Possible Move

Feel free to check me out at http://www.lurkingbeast.com. I will be moving here shortly!

Hacker Justifies Turning in Wikileaks source

I 've been hearing a bit of talk about this lately and decided to do some research. I found this page: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/060810-hacker-justifies-turning-in-wikileaks.html and watched the video that is on it. It truly is sad that something like this can happen to civilians.

In light of Adrian Lamo turning in the source, I have this to say:

- I believe that the source should have never said anything. Lamo is right when he says that the individual signed his own death warrant the minute that he revealed himself to someone other than wikileaks.
- I believe that Lamo did the right thing in handing over the information. All he needs is more problems with the law.
- I am a member of 2600 and will continue to read/buy it
- If placed in the same situation, every other person, including me, would do the same to protect their family.

It Just Got Weird

I give full credit to Fox News for this one:

Reality is scarier than fiction -- especially when it comes to what hackers can do. In many bizarre-but-true ways, your home is wide open to hacker attacks. Right now.

While you're reading this, a criminal could be logging in to your router and using it as a porn server. He could be using a Bluetooth "sniper rifle" (like the one shown above) to tap into your phone while you chat by the window. He could even physically steal your printer and capture from its circuitry the financial records you printed last week.

Here are 10 scary -- and real -- home-security threats hackers may try, and how to block them -- if you can.

1. They Can Take a Gun to Your Phone Calls
A gun ... for wireless networking? It's weird, but it's true. A few years ago, John Hering -- who's now the CEO of Lookout -- built a data-sniping rifle that could hack its way into the Bluetooth networks used by most cellular phones. It caused quite a stir with security pundits. He showed how to sniff out a Bluetooth signal, tap into a phone and steal data -- from across the block or even from an airplane overhead.

The hack is still possible today, says Hering, who believes the idea of such long-range hacks is growing, not disappearing. And the only way to block them is to use only Bluetooth devices that require a passcode and turn off "discoverable" mode (usually a quick setting on your phone). And more important, turn off Bluetooth when you're not using it.

2. They Can Steal Your Printer
Security consultant Winn Schwartau says you need to literally tie down your printer. Now. The expert from The Security Awareness Company says it's possible for thieves to break into your home and steal your printer, rip out the print head, install it on another printer, and retrieve the last few printouts. Hackers could then bribe you -- if they discover sensitive information -- or steal financial records.

Newer printers use a temporary hard drive to hold printouts, a data repository that's also ripe for hacking. The solution? Use a security lock for the printer like those from Kensington, or avoid printing private records.

3. They Can Electro-Pulse Your Electronics
Hold on to your hat, 'cause HERF guns are here. According to Brain Yoder, the VP of Engineering at CyberDefender, high-energy radio-frequency guns are still in circulation, though they were more common a few years ago. The guns send out a powerful electro-mechanical pulse that disables all electronic equipment -- including your fancy alarm system.

Some websites, such as Information Unlimited, even sell the devices. Yoder says the only way to block an EMP attack is by installing a Faraday cage -- a special wire box that blocks electric fields -- around any gadget you want to protect from attack.

4. They Can Intercept Your Display
Using a device called a Tempest receiver -- a gadget that costs $1,000 or more but is readily available online -- Schwartau says it's possible to capture the transmissions between your PC and monitor, then re-create those transmission on a second monitor. He's shown that this procedure works for many years, in fact. Hackers can then capture any information you view on a PC.

Other than visually inspecting your premises for the receiver, which looks like a piece of high-end audio equipment, there is no bulletproof security precaution against this kind of attack.

5. They Can Google Your Car -- and Then Steal It
Services such as Google Latitude, Foursquare and Loopt broadcast your whereabouts to your friends and the world at large. If a hacker intercepts this feed, or tricks you into allowing him to see it, he can track where you are during the day. And knowing that you're out of town reveals a good time to break into your house or steal your car while you're at work.

To keep yourself safe, carefully limit your use of these tools. The best way to block the broadcast is to turn off the feature -- or the smartphone itself.

6. They Can Become Your Friend
Hackers are clever -- they pose as friends on Facebook and trick you into giving out private information. Criminals also pose as a reputable contacts, such as a job recruiters or researchers, and ask for private information, then use it to steal credit cards and other financial data from your bank. The protective measure: never give out private info or friend someone you don't know very well.

7. They Can Rob Your Home -- From Twitter
Did you just tweet that you're on vacation? Oops. Hackers can use that against you, too.

