Five free IT tools available in the Apple App Store

For many years, IT professionals have relied on tools that require a PC or a laptop to run; smaller, more portable devices just weren't available. Now, with the advent of nearly-ubiquitous smart phones and the proliferation of tablets, IT professionals can use these types of devices to test their networks and systems to ensure that things are running properly - and without lugging around a full laptop or heading back to the office to use a desktop.
This blog post is also available as a TechRepublic Photo Gallery.

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In this edition of Five Apps, I take a look at five free IT tools in the Apple App Store which can be used by IT professionals to diagnose problems with their networks and systems. All of these apps are "universal" apps, meaning that the same version can be used on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches.

Five Apps

1: IP Network Scanner by 10base-t Interactive

IP Network Scanner quickly scans the local subnet (by default) returning a list of the systems detected and what their IP and MAC addresses are. Additionally, you can view the manufacturer, give the device a custom name and icon, and use several network tools and additional apps on the device all from the right-side pane. The free version is limited to the first five devices found, but you can adjust the scanning range to catch the group of devices you're interested in. The full version is $9.99 and gives you unlimited devices.

2: Speedtest X HD by VeeApps

A speed test app is another must for IT professionals, and Speedtest X HD does an excellent and beautiful job. Free users get access to a limited number of servers to test against while users upgrading to the full version get access to many more. The gauge is simple and easy to read and the app gives you the typical ping, download, and upload results. VeeApps also offers a non-HD version of their app. Both paid versions cost $0.99.

3: NSLookup by Dayana Networks Ltd.

NSLookup does only one thing, but it does that thing well. Simply enter the domain name and it will return a list of name servers and hosts with IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. The few options available allow you to reduce the number of different types of results and make other minor tweaks. The paid version is $1.99 and appears to just remove the ads.

4: Netstat by James Devenish

Another essential IT app is Netstat. The free version will list all currently-open sockets on the device and give several details about those sockets. The paid version ($3.99) goes a little bit further in allowing you to monitor another device's sockets. You can also buy the connection details module for $0.99. One additional stand-out feature of this app is that it exports the results to CSV which you can then sync to iTunes, open with another app, or send as an e-mail attachment.

5: Remote Desktop Lite - RDP by MochaSoft

Finally, no Windows IT professional would be complete without an RDP app. Remote Desktop - RDP is an easy-to-use Remote Desktop client with many options available for advanced configuration; however, basic configuration is as simple as entering the IP address or hostname. Once you connect to a remote Windows system, you can see, zoom, and pan the screen around as needed and use the built-in iOS keyboard or an external one when you need to type. The paid version ($5.99) gives you additional hotkeys on the screen, better mouse support, and removes the ads.

Your picks

What IT Tools have you used from the Apple App Store? Share your recommendations with fellow TechRepublic members in the discussion forum.


Five free IT tools available in the Apple App Store - TechRepublic

Five must-have portable networking tools

Add these apps to your portable toolkit for network troubleshooting, monitoring, and management.

Having all your tools in one place certainly makes your job easier. This is especially true when you need networking tools. These tools can be anything from simple monitoring tools to full-blown portable servers. Regardless of what you need and why you need it, there are plenty of networking tools that require zero installation and can fit on a USB flash drive.
There are quite a lot of portable apps out there--even within the narrowed scope of networking tools. Here are five handy portable network tools that you can add to your on-the-go toolkit.
Note: This list is also available as a photo gallery.

1: ConnectionMonitoring

ConnectionMonitoring (Figure A) is a simple tool that allows you to monitor incoming and outgoing socket connections. With this connection information at hand, you can see whether any unwanted traffic is coming into a machine. And because this app is portable, you don't have to bother with installing the tool -- you'll always have what you need right there. Connection Monitoring scans current connections and then displays the following: Local address/port, remote address/port, TCP UDP protocol/status of those connections.

2: TCPView

TCPView (Figure B) is like Netstat with a power boost. With this portable tool, you can view a detailed listing and the current state of all TCP and UDP endpoint connections, as well as the process name running each endpoint. This tool also contains a command-line version, Tcpvcon, which offers the same features as Netstat.

 

 

 

3: DNS Benchmark

DNS Benchmark (Figure C) allows you to do exactly what the name implies -- benchmark your DNS servers. You can easily determine whether your nameservers are the cause of your networking problems. DNS Benchmark can monitor up to 200 DNS servers and report on their status. You can use a simple configuration file to configure the specific DNS servers you want checked.

4: Pale Moon Portable

Pale Moon Portable (Figure D) is based on the minimalist version of Firefox but is far lighter in weight and far faster in performance. Pale Moon (the creators of the browser) claims a 25% speed increase over Firefox. However, you will find that some Firefox features aren't in Pale Moon. The major missing features are accessibility and parental control. Otherwise, you can expect a full-featured browsing experience in a very mobile package.

5: EasyPHP

EasyPHP (Figure E) allows you to carry around a complete portable WAMP stack on a stick. This tool is mostly useful for developers, but anyone who needs a portable Web server can benefit from having this available. EasyPHP bundles all the usual WAMP tools (Apache, MySQL, PHP) as well as the PhpMyAdmin tool for managing the databases on the server. You will also find Xdebug to aid in your debugging process.

Other good portable networking tools?

Portable tools don't need to be useless. In fact, they can be some of the most valuable tricks up your sleeve. With this short list of portable networking tools, you can enjoy some serious power and manageability -- at your fingertips.


Five must-have portable networking tools - TechRepublic

Five apps for your portable security kit

Portable security apps can come in quite handy in the field. Here are five lesser-known apps worth checking out.

Portable apps do one thing for the system and network administrator -- make the job easier. The better (and more diverse) your portable apps, the more jobs are made easier. Security is one area where portable apps can make a big difference. But there are so many to choose from, it's hard to piece together a collection of tools that best fit your needs. To that end, I want to introduce you to some portable security apps you might never have heard of. Even if you only take away one or two of these tools, your portable security toolkit will have improved significantly.
Note: This list is also available as a photo gallery.

