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01-08-2011, 10:44 PM
Should I be concerned about someone stealing my shit through the computer if online?
I was thinking of putting by schwag on a PC not hooked up to the NET for protection? Or can someone still get it?
I'm invested in this endeavor.
Had my identity stolen before.
Surely y'all can understand.
Please don't tell me I'm confined to the quill and ink!
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01-09-2011, 11:05 PM
Oldnem..Do you have any good sites or tips for using linux? A friend is making me a distribution, but I'm thinking I'll do a partition for a while until I get used to the format. How is it in comparison to MacOS or Windows? Pros and cons.
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01-10-2011, 04:44 PM
I work in the computer security department at my job. I also have done some work in computer forensics. We have like 20 members on our team plus subcontractors and vendor consultants and we still getting hit even with all of our resources it gets a little overwhelming sometimes. At home what I do is keep two PC's, one is hidden in the closet(I worry more about real burglaries). And the other one is in the bedroom which I used for everyday use. If I need to access anything from the closet machine, I just remote desktop into it. However, this set up leaves me vulnerable for key loggers in shitty cyber Cafes overseas.
I tried linux(OpenSuse) and even thought is light speeds ahead of the Solaris servers I used to telnet into in my undergrad days I wouldn't recommend it for a novice.
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01-10-2011, 07:32 PM
I use Linux Mint w/ google chrome as the browser. Old Nemesis is right about the learning curve, but it's worth it. The only MS software I use is Office 07 (for resumes) which is run using Wine. I've never had an OS crash that wasn't my fault or a virus. Using Linux is like being liberated from a vicious dictatorship.
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01-10-2011, 07:46 PM
Thank you for all the helpful tips. I think what I'll do for now is put the book on another PC not hooked up to the NET.
When I get to the second draft I'll start delving into more NET security.
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01-12-2011, 05:24 PM
First off, if you've got a hardware keylogger on the machine you are using, you're fucked. Don't use potentially compromised machines.
If you're worried about traffic sniffing, use a VPN like StrongVPN or IPREDator. You pretty much need it these days if you're using public (cafe) wifi.
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01-16-2011, 10:01 AM
What are the threats you guys are trying to mitigate with these security countermeasures? They don't seem especially valuable.
VPN - Mitigates traffic sniffing. But many sites that transmit sensitive information already use SSL which mitigates this already (gmail, online banking, etc).
Keystroke Scrambler - Mitigates software keyloggers. I guess this is sort of reasonable. It can't *really* hide all data from keyloggers because a keylogger has control of the kernel and the kernel can't "hide" secrets from itself, but usage of anti-keyloggers is probably so rare that keylogger developers don't bother trying to defeat them. Though a sophisticated enough rootkit could easily do this.
On Screen Keyboard - Mitigates hardware keyloggers. This seems pretty pointless to me. The odds of finding a hardware keylogger seem very slim, considering that software keyloggers are much cheaper and easier to deploy and collect data from. Using an on screen keyboard mitigates the threat of a hardware keylogger but greatly increases your risk of someone reading your password over your shoulder. In the time it takes you to type out your information via OSK, you could just peek behind the computer to look for a hardware keylogger.
My advice is to above all keep all your software up to date, especially the OS itself and your internet browser. Set Windows Update to download and install updates automatically and have your browser do the same. Don't use OSes that are no longer supported by the vendor (e.g. Windows XP and earlier).
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09-16-2012, 10:01 PM
Hey guys what do you recommend for a gnu/linux OS ? I want to be free of microsoft, google, apple for the rest of my life. I have a custom built desktop I use for trading with multiple screens and I have a HP pavilion g series laptop. My understanding is I can't have the same OS for both as there is specific OS's for a laptop. So which would be the best gnu/linux for running multiple screens and which one for running a laptop ?
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