Chuvakin says criminals will find your real name, usually by tricking you or a friend online. Then they will use a site like RealPagesLive to find your address. "To make it more fun, they can look up house prices in the area to see whether your house is really worth robbing," he adds. To avoid this hack, never post your whereabouts online, especially to people you don't know.

8. They Can Walk in the Front Door
Surprisingly, many home owners run a wide-open wireless network without any security protection. Hackers routinely "war-drive" in neighborhoods looking for these open networks, then install "zombie" software tools that send out spam or distribute porn. Locking down a wireless router with strong encryption, such as AES, can keep the hackers at bay -- at least until they figure out a crack for that one.

9. They Can Pull the Plug
Last year, President Obama announced funding for a nationwide Smart Grid -- a way for companies and home owners to see their power usage in real-time, disable some power usage during times of the day, and monitor their carbon footprint. Security consultant Dr. Anton Chuvakin says this opens the door for hackers to break into the Smart Grid infrastructure.

The network should be remote-controllable and interconnected sometime in the next 3-5 years, but Google PowerMeter and Microsoft Hohm can tap into your home power usage today, and that opens up the potential for trouble.

For example, hackers could shut off power in your home and then demand payment immediately to turn it back on. Chuvakin says these systems should be designed with tighter security and that some critical endpoints should not be Internet-connected.

10. They Can Exploit Your Ignorance
The greatest security danger has nothing to do with sniper rifles or the power grid. It's us. Visiting nefarious sites on the Internet, downloading porn and using software from disreputable sources opens us to attack.

According to Schwartau, it's pure ignorance about scams and viruses that presents the greatest danger to home users who open the door to widespread abuse. "I go to a lot of crazy places on the Internet, but the last time I had a virus was 15 years ago," says Schwartau, who advises clients to educate themselves about all the home security dangers, and the protections available.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/03/ways-your-home-susceptible-hackers-cybersecurity/

Hacker Rips Off More Than $640,000 From DOE

http://gothamist.com/2010/06/04/doe_ripped_off_of_more_than_640000.php

Wow. That's about it! It's pretty pathetic that can happen and not be caught sooner. I truly wonder how long they knew about their systems being compromised and they just failed(forgot) to report it. It happens more than you think.

NASA Hacker Extradited to US

http://www.examiner.com/x-45214-Canada-Internet-Security-Examiner~y2010m5d28-NASA-hacker-will-be-extradited-to-the-US

YAY! "Britain's Gary McKinnon who allegedly hacked into United States Government computers in 2001 and 2002 will be extradited to the US to face up to 60 years in prison."

I'm glad that they followed through and that he will be tried for what he did. I do not think that the man deserves 60 years in prison because he did not actually harm anyone, but I do think that he needs to be held accountable for the Millions of dollars in damages that he caused. If you have no clue why he is in trouble, check out a previous post that I did called, "Hacking for UFOs". Otherwise, I'm sure that he has a wikipedia page by now.

I have a hunger for knowledge and I always want to know how things work...just ask Ellen. However, it is common knowledge that breaking into a high security system (like those that the U.S. Gov't have) will land you in a world of hurt. Blackhat Hacking is illegal. Greyhat hacking is...well..., not really illegal but illegal at the same time. While Mr. McKinnon wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he was breaking into systems that he did not own.

Never Give Someone Your Password

If an individual calls and says that they are from Microsoft, your bank, Facebook, etc., and then they ask you for your username and/or password, never give it to them! It is always a scam. Check out this story below:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/computer-franchise/computer-repair-pcpal/prweb4047084.htm

There are a few simple steps to avoid phishing attacks / social engineering such as above:

1) If you didn't call the institute to request help, don't respond to someone saying that they noticed a problem and that they are there to help you.
2) Never give out a Username or Password. Ever. There is no exception to this rule. If the IT guy asks for it, say no. They DO NOT need it.
3) Never give out your bank account number, credit card number, or any personal information such as birth date and SSN unless you specifically called the institution on their listed number. This number is on the back of the card, your bank statement, or another bill. Still, never give out the full bank account number or CC number for verification purposes. The last four digits should always do.
4) If you ever feel uneasy, ask to speak with a manager. Get the managers name and then tell them you will call back in 10 minutes. Hang up and call customer support. Give them the individuals name and make sure that they really work their. If they give you a number for a direct line, don't take it.
5) If you ever have a doubt, call your local branch (if bank or other store) and ask them to help you out. If it is a company like Dell, Microsoft, HP, etc. Call their Customer call center.
6) Use common sense and your gut feeling. If something feels off, it most likely is.

