There are different ways of creating passwords for your computer and online accounts. It seems like these days, the usual six characters as length of passwords is not enough. There are sites that when you sign up and you give your desired password, they will let you know whether or not your password is strong. Most of the sites that have it even point out that it is better to have characters that are more than six characters long. For another, they usually recommend that you have numbers and letters in your password. Mixing up uppercase characters along with it is also recommended. Sounds tough, right? Because the the passwords would seem random or something like it.

Here are some tips from different people so that you could have more secure passwords that you could easily remember:
1. Use two words with six characters each.
If you have two words, you have a twelve character long password. But here’s the clincher. You have to make some funky code that you would be replacing some of the letters with numbers. So it could be that every two letter you could replace the letters with numbers that have some signifance or maybe some random numbers.
There are people would use the names of their pets and something else that is totally random and those are combined by mixing the letters, alternating each letter.
2. Use some other language and make a phrase. Then turn it into leet speak.
It is similar to the first suggestion. However this takes it a step further because it will involve other countries’ languages. It is as if you are writing code indeed.
3. Have around three sets of passwords.
Rotate among these three passwords that you have. And change your passwords every so often. At least this makes it more difficult for others to find you your passwords.

Tags: IT Security Basics, Tips

Categories: IT Security Basics, Tips

Leave a Comment

Blogs are popularly being read on RSS aggregators these days. That or via Atom feeds and recently, it has been said that attackers could use Javascript to take advantage of this. According to an article on USA Today, this could be any kind of information as long as it is in this format. In the said article, you could also find out the list of vulnerable readers: Bloglines, RSS Reader, RSS Owl, Feed Demon, and Sharp Reader.

This kind of news is actually not so new. Mark Pilgrim was one of the bloggers who has written about this before. He even set up an experiment of sorts, wherein subscribers to his blog feed saw a screen full of platypi. He has mentioned in his blog entry that the difficulty with RSS is that there is a lot of arbitrary HTML and it could include Javascript — it could be malicious Javascript as designed by some attackers. Mark Pilgrim even listen down the elements that should be stripped off by RSS readers, just to be safe:
script tags, embed tags, object tags, frameset tags, iframe tags, meta tags, link tags, style tags, style attributes from every tag.

If you are always subscribing to different blogs, forums and mailing lists through RSS, you should be careful about it. If there are comments RSS, you could also take precautionary measures by not subscribing to it. It is possible to get attacked through the RSS of comments. Aside from that, if you have set up your own personal aggregator, make sure that you have a ’smart’ aggregator which strips off the said tags. If you have an aggregator on your computer, check if it is vulnerable. Maybe you could install something else that isn’t prone to attacks via RSS. It is better to be secure after all.

Tags: IT Security Basics, Malware, News, Tips

Categories: IT Security Basics, Malware, News, Tips

Leave a Comment

Greg Schulz of Computerworld shared some guidelines of tape virtualization. Tape virtualization is one of the popular topics when it come to storage. Some of the said advantages of making virtual tape libraries would include improvement of the performance of the back up, archiving and other related processes and smooth transition (from tape-based to disk-based).

Here are the ten points he raised in his article:

1. Integration of VTL in your business continuity, conditions of your site/location.
2. Storage devices to be attached to the VTL.
3. Projected storage capacity needed in the future.
4. Backup, archiving, etc. software supported.
5. Support of differencing or single-instance repository capabilities.
6. Determine if you are looking for a turnkey solution.
7. Resiliency and redundancy needed.
8. Security level needed.
9. Tape device and library emulation for your environment.
10. Necessary changes to your current setup.

The questions he raised in his article really make you consider your needs and the conditions of your system. All these questions will help you evaluate if you would use virtualization. You cannot just decide right away if you will use VTL because it could affect your system in a major way.

It is always good to look at the possibilities before arriving at some decisions like this one. It is best to do a full study before you spend on it. One of the important things you also have to consider would be the people who would be in charge of this project in your company. Who will be the ones in charge of the study and the follow up in case you do push through with it. Your data will be at stake so it is better to be safe than sorry.

Tags: Backups, Physical Security, Storage, Tips

Categories: Backups, Physical Security, Storage, Tips

Leave a Comment

Living at home means that you have to share your computer with other people. In some companies, people also share workstations in case that they have different work shifts. In any case, it is important for you to make sure that your files are safe. Especially those that you use for work and those that contain confidential information.

Here are some tips for you:

• Make sure you are using a password that is not easy to guess.
  If people know you well enough, they could probably figure out what password you will use. People tend to use passwords based on words, names and dates that important to them. Examples are pets‘ names and anniversaries. If you do this, chances are those who know you will be able to log in your computer using your account. Try changing your passwords every so often and make sure that they will be easy for you to remember but difficult to guess. Think of some cipher for it.
• Set permissions on your files and directories.
  You could set that your files and directories will only be accessible to you. Do a chmod on them. Then again, whoever has root access will be able to get through. Maybe it would be easy for you to do this if you are the one with root access.
• Protect your files with passwords.
  Although not everyone agrees with this, some people do this for their own sake. They feel better to have password protected files. A drawback, of course, is that if it has a difficult password to remember, you might as well have deleted your files.
• Log out of your account or profile.
  If you have set your file permissions that you are the only one who can view, edit and execute the files, it will be pointless if you don’t log out. When you are the one who is still logged on, you leave your entire session open for intrusion.

Hopefully these tips have helped you deal with some of your dilemmas with regards to sharing your computer with other users.

