Jesper's Blog

2010 PADI Instructor Manual Available Online Now

Jesper's Blog — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:52:00 GMT

If you are a PADI dive professional, or are considering being one, you may be interested in the 2010 Digital Instructor Manual . PADI graciously posted it online for free, allowing anyone, not just instructors, to access it. If you are interested in taking...(read more)

Fake Anti-Malware is Apparently Microsoft's Fault

Jesper's Blog — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:20:00 GMT

Munir Kotadia, an IT Journalist in Australia, has finally managed to figure out how to blame Microsoft for the fake anti-malware epidemic. Apparently, the reason is that "Microsoft could save the world from fake security applications by introducing...(read more)

How Delegation Privileges Are Represented In Active Directory

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:21:00 GMT

One of the last areas where more tool support is needed is in monitoring the various attributes in Active Directory (AD). Recently I got curious about the delegation flags, and, more to the point, how to tell which accounts have been trusted for delegation...(read more)

Web Of Trust: RIP

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:16:00 GMT

It's official. I just received an e-mail from Thawte notifying me that, as of November 16, 2009, the most innovative and useful idea in PKI since its inception, the Web of Trust , will die. Thawte was founded 14 years ago by Mark Shuttleworth. The...(read more)

Passwords are here to stay

Jesper's Blog — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:54:00 GMT

At least for the short to medium term. That is the, quite obvious, conclusion drawn in a Newsweek article entitled "Building a Better Password." The article goes inside the CyLab at Carnegie-Mellon University to understand how passwords may...(read more)

And finally, standard user malware

Jesper's Blog — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:21:00 GMT

Today I finally got wind of my first piece of true standard user malware. MS Antispyware 2008 has turned standard user. The version in question installs the binaries in c:\documents and settings\all users\application data\<something>, and makes...(read more)

Microsoft Poland Empowers White People

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:53:00 GMT

In an absolutely astonishing move Microsoft's Polish subsidiary decided to do some photoshopping on its Business Productivity Infrastructure page to tailor it to the Polish market. Here you can see the U.S. original . In one of the least sensitive...(read more)

Is it ActiveX that is the problem?

Jesper's Blog — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:04:00 GMT

Last week, an expert from Verizon, nee Cybertrust, posted a note about the Active Template Library (ATL) security vulnerability over on the Verizon Business Security Blog . For home users, the phone company now advises you to use a different browser,...(read more)

Warning: The software you are installing does not match your mental model

Jesper's Blog — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:10:00 GMT

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE This morning I talked to my dad. After a few minutes of polite small talk, I heard the 10 little words I have come to dread: “I had some problems with my computer the other day.” The video card...(read more)

Steve Riley Lands On His Feet

Jesper's Blog — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:13:00 GMT

In May, in one of the more inexplicable moves this year, Microsoft laid off my good friend Steve Riley, four days before he was to deliver half a dozen presentations at TechEd. Fortunately, it did not take Steve long to find a new gig. This Monday, he...(read more)

A better, more reliable, work-around for the Microsoft Video Control Vulnerability

Jesper's Blog — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:09:00 GMT

For the past few days I've been following the Microsoft Video Control Vulnerability with interest. Basically, it's another vulnerable ActiveX control that needs killbitted. Last night, Microsoft posted a work-around which involves using a Group...(read more)

Are Identity Theft Services Worth The Cost?

Jesper's Blog — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:01:00 GMT

The Consumer Federation of America just published a report on identity theft services entitled " Are Identity Theft Services Worth The Cost? " The conclusion is that many are not, and that regulation is needed in that industry. It is a very...(read more)

Please do not e-mail my social security number

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:38:00 GMT

Recently I had a very interesting incident. I wrote an article some time in 2008 and the publisher paid me a little bit of money for it. That means the publisher must send a report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS - the U.S. tax department) reporting...(read more)

Kip Hawley: "No, the TSA is Necessary Because This is War!"

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:44:00 GMT

CBS News did a story a few days ago on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Basically it was a tit-for-tat between Bruce Schneier , security pontificator extraordinaire, and Kip Hawley, the administrator of the TSA. Mr. Hawley's maintans...(read more)

One "Hacker" Attempts to Rule The World

Jesper's Blog — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:40:00 GMT

Wired, always a source for amusement and interesting literature, just carried a story on a "hacker" (the magazine's use of the term equates to "criminal") who attempted to dominate the market in stolen credit cards. It's a...(read more)