gHacks technology news » internet security

Kaspersky Asks For Internet Police And Passports

Martin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:55:48 +0000

In an interview with Vivian Yeo of Zdnet Asia Eugen Kaspersky stated that he would like to change the design of the Internet after being asked what he would change if he had the power to change three things related to IT security. According to him the biggest problem in IT security these days is anonymity. His solution: Changing the design of the Internet by introducing regulation–Internet passports, Internet police and international agreement–about following Internet standards”. He knows that those standards are only as good as the acceptance rate globally which is why he suggests to “cut off” countries that do not agree or do not pay attention to the agreement.

The problem that he sees with today’s form of identification – which is IP based – is that it is sometimes not possible to identify the person behind the connection at a specific time thanks to Internet cafes or hacked computers.

Most users will probably say bollocks and move on. Others will find flaws in his suggestion. If you look at real life examples you will notice for instance that people are anonymous there as well. You can phone someone from a public phone anonymously, you can send someone a letter without revealing your name. You can shop anonymously and talk to people without revealing your identity.

What’s your thought in the matter? The full interview is available at the Zdnet Asia website.

Tags: eugene kaspersky, internet design, internet security, kaspersky

Increase Internet Security With WOT For Internet Explorer

Martin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:53:37 +0000

If you compare the add-ons that are available for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with those available for the Firefox web browser you will soon discover that there are not many Internet Explorer add-ons that one would consider “must-have”. It is not really clear why Firefox add-on developer are more productive. Could be that it is easier to produce add-ons for the Internet browser or that the community is more dedicated.

WOT, which stands for Web Of Trust, is an add-on for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer that increases the Internet security of the web browser. The main purpose of the add-on is to scan and rank all links in popular search engines and other websites to give the user an indication of the dangers of each listed website.

Each link on supported websites will be ranked with a single colored icon which can be expanded into a detailed view when hovering with the mouse over it. Websites are ranked from very poor to excellent in the four categories trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy and child safety.

The Internet Explorer add-on will display a popup if the user clicks on a link with a poor rating which works as a second warning. It is then up to the user to ignore the warning and visit the website, skip the website or check some user reviews on the Web of Trust website first.

Web of Trust should not obviously be the only means of Internet Security but it can be helpful especially for inexperienced users who might get into troubles when visiting unsafe websites. The Internet Explorer add-on is actually not exclusive to Internet Explorer as a version for Firefox is also available for download.

Tags: ie8 add-on, internet explorer add-on, internet explorer security, internet security, internet-explorer, Microsoft internet explorer, web of trust

Computer Security Myth: Defeating Keyloggers With Onscreen Keyboards

Martin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:57:51 +0000

I recently came upon a few articles that once again offered the computer security tip to use onscreen keyboards to defeat keyloggers. Most of these tips are suggesting to install an onscreen keylogger or make use of the default one of the operating system to defeat keyloggers while making transactions on the Internet or working with sensible data.

The theory that keyloggers can be defeated with onscreen keyboards is unfortunately a computer security myth. It is definitely true that some keyloggers, especially those that only record the keys that the user enters on the computer computer keyboard, can be defeated with onscreen keyboards.

There are however advanced keyloggers which make a screenshot of the onscreen keyboard while it visible on the computer screen and which record the mouse movements on the system. It is then a matter of simply reconstructing the mouse movement to know exactly what a user typed on a computer system.

There is only one 100% way of defeating keyloggers and that is to not use computer systems for sensitive information. That’s not always practicable and it is possible to reduce the chance that keyloggers are installed by running good antivirus programs.

Tags: computer keyboard, computer security, internet, internet security, keyloggers, onscreen keyboard, Security

Internet Security: Comodo Verification Engine

Martin — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:49:13 +0000

The Internet is a dangerous place. Danger not only exists on the dark side of the net but also on the light side, on respected Internet sites. It is therefor important to use an assortment of Internet security tools to prevent and identify attacks on the Internet. It is not just financial transactions – like those on PayPal or financial websites – that are a primary target of attacks. Attacks these days can also target a user’s privacy or identity.

Comodo Verification Engine is a free standalone Internet security program that has been designed to “verify the authenticity and identity of websites” to ensure that sensitive data is not falling into the wrong hands. The program is cross-browser compatible supporting popular web browsers like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox but apparently not Google Chrome, Opera or Safari. It will run on all Microsoft operating systems including Windows 95, Windows XP and Windows Vista. The Internet security tool installs itself automatically in all supported web browsers.