Tags: computers, General, IT Security Basics, omputers, people, Privacy-&-Anonymity, Real-World Issues, security, Tips

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Tips

Leave a Comment

Most databases are usually backed-up at certain scheduled times, largely due to avoid possible data corruption stemming from system crashes. It is best to back-up regularly and store them in another external storage data, usually in the from of back-up tapes or compact discs, so that historical data can be rolled back towards the actual time where the data had been stored.

Ideally, people who are not in business would not resort to a data backup regularly. The degree of importance of certain documents may not be as essential compared to that of business entities. The importance of archiving pertinent documents would not usually be realized unless they really find themselves on the spot.

It is true that people will only heed warnings once they have actually occurred. But to people who have already been through this process would agree that it provides more discomfort and problems rather than being at ease when such unforeseen events would take place.

[tags]back-ups, data recovery, data restoration[/tags]

Tags: back-ups, Backups, data-recovery, data-restoration, Real-World Issues, Tips

Categories: Backups, Real-World Issues, Tips

Comments Off

The complete commands and processes to which a computer operates cannot be covered in a day nor will be remembered in one sitting. Ideally, only the important things for consideration such as that of user friendly commands to allow proper interface between the computer and the user behind the keyboard will always be the only know-how that would remain.

Computer operating systems such as Linux and Windows offer a wide variety of benefits for people, especially in maximizing the capabilities of a computer and the installed software. Speed and reliability are among the important aspects that computer owner will always want and to be able to perform them, proper identification and references would need to be researched on.

It is a given that most people would not spend time studying all the aspects of a computer system. However, there will be instances when such accidental discoveries from exploring the computer operating system and its resources would ignite interest and push a person into further exploring information surrounding the issue and perhaps look at other benefits that operating systems provide but are not given much attention.

[tags]windows, linux, secrets, system hints, system resources[/tags]

Tags: Cryptography, IT Security Basics, linux, Operating Systems, Programming, secrets, system-hints, system-resources, Tips, windows

Categories: Cryptography, IT Security Basics, Operating Systems, Programming, Tips

Comments Off

For bloggers and writers, using pen names has been a normal scenario, some of which who would want to keep their identities apart for privacy reasons. While some would not care and would want to gain the due recognition for their work, it entirely depends on what the blog or composition is all about.

Privacy over the Internet is only normal. Who would want to be cited for something which may become a means of ruining their reputation online? Risky is the right term for most people, but upon voicing opinions, making a stand and living by what you believe in despite what critics may eventually say is something that people would want to be known for.

For sure, this may draw varied criticisms and comments, but the bottom line of it all is that it depends on how daring a person can get and up to what extent he is willing to push himself.

[tags]privacy online, identities, pen names[/tags]

Tags: identities, pen-names, Privacy-&-Anonymity, privacy-online, Tips

Categories: Privacy & Anonymity, Tips

Comments Off

Day-in and Day-out, people surf the web for possible downloads in the form of drivers, security stand alone cleaners, and free programs that will help them in their specific needs. One drawback is the potent threats and reliability of such sites since everyone is aware that such malicious Spyware or Trojans may be present in these programs which are usually compressed in zip files prior to free downloading.

Majorgeeks.com is one site that contains a lot of the helpful tools to aid computer users in their everyday issues and improvements for their overall operating system and performance. One notable thing that most users are aware about is that of intrusions in their system from the usual cookies and attachments that people get from the Internet. With the mischief going around, no one really knows how safe their computer is and what files are needed and not on their hard drives.

Tags: IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, Programming, Review, Spyware, Storage, Tips

Categories: IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, Programming, Review, Spyware, Storage, Tips

Comments Off

Ordinarily, all computers would evidently slow down owing to the number of programs installed and running and exposure over the web which injects some files for proper browsing of sites. At some point, boot-up speed of most computers as well as immediate shutdowns as performed by users may encounter some delays. These are only proper since the registry would be open to a lot of modifications from such activities.

This is why some companies have developed registry checkers and cleaners such as Registry Mechanic, to be able to determine the modifications and problems that have affected certain areas of the computer. Among the known issues would be improper deletion of shortcuts or programs without using the add/remove option on the control panel of the Windows operating system. This alone leaves a conflict that makes computers adjust to such occurrences.

Another thing is that of cookies gathered from the web. While cookies are stored in the temporary IE folder of a computer, some may tend to change some configurations on the machine and thus slow it down.

Registry cleaners are not guaranteed to speed up a computer speed at an instant. A user must also thoroughly evaluate if such modifications are okay for removal. A wrong decision may eventually make things worse, hence if a person is unsure, consulting computer experts or even the web for advice prior to action would be advisable.

Tags: Malware, Operating Systems, Programming, Spyware, Tips

Categories: Malware, Operating Systems, Programming, Spyware, Tips

Comments Off

Most software tools that are used today are not perfect. Weaknesses and loopholes that may encounter system operation conflicts and problems will only be natural, especially for programs that are either not immediately compatible or are prone to breakdowns every now and then. The need for a continuous development as far as applying patches and updates towards such software, such as programming languages and operating systems like Windows and Linux, is a necessity.

This is only normal considering that chinks in the armor of anything will always be revealed at times when people least expect it. This is a continuing and ongoing trend that all software developers and administrators need to attend to, considering that as the height of demand for accurate programs are increasing, the same holds true for the need to provide features and flexibility on the programming aspect of installed systems for smooth flow of automations in most business organizations and entrepreneurial undertakings.

[tags]programmer, patch updates, systems, operating system, windows, linux [/tags]

Tags: IT Security Basics, linux, Operating Systems, operating-system, patch-updates, programmer, Programming, Security Policies, Storage, systems, Tips, windows

Categories: IT Security Basics, Operating Systems, Programming, Security Policies, Storage, Tips

Comments Off