Posted on 24 January 2012.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 04 January 2012.
We’ve written about
NotScripts, inspired by
NotScripts has some
NotScripts also blocks plug-ins such as Adobe Flash. Try
Adblock Plus for Google Chrome, developed by the same people that developed Adblock Plus for Firefox, can also block tracking scripts. Its default set of filters blocks tracking scripts in addition to ads, which is a is a more targeted approach than NotScripts. The advantage is that you can just set it and forget it, but the disadvantage is that it only blocks known threats.
Ghostery isn’t just another tracking script blocker that operates in the background – it provides information. Whenever you visit a site that uses an ad network or tracking script, Ghostery pops up and provides you with a list. Ghostery provides information about the ad networks, links to their privacy policy and opt-out pages. Ghostery is special because it exposes hidden information in a user-friendly way.
Ghostery can also block all of these networks. The blocking is customizable, so you could also just block a single network.
KB SSL Enforcer is similar to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s HTTPS Everywhere addon for Firefox, which we’ve
Web of Trust adds an icon to Chrome’s toolbar that displays a trust rating for the website you’re visiting. It also adds these icons to search result pages. Other users provide the ratings WOT shows, so you’ll know if other users have had bad experiences before providing your credit card number or any other personal information to a website. You can rate websites so other users will know if they’re trustworthy.
If you’re not comfortable with Web of Trust’s crowdsourced system,
Vanilla takes the same approach to cookies that NotScripts takes to JavaScript – it blocks them all by default. Websites often use cookies to track you online, but they’re also used to save your preferences and login information. If you want to enable cookies for a website, you can click the Vanilla icon in your address bar and add the site to your whitelist.
SaferChrome alerts you when websites transmit your passwords or credit card numbers in plain text. Websites should encrypt this private information when sending it over the Internet; the encryption prevents other people from snooping on the information in transit.
SaferChrome can also automatically redirect you to HTTPS websites, but it only does this on Facebook and Twitter by default. KB SSL Enforcer’s longer list of supported websites makes it more useful for this purpose.
Chrome’s answer to Firefox’s FoxyProxy add-on, Proxy Switchy lets you quickly switch between proxies from within Chrome. Even better, you can use Proxy Switchy to automatically switch between proxies on a per-website basis. Want to access one site through an anonymous proxy, another site through a work proxy and bypass the proxies for everything else? No problem.
Many of these extensions have limitations compared to the ones you’d find in Firefox, but Chrome’s extensions have come a long way. Firefox fans who wrote off Chrome because of its poor extension ecosystem might want to give it another try. Check out our list of the
So, what awesome Chrome extensions did we miss here? With so many available Chrome extensions, I’m sure we missed some great ones. Let us know in the comments.
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Posted on 04 January 2012.
Fortunately, there’s now one more trustworthy free mobile security app on the market. It comes from Avast!, a company that has managed to successfully spread its name by offering a robust
Avast!’s entry into the Android market is not a surprise,
Perhaps the most interesting feature of all is the
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Posted on 20 December 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 08 December 2011.
Here’s a quick run-down of the process involved before the fix:
Facebook claimed only a limited number of profiles were affected, though has refused to provide any numbers. According to a Facebook spokesperson, the issue arose in “one of our most recent code pushes” and has not been exploitable for very long.
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Posted on 04 November 2011.
This, however, could introduce some issues. If tablets are being used like computers, they could be exposed to the same threats. Which begs the question – how can you secure your Android tablet?
The entry to understanding Android on any device is
Permissions are very simple. Before you download an app, you are given a list of permissions that app requests of your device. These are not optional – if you download the app, you are agreeing to the permissions. Once permission is given, it can’t be revoked unless you uninstall the app.
You therefore need to be very careful about what you download. Reading permissions can seem annoying – but do it anyway. An app that is malicious can easily get up to mischief without you knowing, and while such instances in the real world remain limited, they do exist.
As I point out in virtually every Android security article, antivirus apps for the platform remain a bit of an open question. Comprehensive, objective tests of their ability to defend again threats remain rare.
