Too many eggs in Google’s basket? – My question answered on Security Now #326
On my drive home from work today I was very surprised--when listening to Security Now episode #326 Steve and Leo answered the question I submitted to the show! Let me backup a little and explain things. Security Now is a weekly podcast on the TWIT network that discusses hot topics from the past week on all things security related, as well as fundamentals of computers, the internet, and security. In addition to security news, they also touch on Sci-Fi books and a few health concerns—recently the all important Vitamin D3. I have promised myself to write a big blog post about Vitamin D3 at some point this winter. If you are not a listener, I strongly recommend you listen to an episode or two (At least listen to the Portable Dog Killer episode, it's not what you think it is at all) .
Question Setup
I am a big fan of Lastpass Password storage system after learning about it on Security Now and hearing why it was safe to use (Episode 256). I am also using the Google Authenticator on my Android phone(Also available for all other major mobile phone OS) for a second form of authentication when logging into my Google account because of how much additional security it provides, especially as this account grows more important. The question I asked below was simplified slightly (Probably due to me not thinking things out fully to get the answer I wanted) but the results were good and answered about 80% of my question.
My question was as read by Leo
“Leo: No. Question 7, Jon in Lincoln, Nebraska - another cornfield flyover - worries about giving Google too many eggs: Steve and Leo, I love the podcast. I'm a long-time listener, LastPass and Vitamin D advocate. I have the entire family well educated and believing now. Yay. Over the weekend I saw that now LastPass - as we mentioned in the news - supports Google Authenticator. This is great news because I currently use the app on my Android phone to get into my Gmail account. I also know how much more secure two-factor authentication is, thanks to previous Security Now! episodes. But it makes me wonder if tying so many of my services to Google is a good idea or a potential security problem. What happens if Google were to go down for a few hours? Any thoughts or opinions on this would be appreciated. Am I putting too many eggs in Google's basket?”
Watch the video on Youtube of Steve and Leo answering my question below. Start at 1:30:00 goo.gl/kaJD5
Or read the answer http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-326.htm (About 5/6 down the page)
After hearing this answer I am feel reassured about my concerns and I am very glad it is independent and closed loop. My biggest concern was if my Google account was suddenly compromised/deleted/suspended etc that I would be locked out of my Lastpass too, but since it is independent and I have a backup of codes generated I know I won’t lose my Lastpass. Just in case I always have my local Lastpass Pocket standalone as a measure of last resort (No cloud).
Fireworks Photos Oak Lake, Lincoln NE 2011
The city of Lincoln decided to hold its annual Uncle Sam Jam on July 2, 2011. This is always followed up with a professional fireworks show that evening. I wish the fireworks would have been on the 3rd so that I could have gone to the Nebraska City Fireworks display (July 2nd) as well but it just did not fall that way this year. The weather was perfect for this display, it was about 75F for showtime with a light breeze to keep the bugs off. Enjoy the photos below.
The entire set can be seen on Flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/eos_liquidretro/sets/72157627107802974/
How to make Tinto De Verano
The list of ingredients to make a Tinto de Verano is very short and simple. The main ingredients are red wine and a carbonated lemon soda.
The Wine:
While in Spain I asked about learning to make this and it was explained to me that any red wine will work to make the drink. They also said the wine the better usually. In Spain we bought Liter boxes of wine for just a few Euro that worked great. This is a great way to get rid of red wine that you don’t care for is just cheap. Shiraz, Malbec, and blends containing Merlo and Cabernet Sauvignon also work well. The wine variety is really unimportant.
The Soda:
In Spain two of the most popular sodas are La Casera Gaseosa which is low sugar lightly carbonated lemonade type drink. The other popular choice is Lemon Fanta. The problem with these is that they are not widely available in the United States. For example Lemon Fanta in the USA is not made with real cane sugar. Anyone who has had a Mexican or European Coke will tell you there is a huge difference, the same is true with Lemon Fanta. I will explain what I use to make the drink in the US below.
