How to Protect Yourself from Viruses 1
With viruses you never know where the next trouble will come from, but I have never had an antivirus utility in the startup menu of my computer. As for manual scanning for viruses, the last time I did this was about six years ago. Despite this seeming lack of protection, no virus has ever enjoyed the liberty of my system for more than five minutes.
Back in the days of MS DOS, I scanned my disk about once a year - and then only to ease my conscience. As you already know, the main sources of infection back then were BBS and diskettes. I did not use BBS, so there was no threat to my computer from that direction. As for diskettes, I would always scan any diskette, even one given to me by a close friend, for viruses before opening it. Friends simply may not have known that their computer was infected and might unwittingly have brought me an infected file.
Nowadays I do not use diskettes and do not exchange executable files with friends. I recommend obtaining all software from the original source, that is, from the official Internet sites. Only official sources can give a 90-percent guarantee that their products are virus-free. Of course, there have been incidents of well known companies inadvertently spreading viruses with their products. However, these are very isolated and rare cases and the Internet community detects and corrects mistakes of this type very rapidly.
Date: 2010-04-11
[Read more] [Security]
Super Scotch
At my old job, I wrote a program that printed barcodes and other information about merchandise on self-adhesive labels, which clerks then pasted on the product boxes.
Where am I going with this? To the fact that a self-adhesive label is very difficult to peel off something once it's stuck. At first, we used them to seal desk drawers shut in such a way that the labels remained unseen. From here we moved on to electrical outlets and, finally, to computers. Here, the first victim at our hands was the computer's power button, which we pasted over with a double, or even triple, layer of labels. Next came all floppy and CD-ROM drives and connectors on the back of the system unit (USB, LPT, etc.).
Scotch tape is even better for this purpose.. One time I used it to tape over the entire system unit of one of the users at work. This necessitated sacrificing a whole roll of scotch tape, but what a show it was watching him taking it all off! Seeing a system unit liberated from a roll of scotch type was worth all the trouble that went onto the exercise. This prank is particularly entertaining when there are no scissors or other cutting tools at hand to liberate the system.
My favorite, however, remains using clear scotch tape to tape over floppy disk drives. If the job is done neatly and cannot be seen, it will be difficult to figure out at once what is preventing the diskette from going in.
Date: 2010-04-04
[Read more] [Jokes]
Network Monitoring Program
Two days ago I uploaded a new version of my network monitoring program. The main features are:
- New feature to export log data to XML or HTML files.
- It is easier to create WEB page monitoring items.
- Now you can see network status messages in windows notification area: near to system clock.
- The program checks latest news from CyD Software Labs server and shows you a dialog box with news.
A new monitoring program is marked as Careful Observer - Network Monitor 2010 SP2. The next version is coming in 3 months. I thing it will be marked as Network Monitor 2011.
Date: 2010-03-13
[Read more] [Network]
Social Engineering
Social engineering is a hacker's most powerful weapon. It was used to pull off the most sensational break-ins and to spread the most notorious viruses. Recall the Anna Kurnikova virus, which spread when users received a letter in their mailbox with an attachment purporting to be a picture of Anna in her birthday suit. This application of social engineering was taking advantage of human weakness. I believe that the excessive curiosity of the male share, which is the larger one, of the Internet users who opened the attachment and infected their computers helped the virus spread.
Hackers are exceptionally good at finding weak spots in people and pressing them to acquire the necessary information. One area in which social engineering is used is in obtaining credit card numbers and other information with the help of believable email messages. A user receives a letter asking him for the account password because, for example, the bank's database malfunctioned. What do you think, although they had been explicitly warned by the bank's personnel to never reveal a password to anyone, quite a few users do?
Thanks to the exposure given to the issue by the media, Internet users are becoming more cautious with mail from unknown sources. It's becoming more difficult to convince someone to reveal a password in response to a letter purporting to be from the support service. Hackers, however, are not resting on their laurels and are constantly in search of new methods for exploiting human weaknesses.
Date: 2010-02-14
[Read more] [Security]
CyD Web Development Tools
Some time ago de decided to start working on a new product CyD Web Development Tools. The product will consist of modules for WEB developers and SEO professionals. Some of the modules will be available as part of CyD Network Utilities - Security tools.
At this time the product consist of only one module - search for WEB site vulnerabilities. The program needs improvements but you can try the module absolutely free-of-charge with no limits. Tell me if you have any suggestions for the program or if you found error. Some commands do not work in the program. I'm going to implement the full set of the features as soon as possible.
