Larry Seltzer

A researcher at ICSA Labs has reported that some implementations of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), a standard for cryptography of data on Wi-Fi networks, can be compromised through a dictionary attack. Robert Moskowitz, senior technical director at ICSA Labs, detailed the attack scenario in a paper published yesterday. Not all WPA-based networks are vulnerable. Those […]

By now its clear to most everyone that law enforcement is ill-equipped to effectively uncover the perpetrators of the widespread viruses and worms. Microsoft is doing something about it, by starting a fund of reward money for information leading to the arrest of such miscreants. Now, the $5 million fund is not a major investment […]

The recent coverage of Longhorn Windows got me thinking of virtual machines and their potential for security. Of course, that wasnt always the case. I remember writing a 4GL database management system. Now, this wasnt a conventional program; it ran in a virtual machine. The instructions in the compiled software werent executed by the CPU […]

Windows Microsoft said this week that it plans to switch off its Windows Messenger service and activate Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) by default on Windows XP. Windows Messenger–not to be confused with the companys MSN Messenger instant messaging service–is used to exchange data between computers. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is due in the first […]

Conventional wisdom would have it that a Windows system needs to be rebooted every time you play a tough game, every time the kids hit a new Web site, and every time Law and Order is on the tube. Its really an exaggerated reputation. I know of Windows servers, especially Windows 2000 servers, that have […]

As the editor of the Security Center, I have to stay informed on vulnerabilities and malicious code. Hey, its my job. I subscribe to a large number of mailing lists, and vendors and analysts regularly send me information. So I thought I was well informed. Then along came Symantecs DeepSight Alert and Threat Management Services. […]

Ive argued for several years that ISPs should be doing more to create secure environments for their customers. So I recently approached some major security companies and asked them to imagine that Im a medium-size ISP interested in providing security services for my users, such as antivirus, spam filtering, perhaps even some intrusion detection or […]

One of the scarier things Ive read about in security circles is what are called “shatter attacks.” These are software-based attacks that take advantage of a basic architectural flaw in Windows. They utilize flaws in the basic window communications in Windows either for buffer overflows or for privilege escalation. At a very basic level, GUI […]

Electronic voting has been in the news a lot lately, almost as much as in late 2000. The punch card debacle of that year inspired many states to adopt electronic systems in a precipitous hurry. Unfortunately, it appears that one of the major systems is riddled with security flaws. It all began when someone leaked […]

A new patch released Friday by Microsoft fixes a number of critical vulnerabilities in the browser and related products. One of the holes filled by the patch concerns a deficiency in a previous patch for which exploits have begun to appear. The vulnerabilities affect all versions of Internet Explorer since version 5.01, which is to […]

In a recent column, I suggested that Microsoft issue CDs periodically to update Windows systems. And I was overwhelmed by the response. This topic struck a chord with people on dial-up and broadband connections alike. To recount the idea, Microsoft has made the update process very easy and automatic for broadband users, but the sheer […]

A report last week from a group of security experts and Microsoft competitors raised a very familiar argument: Its dangerous for such a large percentage of users to rely on the products of one vendor, specifically Microsoft. Much of the report, especially the parts written by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (a group formed […]