MicroPower Systems

What You Should Know about Computer Network Security

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

When choosing computer network, and security programs, whether you buy a program, or whether you use a free online protection product, there are several things to consider, before deciding on the best one to use for your PC. You are going to want to consider the levels of security, what is being protected, what third parties are going to be able to see what you are doing online, and what levels of threats are out there, and which products are going to offer the best protection for those threats. You will also find that when you take the time to find the best in security, you are going to get the best protection, along with the very best tools to keep your PC clean, and to keep it virus free. So, before you purchase, or before you decide on using a free software to use for network security, you have to be certain that it is the best one on the market, so that you get the protection you need, and so that you can keep your PC virus free. The more time you take in finding the right program, the better the protection you will get is going to be.

Assigning security duties at your business

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

You are probably like many other business owners out there when the time comes to to protect your employees and clients. You definitely understand that this is of great importance, but you have no idea how to get started with protecting them. The truth is that it is a lot easier than you think and while it will cost a small amount of money, it is worth it in the long-run when you and your staff are feeling much more secure on your network in the office. There are a few simple things that you need to do to keep everyone safe from cyber crime.

First, make absolute sure that you have the best anti-virus program that money can buy. While it is beneficial to look into some of the free options out there, they probably cannot protect an entire network as well as you might like. Your office computers need to be locked down tight and the only way to do that is by getting a professional business program for this. Lastly, make sure to purchase a separate firewall program to protect your business. This will keep web traffic safe and intruders from being able to break into an open port and steal information.

Balancing security and privacy

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When looking for the best in security and privacy when you are surfing the web, you have to make sure that you find the very best anti virus protection. There are several different free anti virus protection software programs that can be downloaded, and still give you the best privacy, security, and freedom, if you know where to go for them, and if you know where to turn to, in order to find the best security and software for use. So, taking the time to download the right software, you are going to find that when you take the time to download the right ones, and when you take the time to find the best in security and privacy, you are going to find they will protect your PC, and still give you the freedom you are trying to get, in order to surf the web. You will also find that there are several different types of scans that can be done on each of the security scans, so you are going to want to use all of them, which are free to you, in order for you to be able to get the cleanest PC, and the best in freedom for surfing.

Start Your Business Secured

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re starting a web based business security has got to be on your short list of priorities. The pretty graphics and streamlined service doesn’t matter much if your clients can’t trust your site so take these tips from us on creating a safe place to do business online.
Start Early – When you’re starting off with your site, hook up with a reputable registrar like www.DomainNames.com and enlist the help of their security services. Most offer SSL certificates and other measures that can ensure your site begins secured.
Hire a Specialist – If you’re planning on conducting transactions over the internet you’ve got to enlist the help of a security specialist. They can keep an eye on your site for any red flags and check in monthly to ensure you’re on top of any security issues.
Work With Secure Partners – Whether you’re using Paypal, a local bank or an online credit card processor only work with companies that have a proven track record of security. This will make it easier for you to pinpoint any specific security issues.

Famous network security cases

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When you are trying to learn about network security, it can be difficult to find the cases that you should be following. The reason that this can be so difficult is because each one is different. That is when you should know about why you need to study the famous network security cases. Once you know about why you should be following those cases, it can be easy to see what changes you need to make.

The main reason that you should follow these is they are a great learning experience as to what kind of problems the company that had the breach had. When you can identify those before you learn about what exactly the breach was, it will be easy to see that the changes that you need to make to your system. Then you will be able to rest easier knowing that you can protect your company and its assets without this worry.

Being able to learn from the famous network security cases is always a great thing. The problem that many people will encounter is not knowing about why they should learn from these and that could lead to them not being able to prepare themselves for a similar assault on their security.The hits keep comin’: Network Security Podcast, Episode 239

Tips for keeping your network safe and secure

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:52:17 +0000

Although every network is individual and requires detailed attention, there are some general tips for keeping it secure from unwanted intrusion. Whether you use Windows, Unix, or something else entirely, these are proven guidelines that have become known as “best practices” in the industry.

Have an official security policy. This seems obvious, but it’s very important that you have a formal statement of the security guidelines for your business, defining the roles of users at every level.
Keep patches updated. Firewalls are good, but they get out of date quickly as new threats are developed. Make sure to check regularly for new patches to battle these attacks.
Keep an inventory. If you don’t know what’s connected to your network, it’ll be easier for people to get inand more difficult for you to resolve. Have an accurate list of all hardware and software, and keep it updated.
Scan TCP/IP services regularly. Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol together make up the Internet Protocol Suite. This is what allows networks to communicate over the internet, but it can get bogged down with extraneous protocols. Turn off services you’re not using, since they only provide another access point for attacks.
Have someone in charge. In today’s world, it’s necessary to have a full-time specialist at the forefront of your security team. Keep them educated with conferences and seminars, and make sure that your security is their only job.
Make sure your hardware is on. Some organizations install Intrusion Prevention Systems or other programs, but don’t configure it or, even worse, turn it off. This goes against the entire purpose of the IPS, so make sure someone in your organization knows how to use it.
Block suspicious e-mail attachments. The most prominent are .bas, .bat, .exe and .vbs.
Don’t be over-generous with system rights. The more people who have access, the more vulnerable your system will be. Stay safe by implementing the least amount of privilege.

