Katie and David are joined by security professional George Starcher for a comprehensive talk about web security and your Apple devices.
Note: This is our last show till January. Thanks for an amazing 2011. We wish you a safe and happy holiday season!
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Links of note
George Starcher on Twitter
George Starcher on the Web
OS Ken Live
MPU 17 – OpenDNS
Open DNS
Google Two Factor Authentication
George’s Videos on OpenDNS and SSH Remote Access
PFSense
Verisign iPhone VIP App for iPhone
Wikipedia on VPN
Virus Barrier X
Clam X AV
MarcoPolo
Ghostery
George’s AppleScript to Toggle Public WiFi
TextExpander Take Control Book
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Really like this show on security. I would like to learn more about Lion server.
Question regarding remote access with Lion Server. My question is perhaps a little unusual. I wanted to know how feasible it would be utilize “Final Cut Pro X” remotely? I’m on the road a lot & find myself editing in the evening when at hotels. My thought here is that rather than lugging around a powerhouse Macbook Pro fully loaded, I could have a rubust system at home running Lion server where I could securely remote desktop into to perform editing. If I could do this, then I could just use something like a Macbook Air on the road – Or in this scenereo, is it possible to rdp/VNC into a MAC from Windows 7?
Thanks
If you’re an OmniFocus geek like I am, and you’ve got the requisite hardware, add a context for your home location with a notification set to trigger when you leave. Add an action to that context that says “Turn on the firewall” and now you’ve got an automatic reminder to do so (as long as you’re carrying your iPhone 4[S] or iPad 2 w/3G along with the Mac!) Just leave the action there, don’t check it off as completed, of course…
Great show guys (and thanks George), the take aways were coming thick and fast. So much so I’ll have to listen again.
I really like this type of show and all the information you guys always give out.
Question on OpenDNS if I may. Is there any solution for using OpenDNS with a wireless router and only an iPad and not a dedicated Mac to automatically update the DNS changes?
Thanks,
John
There were some good tips in this podcast. However, I think you made a common mistakes when talking about security: Disporportionately emphasising the rare and exotic (or at least the more advanced stuff). To be fair, David talked about not putting the cart before the horse, and reminded George about getting too technical while we’re driving down the 405.
You talked about 3G interceptors, two factor authentication, and custom VPNs, but you never talked about not using “love” as your password or using “Security Questions” that your disgruntled aquientance could guess (or look up).
Can’t wait for 2012.
Good show. I just have one thing to say about the file sharing part. While I agree that you should pay for your content, I can see why people outside the US download stuff illegally. For after all, the media companies are more or less still stuck in the pre-Internet days and treat different parts of the world discriminatingly. Let’s say I want to watch HBO’s Game of Thrones series, preferably on my iPad. iTunes? Nope, TV series are not yet available in Finland. We just got movies here a couple of months ago, so it can take quite a while for TV series to appear, too. Cable TV? Kind of, yes. If you’re OK with a three-month delay and having to order an expensive cable bundle for a minimum of 6 months just for the few weeks it takes to go through the first season. Free terrestrial digital TV? Well, the first season is just about to start at the Finnish national broadcaster YLE. Yes, the first season when the rest of the Internet is drooling for the second season. Quite ridiculous in this day and age, I’d say.
Pay for your content? Sure, I would if I could. I have the money, but there’s no one here to take it. So it’s no wonder people head for the shadier parts of the net when there’s no legal alternative despite the fact that all necessary infrastructure (i.e. fast connections and services like iTunes) already exists. But as you said in the show, what’s shared in the file sharing networks might not be what it claims to be. So here’s my wish to all content companies out there: Do us all a favor and start selling your content internationally. You’ll get the money and we’ll stay more secure. Unfortunately it seems like I shouldn’t be holding my breath waiting for the content companies to wake up. Sorry about the rather off-topic rant, but I’m just getting rather frustrated with most content services lagging behind over here.
But maybe I’ll go and get Lion Server with the money I can’t spend on content and start setting up my own VPN server
I was overlooking that functionality in the Lion Server, so thanks for the tip!
Hi,
Great show!
With regards to VPN I use a program called “Slink” (www.slinkware.com) that is a VPN for non-geeks. Basically you install a server program on your home machine and it configures itself to then connect to it over the internet with very little input needed – v useful if you are forced by your ISP to use there router….
I mainly use it for secure surfing, connecting to my iTunes library and using UK IPTV abroad. The bad thing is it isn’t iPad and iPhone compatible….
Catching up late with this show but really enjoyed it. I was pretty clueless on a silly point but post the solution here in case this helps anyone else out. I admit it: I’ve been running my Mac using an administrator account. Didn’t realize what this was risking, but now I see the light. So I wanted to stop doing this, but couldn’t see how to switch without losing all my settings. After puzzling over this a while, I finally discovered that it’s trivial to do. At least in Snow Leopard, you just go to accounts, create a new one, give that one administrator privileges, and take them away from your user. Voilà.
So now no one has a reason to not make the change since it takes all of about 10 seconds.