What I use to make Tinto De Veranos myself are Trader Joe’s wines. The store recently opened in my area and they sell a couple varieties of house red wines under the label Charles Shaw. It sells in my area for $2.99 a bottle so it sure fits the cheap criteria. For the soda I have found that Sunkist Lemon soda works really well. They also have a diet variety that tastes good too. I have read that a lemon lime soda like Sprite or 7-up also works but since these are sweeter and have lime with them it changes the flavor a bit. I have not tried these as much.
If you want to make the drink a bit stronger you can easily add a shot of white rum. Be careful as this drink does a good job of masking alcohol so things can get out of hand pretty easily.
So now that you know about the drink here is how you make it.
Instructions:
Using a high ball glass fill the glass with several large ice cubes.
Fill the glass about 1/3 of the way full with red wine, add optional rum.
Fill the remaining glass with the Sunkist lemon soda that has been chilled.
Stir and enjoy.
The drink should be light, refreshing and bring the fruit flavors out of the wine. Depending on the wine being used it is acceptable to use a little bit of simple syrup or sugar to make the drink a bit sweeter if desired. Optional garnishments include a slice of Lemon or Orange.
Below is a photo of a Tinto De Verano I made last year.
Android Web Market Review
One other thing before I talk about the New Android Market in the browser. Google choose to stream this event live, for free, for anyone with a browser and a copy of flash. Proving Google is all about being open, this was open to all devices (well nearly). You could even watch it live on your iPad if you watched the TWIT stream which was in a non flash format. The main stream looked and sounded great. This is really the way it should be and I applaud Google for making their event viewable for all.
For me the biggest thing announced was the new Android Market . This in your full size browser on your computer. This is unique, the competition doesn't have this feature and instead force you into their walled garden that is iTunes to buy or browse your apps on a computer. This requires you to be at your computer. The Android Market has nothing like this, proving Google’s openness. You can download apps from anywhere you have a desktop and cell service. At the Library, at work, at a Friends house you name it. Use any old computer, find your app in the web browser press install and your done, more on that in a minute. The design of the new store is clean and fresh. It has large graphics, screenshots of the application, a description and then users reviews. It also has a related apps bar on the side. The website also has featured apps and the ability to search for applications and then filter your search results by lots of things such as price (Free or Paid) etc.
The neatest thing is the ability once logged in to the store is once click install and purchases all from your computer. It is very simple. First you find the application you want to install, next you click install. You are presented with a screen that shows what services this app uses and you have to agree. If this was a paid app you are then presented with what your funding source is. Click OK and the payment processes. Now within about 3-4 seconds your phone the app is pushed to your phone. The download and install starts automatically. In your Notifications menu you will notice a small down arrow to show you are downloading the file, just like if you downloaded any application. It then installs and that is it. The website also
allows you to link to specific applications with emails or IM. There is even a direct Tweet button on the page of every app so you can easily publish apps to your twitter stream. No longer do you have to share the name of the app and how to get there with your friends you can just give them a link.
In app purchase is not a huge thing for me but it is for developers. In the past it has been hard to do and as a result many developers believed the marketplace did not work for them. Now that this is available it helps to solve these problems. It also shows that Google is listening to developers and making chances to improve the process so it Android ecosystem continues to grow and flourish.
The web Android Market is a game changer for Android, its users, and developers. I predict app downloads will increase greatly just because it is so easy to try apps. It is also much easier for payment of apps as well since you can easily change your payment source. I showed this to a few people at work today and they were blown away with how easy it is. Apps kind of scare some people, but now they feel more comfortable because things are larger and the experience of using a web browser is better than on the small phone of your screen. You can open many tabs now in your browser when comparing like apps too. It’s slick and just works! Way to go Google, keep up those innovations!
Some screenshots of the process.
An App's Homepage
What happens when you click install
Install screen, Click OK and thats it.
Solstice Lunar Eclipse
On December 21st 2010 a Solstice Lunar Eclipse occurred at 1:40am that was visible to the USA. This was a quite rare event. According to NASA a lunar eclipse occurred on the same date as the winter solstice only once before, in 1638. Thankfully we will not have to wait another 372 years to see the next winter solstice lunar eclipse which will occur on December 21, 2094.
