Irvine Underground’s September meeting was held at iHOP. For those who remember the early years of IVU this was the fourth meeting location we migrated to and we have come back for more pancakes!

The meeting is held upstairs at the iHOP across from SNA (John Wayne Airport) every second Friday of the month. This was the first meeting after DEF CON so the turn out was good and information was flowing.

IVU was at DEF CON in force and will be at Toorcon happening September 26th-28th in San Diego, California.

Israel Torres presented Crypto Challenge at this meeting going over last months challenge and this months challenge. For those unaware what crypto challenge is, a week or so before the meeting Israel posts to the IVU mailing list a challenge, if someone can crack the code they are presented with a treat. The tools are available on his website for the cracking and he is available online for questions pertaining to the contest.

Argus was the second presenter for the evening demonstrating and explaining TOR privacy and security. His slideshows are available here.

Basic outline of presentation (by aRgus)

Intro:
What is Tor/Onion Routing?
How does Tor Work?
Tools used in concert with Tor
Using Tor:
Anonymous browsing
Anonymous IRC
Using Tor for No-contact Network Recon
Web based attacks via Tor

Caveats:
How you’re still vulnerable
DNS Leaks etc.

Presentation response (by Bartender)

The presentation given was easily understood by novices and advanced users. It presented a good introduction of both concept and theory. Just demoing live practice or getting into the TCP/IP layer, this presentation clearly demonstrated a working knowledge of basics such as encryption, protocols, and the communication maps that Tor uses. Some of the listeners perked up when the it was realized that their ability to use Tor greatly increases their anonymity, security, and runs inline with or along with tools they may already be using.

Tor Project Abstract (from http://www.torproject.org)

“Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features. Tor provides the foundation for a range of applications that allow organizations and individuals to share information over public networks without compromising their privacy. (…more…)”

<end of response>

IVU raffled off the Headshot shirts featuring the agent blowing off the back of the hackers heads with a little challenge in the background prepared for the taking if anyone is willing. The shirt is aviailable here, and the challenge is at IsraelTorres.org.