Archives: February, 2010
Cool Tool: WinSCP
I just wanted to share with you a very useful tool that’s been around for a while now, and it helped me solve a problem on a customer’s machine. To properly investigate, I had to extract several logs from the customer’s server on a scheduled basis and have them FTP'd here so that I could keep tabs on the server's behavior. (Feb 26, 2010)
Battle of the Newsletters: Marketing 1, Security 0
While working on a False Positive (yes, it can happen to the best of us), I was stunned to discover how marketing people can bend email security rules. (Feb 22, 2010)
Catch a botnet by the tail
Catch a lizard by the tail and it will shed its tail and run free. This is a fun fact of nature (even more fun when you’re a kid) and a very clever trick to fend off a predator’s attacks. And did you know that if you try to catch a botnet, chances are the same thing will happen? (Feb 19, 2010)
Who’s minding the store at WHOIS?
WHOIS (for those unfamiliar with it) is a system that provides free public access to domain name registration. Every domain name has to be registered with the following information: the registrant’s name, an administrative contact, a technical contact, and the name servers associated with each domain name. It’s all about traceability. (Feb 17, 2010)
“Love is in the air” ...or is it?
Ah, Valentine’s Day, the time of year when suddenly everyone is starry-eyed and declaring their love for one another. Our eagerness to please our loved ones tends to make us a little more vulnerable. And this makes us perfect prey to scammers who pounce on these vulnerabilities to spread their viruses and scams. (Feb 11, 2010)
Do you have what it takes to be an Email Security Reseller?
So, you want to be an email security reseller? Sure, here's the form, here's the discount you'll get, here's where you sign...Not so fast! (Feb 10, 2010)
Less Linux, more Windows
I’ve always been a pro-Linux type of guy. I started using Unix back in 1992 (SunOS) and then onto Slackware, Red Hat, Ubuntu. Linux offered so many more features, security, power to do anything and a reliability Windows couldn’t dream of at the time. Linux was a true multitasking OS, had a firewall, and all internet clients and servers one may want or need: pop3, smtp, http, ftp, ssh. All these were virtually impossible to do on MS-DOS or Windows, and I’m not even talking about the various crashes and ridiculous uptimes of the early Microsoft platforms. Since then, and up until a few months ago, it’s always been clear to me: reliability and security on Linux; office work, graphical user interface and leisure on Windows. (Feb 05, 2010)
How would you punish a spammer?
“Last time out I suggested sentencing spammers to some quality time in a maximum security cell with an ex-biker named "Tiny." But I think that's too good for these people. They should be strung up by their thumbs and forced to watch ShamWow infomercials and Rick Astley videos until their ears bleed.” Robert Cringely, InfoWorld 1 (Feb 03, 2010)
