28
votes
At what point did computing go from mainly performance- and functionality-oriented to security-oriented? Why?
I think you're looking at this from the wrong angle.
It makes more sense to look at it from the perspective of "When did technology from the more enterprise tiers start to flow into the ...
- 7,133
20
votes
Accepted
What methods were used for password encryption before adoption of DES?
Early operating systems generally didn't encrypt passwords, they generally depended on file access controls to prevent most users from reading the password file. However, this meant that the system ...
- 2,370
20
votes
What methods were used for password encryption before adoption of DES?
It might be important to note that a requirement for password encryption depends a lot on the target environment. Only environments where raw access to devices containing a password table is likely ...
- 232k
15
votes
Accepted
Questions about Security over Using an Ancient Mac Computer on The Internet
Risk assessment is, of course, subjective, but I wouldn't worry too much if you're behind a firewall, or a router with NAT and no ports forwarded to this Mac.
In that case, the only danger comes from ...
- 10.3k
14
votes
Accepted
"Intrusion countermeasures" in VMS 4.2
The relevant manual is the Guide to VMS System Security. I was unable to locate the manual for V4.2; the link is to a V5.2 manual.
The intrusion countermeasures are described in 5.2.7.7, as 'breakin ...
- 36.9k
11
votes
At what point did computing go from mainly performance- and functionality-oriented to security-oriented? Why?
The change over happened when computers were exposed to network environments.
Early multi user systems implemented security out of necessity, so that users couldn't interfere with each other. ...
- 15.4k
11
votes
Accepted
How-to destroy sensitive data on floppies?
This document from the NSA, NSA/CSS Storage Sanitization Manual: Purpose and Scope, even though from 2014, is a good summary of how governments have been doing secure destruction of media for a long ...
- 2,101
11
votes
Accepted
Did Econet have security?
Econet did not; there was no authentication at the network level. Nor could you attach a floppy drive directly to Econet; you'd use a computer (BBC, Master or Archimedes) that had a floppy or (later) ...
- 10.3k
11
votes
What methods were used for password encryption before adoption of DES?
I found "Password Security: A Case History" by Robert Morris
and Ken Thompson, dated April 3, 1978 (See Dabbling in the Cryptographic World--A Story):
The UNIX system was first implemented ...
- 279
10
votes
Was QotD (and RFCs 862-867) actually insecure?
I am fascinated by these 6 obsolete internet protocols,[...]They are hilariously simple.
You mean beside that it was
a time of low resources without room for complex protocols,
an open frontier with ...
- 232k
7
votes
Was QotD (and RFCs 862-867) actually insecure?
Traffic amplification is "useful" even in the trivial case where there is no IP spoofing or weirdness and you effectively "DoS yourself" with the responses.
Suppose I want to take ...
- 2,282
7
votes
Was QotD (and RFCs 862-867) actually insecure?
TCP QoTD is specifically vulnerable when combined with a sequence prediction attack. In a TCP QoTD communication, the only thing an attacker needs know to be able to send packets to the QoTD server to ...
- 274
7
votes
Accepted
How were early computer monitor signals used to breach security?
The term you are looking for is van Eck phreaking - the use of electromagnetic radiation produced by computing equipment. To spy on the display, you receive and demodulate the radiation from CRT ...
- 5,043
6
votes
At what point did computing go from mainly performance- and functionality-oriented to security-oriented? Why?
When did cars start adding door locks? :D (rhetorical)
I used to be a BBS SysOp in the 1980s. Everything was plain text, when callers (users) made accounts, I saw their passwords. In fact, when I ...
- 129
6
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't `https://tls-v1-0.badssl.com:1010/` open in Internet Explorer 6, when Internet Explorer 6 supposedly supports TLS 1.0?
I believe it's because that version of Internet Explorer does not support Server Name Indication, which is part of the TLS protocol which allows a secure handshake to be established when multiple ...
- 12.7k
4
votes
Why did Windows 9x allow ring-3 software to change IDT?
I was researching how old Windows 9x viruses, such as Win95.CIH, got ring0 access, and it's shown that one of the approaches was to get the IDT, hook the interrupt handler and trigger an exception, so ...
- 232k
3
votes
Did Econet have security?
Additionally you had full read/write and execute access on any other station's RAM (including video RAM) if you used assembly language. This is without any authentication required, so there was no ...
- 31
2
votes
How were early computer monitor signals used to breach security?
Computer displays, and the cables that feed them, emit electromagnetic radiation (radio- and TV-frequency radio signals). With a directional antenna and a sensitive receiver, these can be picked up, ...
- 13.8k
1
vote
Why did Windows 9x allow ring-3 software to change IDT?
Windows 9x used protected mode features for stability - stopping most inadvertent programming mistakes from bringing down the system, crashing other programs running, or causing data corruption.
Not ...
- 5,782
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