Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ?
From: "Corbett, Tim D. (TD)" <TDCorbett () taylorcorp com>
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:01:06 -0500
Or, here's a novel idea. Don't do anything you shouldn't be doing from your work computer. I doubt your admins would appreciate you messing with your machine and/or network connection and you're just going to draw more attention to yourself anyway. If you don't trust your network administrators, you can either deal with it, or look for a new job in my humble opinion. I've been on both sides of the fence, and speaking from the administrators side of the fence, users that try to hide stuff from me instantly go under the microscope...its my job to be suspicious and aware of things that are going on. And I'll tell you, if someone just says "hey man, I have a couple files I need to grab from home quick" vs. someone trying to establish a vpn tunnel to home (which they can't since I block IPSEC and PPTP at the firewall) without telling me what's going on, the person that's upfront about stuff is going to get treated much better. Again, just my 2 cents. -----Original Message----- From: flur () d1f org [mailto:flur () d1f org] Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 1:38 AM To: security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: Re: RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? You cannot prevent the admin of a computer from being able to intercept your data. If you are on a windows corporate network, your admin may have full access on your computer due to group policy. You cannot protect yourself easily from these admins. They can interfere with your vpn software, install keyloggers, screenscrapers, etc etc. BUT... You can prevent network admins from sniffing your traffic by using encryption. Two quick ways you can do this: 1. use a vpn. this will encrypt everything your computer does and send it to a specific point-- which will they relay it to its actual destination. typical scenario: you connect to your computer at home via encrypted connection, and let your home computer be your 'proxy' to the internet. Note that you are not protected from your home ISP or your home network for that matter. 2. Use encryption where possible. Visit only https pages- although this will not prevent the admin from knowing where you're going (admin can see tcp endpoints), they wont know what you are doing there. It is possible for an admin to tell how long you stay on a site though even if you're using SSL on the web, so be careful. If the sites/services you want to securely connect to don't support SSL, you should consider the first option instead. You can get free VPN server and client software from the openssl project (its free, opensource, and available for win/mac/linux/bsd/unix): http://openvpn.net/ Good luck. ~flurdoing ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- This list is sponsored by: Norwich University EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE The NSA has designated Norwich University a center of Academic Excellence in Information Security. Our program offers unparalleled Infosec management education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. Using interactive e-Learning technology, you can earn this esteemed degree, without disrupting your career or home life. http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is sponsored by: Norwich University EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE The NSA has designated Norwich University a center of Academic Excellence in Information Security. Our program offers unparalleled Infosec management education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. Using interactive e-Learning technology, you can earn this esteemed degree, without disrupting your career or home life. http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- Re: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? Micheal Espinola Jr (Aug 08)
- Re: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? Michael Krymson (Aug 10)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? Jeffrey Wei (Aug 09)
- Re: RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? krymson (Aug 14)
- Re: RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? flur (Aug 16)
- RE: RE: How to stop Admins from sniffing ? Corbett, Tim D. (TD) (Aug 17)