security « Bag of Beans

Archive for the ‘security’ Category

TrueCrypt 4.2 Released

Tuesday, April 18th, 2006

The latest version of TrueCrypt encryption software has been released. This is one of the best tools available out there for securing your data.

TrueCrypt 4.2 Released

April 17, 2006; 1900 GMT

We are pleased to announce that TrueCrypt 4.2 has been released. Among the new features is the ability to create a TrueCrypt volume under Linux, ability to create a â€˜dynamicâ€™ container whose physical size (actual disk space used) grows as new data is added to it, ability to change volume passwords/keyfiles under Linux, ability to create keyfiles under Linux, ability to restore and backup volume headers under Linux, and many more.

This release makes the Linux version of TrueCrypt completely independent on the Windows version. However, both versions will continue to be mutually compatible. For a comprehensive list of changes, please see http://www.truecrypt.org/history.php

Download here

Posted in apps, downloads, security | No Comments »

Making and Breaking HDCP Handshakes

Friday, April 14th, 2006

Freedom to Tinker has an interesting post on how HDCP could be broken.

Every new HDCP device is given two things: a secret vector, and an addition rule. The secret vector is a sequence of 40 secret numbers that the device is not supposed to reveal to anybody. The addition rule, which is not a secret, describes a way of adding up numbers selected from a vector. Both the secret vector and the addition rule are assigned by HDCPâ€™s central authority. (I like to imagine that the central authority occupies an undersea command center worthy of Doctor Evil, but itâ€™s probably just a nondescript office suite in Burbank.)

Link (via Boing Boing)

Posted in math, rights, security, technology | No Comments »

The Torn-Up Credit Card Application

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

Cockeyed.com has a disturbing story where a guy tears up a credit card application he received in the mail into smallish pieces, tapes it all back togther, and then fills it in. He even changes his return address to his parent’s home, and sends it back to the credit card company. Amazingly, the application is accepted and they send him a new credit card!

On the Chase Website about protecting your identity, I learned that I should tear up financial solicitations that I am not interested in.

This was bad news. Maybe my card would never come.

I also checked the Federal Trade Commission website on protecting your identity.

They suggested that I “tear or shred” credit applications and other forms before discarding them.

…

Things worked out just fine for me, I got my card, and I’m happy. But for you, you might be worried right now. Every credit card application you get is now like a villain from a suspense thriller. If you don’t figure out how to completely destroy it, it may come back to terrorize you in the sequel.

Link (via reddit)

Posted in funny, security | No Comments »

Google Hacking: Ten Simple Security Searches That Work

Monday, February 27th, 2006

The Ethical Hacker Network has some tips on using Google queries to check the security of a site. The article is an excerpt from the book Google Hacking for Penetration Testers.

Although we see literally hundreds of Google searches throughout this book, sometimes itâ€™s nice to know thereâ€™s a few searches that give good results just about every time. In the context of security work, weâ€™ll take a look at 10 searches that work fairly well during a security assessment, especially when combined with the site operator, which secures the first position in our list. As you become more and more comfortable with Google, youâ€™ll certainly add to this list, modifying a few searches and quite possibly deleting a few, but the searches here should serve as a very nice baseline for your own top 10 list.

Link (via Lifehacker)

Posted in security, web | No Comments »

The Document Which Used To Be Called The MIT Guide to Lock Picking

Monday, February 20th, 2006

This is the classic hacker text on how many locks work and how to pick them. This was apparently published by a student at MIT in 1991, but MIT requested that their name be removed from the title.

Link (via reddit)
Alternate link
Here is the response from the MIT Hacking community after this document was released
MIT Gallery of Hacks

Posted in security | 1 Comment »

xpy – Fix default threats on Windows XP

Wednesday, December 28th, 2005

xpy is a useful utility that helps close some security holes in Windows XP by tweaking certain registry settings for you.

Small tool which disables the default threats of a Windows XP installation. Besides disabling Windows and some of its components to communicate with Microsoft servers, xpy improves privacy settings and your system’s security.

Make sure you know what you are disabling or you may break some applications on your system.

Link (via Digg)

Posted in apps, computers, downloads, security | No Comments »

Essential Wireless Hacking Tools

Friday, December 16th, 2005

The Ethical Hacker Network has a good article on some tools for finding out about the wireless networks available around you, and also how to defend your own network against these tools.

Anyone interested in gaining a deeper knowledge of wireless security and exploiting vulnerabilities will need a good set of base tools with which to work. Fortunately, there are an abundance of free tools available on the Internet. This list is not meant to be comprehensive in nature but rather to provide some general guidance on recommended tools to build your toolkit.