Browser Extension Defeats Internet Eavesdropping

Pickens writes to tell us that researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a simple system to help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Using a preset list of friendly sites called 'notaries,' the new 'Perspectives' system helps users to authenticate sites that require secure communications. Additionally this should help with the recently debated solution implemented by Firefox that has so many users frustrated and confused. "By independently querying the desired target site, the notaries can check whether each is receiving the same authentication information (a digital certificate), in response. If one or more notaries report authentication information that is different than that received by the browser or other notaries, a computer user would have reason to suspect that an attacker has compromised the connection."

back and forth

[ILuvRamen]

Yeah yeah yeah, there's a new thing that'll protect you 100% from hacks and then the next article is there's a new thing that can bypass all security protections and you're 100% likely to get hacked. If they're gonna keep running these stories, they might as well make them real:
"New anti-hacking methods developed. You drive to the web host's datacenter and sit down at the server that contains the site you want and open the HTML files from there"

Re:Excellent!!

[camperdave]

A middleman is a third party. At least, that's in my definition of third party.

... and I am self by definition, so if I can't trust self signed certificates, I'm in real trouble. Of course, it may be wise of me not to trust me, because if it were cookies instead of data, well I'd have no cookies left (especially if they were the mint Girl Guide cookies).

Re:Just an extra hoop?

[zippthorne]

Easy: Just have the notaries register with Verisign.