Robby Pedrica's Tech Blog

Tag: security

  • The scourge of Ransomware

    The scourge of Ransomware

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    From Wikipedia: Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system. This type of malware forces its victims to pay the ransom through certain online payment methods in order to grant access to their systems, or to get their data back. Some ransomware encrypts files. To say that Ransomware…

  • Adobe: Stop using Flash

    Adobe: Stop using Flash

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    Wow! This is one for the books – Adobe telling everyone to stop using a product of theirs! http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2015/11/flash-html5-and-open-web-standards.html?scid=social_20151201_55826586&adbid=671559505906282496&adbpl=tw&adbpr=63786611 This is just reinforcing what we’ve known all along – Flash is a security nightmare! Mozilla and Chrome have been actively blocking flash for some time now and I must say, I don’t really miss it. Considering…

  • Security issues invade non-traditional areas

    Security issues invade non-traditional areas

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in , ,

    We’re mostly used to malicious attacks being associated with computer, servers, mobiles and other IT-related systems. But more and more, computing is being pushed into areas that aren’t traditional for these attacks yet are fast becoming critical areas. InternetOfThings (IoT ) devices and automotive applications are starting to appear on hackers’ radars. Some security researchers…

  • Flash triple threat

    Flash triple threat

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    The last week has been a very interesting one ( read OMG it’s almost the end of the world ) in the security world. There were new threats from all corners but Adobe Flash stole the show with 3 critical issues in 2 days. All 3 issues could result in remote code execution or DoS attacks.…

  • MS Windows critical font vuln

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    Microsoft release an out-of-order patch yesterday for a critical vulnerability relating to custom fonts resulting in remote execution of code on a machine. More details here: http://gizmodo.com/go-update-windows-right-now-1719187152 Note that because Windows Server 2003 has just gone end-of-life, there is no update for it.

  • Home routers: security fail

    Home routers: security fail

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    It’s no secret that I absolutely hate non-business/home-based ( ADSL/3G/other ) routers. From  a security point of view, they have a history of never-ending security issues that result in a variety of malicious attacks including DNS reflection, remote control, spam, malware infections and  other attacks. There are other serious issues including ( but not limited…

  • Online security in the shopping season

    Online security in the shopping season

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    Online security should always be the focus of anyone using the internet.  Yet major holidays tend to be more important seeing as there are many who only shop online around this time. Black Friday especially is a big draw-card. The fact is that online security is part common sense and part preventative maintenance. If you…

  • Apple Pay thoughts and security

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    The big Apple event on Tuesday wasn’t that big a deal in my opinion. The iPhone 6 was expected although not in 2 editions but that is the least that Apple had to do to catch up with Android. Apple watch? Meh … sleek industrial design and interesting software options but ultimately I still think that smart…

  • Heartbleed finally results in some resources for OpenSSL

    Heartbleed finally results in some resources for OpenSSL

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    Heartbleed continues to cause enormous issues around the globe and is being actively attacked. Saying that, the bulk of solutions and systems out there using OpenSSL have been patched by now so the risk surface is growing smaller and smaller by the day. OpenSSL President Steve Marquess wrote in a blog post last week that…

  • Heartbleed SSL attack

    Heartbleed SSL attack

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    The latest SSL attack in the form of Heartbleed ( ref. CVE-2014-0160 ) has burst onto the scenes in the last 24 hours with a bang. Effectively, Heartbleed is a weakness in OpenSSL that allows the theft of information that is under normal circumstances protected by SSL/TLS. It allows the memory of affected systems to be…

  • The end of Windows XP

    The end of Windows XP

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    Windows XP support will officially end on April the 8th next week. This is a very important change that appears to have escaped many people. Why important? Because you will no longer be receiving any updates ( security or other ) from Microsoft for XP. That effectively means that if there is a security hole…

  • Security issues in ADSL and other routers

    Security issues in ADSL and other routers

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    I’ve never been a fan of using ADSL/Wifi routers as the main firewall for a network ( which unfortunately ends up being the case for most home users ). These are devices built to the cheapest price, using the cheapest software development and generally, there are very few ( if any updates ) for security…

  • The people we trust

    The people we trust

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    The right to privacy in the new social era is no longer a given. In fact, many say that you should expect to have no privacy with information made available on the Internet. I’m a half and half kinda guy in this argument. On the one hand, pure social media information should be assumed to…

  • Android Security

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in ,

    I’ve been a keen Android user for many years now; as I am with all things Linux. I really do believe that Linux, and other associated FOSS software, has proven a great advantage for us bipedals, allowing those in a not so fortunate financial situation to still use high grade software and achieve their goals.…

  • Large security breach involving fast food outlets and banks in SA

    —

    by

    Robby Pedrica
    in

    A variant of the Dexter malware has apparently been running on POS systems unchecked for quite a while. All of SA’s banks have been hard hit by the losses incurred as a result of arguably one of the largest security breaches in SA history. More info here: http://www.techcentral.co.za/sa-banks-in-massive-data-breach/44338/