When Intel Corp. announced its acquisition of McAfee Inc. last week, the silicon giant said it would help boost its strategy of integrating security into its chips. But analysts and experts say the technology has a long way to go before it will gain widespread adoption in the enterprise.
A large percentage of [TPMs] are not being used today, but there's been a strong emphasis on getting enterprises to start using these for network access.
Like its chief competitor, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel manufactures chips that support the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). The tiny chips are built into many PC motherboards with the goal to improve security by acting as the device's sole key and identity repository. With more than 300 million TPM chips deployed today, only a tiny fraction are enabled, admits Brian Berger, director of the Trusted Computing Group (TGC), the organization that produces open standards for the TPM.
"A large percentage of [TPMs] are not being used today, but there's been a strong emphasis on getting enterprises to start using these for network access," Berger said. "There's been a gap, but we're finally seeing full penetration of TPM within organizations."
When the $7.7 billion acquisition of McAfee was announced, Intel executives signaled that it could integrate some of the security vendor's technology into its Atom processors used in netbooks, smartphones and consumer electronics, such as televisions. The announcement was seen as a boon to hardware security advocates like Berger, who say the technology makes identity management and authentication more efficient and further locks out attackers from gaining access to the network.
"Security is as applicable in the data center and PCs as it is in embedded and other Internet-connected devices, even cars that might be connected," said Renee J. James, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Services Group, on a conference call with analysts and media last week.
TCG's Berger, who is also executive vice president of sales and marketing for Lee, Mass.-based Wave Systems Corp., a firm that makes software which uses TPM technology, said Intel helped broaden the scope of how hardware-based security could be used.
McAfee acquisitions: What could Intel get? A deal added encryption to McAfee's offerings and it gained security hardware through its buy of Secure Computing. Intel could gain a stake in nearly all areas of security.
McAfee/Intel: Why the McAfee acquisition is being met with skepticism: Information security pros in the UK met the Intel acquisition of McAfee Inc. with skepticism for several reasons, including Intel's questionable history of software acquisitions.
Intel to acquire McAfee in $7.7 billion deal: If the deal is approved by McAfee shareholders, McAfee will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, reporting into Intel's Software and Services Group.
"I think it's an endorsement of hardware and software working together to provide enhanced security in areas where it's difficult," Berger said. "Intel articulated the value proposition around hardware security and software to enable that."
Still, some analysts were left scratching their heads over the Intel acquisition. Mike Rothman, analyst and president of research firm Securosis LLC, said he doesn't see any enabling technology from McAfee that would help Intel move forward with its strategy of integrating security into its chips. Pete Lindstrom, a research director at Spire Security agrees.
"I'd be shocked if there is any kind of migration of software that has any kind of effect on enterprises other than POS and invoices, say Intel instead of McAfee. At least in the near-term," Lindstrom said. "Intel's story has always been Intel inside. This is Intel going outside and it's not clear to me that Intel has any more robustness and go-to-market resources to better compete with Symantec and others in this market."
Intel may also look at ways to merge its vPro platform into McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO), the security firm's centralized security management and reporting console. Intel's vPro platform brings together a hardware management console for remote management energy efficiency and security.
Microsoft's BitLocker drive encryption uses TPM chips to protect data in Windows Vista and Windows 7, and has been responsible for much of the current use of hardware-based technology. One of the biggest users of TPM chips, highlighted at the Trusted Computing Group's website is Dedham, Mass.-based pizza chain Papa Gino's Inc. The company's use of the hardware-based security is limited, but one of the benefits gained is in key management, said Chris Cahalin, director of network operations and information security at Papa Gino's.
"We do use TPM's for simple things like hardening digital certificates (email and VPN) and protecting online ID's generally," Cahalin wrote in an email message. "Some folks use the persistent data protection aspects in combination with their full disk encryption solutions for protecting personal data even when the drive is unlocked."
Cahalin said he thinks the Trusted Network Connect technology holds promise for various cloud computing scenarios. The technology, analogous to the network access control solutions of a few years ago, uses TPMs to verify the status of machines before they connect to a network regardless of what platform is running on the device.
Gartner's Henry said another emerging area for hardware-based security is around virtualization. RSA, the security division of EMC Corp., Intel and VMware unveiled a proof-of-concept in May, demonstrating the use of Intel's new Westmere processor in creating a "base root of trust" in virtualized environments. The concept authenticates the boot sequence, verifying configuration settings, initializing the BIOS and launching the hypervisor and then authorizing guest machines. Microsoft is also designing a similar concept called the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base, which uses Windows and hardware to support security and privacy protection.
"In theory, I like the idea. It's necessary, but not efficient in protecting the computing environment, because we see so much evidence of attacks moving up the stack," Henry said. "With phishing, it doesn't matter if you're running a secure OS."


