Tagged Questions

5
votes
5answers
66 views

How secure is using CRAM-MD5 for email authentication, when not using an SSL connection?

Background: My current server-provider tells me it's no problem to store the passwords in plain-text in the database, saying he has to do so because they use CRAM-MD5 for email authentication. My ...
1
vote
2answers
40 views

Force SSL/TLS client cert authentication even if server does not request it?

Usually the server specifies in the Server Hello message if a client certificate is needed/wanted. Does anybody know if it is possible to perform an authentication via client cert if the server does ...
8
votes
1answer
168 views

Configure SSL Mutual (Two-way) Authentication

A lot of tutorials, a lot of pages, a lot of question and they differ in implementation of this issue "Configure SSL Mutual (Two-way) Authentication". I have to do it with Linux, and I don't know from ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views

Best practice for securing user credentials once they reach the server using Basic Auth + SSL

I know it's generally said that storing user credentials in plaintext is a horrible idea. I'm in the middle of implementing Basic Auth over SSL and was wondering what I should do with the user ...
2
votes
2answers
88 views

Looking for general guidance on securing web API application for client applications and users

I have a web service built with WebAPI that accepts JSON requests and responds accordingly. The core architecture is built but there isn't any authentication/authorization. After a lot of googling ...
6
votes
2answers
99 views

Client authentication vs. user authentication

I am currently looking into authentication protocols which work well with REST API, in java. There is something fundamental I don't understand: I read a lot of material about OAuth protocol, SSL, ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views

Is this a secure method for authenticating clients?

I am working with several other people in writing software which requires authentication before it accesses resources. In order to authenticate, we devised the following strategy. Client sends a ...
1
vote
1answer
127 views

Web Applications (http): Don't get how token based authentication is secure

See something like this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10826293/restful-authentication-via-spring/10864088#comment21706215_10864088 Or more specific: Token-based authentication - Securing the ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views

What is the cost of SSL encryption?

So, I've been looking over various websites that don't handle confidential information per se, but do accept user authentication tokens (i.e. you can create accounts with them and associate an ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views

Key authentication with ssl

Can i authenticate myself in SSL with a key, just like in SSH?
0
votes
2answers
57 views

How can I set up signed downloads?

Scenario I have a web server that authenticates and redirects from HTTP to HTTPS. Clients can then view available "downloads" in their account. I want to be able to sign these download links - as in, ...
2
votes
3answers
88 views

Is password authentication worse that signed messaging if done over SSL?

Let there is a public API: HTTP-based via SSL there are no browsers, just connections between custom written programs The first authentication scheme that came to my mind was... client signs their ...
1
vote
1answer
114 views

Exporting data beyond a cryptographic boundary

Scenario We're working on putting a FIPS 140-2 compliant SQL database on a dedicated machine behind the internal firewall of an organization, and need the capacity to push a specific document or ...
3
votes
3answers
129 views

Is it safe to mix authentication methods?

Is it a good idea to "combine" authentication methods? Example we can use username/password method to authenticate a user from a server. What if we used this as a first authentication step to get ...
1
vote
2answers
104 views

What security issues are there when reading cookie with .htaccess?

I have a (hobby) web site that runs only on SSL (i.e., site-wide HTTPS). The site does not deal with finances, social security numbers, or anything of that level of importance. However, I'd like to ...
1
vote
1answer
92 views

Pure SRP authentication without TLS

IF using a SRP for client/server application authentication without TLS. Will it be vulnerable to man-in-middle attack, since if using SRP, the public info doesn't really useful to calculate the ...
2
votes
6answers
202 views

Protecting an admin area from the public

We are about a month away from launching a pretty important site, which comes with an admin console to help us manage the site. Now I'm not very interested at just leaving the admin out in the open ...
0
votes
2answers
114 views

OpenID without SSL certificate

Is it wise to use OpenID (from Google or Yahoo) to log-into a website instead of a username+password login if that website doesn't have an SSL certificate installed? Just to make things clear, ...
1
vote
2answers
100 views

Should the Keygen element be used to create a certificate for mutual auth TLS? What alternatives are there?

I'm interested in using mutual auth TLS to improve the security of my javascript based webservices . I've looked at the Keygen element and given all its issues, not sure if this can even be used for ...
1
vote
4answers
143 views

Secure login feature with low CPU power

I'm developing a program that contains a login function in C++. The problem is that I don't know how to develop it in my situation. I want to run the software on a raspberry pi, it only has a CPU ...
0
votes
3answers
256 views

help understanding client certificate verification

I am creating an API that only certain computers should have access to. Communication will be via SSL between the server and the clients. In order to verify that a client has access, I would like to ...
2
votes
4answers
255 views

Client Certificate in SSL HandShake insecure?

Imagine we have an application which is trying to establish a secure connection to a server by using SSL. Now we want the user to authenticate himself with a client certificate which he stores in an ...
0
votes
1answer
486 views

How to create trusted chain of certificates if I have the last certificate?

Good day. During last two weeks i had been trying to create my xmpp client app which will be connect to the xmpp server via TLS(because server it's using) My server is: telnet xmpp.odnoklassniki.ru ...
3
votes
3answers
427 views

How to distribute client certificates without exposing private key?

I'm desgining a B2B web service based on WCF. As the number of clients is relatively small and security is a priority, i have chosen to go with X509 client certificates for client authentication. I'm ...
6
votes
4answers
565 views

why a client authentication is not commonly performed in the TLS protocol?

