Practical Technology

Back when I was a younger man, I was a Beltway Bandit. What that means is that I worked as a technical contractor for the federal government. In my case, I worked for several years for NASA and NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command). Then, I worked with numerous bright developers, network engineers and system administrators. [...]

[Read more →]

Now, this is different. A computer cracker, Luis Mijangos of Santa Ana, CA has been arrested by the FBI for taking over more than 100 Windows PCs and used what he found on them to extort sexually explicit videos from women and teenage girls by threatening to release their personal data. It started, from reports, [...]

[Read more →]

OK, I get why many Windows users haven’t moved from XP to Windows 7. For one thing, while you can upgrade some XP PCs to Windows 7, chances are you really need to buy a new PC. And, whether you’re just buying a new PC for yourself or a few thousand for your company, cash [...]

[Read more →]

Most malware are like leeches on your computer’s software. But, a rootkit can turn your computer’s very operating system against you. If you’re a smart Windows user, you probably already know about the basics of protecting your computer from malware. That is to say, you know you need to update your computer with regular patches [...]

[Read more →]

There have been several stories proclaiming that a recent Linux infection proves Windows malware monopoly is over and that Think Linux is free from malware? Think again; it’s been hacked. Much as it pains me to disagree with the good people, they’re wrong. Here’s what really happened. UnrealIRCd, a rather obscure open-source IRC (Internet Relay [...]

[Read more →]