My conclusions? Hacking from a Treo is more a gimmick than anything else. The software is slow and clunky. Interfaces are bare-bones -- you can't fit a lot of buttons on the tiny Treo screen -- and what functionality is available is slow. Besides wowing my friends and CSOs by brute-force attacking their Telnet servers, why would I ever want to hack from my Treo? And budding small-form, mobile hackers should beware -- any scans will originate from your cell phone provider's IP address space, which I'm sure can easily be correlated to your cell phone number.

SANS Goes to College

Established in 1989, the SANS Institute is one of the foremost computer security educational entities in the world. Its GIAC certification is one of the most sought-after computer security certifications, and the SANS leadership team continues to garner my respect.

The SANS Technology Institute recently received a license to teach master's level college classes in Maryland. SANS teaches two tracks and offers distance learning. Cont act Stephen@sans.edu for more details.

Bruce Schneier's Crypto-Gram Newsletter