BinaryWolf

Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags

To help streamline the security process and better protect laptops, starting August 16 the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow passengers to leave their laptop computers in bags that meet new checkpoint friendly laptop bag standards.

For a bag to be considered checkpoint friendly it should meet the following standards:

* A designated laptop-only section
* The laptop-only section completely unfolds to lay flat on the X-ray belt
* No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section
* No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
* Nothing packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.

TSA will only allow laptops to stay in bags through screening if they provide a clear and unobstructed X-ray image of the laptop.

Tags: checkpoint friendly laptop bag

Unreachable Websites

Are there some websites that you are unable to open in a browser from your computer?

One possible reason is that those particular websites are listed in your Windows hosts file. A spyware program such as Spybot Search & Destroy inserts a list of entries that might include those unreachable websites. A recent peak at my Windows hosts file revealed close to 8,000 listings inserted by Spybot! Those websites listed were all mapped to the incorrect IP address 127.0.0.1.

Type the following command in the Run Window to view your hosts file:
cmd /k notepad c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Free Online : How-tos, Security Articles and Anti-spyware

Microsoft’s free online library of security articles, how-tos and anti-spyware includes:

* Dealing with “Pretexting” or “Phishing”
* Help safeguard your personal information online
* Home office security checklist
* Pharming: Is your trusted Web site a clever fake?
* What to do if you’re a victim of credit card fraud
* Protect your privacy with online payment services
* How to limit your personal data in online directories
* 5 safety tips for using a public computer
* Using Office security features
* Use public wireless networks more safely
* Retire that computer more safely

Tags: security, anti-spyware, Pretexting, Phishing, Pharming

Strong Angel III 2006

What is Strong Angel III 2006?

Several hundred people from a variety of fields — academic, nonprofit, corporate, military and more — are gathering for the week to experiment with how we can do a better job responding to disasters (natural or human-caused). Our goal is to find ways to communicate efficiently and get services to the people who need them. San Diego is the test-bed for this week’s scenario.

If possible, we need a bottom-up news flow that will be useful both to the responders and the people in the community. And it would be incredibly cool if we could get bloggers in San Diego to join this experiment in the following way:

1. Once or twice a day starting Monday morning, do a posting — with or without photos — from your neighborhood on something happening there. Obviously there’s no disaster going on, and we don’t want people to make things up. So they should post something that is a real occurrence or scene.

2. Tag each post with this Technorati tag: <a href=”http://technorati.com/tag/strongangel3” rel=”tag”>strongangel3<a>
(stands for Strong Angel III 2006)

3. Make the posting title the street address closest to where this is happening.

We are going to try to pull the results into a map that gets automatically updated and annotated during the week with neighborhood-level information.

Here’s a site with a more detailed description:

http://www.strongangel3.net

Tags: Strong Angel, strongangel3

ToorCon Hacker Convention

ToorCon is just around the corner again this year. In its 8th running year, it is still San Diego’s exclusive hacker convention, bringing together Southern California’s hacker community year after year to attend the high quality presentations and participate in the annual festivities.

This year we are still aiming to provide the same highly technical lectures you’ve come to know and love, but also set the theme as “Bits & Bites” which will highlight the low level skills of the trade and focus on Reverse Engineering, Protocol Analysis, Cryptography, Hardware Hacks, and other nifty bit-twiddling and byte munging techniques.

Once again, we will be offering an intensive full-day Deep Knowledge Seminar on Friday the 29th that we are also accepting submissions for.

This year’s event will be held at the San Diego Convention Center. The reception and conference will take place on September 29th-October 1st in meeting rooms 24-26 at the San Diego Convention Center’s (front) upper level.

Tags: hacker, hacker community, Reverse Engineering, Protocol Analysis, Cryptography, Hardware Hacks

Open Access for the Net Generation?

Decide for yourself whether or not you agree with the philosophy regarding internet age restrictions from PeaceFire and using circumventor to get around Web-blocking software (filtering programs designed to reject Web sites not suited for children.) If you are a parent, you should be aware that these instructions exist.

Will Self Destruct

Will Self Destruct, a free one-time secure web messaging service, allows you to create a one-time secure web page for a recipient.

You can create a secure anonymous email message to a friend or colleague by entering their e-mail address and the message, i.e. sending a password or other sensitive information that you don’t want other people to see.

The recipient will receive an e-mail with a link to a one-time secure web page which they will be able to view once and only once. Once the url has been accessed the message is deleted.

From the Will Self Destruct FAQ:

Q: Okay, so what do I use this for?
A: To be honest with you, were not precisely sure. Here are some ideas:

Sending out passwords? it’s much better than your password sitting in someone elses mailbox for eternity, or
Report fraud to your boss or institution, or
Inform authorities about illegal activities, or
Tell employees to stop using the internet for private use, or simply…
Tell someone you love them (why not?)