Digital Security – Not

Leo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:07:18 +0000

I read just read this article Best Western and the worst kind of security mix-up. Over the past couple of days it has emerged that customer details, including name, address, phone and credit card numbers were stolen when Best Western were hacked by an Indian hacker with ties to the Russian Mafia.

What needs to be further highlighted is that as we commit more information to electronic storage and retrieval, it is more vulnerable. As we have see in the past year of data loses, vast amounts of information can be lost or exposed through very simple human error or negligence.

Tougher encryption and security is also a joke. In the programming world it is well know that if you can code it, you can hack it. Examples of so called unbreakable security are the DVD format and the security researchers cloning the new passport chips.

We are truly heading towards an information age where there are no secrets, regardless of the noise government makes. Big Brother is its own worst enemy. The traditional idea of security has to be radically rethought.

We are seeing this theme being played out currently in the world of software development, especially with web browsers and Operating Systems. We see the realm of Open Source where vulnerabilities are publicly acknowledged and addressed verses proprietary commercial software where the mantra is security through obscurity (Apple) and denial (Macintosh).

Last year on Google Maps you could go and look at satellite images of a top secret US Navy submarine in dry dock. The US military screamed to take down the images. D'uh hello? If a commercial satellite snapped pictures of this submarine with out looking for it, what about all of the spy satellites that are?

It all goes to show that our concept of security is no more than just that, a concept, or at worse a dangerous expensive joke.

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Mounting a Virtual CD or DVD

Leo — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:19:17 +0000

I recently had the need to mount a ISO file. There are commercial options, or there is a free option from Microsoft. The software they offer is only for CDs.

Here's the download link:
winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel

Here's the readme:

Quote:

Readme for Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel v2.0.1.1

THIS TOOL IS UNSUPPORTED BY MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES

System Requirements
===================
- Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional

Installation instructions
=========================
1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click "Driver control"
4. If the "Install Driver" button is available, click it. Navigate
to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and
click Open.
5. Click "Start"
6. Click OK
7. Click "Add Drive" to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that
the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click "Add
Drive" until an unused drive letter is available.
8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click "Mount".
9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click "OK". UNC
naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives
should be OK.

You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM
device. When you are finished you may unmount, stop, and remove the
driver from memory using the driver control.

But if you want to do either a CD or a DVD, then following free software will do the job nicely.

Virtual CloneDrive

Virtual Clone Drive is a free, small and lightweight virtual CD-ROM
and DVD-ROM emulator that let users mount .iso, .ccd, .dvd, .img, .udf
and .bin/.cue image files just like a physical CD/DVD drive.

Download VirtualCloneDrive Version 5.1.4.5 (SetupVirtualCloneDrive5.exe)

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Guild Media » dvd

Digital Security – Not

Mounting a Virtual CD or DVD