I see the solution, but I do not recognize the problem it solves 

I was at CeBIT this year. One of the new products that were unveiled at the exhibition was „Tutanota, the first absolutely secure, flexible and easy-to-use webmail system in the world“. The idea is to provide a web interface for email and to store the emails encrypted „in the cloud“. That way, the cloud storage […]

How not to apply for a Ph.D. stipend 

I have been busy these days reading applications for open Ph.D. student positions. I like to share some sentences from two candidates who will not make it to the next round. One candidate did not exactly leave the impression he was willing to finish within time and budget constraints: „It is good to have an […]

January WTF 

This week, I refactored parts of a group programming project that had been completed last year. Browsing the source code, looking for opportunities to polish and slightly enhance the program, I had several moments of „what the f… is this?“ There is even a web site dedicated to WTF moments. I will share an example […]

Time spent in 2011 

The week before Christmas break. It has become quiet at the college, colleagues are decreasing their time balance, students have vanished after their exams and will return in January. I log my time at work using TimePanic. Looking back at hours logged in 2011, I worked 1,921 hours, mostly at the office. I spent 43% […]

November 30th was Computer Security Day 

From http://www.computersecurityday.org/: „Computer Security Day was started in 1988 to help raise awareness of computer related security issues. Our goal is to remind people to protect their computers and information. This annual event is held around the world on November 30th although some organizations choose to have functions on the next business day if it […]

Malfunctioning public displays in Tromsø 

I was in Tromsø this week to attend NISK 2011. NISK is a young conference, started in 2008, and is co-located with NIK and NOKOBIT and NISK stands for Norsk Informasjonssikkerhetskonferanse. I presented a paper on hiding files on USB memory sticks, and two of „my“ students presented work on malware detection and removal tools […]

Three papers accepted at NISK 2011 

I co-authored three papers that have been accepted for presentation at the Norwegian Information Security conference (NISK 2011). The papers are: H. Langweg, B. Adolphi, and S. Engen (2011). “ An Analysis of SpyEye Detection and Removal Tools“. B. Adolphi, S. Engen, and H. Langweg (2011). “ Comparison of Malware Protection in Smart Card-Based User […]

Security is not for everyone 

Last week I attended D-A-CH Security 2011 to talk about inexpensive hiding of files on USB memory sticks. The presentation is based on a bachelor thesis supervised this year. The feedback received at the conference was valuable. Some attendees hinted at possible technical improvements, some found the idea „charming“ to hide files in clusters marked […]

Funding for SKYLINE 

The Regional Research Fund for the Inland Region in Norway (RFFINNL) received 30 applications for qualifying research projects this year. 8 applications were accepted, 3 of those had been sent in by Høgskolen i Gjøvik, and one of them had been submitted by me (project SKYLINE). Goal of SKYLINE „Kostnadseffektiv bruk av nettskyen for små […]

Lessons learned from the first half of 2011 

Summer. It has become quiet at the college, colleagues are taking vacation, students have vanished and will return late in August. Since the Norwegian rules of paid vacation state that the amount of paid vacation depends on your earnings in the Norwegian system the year before, I will mostly be found at work this year. […]