1: SmartSniff

SmartSniff (Figure A) enables you to capture TCP/IP packets traveling on a network adapter and view the packets between source and destination. The TCP/IP conversations can be viewed in ASCII mode (for text-based protocols, such as HTTP, SMTP, POP3, and FTP) or as a hex dump (for non-text based protocols, such as DNS). Having SmartSniff with you allows quick troubleshooting a networking issue from any PC on your network.

2: Omziff

Omziff (Figure B) is an encryption utility that can encrypt, split, and securely delete files (according to DOD standards), create file hashes, and generate random passwords. The encryption allows you to choose from all the standard types (Blowfish, IDEA, Twofish, and more) and even includes a few utilities (random number generator, file append, and a command prompt) that can help you with other tasks.

3: Eraser Portable

Eraser Portable (Figure C) is a secure data removal tool that can remove data from a drive with multiple wipes, pattern writing, and more. The portable version of this tool is based on the full version of Eraser and offers the same features. This tool can erase files, folders, and even previously (insecurely) deleted files. You can also instruct Eraser Portable to automatically restart or shut down a PC.

 

 

 

4: Remove Fake Antivirus

Remove Fake Antivirus (Figure D) should really have a better name. But even with the wacky name, the tool does exactly what it says it does -- checks for any fake antivirus and removes it. The tool removes nearly 50 antivirus variants. This particular tool can be run as a portable app or, with the help of some scripting, can be saved on a drive and run on schedule or at bootup.

5: BleachBit

 BleachBit (Figure E) is one of the best tools for freeing up hard disk space and guarding privacy. This tool works effortlessly to free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard various types of junk you may not have known was on a system. BleachBit is available as a portable app as well as an installable for both Windows and Linux.

 

Build your kit

Your portable arsenal is invaluable. Having a set of tools you can carry around with you and run from a USB drive will make you more efficient and keep your end users working without downtime. Give these tools a try and see if one or more of them doesn't wind up in your permanent portable toolkit.


Five apps for your portable security kit - TechRepublic

Cyberwarfare: Mounting a defense

Both private and public organizations are at risk for cyberwarfare attacks and must take responsibility for network defense. Tom Olzak outlines security best practices.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, we examined the rise of cyberwarfare, its characteristics, and expectations of government involvement. In this final installment, we look at what it takes to protect private and public organizations from the effects of state- or group-sponsored warfare.
Defending networks isn't a new concept. We've known how to implement prevention, detection, and response controls for years. This isn't the problem. The challenge we face is the lack of will to do what's required to deal with the increasing threats from nations, terrorists, and others. Relying on the Federal government to protect us is simply finger pointing. The fingers need to come down while organizations start assuming responsibility for their own defense.

Defense

Cyberattacks related to warfare differ little from those associated with criminal activity. The main difference is in the effort expended. Cybercriminals tend to walk away when the cost of reaching their objectives exceeds expected revenue. Cyberwarriors take a different approach. Using advanced persistent threats (APTs), cyberwarriors use any means necessary (including time) to achieve political or social objectives. However, the basic defense for both financial and sociopolitical attacks is the same.

• Management acceptance of defense as a cost of doing business. Once C-level management accepts security in general, and cyberwarfare defense in particular, as a necessary part of doing business, an organization's culture begins to change. As executive management approves and supports security policies and their expected outcomes, all levels of management tend to integrate information-safe business practices into their employees' day-to-day processes.
• Development of a security program/framework. Security programs contain policies, standards, and guidelines required for consistent compliance with management expectations of risk. In addition to program- and issue-level policies that provide general guidance, system-level policies should exist for probable cyberwarfare targets.

Security frameworks are typically based on a standard of best practice adopted by the organization. Standards of best practice, such as COBIT 5 and ISO 27002, provide the foundation for understanding potential gaps in policies and controls.

• Risk management. Risk management processes identify gaps between management's expectations and reality. In general, a risk assessment provides a roadmap to achieving a reasonable and appropriate defense by identifying
  • Critical systems, including targets of interest to cyberwarriors

• Intellectual property
• National defense technology
• Critical national public services delivery components

• • System interdependence
  • Threats
  • Vulnerabilities
  • Impact if critical systems or data are compromised
  • Overall risk associated with each identified probable target
  • Metrics

• Change management. Although in danger of beating the proverbial dead horse, I have to say it again; SECURITY IS A PROCESS. Every time an organization changes an application, adds a system, or makes an adjustment to a network device, the potential for increased risk exists. A solid change management program helps prevent acceptable residual risk from crossing the line to high risk.

Risk management supports change management by requiring risk assessments as part of the software/system development lifecycle (SDLC). Integrating security into every facet of IT projects is a necessary component in cyberwarfare defense.

• Monitoring. The most basic monitoring controls are alerts from various devices if something questionable occurs. However, this approach requires time to track down the cause and delays response. Understanding how the reported event fits into the overall state of the network requires time and effort: time used by an attacker to accomplish additional steps leading to the target.

A better approach is a comprehensive log management solution. Commonly known as security information and event management (SIEM), this type of solution gathers information from across the network. Once information is aggregated, a correlation engine looks for patterns. When a pattern falls outside what is expected for an organization's unique network/device operations, the SIEM sends an alert. At this point, responders have a clear picture of the overall activities involved in a possible attack.

• Incident response. It's unrealistic to believe an organization will never be successfully attacked at some level. Monitoring helps detect unwanted behavior, and it's supported by quick and effective response to probable attacks. Incident response requires policy, processes, and team training to be effective. The quality of any response directly affects the impact of an attack.

Controls implemented and managed due to the above processes must include prevention, detection, and response elements. Within each of these, controls related to physical, logical, and administrative security are necessary. For more information on control types and related controls, see Enterprise Security: A practitioner's guide - Chapter 1.

The final word

No organization is truly immune from cyberwarfare activities. If attacking a network provides sociopolitical value, that network is a probable target. Relying on government intervention or cooperation to protect private and public industry infrastructure is unreasonable. It's up to each of us to take steps to secure our information resources and the processes they support.
We don't have to look far to find guidance for achieving reasonable and appropriate protection. Mature standards of best practice already exist. It simply takes a shift in perspective at the management level to begin integrating security into every facet of business operations. The perspective needed is one of accepting cyberwarfare as a growing reality and defense as a cost of doing business.

Cyberwarfare: Mounting a defense - TechRepublic

Review: Brackets open-source code editor

Ryan Boudreaux introduces a new open source code editor, still in its early stages, called Brackets.

