June 2005

New flash demo of how wireless hackers work, and how they use their cracking tools

Elizabeth writes “THROUGH A HACKER’S EYES: LUCIDLINK RELEASES DEMO CHRONICLING WI-FI HACKER ATTACK
New Flash Demo Gives Viewers Rare Glimpse into the World of Wireless Hackers, Wardrivers

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN—JUNE 29, 2005—To truly understand a criminal, you have to get inside his mind and think as he does. Follow his steps. See what he sees. LucidLink Wireless Security has done just that, creating a Flash demonstration that chronicles the steps hackers follow while tapping into wireless networks to gain access to confidential information. In an attempt to raise awareness about the security implications of unsecured wireless networking, LucidLink has recently added the demonstration to its website, www.lucidlink.com .

The demonstration takes viewers through a step-by-step explanation of a hacker’s activities, explaining how war drivers find wireless networks, gather information about them, and eventually infiltrate them in order to gain access to personal identity and company confidential information. The demonstration uses screen shots captured from freely available hacker programs so that viewers can see what hackers see as they click their way closer to breaking into even secured wireless networks.

Especially troubling is the demonstration of a hacker’s ability to crack even 128-bit WEP keys, used for encryption in most commercial wireless routers, instantaneously rendering a secure network unsecured. Once a hacker has captured the WEP key, along with the data identifying a user’s network, he can “zero in� on the wireless network- even from miles away- to eavesdrop on the user without ever being detected.

LucidLink outlines the steps hackers follow while attempting to break into a wireless network, summarized as: Capturing data about the network, cracking the WEP key, and reading the data without the user’s knowledge. The demonstration explains how tools used by hackers are readily available on the Internet, as are maps compiled by wardrivers, which show the locations and addresses of private wireless networks- all for use by hackers and criminals.

In addition to outlining the threats posed by hackers to wireless networks in their online demonstration, LucidLink offers a solution to wireless users: LucidLink Home Office Edition. An advanced wireless network security software capable of supporting up to 3 users, LucidLink Home Office was designed with the security concerns outlined in the company’s Flash demonstration in mind. The software is available free for download at www.lucidlink.com, and allows home office users to quickly and easily protect themselves against wireless attacks with one of the most trusted security products on the market.

To view this demonstration, download LucidLink’s Home Office Edition, or for additional information about wireless security, please visit www.lucidlink.com.

About Interlink Networks and LucidLink Wireless Security
Interlink Networks, Inc. is a 12-year leader in network security software solutions. The company’s new signature software, LucidLink Wireless Security, was awarded “Product of the Yearâ€? by CRN Magazine, and is the only product to win two consecutive “Best in Show” Wi-Fi Planet awards. Interlink’s technology awards include COMNET New Product Achievement Award Finalist, Communication News Editors’ Choice Award, and Network Computing Well-Connected Award Finalist. Interlink Networks is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more information, call (734) 821-1231 or visit www.LucidLink.com.”

Elizabeth writes “THROUGH A HACKER’S EYES: LUCIDLINK RELEASES DEMO CHRONICLING WI-FI HACKER ATTACK
New Flash Demo Gives Viewers Rare Glimpse into the World of Wireless Hackers, Wardrivers

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN—JUNE 29, 2005—To truly understand a criminal, you have to get inside his mind and think as he does. Follow his steps. See what he sees. LucidLink Wireless Security has done just that, creating a Flash demonstration that chronicles the steps hackers follow while tapping into wireless networks to gain access to confidential information. In an attempt to raise awareness about the security implications of unsecured wireless networking, LucidLink has recently added the demonstration to its website, www.lucidlink.com .

The demonstration takes viewers through a step-by-step explanation of a hacker’s activities, explaining how war drivers find wireless networks, gather information about them, and eventually infiltrate them in order to gain access to personal identity and company confidential information. The demonstration uses screen shots captured from freely available hacker programs so that viewers can see what hackers see as they click their way closer to breaking into even secured wireless networks.

Especially troubling is the demonstration of a hacker’s ability to crack even 128-bit WEP keys, used for encryption in most commercial wireless routers, instantaneously rendering a secure network unsecured. Once a hacker has captured the WEP key, along with the data identifying a user’s network, he can “zero in� on the wireless network- even from miles away- to eavesdrop on the user without ever being detected.

