In a previous article I described how to significantly increase your online privacy with the Tor service. RetroShare is another option for Internet users who are concerned with staying anonymous online. RetroShare is an application that lets you create private, secure network connections (based on 2048-bit RSA-encrypted SSL) with trusted individuals of your choice (a […]| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Any student of computer networking has surely heard it repeated a thousand times: switches work at Layer 2 of the OSI model and interpret MAC addresses, while routers work at Layer 3 and interpret …| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
The password-based authentication model is plagued by weaknesses in theory and, as demonstrated by countless hacked accounts, in practice as well. The time for ubiquitous two-factor authentication and password managers is now. Authentication in computing – the process by which the identity of users is verified – has long relied on passwords as the primary … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
In a previous post I listed and described various organizations which are considered highly influential and authoritative across the wide field of information technology. These organizations are deeply involved in setting standards and best practices for nearly all facets of modern computing. One group which I neglected to include (but should have) is the North … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
VyprVPN for Android, Mac OS X, Apple iOS, and Windows revs up your digital privacy. A virtual private network (VPN) creates a secure network connection over a network you don’t fully trust, such as the Internet. By creating secure tunnels between endpoints, VPNs are a way of disguising (encrypting) your data traffic so that third … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Intrusion detection software is meant to monitor network traffic or host activities for malicious actions, such as successful or unsuccessful intrusion attempts, hostile traffic (i.e., malicious scans and denials of service), unauthorized configuration changes, malware symptoms, and user policy violations. An intrusion detection system (IDS) typically can produce reports describing the details of the potentially … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
When you want to perform network queries for troubleshooting or data collecting purposes, the standard approach has been to launch a non-graphical command line interface (CLI) in Windows or a shell prompt (such as Bash) in Linux to display the input and output of the commands you use. While this practice is undoubtedly quick and … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Update 2: TrueCrypt audit results released (PDF) Update: the TrueCrypt project unexpectedly shut down on 28 May 2014. A mirrored copy of TrueCrypt.org is available on Andryou.com. The home page of …| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
The technical standards that govern how the Internet and modern computer networks operate are debated and approved by a number of organizations. These organizations exist to ensure the proper functionality and long term feasibility of network transmission methods. IT professionals should be familiar with these organizations, how they operate, and what their specific roles and … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the next generation networking protocol that is slated to replace Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) as the dominant protocol powering modern computer networks and the global Internet. The problem with IPv4 is that it was developed and initially rolled out in the 1970s and 80s, long before anyone had … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Subnetting – it’s the subject that IT professionals love to hate. Believe it or not, the frustration that it caused me as a student years ago made me question whether I wanted to go into the information technology (IT) field. Furthermore, with the availability of many subnet calculator programs and subnetting websites, the ability to … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
When you view files and directories on Linux hosts, how can you tell which users have access? And how do you determine the extent of their access? Before approaching the sizable (but very important) subject of Linux (and Unix) file permissions, it is helpful to review the definitions of key terms which IT professionals need … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
Administrators of Windows servers frequently utilize the graphical tools provided within the Windows Server interface to configure network parameters and administer Microsoft’s proprietary network directory service, Active Directory. These tools take the form of snap-ins for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and include Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory Sites and Services, Active Directory … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
With the proper extensions installed, you can hack from the comfort of your Firefox or Chrome browser. Within Firefox, add-ons are divided into three categories: extensions, appearance themes, and plugins. Extensions extend the functionality of Firefox past simple web browsing. Appearance themes change the way Firefox looks, and plugins are necessary for Firefox to display … … Continue reading →| Doug Vitale Tech Blog