However,
Which one should you download? I’m a fan of
When it comes to network security, tablets are much like laptops. They almost always connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and are subject to all the
One useful feature is Android’s built-in VPN support, which you’ll find in your tablet’s settings. Just enter the VPN address and your username/password for it, and you’re off! You can use this with many
Android has not been particularly popular with enterprise users because of a general lack of focus on enterprise security, but there has been some inroads made in that direction, one of which is the encryption feature on Honeycomb tablets.
The feature is found in the Location & Security section of Honeycomb’s settings, and can encrypt the contents of your tablet’s memory. Doing this does not make it unhackable, nor does it mean that someone couldn’t intercept your Wi-Fi transmissions, but it does means it will be difficult for anyone to steal your data if the tablet is lost or stolen.
If you do encrypt your tablet, remember that you also won’t be able to access the tablet’s data if you are locked out of your tablet. Backing up important files is, as always, a good idea.
Security for tablets is far from mature, just as the threats that may exploit a tablet are far from mature. There is some degree of security via obscurity available as of now, as many website exploits and viruses simply won’t work against tablets. That’s not going to last forever though. Security threats will become more and more common as the devices themselves become more and more popular. This process will take many years, but hey – it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a head start.
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Posted on 21 October 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 14 October 2011.
A minimalist approach might not be for everyone, but here’s a few ideas and tips in case you were curious.
These days I do use an antivirus, but not because I was burned by malware. Put simply, I don’t even notice my current AV of choice running thanks to a speedy dual-core processor and plenty of RAM.
For a lightweight solution,
Using an antivirus alongside this solution is also possible, and from a personal standpoint my number one choice is
I’d recommend it as a “minimalist” solution mainly because it can be configured to suit your needs, and toned right down if need be. There’s no annoying pop-up adverts, very little required in the way of maintenance and it also comes with an optional browser plugin which helps identify untrustworthy websites and displays a rating in search results.
That browser plugin can certainly help you make more informed choices when browsing the web, and that’s exactly what you want to be doing if you’re not using an antivirus, or simply have the bare minimum. If a dedicated antivirus is too much then don’t forget about the
Which brings us on to browsers. Whichever you choose, make sure it’s the latest version and keep on top of updates. It’s really what you do with your browser that makes the difference here, and while none are watertight; security is top priority these days. Plugins (especially Flash) should be regularly updated too, as should browser extensions (which you want to be picky about).
Last but not least
You could go all-out and download all manner of additional security programs, enable mail scanning and run Ad-Aware every night, but simply being careful online will save you hassle. Not opening dodgy files and email attachments from people you don’t know (or even those you do) is a good start.
Heeding browser warnings about suspected phishing or malware sites is always recommended, but also make sure to check URLs when signing in to banking or other important accounts. Webmail services like Gmail are a great alternative to desktop email applications and provide that extra layer of spam and virus detection before the malware even touches your PC.
You can even
Finally keeping the software you regularly use updated is paramount. This includes the OS itself, so don’t slack on updates. Other applications can also develop vulnerabilities so these are important too.
At the end of the day all this advice probably sounds very familiar. You could argue that all these things should be done even if you’re running at DEFCON 1. Regardless, if you are tempted to skimp (and I use the term lightly) on security you’ve got to be extra careful.
Personally I think this kind of caution will breed safer computer habits than a “don’t worry, Security Centre 2012 Pro and 20 spyware scanners take care of everything” outlook ever would – especially since there are so many threats no amount of security can guard against. What do you think, gang?
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Posted on 11 October 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 10 October 2011.
The report reviews protection from BlackBelt, BullGuard, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Trend Micro, VIPRE and Webroot. It’s not a malware detection report, which means it does not include in-depth research into malware detection rates, though some basic tests were conducted. All apps besides Trend Micro Mobile Security, which failed to detect a specific group of samples, passed with flying colors.
Flaws were found elsewhere, however. AV-Comparatives noted that although all of these apps supposedly have the ability to wipe data remotely (in the event of a phone being stolen), none of them managed to irretrievably remove information. According to the report, “in all cases it was possible to recover photos, music, documents and so on from the external storage card, even using a free program.”
Obviously, that’s a serious issue, and one that developers need to address. Most security apps claim the ability to wipe data remotely as an important feature. If it doesn’t work properly, users could be purchasing a false sense of security.
