ABSTRACT Mitigation of malicious code is increasingly complicated by multi-staged and mutli-variant attacks taking place daily on the Internet today. It is now common for computers to be infected for long periods of time, with malicious browser help objects, rootkits, and similar stealth codes. Identification and removal from a computer can be especially difficult. In some cases, the only reasonable effort may be to completely wipe and reinstall an image of the system, known to be free of malicious code. Manual mitigation of malicious code is a sophisticated process of threat identification, research, mitigation, and monitoring to properly remove all threat components related to an attack.

A rootkit is cloaked software that infiltrates an operating system or a database with the intention to escape detection, resist removal, and perform a specific operation. Many rootkits are designed to invade the “root,” or kernel, of the program, and therefore operate without announcing their presence to the owner of the computer. Although some rootkits are written with noble intentions (e.g., to strengthen an anti-virus package), true rootkits have a malicious purpose. A rootkit infection can render a compromised computer system vulnerable to attacks and corruption. Rootkits are named for their origin in Linux systems, but the number of rootkits that attack Microsoft operating systems has recently proliferated. Not only are rootkits difficult to detect and assess, but at times the only effective way to remove them is to do a clean installation of the entire operating system. Recent discoveries of rootkits in other venues prove that the problem is spreading and is a major concern for administrators in information security. This paper presents a brief history of the development of rootkits and their possible effects.Prominent cases involving rootkits are described.The paper concludes with an overview of methods to prevent rootkits and to (hopefully) eradicate one that has infected an operating system.

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ABSTRACT For each layer of information security there is a number of techniques and tools that can be used to ensure information superiority. Indeed some experts would argue that you cannot have the former without the latter. In today's technological & interconnected world, however, information superiority is very hard to achieve and almost impossible to maintain. This paper will argue that the art of deception is a reliable and cost effective technique that can assure the security of an infrastructure. The paper will conclude by presenting a technical solution of the above statement.

Given the virtually instantaneous and worldwide dissemination widely available via the Internet, the only rational assumption is that once a computer program capable of bypassing such an access con...

Those who have ever watched the television show MythBusters know that many of the popular beliefs most people hold to be true crumble under investigation. The same holds true in the information technology world. Most myths investigated by the mythbusters are harmless and fun, but in information security, the unexamined myth can be both dangerous and costly. It is imperative that the InfoSec professional not take security trends and myths at face value, but instead thoroughly investigate every statement to make an informed decision about the veracity of individual security ideas. This is especially true in the area of wireless networking, which is the newest, most immature, and potentially insecure of all of the currently existing networking methods.

Wireless local area network, or Wi-Fi (“wireless fidelity”), is a short-range networking technology. Wi-Fi allows suitably equipped computers to connect to computer networks and the Internet using a radio connection rather than wires. Most new laptop computers can access Wi-Fi routers. T-Mobile HotSpot provides high-speed Wi-Fi in public locations such as Starbucks, Borders, FedEx, Kinko's, Hyatt's, and the airline clubs for most major airlines. Unlimited subscription plans start at $29.99 per month or $6.00 per hour for nonmembers.