Think for a moment about the possibility of your company's infrastructure being in the crosshairs of a serious hacker. How valuable would information about your infrastructure be? Do you really know how much sensitive information is publicly accessible or easily obtainable with a little creativity? The first step in any serious hacker's attack is reconnaissance on a target. Let's look at a few of the more common techniques and how to prevent them.
Often times there will be a surprising amount of sensitive information about your company sitting on the Web, waiting for someone to stumble upon it. Have you ever searched IT forums for your domain name? Try it! All too often, technical employees will post questions or answers to public forums, mentioning specific equipment in use at their company, and they'll use their work e-mail address! Ouch! Obviously, they aren't thinking about the blackhat who would love to find out what type of firewall or server you own without having to touch your network. To avoid this, you should enforce a policy that will require your users to use a non-work e-mail address to post any information to a public forum, and the company's name should never be used. They'll still get their questions answered, but your infrastructure details won't be posted for the world to see.
Another place hackers go for information about your technical staff are online databases of IP address and Web site registrants. There are actually four databases, each containing this type of information for various parts of the world. Checkout the Whois section of http://www.networksolutions.com or http://www.ARIN.net, and see if your company's domain name lists the name, e-mail, or phone number of your technical staff. Ideally, you should provide ******* information in these fields to prevent a hacker from assuming the identity of such staff to coerce your users into divulging their passwords or other sensitive information.
man's trash is another man's treasure … literally! Dumpster diving is an old, dirty but still fruitful information-gathering technique by which an attacker peruses your trash, looking for social security numbers, phone numbers, userIDs, IP addresses and passwords. A policy should be enforced, requiring employees to destroy media containing any information that could be used for the wrong reason. If you're really thinking this isn't necessary, I encourage you to audit the contents of a trash can near one of your network printers, especially in an IT area. Would you hand over the findings to a hacker?
About the author
VernonHabersetzer, president of security seminar and consulting company i.e.security, and has seven years of in-the-trenches security experience in healthcare and retail environments.
With petrol prices sky-rocketing, one wonders whether there will ever be any reprieve at all for the normal road-users. The volatile prices seemS out of our hands. Well... not really, it is actually still in your hands. Here are some fuel-saving tips.
Plan your route
Planning the route you are taking before embarking will greatly help to reduce fuel consumption. When a car is stalling in a traffic jam, it is not utilizing its petrol. With less traffic, you will also be able to maintain a steady cruising speed on clear roads when avoiding the rush hour.
Do not Warm Up your Engine
Drive off immediately at a low speed after starting your car. This way, the engine will warm up faster and lubricate better.
Steady Speed
Engines burn up more petrol during acceleration than at any other time.
Keeping the engine speed at a steady 2000 rpm even when moving off in 1st and 2nd gear, cuts down on fuel consumption,
Driving with the Windows Up or Down?
If you're driving pass the 50mph mark, the windows should be wound up to prevent drag or resistance. Fuel consumption improves with better aerodynamics.
but... when you're driving slower than 50mph, you may want to drive with the windows down. Turning off the air-conditioner significantly takes the load off the engine and reduces fuel consumption.
Fill up at night
In areas of high humidity and hot climate, it's advisable to fill up your tank at night, because in the day petrol evaporates very quickly.
Good Driving Habits
Avoid fast starts and sudden stops.
Do not excessively hold on to the brake or clutch pedal, because this increases fuel consumption.
Check that the tyres are correctly inflated. If the tyres are soft, their rolling resistance will be greater and fuel consumption will increase.
Remember to check on proper wheel alignment. As overcoming improper alignment wastes fuel.
Practice safe sexy drinking with these six smart tips.
Throwing a party? Collect car keys at the door when guests arrive. Make it the price of admission, don't take no for an answer and don't return keys to anyone whose driving ability is impaired. Call a cab or a designated driver. Or let your friends crash on your couch.
Serve measured cocktails using a shot glass like pro bartenders do. The drinks will taste better and you'll control the amount of alcohol served.
Offer one drink at a time per person and never force alcohol on anyone. Be sure to have plenty of non-alcoholic beverage choices like fresh-squeezed Sunkist fruit juices, too.
Never drink on an empty stomach. Nibble carbohydrate- and protein-rich snacks like cheese, crackers, nuts and those little cocktail weenies.
Good rule of thumb: one alcoholic beverage per hour, chased with a big glass of water.
Stop serving alcoholic beverages about an hour before your party breaks up. Bring out the fresh squeezed citrus juices, mineral waters, coffee and dessert.
If you have a sump pump that drains water from your home to prevent flooding, try to direct the flow of the water to some useful area ?like into a garden or to flowers or trees. There can be a lot of water pushed out and it should be made useful, rather than wasted. Also ?use any other collected water to pour on plants and gardens, like the water in gutter drains or buckets left in the rain.
------------------------------
07-15-2005, 09:44 AM
Post any TIPS
Linear Mode