It offers five cornerstones of verification and protection:

Verification of web page content (brands/logos)
Verification of login boxes
Verification of SSL session and encryption endpoint
Protection against Phishing attacks
Protection against Pharming attacks

There are basically two ways that Comodo Verification Engine uses to inform the user about the active website. The first is when the user moves the mouse over a site logo or brand on that website. Comodo will display a green (that color can be changed in the options) box around the website signaling that the website has been verified (or not if it was not). The main drawback of this method is that websites have to register with Comodo for this to work. Comodo claims that most financial and popular websites did (PayPal did for example) but that it can happen that subpages on those websites have not been added if that was not requested by the site owner. It will also mean that several smaller websites and probably many non-English websites are not included as well (for example the German PayPal.de website does not verify). Comodo can verify several trust credentials such as BBB online or TRUSTe.

That’s where the second indicator of a website’s trustworthiness comes into play. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer display a padlock in the status bar of the browser when a user opens a website that is using the SSL protocol.

Moving the mouse cursor over that padlock will display the information in the way shown in the screenshot above if the website validates.

Comodo Verification Engine is an interesting tool for users who work with websites that are included in the database. This mainly means English speaking users who work primarily with either Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

Tags: comodo, comodo verification engine, internet security, security-software, windows software

Internet Browsers: Firefox 3.0.10 Update

Martin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:40:53 +0000

An update to the Internet browser Firefox has been released a couple of hours ago out of the usual release cycle. It is a security update that is fixing one critical security vulnerability and one major stability issue. Critical security vulnerabilities are classified as those that require no user interaction and allow the attacker to run code and install software on the attacked computer system.

Downloads have already been pushed to the update mirrors and the Mozilla homepage has been modified to show Firefox 3.0.10 as the latest available version of the web browser. Users can also initiate the download from the Firefox menu by clicking on Help > Check for Updates. The release notes only list the two fixes mentioned in the first paragraph.

Our new software updates notification site appnews broke the news more than 4 hours ago. Make sure you check it out if you have not been there before ;)

Tags: firefox 3, firefox-update, internet browser, internet security, web browser

Increase Internet Security With Safe SSL

Martin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:17:31 +0000

Safe is an extension for the Firefox Internet browser that increases Internet security quite a bit by visualizing safe SSL connections to the user. We have covered similar security extensions and applications in the past which changed the display of the address bar of the web browser to increase security. Today’s Internet users encounter SSL connections regularly. All trustworthy shopping sites and financial websites make use of SSL to increase the security of their users. Phishing, a form of attack that lures Internet users on fake sites that resemble the original websites, on the other hand is still on the rise mostly because users are not educated enough to be able to identify phishing attempts but also because of carelessness.

Visualizing secure SSL connections might be exactly what users need to avoid phishing websites but also services that are careless about sensible data (that is do not use SSL to protect the connections). Safe will color all tabs that make use of a secure SSL connection so that users of every level can identify them on first glance. It will furthermore draw a visible border in the same color around the screen to make it even easier to identify a website that is using SSL to increase the security of their users.

That visualization of a secure SSL connection should be reason enough to install it. The add-on is very handy for users who feel insecure on the Internet giving them a visual confirmation if they visit a secure website.

The extension offers a second feature that seems to be a bit buggy in the current version. It will display a status bar icon that is supposed to change color when hoovering over a form submission button that is using the SSL protocol. This means it should display a yellow color when hoovering over the login button at Gmail or PayPal.

It should also be noted that the border that is drawn around the screen will reduce the screen estate for the website. This can be problematic for users that run low screen resolutions.

Tags: firefox, internet browser, internet security, ssl, ssl connection, web browser

Ghacks Christmas Giveaway: BitDefender Software

Martin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:00:24 +0000

Day 10 of the Ghacks Giveaway. We are still going strong and are already way beyond our expectations. All Giveaways so far have seen a great participation and we were able to hand out lots of licenses to commercial software.

Today it is BitDefender time here at Ghacks. The guys at BitDefender are donating one copy of Total Security 2009, two copies of Internet Security 2009 and another two copies of Antivirus 2009. One of the first questions that comes to mind is about the differences between those products. We would like to address them briefly in the beginning and concentrate afterwards on BitDefender Total Security 2009 as it makes use of all features including those of the two other products.

BitDefender Antivirus 2009 is a antivirus software program that combines a signature based and heuristic approach. It also incorporates protection against phishing, identity theft and provides instant messaging encryption.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2009 adds a firewall, parental controls and a file vault on top of that.

BitDefender Total Security 2009 finally introduces a backup module and a system cleaner in addition to all the features of the other two clients.

The choice of product depends obviously on the needs of the user. A user with a working software firewall might be inclined to pass on the two security suites that add a firewall to his system while someone without any protection might be inclined to grab the top product.