Brackets is the relatively new and still evolving open-source editor for web design and development built with web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The project was created and is maintained by Adobe, and is released under an MIT License, which is thought-provoking since Adobe has a lot of equity already invested in other text and code editing tools such as Dreamweaver.
The driving force of Brackets is that it is for the web and by the web, meaning that as a software application, it is built using the same technologies that build the web. Their catch phrase, "If you can code in Brackets, you can code on Brackets." Brackets is a fully open-source and community project where developers contribute to the build, and if you are interested in influencing the direction of the project, any interested developers are welcome to join Brackets Dev Google Group to get on the build list. Since Brackets is still young, I would not recommend it for your routine coding tasks; however, if you like cutting edge applications you might enjoy examining some of the clever and creative features.

Test drive Brackets

The initial versions became available in May 2012; the current milestone downloads are available on GitHub Brackets, and as of this writing, Brackets Sprint 17 in both MAC.dmg (23.9MB) and Windows.msi  (21.6MB) versions are dated November 30, 2012, available as zip or tar.gz compressed files. In all, there are sixteen downloads of eleven versions with 24 branches and nineteen tags. The current build is still in its infancy and not deemed a full-featured code editor just yet; it is considered a beta release and ready for early adopters to start playing around with the tool at their own risk. I gave Brackets a test drive myself as displayed in Figure B:
The top level menu bar offers the typical options including File, Edit, View, Navigate, Debug, and Help. From the File menu item you can create a New File or a New Folder, as well as Open File and Folder --nothing really new here. By default, Brackets opens up to its own source code, where you can see the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript backbone of the application. The Debug menu provides a nifty Show Developer Tools (F12) which opens in your default browser (Chrome in my case) and allows you to view the Elements Computed Style, Styles, Metrics, Properties, and Event Listeners for the open file as shown in Figure C:
To create a new file, simply go to File, New File (Ctrl+N) and type in the file name. In this demonstration, I am naming the file index.html, and then the plain file is created and the cursor starts at line 1, as shown in Figure D and E below.

Figure D

Figure E

I then copied and pasted in a snippet of HTML code from my HTML5 Base Template as shown in Figure F:
Next, I've added in a header

and

with an

and

along with a paragraph and some content as shown in the code snippet below:

            The Start of Something New!

            Get your Game On!

                The content goes here...

Another one of the features I like about Brackets is the live preview option which can be selected from one of several ways, either from File, Live Preview (Ctrl+Alt+P), or from the lightning bolt at the top right of the Brackets window, as shown in Figure G and H below.

Figure G

Figure H

Another great feature that I enjoy with Brackets is the built in automatic refresh upon saving the file. As you continue to edit the open file, the live preview continues to update once the file is saved without having to refresh the page in the browser. I've entered a few more lines of content with paragraphs. Once the file is saved, it is automatically updated in the live preview in the browser window; this effect is displayed in Figure I:
You can also edit styles with CSS and view the updates on the fly in the browser as well. I've added in an associated CSS file and linked it from the head of the original index.html file; then, I've incorporated a bit of simple styling for the

,

and elements. The CSS code snippet is displayed below:

header {

    font-family: Helvetica;

}

article {

    background: beige;

}

p {

    font-family: ariel;

    font-size: 1em;

    font-weight: bold;

}

Once you attach a new file such as the styles.css you do need to refresh the browser preview, and from then on your updates are displayed in the preview. As you edit the selected element within the CSS, it becomes highlighted within the live preview as shown in Figure J. As you make an edit in the CSS, the live preview adjusts on the fly.

Figure J

From the Navigate menu item another nifty tool is the Quick Edit (Ctrl+E). With this you can click on any element you are working on within the HTML and use the hot keys, or go to Navigate | Quick Edit and you'll see the associated style pop up for editing purposes. So, let's say you want to edit the

element style. You would click anywhere within the

element tag and then use the hot key combination Ctrl+E to make any edits in the Quick Edit window. When you are done, just toggle out of the Quick Edit by hitting the Ctrl+E key stroke again. The edit is also populated in the live preview automatically. With the Quick Edit in action on the

element, I've added in a padding of 10px into the style and this is displayed in Figure K:
As you can see, the live preview automatically updates with the new style of 10 pixel padding added to the

element. Other options include the ability of adding new styles to the CSS from the Quick Edit, where you can add in other styles for elements without having to jump into the styles file itself.

Extensions

At this time, Brackets does not have any functionality for self-discovering or installing any extensions, but there is a list of Brackets Extensions on GitHub that several people have built. All you do is select the extension that is useful for your project, download it, and then copy it to the User directory under the Extensions directory in the Brackets installation. With over forty listed, the extensions include the following subjects:

• Code/Text Editing
• Code Generation
• Quick Open Support for PHP
• General Functionality
• Live Development
• Visual Editing
• External Tools
• Linting and Warnings

Once the extension is placed into the extensions directory, go to Menu and click through Help | Show Extensions Folder | User, and then click on the extension you want to include. Typically you will need to close and then restart Brackets for the extension to be installed. Once your extension is installed it will show up at the top menu bar along with its associated menu item options.
This short piece is only a brief overview of the Brackets open source editor, and while it is still in the early stages of development, it is nice to see folks like Adobe opening up an open source development project for public inspection and engagement. Brackets might be too new for some folks, but others are taking it to new levels with development and extensions that are sure to make it one of the blistering open source text editors in 2013 and beyond.

Review: Brackets open-source code editor - TechRepublic

Easier file recovery with Undelete Pro

Derek Schauland offers an overview of the Undelete Pro file recovery tool that could offer an extra layer of protection to data that is mistakenly deleted.

Keeping files that are no longer needed cleaned off of your computer is all but a must given the number of files, documents, downloads and other things that are processed in a given day. Deleting files and emptying the recycle bin regularly is great for freeing up disk space, but sometimes users are a little too eager to get rid of unwanted files, only to desperately need to retrieve them later. And we've all managed to mistakenly delete files
Windows 8 and earlier versions of Windows support the recovery of previous versions of files and folders, which can help with changes lost due to a crash or missing files since a last save, but for some recovery situations, you might need a few more options. Condusiv has released a new version of Undelete Pro that helps to solve the issue of deleting files that must be retrieved in their original state.

