Cryptographic Attack...out open

Cryptographic attacks are methods of evading the security of a cryptographic system by finding weaknesses in such areas as the code, cipher, cryptographic protocol or key management scheme in the cryptographic algorithm. The following are the cryptographic attacks usually performed by an attacker: Known plaintext attack: In a known plaintext attack, an attacker should have both the plaintext and…copy of it with the encrypted data. This is used to find patterns in the cryptographic output that might uncover a vulnerability or reveal a cryptographic key.Chosen ciphertext attack: In this type of attack, an attacker can choose the ciphertext to be decrypted and can then analyze the plaintext output of the event. The early versions of RSA used in SSL were actually vulnerable to this attack.

Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator....... Is this What you are waiting for?

EC-Council's Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) is one of the important field of IT sector which is blooming with leap and bounds. Every IT company hiring CHFI these days for the proper investigation and prosecution of Cyber crimes such as data froggery, identity theft, hacking, credit card fraud etc. You may call it a "Hot cake" of the security arena. If you are already a certified ethical hacker then now it's time to upgrade your self with new field of opportunities, and if you are not then don't worry this certification exam will tend to manage everything. One Problem which occur while preparing for these certification exams is non-availability of good preparation contents and material. I reviewed new pre-release of CHFI 312-49 prepkit from ucertify.com last week. I found it very helpful and abundant with good study materials and contents. You can also go through this on ucertify.com pre-release section. I am still waiting for this to release, then I will go for CHFI certification exam.

The Security Prophecies of Leo Howell

By 2020 passwords will cease to exist in the corporate world. By 2030 passwords will be dead and burried!

The time has come, passwords have served their time, they have served us well, but with the increasing security risk due to weak passwords and poor management, a new strategy is needed - passwords must die! Here is why...

* Too many darn passwords! Stop for just a second... count...can you remember all the passwords you have? That's right, too many to remember... see the problem?
* Too many password changes. So let's take a modest number, say you have 10 passwords between work and your personal life (5 at work, 1 Gmail, 1 MySpace, 2 banks, 2 ATM PINS, 1 home alarm code...oh wait, we are over 10!). Anyway, say we have 10 passwords, if you must change 'em on average every 30 to 90 days, that's 40 to 120 password changes a year।
* Passwords are too hard to remember. O.k., don't use dictionary words, don't use birth dates and stuff that's easy to guess...by the way use something that is easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess.....what the hell kind a rambling is this? And don't write 'em down? That will work!! Yeah, really!
* The same passwords are used for work and play. I would like to meet the security genius that will be able to enforce this rule. LOL! Can you say lame brain?
* Free password cracking tools make it so easy to crack your passwords। So after you have gone through all the trouble of picking the strongest password you can think of and feel real safe, here comes the multitude of free password cracking tools at Google - I mean, online!
* The rainbow tables is the last straw. The rainbow tables makes brute force attacks against hashed passwords much faster and more feasible।
* Lack of user loyalty. I hate to say this, but the tougher your little password policies get, the more your little disloyal, underpaid users try to find creative ways to get around them in search of "ease of access" and convenience.

Make Your Computer fast and yourself faster...

1.Let your PC boot up completely before opening any applications.

2.Refresh the desktop after closing any application. This will remove any unused files from the RAM.

3.Do not set very large file size images as your wallpaper. Do not keep a wallpaper at all if your PC is low on RAM (less than 64 MB).

4.Do not clutter your Desktop with a lot of shortcuts. Each shortcut on the desktop uses up to 500 bytes of RAM

5.Empty the recycle bin regularly. The files are not really deleted from your hard drive until you empty the recycle bin.

6.Delete the temporary internet files regularly.

7.Defragment your hard drive once every two months. This will free up a lot of space on your hard drive and rearrange the files so that your applications run faster.

8.Always make two partitions in your hard drive. Install all large Softwares (like PSP, Photoshop, 3DS Max etc) in the second partition. Windows uses all the available empty space in C drive as virtual memory when your Computer RAM is full. Keep the C Drive as empty as possible.

9.When installing new Softwares disable the option of having a tray icon. The tray icons use up available RAM, and also slow down the booting of your PC. Also disable the option of starting the application automatically when the PC boots. You can disable these options later on also from the Tools or preferences menu in your application.

10. Protect your PC from dust. Dust causes the CPU cooling fan to jam and slow down thereby gradually heating your CPU and affecting the processing speed. Use compressed air to blow out any dust from the CPU. Never use vacuum.

How to lock your computer..

Creating a desktop shortcut for locking your computer
If you use your computer in an area where others may have access to it, and there are things on your system you would rather have kept confidential, locking your desktop when you leave the computer is an essential task. Here's a recipe for a desktop shortcut that will lock your computer in two easy clicks:

Right click on an empty area of the desktop and choose 'new' then 'shortcut.' The create shortcut wizard will open; in the first text box, type '%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' and then give your shortcut an appropriate name on the next page, and hit 'finish.'

You will notice that the shortcut you created has a blank icon. To select a more appropriate one, right click on the shortcut and hit 'properties.' In the 'shortcut' tab, click the 'change icon' button.

In the 'look for icons in this file' box, type '%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' then click 'ok' to see a range of icons for your new shortcut. Choose an appropriate icon. Your desktop locking shortcut is now ready for use. Test it out.