This week’s tool, SimpleCAPI, is brought to you by Gemini Security Solutions. This is how it is described on the Gemini Security web site: Our custom application, SimpleCapiUI provides the ability to quickly check the revocation status of certificates stored in CAPI, but it also provides drag-and-drop functionality so that a user can install certificates into CAPI by dragging a certificate, PKCS#12 key file, or PKCS #7 signature file onto the interface. Additionally, an entire folder may be dropped into the application and SimpleCapiUI will scan the folder recursively to find certificates to install. By reducing the complexity of dealing with the Windows certificate store, SimpleCapiUI streamlines the process of testing PKI-enabled software. This covers just about all of the[…]
Category: Technology & Tool Thursday
Each Thursday, Security Musings features a security-related technology or tool. Featured items do not imply a recommendation by Gemini Security Solutions.
Some may remember a while back NBC (television network) was all primed about showing reruns with the notion “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you.” – That’s pretty much what I’m shooting for here. Let’s face it; things in the security industry are always changing. There is always something new to be learning. Software is being updated, new vulnerabilities are being found. Even the cores of what we work with, the operating systems, are changing on a more frequent pace. Over the course of several posts I’m going to be highlighting some of the new features released in the Vista / Server 2008 (and soon to be released Windows 7) upgrades. Again, you might be thinking Vista has[…]
If you’ve ever wondered if your computer has a rootkit installed or if programs are doing things they shouldn’t, the RootKit Hook Analyzer might come in handy. According to their website: RootKit Hook Analyzer is a security tool which will check if there are any rootkits installed on your computer which hook the kernel system services. Kernel RootKit Hooks are installed modules which intercept the principal system services that all programs and the operating system rely on. Rootkits often hook kernel services which enable them to do stealthy things like hide files and processes, passively log keystrokes, and examine network traffic. They typically do this by changing pointers in the system call lookup table so that foreign code is executed[…]
The OS X keychain is where all of the trusted Certification Authorities, certificates, keys, and stored passwords are kept in OS X (Tiger and Leopard). All Apple software, and a lot of third-party software use it. The notable exceptions are Firefox and Thunderbird, which use their own built-in stores. You can access Keychain through Applications -> Utilities -> Keychain Access. On the top left hand side bar, you’ll have at least two “keychains”: login and System Roots (X509Anchors on Tiger). Depending on what other software you have installed (*cough* Microsoft Office *cough*) and what configuration options you choose (joined to a Windows domain), you may have more. On the bottom left side bar, you can filter on the types of[…]
PKI, or public-key infrastructure, is a method of associating a cryptographic key with a user by way of a trusted third party. Its usefulness can be found in various areas of security such as assuring that data has not been modified, verifying that data was sent by the person who claims to have sent it, making certain that the sender cannot deny having sent a particular set of data, and scrambling data for the sake of confidentiality. In this post, we will be looking into public-key cryptography, its benefits and how it works. Other aspects of PKI will be explored in future installments.
The TamperData Firefox Extension is a tool for tracking and modifying HTTP/HTTPS requests made by your browser. You can use it to view and modify HTTP/HTTPS headers and POST parameters, which can be used to test the security and operation of websites. Installation is easy. Go to this link in Firefox, and click the Add to Firefox button. TamperData lets you intercept requests before they are sent to web servers, so that you can modify cookies, referrers, or user-agent parameters as necessary before sending it on. You can even modify the Web server response before it is seen by the browser. It is a great tool for testing and experimenting with web application security. Click on the sample screenshot on[…]