Sean Whalen

Lessons Learned from the US Federal Government’s Ongoing Deployment of SPF and DMARC

SPF and DMARC are standards that describe how the origins of email messages should be verified, to prevent email spoofing.…

January 1, 2018

How to install YARA and write basic YARA rules to identify malware

YARA is described as "The pattern matching Swiss knife for malware researchers (and everyone else)". Think of it as like…

June 15, 2017

How to run graphical Linux applications on Windows 10 using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) was introduced by Microsoft in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. It allows users to…

June 11, 2017

WannaCry ransomware analysis: Samples date back to at least early February 2017

The WannaCry ransomware worm has spread panic and destruction as it infects hundreds of thousands of systems around the world;…

May 18, 2017

Google Pixel phones can be unlocked with a recording of a trusted voice by default

The headline feature of the new Google Pixel phones is deep integration between the operating system and the Google Assistant…

October 23, 2016

Android 7.1 adds native android visual voicemail support for Verizon

After upgrading my Nexus 6P on Verizon to the Android 7.1.1 beta, I discovered that Visual Voicemail in the native…

October 20, 2016

PSA: The latest Google Chrome release trips EMET’s EAF+ mitigation

When Google Chrome updated to 53.0.2785.101 on my Windows systems, I encountered an onslaught of alerts from EMET, which was…

September 9, 2016

HHS: Ransomware encryption of ePHI is a HIPAA breach

As a growing number of medical facilities are struck by ransomware, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…

August 23, 2016

Prevent ransomware from succeeding with strategic defense-in-depth

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for financially motivated cybercriminals. Individuals, hospitals, businesses, schools, police departments, and government agencies…

August 22, 2016

DoJ v. Apple: It’s all about the precedent

By now, you've probably heard something about the ongoing legal battle between Apple and the Department of Justice. "DoJ v.…

March 21, 2016