NecSoft, a Japanese software company, has released some new authentication software that uses facial recognition as a different type of biometric security in order to gain access to a Windows PC.

In order to authenticate, a web cam views the face in front of it and matches it to an existing photo tied to the user account. The system also has a network management component in the works to allow a network administration of the facial recognition authentication for individual client PC’s.

As an added security feature, all of the images taken when trying to authenticate with the web cam are saved by the system. This, unlike trying multiple passwords, identifies the individual attempting to gain access to the system through the BiodeLogon facial recognition application.

We had reported last October about a Japanese mobile phone from NTT DoCoMo that also utilized …

iCache is a new gadget on the market trying to gain some adoption with the intention of consolidating your credit card data and adding a little security as well.

The iCache device is able to house the data from all your credit cards, debit cards and basically anything with a magnetic stripe. Once the information is saved it’s secured by a biometric fingerprint scanner on the front. Whenever a credit card is needed for a purchase, users can select the appropriate card from the menu on the iCache gadget and the magnetic stripe on the iCache credit card will be temporarily encoded with the appropriate swipe data. The iCache device can also display bar codes and communicate information with Contactless terminals.

This all seems pretty slick, especially for those with a number of credit cards. If you lose this device the bar code …

PayPal is strengthening its defenses with the aid of a new Security Key. The PayPal Security Key is a small, portable password-generating key fob that was developed in conjunction with VeriSign to help protect your PayPal and eBay accounts against phishing attacks.

The device works by assigning a unique six-digit security code each time you log in to your account. You will continue to use your regular user name and password to authenticate, but you also enter the security code that the device displays. The code is synchronized with a server at the time of authentication to verify that the code is the same. Once you are finished, the code expires.

The device will give PayPal an additional and much-needed layer of protection. While not foolproof, it should help thwart phishing scams which have been a serious problem for PayPal customers.

The …

Ebay and Paypal are gearing up to offer customers an increased security measure when logging into their Paypal account to further avoid data theft from phishing scams.

In the near future, password generating gadget can be used in conjunction with existing login credentials when signing into a Paypal account. The key fob generates a new 6-digit password about every 30 seconds. This password is synchronized with a server that verifies that the every-changing code is the same at the time of authentication. Verisign currently offers the same type of two-factor authentication security to customers through their Unified Authentication Token product.

Phishing scams involve a would-be thief making a site that appears exactly like a legitimate site such as Paypal, and then sending out spam emails drawing people to the fake look-a-like site, and asking consumers to “verify” their login …

This is a follow up to the previous post on the Gmail Contacts Exploit.

It appears the the problem has been partially fixed by Google. A blog on zdnet is claiming that the issue is partially fixed. They are reporting that the issue may still exist on some Google domains. Another blogger is stating that the vulnerability still exists. SlipperyBrick is researching the issue and will keep our readers informed of any developments in the case.

Update: The author has posted to the Google Group handling Gmail issues to get a response from Google. The author of this post uses Gmail as his primary email client.

The problems continue for Gmail users. A vulnerability was found in the Gmail web based email application that allowed anyone to see a Gmail user’s contacts. The vulnerability came from the fact that apparently Gmail stores the users contacts in a JavaScript file. Any clever web hacker could steal this information as long as the user was logged into their Gmail account and visited a malicious site.

Gmail has had problems in the past with this sort of issue. Jeremiah Grossman discovered the issued and reported it to Google.

Both issues revolve around using JavaScript, the scripting language used in web pages, to make requests for data. If the request is made from the HTML within a Gmail message then the cookies used to authenticate a user to Gmail may be used to get information …

SavitMicro has a new secure hard drive called the DataMore V2 available for consumers in Korea, although according to Akihabara News you can special order it in the US at GeekStuff4U.com.

The drive is intended to allow you to store your own data securely in a portable, external hard drive. When you first get the drive you can format it and define how much of the drive is “public” and how much of it is “secure”. When connectto a PC via USB, it will show the public portion of the drive that is unsecured at make that available. The secure portion will not be available until you scan your fingerprint on the outside of the drive case, then the secure partition will be available.

When setting up the drive, you can give on or all of your fingerprints to be set …

bioMETRX has a few products that are secured through a finger activated technology that only allows the owner to access the data it contains. The smartSTICK is one of these devices which happens to be portable USB drive.

It holds data and works like any other thumb drive, but in this case your thumb can actually be used to give you access to the drive. By simply sliding your finger over the sensor you can set and gain access to the drive contents.

The drive can save up to 10 users and comes in storage capacities as much as 1GB. It also comes with a number of software applications to aid in storage, including storing medical records, school work, personal PC settings, email addresses, IM buddy lists and other productivity applications.