Date: 2009-12-06
[Read more] [Software]
Visual DNS Client
I've spent last two weeks to develop a new module for network tools program. The module is an analog of windows command tool nslookup. More information about DNS client you can find on CyD Software Labs WEB site.
Date: 2009-11-08
[Read more] [Software]
Speeding up DNS Operation
Every time you want to visit a site, for example to download a new version of a CyD Software Labs program, you enter the site's address as text data. In the case of our CyD Software labs, this will be www.cydsoft.com. But the actual site address is not the text name, but an IP address. An IP address (as used in the most common 4th version of the IP protocol) consists of four groups, each of three numbers, separated by periods.
Consequently, before the site can be loaded into whatever browser you are using, its IP address must be determined by its symbolic address (name). To get the IP address, the computer sends a request to the DNS server to translate the user-friendly name into the IP address. Only after the computer receives the IP address of the server of the site from the DNS can the connection be established and the site loaded into the browser. The address translation process can take some time, so the delay can be noticeable.
Why are DNS address-translation operations needed? Because humans are not particularly good at remembering numbers. It is much easier for us to remember meaningful text names, especially if they are associated with what we are interested in. Machines, on the contrary, use numbers in their operation. So, to build a bridge to connect humans and machines, the DNS system was designed to convert human-friendly text names into the numerical IP addresses used by computers.
Date: 2009-10-04
[Read more] [Network]
Profwebdev services for developers and admins
Yesterday I created a new section on profwebdev.com web site - Services. In the section I'm going to publish services for WEB developers and network administrators. At this time there are two services:
- IP online information - allows you to get know your IP address and browser information that available for web sites. All you see in the service result page are available for any other site you visit.
- Online ping - allows you to check connection with any WEB site from profwebdev.com server.
I'm going to add a lot of new WEB services. I want to make available online most of the features of CyD Network Utilities - Security tools. Any feedback are welcome. What services do you want to see first?
Date: 2009-09-16
[Read more] [ Talking]
A Turbo Cooler
How irritating a loud cooler fan can be for some! Perhaps it is simply because these people have not met me. Cooler jokes are my favorite now. Not long ago I received a fresh idea by e-mail that filled me with excitement.
Find a plastic ruler and chip a few small pieces off it. Next, throw them into the power supply fan casing and wait for the victim to turn on the computer. When the machine is switched on, the rattle these chips will create will make his of her eyes pop out. But if there is no rattle, turn the computer off at once. It may me the case the fan has become jammed, in which case the power supply might burn out - not exactly the effect for which we are striving. So don't overdo it with the chips in the fan, for you may discover that there is a fine line between being funny and being a complete and total idiot.
Date: 2009-09-05
[Read more] [Jokes]
Jokes with Monitors
On some monitors, the brightness can be turned all the way down to the point that the screen is simply black.. My beloved LG FLATRON 795FT is such a monitor. Turning the brightness all the way down leaves all of the vital signs on, but no information is displayed on the screen. This is the only joke that has been played on me that took me a long time to figure out. I was dancing around the computer, attempting all kinds of conjuring, checking all of the cables, but all in vain: all indications were that the monitor was working but, an image simply refused to appear. The only thing displayed was the monitor menu, but it never occurred to me to check the brightness and contrast settings. Finally, the trickster could no longer suppress his laughter, and revealed the root of the problem. I spent the days following this moment of infamy viciously trying to pay my tormentor back for the humiliation I had suffered. No one had ever been able to pull one over on me like this before.
Another little trick is to place a magnet somewhere out of sight behind the monitor. It works with old monitors only and not with LCD panels. This will create significant interference on the monitor, which will cause the user a bit of eye strain. The victim will badmouth the manufacturer, but will most likely never discover the cause on his or her own. None of the guinea pigs I have tested ever has. You should keep in mind, however, that not every magnet creates interference and not every monitor is susceptible to it. My understanding of electronics, unfortunately, is not strong enough to explain why this is the case.
If the victim does not discover the magnet on his or her own, you should remove it yourself after a short time. Otherwise, you could end up doing some real damage to the person's eyes, which is not a joking matter. Somebody's health is not something to joke with. Moreover, doing it periodically for short periods is much more effective.
Date: 2009-08-22
[Read more] [Jokes]
The best
- SQL Ingection on www.newspaperads.com
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- Critical SQL Injection (http://cshe.berkeley.edu/)
- Bevel.NET Source Code
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