Top 10 passwords

Everyone is going to be blogging this in the next few days, so I might as well share it. This is the list of Top 10 passwords according to PC Magazine: 1. password2. 1234563. qwerty4. abc1235. letmein6. monkey7. myspace18. password19. link18210. (your first name) password? myspace1? link182? Some people do Read more

HD-DVD brought down by Web 2.0

Back in January I had reported on the hacking of HD-DVD protection by improper key management. AACS, makers of the DRM protecting the new format, vowed to try to shut down BackupHDDDVD, which is instrumental to some part of the cracking process. At the time I thought it was likely Read more

WiFi thieves?

(via Trey Roberts) Reuters and the BBC are reporting on two arrests made in Worcestershire for wi-fi piggybacking, but where released under caution. Wi-fi leechers are a growing phenomenon, as more and more houses have wireless devices and routers, the number of unprotected networks also increases. A leecher will conduct Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

The dangerous and wild Internet

Security firm Symantec has released it’s 11th Internet Security Threat Report, and if accurate (no reason to doubt that it is), it makes for some very grim reading indeed. I have taken some key findings from the summary which warrant highlighting: Symantec recorded an average of 5,213 denial of service Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

Computers in movies

I’ve just read an excellent article about cinematic depiction of computer use in The Guardian. This is a topic of endless derision from techies and geeks all over the world. The article mentions that the balance can be tricky. In one hand we have the most realistic depiction of computers Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

Malware installation email

We should all now be aware of messages with requests to input your bank details. But what about messages asking you to install updates? I have received the following from support@microsoft.com (links removed to protect the innocent): Internet Explorer 7 downloadsGet downloads for Internet Explorer 7, including recommended updates as Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

High-tech cheats

In my youth, cheating used to be done by whispers and written notes in cuffs (I’m aware that makes me sound ancient). Nowadays, cheats have embraced new technologies. There is the case of the student that loaded all the notes in their palm pilot. Another one that photographed the questions Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

Code Breakers

BBC World is broadcasting a two-episode documentary called Code Breakers about the use of open source software in developing countries to avoid becoming Microsoft client states and to help “bridge” the digital divide. BBC World is simulcasted online (but it’s not available within the UK), so if anyone know of Read more

By Andres Guadamuz, ago

Hack NASA, hunt for UFOs

Some people may remember Gary McKinnon, the British system administrator who was arrested in 2002 for hacking into NASA, the American Department of Defense and the U.S. Airforce. McKinnon has been convicted in absentia in the United States for those offenses, and he is back in the news as he Read more