The Torpark browser is a modified version of Firefox that can run off of a USB drive and uses anonymous proxies and encryption to mask user behaviour. The browser has been developed by Hacktivisimo, a group of hackers, human rights workers, lawyers and artists.
The browser uses the Tor network of routers setup by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to anonymize web traffic.All you need to do is copy the files to your USB thumb drive. The browser will encrypt traffic between the computer and the Tor router network, this makes it difficult to spy on traffic and pinpoint who is doing what in terms of browsing behaviour.
The Tor netwok also regularly changes the users IP address which makes it even more difficult to track browsing sessions.On one hand this tool is a wonder for online security, however it has a darkside. One feature of the Torpark browser is that it can run directly off of a USB flash drive. This could cause headaches for some IT administrators who may be restricting employee’s browsing behaviour for intellection property issues , or acceptable use policies. Since the browser does not need to be installed on the system and can simply be run from a USB flash drive, it opens the door for a long list of potential endpoint security threats.
posted by akuma @ September 28, 2006 12:05 am
Nmap is a free open source tool used for network exploration and vulnerability auditing. Using Nmap a user can quickly scan large networks as well as target specific hosts. Nmap uses IP packets in unique ways to figure ouw what hosts are available on a given network and can determine what operating system it is running as well as determine what services (including versions) it is running and can also discover what type of packet filters and firewalls are in use. Recent versions have been modified to run straight from a USB flash drive
posted by akuma @ September 26, 2006 12:12 am
Wireshark is a free protocal analyzer, also called a packet sniffer that is used for network troubleshooting, analysis and protocol development. The tool allows the user to see all traffic being passed over a network when putting a network card into what is known as “promiscuous mode”.
S0me versions now have the capability to run independently from a USB flash drive and no longer require that WinPCap or other third-party packet capture drivers to be installed on a system
posted by akuma @ September 25, 2006 12:17 am
There are three methods to disabling USB ports on OSX.
The first is to bind the networked systems to an OS X Server. You cannot specifically disable USB ports, you will need to essentially stop the client system from mounting any external drives, this may not be practical on some systems, but should work in most cases. You can configure “Allow”, “Require Authentication” and “Read-only” access to removable drives which will include all USB and Firewire ports.
The second method is to remove “System/Library/Extensions/IOUSBMassStorageClass.kext” from the /System/Library/Extensions directory. This will still allow all mice, keyboards and printers to function properly.
The third method is to superglue your USB ports 
posted by akuma @ September 24, 2006 9:41 pm
Podslurping is a term to describe where a portable storage device such as an iPod is used to illicitly download large quantities of data by directly plugging it in to a computer, where the data is held, or which is on the inside of a firewall where the data is held. As these storage devices get smaller and their storage capacity gets larger it is becoming an increasing security risk to companies and government agencies. Access is gained while the computer is unattended.
Originally coined by Abe Usher of Sharp Ideas who developed a series of proof of concept applications called “Slurp.exe” to illustrate the potential security threat of removable media devices.
More Information
How to: Simple “Podslurping” Example With a USB Flash Drive
posted by akuma @ September 23, 2006 12:01 pm
