AO Newsletter #1

[uraloony]

Really done well! I liked it a lot! Some thank you's are in order - to all the members who contributed, to Ennis, and to MsMittens!

[niboreon]

Well ... I don't know if this copacetic to do but the Newsletter was fantastic and I want to motivate other people to download it. So I'm going to post the contents.

Also, when I downloaded it and at first saw the whopping 30pg size I got intimidated and my first thought was "I don't have time for this."

However the writing is clean, the layout is clear and the read is easy. I want to encourage other people who may have felt like I did and fled to dive in. I didn't print it; I read it on my screen and it took less than 10 minutes (granted the topics weren't completely new to me).

All of the contributors presented their material in such a clear-cut manner that I now can explain these topics to others in an organized way. Usually I don't know where to start or end when someone asks me about something and I often confuse ppl as a result.

Anyway, for those who haven't downloaded it or who did but got blown away by the page count .... here's what your missing (my apologies to Ennis, MsMittens, JP et al if this is not ok to do - just educate me for future reference).


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SECURITY
Firewall Security by Uraloony : Personal host based applications reviewed and provides links.
Securing Windows Against Physical Local Access by Rewandythal
Basic Virus Survival by Ennis
NETWORKING
TCP Header explained by Guus
TCP Ports by Rewandythal
How to create RJ-45 network cables by Casper 3699
PROGRAMMING
Qbasic Programming Tutorial by ThePreacher
WEB DEVELOPMENT
Designing a Website by Porus
MISCELLANEOUS
Tutorial: Introduction to IRC and AO IRC by MsMittens
Bigger HardDrive? By VictorKaum
HUMOUR
War On Spam!!! By Foley
The Art of Security or How did I get myself into this Mess?? By MsMittens

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[D.J.]

great job on the AO newsletter. can't wait for next month's issue. many thanks to Ennis and
MsMittens for the effort. thanks to JP as well. i recommend that everyone download it.

[Tortured Spirit]

Lmao at MsMittens encounter with "The King"!

Seriously, I enjoyed the newsletter. Keep up the good work.


Rating:


Lookin forward to the next one.

[proactive]

I would like to read the newsletter but I can't download it in any of my browsers. I've tried Opera 5, Netscape 6.2 and Konqueror (all Linux versions). Ayone had the same problem?

[MrLinus]

I have that issue on occassion. First, right click on the link and save to file. You might end up with a .php extension. Just change the name to AO1.zip (it is a zip file). You should be able to save it then.

If you still have problems, PM me with your email address and I can send it as an attachment...

[proactive]

My mistake. It was the compression utility that didn't work, not the browsers. Thanks MsMittens!

[the_g_nee]

Nice newsletter,

Informative, well put together, good read!

Download it now

[psychosquee]

I enjoyed reading this newsletter. This is a astronomical leap in progrees for AO: a member submitted, founder approved newsletter that is concerned with what AO is: computers and security.

I can't wait for next month's issue... if I had something to contribute, who would I send it to?

[phreephallin]

The newsletter is great but I just had a few comments about securing win9X desktops.

Rewandythal wrote:
BIOS Passwords
These are programs that are designed to add security to Windows 9x. they
usually launch from Autoexec.bat and ask for a password before letting the
rest of the boot-up process continue.
It is, however, easy to edit autoexec with a DOS boot disk and the EDIT
command, so this method is again, useful only in places where people with
half a brain are not likely to be (for example, this method would work fine
in schools, but in a computer-related business most of the professionals
will know how to use a boot disk!)

BIOS passwords typically are configured for two settings. Either they are set to prevent users from entering the CMOS settings on a PC or they can be set to prompt for a password whenever the system is powered on. If the second option is selected, the user will be prompted for a password before the system will boot from either the hard drive or a floppy disk. To enter the CMOS on common BIOS's (award being the most typical), power on the PC and hit the [DEL] key. Most BIOS's briefly flash a message when powered on which says something to the effect of "Hit the [DEL] key to enter setup". Take care that you make notes of any changes that you make to BIOS settings if you are unfamiliar with thier function as several of them can affect the stability and or operation of your PC. Power on BIOS passwords will keep common users from accessing a system but they can be defeated by the more harware inclined individuals out there. The CMOS settings can be reset to default with a jumper setting on the motherboard.

As far as securing the windows logon prompt, here are two methods for forcing a user to enter a correct user name and password instead of just canceling out of the client for M$ networks logon prompts.

http://www.security-tips.com/003.htm
http://www.security-tips.com/004.htm

A bettter method is to have a WIN NT/2000 domain controller and to use poledit.exe to setup policies on the PC. A policy can be setup to force a user to have a valid account on the domain. Policies can also be used to lock users out of the control panel, Internet settings, enforce a standard desktop adn start menu etc. Here's a decent tutorial on the subject.

http://www.elkantler.net/security/security.htm

Win9x has poor security out of the box, but there are ways to make it more secure. Peace out YO!