All three software programs can be downloaded as trial versions to make sure that they are compatible with the system’s software and hardware. This is also an excellent way of verifying that you can handle the software and do not encounter to many difficulties during usage. As an example, a software firewall that would throw cryptic error messages at the user might be the dream of every computer freak but a regular user would surely be swamped.

The installation requires a reboot of the system in the end. One of the first windows that a user will come in contact with is the Configuration Wizard which will walk the user through the steps to configure the product accordingly. Experts can skip the wizard but need to configure the modules manually in the main interface then.

The wizard will – among other things – update the product over the Internet and perform an antivirus scan on the system to make sure that it has not been infected already with a computer virus. It does not take to long on the other hand even if you read thoroughly.

The Bitdefender firewall is quite adaptive and let me connect with various programs to the Internet without bringing up “Do you want to allow” messages. Email and web browsers for example where working without difficulties right of the box.

The main interface is divided into a basic and advanced view. The basic view has been designed for inexperienced users while the advanced view provides access to in depth statistics and settings that would frustrate the inexperienced users.

The Dashboard is the central hub of the software program. It displays statistics and provides a quick overview of so called System Information. This gives access to to all kind of system related settings like startup items, services, hosts or processes.

The different modules of the security software are easily accessible on the menu on the left side. A click on the antispam module loads the settings of that module giving the user options to disable or enable the module, to change the level of protection or to manage whitelists and blacklists.

The layout of most modules is similar to the one above. Every module can be disabled and configured separately. One interesting module is the Vulnerability module that will query Windows Updates for updates and patches and makes it possible to install them directly in BitDefender.

The same menu will also check a few applications, in this case Skype and Firefox, for updates with options to download and install them automatically as well.

The program has been designed very carefully with the user in mind. The two modes make it a great choice for all kinds of users and the protections are extensive.

BitDefender has also created a community called Malware City which provides information and tips not only for BitDefender users but for everyone.

You can win one copy of BitDefender Total Security 2009, two copies of BitDefender Internet Security 2009 and another two copies of BitDefender Antivirus 2009 if you reply in the comments. Let us know what software you are currently running to protect your computer system.

Tags: antivirus software, bitdefender, BitDefender Antivirus 2009, BitDefender Internet Security 2009, BitDefender Total Security 2009, ghacks Christmas giveaway, internet security, total security

Joe Biden: Piracy’s New Enemy

Cheryl — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:00:27 +0000

Now that the US elections are over and the results are out, it’s worthwhile looking at how the winners fare with technology. Everyone knows that Barack Obama actively used the Internet while campaigning but what are his views on other things technology related? Most notably, how do the new guys plan to tackle issues like online piracy?

One person who has acted on this subject in the past is Joe Biden. Yes, the same guy who’s now the U.S. Vice President. In fact, he’s been pretty active in trying to defend the rights of media companies. Let’s take a look at his accomplishments.

Joe Biden’s earliest tryst against piracy came in 2002, when he drafted a letter to the Justice Department, urging action against people who ‘intentionally’ allow copying over p2p networks. Then last year, Biden supported an RIAA-led bill to restrict Americans from copying songs from Internet radio services. His efforts got him invited to the MPAA’s party in favor of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

In April of this year, Biden tried to get the US government to spend a billion dollars so that authorities could monitor p2p networks for illegal activity. What constitutes illegal activity, I have no idea.

Joe Biden has been pretty vocal about other aspects of the Internet as well, most notably a strong supporter of having Internet filters in place for schools. Another interesting tidbit is that at one time, the man also supported levying an Internet tax on people.

It remains to be seen what Joe Biden will do in his newfound political role as Vice President. However, going by his track record, it’s fair to say he’ll be on the media companies’ side most of the time.

What do you think of Joe Biden’s war against Internet piracy? Do you know of other political figures who have the same ideals? How do you think politics affects Internet legislation? Let me know in the comments.

Tags: file-sharing, internet security, Joe Biden, P2p

Haute Secure

Martin — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:02:29 +0000

The Internet can be a dangerous place. Especially for those users who do not care but simply use the computer. A click on the wrong website and the computer can be infected with malicious software. Security Software tries to turn the tide in the favor of the user by blocking malicious content automatically. This works pretty well in most cases.

Haute Secure is one of those solutions. It is a toolbar for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox and the same solution that is build into Opera 9.5. This one makes use of P2P technology to fight malicious content on the Internet. If one user reaches a website that poses a threat all other Haute Secure users will receive those update information and be warned as well when they visit it.

Haute Secure uses three layers of protection: Threat warnings and reputation ratings, Dynamic data protection and Community Contribution.