Bank Fraud

Hackers like to test the limits of what they can do. One limit is whether or not they can break into your bank account and steal all of your money. And hey, while they're at it, they might just steal your identity too. Check out THIS site to see what they recommend. Here are some useful tips for anyone doing anything financial online:

How to Help Protect Your Account

• Don't access your account from a shared computer.

• Be certain your computer has anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware programs, including security software with automatic updates.

• If you are using wireless service, check the settings on your computer to make sure the connection is encrypted. Don't connect to your account using a public network, like the ones you find at a coffee shop or at the airport.

• Review your statements regularly and carefully, and report any suspicious activity to your bank immediately.

• Use a strong password with letters and numbers combined. Don't use the same password for multiple accounts.

• Log out after every session.

Copyrighted, Bankrate.com. All rights reserved.

Online Schooling

So, I've just about rounded the one year mark of being back in school. The things I've learned are awesome and I use most of them (except biology) daily. I do love school, however, I've noticed a few downsides to completing my degree online.

1) Working full time and going to school full time puts a damper on non-school/non-work relationships
2) No summer break
3) Weekends are spent studying and writing papers in stead of fishing or reading (for pleasure)
4) The release of Lego: Harry Potter in June will be missed and I will either postpone playing it until my fall break or take a Friday off to finish school work so that Saturday and Sunday can be dedicated to the awesome Lego game
5) The amount of caffeine taken in via AMP or Mt. Dew per hour is directly related this complex equation:

where cf = C₈H₁₀N₄O2


{This is a joke equation}

6) The amount of time spent on the computer NOT playing games is frightening
7) Suddenly everything not dealing with an online class becomes an obsession...for example, I've taken up knitting in order to put off schoolwork
8) Procrastination is increased as you don't have to actually 'show up' for class, just log in and let it sit there for 30 minutes or so.
9) Never meeting the professor is a bit of a pain...then again, meeting the professor could be a pain... ;)
10) There is an increase in body mass due to the lack of stairs and paths being walked that you would typically find on campus. (this is the one that I notice most)

All in all, I love school. The professors have all been great to work with so far and the things that I am learning are useful in everyday life. One year down and Three more to go!

AutoRefresh1-1

Hello All,

I have published one of my first VB projects and I thought that I'd make it available to you! It is free to download and distribute from here: http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/139410/AutoRefresh1-1.zip

Feel free to try it out and send me any suggestions!

The program will auto refresh a web page every 30 seconds and then increment a counter. A friend inquired about a program that could do this and so I thought I'd give it a shot. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Tim

Working with the Local Area Connections

Hello, I am attempting to write a program that will disable the Local Area Connection while leaving the Wireless connection enabled. My company is using net-books in our stores to demo air-cards and we need to keep them off of the LAN. I'm new to VB and VB.net, and it's been a while since I did any type of programming. I've gathered some code that others have posted in forums and tutorials and I'm working through a tutorial book, but I finally believe that I am stuck.

I have a form that contains a user name and password field and a log on button as well as an exit button. Once the user name and password are input and the log on button in pushed, it should call up the 'ToggleNetworkConnection.vb' class and execute the code that is in there. Any help would be much appreciated! Once again, I'm fairly new to this, so if you see any ways to make this more efficient, please feel free to offer criticism!

Here is the code for the Form1

Public Class Form1
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
 
    Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        Dim Username As String
        Dim Password As String
        Dim DisablePort As ToggleNetworkConnection()
 
        Username = "admin" 'username box
        Password = "admin" 'password box
 
        If TextBox1.Text = Username And TextBox2.Text = Password Then 'make sure they authenticate
            'this is where I believe the code to call the TogglenetworkConnection.vb should go
        End If
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub TextBox2_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox2.TextChanged
        TextBox2.PasswordChar = "*" 'makes the password show up as * instead of letters
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        'insert code to exit the program
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
 
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub TextBox1_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox1.TextChanged
 
