How Credit-Card Data Left the House Wirelessly

How Credit-Card Data Left the House Wirelessly

The biggest known theft of credit-card numbers in history began two summers ago outside a Marshalls discount clothing store near St. Paul, Minn. There, investigators now believe, hackers pointed a telescope-shaped antenna toward the store and used a laptop computer to decode data streaming through the air between hand-held price-checking devices, cash registers and the store's computers. That helped them hack into the central database of Marshalls' parent, TJX Cos. in Framingham, Mass., to repeatedly purloin information about customers. The $17.4-billion retailer's wireless network had less security than many people have on their home networks, and for 18 months the company -- which also owns T.J. Maxx, Home Goods and A.J. Wright -- had no idea what was going on.

Full story at The Wall Street...

Battle of the botnets

Battle of the botnets

For the average user spam has always been an annoyance. For the average spammer it has always been about making money. For the criminal gangs that have muscled in on this lucrative industry during the last few years it is now about territory and control. Control, that is, of the botnets behind the malware distribution networks that they rent out to the spamming middle men to enable them to ply their trade in relative safety from the crippled arm of the law.

Read the rest of the story at Daniweb.com.

Microsoft and SanDisk to develop portable desktop

Microsoft and SanDisk to develop portable desktop

Microsoft and flash memory maker SanDisk have teamed up to develop new portable USB flash drives that can be automatically loaded with their desktop software applications and personal settings, as well as data. The new SanDisk USB storage devices will effectively enable users to take an image of their Windows desktops and carry it around in their pockets. The devices will plug into a USB 2.0 port of any Windows XP or Vista computer and enable users to work as if they were on their own computer.

Read the entire article at ITWire.

Smart Load Shedding Ensures Uptime

Smart Load Shedding Ensures Uptime

Server Technology is the first to offer data center managers the ability to automatically manage CDU power outlets based on key operating parameters. These key parameters include temperature, in-feed load and UPS power status. Each outlet can be controlled by one or more of these parameters. Should the temperature or load current exceed defined thresholds or the UPS lose power and go onto battery all or a portion of the load can be automatically shed to ensure longer operational life of your critical devices. If one or more servers are being shed a controlled shut down can be accomplished via a remote shutdown agent. Along with automatic shedding an “auto-recovery” function ensures that all devices are brought back to a defined state when conditions return to normal.

Read the entire article at ServerTech.com.

Douglas Crockford: "The JavaScript Programming Language"

Douglas Crockford: "The JavaScript Programming Language"

This is a 30 minute online video "presentation and great insight on the history and basics. Douglas rocks, yahoo is real lucky to have him!", according to the blurb I found at digg.com.

Have a look for yourself at video.yahoo.com.

CompTIA A+ 2003 Retiring June 30

CompTIA A+ 2003 Retiring June 30

CompTIA A+ 2003 will no longer be generally available beginning on June 30, 2007. The upgraded CompTIA A+ is available now. The upgraded CompTIA A+ satisfies the job requirements for the new IT Technician roles. It covers the technology and job-specific knowledge, as well as the communications skills necessary to provide excellent customer service.

CompTIA A+ takes a new approach to validating the skills for entry-level IT Technicians by covering basic technical skills on one exam and the job role-specific application of those skills on the other.

Getting CompTIA A+ certified will provide you with an entry point into an IT career, covering the latest technology and skills required for entry-level IT Technicians and adding security and soft skills. Security skills are an important tool for any entry-level computer support professional, and soft skills are a top skill set sought out by employers. As a...

Cisco Revamps Security Cert

Cisco Revamps Security Cert

Cisco this week announced that it is revamping its midlevel Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) certification, as well as adding two new specialty security certifications. The update involves new versions of a number of required CCSP exams, as well as several new electives. The CSSP requires candidates to pass five exams total, plus hold Cisco's lower-level Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) title. One exam is available now; the rest of the new exams will debut over the coming months. The required exams being updated are...

Read the rest at CertCities.com.

Linux Certification on the upswing again

Linux Certification on the upswing again

After several years of decline, the demand for certification and training in GNU/Linux and other free software areas is stronger than ever. That's the general opinion of experts in the field, as they discuss where certification has been, current course offerings, customer services, and trends for the future. GNU/Linux certification emerged in the late 1990s as recognition of the operating system first became widespread. However, Jim Lacey, CEO of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), notes that certification was "overmarketed and oversold," and its demand declined in the first years of the millennium. Part of the reason for the decline as the dot-com crash, in which free software schemes were heavily involved, but, according to Lacey, there were also widespread doubts about "whether certification truly measured someone's skills."

The entire write up is at...

'Evil twin' Wi-Fi access points proliferate

'Evil twin' Wi-Fi access points proliferate

The next time you splurge on a double latte and sip it while browsing the Internet via the cafe's Wi-Fi, beware of the "evil twin." That's the term for a Wi-Fi access point that appears to be a legitimate one offered on the premises, but actually has been set up by a hacker to eavesdrop on wireless communications among Internet surfers. Unfortunately, experts say there is little consumers can do to protect themselves, but enterprises may be in better shape. With the growth in wireless networks, the "evil twin" type of attack is on the rise, said Phil Cracknell, president of the U.K. branch of the Information Systems Security Association. Such attacks are much easier than others seeking logins or passwords, such as phishing, which involves setting up a fraudulent Web site and luring people there, Cracknell said...

Story covered by...

Microsoft Releases First Public Beta for 'Longhorn'

Microsoft Releases First Public Beta for 'Longhorn'

Microsoft will release the feature-complete, third beta for Windows Server "Longhorn" on April 25, which is also the first public beta of the software. The product remains on track for release to manufacturing in the second half of 2007, and the beta code can be downloaded here. Some 10,000 people in Microsoft's technical beta program have already tested the product, while thousands more downloaded or received the second beta and the Community Technology Preview that followed through their TechNet and MSDN subscriptions, Helene Love Snell, the senior product manager for Windows Server, told eWEEK.

See the rest at eWeek.com.