Product Page [bioMETRX]

Lexar has released an advanced security USB drive for use in enterprise organizations to enhance the level of data security when using thumb drives to transfer data.

The Lexar Safe PSD S1100 uses a multi-layer security platform to allow users to safely store and transfer secure data and lessen the risk of loss or theft. The USB memory device has something called PSD-Lock that provides device-access control technology to keep those out that do not have the right password.

It also has some “off-line” defenses to protect the theft of data from the device itself. It uses an internal 256-bit EAS encryption algorithm, and has a housing designed in such a way that makes it very evident if it has been tampered with. This keeps someone from removing or replacing the contents without it being visibly obvious.

Moving data to and from the Safe …

So you get tired of drinking coffee from the tiny Styrofoam cups that they have at work and you bring in your own cup. It can hold more coffee, keeps it warmer longer, and just looks nicer on your desk. One of the subtle things that make your day just a little bit better.

Now, after a week or so you come in to work and cannot find your cup. After searching the office you find it dirty in some conference room. Someone else had actually used your own very special cup. You may contemplate never using it again, throwing it away and just buying another.

All this could have been avoided with this secure coffee cup with a lock in it. No, it does not lock out anyone from getting a hold of the cup, or stop anyone from pouring anything into it. But, …

These orange stink balls, pronounced “bohan” in Japanese, are balls filled with stinky orange colored liquid and are used for deterring and catching criminals in Japan.

They come in different colors, but the orange is the most popularly used. They are widely available for purchase online, and are most commonly found in Japanese banks gas stations and convenience store type places, next to each employees station. When someone is caught stealing or engaging and criminal activities, the tellers or attendants at the store will throw these at criminal.

The balls are filled with a thick fluorescent fluid that glows in the dark and stinks like rotting pineapples. The color staining the criminal if hit with one of these balls makes them stand out in a crowd, and the stink will too. Also, police dogs are trained to sniff out this particular oder and associate with …

ZoneAlarm has paired with Check Point to develop the first complete security solution for home networks. The ZoneAlarm Secure Wireless Router Z100G features a firewall, a customizable gateway antivirus solution, an integrated print server, intrusion prevention, and a wireless, remote access point all into one device.

The Z100G includes the same Check Point security technology chosen by 98% of the Fortune 500 companies. In addition, you can enjoy of the freedom of extended range (XR) technology and wander up to 982 ft indoors from your access point. Support for Super G lets you share files at wireless network speeds of up to 108 mbps over your newly secure network. Other features include:

Firewall – Check Point’s patented stateful packet inspection (SPI) technology.
Gateway Antivirus – Blocks viruses before they reach your network.
Remote Access VPN – Enable secure remote access to your home PC using Virtual …

Have you ever bought a used PC or used hard drive and found someone else’s old data on it? Or worse yet, have you ever sold or lost a hard drive not being completely sure your data was erased before hand? This among other issues requiring an increased level of security has prompted Seagate to unveiled their DriveTrust security software. The technology will come built into the Momentus 5400 FDE.2 and the DB35 series hard drive and will encrypt the data on the drive without requiring external software or hindering the hard drive performance.

There are multiple situations that cause hard drive security to become and important issue, and having the encryption easily and cost-effectively implemented will improve the overall level of security with sensitive information. Everything from your own personal family pictures and financial information to health care organizations …

A Japanese phone company – NTT DoCoMo – has taken mobile phone security to a new level with it’s new P903i Mobile Phone. The P903i has a couple new, unique and very secure features that are pretty interesting.

The first of the features involve carrying around a small black electronic card that communicates wirelessly with the phone. The phone senses it’s proximity to the card and locks itself if it gets too far away. It then cannot be used to make a call or obtain information at that point. The owner of this extra-secure phone can keep the small card in a purse or pocket so that it is always close. Distances for the mobile phone from the card can be configured for 26 feet, 66 feet or 130 feet away.

If the owner of the phone loses this security card, they can enter …

eEye Digital Security has announced the release of it’s Blink Personal software product, which is a free version of its existing Blink endpoint security solution. This product is for use on Windows based PC’s and is free for non-commercial use only. This creates some competition for similar PC security products from companies like Norton and the free version of ZoneAlarm.

What contributes to making the Blink Personal product unique, aside from being free for non-commercial use, is that in a single product it offers a combination of multiple layers of technology that protect against identity theft, worms, trojan horses and other hacker attack methods.

The free eEye Blink Personal product solution contains the following technologies:

A Protocol-based Intrusion Prevention System which stops both known and unknown attacks from reaching your OS.
Application Protection that prevents buffer overflow attacks.
A System Firewall to protect inbound and outbound …