Category: Other

Other computing tips

Encrypted cloud storage with TeamDrive

TeamDrive is a cross platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) cloud storage service with uncrackable encryption, using AES256bit and RSA-2048 public/private key, data is encrypted in your computer before it reaches their cloud servers, Teamdrive has no way to access the files, limiting their legal liabilities since you can’t be compelled to decrypt something that you don’t have the key for, the encryption key remains in the user computer at all times.

To set up a Teamdrive account you are only required a valid email address, I liked that they have a portable version that can be carried in a USB thumbdrive or kept inside an encrypted virtual container (e.g. Truecrypt), but you will need to configure the default settings to make sure that there is no data leakage in the host computer, luckily Teamdrive software settings display the file path for data back ups and cache, a quick look will tell you where in the drive it is kept.

Encrypted cloud storage TeamDrive

The program is divided intro three tabs, “Spaces“, where you can create folders, organise your files and set access permissions for other members and with a right click send an invitation via email revealing the URL for the data you would like to share with others, optionally, spaces can be password protected. Another tab called “Members” lets you see who has access to a particular space and a third tab called “Activity” contains a very detailed log of file movements, like uploads and downloads with timestamps. To add files, manually select them or drag and drop inside the window, everything is quickly sync when there are changes, a trash can will save erased files that can be restored if you change your mind.

Inside settings you can configure a proxy if you are using it to access Teamdrive cloud storage space, the paid for version allows you to assign roles to other people, setting up administration rights, like being able to publish and delete files or remove other members from a shared space. There is support for smartphones, you can run the application in Android or iPhone The free version has limited storage space and bandwidth, indicated inside the application with a graph bar, enough for light file sharing.

Teamdrive is a decent alternative to SpiderOak and definitely better than Dropbox, where the company can decrypt your data, if you care about privacy drop Dropbox now.

Visit TeamDrive homepage

4 February, 2013
OnlineVNC: Remotely access your computer on the browser

OnlineVNC is a service that allows you to remotely control a computer using a web browser running on any operating sytem, wherever you are, work, hotels, etc. The service can also be used tor provide online IT support, the only thing needed for it to work is installing the Windows only software on the server side and that Adobe Flash is present on the client side. The application can also grant access to your home computer to friends or work colleages to share huge files with the built-in FTP client or show presentations.

The server control panel allows you to see who is connected and what they are doing in real time, being able to restrict or give viewing, keyboard or mouse access. There is no limit to the number of people who can connect to the computer, communication takes place using the Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol, compatible with offline Virtual Network Computing viewers like TightVNC, RealVNC and UltraVNC, you can log off or lock the remote computer without breaking the connection, the remote desktop picture can be scaled, with a fit to screen mode and the network speed can be changed to slow, reducing the quality of graphics optimizing bandwidth in slow networks.

Remote desktop access OnlineVPN

The connection port number can be configured, this should help getting around firewalls and making your server harder to spot on the Internet by adopting a non usual port, if you notice anyone scanning your computer adding their IP to the Host Filter will blacklist it.

There are trust based downsides to this uncomplicated solution for remote computer access, if you are not using your own computer it would be a security risk accessing OnlineVNC because you have no guarantee against keyloggers in an Internet cafe, but with your own tablet or laptop it is not a problem. Another downside is that the RFB protocol is not very secure and it is possible to crack the password if someone on the network captures the encryption key, but you can tunnel OnlineVNC over a VPN adding an extra security layer with strong encryption, a third downside is that you have to trust the company managing the service to respect your privacy and be responsable, beyond that, OnlineVNC is acceptable for those looking for an effortless way to remotely access computer files.

Visit OnlineVNC homepage

4 February, 2013
SilverShielD, a free SSH/SFTP server for Windows

This Secure Shell server/client Windows program provides secure encrypted communications in between two hosts, the custom installation allows you to choose an exclusive install of an SSH/SFTP server and/or included management tools. SilverShieldD implements a server side technology called SafeUP to protect file uploads when the client doesn’t protect them.

