Tag Archives: Security

More on the Websockets Port Scanning

This is a short update to my Websockets: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things post. That post discussed a tactic used by several Web sites that uses Websockets to scan for open localhost ports. There was some speculation that this … Continue reading

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Dubious Password Advice

Jacob Bergdahl over at Towards Data Science has an article discussing what makes a good password. His advice is not entirely wrong but has some problems. His main point is that greenelephantswithtophat is a better password than jK8v!ge4D. That’s probably … Continue reading

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Websockets: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Websockets are a handy device that allow for snappier browser/server interactions. Like all useful things, the usual bad actors have found a way to abuse them. It turns out that a Web site you are visiting can port scan your … Continue reading

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Degoogling

Aaron Ogle has a couple of interesting posts on how and why he is degoogling his life. The why is just what you’d expect. He’s tired of having Google vacuum up all the data on his online activities. Like many … Continue reading

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Hardware Microphone Interlock

Here’s a good idea. Apple laptops with the T2 security chip have a hardware interlock that turns off the microphone when the cover is closed. Apple stresses that the interlock is hardware based and can not be disabled by software. … Continue reading

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Schneier on Zoom Security

The COVID-19 pandemic is having many unexpected consequences. One of those consequences is to bring the Zoom video conferencing platform to the attention of almost everyone. Zoom appears to have the best-in-class video conferencing software as far as video and … Continue reading

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Easing the Use of Strong Passwords on a WiFi Router

François Marier has a cute trick to make using long and secure passwords on your WiFi router a little less painful. Setting a, say, 64 random character password isn’t too much trouble if you’re the only one using the router … Continue reading

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Mailfence

Those of you who liked the suggestion from Monday’s post to get rid of your Gmail account may be wondering how to do that. Realistically, if you want an account that isn’t harvesting your data, you’re going to have to … Continue reading

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Google Blocking Some Browsers?

There’s a mini-scandal roiling the Internet making the claim that Google is blocking some Linux browsers. It apparently started when onedoer complained on the KDE subreddit that he could no longer log in to Google services with Falkon or Konqueror. … Continue reading

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Probably the Worst Password Advice You’ll Ever See

I have no—because there are no—words to describe what a stupid idea this is: FinecoBank: “Verify the security of your passwords. Insert it on Google: if it returns less than 10 results it means it’s a good password.” (When you … Continue reading

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