Networking Tips and Trick

Making secure your IPHONE - Enable SIM PIN Protection

2011-12-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

By turning this feature on, your iPhone will require you to type in a four-digit passcode whenever you turn on the phone to unlock the SIM. This will prevent someone from making calls with your SIM in your iPhone, or removing your SIM and using it in another phone.

1. Tap your iPhone's Settings app
2. Tap on Phone
3. Select SIM PIN
4. Tap Change PIN
5. Enter the Current Password (for AT&T, the default is 1111. For other carriers check here )
6. Enter the New Password, a 4-digit passcode that you can remember; re-enter it to confirm.

The next time you turn on your iPhone you will be asked to unlock your SIM. If you forget your PIN, you will need to contact your carrier to unlock the SIM.

source: http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Secure_Your_iPhone

Keep your iPhone Secure

2011-12-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

While Apple is doing its part of the job and promptly fixing major security flaws that are being reported, its important that we do ours to ensure that our iPhone is secure to reduce the risk of having our Web mail account hacked; or our online identity stolen; or losing valuable personal information.

Here are a few security tips that I would strongly recommend that you should follow to keep your iPhone secure.

Enable Passcode Lock:

The Auto-Lock feature (Settings -> General -> Auto-Lock) only locks the screen after a preset time of not using the iPhone. But the Passcode Lock takes it a step further, one needs to enter a four-digit code to get access to the iPhone's home screen. This will ensure that someone cannot access your iPhone.

By default, iPhone doesn't require you to enter a passcode to unlock it. To set a passcode,
choose General > Passcode Lock and enter a 4-digit passcode.

Passcode unlock also has two other options to "Show SMS Preview" and "Erase Data".

If you have "Show SMS Preview" enabled, you will see the name of the sender and the first few words of the text message when you get the text message when iPhone's screen is locked. If you are concerned about privacy then you can disable it. With Show SMS Preview disabled you will only get a generic "New Text Message". (The only issue is that a 12-year old kid has raised a minor privacy concern where this does not seem to work in the Emergency Call feature.)

The "Erase Data" feature lets you completely wipe your iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. After six failed attempts, the iPhone locks out users for a minute before another passcode can be entered. And the device increases the lock-out time following each additional failed attempt—one minute, five minutes, 15 minutes, etc. Its a nice feature to protect the data on your iPhone if it gets lost or stolen. However, you might want to be careful enabling this feature if you have kids at home.

Use Wi-Fi safely on the iPhone:

One of the best things about the iPhone is Wi-Fi support, so you can connect to hi-speed Wi-Fi whenever it is available.

However, you should ensure that the Wi-Fi network you are connecting to is a secure one using Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) or any other security protocol just like you would do when you connect to a Wi-Fi network from your desktop computer or laptop.

To ensure that you don’t unknowingly connect to any open (unsecure) Wi-Fi networks while on the go, you should enable the iPhone’s Ask to Join Networks function. This is enabled by default (Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Ask to Join Networks).

Use SSL to Access Emails

If you are using iPhone's Mail app to access email, please ensure that you are accessing your emails via SSL so that the mails that are sent and received are encrypted. It is turned on by default. If you have disabled it, you can enable it by going to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars -> (Select an Account) -> Advanced, then scroll down to the Use SSL option and ensure that it’s set to On.

Change the default password of your Jailbroken iPhone

This security tip is applicable to all those who have jailbroken their iPhones. Please change your iPhone's root password as the default password is "alpine".

Its extremely critical to change the password as if you decide to ignore the tip on connecting to only secure Wi-Fi networks and connect to an open non-secure Wi-Fi network, it exposes you to a security risk where a malicious hacker could get access to your iPhone using the default password without your knowledge.

To change the default password of your jailbroken iPhone, please follow this guide.

MacWorld has listed down some more security tips for the iPhone which you might want to go through. I have only listed the ones which I felt were quite important.

Let us know what you think? If you know of any other security tips, please share it with your fellow readers.

source: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2008/10/security-tips.html

Fast and safe browsing on the iPhone and iPod touch with Google's Public DNS

2011-12-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

You may have read my previous post Google's Public DNS for Internet Fast, Stableand more free and have to replace your internet DNS with DNS Google. Public use ofthis control can be applied also in your iPhone and iPod touch.

