Binary Code

Computers and other electronic devices store information as Binary Code (which is a series of 1s and 0s that might look like this: 10101001 01101100 11001010).
Network Topology Map

A Network Topology Map is a diagram of a computer network's components, including network access points and connections between its various parts.
Fake Anti-Virus Software

Fake Anti-Virus Software - also known as 'scareware' - is designed to trick you into buying worthless anti-virus protection that you do not need.
Domain Name System

The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the ‘telephone book’ of the Web – it translates a website's name into its corresponding numerical IP address on the Internet.
Social Engineering

A Phishing e-mail is an attempt to trick the recipient into giving up information, such as account, credit card or password information.
Data Encryption

Data Encryption is the intentional scrambling of information into unreadable form - until it is later converted back into its original form by the intended recipient.
Botnet, or Compromised Computers

A Botnet is a collection of computers compromised by a malware attack that can be controlled remotely (via the Internet) to attack websites, send out spam emails, etc.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack can use a botnet to force a website, network or other resource to shut down by overloading it with requests for data.
USB Flash Drive

A USB Flash Drive, aka a 'stick drive' or 'thumb drive' is a portable data storage device which connects to a computer's USB port to send and receive data.
Electronic vs. Static Media

Static Media is something like a book, magazine or printed photo, while Electronic or Digital Media (websites, digital photos, etc.) requires power to be viewed.
Administrative Access

A user with Administrative Rights has unrestricted power to create, modify or delete files, folders, settings and programs on a particular computer.

Custom Software is the Devil! (Only a Slight Exaggeration…)

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Scott Aurnou

By Scott Aurnou

Custom software (sometimes referred to as ‘bespoke software’ or ‘tailor-made software’) is computer software that has been developed specifically to do something that an ‘off the shelf’ program presumably cannot do. While this may sound like a good idea, in the vast majority of circumstances, a custom-made solution really isn’t necessary and will do a lot more harm than good. To a large extent, this is because of updating – a normal and beneficial aspect of using computer software. Updates are put in place to improve a given program’s performance, add features or make it more secure. Why would this be a problem when using custom software? Well…

Standard commercially-available software is generally updated for free; custom software isn’t. A given piece of software does not exist in a vacuum. It often functions alongside other pre-existing software and will need to work within a computer’s operating system (which is also software), in any event. That other software will invariably be updated from time to time and it’s increasingly likely that the custom software will stop working properly as the successive updates are installed. Before long, the company buying that custom software is faced with a choice of deliberately not updating the operating system and other programs – and you should always update – or paying extra to ‘fix’ the custom software so that it will keep working. This is a choice that will never go away.
Read more ›

Tagged with: Custom Software, Software Development, The Security Advocate, Updating
Posted in Laptops & Desktops, Network Security

Anyone Can Use Your Phone or Tablet & View Your Files, Unless…

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Scott Aurnou

Computer Security Tip of the Week

Scott Aurnou – If your mobile device is lost, stolen, or even ‘borrowed,’ anyone holding your smartphone or tablet can do whatever they want with it – including impersonating you and accessing your contacts and other files – unless you take this one simple step…

If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel (and subscribe if you like).

Tagged with: Mobile Device, Passcode, password, Pattern Lock, PIN Code, Smartphone, Smartphones & Tablets, Tablet, The Security Advocate
Posted in Privacy Issues, Security Tip of the Week, Smartphones & Tablets

Security Expert Chat: 5 Questions for Sophos’s Paul Ducklin

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Scott Aurnou

Paul Ducklin is one of the world’s leading security experts. He joined Sophos (a leading IT security vendor) in 1995 and has held numerous senior technical roles there in the years since. He is also a regular contributor to Sophos’s award-winning Naked Security blog. Currently based in Australia, Paul won the inaugural AusCERT Director’s Award for Individual Excellence in Information Security in 2009. Despite a very busy schedule, Paul has been kind enough to answer a few questions for The Security Advocate:

What do you think is the most commonly overlooked security or privacy issue?

I’m tempted to put on my best Franklin Delano Roosevelt accent here, and say something like, “The thing most overlooked in security is security itself.”

But since I need to zoom in on one issue, I’ll say, “Geolocation.”

Ever since modern mobile phones burst onto the scene in the 1980s, we’ve known that someone – the cellular network operator, at least – knows roughly where we are whenever our devices are turned on. That’s the *quid pro quo* for having a phone in your pocket that can accept incoming calls.

These days, however, we’re sharing our location much more widely, and often much more precisely.

Modern “always-on” phones and tablets can pinpoint your position through a mixture of cell tower data, GPS and nearby Wi-Fi networks.

Operating systems like iOS and Android unashamedly urge you to share this information with Apple or Google, and with app-makers, and more, in return for “improving” your online experience with information relevant to your location.

It works, of course: you don’t want to know where to eat out in Sydney while you’re on a business trip to San Franscisco.

So, perhaps sharing your location data, at an intimate level of detail, with any and all of application developers, mobile phone companies, device makers and operating system vendors is worth it.

Aye, there’s the rub: *IS* it worth it?

To answer that question, of course, you have to recognise the downsides, weigh them up, and carry out what amounts to a personal risk assessment.

And that’s something I suspect that many of us have overlooked.

[Some relevant articles on Naked Security:]
Michael Dell’s daughter all at sea on social networks – how do your kids measure up?
Twitter + location = WeKnowYourHouse
‘Girls Around Me’ stalking app developer and Foursquare negotiate API access

Is That ‘Windows Tech Support’ Call a Scam?

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Scott Aurnou

Computer Security Tip of the Week

Scott Aurnou – If you receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be from ‘Windows Tech Support’ or something like it, you can be sure of one thing: it’s a scam. Learn more about it here.

If you enjoyed this video, you can see more on TheSecurityAdvocate YouTube channel (and subscribe if you like).

Tagged with: Laptops & Desktops, Phone Scam, Remote Access, Scam, Telephone Scam, The Security Advocate, Windows Tech Support
Posted in Fraud & Scams, Laptops & Desktops, Security Tip of the Week

Secure Your Wi-Fi Router (it’s What Connects You to the Internet)

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Scott Aurnou

By Scott Aurnou

A Wi-Fi router broadcasts a wireless signal to connect your computer and/or network to the Internet (often via a modem). While routers typically do the job of connecting you to the Web effectively, they are also vulnerable to a number of different attacks if they aren’t set up (aka ‘configured’) properly. Recent studies have noted that many popular routers can be hacked fairly easily. In addition to stealing your business, financial and personal data – and then your identity to empty your bank accounts – a network interloper can also infect your system with malware to force your computer into a botnet or ‘piggyback’ on your wireless signal to use the Internet and download whatever they wish. While using your wireless signal may not sound all that threatening, significant downloading can slow down your whole system. Also, consider the 2011 case in which an upstate NY man was subject to a violent late night police raid on his home and arrest after a neighbor used his unprotected network to download child pornography.

In case you’re wondering how your router would even get noticed amid all of the wireless network traffic out there, potential hackers use methods like wardriving to find vulnerable routers and networks that they can exploit. All of this begs the question: what can you do to better secure your router and protect your home or office computer (and network)?
Read more ›

Tagged with: Configuration, Encryption, Firewall, hackers, Malware, Network Monitoring, Network Security, password, Remote Management, Router, The Security Advocate, Wardriving, Web Interface, Wi-Fi, Wireless Network
Posted in Network Security

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