Security – BTA Blog

Big Bad Bug!

Dirk — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:06:48 +0000

A really serious bug exists in the React Server Components, a popular JavaScript library and the Next.js framework that has reached a imperfect CVSS score of 10.0! CVE-2025-55182 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability in React Server Components that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code without authentication by exploiting improper input deserialization. This vulnerability …

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Best Practices for Password Security

Dirk — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 02:32:24 +0000

In today’s internet-connect age, strong passwords are your first line of defense against unauthorized access to your personal and professional accounts. Following best practices for password security is crucial to protect your sensitive information from cyber threats. Here are some essential guidelines to help you create and manage secure passwords. 1. Use Long and Complex …

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Privacy for All

Dirk — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 01:25:56 +0000

The Founding Fathers created the Bill of Rights to protect citizens’ rights including the Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution that states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but …

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Web Security for All

Dirk — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 20:20:37 +0000

Accessing a web site sends information back and forth as you access pages and click on links. This data travels through numerous computers on its way to the web site’s server and to your computer. This varies depending on your Internet provider and the provider of the web site. Recently, I traced my access to …

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Password Shenanigans

Dirk — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 14:34:56 +0000

There seems to be a trend in web security that requires that you type your password, no pasting allowed! This combined with other password “requirements” are creating problems for people like me that use very secure long passwords. That means I use a password safe that generates long random strings of letters and numbers like: …

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New Year Resolutions

Dirk — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 23:26:26 +0000

I usually do not make New Year’s resolutions because I mostly forget them by the Super Bowl. But this year I am getting my online life more secure. I will change all my passwords to 20+ random characters. I will store these passwords in a secure format. I will encrypt more email. The first 2 …

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Antivirus is Dead!

Dirk — Mon, 05 May 2014 15:09:43 +0000

So declared Brian Dye, Symantec’s senior vice president for information security. “We don’t think of antivirus as a moneymaker in any way.” Mr. Dye went on to say “antivirus now catches just 45% of cyberattacks.” So because they cannot make money, this segment of the software industry is dead? Maybe they are not any good …

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Stop Using Microsoft Internet Explorer

Dirk — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:59:54 +0000

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), there are hackers actively using a software bug to gain control of Microsoft Windows computers. Stop using IE now! This is twice as dangerous as the Heartbleed Bug because an attacker can take control of your computer and do whatever they want with it. US-CERT issued an …

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Heartbleed Bug – End of the World or Non-event?

Dirk — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 14:05:57 +0000

That about covers the risks. Now what can you do about it? First, update your computer (Windows, Mac OS X or Linux/Unix), right now! Before you read the rest of this post. Most software vendors/service providers recognized the serious nature of this bug and updated their software (the easy part). So getting the fix is …

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Microsoft dropping XP support

Dirk — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:03:54 +0000

Microsoft has finally made good on their threat to stop supporting Windows XP and on April 8, 2014 will stop providing update and fixes for one of their most popular operating system releases. Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001 and end development of it in 2008. They have continued to provide bug-fixes and minor updates …

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