AV-Comparatives’ full report is 48 pages long,
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Posted on 05 July 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 29 June 2011.
Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
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Posted on 28 June 2011.
You can
The startup interface of MBSA is very simple and basically offers only three options: scan a computer, scan multiple computers, or view existing security scan reports. The sidebar also offers links to the program documentation and the Microsoft security website.
Note that you require Administrator rights for all machines that you wish to scan. You can scan a single or multiple systems based on the computer name or IP address. If you select to scan multiple computers, you need to enter a domain name or a range of IP addresses.
For this demonstration I went with scanning a single computer.
The scanning options are straightforward, although not necessarily clear for the inexperienced user. If you don’t understand what some of the options mean, click the > Scanning Options link at the bottom for detailed explanations. The information will load in a separate Internet Explorer window.
The scan merely takes a few seconds and returns an overview of issues found in different categories. Each item is scored and a summary of the result is provided, along with links to further information material.
Checks that were passed receive a green score, items that could not be checked are marked with a grey minus, room for improvements is highlighted by a blue score, a yellow score indicates a non-critical vulnerability and a red score alerts the user to a failed check and thus a critical security issue. Follow the respective links for detailed information about what was scanned or instructions on how an issue can be corrected.
All reports are saved and can be accessed at a later time for reference. You can also print or copy your report to the clipboard.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a very good tool to quickly get an overview of security-related settings on your Windows machine. Instructions for correcting detected security misconfigurations are very clear and should therefore be easy to follow for the average user. Overall, the documentation is surprisingly detailed and well done, almost as if Microsoft expected non-IT folks to use this tool.
It must be said though that fixing most configurations does require some basic understanding of how Windows works. For example an issue with the file system is not necessarily security relevant and the instructions do not provide information on how to find the drive that doesn’t run NTFS. Moreover, some issues require advanced knowledge and should be left to the experts to be fixed, for example setting a password expiration.
For more information, also have a look at this article from Microsoft Patterns & Practices:
What is your opinion? Do you think this is a useful tool? Please share your thoughts!
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Posted on 28 June 2011.
You can
The startup interface of MBSA is very simple and basically offers only three options: scan a computer, scan multiple computers, or view existing security scan reports. The sidebar also offers links to the program documentation and the Microsoft security website.
Note that you require Administrator rights for all machines that you wish to scan. You can scan a single or multiple systems based on the computer name or IP address. If you select to scan multiple computers, you need to enter a domain name or a range of IP addresses.
For this demonstration I went with scanning a single computer.
The scanning options are straightforward, although not necessarily clear for the inexperienced user. If you don’t understand what some of the options mean, click the > Scanning Options link at the bottom for detailed explanations. The information will load in a separate Internet Explorer window.
The scan merely takes a few seconds and returns an overview of issues found in different categories. Each item is scored and a summary of the result is provided, along with links to further information material.
Checks that were passed receive a green score, items that could not be checked are marked with a grey minus, room for improvements is highlighted by a blue score, a yellow score indicates a non-critical vulnerability and a red score alerts the user to a failed check and thus a critical security issue. Follow the respective links for detailed information about what was scanned or instructions on how an issue can be corrected.
All reports are saved and can be accessed at a later time for reference. You can also print or copy your report to the clipboard.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer is a very good tool to quickly get an overview of security-related settings on your Windows machine. Instructions for correcting detected security misconfigurations are very clear and should therefore be easy to follow for the average user. Overall, the documentation is surprisingly detailed and well done, almost as if Microsoft expected non-IT folks to use this tool.
It must be said though that fixing most configurations does require some basic understanding of how Windows works. For example an issue with the file system is not necessarily security relevant and the instructions do not provide information on how to find the drive that doesn’t run NTFS. Moreover, some issues require advanced knowledge and should be left to the experts to be fixed, for example setting a password expiration.
For more information, also have a look at this article from Microsoft Patterns & Practices:
What is your opinion? Do you think this is a useful tool? Please share your thoughts!
Image credits:
More articles about:
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Posted on 05 May 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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Posted on 01 March 2011.
Comodo claim that their firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure its firewall powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard.
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