How does the application work?

Undelete Pro is designed for business use and can recover files from network locations as well as the local computer. It does this by using its own iteration of the Windows Recycle Bin and a filter driver that redirects deleted files to the recovery bin. Any deleted files are redirected, which can allow for some pretty decent recovery options. This includes files deleted from network shares, command line deleted files, and files deleted when existing versions of an office document are overwritten. The idea that a simple save/replacement of an office document can be recovered is great.

Recovering files

To get started, open the Undelete Recovery bin application and tap or click Yes when prompted for UAC.
The Undelete application window opens and the Filter selection dialog appears (Figure A) to allow you to select the drives that should be scanned and any file type filtering that might need to be done.

Figure A

Filter your search

The available options for filtering are:

• Select Drives - specify the disks to search for files
• Search all files - search for any file types
• Specify Search Parameters
  • Select a time - specify the time window for the search: None, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days
  • Specify Application - Choose the application that created the file: None, A Microsoft Word Document, a Microsoft Excel Document, a Microsoft PowerPoint Document
  • Filename - specify all or part of the file name to search for

After configuring the filter settings, tap or click OK. The search based on the filter selections will begin as soon as the settings are saved.
In the center pane (Figure B), the list of found files is displayed.

Figure B

Found files

Tap or click the files you want to work with in the list to select them. The selected files are then shown in the bottom of the window along with the details of the file(s):

Figure C

Selected file details

Once files have been selected, select the location options for restoration by choosing to restore the file(s) to the original location or to somewhere else. Another option available for the restoration is to open the file after it is restored.

Figure D

Options following the restoration of files

Other options available in Undelete Pro

Selecting the menu in the top left corner of the main window displays the following options:

• Recover Files - use this option to clear the window and restart the search process
• Dig Deeper - search for files that might exist in the free space on the selected drive
• Change Settings - modify additional program settings in Undelete
• Connect to Network Share - specify a network share and credentials to search other resources
• Help - Display documentation for Undelete Pro
• Check for Updates - connect to the Internet for updates to the applications
• Register - register Undelete with Condusiv
• About - Display the version information

The Change Settings dialog is shown below:

Figure E

Additional application settings

The settings that can be modified include changing the location of the recovery bin, which defaults to individual drives but can be consolidated in to a single location. On each detected disk, you can set the size of the recovery bin and the number of days that files will be kept before being removed.
Additionally, Undelete can be configured to securely delete files. Using this option skips the recovery bin and erases the files completely, disallowing their recovery.

Digging deeper

The Dig Deeper features of Undelete gives you the ability to search the free space on a disk for lost files. In the event that an area of a disk has been zeroed or erased, there may still be information there even though its contents have been removed. Undelete will find the files there and allow them to be recovered.
Figure F shows the search options for the Dig Deeper feature.

Figure F

Searching the free space for lost files

What does Undelete Pro cost?

The pricing for Undelete Pro is available here. The online cost is $59.99 per license of the application. Condusiv does offer volume discounts; for details about that pricing you will need to request a quote online.

Use case examples

Reduce help desk calls for file recovery When a co-worker misplaces a file or folder full of information they need, this can be catastrophic. Likely calls to the help desk to locate the last copy of the file that was backed up can be expected. The problem here is that backups are usually taken during non-business hours, which may or may not be recent enough. If the person who needs the document has made significant changes to the file since the last backup and needs to recover it, these changes will be lost as they did not exist when the backup was performed. The next problem here has to do with restoration. If the IT staff needs to spend a lot of time configuring and restoring the files that went missing in one or two cases, the cost of the restore could be counterproductive to the organization.
Undelete would allow the person needing the recovery to view files that were deleted and choose the files to restore. They can be restored to their original locations or to another place on the disk in the event that the existing copy still holds value for that person.
Remove the need to keep files in the recycle bin I have worked with many people who for one reason or another do not like to empty the recycle bin on their computer because there might be something in there that they need. I am guilty of this to a point, in that I tend to let things pile up for a while before emptying the folder, but I do not keep files in there for later use.
Since the file is in the recycle bin, but hasn't been removed yet, the idea is that it is out of the way and has been deleted. Undelete can decrease this type of behavior by allowing people to recover files they have removed from their recycle bins.
Bottom line Having used Undelete Pro to get an understanding of the application for this review, I think the cost is minimal enough that it isn't a barrier to entry. The knowledge that files are recoverable even after deleting them is a real stress reducer. Being able to be more liberal with file removal, but knowing I can go get things if I need them down the road is great. I would still encourage files to be stored on the network where they can be backed up and retrieved in the event of disaster, but for those cases where the missing file is of immediate importance Undelete Pro could be a real gem to have installed. For me personally, the product might have saved a considerable amount of work on a recent project.

Easier file recovery with Undelete Pro - TechRepublic

Five free portable recovery tools

Undelete files, recover data, and fix damaged partitions with the help of these handy portable apps.

Sooner or later, recovery will be a necessary task for every IT administrator. People lose data, either by accidental deletion or thanks to problematic partition tables. No matter how the data gets lost, you'll need a reliable tool to get the recovery job done. But you can't always rely on an installed tool and have to make use of a portable tool. Here are five tools that can help you with partition recovery and file recovery. All these tools are free and can be placed on a flash drive for portability.
Note: This list is also available as a photo gallery.

1: Portable Data Recovery

Portable Data Recovery (Figure A) is one of the Pendrive Apps and does a great job of recovering data from FAT, FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS partitions. It's less than 500K and can recover some compressed and encrypted files. Portable Data Recovery also includes a wipe tool that will allow you to permanently delete a file to protect deleted sensitive data. When you recover data, make sure you recover to a drive other than the one the data is recovered from.

Figure A

Portable Data Recovery

2: TestDisk

TestDisk (Figure B) is a partition recovery tool that can help you recover lost partitions and make bootable non-bootable drives. This is one of those tools you hope you never have to use, but when you do have to use it, you'll be glad you have it and hope it works. It does work well. However, the success of the tool depends upon how badly damaged the partitions are. TestDisk can fix a partition table, recover a deleted partition, rebuild or recover NTFS, FAT boot sectors, fix MFT, and undelete and/or copy files from NTFS, FAT, ext2, ext3 file systems.

