Ask and Ye shall receive

A few days ago while verifying my online bank statement with my accounting software, I noticed a small difference in my savings account.  My online banking website noted two small charges for some kind of maintenance fee.  What the hell?  A maintenance fee on my savings account?  The fees were worth more than I would make in interest over a few years.  A little ticked, I contemplated what to to.  I could just sit and be pissed about it, but I decided to call my bank and complain.  The helpful lady who answered the phone quickly reversed the charges and changed my account to a package that didn't have the maintenance fees.  I didn't even have to threaten to take my money to another bank.  She just told me that I had an account with fees and fixed the problems.  Just like that.  The whole ordeal took less than ten minutes including time on hold.  I guess that the banks figure most people will accept the charges without fight, so the people that do call are the ones that get their money back.  Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

Strange New Worlds

No, I am not talking about exploring outer space or visiting alien planets.  What I am referring to is the world of open source software, and more specifically, Linux.
I had previously rejected Linux as being a viable replacement for an everyday desktop operation system, but now that I have been using it for a while, I realize just how wrong I was.  Windows fanboys will claim that the average user won't like Linux because the average user does not want to use a command line.  Or because it doesn't run their favorite programs.  The thing is, the average user doesn't have to use a command line, and Linux doesn't have to run their favorite programs.

The Most Powerful Security Tool

Judging from the title of this post, one may presume that I am going to recommend some great new anti-virus software, firewall, or password manager. But that presumption would be incorrect. What most folks do not realize is that the best security tool available is free and can be used by anyone. I am talking about knowledge. The best way to protect yourself and your data is to educate yourself about the tactics used by attackers.

Too many people believe that they are secure just because they have a piece of software installed that said "Protects from viruses and hackers" on the back or the box. The problem here is, that most of the real cyber-security threats today do not exploit computer code, but rather exploit a user's lack of knowledge. It is these social engineering threats that one must be aware of. Scams in the form of phishing emails are the most prominent example of this. Do not click links in emails from people you don't know. Do not click on those "videos" that a "friend" posts on your Facebook wall asking you to download a special video player. I think you get the idea. When in doubt, do not click.

Another extremely dangerous threat and all-too-common threat to the user, is the user itself. Too many times do people use the same password for every website that they create an account at, and too often is it some easily guessable piece of information, such as a pet's name, phone number, or birthday. Creating good strong passwords is an excellent place to start for anyone looking to increase security. For example, anyone who has had their Facebook, YouTube, Myspace, or email accounts hacked, probably used a poor password made of readily available personal information. A good rule of thumb is that any password should be at least eight characters long, and should contain at least one number, punctuation and uppercase letter. Skimping on password strength is the easiest and most surefire way to get yourself "hacked."

Please take this advice into consideration next time you get a strange looking email, or need to create a new online account. Don't expect some piece of software or some company to save your cyber-bacon. Just remember that it is up to you to make sure your digital assets are protected.

Hacking to Learn

These days the word hacker carries a negative connotation for most people. Whether its a misconception caused by the mainstream media, or an individual's own experience with data theft, most non-geeks think of hackers as being some kind of criminals. While it may be true that there are some hackers out there that use their skills for personal gain, most geeks like myself see hacking in a different way.

For the non-criminal geeks, hacking is something to be taken as a challenge to prove one's skills. Knowing how to crack a WEP key for someone's wireless network can be used for both good and bad. Of course you could leech Wi-Fi from your neighbors, but the opposite argument also applies. You could instead use your skills to show your neighbors that they have a security issue, and that you can fix it for them. That is the essence of offensive security. In order to be able to defend a system from penetration, one must know what that system's vulnerabilities are. Consider this. Most people believe that their houses are secure, but if locked out of their own houses, could probably find a way in. The same principle applies to network security.

I have taken it upon myself to learn this other side of security, and have been coming along with it within the last few weeks. I have already learned how to crack WEP using aircrack-ng on Linux and am currently tackling WPA cracking. If you are a geek and have an interest in learning these tools, I encourage you to use them for good. Backtrack 4 is the best way to start, as it contains almost every cracking, hacking, and penetration tool one would ever need. Please don't hack anyone's networks without permission, or sniff passwords at a coffee shop, because both of these could land you some jail time.

I will write follow-up articles, and possibly tutorials on how to use these tools, so please continue to follow my blog if you are interested.

An Analogy to Explain Computers to Novices

Imagine that the inside of you computer is an office cubicle. The office cubicle has a few items of interest. In the office sits a desk, a file cabinet, an office worker seated in a chair, and a special fax machine. First of all, the file cabinet represents your hard drive. This is where all information is stored. The desk represents the memory or RAM of your computer. This is where all the files currently in use are at. Next, the office worker represents the CPU of your computer. He is the one that does all the real work around here. And lastly, the special fax machine represnts a graphics card. When the boss needs to see something, the worker puts a paper on the fax machine and it comes out on the other end of the line as a picture.