Nice list of the services installed by default in Windows NT4, 2000, and XP. If you want to optimize and secure your system, but aren't sure about which services do what, check this list out.
Disable unnecessary services to improve workstations performance: "NT/W2K/XP supports a large number of services. Unnecessary services take up a lot of cycles. Try disabling the following services to speedup your workstation."
Lie Detector glasses. Scary, but usefull, tho I'm undecided how I feel about these.
EE Times - Lie-detector glasses offer peek at future of security: "'We work off the frequency range of voice patterns instead of changes in the body.' The company said that a state police agency in the Midwest found the lie detector 89 percent accurate, compared with 83 percent for a traditional polygraph."
Ok, so this isn't really news, but it's worth a look. Very funny version of NMAP made by Microsoft. (Parody).
If Microsoft Had Written Nmap: "What if, in a bizarro, make-believe parallel Universe, Microsoft expanded Office beyond Microsoft Word�, Microsoft Excel�, and Microsoft Outlook� to include�. Microsoft Nmap�."
Fairly cheesy, but you could probably get caught playing this and say it was for research purposes. If you fraised it properly.
Virus Hunter II - Play for fun and win the discount!: "Kaspersky Labs announces the release of 'Virus Hunter 2', the second version of the popular online game."
Isn't this Karma? If not, at least maybe they'll stop suing everyone now.
SCO | Investor Relations: "The SCO Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOX), the owner of the UNIX(R) operating system and a leading provider of UNIX-based solutions, today confirmed that it is experiencing a distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attack. SCO announced that it is offering a reward of up to a total of $250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for creating the Mydoom virus"
Running Checkpoint? Make sure you've updated recently. They aren't secure against this latest worm by default.
SecurityTracker.com Archives - Check Point FireWall-1/VPN-1 Contains H.323 Processing Vulnerabilities With Unspecified Impact: "It was reported that Check Point FireWall-1 and VPN-1 products are vulnerable to the H.323 security tests "
Mcafee releases an Antispyware program. And then charges $40 for it. I've not had a good feeling about this company since it started filling its site with ads that greatly resemble spyware ads. Now this happens. I fear it.
News Center: Network Associates To Launch AntiSpyware Software
Brief overview of the evils that are pop-ups. If you don't already use the google toolbar, then shame on you.
http://toolbar.google.com
mcall.com - Invasion of the Pop-Ups: "Microsoft has announced that future versions of the Internet Explorer will include pop-up-blocking software that will be turned on in its default setting."
India is finally taking some measures in implementing network security. The Indian government has built a new system in response to increased hacking and break-ins.
Indian cyber security system unveiled : "IT officials acknowledge that computer security in India is far from satisfactory. Recently, hackers from a neighbouring country hacked sites of the Defence Ministry."
Overview on disabling DCOM can be found here.
Critical Flaw Leaves Windows Users Vulnerable: "RPC/DCOM vulnerability widespread problem"
A site dedicated to telling the Computer Illiterate why they need a firewall. Direct people to this when you have to explain to them the importance of firewalls.
Personal Firewall Day: "Personal Firewall Day is dedicated to educating everyone about the threats we face--and pose--when we don't protect our computers with personal firewalls."
Workaround if you really need to make XP Home join a domain. Otherwise, buy professional.
vowe dot net :: Windows XP Home cannot join a domain, or can it?: "allow WinXP Home Edition to join a domain"
Scary Airline security measurements being put in place.
U.S. to Push Airlines for Passenger Records (washingtonpost.com): "The government will compel airlines and airline reservations companies to hand over all passenger records for scrutiny by U.S. officials"
Microsoft crumbles and doesn't end support for Windows 98. Same thing happened with the NT 4 MCSE's. Maybe they should rethink statements before they publish the hell out of them. It's bad press.
SecurityNewsPortal.com: "Microsoft has extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME. The software giant has prolonged support for the operating systems until June 30, 2006."
Burger King's wireless drive through gets hacked.
Silicon News: "'You don't need a couple of Whoppers. You are too fat.' "
Fred Langa did an experiment to see how much of the valid email being sent gets killed by anti-spam techniques. Results don't look very good.
Fred Langa Letter: E-Mail--Hideously Unreliable : "40% of valid E-mails never reach the recipient. Here's what it all means to you."
Review of the major versions of software firewalls available. If you're not sure which one to pick, this can help sort them out.
SecurityFocus PEN-TEST Infocus: Home User Security: Personal Firewalls: "Due to increased traffic and ever more sophisticated threats on the Internet, the need for personal firewalls has grown to become an absolute necessity for home users."
New processor technology that should help eliminate Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities. How many Windows Updates will this make unnessicary?
AMD, Intel put antivirus tech into chips | CNET News.com: "'Now in current processors, any programs that go into the memory overflow can be executed,' he said. 'With this, the system only allows read-only in the buffer. It will not execute.' The malicious program is then disposed harmlessly when the PC is turned off, he said. "
Livejournal looks about to get a wakeup call. Not believing in security is like asking for a hack. Come on, people.
SecurityFocus HOME News: Defenses lacking at social network sites: "On the initial login page, LiveJournal members send their passwords in the clear. 'We're hoping to change that in the next month,' Fitzpatrick said. 'But site performance is our highest priority, and SSL is a pain.' "
Microsoft is dropping support (even extended support, so no patches will be issued unless they really want to) for Internet Explorer 6 at the same time that Windows XP Service Pack 2 comes out. This is gonna be the ugliest thing ever. The hijacks and security vulnerabilities are going to destroy what credibility IE has left.
The Windows Clock Is Ticking: "IE 6 for XP: Mainstream support for Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Home and XP Professional already ended on December 31, 2001. But the extended support for these two products will terminate around mid-2004, simultaneous with the commercial availability of Windows XP SP2."
Qualys' list of the highest risk vulnerabilities in the wild. Updated with full info on the specifid vulnerability.
Qualys, Inc. - Security On-Demand
Not really big news here. Kazaa is an evil virus magnet. Extended exposure to Peer to Peer programs will eventually lead to a virus hitting your machine. And with the RIAA suing everyone lately, its not the best time to be pirating music and software.
Almost half of Kazaa downloads 'threaten security' - News & Technology - CNETAsia
NeWT scanner, based on the 'Nix Nessus engine now available for Windows. Decent ability to see what remote services are exposed on your systems and how to patch them. Interface and usage isn't heavy technical, compared to most port scanners, but has a nice GUI.
If you don't understand NMAP, or want a second opinion (or third or fourth...), give this a try.
Tenable Network Security Inc.
Scots Newsletter beta tests Windows XP Service Pack 2 and gives details on the security upgrades and additional features that it will include.
Scot's Newsletter | By Scot Finnie | 01-06-2004 | http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/
Curious about Internet Information Services in 2003 Server? In-depth coverage here:
Exploring Windows 2003 Security: IIS 6.0
IDG's view of what to look out for in 2004. Broad range of security issues and some predictions of what Microsoft will do about it.
IDG.com.sg - Article
How is 2004 going to look with regard to security issues? What to watch out for:
PCWorld.com - Security Worries for 2004
802.11i security standard, WPA, and the upcoming security standards of wireless networking. WPA is not yet secure.
E-Commerce News: Is Wireless Security a Lost Cause?
Blade server technology that comes in desktop form. Thinclient computers get cooler.
ZDNet UK - Special Reports - Locking the desktop in the filing cabinet
