Hacker Safe?

Please, don't be lulled into a sense of false security just because a website has the hacker-safe logo on it. "Why not?" You ask me, BECAUSE- *DURRRRR* NOTHING IS HACKER SAFE. But why specifically? The hacker safe certification is a subscription program through various Companies, and although your favorite "Adult" website may be hacker safe when you register. This doesn't mean it will be two weeks down the road. What they companies do is they test each registered website every day using a automatic program, and if they find problems they will tell the website. Thats it, they dont fix it, force the website to take down the certification, nothing- they just say "Hey theres a problem." Dont Believe me?

Geeks Get PwN3D

Geeks.com is a $150 million company specializing in the sale of excess inventory and manufacturers' closeouts. Its Web site says that it is tested on a daily basis by ScanAlert Inc., which offers a service that constantly monitors sites for vulnerabilities.

But ScanAlert spokesman Nigel Ravenhill said via e-mail last week that the vendor, which is being acquired by McAfee Inc., had withdrawn its Hacker Safe certification from Geeks.com "several times" last year after finding vulnerabilities in the retailer's systems. Geeks.com fell out of compliance last June and again in December, he said.

The compromised information included names, addresses, telephone numbers and Visa credit card numbers, according to a copy of the letter posted on The Consumerist blog.

Now, What are the implications of this break in? Am I telling you that you should be a paranoid schizo when doing business on the internet? DUH. A wise man once told me "Putting your credit card on the Internet is like putting your naughty parts in a wood grinder." Although its not the most glamorous quote in the world, its true. Listen to the man, dont stick your wah-wah in the wood grinder.

Calling All Hackers!

Digital Armaments January-February Hacking Challenge: Special 20.000$ Prize - Windows Vulnerabilities and Exploit
Challenge pubblication is 01.04.2008
http://www.digitalarmaments.com/challenge200801566321.html

I. Details
Digital Armaments officially announce the launch of January-February hacking challenge.
The challenge starts on January 1. For the January-february Challenge, Digital Armaments will give a SPECIAL PRIZE of 20.000$ for each submission that results in a Exploitable Vulnerability or Working Exploit for Windows or Windows Diffuse Application. This should include example and documentation.
The submission must be sent during the January/February months and be received by midnight EST on February 29, 2008. The 20.000$ PRIZE will be an extra added to the normal vulnerability payment (check the DACP scheme).