Figure B

TestDisk

3: Recuva

Piriform's Recuva (Figure C) offers tons of features for a portable app of this nature. With it, you can undelete files, recover data from a damaged disk, recover deleted iPod music, and restore unsaved Word documents. Recuva also has an easy-to-use quick start wizard, can do deep scans, and can securely delete files.

Figure C

Recuva

4: Wise Data Recovery

Wise Data Recovery (Figure D) allows you to recover Word documents, photos, email, audio, video, archives, and much more. What is unique about Wise Data Recover is that it will indicate the condition of the file to recover. You get immediate feedback after a scan indicating whether a file is Good, Poor, Very Poor, or Lost. Obviously, if a file is Lost, you won't be able to recover that file. But if the file is Good, you'll probably get that data back. The interface for Wise Data Recovery is clean and the app a snap to use.

Figure D

Wise Data Recovery

5: Restoration

Restoration (Figure E) allows you to easily restore files that were deleted from the Recycle bin or directly deleted from Windows. It lets you quickly scan upon app startup, limit search results with search strings (or extension), and securely wipe files beyond simple recovery. Restoration works with FAT, NTFS, and SD cards. Use caution when running this app, as it "offers" to install third-party software. Pay close attention when running the executable.

Figure E

Restoration

Your picks

Data and partition recover is a tricky business. It's never a sure thing, so go into testing these apps with that in mind. Even if you're able to recover data, it's not always certain that it will be completely intact. Maybe you'll never need these tools. But if you do, it's good to know there are portable recovery apps available to use.
What portable recovery apps are in your toolkit? Share your favorite with other TechRepublic members.


Five free portable recovery tools - TechRepublic

Review: File Scavenger 4.1

Looking for a thorough and refined file undelete app can be a challenge, but Matt Nawrocki thinks he may done just that.

Yes, it certainly is a travesty to have your data accidentally deleted, particularly if you have a pressing project you're working on and time is of the essence. With file recovery, time is not your friend, and you need a tool that can recover your documents as fully as possible. There are many contenders in this space, but there are only a few apps that seem to actually work and not spout off fake results and recovery metrics. Today, we will look at File Scavenger 4.1 from QueTek Consulting.

Recover deleted files

Product Information

• Title: File Scavenger 4.1
• Company: QueTek Consulting Corporation
• Product URL: http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm
• Supported OS: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and 8.
• Price: $49.95 for personal edition / $89 for personal edition with RAID reconstruction / $185 for professional edition

As far as file recovery programs go, File Scavenger 4.1 comes with a rather impressive array of features. For instance, not only are you able to process scans and dumps on Windows-based file systems like NTFS and FAT32, but you are also able to touch disks formatted for Linux, BSD and Mac OS X. There is also largely improved 4K sector support, compared to previous releases, as well as ability to read and write to dynamic volumes.

 The installer gives you a choice to run or install

Highlights

When I fired up File Scavenger's installer application for the first time, I was given the option to either install the software to disk or run straight away. Obviously, in the case of a delicate operation such as recovery, installing the program is likely to cause more harm than good to any deleted files that exist on the hard drive. Such an option is welcome. Of course, you will need to provide your license code every time you use this option; so it's best to keep your registration information handy if you want to actually restore any data.
With the interface displayed in all of its shining glory, I found everything to be rather straightforward. For my tests, a JPEG file that I had saved to the documents folder was deleted as well as a text file. I chose the C: drive and performed a full scan in order to pick up every last deleted file I could, hopefully without any falling through the cracks. Impressively enough, File Scavenger found all kinds of deleted data that ranged from the present to nearly two weeks ago in age. I localized my search and, sure enough, my text file and JPEG image were within the file list.

File Scavenger gets to the point and leaves no stone un-turned

Now although the text file came back to life without incident, the image in question didn't quite make it. I went into the preview mode to check the file before restoring and I saw a light pink distortion all over the image. It appeared as if nearly all the color was stripped out. I'm not entirely sure why a file that was deleted just mere moments ago looked like a wreck, but I could at least make out the details. Oddly enough, older images that were deleted did come back just fine, which leads me to believe that ultimately, your mileage may vary.

As one can see, the results might not be favorable, even for files deleted moments earlier

Something that I found quite interesting that doesn't seem to be present in most other file recovery applications I have sampled to date is a feature for recovering files from a broken RAID array. Simply click the "Advanced Volumes" button and you are presented with a window that grants you the ability to restructure a spanned or striped volume (RAID 0 and RAID 5 configurations supported) as well as pull from any parity information stored on volumes in order to enhance recovery procedures. Unfortunately, as I did not have a RAID array in my test environment, this feature mainly went unused.

Bottom line

For the asking price of $49.95 (and $89 for the ability to reconstruct RAID sets), the treasure-trove of features that File Scavenger contains is impressive. The support for different disk layouts and file systems in particular grants this utility an edge over other Windows-based file recovery suites. If you are willing to spend a bit, you are likely not to be disappointed.
As a final note, the cheaper versions of this app are designed to be actively tied to one machine per license. However, the professional license, which is offered at a rather pricey $185, is tied to the registrant rather than to a machine, allowing you to use one copy to support any complement of machines within a business. For some, the extra coin in exchange for added flexibility might be worth it in the end.

Review: File Scavenger 4.1 - TechRepublic

New strain of ransomware evades detection by AV apps

Learn about a new type of ransomware that has the potential to snare many victims - and it's not even malware.

Since you’re here at TechRepublic’s website, I’m betting you are familiar with ransomware, and how to avoid being conned by it. The trouble is there are millions of people who aren’t. That alone ensures ransomware will continue to cull people of their hard-earned money. To make matters worse, there’s a new version winding its way through the Internet. And, those in the know predict what’s being called HTML ransomware will be more successful than previous versions.

HTML ransomware

I first learned about HTML ransomware from Jerome Segura, Senior Security Researcher at Malwarebytes, and his blog post, "FBI Ransomware Now Targeting Apple’s Mac OS X Users." Initially, I was suspicious; OS X is not vulnerable in the same way Windows operating systems are, so what’s up?
As I continued reading, I learned the only requirements for HTML ransomware to work are JavaScript must be enabled, and the victim’s web browser incorporates the “Recover browser session after a crash” feature, which is part and parcel to all major web browsers -- including Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
Here’s what HTML ransomware has going for it:

• Does not require installation.