I have tried before to photograph various eclipses without much success. Being at night in the winter in Nebraska it can frequently be cloudy or just too cold to go out at 2am to take a few photographs. This morning was different. It was reliantly warm, 28F with no wind and clear. Before going to bed I set my alarm to get up and snap a few photos. I am lucky because my street has very few street lamps and my neighbor's Christmas lights were off by the time the eclipse was occurring, because of this I sat right out side my front door to take the photographs below.
To capture these photos I used my Canon 7D in manual mode, Sigma 70-200 F 2.8, Manfrotto tripod, 3rd party remote. I turned off automatic focus because I was trying to focus on such a small area of the sky. I used Live view to frame the shot because it was easier to see at this angle and I was able to magnify the image 10x to get the focus tack sharp. This really worked well with a combination of apertures, shutter speeds and low ISO settings. Enjoy my photos below.
Visit my Flickr Stream for more of my photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eos_liquidretro/
If you want to know more about this eclipse NASA has a great webpage about it: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/
Other photos from around the world can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/21/lunar-eclipse-2010-photos_n_799618.html#212892
Firesheep Vs Blacksheep the new security threat
The primary attack vector is on open WiFi hotspots, like those in coffee shops, airports, and other public places. This is not an exploit in Firefox or your operating system, but rather the problem of open WiFi and the website your connecting to. Firesheep does nothing new and can not be patched. This can be done with any packet sniffing tool for your platform. What it does do is make it very easy for just about anyone to launch a Firesheep attack on an open WiFi hotspot.
The ultimate solution to end all Firesheep attacks is the use of SSL on more than just login pages. On most websites this is something that the the website must first make the internal changes and then the end user must implement with a setting change. This is not ideal (as it should be on by default but its better than nothing). Facebook says they are evaluating implementing this. The first major website that has made changes (Source) to protect its users from Firesheep is Microsoft with Hotmail and many of the other Live services. However this setting is not on by default; users must enable it in their settings. I hope that with time all websites with private, or user data will make this change a default, like Google has done with Gmail.
Many web companies cite the increased cost in implementing full time SSL connections for their users. While it is true that an SSL connection does increase the server load the difference is very small. Google was really the first major Internet service to move a very large service to be encrypted with SSL by default for the entire session with Gmail. A Google engineer has talked about the cost of switching over to full SSL for all Gmail users in this blog post here http://techie-buzz.com/tech-news/google-switch-ssl-cost.html
“all of our users use HTTPS to secure their email between their browsers and Google, all the time. In order to do this we had to deploy no additional machines and no special hardware. On our production frontend machines, SSL/TLS accounts for less than 1% of the CPU load, less than 10KB of memory per connection and less than 2% of network overhead. Many people believe that SSL takes a lot of CPU time and we hope the above numbers (public for the first time) will help to dispel that.”
They concluded that there was not a significant increase in cost or server utilization by implementing this. That being said Google has a ton of servers and a lot of resources to work with so this may not be true for every website. However the myths of the past that this would be an incredibly expensive process and not worth it are simply not true anymore. Implementing SSL for the entire session (versus just at log-on now) is the only true solution to this problem. Many websites say they are working on this now and plan to implement it. This is a good thing.
Here are some solutions that you can do to prevent being a victim of a Firesheep attack.
Be aware of the network you are on.
Know that if you’re on a open hotspot that you’re vulnerable to attack. It’s probably not the best idea to be logging into sensitive websites, checking email, Facebook, paying bills, etc. If you do need to do these things consider some of the options below.
Use a minimum of WPA encryption.
