The operating system is the software component that provides abstraction of physical hardware, and provides a generalized model for application software to execute without the need for specific hardware knowledge. Questions on the topic of operating system security should use this tag; you may also ...
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8answers
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Hardening Linux Server
We have already had questions on here about Hardening Apache, Hardening PHP and Securing SSH.
To continue this trend I am interested in what steps people take to harden Linux servers. As in what ...
19
votes
6answers
2k views
Secure Linux Desktop
I'm looking for hints about secure linux desktops. Securing servers is no problem. Most recent Software Updates, run only the services required etc. But what about desktops? I'm thinking about details ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
How expensive is it to guess a 15 character password, and should I be worried?
I'm currently using AES encryption (at home) on GNU/Linux (one of LUKS AES-256 variants with xts) and on Windows 7 (Truecrypt) with a 15 characters password (alphanumeric lowercase only plus _).
...
13
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9answers
2k views
Vulnerable OS's?
Which vulnerable OS's like for example DVL would you recommend for someone to use for the purpose of pentest/exploitation learning?
13
votes
4answers
1k views
Windows hardening
Can anyone point me at some good resources on Windows hardening? From 2003 upwards.
11
votes
5answers
447 views
What is the potential impact of the alleged OpenBSD IPSEC attack?
Recently there is a bit of concern over encryption back doors in IPsec and while the status of this has not been confirmed, I don't know what impact something like this might have.
For instance, does ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views
Monitoring system calls (in a reliable and secure way)
It there a reliable method of “monitoring” system calls under Linux?
There is strace for example to monitor system calls and signals. Is there a way for a process to dodge out of strace? If yes, is ...
168
votes
13answers
27k views
Are passwords stored in memory safe?
I just realized that, in any language, when you save a password in a variable, it is stored as plain text in the memory.
I think the OS does its job and forbids processes from accessing each other's ...
5
votes
5answers
898 views
Suggested reading list: OS exploits
In computer security, my areas of interest include x86 processors, binary exploitation and reverse engineering. I'm also interested in the certain aspects of the minix and the linux kernel(memory ...
13
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2answers
7k views
How does the Windows “Secure Desktop” mode work?
Can anyone explain (or provide a link to a simple explanation) of what the Windows "Secure Desktop" mode is and how it works?
I just heard about it in the KeePass documentation (KeePass - Enter ...
10
votes
5answers
3k views
Linux command logging?
Recently someone broke into one of our linux servers as a non root user.
An excerpt from .bash_history:
[...]
perl
perl
set +o history
set +o history
set +o history
passwd
sdfsdf
passwd
exit
I ...
15
votes
1answer
2k views
Mac OS X from an IT Security Practitioners' Perspective?
What does the Mac OS X offer that it has been recently attracting users with IT security focus?
There are sites that specifically focus on "hacking" with OSX, such as machacking.net. Defcon has an ...
4
votes
6answers
666 views
Is there any asymmetrically encrypted file system?
Is there a file system providing a directory where everybody can write, but only the directory owner can read the files? In theory it could be done by encrypting using the public key while writing, ...
9
votes
4answers
934 views
How does System Memory Dump work?
So there are so many pen-testing tools that perform a memory dump on the system. How exactly do they work - what exactly happens ?
6
votes
5answers
954 views
How can I remotely wipe the contents of a Linux Laptop if its been stolen?
I am currently investigating using Linux Laptops for my development team. We currently run Windows. The one advantage that keeps coming up for Windows over Linux from a system administration / ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
OS with encrypted RAM?
Are there any applications, JIT frameworks or operating systems that focus on encrypted virtual memory, or perhaps virtual machines that do something similar? I know there are processors (albeit old, ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
How to disable Firewire in OpenBSD/Linux to prevent attacks through Firewire?
Since Firewire lacks security, allowing a plugged-in device to access host memory, it's a good thing to fully disable it. If we're not using the BIOS to disable the Firewire port then how could we do ...
26
votes
1answer
5k views
iOS Encryption Details
Following on from this question Does anyone have any details/resources on the technical specifics of how apple implement encryption on their iOS 4.x series devices?
The Apple marketing material here, ...
76
votes
13answers
6k views
Why do we lock our computers?
It's common knowledge that if somebody has physical access to your machine they can do whatever they want with it1.
So why do we always lock our computers? If somebody has physical access to my ...
