Security Now

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Security Now! is a weekly show hosted by Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson. It is part of the TWiT.tv network. The program debuted on 19 August 2005. Released each Thursday, Security Now! consists of a discussion between Gibson and Laporte of issues of computer security and, conversely, insecurity. Covered topics have included security vulnerabilities, firewalls, password security, spyware, rootkits, Wi-Fi, virtual private networks (VPNs), and virtualization. The intro theme was composed by Jamie Diamond of The MediaRight Group and the closing theme was made by Mark Blasco at podcastthemes.com

Contents

Hosts

Show format

The podcast runs for approximately 1 1/2 hours, with the actual discussion of the subject of the podcast typically starting 20 minutes into the show. The first 20 minutes being spent on general chat, security news, sponsors and reading out letters and e-mails praising Steve's disk recovery product SpinRite, although the latter is not an official sponsor of the show and its dominance in the show has been criticized.

Listener feedback

Beginning from episode 16, every fourth episode (referred to as "mod 4 episodes" or "mod 4 equals 0 episodes") has been devoted to answering questions and responding to feedback provided by Security Now! listeners. The GRC web page has a feedback form allowing listeners to submit their comments and questions. Additionally, the so-called "Mailbag" episodes were added in late July 2007 to "share and discuss the thoughts, comments, and observations of other Security Now! listeners" (referred to as "mod 4 + 2 episodes").[3] The distinction between "mailbag" and listener feedback episodes was removed in episode 108.

In general, the episodes are typically dominated by 'tech nerd' talk, although Laporte tries hard to keep the show moving along for the general public.

Steve is very proud that the show has never missed a week since its inception.

Setting

Steve records Security Now from his home in Mission Viejo, California.

The boxes with blinking lights recently added to Steve's bookshelves are the front panels of three modern reproductions of classic minicomputers called PDP-8e's. Steve talks about the PDP-8's at his site. The computers are running a program Steve wrote called "Deep Thought". It is essentially a random number generator, with tweaks to make the lights flash the way actual computer front panels of the day looked while running real programs. Steve describes the "Deep Thought" program on his site, complete with demonstration video and PDP-8 assembly language source code.

Steve's website

Steve hosts transcripts, low bandwidth versions and supplementary notes on his website.

Show notes

Recent shows

Steve's picks

External links

Personal tools