• 11 Jan 2011

    My “new” book on ethical hacking turns 1

    Today marks the one year anniversary of the publication of my "new" book Hacking For Dummies, 3rd edition.Wow, how time has flown by! Thanks so much to those of you who have provided both kind words and constructive criticism via your emails, Amazon.com reviews, and in your own independent sites and blogs. No doubt it'll soon be time to start planning out the 4th edition. Until then......

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  • 11 Jan 2011

    Tidbits on MS security, MBSA vs. the competition & cloud backups

    Here are a few new articles I wrote for TechTarget where I talk about IIS 7.5 security, encrypting Windows Server drives, MBSA vs. commercial vulnerability scanners and the dearly beloved cloud backup services. Enjoy!How vulnerable is Microsoft IIS 7.5 to attacks?Pros and cons of Windows Server drive encryptionWeighing MBSA against paid vulnerability scannersPreventing online backup security threats to your network...

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  • 11 Jan 2011

    Beware the “network assessment”

    There are many IT services firms - including some run by friends and colleagues of mine - who perform something called "network assessments". The outcome of these assessments - which are usually aimed at SMBs - is to determine the overall health of your network and computing environment, supposedly including security.First, let me be clear that these are legitimate services to see where your network stands. That's fine and dandy ...

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  • 11 Jan 2011

    What’s holding you back?

    Orison Swett Marden once said:"What keeps so many employees back is simply unwillingness to pay the price, to make the exertion, the effort to sacrifice their ease and comfort." So true...as the saying goes good enough hardly ever is....

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  • 10 Jan 2011

    Great quote on information security choices

    Here's a great quote by Fred Smith that says it like it is:"You are the way you are because that's the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now."Obviously this also applies to our careers and personal lives...Like calories we ingest, our choices add up dramatically over time....

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  • 05 Jan 2011

    Speaking of supererogation, here’s a great quote

    Regarding yesterday's post about the word supererogation and how it can help you in your infosec career, here's a great quote by the poet Ovid that supports such an approach:"Make the workmanship surpass the materials." Spot on...otherwise you just fall in line with the majority. Not good for your career, not good for business....

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  • 05 Jan 2011

    My message to Republicans on this critical day in history

    This is a big, big day for the future of the United States of America. The people spoke in the last election telling the jokers in Washington that we don't want their "hope and change" that's running this country into the ground. Today our new Congress gets rolling. But what's it going to lead to? I have my fingers crossed that we won't see more of the same old Big ...

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  • 04 Jan 2011

    Supererogation helps infosec

    I saw a great Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster over the Christmas break: Supererogation It means "the act of performing more than is required by duty, obligation, or need". Said another way it's going the extra mile above and beyond to make things happen.If there's any one underlying component of being successful in everything you do it's doing all the other things that need to be done in security ...

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  • 02 Jan 2011

    Security complacency & leadership – focus on both in 2011

    Happy New Year! Here are a couple of recent pieces I wrote for Security Technology Executive magazine I thought would be good to get things rolling for 2011:Don't lose sight of what's importantFour traits of successful information security leadersMy wishes to you and yours for a healthy and prosperous year ahead!...

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  • 23 Dec 2010

    Quick step-through of Metasploit Express

    I've been raving about the penetration testing tool Metasploit for a while. With the release of Metasploit Express earlier this year I'm even more pleased with all the efforts HD Moore and his team have put forth. Metasploit Express is a commercial product you'll have to pay for but to me it's well worth the investment. It's easier to use, it has nice reporting and more. All the things we ...

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