Mobile and Secure.Com

Do you have a list of web sites that you would like to block access to from your Windows PC? Maybe your children are spending way too much time on social network sites like MySpace instead of doing their homework, or one of the males in your house appears to spending a lot of time reading the articles on Playboy.

Well, instead of paying out for software you can block these sites yourself for free by doing nothing more than editing a text file.

In the Windows folder (default is C:\WINDOWS) go to \SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC and select the file called HOSTS. This file is probably write-protected so right-click it and select Properties and un-select ‘Read-only’.

Now open the file in Notepad and for every web site you wish to block access to, enter a line like the following:

127.0.0.1 www.playboy.com
127.0.0.1 www.myspace.com

When you have finished editing the file, select Properties again and re-enable the ‘Read-only’ attribute.

Now when you open a browser and select one of the sites listed in the HOSTS file, your browser will tell you that it was unable to connect.

Have you been a victim of e-fraud? Don’t know who to turn to? Then maybe you need to take a look at e-victims.org.

Engadget has a review of a new external SATA hard drive case that uses RFID to activate an encryption mechanism to encrypt/decrypt the contents of the drive in order to protect your data from potential theft.

This seems like a weak form of security to me personally, because no matter how strong the level of encryption is, the key to unlocking it is a physical object that you have to carry with you at all times in order to use the drive.

So all a thief needs to do is to steal both the drive and key fob (assuming they are after the data and not just the hardware) or clone the RFID device (as demonstrated in a recent episode of Tiger Team).

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Occasionally I’m asked to secure a Windows PC or laptop as the owner has no idea about computer security, but they heard that they need it as they would like to access the internet to shop for these great deals they keep hearing about, or chat with friends (Messenger/Skype).

The main problem I encounter when I go around to their home with CD/USB stick in hand containing free security software, is that it’s easy enough for me to install and configure the software, but teaching them how to use it, that’s the hard part. Security software is not as transparent as we would all like it to be.
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When you are out and about and need to copy data off of a memory card in a hurry, all you need is a handy 55-in-1 card reader that fits in the palm of your hand.

It supports all the more common memory card types, plus some you’ve probably never heard of. And by using bluetooth you can transfer the files from the card reader to your PDA/mobile/laptop.

Instead of having to connect to your home broadband or going in search of a Wi-Fi hotspot when out and about to get internet access, you can now just use UMTS services to access the internet. Not satisfied with HSDPA, Vodafone have brought out a HSUPA USB modem that provides a possible 5MB/s download speed.

Most broadband users today access the internet via a hardwired connection but this may not be the case in the not too distant future. It may not be long until we won’t be needing a phone line coming into our homes.

For a while it seemed like everyone was cashing in on the USB craze, where every hardware and software application that you could dream up was available in USB format. All you would have to do is build a bare bones PC with lots and lots of USB ports and you could add everything you could possibly want.

From a security point of view it’s always useful to have a firewall, especially a hardware firewall. And now you can own your very own hardware firewall in the palm of your hand.

I discovered over the Christmas period that a few people I know who don’t have landlines (bad credit history, non-payment of bills, etc) have found a way of getting themselves on-line from the comfort of their own home wirelessly, using HSDPA.

They are using wireless modems supplied by Vodafone UK containing 3G SIM cards, and connected to their desktop or laptop PCs via a USB cable (supports 1.1 and 2.0). The thing is, the two units that I got to test out were not using any security software, just whatever came with the PC.

It is being predicted that in five years the rest of us will also be moving away from the traditional hardwired broadband model as well to a more ‘wireless broadband’ internet. This will suit Yahoo who are already developing applications to cater for this move.

Have you ever wondered why when you click on some web page links, you ended up at a different web page from the one you were expecting? Even when you hovered over the link to confirm the address in your browser’s status bar, before clicking? No it’s not a browser hijacker, you’ve just followed a blind link.

Blind links are written by the site’s webmaster as a way to increase revenue or click-through ratings. The web page code is using embedded JavaScript to show you one URL, while sending you somewhere different with each click (it is possible to get to the URL you want, but it may take quite a few tries).

This is a well used tactic of sites trying to make money from visitor traffic by directing visitors to sites they (probably) don’t want to visit (such as those serving adult content), but whose owners will pay the re-director a fee for the traffic.

Any sites I encounter using this technique are added to my hardware firewall’s block list.