Unix Based Systems Don't Like Sonicwall

It has become apparent to me that Unix based systems, such as Ubuntu and Snow Leopard, are becoming less able to work with firewall protected internet networks like Sonicwall. It turns out that these systems have been doing some security changes recently. These changes have added to the incapability of them working with firewall protected networks. In addition, browsers like Google Chrome also are having this incompatibility problem. Chrome is based off of Ubuntu, so it is no surprise that it is having issues. When I heard the reason for this was the security updates, I sort of laughed because the one system not doing security updates was Windows. Windows has no issue with this firewall at all, it plays perfectly fine with it. I just find it interesting that these updates are causing trouble with how they work with a network protection program. Remember, you can protect yourself better then a program can protect you. You are the one that allows what goes in and out of your computer, you are the best firewall.

~Dave

Purging an Old Drive

I have a hard drive which is failing, however it still has data on it. This drive is a good three or four years old, it was installed in my Macbook when I bought it. I had to remove it from there when I noticed the "S.M.A.R.T" Status indicated it was failing. When I removed it, I was left with a drive that had data on it which needed to be removed. I am not one for just a simple erase. I decided to be careful and do a 35 pass erase. This means that the needle goes around the disk 35 times completely to erase any and all traces of data.

35 times may not seem like a lot, but it is. As of now, I am up to my 17th time around the disk. My hackintosh has been running for almost two days now erasing the disk. This method, the 35 pass wipe, is the most secure method out there. I did learn recently though, if your disk warped over time there may be sections of it that are unreadable. That means that the needle won't go over and over and erase it. There are two option that post the best measure of security if you don't want to wipe your drive. First, take an axe to it and have fun destroying it. Second, rub a strong magnet over it. Doing so will mess up the ones and zeroes on the disk; thus, the disk will now have corrupt data on it instead of data which is retrievable.

Not everyone needs to clean their old drives, but since this one is out of warranty I want to make sure there is nothing left on it before I destroy it. You can never be too safe when destroying data.

~Dave

Nice Security Google

Yesterday I went to log onto my Google account, only to find out there was a security measure stopping me. Google had "detected" an unusual account access from another state. I was pretty impressed at first, until I realized the unusual account access was me. I had been in another state two weeks ago and had accessed my emails from there. Because I almost always access from my home state, Google thought it was unusual because it did not match up. Too explain it a little better, if you access your account 100 times from Texas, and then go to Florida and access it once, Google wil think there is a person attempting to access your account illegally. What was nice was the fact that it asked me to verify myself. All I had to do was put in a phone number, wait for them to call, and then enter a verification code. After that, Google will request that you change your password. The system is really well done in my opinion, however I believe it took too long to figure out there may have been an issue. It was two weeks ago I accessed my account from another state, and only now am I getting a notification. If this were a real situation where someone did get into my account, I would be doomed by now. Security is good, but only when it works. I thank Google for attempting to solve the issue, even though there never was one.

~Dave

My Security is Somewhat Essential

When you buy a new computer, many people say it is essential that you have virus protection. I agree with that, but only to an extent. Most virus protection software costs money. Not only that, but the programs just keep growing in size and slow down your computer immensely. I, however, have a method of keeping my computer safe. This method, which my friend taught me, is very simple. When you first get your computer, download everything you need right there and then. That means your drivers, programs, and games. Then, when you are done, install something lightweight like Microsoft Security Essentials. From then on out, don't download anything from the web unless you absolutely need it. For example, don't just download random programs and try them out. Instead, read up on them and see if they are worth it. Most of the time those programs aren't helpful at all. The only thing you really should be downloading are drivers for your computer. And, if possible, try to store as few documents as possible on your computer. That means you should utilize things like Google Docs or Dropbox. This way, you keep your files in a safe place, and they can be accessed from any computer. I have instituted this policy, and so far I have not had any viruses. I do a full scan of my computer once per week, just to make sure I am safe. And, in the event in which I do obtain a dangerous virus, I can wipe my hard drive and start new because I don't store any important information on my computer. In addition to that, most of my games are on Steam so I can re-download them without hassle.

~Dave

Encrypt Data on Mac

Everyone stores some sort of personal data on their computer, stuff they don't want others to see. Because of this, I decided to see how to encrypt data on my Mac. Sure, it may come with FileVault built in, but FileVault is a bit clunky to use. So how else can we encrypt data? Well, we can use Disk Utility. Here is what to do:

• Open up Disk Utility (Applications--->Utilities---> Disk Utility)
• Click "File"--->"New"---> "Blank Disk Image"
• You will get a window that looks like this:

• Give the to be disk a name, size and where you would like to save it to. 
• Choose an Encryption type, 128 bit is fine.
• Make sure it is set to "read/write disk image"
• Click "Create".
• You will be asked for a password, I suggest letting the computer generate one for you as it is safer then creating one for yourself.

Once the image has been created, it will be located wherever you told it to save to. You can mount the image any time you wish, and you will be asked for the password every time. Once mounted, you can add files to the image, then unmounted and they will be encrypted. Just make sure to unmount it so others don't look!

~Dave

It May Look Official, But It Is Not

I recently received an email that looked like it was from Steam Support; however, it was in french. The email it came from was support@steampowered.com, which sounds pretty legit right? However, when I put the message through Google Translate, it really put me one my toes. The message claimed my brothers account had been logged into on many computers with failed attempts, they wanted me to log in with the link provided to make sure the account was safe. So, just for the heck of it, I clicked on the link (for future reference, NEVER DO THAT). It took me to what looked just like Steam, but in French and the url was NOT steampowered.com. I immediately closed the window because I knew that it was a scam. I then proceeded to take the information I had gathered and set up open up a chat with Steam Support. I gave them all the information and asked if this was a scam, even though I had a hunch that it was. I got an email this morning from Steam Support, and as I had guessed, it was a scam. Steam will never ask you for your password, and the email at which they will contact you will be support@support.steampowered.com. It was a scam, and now I know for next time. Good thing I didn't give any information!

~Dave

Think Before Locking

Passwords. They are used in EVERYTHING nowadays, and there just seems to be too many of them. The sheer amount compels most people to make one password, and use it everywhere. DON'T, I repeat, DON'T do this. It is the least secure thing you could do. Here are some things you can do instead that will enhance your security.

1. Expire One of the things you can do, depending on the service, is set your password to expire every couple of weeks/days. This will make sure it is always changing, making it hard for anyone after your password to get it.
2. Randomness Keep your password as random as possible, make sure it makes absolutely no sense at all. Although it is harder to remember, it is safe in the long run.
3. Length Try your best to max out the number of characters when making a password. The longer the password, the better it is.
4. Secretive Don't tell anyone your password, don't hint about what it is or how you thought about it.
5. Not Personal Make sure it does not reflect you, or anything relating to you. No family, birthday dates, favorite song/band/music/genre/tv show/etc. Anyone who knows you well enough could probably guess your password.
6. Numbers Use numbers in between letters, before, after, anywhere possible.

Follow these tips and you will almost always have a safe password.

~Dave