Mobile and Secure.Com

You can share your Symbian S60v3 device’s 3G data connection with everyone by turning it into a WLAN Wi-Fi hotspot using JoikuSpot beta software.

The software is still in the beta stage so be warned as there doesn’t appear to be any mention of security in the White Paper. This implies that anyone within range can freely use your hotspot and internet connection.

USB memory sticks are getting cheaper at the lower end of the storage capacity range (4GB and under) as the latest models sport even larger capacities. So it’s tempting to buy a few of the cheaper sticks rather than one larger model. You could use one for storing your digital photos, another for documents, and a third for video clips.

To secure your data you can encrypt your files (PGP, WinZip) or encrypt the whole drive (Truecrypt) with a growing selection of third party products. Or you can even buy a stick that comes complete with built-in hardware encryption like the Kanguru Defender Pro. You even have a choice of colours.

If your mobile phone supports the microSD format then you could soon be having secure conversations with your friends with the use of a new technology developed by KoolSpan. The KoolSpan TrustChip™ offers 256bit AES end-to-end-voice encryption.

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.