DirSec Security

The NSW Department of Education is using asset-tracking software, RFID tags, and BIOS-embedded filtering smarts to roll out 240,000 netbook computers into what CIO Stephen Wilson calls "the most hostile environment you can roll computers into" - the local high school.

Microsoft is finally getting serious about USB flash drive security. It recently disabled the AutoRun and AutoPlay features in Windows (all older versions plus Windows 7), meaning users will no longer have directory trees and execution options presented when they pop a flash drive into a PC. More significant, though, is Microsoft adding flash drive encryption to Windows 7. Through a few, albeit not so simple steps (see below), users can encrypt and manage the files on these small, portable storage devices.

The Intrepidus Group reveals some details behind a malware attack that exposed critical systems at an energy company. Using a Microsoft zero-day vulnerability and a bit of social engineering, hackers compromised a workstation and threatened critical SCADA systems, the security vendor says.

There's some excitement around the web today among a certain group of high profile techies. What are they so excited about? Something called WebFinger, and the fact that Google is apparently getting serious about supporting it. So what is it?

NExt Big wave in EDU buying...

Malware writers seem to be targeting the Task Manager with increasing frequency. McAfee's Avert Labs wrote in its blog yesterday of the discovery of a new Trojan it dubbed QTaskMgr-1, which crawls into the registry and disables the Task Manager, Windows Update and Internet Explorer tool bars. Hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del will activate the Windows Security menu, but all functions including Change Password and Lock Computer are disabled.

In reviewing several security articles and blogs about malware characteristics and workarounds, I see a recurring piece of advice: Don't click on any popup or dialog window; instead use the Windows Task Manager to end offending processes. It's good advice, since malware writers-particularly those spreading scareware or bogus applications designed to trick computer users into buying useless security software-are gaming the dialog windows. Users are often presented with the typical option, such as "do you wish to proceed? Yes/No." Hitting either button or even the "X" window closing button will initiate a background process as if the user agreed. Using the Task Manager is the safe way of disabling these processes to allow the anti-virus software to scan and remove the offending code. Or so we think. Malware writers seem to be targeting the Task Manager with increasing frequency. McAfee's Avert Labs wrote in its blog yesterday of the discovery of a new Trojan it dubbed QTaskMgr-1, which crawls into the registry and disables the Task Manager, Windows Update and Internet Explorer tool bars. Hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del will activate the Windows Security menu, but all functions including Change Password and Lock Computer are disabled.