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IT Security
Selena Frye
TechRepublic Staff
Selena Frye

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Keeping your corporate social media accounts secure
Does your company have official social media accounts like Twitter or Facebook? How do you protect them from unauthorized access? Get a few tips here and take our poll on security measures.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | May 22, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT
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Aaron Swartz legacy lives on with New Yorker's Strongbox: How it works
Strongbox was Aaron Swartz's final project. Michael P. Kassner explains why The New Yorker requested a way to keep sources and their information secret.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 20, 2013, 7:17 AM PDT | Latest comment by tylerpitchford
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Mission impossible: Data identification and prioritization
Protecting your organization's most precious data is the goal, but not all data needs the same degree of care. Thinking strategically about what is most valuable can help you focus attention and...
Posted by Dominic Vogel | May 20, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by maconrad
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Security lessons from the 2013 Verizon Data Breach Report
Verizon's latest report on data breach statistics offers security pros a guide to the most persistent threats and where attention should be focused to defend against them.
Posted by Alfonso Barreiro | May 15, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT
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Cloud-service contracts and data protection: Unintended consequences
There are things your cloud-service (Facebook, Amazon, Google, Dropbox, etc.) contracts aren't telling you. Michael P. Kassner interviews an attorney concerned about what's not being said.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 13, 2013, 11:52 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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Google's Inactive Account Manager heightens enterprise awareness for securing data
Preventing the commingling of company and personal data means focusing on securing the company data.
Posted by Duane Craig | May 7, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT
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Hackers: From innocent curiosity to illegal activity
Researchers asked why talented youth skilled in "computerese" evolve into criminal hackers. Michael P. Kassner explains their unexpected results.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 6, 2013, 7:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by mattohare@...
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New McAfee patent hints at a more walled-off online world
A McAfee patent hints at content filtering at the user level in order to block sites that offer pirated content.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | May 3, 2013, 9:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by public_domain
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The future of IT security compliance: 201 CMR 17.00
Why should you be concerned about a security rule that is part of the State law of Massachusetts -- especially if you aren't in business there? Donovan Colbert explains how compliance regulations...
Posted by Donovan Colbert | April 30, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by dcolbert@...
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BoxCryptor vs. DropSmack: The battle to secure Dropbox
Can DropSmack malware be stopped? Michael P. Kassner asks the creators of BoxCryptor if it is up to the task of securing the Dropbox file-synchronization service.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 29, 2013, 10:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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Surveys: Aid security research by sharing your experience
These two security surveys are aimed at IT pros who can contribute their experience and opinions to research topics focused on security effectiveness in their organizations.
Posted by Selena Frye | April 24, 2013, 10:06 AM PDT
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Running the gauntlet: Tips for achieving your CISSP
One of the most highly regarded security certifications is the CISSP. Dominic Vogel offers these nine tips for becoming certified based on his own experience.
Posted by Dominic Vogel | April 23, 2013, 5:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by JCitizen
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Understanding what motivates Chinese hackers
Michael P. Kassner, with the help of a noted academic and author, looks at what motivates Chinese hackers. It may not be what you think.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 22, 2013, 10:16 AM PDT | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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How to test Firefox 23 change on unsecured content before it happens
Mozilla announced that the next version of its browser, Firefox 23, will automatically block unsecured content on encrypted web pages. You can check how that change will affect your own or other...
Posted by Patrick Lambert | April 16, 2013, 5:45 AM PDT | Latest comment by Deadly Ernest
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DropSmack: Using Dropbox to steal files and deliver malware
Michael P. Kassner interviews a digital forensic scientist who uses Dropbox to compromise targeted networks -- something the bad guys probably figured out as well.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 15, 2013, 7:46 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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Securing Bitcoins: Barrage of attacks undermines value
Patrick Lambert looks into the tumultuous world of Bitcoins and recent threats to the virtual currency system.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | April 9, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by frylock
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Software-Defined Networking: How it affects network security
SDN technology is set to rewrite the book of networking. Michael P. Kassner looks into how SDN will improve security, and where it's vulnerable.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 8, 2013, 7:13 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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DDoS strike on Spamhaus highlights need to close DNS open resolvers
Patrick Lambert breaks down the Spamhaus DDoS attack and some of the controversies that have ensued. What isn't up for debate -- fixing the open resolver flaw on DNS servers.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | April 2, 2013, 5:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by JesusChristSuperStar
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Security policies must address legal implications of BYOD
BYOD is controversial, particularly when it comes to security and privacy. Michael P. Kassner learns from an expert there is a legal can of worms as well.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 1, 2013, 6:02 AM PDT | Latest comment by w-techrepublic@...
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The security implications of 420,000 vulnerable hosts
Patrick Lambert presents a case of security findings that could get its researcher jail time. Is there such as thing as a "benevolent" botnet?
Posted by Patrick Lambert | March 26, 2013, 5:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by wdewey@...
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List open ports and listening services
You should turn off any services you don't actually need so that they will not become avenues of attack for security threats. Different systems will have different services running by default,...