39
votes
9answers
4k views
Risks of giving developers admin rights to their own PCs
I need to convince my internal IT department to give my new team of developers admin rights to our own PCs. They seem to think this will create some security risk to the network. Can anyone explain ...
16
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3answers
1k views
Are passwords in memory?
I have an encrypted HDD (dm_crypt). That's why I store my passwords in a simple text file. I usually copy/paste the passwords from it. Ok!
Q: If I open this text file then it goes into the memory. So ...
8
votes
6answers
472 views
What is preventing the widespread common use of MAC-type systems?
Overall question
what is preventing the uptake of MAC systems such as SELinux/AppArmor in corporate and desktop computing environments?
Why don't you think it isn't already widespread?
I do not ...
7
votes
2answers
755 views
Practical non-government uses of Biba, Bell-LaPadula, etc. models
For example, the Biba model is now hanging out in current versions of Windows. Things downloaded from the Internet are tagged as such. Internet (low) stuff can't alter user (medium) stuff which isn't ...
8
votes
3answers
859 views
Am I protected from USB autorun malware on Windows 7?
As far as I know, the autorun.inf problem (the possibility of automatically executing code when a USB stick is plugged in) was solved through Windows Updates for XP, and on 7 it is no longer possible ...
10
votes
3answers
324 views
What security requirements do you have for Domain Administrators?
With regard to managing a Windows network, what security polices and processes do you use? For example
Do you require/support Smart Card
Authentication?
Restrict logins
from a particular ...
8
votes
3answers
805 views
How to manually check for rootkits on a server
Does anyone have a general step by step list on how to try discover rootkits on a Linux or Solaris server?
I'm looking for to to manually find the rootkit, not by automated software.
For example:
...
7
votes
3answers
345 views
Virtualization as a layer of security for desktop computers?
Given the amount of 3rd party plugins required to browse the web, I've been compelled to virtualize my online habits to gain an additional layer of security.
There is of course some obvious ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Is CentOS a good choice from a security perspective?
How secure is the CentOS Linux distribution? I noticed there were times when there were no up-to-date patches for some version of CentOS (e.g., 5.6). I read this on some mailing list that I can't ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
How do I apply a security baseline to Windows 2008 R2?
I've setup a Windows 2008 R2 server with an Active Directory Domain Services role. I would like to apply the Specialized Security – Limited Functionality (SSLF) security baseline to it, but am unsure ...
4
votes
4answers
320 views
Is online banking more secure on iOS than a desktop computer?
Does Apple's iOS provide a more secure environment for online commerce (banking or shopping) than Windows or Mac OS X? Since the only software that can run on iOS must be vetted by Apple, the ...
4
votes
3answers
587 views
Wrapping system call (in reliable and secure way)
It there reliable method of "wrapping" system calls under Linux ?
(Like LD_PRELOAD for wrapping shared library function calls.)
Is there reliable, secure method of "wrapping" system calls (and, maybe ...
2
votes
6answers
183 views
What are possible approaches and arguments for securing corporate IT systems with most computers being portable?
I was employed as the only system administrator by a company where half of computers are portable ones being taken away for work at home, business trips, visits to clients, etc. having access to ...
7
votes
6answers
213 views
Why shouldn't I run other applications on a Firewall?
If I want to use Ubuntu 11.04 as a Firewall in SOHO environment, then I just can't figure out what is the bad thing about installing GUI on it (e.g.: XFCE)?
The only opened port to the world (wan ...
4
votes
2answers
188 views
How is hibernation supported, on machines with UEFI Secure Boot?
I've been learning about UEFI Secure Boot, which attempts to prevent "bootkits" by locking down the boot process so that only signed bootloaders and kernels can be loaded.
Hibernation seems like a ...
4
votes
1answer
135 views
iPad as a secure access terminal
I administer a number of linux servers (hosted on EC2 and linode) which provide VPN termination for thirty-odd users. I'm considering ditching my Macbook running OSX / Ubuntu in favour of setting up a ...
4
votes
6answers
1k views
Retrieving OSx Keychain passwords
I have a computer forensics style osx login.keychain file that I am trying to find the passwords from.
I have a very weak mac which I used crowbarkc on to try and brute force but the horsepower is ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
How can I recover encrypted files after system reinstallation
I had a file which contains images and videos, I was using the windows 7 ultimate and I had encrypted the file. Now I have copied that file to my hard disk and format that operating system and again. ...
