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Open Firmware password protection for OS X prevents the computer from booting to alternative media, resetting parts of the memory, and using any of the many different startup options such as booting into single-user mode or safe boot mode unless the password is known. This helps increase security by preventing the current operating system from being bypassed at boot time or booting the computer into single-user mode gaining full access without any passwords (press Command and ’s’ during startup). Open Firmware requires that the password is entered to use the Startup Manager, which is accessed by pressing the Option key during startup.

Official Apple Open Firmware article with more details about the application here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352

Install Open Firmware on OS X 10.5:

1. Insert the OS X 10.5 Disk 1
2. Click on the desktop or a finder window
3. Press Shift+Apple Key+g to open the “Go to Folder” window
4. Type or copy and paste in to the window: /Volumes/Mac OS X Install Disk 1/Applications/Utilities/
5. Click Go then drag and drop the Firmware Password Utility icon in to the Applications directory
6. Double click on the Firmware Password Utility icon in the Applications directory click Change then enter in a password.

Installation should be the same for OS X 10.4. Users of OS X 10.3 and below need to download the application from apple.com but should also upgrade OS X to the latest version for the additional security enhancements.

There are many problems with certain web sites that alter your web browser controls such as the address bar or control buttons for the sake of deception or design. Sometimes when visiting a web page it will hide the address bar in FireFox so the actual web site address is not visible. This is a security risk because it is now more difficult to tell which web site is being visited. Some web sites change the browser so that it cannot be resized making some information impossible to see. These problems and many more FireFox display control features can all be easily fixed with the two following steps:

1) In the address bar of FireFox type in “about:config” (without the quotes) and press ENTER.
2) Scroll down the alphabetically sorted list to the section where it says “dom.disable_window_open_feature.” for the series of variables below. By double clicking on the Preference Name it will change the value to it’s opposite value, true or false.

Preference Name : Description

close : Prevents the close button from being disabled.
directories : Prevents the bookmarks toolbar from being hidden.
location : Prevents the address bar from being hidden
menubar : Prevents the menubar from being hidden.
minimizable : Prevents popup window minimization from being disabled.
personalbar : Prevents the bookmarks toolbar from being hidden.
resizable : Prevents popup window resizing from being disabled.
scrollbars : Prevents the scrollbars on a popup from being disabled.
status : Prevents the status bar from being hidden.
titlebar : Prevents the title bar from being hidden.
toolbar : Prevents the navigation toolbar from being hidden.

By setting these all to true it gives you the most control over your browser. For the preferences to be updated all instances of FireFox needs to be completed closed and then restarted. (Reference)

Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) is a utility for completely destroying all the data on a hard drive. To use the program simply download the file, write it to a floppy, blank CD, or USB drive and then boot the computer to the newly created media. It is easy to use with on-screen instructions and works by overwriting all the data on the hard drive multiple times with various patterns and random data. DBAN is commonly ran on used hard drives that may be sold or given away so that none of the data can be recovered. This application destroys all data on the hard drive, including any installed operating systems, and should be used with caution.

http://dban.sourceforge.net/

SpyBot Search & Destroy is an application for Microsoft Windows that is used to detect and remove spyware, keyloggers, trojan viruses and more. It is a free program that is constantly updated for new threats. This is a powerful program that is easy to use. Spybot can be used in conjunction with your standard anti-virus software to help ensure a clean Windows system.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Rootkit Revealer is a program for Microsoft Windows to help determine if a computer has been infected with a rootkit. If you suspect your computer may be infected with a virus but your standard anti-virus scanner is not detecting anything this may be the program you need.

For more information about rootkits, how this program works, and the download go here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897445.aspx

Windows Sysinternals are a set of powerful Windows utilities that “help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications”. There are dozens of free, light-weight applications available here separated into the following categories:

• File and Disk Utilities
• Networking Utilities
• Process Utilities
• Security Utilities
• System Information
• Miscellaneous Utilities

Any Windows network administrator, security professional, developer, or technical support analyst will be able to find many useful tools here.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx

Log Parser is a free, closed-source Windows utility for parsing through many different types of logs using SQL like queries. It can change the input to a different type of output to easily create reports or charts with large data sets.

Available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/tools/logparser/default.mspx

Official forum:
http://forums.iis.net/default.aspx?GroupID=51

VBScript is a great language to quickly accomplish Microsoft-specific tasks in a Windows environment. From managing local or network security groups to automating account modifications in Active Directory the Visual Basic scripting language can do it all.

http://www.activexperts.com/activmonitor/windowsmanagement/scripts/

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/scripts/ad/users/default.mspx

http://techtasks.com/code/listlangs

http://www.w3schools.com/vbscript/vbscript_ref_functions.asp