LucidLink outlines the steps hackers follow while attempting to break into a wireless network, summarized as: Capturing data about the network, cracking the WEP key, and reading the data without the user’s knowledge. The demonstration explains how tools used by hackers are readily available on the Internet, as are maps compiled by wardrivers, which show the locations and addresses of private wireless networks- all for use by hackers and criminals.

In addition to outlining the threats posed by hackers to wireless networks in their online demonstration, LucidLink offers a solution to wireless users: LucidLink Home Office Edition. An advanced wireless network security software capable of supporting up to 3 users, LucidLink Home Office was designed with the security concerns outlined in the company’s Flash demonstration in mind. The software is available free for download at www.lucidlink.com, and allows home office users to quickly and easily protect themselves against wireless attacks with one of the most trusted security products on the market.

To view this demonstration, download LucidLink’s Home Office Edition, or for additional information about wireless security, please visit www.lucidlink.com.

About Interlink Networks and LucidLink Wireless Security
Interlink Networks, Inc. is a 12-year leader in network security software solutions. The company’s new signature software, LucidLink Wireless Security, was awarded “Product of the Yearâ€? by CRN Magazine, and is the only product to win two consecutive “Best in Show” Wi-Fi Planet awards. Interlink’s technology awards include COMNET New Product Achievement Award Finalist, Communication News Editors’ Choice Award, and Network Computing Well-Connected Award Finalist. Interlink Networks is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more information, call (734) 821-1231 or visit www.LucidLink.com.”

Yahoo tests ‘social’ search

gsandler writes This story from
ZDNet covers Yahoo‘s
announcement of personalized search features that they will be adding to their
services. “People with a Yahoo login will be able to bookmark and cache copies of their favorite Web sites, label them in certain categories and attach comments in a structured way. Users will then be able to search among their contacts’ knowledge base with what Yahoo is calling its MyRank search technology”

Ray Bradbury condemns Cuban book burning

GregS* writes ‘Fahrenheit 451’ author takes stance while U.S. librarians ignore counterparts by Walter Skold at WorldNetDaily”

Bradbury is quoted as saying, “”I stand against any library or any librarian anywhere in the world being imprisoned or punished in any way for the books they circulate. I plead with Castro and his government to immediately take their hands off the independent librarians and release all those librarians in prison, and to send them back into Cuban culture to inform the people.”

Vulnerability of Paris Library Gains Attention in France

Anonymous Patron writes “The New York Times has more on all those missing books at the National Library in France. Even so, Le Figaro asserted that the report provides a disturbing portrait of the difficulties of protecting as many as 35 million books, documents, manuscripts, maps and photographs.

“To turn the library into a locked safe would be easy, but it is not our vocation,” the newspaper quoted Agnès Saal, the library’s director-general, as saying. “Unlike museums, our documents are there to be consulted.””

Utne Articles on Libraries

Cortez sends us links to two Utne articles about libraries:

Knowledge For Sale” by Chris Dodge, formerly a colleague of Sandy Berman:

…as the ALA likes to note, there are more public libraries in the United States–16,421, counting all branches–than there are McDonald’s restaurants.

But lurking in that comparison is a hint that all is not well with libraries. In fact, the same forces that have turned the United States into a fast-food nation could soon drive the traditional American library out of existence. In a society where everyone’s basic needs for health care, housing, education, clean air and water, meaningful work, creative expression, and open space are not met, the historical model of the public library, open to all, is under siege.

and “Monastic Librarians“, which profiles five librarians who are preserving material that’s sometimes well outside the mainstream:
Julie Herrada is the archivist of the Labadie collection of anarchist material, including the papers of Theodore Kaczynski.
Julie Bartel and Brooke Young collect zines at the Salt Lake City Public Library.
Jenna Freedman runs Radical Reference and collects fringe feminist literature.
James Danky is working to make sure the Wisconsin Historical Society owns every periodical published in the state.

Net Pioneer Wants New Internet

Gary Sandler writes:

This
is a fascinating story at Wired News on efforts to
redesign the Internet.

"David Clark, who led the development of the internet in the 1970s, is working with the
National Science Foundation on a plan for a whole new infrastructure to replace today’s global
network. The NSF aims to put out a request for proposals in the fall for plans and designs that could lead to what Clark called a “clean slate” internet architecture."