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Q: Storing And Using Microsoft User Account Credentials in SQL Server 2008 database I'm not exactly positive how to word this for the sake of the title so please forgive me. Also I can't seem to figure out how to even google this question, so I'm hoping that I can get a lead in the right direction.
Part of my software(VB.NET App) requires the ability to access/read/write a shared network folder. I have an option for the user to specify any credentials that might be needed to access said folder.
I want to store these credentials given in the SQL Server database as part of the config (I have a table which contains configuration).
My concern is that the password for the user account will be unencrpyted. Yet, if I encrypt the password the VB.NET App And/Or database will be unable to use the credentials for file i/o operations  unless the Password is unencrypted before use.
I'm fishing for suggestions on how to better handle this situation.

A: I would suggest using Windows authentication in your application. If you do that, then you can set permissions on the shared folder and in the database and avoid storing credentials of any sort in the database.

A: You need to use your own encryption algorithm or one that allows you to decrypt the password again if you want to store it encrypted. There are many ways to do this one of the more common is to encrypt them with a safeword so you can use the same word to decrypt again.
Well, probably not a real word but something like a random byte-array or anything similar.

A: SQL Server itself has means to store Windows credentials, see CREATE CREDENTIAL:

A credential is a record that contains
  the authentication information that is
  required to connect to a resource
  outside SQL Server. Most credentials
  include a Windows user and password.

But storing user credentials in the application, in any form, is always a bad idea. For one, they go out of sync when the user changes the password. Second, impersonating users to access resources is never the correct solution. The correct solution is to actually set up group membership and properly define access control lists on the resources.
The only correct scenarios for accessing resources are:

*

*as the user running the application, ie. the normal run-of-the-mill use case

*as a service that impersonates the connected user, which is done by obtaining a remote identity token from an SSPI authentication, like the NegotiateStream.RemoteIdentity

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


BlueMSX-wii is an MSX 1/MSX 2/MSX 2+/Turbo R emulator for the Nintendo Wii.
This emulator is based on blueMSX, ported to run on the Nintendo Wii. The emulator will be feature complete, which means that everything works (audio, controllers, keyboard). A nice GUI is featured to choose the games/applications you wish to play.
For a download, check the download link. Bugs should be reported at bugs@wiimsx.com More information on this project will be posted at our own website (see the website link).
Added USB 2.0 support (when running IOS58). It now is possible to install on fast USB 2.0 storage device (which can de faster than an SD-Card).
Updated libogc package to r4264.
Fixed vertical offset bug on NTSC wiis.
Fixed glitches in sound playback.
Improved audio, pause instead of hick on changing disks.
Reduced average audio lag from 85ms to 21ms, about the same as video lag now.
Greatly improved audio frequency stability.
Fixed issue with button mapping introduced in V1.0.1.
Gui coordinate fixes, not correctly centered since V1.0.1.
Small update in build-in gamepack.
Fixed display problem (black screen) on some Wii's, more accurate scaling/centering on all Wii's.
* Very accurate emulation of MSX, MSX2, MSX2+, Turbo-R.
* Very accurate emulation of all sound processors; PSG, SCC, MSX-Music, MSX-Audio and Moonsound.
* Multiple machine definitions, easily adaptable/extensible.
* Build-in ROM database to automatically use the right ROM mapper for megaROM games.
* A lot more, see BlueMSX website.
* 100% smooth video emulation because of synchronization between MSX and Wii video output.
* 100% smooth audio because of automatically calibrating re-sampling.
* Wii video output switches automatically between 50Hz/60Hz to meet the video output standard of the MSX (Only on PAL Wii, on NTSC Wii the MSX is forced to always operate at 60Hz).
* Game selector with multiple directory support.
* Shows two screenshots for every game.
* Screenshots can be automatically added by creating screenshot from 'home'-menu Games can easily be added/configured by editing .xml files.
* State can be saved/restored from the 'home'-menu.
* Restore state menu shows the date/time and a screenshot of the saved state.
* On-screen keyboard by pointing your wiimote to the screen.
* Automatic SD-Card installation procedure, runs out of the box.
* Two controllers supported for multiplayer games.
* Nunchuck and GameCube controllers supported.
* Classic controller supported (highly recommended!).
* USB keyboard supported (Logictech wireless Wii keyboard recommended).
This page was last edited on 18 April 2011, at 05:48.