Secure SFTP clients like WinSCP upload files with a fake name and renames them in the server after successfully upload, this system stops accidental overwriting of the server file if the connection breaks before the upload is finished, SilverShielD SafeUp technology does exactly the same thing but on the server side. The software comes with an easy to understand help manual full of screenshots, and a command line version called SilverCLI that can be integrated in third party management tools.

Free Windows SSH/SFTP server SilverShielD

Each SilverShielD user has its own set of public encryption keys to connect to the server, a keyring with multiple keys can be used too, there is a public key management window where to add, generate or remove encryption keys setting parameters like key length and key description, the latter will be kept in logs when a user connects to the server, you can also use PuTTYGen to create your own SSH keys and import them into SilverShielD.

Server administrators can apply individual user and folder permissions, ticking a simple checkbox a user ability to upload, download, delete, list files and much more can be managed and decide what kind of authentication mechanism can be accepted, public encryption key based, only password or both, while restricting connections to a single IP or network. An event handler can execute scrips for a specific user, when there are multiple scripts the initiation order can be established by order. File uploading can be set with Z compression on, a a lossless compression scheme called zlib that works across platforms and saves bandwidth and increases transfer rates during file uploading.

SilverShielD is easy to use with options containing all you need divided into tabs , from choosing what encryption algorithms are allowed, inside the “Expert Settings” tab, up to entering an SMTP server for when a script needs to call SendMail or Postfix. The “Security Settings” tab lets you customize tarpit timeouts to stop port scanning, a very common occurrence carried out by bots trying to find an open port in a server before a malicious hacking attack takes place, tarpit can ban attackers IP addresses if they keep sending unasked server probes.

This is a highly customizable SSH/SFTP server that advanced IT users should like, the free edition can be deployed for non commercial purposes, allowing for up to 3 concurrent connections at a time, businesses need to purchase a license.SilverShielD is fitting for people who are not comfortable with the command line and need an advanced SSH/SFTP server that can be set up at home in a matter of minutes in any old spare computer.

Visit SilverShielD homepage

3 February, 2013
Password protect notes with Secret Notes

Secret Notes is a free program to write and keep password protected notes, during installation you will be asked if you would like to install adware called “cleanmypc“, this can be skipped if you pay attention and uncheck a tickbox, but it is compulsory to enter a registration email address for the program to be activated over the Internet. After launching this tool you will be asked to enter a masterpassword twice, you will need to launch the program and unlock the Secret Notes to add or edit new information.

The program is very eye candy with a nice interface that looks like real yellow Post-it notes, the background can not be changed but the font colour can be modified to over a dozen different hues, made bold, italic or underlined, with a basic do and undo arrow buttons and a trash can symbol next to the date and timestamp. All pretty basic but enough for taking notes and they are all beautifully organised in rows.

Password protect notes with Secret Notes

A “Lock Notes” button will close down the software and make it inaccessible without a password. I was unable to find any information in the developers page about what kind of encryption it is used to secure the notes, assuming that is what they use, I would treat this tool as a very light guarantee program until more information it is given about the employed defence system, I don’t think it is proper for a security product to omit it.

Visit Secret Notes homepage

28 January, 2013
Hide text and photos inside sound files with CipherTune

CipherTune is a tool for Mac and Windows to hide text and photos inside .midi sound files using the encryption algorithm Blowfish 256bit. There is no need to install this software, it runs in portable mode, the program is divided into tabs and everything is intuitive, only the drop down camouflage menu is different from anything you have seen before, when you choose to encrypt a file the methods you are given are made of music instruments like “Chorused Piano“, “Harpsichord” or “Electric Grand Piano“, you can adjust the Tempo and choose if the resulting sound file has to be in stereo or mono.

By producing a container sound file the software saves you time by not having to look for an appropriate .midi song with the right size that can be used to hide information inside but it also limits the choice of cover stories you can have for owning that sound.

