To educate, inform, inspire

WordPress Security

April 16, 2019 - Security , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I had the honor of discussing WordPress security at the East Peoria WordPress meetup on April 15, 2019. Several individuals requested a copy of my slides so that is linked. Obviously, this was an introductory presentation. This information is provided as is and is for informational purposes only. All opinions […]

Installing SSL certificates

February 1, 2017 - Security , Technology , Web - by Mark - No Comments

Given that I teach several classes dealing with security (and we even install SSL certificates on an IIS server in a couple of those), I thought it might be helpful for readers/ students to learn a little about what is required when you are using a Linux server. First, a […]

Book review: Digital Defense

June 1, 2016 - General , Security - by Mark - No Comments

Periodically, I review books for the American Library Association. I thought it might be helpful to students to include a copy of my latest book review here as well. This will be published in the June issue of Connect Magazine at the ALA site also. I do need to keep […]

Chrome Browser Extensions

March 23, 2016 - Security , Technology , Web - by Mark - 2 Comments

Those who know me realize that I am always interested in web technologies and how they relate to business. I thought it might be helpful to identify some of the Chrome browser extensions I use on a regular basis (and my rationale for using them). Although I use a fair […]

Phishing = Fraud

November 25, 2015 - General , Security , Web - by Mark - No Comments

Some of you may know that I serve as a reviewer for the SANS OUCH newsletter. The next issue will deal with the subject of phishing. I thought it might be appropriate to also add a little information in my weblog about this topic. Perhaps you will enjoy reading this […]

Rules to think about

October 7, 2015 - General , Security , Technology , Web - by Mark - No Comments

We are near the midpoint of the fall semester at school. From time to time, I observe certain things and thought it might be helpful to put these together as a set of “rules” to think about – particularly for students in the CMWEB program at school. Of course, these […]

Dark Web Overview

September 16, 2015 - Security , Technology , Web - by Mark - 2 Comments

Based on a recent article in Wired Magazine, I thought it might be helpful to touch on the “dark web” a bit. After all, I do teach CMWEB 270 (Web Application Security) and often talk about the dark alleys on the Internet. But, first, a few disclaimers. Seriously. I do […]

Creating a new WordPress site

May 20, 2015 - Security , Web - by Mark - 2 Comments

Some time ago, I posted basic information about securing your WordPress sites. Given that post has not been updated since 2012, I thought it was time. Rather than just re-hash the existing information, I decided to take a slightly different approach. I recently saw the need to create a new […]

2 factor authentication

April 1, 2015 - Security - by Mark - No Comments

I recently provided a post on passwords. I mentioned that one should employ 2 factor authentication where possible. Given that many readers and students may use WordPress as a blog platform (or for other purposes as it is a rather flexible platform), I thought it might be helpful for individuals […]

Passwords

March 11, 2015 - Security - by Mark - No Comments

Passwords – “can’t stand them, can’t live without them.” We must access many computer resources every day and have to rely on passwords to verify we are who we say we are. I can’t count the number of times people ask me about what constitutes a good password. Therefore, I […]

Web Vulnerability Scanners

February 25, 2015 - Security , Web - by Mark - No Comments

One of the many classes I teach is CMWEB 270 – Web Application Security. I thought it might be helpful to readers to review a couple of the tools one can use to automatically scan for website vulnerabilities. I consider it good practice to use a number of tools. Obviously, […]

Phone Scam

September 10, 2014 - Security - by Mark - 2 Comments

Readers of this blog probably know that I teach security topics. Since I recently experienced a rash of phone calls, I thought I would share my story with others. I do not recommend toying with the sorts of people who make these calls. I was just doing a bit of […]

Hack.me Site

June 11, 2014 - Security , Web - by Mark - 2 Comments

The CMWEB 270 class I teach covers many of the fundamentals of ethical hacking. Of course, one of the main problems one encounters when teaching ethical hacking is providing links to vulnerable websites. Yes, one can easily create a vulnerable site. However, many hosting providers don’t like you to post […]

Notice to Appear

January 8, 2014 - Security - by Mark - No Comments

As a public service at the beginning of 2014, I thought it might be appropriate to grade some of the recent SPAM I have been receiving. I suspect the intent behind this SPAM is to incite fear in the recipient. Instead it incited humor in this recipient. As most students […]