Category Archives: Security

Online Security Recommendations

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Rick Lobrecht

Remember:
-never use the same password at more than one site
-always use a combination of uppercase, lowercase, and numbers in your passwords. Symbols if you want it to be more secure.
-use a system to keep track of your passwords. All of those complicated passwords are hard to remember, so don’t even try.
-use a good password you can remember for your password system, and to log into your computer. Don’t write these down. Continue reading →

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Bad Google

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Rick Lobrecht

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I run my Mac as a Standard User.  This has its challenges, but in general is better than on Windows XP.  A while back, I tried Google Quick Search Box, and even though I … Continue reading →

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Now WoW has better security than your bank

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

Apparently it’s old news, but World of Warcraft has the option of using a one time password token for their login.  US banks were required to implement two factor authentication, with mutual identification, but I’m not aware of any who … Continue reading →

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Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 as a Standard User

Posted on July 28, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

My default configuration on a non-development Windows box is to run as a standard user (i.e. one that isn’t in the Power Users or Administrators group.)  When I first bought the MacBook, I wasn’t with it enough to try this … Continue reading →

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Credit Card Skimming at RedBox

Posted on April 6, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

RedBox (those $1 DVD rental boxes you see at grocery stores, McDonald’s, etc.) sent me an email saying that three of their locations have evidence of skimming devices on their machines.Pay attention, and be safe.  

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Diary of a Mac switcher – electronic wallets

Posted on March 14, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

I now have a very unique set of requirements for a password wallet.  I realistically need something that is file based (as opposed to database based) and runs on Windows, Windows Mobile, and Mac OS X. It needs to be … Continue reading →

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What year is it?

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

Apparently, H&R Block’s programmers don’t know about least priviledge.  Yes, their app has an auto-update feature, but so does Firefox, and it runs as a non-administrator just fine. Here’s my work around to run TaxCut as my user account (so … Continue reading →

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TrueCrypt 5.0 ships – now with system disk encryption

Posted on February 6, 2008 by Rick Lobrecht

The open-source disk encryption leader, TrueCrypt, has shipped their latest version, and is now supporting encryption of a complete Windows system (similar to what PGP does.)  I happily used PGP’s full disk encryption on my work laptop for a while, … Continue reading →

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Handbook of Applied Cryptography

Posted on December 11, 2007 by Rick Lobrecht

Bruce Schneier linked to the Handbook of Applied Cryptography which has now been legally posted in ps and pdf formats for personal use.  

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Secret Decoder Ring

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Rick Lobrecht

Our mortgage company sent us a letter with their procedures for online and telephone access to our account.  In addition to our account number, and a personally assigned pin, we also have a secret decoder ring.  Ok, so its not … Continue reading →

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