Posted by Chad Perrin | April 15, 2008, 8:47 PM PDT | Latest comment by jackhard
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Hackers: From innocent curiosity to illegal activity
Researchers asked why talented youth skilled in "computerese" evolve into criminal hackers. Michael P. Kassner explains their unexpected results.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 6, 2013, 7:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by mattohare@...
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Cloud-service contracts and data protection: Unintended consequences
There are things your cloud-service (Facebook, Amazon, Google, Dropbox, etc.) contracts aren't telling you. Michael P. Kassner interviews an attorney concerned about what's not being said.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 13, 2013, 11:52 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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DropSmack: Using Dropbox to steal files and deliver malware
Michael P. Kassner interviews a digital forensic scientist who uses Dropbox to compromise targeted networks -- something the bad guys probably figured out as well.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 15, 2013, 7:46 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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Battling the Google Redirect virus
Consultant Bob Eisenhardt recounts his frustrating experience trying to track down and get rid of a client's search-redirect virus. Here's how he finally ditched it.
Posted by Bob Eisenhardt | January 2, 2013, 10:56 AM PST | Latest comment by Jane3344
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Understanding what motivates Chinese hackers
Michael P. Kassner, with the help of a noted academic and author, looks at what motivates Chinese hackers. It may not be what you think.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 22, 2013, 10:16 AM PDT | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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BoxCryptor vs. DropSmack: The battle to secure Dropbox
Can DropSmack malware be stopped? Michael P. Kassner asks the creators of BoxCryptor if it is up to the task of securing the Dropbox file-synchronization service.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 29, 2013, 10:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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How to spoof a MAC address
MAC address filtering for wireless networking isn't real "security". Anyone who pays any attention to current trends in wireless security at all should know that MAC filtering is less effective...
Posted by Chad Perrin | January 22, 2008, 1:28 PM PST | Latest comment by Doug Vitale
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Running the gauntlet: Tips for achieving your CISSP
One of the most highly regarded security certifications is the CISSP. Dominic Vogel offers these nine tips for becoming certified based on his own experience.
Posted by Dominic Vogel | April 23, 2013, 5:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by JCitizen
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The basics of using a proxy server for privacy and security
Patrick Lambert goes over the basics of how proxy servers work and why they are used to add security and privacy.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | December 5, 2012, 6:30 AM PST | Latest comment by Tony Hopkinson
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DDoS attack methods and how to prevent or mitigate them
Patrick Lambert covers the various methods attackers use to launch distributed denial of service attacks, and the precautions you can take to prevent or at least, mitigate these types of events.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | October 15, 2012, 11:24 AM PDT
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Aaron Swartz legacy lives on with New Yorker's Strongbox: How it works
Strongbox was Aaron Swartz's final project. Michael P. Kassner explains why The New Yorker requested a way to keep sources and their information secret.
Posted by Michael Kassner | May 20, 2013, 7:17 AM PDT | Latest comment by tylerpitchford
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Software-Defined Networking: How it affects network security
SDN technology is set to rewrite the book of networking. Michael P. Kassner looks into how SDN will improve security, and where it's vulnerable.
Posted by Michael Kassner | April 8, 2013, 7:13 AM PDT | Latest comment by Michael Kassner
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Use PuTTY as a secure proxy on Windows
Last month, I wrote about using OpenSSH as a secure Web proxy on UNIX and Linux systems. This time, I'll show you how to do the same thing on Microsoft Windows using PuTTY -- probably the single...
Posted by Chad Perrin | March 10, 2008, 4:30 PM PDT | Latest comment by abaabaa
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Dropbox: Convenient? Absolutely, but is it secure?
A potential security lapse and possibly misleading statements are plaguing Dropbox, a hugely popular file-syncing app. What are the issues and is concern justified?
Posted by Michael Kassner | June 13, 2011, 8:03 AM PDT | Latest comment by kprivigyi@...
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The future of IT security compliance: 201 CMR 17.00
Why should you be concerned about a security rule that is part of the State law of Massachusetts -- especially if you aren't in business there? Donovan Colbert explains how compliance regulations...
Posted by Donovan Colbert | April 30, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by dcolbert@...
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Security lessons from the 2013 Verizon Data Breach Report
Verizon's latest report on data breach statistics offers security pros a guide to the most persistent threats and where attention should be focused to defend against them.
Posted by Alfonso Barreiro | May 15, 2013, 6:00 AM PDT
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Hacker vs. cracker
The word "hacker" gets used in a pejorative sense by journalists an awful lot. Some people think this is perfectly reasonable; others find it offensive, and recommend an alternative term for that...
Posted by Chad Perrin | April 17, 2009, 1:20 PM PDT | Latest comment by wizard57m-cnet
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New McAfee patent hints at a more walled-off online world
A McAfee patent hints at content filtering at the user level in order to block sites that offer pirated content.
Posted by Patrick Lambert | May 3, 2013, 9:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by public_domain
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10 services to turn off in MS Windows XP
As I pointed out on 19 October, in point number four of the article 10 security tips for all general-purposes OSes, an important step in the process of securing your system is to shut down...
Posted by Chad Perrin | November 7, 2007, 10:02 AM PST | Latest comment by JonB2008

