• Disabling JavaScript breaks many popular websites; so people aren’t willing to turn off JavaScript, something the bad guys are relying on.
• AV applications, even with current malware signature sets, are of no use against HTML ransomware.

How it works

One way the scam starts is when an unlucky person selects a search result with a falsified link. Instead of the expected web page being presented, the victim’s web browser loads something similar to the following slide (courtesy of Jerome Seguro and Malwarebytes). 

 

Again, you aren’t fooled, but perhaps less computer-savvy friends and relatives might be.
While the victim is coming to grips with the above screen, associated JavaScript code is loading copies of the same screen (150 typically) onto the browser. By creating a 150 iFrame loop, HTML ransomware gives the impression the computer is locked up. Ironically, if the victim is determined, leaving the web page, and revisiting it 150 times will remove the problem.
I doubt I’d even consider reloading the web browser that many times; my inclination would be to reboot the computer, but that doesn’t help either because HTML ransomware taps into the “Recover browser session after a crash” feature I mentioned earlier, bringing the same FBI screen back up.

It’s not malware

Something else that makes HTML ransomware unique: by most definitions, it’s not malware. It is a snippet of JavaScript code readily available on the Internet that digital extortionists use to fool victims by controlling what is visible in the browser window. No other computer function is affected, at least as of this writing, but Jerome mentioned the potential is there, especially for Windows-based computers.
It not being malware is why HTML ransomware is a great idea for the bad guys: simple to set up, easy to move to different domain names, and no concerns on how to install code onto computers. To see if bad guys agreed, I asked Jerome how many instances of HTML ransomware he has seen?
“This ransomware is quite active; bad guys are registering new domain names several times per day. While it is not malicious (as opposed to ransomware that infects your PC), it’s still scaring people.”

How to tell if it’s HTML ransomware

Web browsers lock up for all sorts of reasons, so I asked Jerome how we would know for sure, if HTML ransomware caused the lockup:
“The browser being locked may not be ransomware in all cases. I can think of many sites that use annoying JavaScripts to keep the user on the page (pop-ups that ask ‘are you sure you want to leave this page?’). HTML ransomware is characterized by the following:

• Warning from the police
• Fee to be paid using a voucher
• Computer or browser locked

"If those three elements are in place, it’s HTML ransomware.”

How to get rid of HTML ransomware

Jerome did a thorough job of explaining how to remove HTML ransomware from Safari in his blog post, but missed explaining what those using other operating systems should do. I asked him what others should do:
“I recommend ending the web-browser process(es) after first having disabled JavaScript. Simply killing the web-browser process will recover the ransomware page and put you right back where you started.”
There is a possibility you may not have to worry about HTML ransomware if your antimalware provider is on top of the situation like Malwarebytes. Jerome explains:
“Malwarebytes has a large database of malicious sites that we constantly update. Our PRO users are protected against malicious websites as they pop up. This is due to our ability to blacklist entire IP ranges since we know they are only used for criminal purposes; any new website registered on those will be automatically blocked.”

Final thoughts

At first, I felt that HTML ransomware was not a big deal. But, it did not take long for me to realize darn near everything we do computer-wise involves the web browser. And, if the web browser appears to be locked up, it will seem like a huge deal.
Since this attack is easy to fix, it would be a shame to have those who do not understand what’s going on even for a second consider paying the ransom. So, please, let’s get the word out on HTML ransomware.
Once again, I owe a debt of gratitude to Rebecca Kline and Jerome Segura of Malwarebytes for helping me sort through the intricacies of HTML ransomware.

New strain of ransomware evades detection by AV apps - TechRepublic

Corporate espionage or fearmongering? The facts about hardware-level backdoors

Spying accusations against Chinese companies like Huawei have resulted in bans by US, UK, and Australian government agencies. Is there any technical merit to these charges?

Over the last few years, accusations of unlawful spying have been made against some of China’s largest technology firms. Among the people making the allegations are former NSA and CIA head Michael Hayden, as well as in a 2012 House Intelligence Committee report. Accordingly, various government agencies in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and New Zealand have banned the use of equipment made by various Chinese manufacturers under fears that hardware-level backdoors could exist in these products.
But, how feasible could creating such a backdoor be? In the age of the Web, and with organizations like iFixIt tearing each new gadget they can get their hands on apart, typically within a day of launch, how could such a backdoor be deployed without anyone noticing? A closer look into the claims being made and their technical feasibility is vital to understand if the accusations have merit, or are just fear mongering.

Lenovo

Out of the companies targeted, Lenovo Is the most visible to consumers and IT professionals. Lenovo largely became a household name across the world after buying up IBM’s PC business in 2005. Lenovo is partially owned by the PRC, through some abstraction: the state organization “Chinese Academy of Sciences” (CAS) owns 38% of Legend Holdings, which is Lenovo’s largest shareholder at 34%.
Lenovo hardware is reportedly banned from the US CIA, as well as the UK’s MI5 and MI6, as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) and Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). As of the time of writing, no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Lenovo has been presented by any of governments who have banned their hardware from use in intelligence services.
On devices as open as computers, and especially with Lenovo’s ThinkPad product line, which has been long venerated for being foremost among laptops designed with modularity in mind—featuring detailed disassembly manuals and readily available replacement parts—it is difficult to imagine that many opportunities exist to hide a hardware backdoor in a relatively open product. Combined with the fact that the vital components (processor, RAM, etc.) aren’t made by Lenovo, there are few opportunities for Lenovo to introduce a hardware-level backdoor in a way that wouldn’t be glaringly obvious to any engineer armed with a screwdriver.
Of note, it is important to remember that the BIOS/UEFI which ships on computers is controlled by either Phoenix Technologies, a California company, or American Megatrends, Inc., a Georgia company. The chances of a BIOS-level exploit are low, but it remains a technical possibility. For software-level exploits, best practice is always to wipe the drive of a new system and include a fresh installation of the operating system of your choice. This approach also does away with unhelpful crapware one typically finds on a new computer.

