security

Why is collaboration important? I once worked someplace that had collaboration as a core value, but not all of its employees collaborated. So I learned first hand why collaboration is important. It’s one of the best ways to be successful without making enemies.

I’m a security professional by trade. Security professionals are notoriously bad at collaborating. Collaboration may be the only thing I do better than other security professionals I’ve met, so I see the importance of it. And not just in security, and not just in IT.

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Brute force hacking is a crude form of hacking by guessing passwords over and over again until you guess right. As you may guess, it can be rather time consuming. But there are more than 40 gigabytes’ worth of stolen usernames and passwords in circulation that we know about, so obviously, it works.

In computing in general, brute force refers to getting something done inelegantly, relying on persistence and the computer’s ability to repeat things over and over quickly until it’s successful. Here’s how brute force hacking works, and some ways to prevent it.

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What is geolocation? It’s the practice, or some would say black magic, of inferring your geographic location from your computer, phone, or another device. It has legitimate uses, but also can arguably be an invasion of privacy. Here’s how it works, and how to defeat it.

In a nutshell, it works like algebra, where you solve something you don’t know based on two or more things you do know.

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Managed service providers have really taken off in recent years, partly due to the boom in cloud computing. But what is a managed service provider, and what are the advantages of using one?

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Most passwords aren’t good, because humans just aren’t very good at making good ones and computers are much better at guessing them than at telling humans whether they are good. So here’s how to create a good password.

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How good is my password? Chances are, not as good as the web site’s strength-o-meter says it is. That’s assuming the site even has a strength-o-meter. Unfortunately, more goes into the quality of a password than just the things the typical web site strength-o-meter measures. Here’s what you need to know, and what you can do about it.

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What is Shadow IT? It’s something every IT professional comes into contact with at some point and wishes they hadn’t. Here’s what Shadow IT is, why it’s bad, and how to avoid it.

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Chromebooks are a popular solution for people who primarily use computers to go online, for students, and for security professionals. They are inexpensive, reliable, and secure. But since security is a big motivator behind Chromebooks, that raises a question: Do Chromebooks need antivirus protection?

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A frequent question people ask me, as a security professional, is why do hackers hack? The answer used to vary, but today they typically hack for the same reason I do. To make money. The difference is who pays them. Well, and that little detail called permission, of course.

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