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Why You Need a Strong Password It is worth reminding ourselves occasionally why we need passwords and computer security and what we are protecting ourselves from. I often talk to people in small businesses who hate the idea of having to use passwords...
Our advice: don’t bother. Keep your money. We’ve never seen any hard evidence that there is any advantage in a so-called registry optimizer. Under some specific circumstances, they can be useful, but they can also do a lot of damage. The Windows Registry...
Kudos to the BBC this week for (in my opinion) the best episode ever of Click , the BBC’s technology magazine programme. In this special edition of the programme, Spencer Kelly presents the results of a six month investigation into hacking and cyber crime...
We all remember 2008 partly for the data protection fiascos that plagued the government and other organisations. Lost tax records here, missing social security information there, a top secret dossier left on a train. The sad thing is that ever since the encrypting file system was introduced in Windows 2000, it has been ridiculously easy to encrypt sensitive files. Easy when you know how, that is – like most things in IT.
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Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Acrobat 9.0 and earlier have a vulnerability that would allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a remote system by enticing a user to open a specially-crafted PDF file. Targeted exploitation was reported on Feb. 13...
Following reports of increased virus activity, specifically concerning the Win32/Conficker.B/Downadup virus, Microsoft has taken the unusual step of asking prominent members of its technical communities – such as MVPs – to circulate advice to the public...
I received this classic phishing attack email today and it managed to slip through my anti-spam system. It’s an ill wind that blows no-one no good, so I thought I’d showcase it here in the hope of helping you recognise and avoid such attacks. Click on...
Virus warnings are almost always hoaxes. Even if they’re not, forwarding the warning to your friends and colleagues can do more harm than good. My simple advice is this: press delete . Virus warnings and hoaxes are one particular flavour of chain email...
It seems there is an instant messenger virus at large at the moment. The virus sends messages similar to these (the URLs are deliberately obfuscated): "Hot or Not? hxxp://mymsngallery.my.funpic de/viewimage.php?youremail@someplace.com" or "this...
I saw this article in Microsoft's UK Security Newsletter (which you can subscribe to online). Ed Gibson, chief security advisor, relates the following story: The owner of a '.com' web domain name is telephonically contacted by someone claiming...
The recent spate of announcements from the government and others regarding "lost" confidential information has really annoyed me. I'm so angry because every shipped business edition of Windows since 2000 has included encryption technology...
Another blog article I've been meaning to write for a long time: how to construct a strong password. Much has been written on this subject, but it is also out of date. To understand what makes a password strong, first we need to be clear what would...
I received the following email today, which is clearly a rather crude hoax: From: <deleted> @hotmail.co.uk To: <24 MSN/Hotmail addresses removed to protect privacy> Subject: PLEASE READ Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:48:22 +0000 Hey it is tara...
If you are a small business owner who uses computers, you probably know that Microsoft releases regular security updates through Windows Update. You might not know that if you have a server on your network, then you can automate this process and gain...
After the theft from an employee's home of a laptop computer last year containing confidential customer data, the Nationwide Building Society has been fine £980,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). "The failure to manage or monitor downloads...
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