Huawei

The recent criticism of Huawei has come primarily from ex-CIA and NSA head Gen. Michael Hayden, where, in an interview, he stated that Huawei has engaged in espionage on behalf of China. It is vital here to note that Hayden currently serves as a Director of Motorola Solutions, a competitor to Huawei. It is similarly important to note that Huawei and Motorola Solutions have been in a lengthy Intellectual Property dispute, which was settled in 2011 with Motorola paying an undisclosed sum to Huawei.
Huawei’s statement on the comments made by Hayden called it “tired nonsense we’ve been hearing for years” and “politically-inspired and racist corporate defamation”.
The technical merit behind the argument of Huawei spying on users is given life from the frequently opaque and closed nature of telecommunications equipment. Mobile phones are as closed off to the user as is possible to prevent tampering or unauthorized modification to the software or firmware to prevent users from accessing things that carriers typically charge more money for, such as tethering to a laptop. In turn, networking equipment is as closed off to the user as is possible to prevent particularly enterprising individuals from modifying their modems to do any number of undesirable things to the detriment of other network users. In short, there isn’t a level of mutual trust between vendor and user, which has breathed life into claims of espionage.
Cognizant of those concerns, Huawei offered to disclose the source code to its products to be considered for a bid to build the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN), a process which it has been formally excluded from. This gesture has not dissuaded the NBN authority from barring Huawei the opportunity to submit a bid for building the network.

ZTE

The case against ZTE is quite a bit stronger than it is against Lenovo and Huawei; actual evidence has been produced of a backdoor existing in a ZTE product. Last May, a backdoor was identified in the ZTE Score M, a budget-minded smartphone for US prepaid mobile carriers MetroPCS and Cricket. ZTE released a patch for the phone shortly thereafter, calling the exploit a “technical defect” that exposes units to “potential third-party exploitation”.
In this instance, it might be more prudent to rely on Hanlon’s razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. However, carelessness on the part of ZTE is all that a hacker—state-sponsored or not—requires to obtain sensitive information. If there is a reason to avoid ZTE products, it would be because of their lacking quality, or at least quality assurance procedures, not because of their complicity in spying. To their credit, the issue was patched quickly after it was discovered.

Final thoughts

The players in this debate appear all too willing to point fingers without providing hard evidence to support their claims. Surveillance activity has been a recurring topic in the news over the past several weeks, bringing worries of potential security threats to the forefront. The firms having accusations made against them are easy targets for their geographic location and business operations. However, hardware-level exploits are much more difficult to deploy without detection, and are more obvious than software exploits, which will likely continue to be the primary attack threat for the foreseeable future.

Corporate espionage or fearmongering? The facts about hardware-level backdoors - TechRepublic

Does using encryption make you a bigger target for the NSA?

Fact: The U. S. government is capturing data from its citizens. Fact: Encrypted data is of more interest to the U.S. government. Michael P. Kassner asks two experts, one legal, one cryptographic, what our options are.

Soon after the Guardian released the first of many whistleblower documents, describing NSA domestic spying activities in the United States, readers began asking, "Because of all the snooping, should I start encrypting my email?" The answer seemed simple....
Answering the question of whether to encrypt or not became significantly less simple a few weeks later when the Guardian released Minimization Procedures Used by the National Security Agency, a document gleaned from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Edward Snowden. Section Five of the paper is of particular interest (courtesy of the Guardian).

Section Five's ensuing paragraphs discuss what "that" is. Subsection One and Subsection Two lay out what content (foreign intelligence and criminal evidence) will flag domestic communications for retention and investigation by government agencies. Subsection Three, nicknamed the "encryption exception" is the real attention-grabber (courtesy of the Guardian).

What's on the table?

Section Five's lead paragraph affirms what privacy pundits, up until now, could only assume to be true; U.S. government agencies are gathering digital data belonging to U.S. citizens. Next, Subsection Three sheds light on something not expected. All encrypted communications are suspect; meaning government agencies can retain encrypted communications at their discretion, and keep them for as long as the controlling agency deems necessary.

More questions

Before long, another email onslaught hit my inbox. Concerned readers were now wondering, "If I start encrypting my email, does that mean I'm more likely to attract NSA attention?" Another question being asked often, "What are the odds of the NSA being able to read my email if it's encrypted?" All three questions are excellent, each deserving an answer. So I got to work, flipping through my digital rolodex, looking for two expert sources: one legal and one cryptographic.

First up, legal

You may remember attorney Tyler Pitchford. He helped me with this article about cloud-service contracts and their unintended consequences. Tyler is uniquely qualified, being intimately familiar with Information Technology and appellate law.
I began by asking Tyler the reader's initial question: Because of all the snooping, should I start encrypting my email? Here's what he said:

It seems that a proper answer requires delving into the different scenarios end users may encounter. Casual users: If you're a casual user who is not worried about government intrusion, but is worried about a script kiddie getting into your files, then encryption is an acceptable solution. There are few, if any, non-governmental entities that could crack modern encryption as long as an acceptable encryption key is used. Privacy advocates: These are people who do not see any reason for people to be in their business (secret or otherwise). For them, the question becomes whether to be more worried about the government reading their unencrypted data, or the government retaining their encrypted data until it can be cracked. Or maybe both, in which case, they can revert to old-school methods:

• Coding data in a non-suspect format: If the data isn't identifiable as encrypted, it will probably pass through the encryption filters.
• Deliver the data in person: Doing so avoids encryption filters, but could result in physical monitoring.

Those with something to hide: Those with something to hide fall into two categories:

• Low-priority targets: For those who consider themselves low-priority targets, encryption is probably fine. What they have to hide isn't worth the government spending resources on.
• High-priority targets: People in this category will have the same problem as privacy advocates, wanting to encrypt their data, but without alerting the government. I suspect people in this category will physically exchange encrypted data. And, if they were going to chance sending encrypted data digitally, they will probably rely on some form of obfuscation to avoid encryption filters.

