security « Tim Anderson's ITWriting

Another reason to use tablets: desktop anti-virus does not work

By tim, on February 1st, 2013 Follow tim on Twitter

The New York Times has described in detail how it was hacked by a group looking for data on Chinese dissidents and Tibetan activists. The attack was investigated by security company Mandiant.

Note the following:

Over the course of three months, attackers installed 45 pieces of custom malware. The Times — which uses antivirus products

…continue reading Another reason to use tablets: desktop anti-virus does not work

Windows 8 defeats booking.com virus

By tim, on August 1st, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

Someone trying out Windows 8 release preview brought her machine to me to look at. She was having trouble with an email attachment. The email was in fact carrying a virus, one that purported to be from booking.com though it had nothing to do with that company. The supposed booking is in an attached zip

…continue reading Windows 8 defeats booking.com virus

Macro virus reborn: ACAD/Medre.A steals drawings using AutoCAD AutoLISP

By tim, on July 12th, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

Remember the Concept virus? Someone wondered if you could make a self-replicating virus with a Microsoft Word macro. It worked; and the proof of concept soon became a real virus causing the usual mayhem and spoiling our clever VBA templates.

Microsoft locked down Office macros fairly effectively; but the idea lived on and has re-emerged

…continue reading Macro virus reborn: ACAD/Medre.A steals drawings using AutoCAD AutoLISP

The confusing state of Microsoft’s TMG and UAG firewall and proxy software

By tim, on February 21st, 2012 Follow tim on Twitter

I have been trying out Microsoft’s ForeFront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) recently, partly because it is the only supported way to publish a SharePoint site for Windows Phone. This was my first go with the product, though I am already familiar with the Threat Management Gateway (TMG) and its predecessor Internet Security and Acceleration Server

…continue reading The confusing state of Microsoft’s TMG and UAG firewall and proxy software

Google and the UK Citizens Advice Bureau – an uncomfortable alliance

By tim, on December 5th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I picked up a Guardian newspaper today and could not miss the full-page Google+ advertisement. Or was it? The advertisement stated that it was from the Citizens Advice Bureau in partnership with Google. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) is a well-respected (and genuinely useful) service which runs a network of offices in the UK where

…continue reading Google and the UK Citizens Advice Bureau – an uncomfortable alliance

Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac: nice work but beware Windows security settings

By tim, on August 9th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I’ve just set up Parallels Desktop 6 on a Mac, in preparation for some development work. Installed Parallels, created a new virtual machine, and selected a Windows 7 Professional with SP1 CD image downloaded from Microsoft’s excellent MSDN subscription service.

The way this works is that you install the Parallels application and the create a

…continue reading Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac: nice work but beware Windows security settings

IE9 ActiveX Filtering causing tears of frustration

By tim, on June 22nd, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I have been assisting a friend who, she told me, could not get BBC iPlayer to work. Further, another site was telling her she did not have ActiveX, but she was sure she had it.

This was puzzling me. She described how she went to the BBC iPlayer site, and it said she needed to

…continue reading IE9 ActiveX Filtering causing tears of frustration

This is why people ignore security warnings: IE9 blocks official Microsoft update

By tim, on June 16th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Microsoft has released a Web Standards Update for Visual Studio 2010, with new HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript support.

I look forward to trying it; but Internet Explorer 9’s Smart Filter was not keen.

What you cannot see from the screenshot is that the option to “Run anyway” is hidden by default. You have to

…continue reading This is why people ignore security warnings: IE9 blocks official Microsoft update

Cloud is identity management says Kim Cameron, now ex-Microsoft

By tim, on May 13th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Kim Cameron, formerly chief identity architect at Microsoft, has confirmed that he has left the company.

In an interview at the European Identity Conference in Munich he discusses the state of play in identity management, but does not explain what interests me most: why he left. He was respected across the industry and to my

…continue reading Cloud is identity management says Kim Cameron, now ex-Microsoft

Sony PlayStation network hacked, some disclosure, questions remain

By tim, on April 27th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Sony has posted information about the “illegal intrusion on our systems” that has caused the PlayStation Network (PSN) to be closed temporarily. PSN is necessary for playing online games and downloading music and videos.

Sony has disclosed that:

Between April 17 and April 19 2011 an attacker gained access to “user account information”

The information

…continue reading Sony PlayStation network hacked, some disclosure, questions remain

Tim Anderson's ITWriting

Recent Comments

Blogroll

Archives