue to be a problem
- Botnets will infect smartTVs and other home based devices on your network
- Counterfeited components manufacturing will increase
- Infected firmware will increase on devices (backdoors) i.e. printers, hard drives, picture frames, wi-fi devices
- Cloud computing and storage will be hacked
- Incorrect sharing of documents on cloud servers will become a problem
- Data loss will be recorded on personal devices that contain corporate documents
- MAC OS will become a more attractive target
- SCADA will become a large target
Have a prediction? Let us know. We’ll post it.
Manufacturers should have a quality team to insure that devices are up-to-date and business and home owners need policies (rules) on internet usage. Consumers need to be educated on products and safe internet usage.
Over 500 tech links
Need resources for technical information? Looking for the best technical blogs on the web? Bookmarks4Techs has over 500 resources and is one of the largest resources on the web for technical blogs. Check out the collection of Freeware along with the blogs and websites.
What’s one of the best cloud backups?
Backblaze Cloud Storage backup offers these key features – for only $5 per month per computer.
- Unlimited Data Backup
- Locate your Lost or Stolen Computer
- Unlimited Max file
- Throttle Adjustment for Better Bandwidth
- Works on Windows and Mac
How long does it take to backup? Use Backblaze’s speedtest and it will calculate the amount of information you can backup daily based on your bandwidth. This is overlooked by most users. Your upload speed determines your ability to get your files from your home or business to the cloud. User their calculator now. You have the ability to throttle with an easy user interface.
Slow network file transfer from Apple to Windows
The solution below worked for us. (We disabled NetDMA) – This also correct copy problems to a NAS that runs a Linux based OS.
To enable or disable NetDMA, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate the following registry subkey, and then click it:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
3. Double-click the EnableTCPA registry entry.Note If this registry entry does not exist, right-click Parameters, point to New, click DWORD Value, type EnableTCPA, and then press ENTER.
4. To enable NetDMA, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
5. To disable NetDMA, type 0 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
6. If the EnableTCPA registry entry does not exist, enable the NetDMA functionality.
Remember, you may also need to adjust your network card from Auto to a manual setting. (Try this on the Apple and/or the Windows Computer) When computers handshake (exchange data) autosense does not always work.
How to adjust Windows NIC cards – Link
For Apple -System Preferences” – “Network” – ” Advanced” – “Ethernet”
Our theory is - “Network speed tweaking is an art and never a science”
Innovate the Future Challenge – Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin’s secure future challenge – “Innovate the Future”
”Lockheed Martin recognizes that great ideas can come from anywhere. This campaign offers a global forum for participants to share their ideas for ways to enable a more secure future for our planet.
Ideas can be submitted starting August 6, 2012 through September 30, 2012. In collaboration with an independent third party, each submitted idea will be reviewed and scored. Finalists will be notified and asked to deliver a presentation to an executive review board after the submission period concludes.
Up to five recipients will be selected to receive incubation services offered through a third party to further investigate their ideas and bring them to fruition. In addition, there will be up to (1) First place $25,000 US Dollar (USD) award, (1) Second place $10,000 USD award, and (3) Third place $5,000 USD awards.
Web100 based Network Diagnostic Tool
Web100 based Network Diagnostic Tool
This java applet was developed to test the reliablity and operational status of your desktop computer and network connection. It does this by sending data between your computer and this remote NDT server. These tests will determine:
- The slowest link in the end-to-end path (Dial-up modem to 10 Gbps Ethernet/OC-192)
- The Ethernet duplex setting (full or half);
- If congestion is limiting end-to-end throughput.
It can also identify 2 serious error conditions:
- Duplex Mismatch
- Excessive packet loss due to faulty cables.
Test site location is here. (US Santa Cruz)
Test and results
“The NDT performs 2 TCP throughput tests between your desktop computer and this NDT server. First, data is streamed for 10 seconds from your desktop to the server and then a second 10 second test is performed in the opposite direction” Visit the website for more information.