The Apple and the worm: security concerns at iTunes

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:48:15 +0000

Even the largest companies, where you would expect the highest security, can be caught by surprise. That’s what happened to Apple last week when their App Store showed 42 out of the 50 top “Books” all coming from the same unknown developer. Even worse, some customers of the Store reported unknown credit card charges in the hundreds of dollars. Overall, around 400 customers were affected.On Tuesday, Apple announced that they had removed the developer, Thuat Nguyen, along with all of his apps from the store. The given reason was violating the Program License Agreement, especially regarding fraudulent purchase patterns. Researchers and developers were not surprised that Apple was a target, given its size and customer base, but it’s still an unexpected failure of what many considered one of the top security systems.In fact, there have been previous complaints that Apple has kept such close control over its store to prevent other developers from selling there, and not to ensure security. Obviously, this has not hindered Apple’s popularity, with more than 225,000 apps in the store and more than 100 million accounts on the site, and most of them are linked to credit cards.One issue that Apple is promoting now is password security, which is important in all online purchases. Obviously, easier passwords increase the possibility of getting hacked. Luckily, other consumers avoided the fraudulent apps since most of the book titles were in Vietnamese. The most serious damage was to the customer base, according to Michael Gartenberg of the Altimeter Group.However, no actual customer information was compromised, according to Apple. Credit card numbers are stored on iTunes’s main servers, where developers do not have access.

Making sure cloud computing stays safe

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:45:32 +0000

In 2008, cloud computing became the buzz topic in the IT community. The opportunity of having access to a “limitless” arena of shared resources and software is attractive to many users and businesses, and the savings on storage, redundancy, and maintenance are noticeable. However, as the technology has grown, so have concerns with how secure the “cloud” actually is.The earliest researchers divided the security issues into three major areas: “Security and Privacy”, “Compliance”, and “Legal and Contractual Issues”. “Security and Privacy” concerns focus on the actual vulnerability of the data, along with business continuity, identity management, and disaster recovery issues. “Compliance” issues deal with the regulations for storing data like credit cards and health information. Finally, “Legal and Contractual Issues” are those which concern liability for data loss, the ownership of intellectual property, and end-of-service terms.The Cloud Security Alliance was formed near the end of 2008 at the ISSA CISO Forum in Las Vegas to attend to these issues. In December 2009, they published the second version of their publication, Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing. Meanwhile, developers have been coming up with open-source technologies to deal with some of these issues. Sun Microsystems in particular developed an OpenSolaris VPC Gateway, which creates a secure link to a private cloud in Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud. Other tools created by the company include Immutable Service Containers, Security Enhanced Virtual Machine Images, and the Cloud Safety Box, which provides a way for users to compress and encrypt the data in their clouds.Cloud security got a rude awakening in early February when a group of Brazilian hackers called the Red Eye Crew broke into 49 Congressional House sites after Obama’s State of the Union. This has raised concerns about the government’s use of cloud computing, although others maintain that this was an exceptional case.

Best free security tools on the Web

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:38:20 +0000

Keeping your system updated doesn’t have to break your back, or cost an arm and a leg. Stay ahead of the latest threats with these nifty tools, all of which made SecTools.org’s Top 100.

Wireshark is a popular network protocol analyzer which lets users see data from live networks or from disks. Special features like a display filter language and the ability to browse data at a number of levels makes this a great product, and it is also an Editor’s Choice product at PC Magazine. Version 1.2.9 is now available.
Metasploit is a free penetration testing resource for researchers and developers to examine the vulnerabilities of their networks. What better way to protect against hackers than to see what they have at their disposal? Version 3.4.0 came out May 18.
Kismet is a wireless “sniffer” and detector. It captures packets from the data stream and analyzes them for to see if they belong on your network. In addition, it makes it easy to find IP network blocks and can plot wireless networks across a map. Kismet-2010-01-R1 is available now.
Cain and Abel is a tool for Microsoft which allows recovery of lost or forgotten passwords. It has the ability to crack encrypted passwords as well, using a combination of Dictionary, Brute-Force, and Cryptanalysis tools. This program is constantly being updated and made more efficient. The latest release is version 4.9.36.
Nikto is an open-source web server scanner, which tests for dangerous files and outdated servers, along with configuration items like redundant index files. This is a comprehensive tool developed by an ex-AOL-and-Apple security programmer, and is currently up to Version 2.1.1.
Last but not least, OpenSSH provides free versions of the Secure Shell connectivity tools for Unix users. By encrypting all the traffic that passes through the network’s data stream, OpenSSH provides outstanding security and is up to version 5.5.

Astaro Internet Security provides critically-acclaimed protection

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:26:30 +0000

When you select a company to provide security for your most valuable data, it’s nice to know that they’ve already gotten the thumbs-up. At Astaro Internet Security, they’ve gotten plenty. Voted “Best SME Security Solution 2010″ by SC Magazine, Best Choice 2009 by WINMAG Pro, and “Software-Based Firewall Readers Choice” at WindowSecurity.com, AIS consistently provides top-quality protection at competitive prices.Of course, the network security market is heavily glutted, so it’s important to have features that set your product apart. Astaro has fine-tuned their technology to the smallest detail, including their basic firewall. Using an object-based approach, businesses can define workstations, web servers, and more, and then easily refer back to it throughout the security software. The packet filter included with the firewall also automatically updates URLs associated with an object, so programmers don’t need to waste time adding each new change manually.The Intrusion Prevention System is what keeps out the sinisterly-named worms, viruses, and hackers, along with any other unwanted traffic. The IPS inspects each packet that passes through the network and removes any that fail a checklist of over 8000 rules. Worried that your system won’t be able to keep up with the insidious hackers aimed at breaking into it? Don’t be. The rules list automatically updates every few minutes, ensuring that no young viruses will show up unexpectedly.In addition to security, Astaro offers numerous time-saving programs. For example, their Branch Office Virtual Private Network lets remote locations connect with the main office, and it can be set up without prior experience in VPNs. The benefits of such a system range from being able to use printers in separate offices to accessing servers across the country. Another efficient program is the UserPortal, which lets users work on e-mail and remote technologies without an administrator’s assistance.