Next question for Tyler

Okay, Tyler, now the tough question: "If I start encrypting my email, doesn't that mean I'm more likely to attract NSA attention?" Tyler had this to say:

I've spoken to security researchers who believe all modern encryption methods have been broken -- encryption is dead. If you rely on that assumption, plus the knowledge that encrypted files are being stored indefinitely, then encryption is indeed asking the government to investigate. Legally there is some basis for this argument. One decision out of Minnesota held that "appellant's Internet use and the existence of an encryption program on his computer was at least somewhat relevant to the state's case against him."
More recently, in US v. Cotterman, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that "password protection of files, in isolation, will not give rise to reasonable suspicion . . . ." The court explained: "[t]o contribute to reasonable suspicion, encryption or password protection of files must have some relationship to the suspected criminal activity." Obviously, "some relationship" is a broad category but it's better than carte blanche.

Tyler's approach

I had one last question for Tyler; I asked if he used encryption:

I'm a privacy advocate; I feel no one should be meddling in my affairs. At the same time, I'm limited by the realities of time vs. convenience. I take measures to protect sensitive data, especially client files.

Next up, cryptography

I can't think of anyone more qualified to talk about cryptography than Phil Zimmermann. His list of accomplishments is impressive: creator of PGP encryption, Internet Hall of Fame inductee, and currently President and Co-Founder of Silent Circle, a mobile communications encryption service I wrote about last year.
As I reread that article, I was struck by Phil's foresight. In the article, I asked Phil if we learned anything in the twenty years since his protracted battle over the legality of PGP. Here is Phil's response:

I'd like to think we have. Anyone knowing the history of PGP realizes it was quite a battle, and we won. I'm afraid we are in the midst of another battle. What I call the "rising tide of surveillance." And, I'm taking direct aim with Silent Circle.

That interview took place a year ago.
To get things rolling, I mentioned to Phil that readers are concerned encrypting digital communications will attract the NSA's attention, not something in their best interest. Phil answered by asking if I remembered the movie, I am Spartacus? I said I did; it had a great cast of actors.
Phil next zeroed in on the scene where everyone stood up, everyone said they were Spartacus, all wanting to remain steadfast in their solidarity. Phil then drove the point home saying that is what everyone needs to do right now, stand up and retake their privacy.

Silent Circle

Next, I asked Phil about the encryption question from the readers: What are the odds of the NSA being able to read my email if it's encrypted? I had a pretty good idea what Phil would say.
Phil firmly believes that PGP and Silent Circle are not breakable. He designed both. And, Silent Circle has been available the past eight months for peer review and stands firm. Phil wanted it known that both PGP and Silent Circle are open source and publicly available. I have not forgotten his famous quote:

You can't trust crypto if you can't read the source code.

 

Final thoughts

I hope I have been able to somewhat answer your questions. I'd like to end with the following quote exemplifying our need to be careful when we feel there is "nothing to hide":

By joining pieces of information we might not take pains to guard, the government can glean information about us that we might indeed wish to conceal. For example, suppose you bought a book about cancer. This purchase isn't very revealing on its own, for it indicates just an interest in the disease. Suppose you bought a wig. The purchase of a wig, by itself, could be for a number of reasons. But combine those two pieces of information, and now the inference can be made that you have cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy. That might be a fact you wouldn't mind sharing, but you'd certainly want to have the choice.

The quote is from Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have Nothing to Hide, an essay written by Daniel J. Solove, Professor of Law at George Washington University.
I'd like to thank Tyler Pitchford and Phil Zimmermann for their help in answering our questions.


Does using encryption make you a bigger target for the NSA? - TechRepublic

The NSA and Big Data

While your company may not be subjected to the global scrutiny befalling the NSA and U.S. intelligence gathering apparatus, the "Big Snooping" capabilities engendered by Big Data must be used in a clearly delineated and responsible manner.

IT used to be a relatively benign and controversy-free field, but recent events have technologies like Big Data hitting front-page news around the world. Recently, a government contractor revealed that one of the US intelligence organizations, the NSA, was capturing metadata of every phone call that transited US-based switching networks, creating a firestorm of controversy. Big Data suddenly became a household phrase as the technology was repeatedly cited as making this level of data capture and analysis possible.
Opponents of the program cited privacy concerns; if the US government could track the source, destination, and duration of every phone call, as well as the originating device and cell tower, it amounted to reporting to the government where you went, to whom you were talking, and the frequency of conversations with certain individuals. Despite assurances that the content of calls was not monitored, the data gathered were arguably intrusive and in violation of US privacy protections.
Interestingly, proponents of the program used arguments that would be familiar to anyone who has observed the PR response of a private company run through the press wringer for capturing intrusive data on its customers. Government representatives from the President down argued that this program had been disclosed, much like the fine print in a 10,000-line "Terms and Conditions" statement that users blindly agree to in order to use the service. Advocates of the NSA program also cited its benefits in a fashion that would make a social media company's PR spin master proud: human lives were saved (although, unfortunately, no one can provide the "top secret" details).
Like many a tool, just because a powerful capability exists doesn't mean it should be used everywhere and with complete impunity. As companies deploy Big Data, it's easy to capture every iota of data available and rest easy, assuming that the lawyers have covered all the bases in their mercurial Ts and Cs, and that users are knowingly surrendering all their personal information in order to use the fantastic service you've provided.
In theory, government is significantly more transparent than most private companies, with elected officials protecting the interests of constituents and "customers" having a direct ability to change policy and ultimately throw "management" out the door at election time. The visceral reaction to the NSA Big Data program demonstrates the peril of capturing and aggregating sensitive information in relative secret, even if the program has been legally "disclosed."
A public that may have been blissfully unaware of the capabilities of Big Data has now been shown its vast reach and analytical abilities. Rather than assuming users are aware of what you're capturing and are chomping at the bit for you to offer more finely targeted advertising and customer segmentation, why not disclose your data gathering activities in plain terms and highlight how those data are used and what benefits the customer can expect. "Transparency" has become overused to the point where it's meaningless, but it's obviously not an 80-page "privacy policy" or other legal self-indulgence.
While your company may not be subjected to the global scrutiny befalling the NSA and US intelligence gathering apparatus, the "Big Snooping" capabilities engendered by Big Data must be used in a clearly delineated and responsible manner. An increasingly savvy public is expecting to know how their behaviors and data are being monitored, measured, and sold. Disclosing this information and how it benefits customers can be a competitive differentiator, capturing customers who flee less transparent competitors.

The NSA and Big Data - TechRepublic