New Place to Hide Rootkits
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Fri, 09 May 2008 14:40:09 -0700
Security researchers have developed a new type of malicious rootkit software that hides itself in an obscure part of a computer's microprocessor, hidden from current antivirus products.
Called a System Management Mode (SMM) rootkit, the software runs in a protected part of a computer's memory that can be locked and rendered invisible to the operating system, but which can give attackers a picture of what's happening in a computer's memory.
The SMM rootkit comes with keylogging and communications software and could be used to steal sensitive information from a victim's computer. It was built by Shawn Embleton and Sherri Sparks, who run an Oviedo, Florida, security ... |
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Spam Is Migrating to the Cellphone
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Fri, 09 May 2008 14:38:26 -0700
If you thought spam on your computer was a bother, brace yourself for round two: spammers want to find you on your cellphone.
Cellphones have become consumers most personal technological devices. That is why some industry executives, along with consumer groups and security experts, are concerned that unwanted messages will be an even greater headache on phones.
Cellphone spam is particularly annoying to its recipients because it is more invasive announcing itself with a beep and can be costly.
Taber Lightfoot, an assistant director for new media at the Yale School of Management, is among those who have already paid for the privilege of receiving ... |
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Asperger's and IT: Dark secret or open secret?
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Fri, 09 May 2008 08:34:26 -0700
"Ryno" is a 50-something ex-sysadmin, by his own account "burned out and living on disability" in rural Australia.
He loved the tech parts of being a system administrator, and he was good at them. But the interpersonal interactions that went along with the position -- the hearty backslaps from random users, the impromptu meetings -- were literally unbearable for Ryno. "I can make your systems efficient and lower your downtime," he says. "I cannot make your users happy."
Bob, a database applications programmer who's been working in high tech for 26 years, has an aptitude for math and logic. And he has what he calls his "strange memory." If he can't recall the answer ... |
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Beginner: Resetting the Root Password
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Fri, 09 May 2008 08:16:24 -0700
This tutorial is made to help you to restore your root password if you forgot it.
So use it only for your own system, or if you have a written permission to do so.
I don't take any responsibility of any possible damage this tutorial may cause.
-1 Breaking in...
.a
First and easiest way is to enter to Bash as root, simply using installed kernel image with parameter:
init=/bin/bash
.b
In many cases you can send parameter 'single' while loading kernel to automatically login as root.
.c
If Lilo or Grub are protected with password we can't boot to the installed image and we need to use ... |
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Mifare - Cryptanalysis of Crypto-1
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Fri, 09 May 2008 07:54:08 -0700
The secret cipher that secures Mifare Classic RFID tags used in access control systems, subway tickets, and various other security-related applications has recently been disclosed [1]. Since the security of the Mifare cards partly relies on the secrecy of this algorithm, we concluded that the cards are too weak for all security-related applications since the algorithm can be found with modest effort. A report for the Dutch government that assesses the impact of our findings on a nationwide ticketing system in the Netherlands was released on February 29
The report confirms our findings, but asserts that systems will likely be secure for another two years since the attack is still ... |
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Opinion: The computer security paradox
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Fri, 09 May 2008 07:50:27 -0700
One of the most prized rights of any American is the right to privacy and security. It's something people in some countries would kill for. Yet now there appears to be a very frightening trend growing. Your privacy and security are being thrown out the window wholesale in favor of easier access by law enforcement. A recent example of this can be seen with the announcement that Microsoft has been providing a tool to investigators that can effectively rip your Windows security to shreds in seconds, exposing all your private data to whoever wants to look at it.
And if that wasn't bad enough, just days later, word came down the pipe that the TSA and Homeland Security are free to ... |
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SoBe: I Was A Teenage Bot Master
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Fri, 09 May 2008 07:25:43 -0700
One day in May 2005, a 16-year-old hacker named SoBe opened his front door to find a swarm of FBI agents descending on his family's three-story house in Boca Raton, Florida. With an arm and leg in casts from a recent motorcycle accident, one agent grabbed his good arm while others seized thousands of dollars worth of computers, video game consoles and other electronics. His parents looked on.
At that moment, some 2,700 miles away, in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, the FBI was serving a separate search warrant on Jeanson James Ancheta, SoBe's 20-year-old employer and hacking mentor. It was the second time in six months Ancheta had been raided by the FBI - a clear ... |
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