Haute Secure makes use of in-house and third-party blocklists (like Spamhouse and Phishtank) and combines them in a very effective list of blocked websites. Users of the toolbar can vote if a website is reputable which is separate from the blockslists.

My main problem with Haute Secure is the toolbar approach. I’m pretty much allergic to toolbars and do not want to install them. It could be a valid option for users who feel insecure on the Internet though.

Tags: firefox, haute secure, internet security, internet-explorer, Security

Bitdefender Promotion

Martin — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:49:13 +0000

Bitdefender is currently running a promotion that provides interested users with a 180 day license of one of the following products: BitDefender Antivirus 2008, Internet security 2008 and Total security 2008. A user who fills out the form on the promotional website may choose one of the products and will receive a valid license key for it. This license key gives full access to the features of the software for 180 days.

It is apparently an Italian promotion, at least the website of it is in Italian. It’s however not that hard to fill out. Simply enter your first name, last name, email and verification code and select the product that you want to test for 180 days. BitDefender Antivirus 2008 is included in Internet security 2008 which again is part of Bitdefender Total security 2008.

If you want to test it all get the Total Security 2008 product. A comparison of the different products is available at the Bitdefender homepage. You can basically say that BitDefender Antivirus 2008 protects the computer from viruses, trojans, rootkits and the like. Bitdefender Internet security 2008 adds a Firewall, Phishing protection, access limits and network protections.

All of this is included in Bitdefender Total security 2008 with the addition of data backup possibilities, tune-up and clean-up functions. Just visit the promotional (via Techtrends) website and select the product that you want to test. The registration code will be send to the email that you enter in the form. The applications can be downloaded from the Bitdefender homepage directly.

Tags: antivirus, bitdefender, internet security, offers, promotion

Export Internet Explorer’s Trusted and Restricted Sites

Martin — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:06:11 +0000

Part of the security concept of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are the zones which define security settings for Internet, Local Intranet, Trusted Sites and Restricted Sites. The settings for Internet and Local Intranet are global settings which are valid for all websites visited if they are not found in the Trusted or Restricted Sites list. Trusted and Restricted Sites can have different security settings which normally means lower security settings for trusted sites and higher ones for restricted websites.

You would for instance add websites like that of your bank, insurance company or even shopping sites like eBay or Amazon to the list of trusted websites while untrusted websites like Altavista would land in the untrusted sites list. The list grows quite a bit if you make use of that feature and primarily use Internet Explorer when surfing the Internet.

It would be quite redundant to add all websites again if you purchase a new computer, be it a new desktop computer or notebook. A far better solution – besides making the switch to Opera or Firefox – would be to export the zone settings and import them again in the new computer.

All domains are stored in the Registry and what you need to do is export the Registry key from the old computer and import it at the new one. Sounds easy right ? Start by opening your Registry Editor. I do it by using the shortcut Windows R, entering regedit and hitting enter.

Navigate to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Software \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Internet Settings \ZoneMap \Domains and right-click the key Domains. Select Export from the menu and save it to your hard drive. Copy the saved file to the new computer and double-click it there to add it to the Registry. Et voila, you are done.

Tags: internet options, internet security, internet zones, internet-explorer, microsoft, Windows, windows tips

Steganos Security Suite 2007 for free

Martin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:00:13 +0000

I’m faster than Raymond this time which is a very nice feeling. You can currently get a free version of the Steganos Security Suite 2007 with an option to update to the 2008 version for a reduced price. Let me first explain what the Security Suite is all about and detail the process of obtaining a free copy afterwards.

The Steganos Security Suite 2007 combines many tools in one suite and it’s aim is protect your data from hackers and thieves both online and offline. Six of its nine applications are based on encryption, like the email encryption or password manager. Two of the remaining three clean and delete data permanently from the system and one is an anti-theft protection that can be helpful if your computer gets stolen and the thief does go online without wiping the hard drive of the computer first.

Now, here is how you get your free serial number. Go to the following url and enter an email address in the form field. The serial number for the product will be send to it. Now visit My Steganos and create an account for the website. I did use the same email address. They send an verification email again and you have to click on the link contained within to activate the account.

Visit the downloads section of the Steganos website and pick the Steganos Security Suite 2007 from the list of products. You have to enter the serial number after installation to use the product.

Step by Step guide:

Get your serial number send to your mail account by visiting this page.
Register an account at the Steganos website
Confirm the account by opening the link in the email that is send to your account
Login to the downloads section and download the Steganos Security Suite 2007
Enter the serial number after installation.

Tags: antivirus, firewall, internet security, offers, software, Windows

gHacks technology news » internet security

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