How to change the default DNS settings or the public DNS provider Google oniPhone and iPod touch is: go to the Settings menu and then tap the Wi-Fi> tap the blue arrow wifi network you're using and then in the DNS instead of DHCP columnvalue to 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4 which is its DNS Google, select one of them.

With Google's DNS is your internet performance will be safer, faster and stable with no internet access restriction. Load on the ISP's server / provider will also decrease.

Worst Password in 2011

2011-12-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

Like a passport, we need a password to get into an online service whether it be social media, email or banking services. Using a strong password and unpredictable is a necessary condition that must-have if you want the data safe while surfing in cyberspace.

But unfortunately, Internet users seem to never learn from burglary cases passwords which are prevalent on the internet lately. They (the Internet user-red) still use easily guessed passwords.

Splash Data, developer of security software, try to generate a list of millions of passwords being stolen and posted online by hackers. The result is not surprising, the most commonly used passwords and also the worst include "password", "123456" and "qwerty".

Here is a list of 25 worst passwords in the year 2011, compiled by SplashData.
1. password
2. 123 456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. ABC123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111 111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. Bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123 123
21. 654 321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

In order to secure data, you should do the following precautions:

First, create a strong password consisting of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. If you are concerned will be hard to remember because it was too long, try using the words short phrases separated by an underscore (_), eg: not_use_password, sometimes a sentence is easier to remember than a long-wearing character.

Secondly, try not to use the same password for all the services you use on the internet. At the very least, use different passwords for several important activities such as online banking services and e-mail.

Or, you could also use password management software, such as LastPass, RoboForm, eWallet, SplashID or KeePass. These programs can help you remember the password, even allows you to create a long and complex passwords that you may not be able to remember it.

image source : http://www.onetip.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/safe-key-password.jpg

Firewall

2010-12-07T00:15:00.000-08:00

Firewall, important thing that you have to know
if you want safe even surfing in the Internet.

A firewall is a system or group of systems running the access control security between a secure internal network and an untrusted network such as internet.Firewall designed to permit the trusted data or data via a trusted, easy to refuse service attack, preventing internal network from outside attacks that couldpenetrate the firewall every time.

Generally also used to control access to anyone who has access to a private network from outside parties. Today, the term firewall became prevalent that the term refers to systems that manage communication between two different networks.Given today many companies that have access to the Internet and also of course the network incorporated in it, then the protection of digital capital of the company from attacks by hackers (hackers, pemata-eye, or other data thieves) becomes mandatory.

Firewall System Components

Firewalls can be either PCs, routers, midrange, mainframe, UNIX workstation, or a combination of these. Firewall which may consist of one or more functional components as follows:

Packet-filtering router

Application level gateway (proxy)

Circuit-level gateway

Example Types of Firewall

A firewall consists of one or more elements of software that runs on one or more hosts.These types of firewalls are as follows:

Packet-filtering firewall
Dual-homed Gateway Firewall
Screened Host Firewall
Screened subnet firewall

Packet-filtering firewall

Consists of a router is placed between the external network and internal network secure.
Packet Filtering Rule is defined to allow or deny traffic.

Dual-homed Gateway Firewall

Dual-homed host has at least two network interfaces and two IP addresses.
IP forwarding is disabled on the firewall, consequently IP traffic on both interfaces are chaotic in the firewall because there is no other way for the IP through the firewall except through a proxy or SOCKS.
The attack is coming from an unknown service will be blocked.

Screened Host Firewall

Consists of a packet-filtering routers and application level gateway.
Host the form of application level gateways, known as the "bastion host".
Consists of two packet filtering routers and a bastion host.

Screened subnet firewall

Provide a high level of security than other firewall type• Creating a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between internal and external network, so the router only allow access from outside the outer bastion host to the information servers and routers within only allow access from internal network to the bastion host
The router is configured to forward all untrusted traffic to the bastion host and the same case also to the information server.

*source: http://belajarit.um.ac.id/index.php/jaringan/18-pengenalan-jaringan-komputer/65-firewall.html