Is there any reason for this other than key/certificate management on the client-side?
2
votes
1answer
117 views

Can Diffie-Hellman Anonymous be used as a cipher for SSL for one-way certifiate-based authentication

I want to use Diffie-Hellman anonymous cipher for SSL. I also want to use a one-way certificate for server authentication. Is this possible?
-1
votes
4answers
131 views

How secure is this login page? [closed]

Unfortunately I cant link to the page (it internal). But I can describe it! This is a lightspeed systems policy enforcement login page (content filter). The page is http and there is no iframe with ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views

How do I secure my REST API?

In Detail here's the problem: I'm building an Android app, which consumes my REST API on the back-end. I need to build a Registration and Login API to begin with. After googling for a while, I feel ...
7
votes
4answers
486 views

Are Java applets more secure than regular forms for login?

In Norway we have something called BankID which is a login solution for banks and other stuff. It consists (from a users point of view) of a Java applet where you enter your SSN (person number), a one ...
2
votes
1answer
430 views

Should we block all plaintext authentication and require authentication over an encrypted channel?

Should we configure our servers to require the authentication happen over an encrypted channel and block all methods of unencrypted, plaintext authentication over? I recently configured my servers to ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views

Are there technical disadvantages in using free ssl certificates?

Note this question is related, except this one is about free SSL certs. There are providers who are offering totally free entry-level SSL certs (like StartSSL). I was wondering if they are ...
5
votes
3answers
957 views

HTTP Basic auth password storage more secure than Digest auth

If you are using SSL already, it appears Basic auth is the way to go since you can perform bcrypt with the password when you store it in the database, where as Digest auth only allows md5. As we know, ...
-1
votes
2answers
78 views

What happens when and attacker changes the installed public keys in browser

I was reading about SSL. I understood that each browser comes with a predefined set of known public keys,which is then used to authenticate the messages. I was wondering what will happen when a virus ...
2
votes
3answers
98 views

Whether certificates can be used for regulating access

I am thinking of a mechanism where I need to authenticate the client and control the access. I am thinking of using SSL for this purpose. I want to know whether using SSL solves my purpose. My ...
1
vote
2answers
106 views

Does Convergence solve the problem of hacked CAs?

My question is about the Firefox AddOn Convergence. So my question is if it is possible for convergence to observe that a phishing-site which is verified by fake Certificate because a hacker of a CA ...
2
votes
2answers
306 views

Is DIGEST-MD5 secure if done over HTTPS?

If the DIGEST-MD5 negotiation is done over an HTTPS connection instead of HTTP, does that prevent this list of disadvantages from Wikipedia?: Digest access authentication is intended as a security ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views

How does bidirectional authentication using SSL work?

Let's say Alice wants to use a webservice on Bob. Bob is on bob.in.wonderland.com Alice opens a connections to bob.in.wonderland.com:443. Taken by DNS magic rabbit, Alice arrives on port 443 at ...
2
votes
2answers
77 views

Does TLS-OBC only improve security of Web Browsers? Does it improve the security of SSH?

I'm studying the TLS-OBC extension and would like to know if it improves security of non Web-based protocols? Specifically, would it be of any benefit to SSH clients? (version 1 or version 2.x/secsh) ...
3
votes
1answer
296 views

Apple Developer Account Hacked?

I just did a fresh install of Snow Leopard on a newly-formatted hard drive. Logged into the iPhone Developer Page with Google Chrome (latest build) here: ...
3
votes
1answer
232 views

Security for a low latency online multiplayer game

I am designing an online multiplayer game and I am looking for a good tradeoff of secure communications with minimal CPU and bandwidth utilization. My ideal solution would only use UDP packets since ...
5
votes
2answers
203 views

System for Mutual authenticaion and confidentiality

I am looking for a protocol where there needs to be mutual authentication between client and server. For example server should connect to a particular client only. That is client should authenticate ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views

https security - should password be hashed server-side or client-side?

I am building a web application which requires users to login. All communication goes through https. I am using bcrypt to hash passwords. I am facing a dilemma - I used to think it is safer to make a ...
6
votes
1answer
382 views

Inconsistencies found in OpenID Provider's HTTP Headers. Which one is the most secure that I should imitate in my STS, and Relying Party?

I'm comparing the HTTP headers of the various providers (LiveID, Google, Yahoo, etc) and notice a broad inconsistency in implementation on the sign in page, sign out page, and subsequent pages. ...
10
votes
3answers
4k views

Is the Facebook login form using SSL without https in the URL?

If I go to http://facebook.com, I am not redirected to https://www.facebook.com. If it doesn't have https in the URL, can the login be secure? Usually I am redirected to an https page on other sites? ...
22
votes
2answers
3k views

I just send username and password over https. Is this ok?

When a user's logging in to my site, they send their username and password to me over https. Besides the ssl, there's no special obfuscation of the password - it lives in memory in the browser in the ...
4
votes
4answers
438 views

Secure Web Password Fields + http to https redirect

I'm a software developer but I'm marking my niche in secure development. It turns out that while using WebScarab, I discovered that a popular user group site doesn't appear to properly take care of ...
2
votes
2answers
618 views

SSL verification of host name of https server

I recently found that a library I am using (specifically Apache HTTPClient) when is configured to verify the hostname of the remote server against the certificate's CN it just seems to be doing a ...
5
votes
3answers
239 views

DHE exchange and client authentication

If a server has a known public key and a Diffie-Helman exchange is performed and signed by that key, is there any benefit to authenticating the client before establishing a secure channel instead of ...
4
votes
3answers
246 views

Locking down web-based admin areas with personal SSL certificates

I've been tasked to setup a secure platform, where I've been asked to assign personal SSL certificates to administrators, and have the server only allow persons into the administration areas that have ...
9
votes
2answers
831 views

Secure communication between applications using SSL Certificates

I am looking for a way how to secure communication between our applications. There is a "server" application listening on some TCP port and "client" application which is communicating with the ...

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