June 28th, 2008 Anthony Towry
This year's Defcon event is well under way. The speakers list has been finalized and I'm already thinking about what talks I want to make it out to.
Here's my hit list so far, which I'm guessing will get totally screwed by the time slots.
- MetaPost-Exploitation : Valsmith and Colin Ames
- VulnCatcher: Fun with Vtrace and Programmatic Debugging : atlas
- Playing with Web Application Firewalls : Wendel Guglielmetti Henrique
- Grendel-Scan: A new web application scanning tool : David Byrne and Eric Duprey
- Wide World WAF's : Ben Feinstein
- Advanced Software Armoring and Polymorphic Kung Fu : Nick Harbour
Additionally, the EFF and All Your Sploits Are Belong to Us panels might be fun. Oh, and whatever Dan Kaminsky has to talk about will most certainly pack the house.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2008 Anthony Towry
The team over at Remote-Exploit.org have finalized version 3 of their amazingly useful and ever popular Linux security LiveCD, Backtrack. If you've been hanging around security folks very long you're probably familiar with the capabilities of this distribution. If you haven't checked it out, this is a great time to jump into it. Take a look at the new ISO at http://www.remote-exploit.org.
Thanks for all the hard work Remote-Exploit.org guys!
Posted in Operating Systems, Security | No Comments »
June 21st, 2008 Anthony Towry
Vintage potentiometers are on the loose here at CalculatedDecision.com. We've got a box of these rare and hard to find components that need a home! If you want to go old school on some audio equipment or other vintage device these may be just the thing. Check out the page for more information on purchasing.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Posted in Hardware | No Comments »
June 17th, 2008 Anthony Towry
Firefox 3.0 is out in full force and you still have time to participate in Firefox Download Day! Get over to http://www.spreadfirefox.com, select your region, and get another download counted on the ticker.
I just got FF3 installed and the hotness is undeniable.
Make sure you get the real deal though, apt-get install firefox-3.0 still hands out Gran Paradisio, so install manually on Debian based hosts.
Posted in Software | No Comments »
June 11th, 2008 Anthony Towry
For those testing the rendering or JavaScript (XSS attacks) engines of IE there is a new tool that might be quite handy. DebugBar brings IE 5.5 through IE 8 onto your desktop and allows for some sweet tabbing and other features not found in previous solutions such as MultipleIEs from Tredosoft.
This project has a lot of potential for web developers and testers. Check it out.
Posted in Testing, Web development | No Comments »
June 11th, 2008 Anthony Towry
Boys and Girls, Defcon XVI is just around the corner and it's time to start thinking about what to take, were to stay, speakers to see, and skills to hone. I thought I'd drop my extensive con knowledge. If you've never been to Vegas or Defcon maybe this'll be helpful. For a much better post, check out the official "Be Prepared" thread on the Defcon.org blog.
So, I've been to Las Vegas and Defcon a total of 1 times, so I'm an expert. Let's start with the location.
The Riviera (the Riv as the vets call it) is a great place for a convention and a fairly crappy place to stay. That said, first timers may benefit from being on top of Defcon at all times. Once was enough for me. The rooms are slightly less comfortable than a college dorm and for the money, you could wrangle something much nicer down the strip.
Other issues with the Riv is the food. There really isn't a good place to grab a bite. There is a food court with Pizza-Hut, Quiznos, etc., but you'll not find a world class buffet or other typical Vegas eateries.
What to take:
- Caffeine
- Alcohol (Suffer thy Guinness unto me!)
- Geek games and other crap (Whoever brought robot sumo last year...that was fun as hell)
- Sense of humor
What not to take:
- Unless you're participating in the contests, forget your laptop/backpack/fishing pole
Defcon should be sweet this go round, make the most of it. Crash parties, social engineer and make some friends!
Tip: Do Vegas stuff if you can find time. See the fountains, Fremont Street and gamble a bit. All the videos will be online in a few months anyway!
Posted in Community, conferences | No Comments »
June 5th, 2008 Anthony Towry
If you didn't get the chance to hit this year's SchmooCon or were too busy enjoying yourself to actually attend talks, the presentation videos are now available. You can get the full scoop (including a naming issue) here: http://www.room362.com/archives/192-ShmooCon-2008-Videos-Hit-the-Shelves.html
Posted in Security, conferences | No Comments »
June 5th, 2008 Anthony Towry
I thought I'd throw out a quick message related to site news, if this Oklahoma weather doesn't DoS me before I hit publish.
The message: I just got done renewing my domain and hosting for another year. So while I've been wicked lazy pushing out information on my latest goings-on on-going, I'll be continuing the trend well into June of '09! Look forward to it.
Posted in Site News | No Comments »