While everyone in their homes should be running a minimum of WPA (preferibly WPA2) many businesses and other public places offer free WiFi that is unencrypted. Users need to put pressure on business owners and administrators to implement the WPA protocol to protect users. WPA offers an individualy encrypted session between the user and the router by default. This does not protect you 100% but protects you from local Firesheep attacks which are the main threat. Many businesses have in the past not wanted to do this because of not wanting to be asked thousands of times per day what the password is or dealing with any complications; however it must be done today because of this and other security risks. Listening to Security Now podcast #273 they came up with a great solution: put the password in the SSID. For example the SSID might be (Joe’s Coffee Free WiFi-Password = Joe) or something similar. This would allow a user who is browsing for the free WiFi to see the password and be secure. It was suggested that the best way to do this would be to demonstrate the attack to a shop owner; heck, maybe you would get a free drink out of it too.
Use SSL
Some websites that have the option to force SSL (Secured Socket Layer) through the entire session but do not have it turned on by default (Microsoft Hotmail for example) so enable it. This can be enabled on the security tab of the settings page. Regardless of if you’re on an open or encrypted hotspot, SSL protects you and is the ultimate solution.
Sign Out
Signing out is something everyone should be doing anyways. Since this tool exploits a session cookie, if you end your session, the cookie that the attacker may have caught becomes worthless. It is also just the proper way to close a session and is a must on any public computer.
HTTPS Everywhere
HTTPS Everywhere is a plugin for Firefox that is produced by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that forces encryption with many major websites. The EFF is a foundation thats goal is to defend your digital rights. This includes Net Neutrality, privacy and security. Many websites support full HTTPS traffic but make it difficult to use. HTTPS Everywhere makes this process nearly seamless for the websites it supports. This is a project that is still in development but is stable and works well. I have been using it for a few weeks now and noticed no ill effects. It works on the following websites: Google Search, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, bit.ly, GMX, WordPress.com Blogs, New York Times, Washington Post, Paypal, EFF, Tor, LXQuick, and others. You must install this plugin directly from the EFF’s website https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere as it is still in beta. Once the plugin goes to a 1. release I expect to see it on Mozila’s plugin page as well. I hope they will be coming out with a Chrome version soon as well.
Blacksheep
Is a Firefox addon that monitors for Firesheep activity on the network . It does this by broadcasting fake credentials to sites that are know to be targeted by Firesheep and then when someone does try logging into these fake sites it alerts you with a drop down box in the browser. It is little more than a notification and offers no real protection to your personal information. You can download it here if you are interested http://www.zscaler.com/blacksheep.html
VPN
VPN’s offer secure tunnels back to a connection that you trust such as your home or office. All traffic will flow through this connection so you avoid someone who might be spying on the open hotspot at the airport your on. They require some setup but are what enterprises use to securely connect users back to the office. They work just as well for the average user as well. There are many free and paid ways to do this so here are a free ways to do it. OpenVPN Other options compiled by Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5487500/five-best-vpn-tools
In conclusion this is a big deal. Everyone should be aware of it as you travel this holiday season. Often times travelers hunt out free WiFi connection anywhere they can. Open WiFi is dangerous, it always has been but with Firesheep it becomes much easier for someone to exploit for nefarious reasons. To protect yourself, consider setting up a VPN connection to your home, if you must use open WiFi connections to check sensitive email or social media websites.
Other Sources not specifically listed in the article but used
http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-273.txt
http://techie-buzz.com/tech-news/google-switch-ssl-cost.html
http://codebutler.com/firesheep
http://www.slate.com/id/2275850/pagenum/all/
Adobe Reader X Quick Review
Last week Adobe released a new version of Adobe Acrobat, version X. This is a new version of the program that many of us use every day. In the past people shied away from new versions of Acrobat reader because over the years the program had become bloated and slow. However this new version offers important security benefits and speed improvements that make the upgrade worth it.
As many people know Adobe Reader has become one of the favorite attack vectors for hackers and malware over the past few years for a number of reasons including.
- The install base is huge! Most new PC’s come with it preinstalled, if not almost everyone needs a PDF viewer and Adobe’s is the most popular.
- Quarterly updates that Adobe releases are too slow and infrequent, Only if an exploit is really bad does Adobe decided to do an out of cycle update. Even with these updates few people know that the program needs updated. The automatic updates in version 9 have been better but still seem to fail most of the time. Manual updating seems to be required.
