VirtualBox: Windows size in 4:3 ratio only

Ever being upset that your Virtualbox Guest Linux OS is not able to display something else than a 4:3 ratio display?
This can happen after a dist-upgrade...

Start the guest and launch a root terminal.
aptitude update
aptitude dist-upgrade (this way, you are up to date) 
/etc/init.d/vboxadd setup

That should do, if not make sure you have the correct kernel headers version installed.
Hint: After aptitude dist-upgrade... please reboot and only then launch vboxadd setup.

Getting rid of LogMeIn on MAC OS X

So you tested LogMeIn or used it for just a couple of times and you are willing to remove it from your MAC OS X system, right?

Problem: after trashing the application, like you are used to do to de-install an apps, it's still there. There is even a taskbar icon that seems to be impossible to remove.

Solution: don't delete all the LogMeIn folders you can find on your MAC but rather use the provided - but somehow hidden - uninstaller.sh script.

Open Finder and navigate to /Library/Application Support/LogMeIn
In this folder there is a file named uninstaller.sh. Drag it to a terminal and prefix the command line with sudo, like this:

raskal:$ sudo /Library/Application\ Support/LogMeIn/uninstaller.sh
Enter your password...

Fixed, it's all gone... Almost!

They are some remaining files: browsers' plugins...
Navigate to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins. Depending on the browsers installed on your system you may find one or several LogMeIn plugin; e.g.,

• LogMeIn.plugin
• LogMeInSafari32.plugin
• LogMeInSafari64.plugin

The better is to launch every browser and deactivate the plugin first; this is true for Firefox but not for Safari. For Safari, you must close it (Cmd-Quit) and then remove all LogMeIn*.plugin file, thus you should first deactivate the plugin from all browsers you have except Safari, then you can delete the plugin files safely and it will clean Safari from LogMeIn, finally :-)

FileRock: open-source storage cloud provider

FileRock is an open-source cloud storage solution.

At time of writing, it's in beta and membership is subject to invitation.
Update as of September 2013: It's no longer open-source. They are going to switch to another model (not yet disclosed at time of writing). What a pity! It is not the only open-source project that I am following (and testing, providing feedbacks to the community) that steps back to commercial... Well, it can happen and this is part of the game (of life).

It's open-source (code is available for audit)

• 3 GB free storage
• Automated backup
• Sync with multiple devices (Win, Linux, MAC)

The good point is that the password that is used to encrypt your data at rest is never sent to the FileRock's servers (but you ought better not forget it (the password), as there is no way to recover your data in such case).

Data are copied to FileRock. "Copied" means that you are keeping the original data onto your own hard drive, and thus you can then work "offline".

FileRock servers are located in Milano - Italy (http://www.seeweb.it/) and maybe also in Frosinone (South of Roma - Italy). This provider is IPv6 enabled.

Concerned about the security? See these posts: 

http://blog.filerock.com/2012/06/filerock-security-overview/ 

You will find some other links within this post that are worth the read in order to fully understand the whole picture, and decide if this solution is secure enough for you.

I did register for an invitation! Now queuing for a mail to land in my Inbox :-)

OSINT: Open Source intelligence

OSINT: a series of six posts from Jeff Bardin that are worth the read

http://privacy-pc.com/articles/open-source-intelligence-by-jeff-bardin.html

• Wikipedia OSINT page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_intelligence
• OSINT Link directory: http://privacy-pc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/osint-link-directory.zip

Aerohive, Euclid partner on using Wi-Fi to decode shoppers' behavior 

Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/011513-aerohive-euclid-265838.html

Is it well designed and implemented? At first sight it is, but is it temper proof against malicious activities? I'm not that sure...

Copy/paste from the AeroHive Solution Brief

Every Wi-Fi radio sends out standard probe signals searching for a Wi-Fi access point (AP) to attach to. The Aerohive AP detects that probe, “anonymizes” the unique MAC address by using a cryptographic hash function (or “hash”) then encrypts the data for transport to the Euclid cloud platform for processing. From that point, Euclid advanced heuristics use several different factors – including signal strength, ping frequency, and proximity to other access points (if any) – to determine the phone’s approximate location including if it is inside or outside the retail store, and then employs proprietary algorithms to create the analytics information used by business operations.

The Aerohive Cloud Services Platform connects to the Euclid cloud through a secure JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) connection to retrieve and present the resultant analytic information in a simple screen in our HiveManager Online cloud application.

As Security practitioner I am always wondering whether an implementation hasn't any weaknesses that would allow for  malicious activities to take place. In this case my concerns would be that as this solution is not using RFID, but MAC addresses, what about someone sitting in front of my store and constantly forging MAC addresses? 

Examples of tools to change MAC:

• on GNU/Linux: macchanger, or even ifconfig...
• on MS Windows: etherchange (run from the command prompt, thus easy to script), 
• on MAC OS X: sudo ifconfig en0 Wi-Fi <New_MAC> (Lion) or sudo ifconfig en0 ether <New_MAC> if the former is not working.
• myself I would opt for scapy (src_mac and the like) and Python, but any ifconfig trick can be scripted.

The other concern is the business model. Statistics are sent to Amazon AWS Cloud services in a secure manner, fine with me... But in the case of a DOS (MAC forging and flood) the collected data becomes irrelevant, and the amount of useless data shall increases the cost of the solution (AWS services fees are rather complicated to understand I must admit). 

Are they any protection (counter)measures available against such issues? 

Threshold on the AP, or when data are mangled on the Amazon's side? 

What about sending inexistant MAC OUI ? Is the "input" sanitized? (maybe, see the above figure which states that "Data is processed, cleaned and stored securely"). 

Well, they are for sure more concerns, but these are just the ones that are on top of my head at time of writing...

Oh yes! A "funny" one... Imagine anon distributing a DDOS program that would intentionally send the exact same MAC address for a given period of time, then generate a new one or fetch it from a C&C server and do it all again and again. I guess the statistics will become just a nice piece of (well, you got the idea I presume).

I hope that I am all wrong with my assumptions. I really like the AeroHive technology... Actually, this is maybe why I am affected and therefore writing this post ;-)

 

 

The Scrap Value of a Hacked PC, Revisited

Interesting post that explain simply and visually to the sort of computer user who can’t begin to fathom why miscreants would want to hack into his PC. “I don’t bank online, I don’t store sensitive information on my machine! I only use it to check email. What could hackers possibly want with this hunk of junk?,” are all common refrains from this type of user.

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/the-scrap-value-of-a-hacked-pc-revisited/

Comparison of MDM Providers

A comparison among the various Mobile Device Management providers.

http://enterpriseios.com/wiki/Comparison_MDM_Providers