The Little Geeni

The online world has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years. This provides the public with some amazing resources – the ability to access information with the touch of a finger, the ability to communicate via fast and inexpensive methods, and more functionality and ease of use are being introduced every day. Unfortunately, as with all good things, there is also a dark side.

While there are plenty of people who use the internet and computers responsibly and honestly, there are predators and hackers out there who spoil the fun for everyone if their dirty deeds go unchecked. There are a lot of ways for these people to compromise your computer and your network. Below we will review just a few of the ways that your network can be compromised.

Two destructive network breaches fall under a category known as “destructive behavior.” One involves the complete obliteration of data within your network. It is called “data destruction” and it is just what it sounds like. It happens when someone breaches your network and deletes data. If your network is business-related, this can be devastating. Experts say that it is no less destructive than a fire that destroys your computer equipment.

Some perpetrators have more than simple destruction in mind. They do something called “data diddling” which means that they alter the data in your system. They might change data in spreadsheets or other documents, or they might tamper with your accounting system. Some examples of things that have really happened involve the accounting system specifically. “Hackers” have broken into a network, accessed the accounting system, and changed the account numbers on direct deposit paychecks to go into their own accounts. Thefts like this take some time to track down – first the employee has to not get paid, investigations have to be made, and someone has to think to double-check the direct deposit account information. In some cases, companies have cut new paper checks and it has taken months to retrieve the lost funds.

Another way in which networks are vulnerable is in the realm of confidentiality. A lot of times, companies possess information that, if shared with a competitor, could be very bad for business. In this case, predators are not looking to alter or destroy data, they are merely trying to find out information they’re not supposed to know. If someone were to find out financial performance information before a public release of said information it could affect the stock negatively. If a company is planning to roll out a new product and someone gets that information and gives it to a competitor, or leaks the information to the public, it could hurt the company’s sales. Even more frightening is the possibility of someone breaking in to view confidential employee-related data – like home addresses, social security numbers, and bank account information.

All of these network attacks happen because outside users are able to gain unauthorized access to a network. To access information, change data, or delete data, the attacker gains access to a network and is able to execute illicit commands – either at the normal user level or at the administrator level. Both are bad, but luckily both can be avoided if you take these threats seriously and develop sound policies regarding your network security .

Computer Security Breaches, Network, Security, Some, Types

Once you hook up your computer to a network – be it at home or at the office – you are vulnerable to attacks from the internet. It is therefore essential to have some kind of network security software installed.

Sure, your PC might not get compromised without this software just like somebody riding a motorbike without a helmet is not necessarily going to die in crash because they didn’t wear a helmet. You get the picture.

The first thing that comes to mind when talking about security software is of course an antivirus program with the latest virus definitions installed. This is not only for your own safety, but also for other people’s safety. An infected computer can be manipulated by the cyber-criminal to infect other computers, all the contacts stored on your computer for example.

The “good old days” of only virus attacks are long gone now. Attackers have access to highly sophisticated spyware programs – some of them readily available for download on the net- which keep on getting better every day. The biggest pest nowadays are Trojans. These are malicous programs which often contain a variety of malware. So if you get one Trojan on your PC, you can be pretty sure it can contain a combination of worms other trojans or even worse, rootkits.

That is why you should supplement your antivirus program with a good anti-spyware program. Both do an excellent job at what there are meant for. Most antivirus software offers some malware protection, but nothing as good as a standalone anti-spyware program. This also doubles your defense if you care about computer network security.

Does it end there? Network security is a never ending process, depending on how secure you want your computer to be. For the home user there is another, very important, factor which often gets overlooked.

Most of you have heard about a firewall which is standard in an internet security suite. Few of you will understand the workings of a firewall. What does it mean if your firewall software asks you “program x wants to access the internet, allow once, allow always, deny?”

Just press “deny” once for the wrong program and you will have disabled your internet access. Much better to get a hardware firewall which is standard and already configured in a SOHO router and consequently will not nag you with those incomprehensible questions.

As a home user do not hook up your PC directly to the network, get a router to tunnel and control the traffic between your PC and the internet.

There are of course other “nasties” out there. If you would like to find out more about some extra protection visit http://pcuserinfo.com/reviews/sentrybay-personal-data-protection/ where you can find out more about hidden spyware.

