Security News Planet

Archive for the ‘Networking Security’ Category

Network security is a touchy subject, especially among different network administrators. With this particular facet of the subject, I’ve heard the argument boiled down to this question: How much can you truly trust the machines inside your network?

The answer for a great many network admins: Not much! It is a safe answer, and rightly so; you never know when a rogue trojan horse is going to worm its way into your network and try to phone home a vulnerability or take over other machines on the network. It is a wise precaution to assume that machines on your network cannot be trusted and to take steps to guard against them. For many network administrators, this step takes the form of software firewalls: they are considered a second form of defense if a hardware firewall has been breached, and many organizations will make them an integral part of their images or base machine configurations.  Read more... (544 words, 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

With the number of home-based businesses at that time, computers and the Internet are becoming essential tools for businesses. But the active use of the computer company as a tool for banks and other financial transactions, has attracted unscrupulous individuals. They come with programs and virus threats to network security, hoping to intercept important files from home computers. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Carnegie Mellon University, says there are several ways in which cyber-criminals threaten network security by e-mail. These methods seem harmless and are virtually invisible until it is too late.

These threats are: viruses spoofing e-mail e-mail. These are all considered deliberate abuse computer, but they are unknowingly spread by people who are aware of their possible effects on network security. CERT said that virus writers and malicious programs often use the ignorance of most people to disseminate their viruses.  Read more... (504 words, 1 image, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Network security services like the well-known family of FortiGuard Services are mandatory for businesses and organizations that rely on computer systems. Everything from email to data storage to conferencing is all accessed through a network, and without tools like the FortiGuard Antivirus Security Solution, this network is at risk to threats such as viruses and attacks. We might not think about these security services on a day-to-day basis, but our world would not run so smoothly without them. We all know what spam does to our personal inboxes, but for a large organization it can truly wreak havoc on the operation. This is why businesses and organizations of all sizes and types rely on services like the FortiGuard Antispam Service, which uses a sender IP reputation database as well as a spam signature database and high-tech spam filtering tools that help seek out spam messages and stop them before they enter any employee’s inbox. And with dual-pass detection technology, organizations are able to diminish spam volume at the perimeter. Antivirus protection is equally important. Solutions such as the FortiGuard Antivirus Service offer this kind of protection in an automated fashion that utilizes advanced virus, spyware and heuristic detection engines. These tools are able to prevent all varieties of threats that might otherwise be able to gain access to a network and all its valuable content and applications. These FortiGuard Services and other network security tools offer protection with consistent automated updates for antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, antispam, vulnerability and compliance management, application control and database security services. The benefits of international threat detection, research into upcoming threats, constant developments based on feedback, real-time updates, simple setup and device-based licensing ensure a simple and seamless solution. But without services like the FortiGuard Antispam Service and Antivirus Solution, businesses and organizations are putting their networks at risk of all-out attacks.

How do CFOs sleep at night not knowing whether their chart of accounts, asset information, cash and budget information are safe from external attack? Intrusion prevention is a necessary concern for businesses, with databases being vulnerable to cyber attack. Databases are strategic management systems that serve up data, including applications and reports that business entities consume in order to make decisions, to multiple sources. Database security in a holistic network security view has long been overlooked in view of the array of network security software that exists from network scanning, intrusion detection, firewalls, identity management and spam filters (to name a few). However, database monitoring software presents a real opportunity to harden the security around a database when compared to classic approaches that focus on internal database security (which remains important, but does not represent the complete view of the database in the network security environment). The first aspect of database hardening relies on discovery, which implies that a central security authority is alerted at the creation of all databases on a network and kept informed about their current status. Since databases contain sensitive company information, databases that represent a security risk to the company should be shut down to eliminate any potential exposure. Other aspects of database hardening include login and patching management. Centralized database monitoring tools can log user access and identify logins that are repetitive and then create a cycle of password changes. Such security features increase the hardening of a database by ensuring password management is effective for all aspects of database usage. Auditing and database policies can also assist hardening by discovering current or latent patching of databases and alerting a database security person (proactively) that patches are missing, again ensuring that the hardened state of the database is kept at an appropriate level at all times. A real boon of database monitoring and beneficial effect for database hardening is the seamless integration such network security software packages have with intrusion prevention and a stateful firewall. These tools integrate the features of reporting and coordinating network security prevention at the DMZ all the way to the internal company database and allow for the accurate and timely elimination of any threat. A stateful firewall is something that should be considered for any business’s protection.  Read more... (385 words, 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

When you go away with your family for a holiday for some days and you leave your home unattended, probably you are worried if an intruder gets into the house and steals your valuable belongings. Commonly you install such kind of CCTV camera to allow you monitor the house in a real time or you can replay the records later.

The problem will exist when you are away from the house and nobody takes care of it, how can you view the camera remotely? Actually the technology has been around for years. Airlink with its lines of wireless network security camera (with the newest firmware update) allows you to view the camera from your iPad, iPhone or iPod anytime, anywhere whenever the internet is available and accessible. With this way, you can feel safe and if you find something wrong for example an intruder gets into the house for stealing, at least you can call the security in charge in your neighborhood or call the police reporting a burglary attempt.  Read more... (508 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)