    End Sub
End Class

Public Class Form1 Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click Dim Username As String Dim Password As String Dim DisablePort As ToggleNetworkConnection() Username = "admin" 'username box Password = "admin" 'password box If TextBox1.Text = Username And TextBox2.Text = Password Then 'make sure they authenticate 'this is where I believe the code to call the TogglenetworkConnection.vb should go End If End Sub Private Sub TextBox2_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox2.TextChanged TextBox2.PasswordChar = "*" 'makes the password show up as * instead of letters End Sub Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click 'insert code to exit the program End Sub Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load End Sub Private Sub TextBox1_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox1.TextChanged End Sub End Class

Here is the code for the ToggleNetworkConnection.vb class

Public Class ToggleNetworkConnection
 
#Region "Public Methods"
 
    Public Shared Sub ToggleLocalAreaConnection()
        For Each verb As Shell32.FolderItemVerb In LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem.Verbs
            If verb.Name = "Disa&ble" Then
                verb.DoIt()
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
        Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000)
    End Sub
 
#End Region
 
#Region "Properties"
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property ControlPanelFolder()
        Get
            Dim shell As New Shell32.Shell()
            Return shell.NameSpace(3)
        End Get
    End Property
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property NetworkFolder() As Shell32.Folder
        Get
 
            Dim retVal As Shell32.Folder = Nothing
 
            For Each fi As Shell32.FolderItem In ControlPanelFolder.Items
                If fi.Name = "Network Connections" Then
                    retVal = fi.GetFolder()
                End If
            Next
 
            If retVal Is Nothing Then
                Throw New NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException()
            Else
                Return retVal
            End If
 
        End Get
    End Property
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem() As Shell32.FolderItem
        Get
 
            Dim retVal As Shell32.FolderItem = Nothing
 
            For Each folderItem As Shell32.FolderItem In NetworkFolder.Items
                Console.WriteLine(folderItem.Name)
                If InStr(folderItem.Name.ToLower(), "Local Area Connection".ToLower()) Then
                    retVal = folderItem
                    Exit For
                End If
            Next
 
            If retVal Is Nothing Then
                Throw New LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException()
            Else
                Return retVal
            End If
 
        End Get
    End Property
 
#End Region
 
#Region "Custom Exceptions"
 
    Public Class NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException
        Inherits Exception
 
        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String
            Get
                Return "The Network Connections Folder Could Not Be Found!"
            End Get
        End Property
    End Class
 
    Public Class LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException
        Inherits Exception
 
        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String
            Get
                Return "The Local Area Connection Folder Could Not Be Found!"
            End Get
        End Property
    End Class
 
#End Region
 
End Class

Public Class ToggleNetworkConnection #Region "Public Methods" Public Shared Sub ToggleLocalAreaConnection() For Each verb As Shell32.FolderItemVerb In LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem.Verbs If verb.Name = "Disa&ble" Then verb.DoIt() Exit For End If Next Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000) End Sub #End Region #Region "Properties" Private Shared ReadOnly Property ControlPanelFolder() Get Dim shell As New Shell32.Shell() Return shell.NameSpace(3) End Get End Property Private Shared ReadOnly Property NetworkFolder() As Shell32.Folder Get Dim retVal As Shell32.Folder = Nothing For Each fi As Shell32.FolderItem In ControlPanelFolder.Items If fi.Name = "Network Connections" Then retVal = fi.GetFolder() End If Next If retVal Is Nothing Then Throw New NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException() Else Return retVal End If End Get End Property Private Shared ReadOnly Property LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem() As Shell32.FolderItem Get Dim retVal As Shell32.FolderItem = Nothing For Each folderItem As Shell32.FolderItem In NetworkFolder.Items Console.WriteLine(folderItem.Name) If InStr(folderItem.Name.ToLower(), "Local Area Connection".ToLower()) Then retVal = folderItem Exit For End If Next If retVal Is Nothing Then Throw New LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException() Else Return retVal End If End Get End Property #End Region #Region "Custom Exceptions" Public Class NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException Inherits Exception Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String Get Return "The Network Connections Folder Could Not Be Found!" End Get End Property End Class Public Class LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException Inherits Exception Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String Get Return "The Local Area Connection Folder Could Not Be Found!" End Get End Property End Class #End Region End Class

Here is the code for the Module1 which I believe calls Form1

Module Module1
    Dim MainMenu As New Form1()
 
    Sub Main()
        MainMenu.Show()
 
    End Sub
 
End Module

Module Module1 Dim MainMenu As New Form1() Sub Main() MainMenu.Show() End Sub End Module

Once again, any help would be great!

Thanks,

JackHadding