- The ability to run things such as Javascript in a PDF exist and are on by default. Just about everyone does not need this feature and it represents a large place to exploit.
Security
The biggest feature of version X is the introduction of a Sandbox. A sandbox provides isolation of the program from the operating system, to lessen the chance of security exploits. Adobe does a great job in explaining all about the sandbox features in these two blog posts, Sandbox Post 1, Sandbox Post 2, Sandbox Post 3, Sandbox Post 4. This is such a big thing from a security angle that the SANS institute has recommended that everyone install Adobe Reader X to get this feature. https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9976
Speed
Surprisingly this new version is faster than the old version 9. It appears to be less bloated and quicker responding.
Other changes
I noticed the voice that will read text to you if you want seems to be more like a human. The flow is greatly improved. The interface has been tweaked slightly to have more of a beveled edge, silver stainless steel look. I like it. Its nothing revolutionary but a nice, clean change. The updater also now allows for you to set it to automatically download and install updates. Hopefully this works well and allows the program to stay up to date without much user intervention. I do hope Adobe changes their company policy and moves to a monthly update policy on the second Tuesday of the month, like Microsoft. This will make the task of corporate administration much easier on the administrator.
By default two security settings are on, when they should be disabled for increased security. They pertain to features that a very, very small percentage of users actually use. If for some reason you needed these someday you can easily turn them on, but for maximum security they should be off. Adobe has even recommended doing this when the program has had problems in the past.
The second option that needs changed is under this same menu. Choose Trust Manager on the left hand side of the page, then at the top of the page uncheck the box that says “Allow Opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications”
The other bad thing is that despite these new security features the very people you are trying to keep out are trying to take advantage of this new release to push their spamware most of it dubbed “Adobe Acrobat 2010” THIS IS FAKE and Malware, DO NOT INSTALL. The SANS institute has a nice post about this as well, even with photos! https://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9982
In conclusion when combined with the new security features and increased performance this seems like a great thing to have if you like the official client. Here is a direct download for Windows ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/10.x/10.0.0/en_US/AdbeRdr1000_en_US.exe
Offutt Air Force Base Air Show 2010
The annual Offutt Airshow this year was on August 28th and 29th. I went on the 29th with @Rossnelson and had a great time. Security was really tight, we had to go through metal detectors and then most people were wanded after, they did not give second chances of removing more metal to go through again. They were also not allowing bags in so I had to carry my camera around my neck the entire day and only bring one lens. I brought the 70-200 and was glad I did. One last thing about the security was that Ross was wearing a t-shirt from the band Bad Religion and he got a talking to going through security about it. The guard thought he might be trying to make a political statement and said he may have to turn it inside out if asked to do so. Luckily other service men knew of the band and let us through. Security was nearly as tight as an airport. I guess this was because we were on an active air force base.
The day was long and hot, people took cover as the day went on under the wings of aircraft. I loved seeing people sitting in lawn chairs under the huge wings of a B-52 or under the fuselage of a B1. We walked around and saw all the static planes which were too many to list. We then watched the aerial show which was good. My favorite by far was the F-22 Raptor. It was such an impressive fighter plane. The thrust vectoring really made it very maneuverability and agile. It also was so stable at any speed it seemed.
This was the first time shooting anything similar to sports on with my Canon 7D. I used Al Servo and a combination of Auto focus Expansion when on the center point. It put emphasis on the center point (or where ever you wanted it) but also included one above, below, left and right. It worked well. for slower moving planes. For the really fast ones I used the new zonal function AF selection and choose the center group. This grabbed the center 11 points and used them. As long as you kept the points on the object and the AF drive engaged (I did this manually with the AF button) it worked well. I was amazed at how well it would track planes coming at you quickly or going away from you. The hardest part was panning quick enough to keep it in frame. For sports this camera is a huge step up from my old Canon 20D.
Here are a few photos from the day more can be seen at Flickr in this set here.
More can be seen at Flickr in this set here.