Steganography and encryption CipherTune

The software includes an audio player to listen to the sound file after you click on “Make Encryption Tune” before saving it. I opened one of these .midi steganographic files with Notepad and everything appeared to be encrypted and non readable expect by the words “Text to CipherTune by Kenji Kojima“, this gives away that the file was created using a steganography tool that can embed hidden messages and photos inside, this is clearly not software that you should rely on for secure cover communications, to start with .midi files are not as common as .mp3 and they could attract some attention if there is no valid reason to have them, and then there is the embedded text telling observers what program was used to create the sound file.

This is a very original program, let’s hope security can be improved a bit more by erasing those lines in the header sound file revealing that steganography is present.

Visit CipherTune homepage

28 January, 2013
Facebook alternative, the Social Number network

Social Number is a networking site where people can create groups to discuss any issues they like without having to reveal their real identity and connect with like minded people from all over the world, not just friends and family. The signing up process requires you to create a number of in between six and ten digits, this will be your ID, enter a real email address that needs to be confirmed and tick a box to corroborate that you are over 18 due to the nature of some of the groups.

Other information like profession, college, interests and location is all optional, if you enter this data it will help Social Number find suggested discussion groups and pals, otherwise you can find them on your own with the search box. Private messages can be sent to other people in the network knowing their Social Number decimal.

Facebook alternative Social Number

At the time of writing the most popular Social Number groups are hacktivism and sex, there are also discussions about depression and health issues that would be impossible to talk about somewhere like Facebook with your real name and risk being stigmatized for ever due to a temporary lapse. On the downside, foul language can also be found around, but nothing stops you from blocking abusive members or report harassment to the administrators.

Social Number is what Facebook should have been if they really cared about privacy. Computer IPs are logged and they will be given to the authorities in case of illegal activities but Social Number makes sure that nobody searching the Internet for your name will be able to link it to your personal posts unless you reveal too much information yourself. The site also has an encrypted SSL connection to stop third party eavesdropping. A similar site to Social Number is the Experience Project, with many more users since it has been around for longer, but in Social Number they have a much greater focus in connecting with others at a personal level.

Visit Social Number homepage

23 January, 2013
German police testing FinFisher/FinSpy trojan horse tools

A German ministry of the interior budget document leaked to Netzpolitik reveals that the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) is considering acquiring surveillance tools sold by British Gamma Group to monitor computer and Internet usage, German police is developing its own electronic surveillance tool called Spähtrojaner, at a cost of three million Euros but it will take more than a year to be finished and they need to deploy spying tools now, German magazine Spiegel quotes police sources confirming that they are already testing FinSpy trojan horses to eavesdrop in people’s computers.

FinFisher/FinSpy espionage software is marketed as a crime fighting tool only available to law enforcement and it requires a UK Home Office export license to be sold outside the European Union, the software is of dual use and it has been launched in the past against political dissidents in Bahrain where security researchers managed to map suspected FinFisher Command and Control servers around the world.

FinFisher/FinSpy trojan horse infrastructure

This government endorsed malware is normally installed in target computers using social engineering getting a user to open the trojan horse sending it through email, posting a file to a website for download, or getting physical access to the computer. A security researcher looking into a FinFisher trojan horse sent to political activists in Bahrain found out that the file was disguised as a .jpg written in Unicode Right-to-Left Override character with the .exe being found at the beginning of the file and not the end as it is usual, the exact trojan horse name was “exe.Rajab1.jpg” and it opened an actual cover-up photograph besides infecting the computer.

According to that report FinFisher captured data was stored in a random Windows system folder called: C:\Documents and Settings\User\Application Data\Microsoft\Installer\{A69832D8-3F71-4241-7493-7551DB00C34C} prior to sending it to the command server.

FinFisher toolkit Gamma Group

FinFly trojan horse can record VoIP conversations before they are encrypted by Skype or after they have been decrypted on the recipient’s side, it logs keystrokes and it can grab screenshots or activate webcams and microphones. A smartphone version called FinSpy mobile can wiretap Android, iPhone and Blackberry phones, antivirus software does not detect FinFisher tools, if you are afraid you can be targeted by it then consider virtualization of all of your Internet activities in VirtualBox or use a live DVD that has no permanent storage.

Visit Gamma Group homepage

19 January, 2013