Computer Security Computer, Network, Security, Software

Network security services like the well-known family of FortiGuard Services are mandatory for businesses and organizations that rely on computer systems. Everything from email to data storage to conferencing is all accessed through a network, and without tools like the FortiGuard Antivirus Security Solution, this network is at risk to threats such as viruses and attacks. We might not think about these security services on a day-to-day basis, but our world would not run so smoothly without them. We all know what spam does to our personal inboxes, but for a large organization it can truly wreak havoc on the operation. This is why businesses and organizations of all sizes and types rely on services like the FortiGuard Antispam Service, which uses a sender IP reputation database as well as a spam signature database and high-tech spam filtering tools that help seek out spam messages and stop them before they enter any employee’s inbox. And with dual-pass detection technology, organizations are able to diminish spam volume at the perimeter. Antivirus protection is equally important. Solutions such as the FortiGuard Antivirus Service offer this kind of protection in an automated fashion that utilizes advanced virus, spyware and heuristic detection engines. These tools are able to prevent all varieties of threats that might otherwise be able to gain access to a network and all its valuable content and applications. These FortiGuard Services and other network security tools offer protection with consistent automated updates for antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, antispam, vulnerability and compliance management, application control and database security services. The benefits of international threat detection, research into upcoming threats, constant developments based on feedback, real-time updates, simple setup and device-based licensing ensure a simple and seamless solution. But without services like the FortiGuard Antispam Service and Antivirus Solution, businesses and organizations are putting their networks at risk of all-out attacks.

Computer Security Fortiguard, Like, Network, Organizations, Rely, Security, Services, Tools

As the Symfony development team reaches towards the new beta release of symfony 1.1 , Fabien decided to delegate the responsibility of maintaining the 1.0 branch to two new persons Noël Guilbert and Grégoire Hubert. Their responsibilities include planning the coming releases, choosing the tickets to be included and the general packaging of the releases.

And the main development team continues refactorization of core components and prepares the upgrading process. Symfony popularity grows day by day as many of the people contributing in the community, more and more bloggers writing about the symfony and Many public sites powered by the Symfony

–Asif–

symfony

A penetration test (in the IT vernacular referred to as a “pen test”) is also known as “ethical hacking”, and this network security tool provides an essential function in vulnerability assessment. By actively seeking out and deploying attacks and penetration efforts against your network, you are more likely to uncover vulnerabilities and be able to take action to block holes in your security and pre-empt attacks on the perimeter defences.

Penetration testing includes both script-based and human-based attacks on the network in order to seek out and exploit vulnerabilities. The difference between this and say, criminal hackers looking to cause mischief or theft of data, is that you control the “attacker”. The “attacker” reports back to you on whether they were successful and if so, how to stop such an attack from being successful in real-life. Penetration testing will reveal network security holes but more than this, it will be able to provide you with a realistic risk assessment including the impact on your business should such an attack succeed. Knowing what such an attack may cost your business will provide you with the ability to quantify the business risk and determine whether you do in fact, need to implement a solution.

”Black Box Testing” involves a penetration test where the attackers have no knowledge of the network infrastructure. They are working from what a real, external hacker would be using – online connectivity and any human intelligence or reliance on human nature, in order to discover vulnerabilities.

”White Box Testing” involves attackers who have full knowledge of the network infrastructure and are seeking out vulnerabilities and scenarios to take advantage of perceived weaknesses.

An intermediate form exists, known as “Grey Box Testing” where some knowledge is provided, known also as “partial disclosure”.

The aim of these differing forms of testing is to compel imaginative ways to hack into the network, compromising network security . While having full knowledge of a system may lead the ethical attacker to use an obvious defect in network security, they may pass over and completely miss a less obvious but more severe vulnerability. Blind or black box testing does not allow for precise testing of certain components of the network because they don’t know how the network is established but, this form of testing does lead to more imaginative attack scenarios being developed and hence, a more realistic prospect of stopping a real attacker with mischief in mind.

Penetration testing should be a regular scheduled activity and performed at least once a year and every time the network infrastructure is added to or changed. Penetration tests are also a serious component of risk audits conducted to determine network operation and integrity. Script-based penetration testing is relatively inexpensive because of the level of automation involved and is eminently suitable for white box testing. Black box testing, on the other hand, is labor intensive because it involves real people emulating real life hackers and such a penetration test will involve more than simply running an online attack against the network, for instance, rummaging through company trash for computer information, and this dramatically increases the cost.

Computer Security Explained, Network, Penetration, Security, Testing