Questions tagged [security]

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14 votes
1 answer
1k views

"Intrusion countermeasures" in VMS 4.2

In 1986-1987 I was an admin for a VMS 4.2 (or 4.1 or 4.3) system in college. I recall that at some point, there was a problem that caused the DECwriter console to spew messages to the effect of "...
LAK's user avatar
  • 397
20 votes
3 answers
736 views

Was QotD (and RFCs 862-867) actually insecure?

I am fascinated by these 6 obsolete internet protocols, all written up as seperate RFCs by Jon Postel in May 1983. They are hilariously simple. (Which I mean as a compliment; their simplicity inspires ...
John Skiles Skinner's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
586 views

Why did Windows 9x allow ring-3 software to change IDT?

I was researching how old Windows 9x viruses, such as Win95.CIH, got ring 0 access, and it's shown that one of the approaches was to get the Interrupt Descriptor Table, hook the interrupt handler and ...
Ilia Ershov's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
256 views

Is it possible to corrupt a Nintendo 64 save file by turning off the console when saving to the cartridge?

All consoles with memory cards (including Nintendo 64) kept reminding you that it's very important to not turn off the power while it's saving, because this would corrupt the save file. But for the ...
Domoni's user avatar
  • 31
13 votes
3 answers
2k views

At what point did computing go from mainly performance- and functionality-oriented to security-oriented? Why? [closed]

I realize this question may have a different answer for each field of computing (enterprise vs. business vs. personal vs. field equipment), but there should still be an objective point in time where ...
ArrayBolt3's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
373 views

Why doesn't `https://tls-v1-0.badssl.com:1010/` open in Internet Explorer 6, when Internet Explorer 6 supposedly supports TLS 1.0?

Internet Explorer 6 supports TLS 1.0. However, for some reason that escapes me, https://tls-v1-0.badssl.com:1010/ (which is supposed to test whether a browser supports TLS v1.0) fails to open in ...
FlatAssembler's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
391 views

Did Econet have security?

Econet was used in a classroom setting to connect a room full of BBC Micros to a single floppy disk drive. This was an important capability because in those days, a floppy disk drive cost in the ...
rwallace's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
1k views

Questions about Security over Using an Ancient Mac Computer on The Internet

I've managed to get my hands on a really old mac computer that was probably built in the late 90's. The operating system was last updated in 2001 to 10.1.4. The problem is that I'm not sure if it's ...
Wolf Zwiener's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
287 views

Were punch-card data-processing systems susceptible to "Bobby Tables"

At least in the U.S., during the 1970s and 1980s (and likely before), many tollways and other ticket-based systems used to use publicly distributed and collected "IBM-style" punched cards ...
supercat's user avatar
  • 34.7k
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

How-to destroy sensitive data on floppies?

What was considered the best practice, or "military-grade" procedure, for protecting secrets stored on floppy disks when disposing of the old disks?
Brian H's user avatar
  • 60.1k
2 votes
3 answers
344 views

How were early computer monitor signals used to breach security? [duplicate]

In the mid 80's, several national news outlets showed people able to reproduce a computer's monitor's screen at least 100ft away. 1) How were early computers compromised like this? 2) Were there ...
jwzumwalt's user avatar
  • 4,469