Based on request from our fans, DJ Baddo drops the much anticipated mixtape titled Best of Kizz Daniel which contains old and latest Kizz Daniel's tracks.
It is a dope joint. Get your dancing shoes on and get ready to dance.


Do you like spinach and want to cook a different and delicious recipe? We recommend this meat, spinach and bacon pie recipe, it's easy to prepare and has excellent presentation!
Place the butter in a saucepan and heat over low heat. When the butter start to melt, add the flour with a little milk and whisk until the flour is dissolved. Gradually add the rest of the milk, increase to medium heat and stir until a homogeneous and creamy mixture, about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and season with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix the seasonings in the sauce and let cool. Béchamel sauce recipe.
Wash well the spinach. Cut into pieces and set aside.
Place the olive oil, the chopped onion and the bacon cut into strips in a saucepan and saute over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced meat and season with salt, nutmeg and pepper. Stir and cook over low heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Then, add the spinach, stir and cook for more 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and drain the sauce. Add the béchamel and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease a pie pan (24 centimeters (9 1/2 inches)) with some butter, line with the pastry and prick the bottom with a fork.
Add the meat mixture inside the pie and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven, unmold onto a plate and serve.


It's been almost one year since Marvel released 'Black Panther' into theaters. Since then the film has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes including, Best Motion Picture and Best Original Song. As well as many Oscar nominations.
Starting February 1st through February 7th select AMC Theaters will be screening 'Black Panther' for free in celebration of Black History Month! You can claim your free tickets here.


The Liberal Arts Student Fund provides support to students facing acute and unexpected financial difficulties or hardships that impede their academic success. The Fund will secondarily support student projects that are philanthropically focused on at-risk, underrepresented, or vulnerable communities. Through these targeted efforts and support, the Fund will help Liberal Arts students successfully pursue and reach their educational goals.
Awards are typically one-time and determined on a case-by-case basis. Awards do not require repayment and amounts may range from $100 to $500. Receiving an award from one fund does not prohibit eligibility for the other.
In cases of acute and unexpected financial hardship, typical expenses that may be covered include, but are not limited to: overdue rent/utilities, medical expenses, books/materials for classes, replacement of belongings, or safety-related needs.
To apply, students must be College of Liberal Arts students at The University of Texas at Austin who are experiencing financial hardship due to unexpected circumstances. Students should be currently enrolled at UT Austin or, if it is the summer session, enrolled in the upcoming fall semester. Documentation of financial hardship is required as a part of the application process and will be kept confidential and secure. Students are ineligible to receive funding more than once in an academic year (September – August).
For project-based requests, expenses should directly contribute to the project' success.Typical expenses that may be covered include, but are not limited to: purchase of materials, registration or service fees, print expenses, or travel-related expenses.
To apply, students must be College of Liberal Arts students at The University of Texas at Austin who are developing projects that are philanthropically focused on at-risk, underrepresented, or vulnerable communities. Students should be currently enrolled at UT Austin or, if it is the summer session, enrolled in the upcoming fall semester. Documentation of the project's expenses is required as a part of the application process. Students are ineligible to receive funding more than once in an academic year (September – August).