Books | White Papers | Journal Articles | Papers & Newsletters | Radatti Journal

White Papers

Peter is an extremely well educated and informed person on the subject
of computer virus security as evidenced by all the white papers he
has written.

Published	Title
January 2007	How to be a hero Being a hero to your employer is actually easy. All you have to do is all of the following: Lower costs. Increase productivity. Solve difficult problems easily. Make your customers so happy they buy more of your product/services. See, it really is easy. Just do these four things and you will be a hero. Riches and accolades shall follow. Of course, the real world doesn't work that way. The four things you have to do are really hard and even if you do accomplish them you might not get the riches and rewards. Or is it?
January 2007	Analysis of the VSTK/P product line in fulfilling US Federal Requirement DCID 6/3 This document includes an analysis of the Tripwire product vs. CyberSoft's VSTK products for the purpose of fulfilling DCID 6/3.
October 2006	Transportation Hub Security and Computers Physical security as practiced today has changed very little in hundreds of years. Electrical alarm systems have existed almost as long as commercial electrical service has and non-electrical alarm systems were effectively used by the Roman Empire, not to mention deliberately designed squeaky floorboards. Passage key locks have existed for thousands of years and were used by the Romans and Chinese. Fences, earth works, walls and barriers of all forms are prehistoric. The basic concepts have not changed. What has changed is the world and the relevance of these methods. By Peter Radatti October 15, 2006
April 2006	Consideration of Targeted Hostile Software in Homeland Security A paper on protecting your computer from attack. This was originally presented at the Government Security Expo & Conference held in Washington, D.C. in April of 2006. Included is the accompanying presentation, as well as a helpful reference paper for effective computer security. By Peter Radatti, April 12, 2006 [ Read this paper ] [ View the presentation ] [ Read the reference sheet ]
June 2005	Pattern Analysis for Computer Security This paper is somewhat philosophical in nature but sometimes that is exactly what is needed to convey meaning. It is my belief that after you have read this short paper you will have a different view of pattern analysis. Pattern analysis is not the “end all” of computer security but it is a very big hammer. Sometimes (often) when you have a big hammer other methods just don’t matter. What works, works! By Peter Radatti June 1, 2005
December 2003	Use of the Avatar and CIT tools for Centralized Distribution and Control The VFind Security Tool Kit Professional (VSTKP) is a fully featured security and administration set of tools. It is not just an antivirus scanner. This paper assumes that you are already familiar with the primary function of the Avatar and CIT tools that are part of the VFind Security Tool Kit Professional. For those of you who are not, Avatar is an automated tool that runs without end user operation. By Peter Radatti, December 9, 2003
August 2003	Optimal Queueing Strategies for E-mail Virus Scanning Optimal queueing strategies are derived for an e-mail virus scanning system consisting of multiple queues of varying message size limits running in parallel. The general VirScan system is described, a queueing model is defined, and expressions are derived for the overall average time that messages spend waiting in the queues. by Richard J. Perry and Mark G. Thomas, presented at the March 2002 Conference on Information Sciences and Systems, Princeton, NJ.
April 2002	Non-Technical Cost Justification For CyberSoft’s VSTK and VSTKP products One of the hardest tasks for a computer security professional to do is cost justification. It is often not part of the training but it is always part of the job. This paper answers some of these questions for the VFind Security Tool Kit (VSTK) and the VFind Security Tool Kit Professional (VSTKP).
June 2001	Network Traffic Interceptor The CyberSoft Network Traffic Intercepter (NTI) is the component of the VFind Security Toolkit (VSTK) that intercepts data on Unix TCP connections and arranges for them to be validated using the virus scanning tools UAD and VFind. This enables scanning of connections both into and out of a computer and is independent of and transparent to the applications and server daemons that communicate using the supported protocols.
May 2001	Who, What, Why Why does CyberSoft does exist and who is Peter Radatti? Who is Cybersoft, Inc.? What does CyberSoft make? Why should you care? Should you use CyberSoft Tools? The answers to these questions and more. By Peter V. Radatti, March 2001.
April 2001	Immunity to Worm/Virus Attacks by File Type Blocking Email and File Virus Scanning by File Type. This paper discusses the concepts involved in file type blocking, and includes examples of how to use UAD and MvFilter to scan for and block dangerous file types, including worms and macro viruses. By Peter V. Radatti, April 24, 2001.
Febuary 2001	Secrets of the VFind Security Tool Kit Professional Plus Version 1.00 The purpose of this paper is to help our customers more fully utilize the VFind Security Tool Kit Professional Plus. As many of our customers have come to realize, it is more than just a antivirus scanner, but rather an entire security toolkit.
January 2001	Customer Case Study Number 3 January 2001 A United States Regional Government Computer Center. This report was written by the customer using the product. CyberSoft's only edits to the document were to remove the organization name (at their request) and improve formatting for ease of reading. "If it wasn't for your Cybersoft Cryptographic Integrity Tool, I would never have known that my /etc/rc* boot files were modified...."
January 2001	Customer Case Study Number 2 January 2001 European Based International Pharmaceutical Company. This report was written by the customer using the product. CyberSoft's only edits to the document were to remove the organization name (at their request) and improve formatting for ease of reading. "We came across VFind about four years ago while looking for a virus scanner that would work on UNIX..."
September 1998	Security Problems Caused By Aggregate Data Of Client/Server Connections On The Internet This paper reveals some of the little known problems of maintaining privacy on the Internet. By Peter V. Radatti, September 1998
January 1998	The Cookie Monster: The Risks Of Internet Cookies and Aggregate Data An easy to read paper on the topic of Internet Cookies and aggregate data.
May 1997	Special Attributes of the VFind Tool Kit This paper reveals some of the special attributes of the VFind Tool Kit that our customers have used to solve problems other than anti-virus. VFind really is a complete security tool kit and has been used for many purposes.
May 1997	Mister Mean The Hacker An easy to read paper on the topic of social engineering System Administrators on the Internet.
September 1996	Firewall OEM Uses of CyberSoft Technology This paper provides firewall manufactures some potential OEM uses of CyberSoft technology. Manufacturers of products other than firewalls can generalize this document to their own needs or contact CyberSoft for specific ways in which our security technology can enhance your products. This document does not list all of the products and technologies available. Call for details.
September 1996	Heterogeneous Computer Viruses In A Networked UNIX Environment Discusses the dangers lurking for personal computers attached to heterogeneous networks infected with viruses from UNIX workstations. The author points out the necessity of complete protection for the work stations, server and host, or the infection will re-occur. The first paper to discuss the Typhoid Mary Syndrome.
July 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.8 Article 14 in series. Using the A&T Tiger Script
June 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.7 Article 13 in series. Anti-Virus for Publishers. Includes the CyberSoft Half Dozen Rules of Antivirus Common Sense.
May 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.6 Article 12 in series. The split network architecture part deux
May 1996	Why VFind This paper reveals the design secrets behind the development of the world's first anti-virus program for UNIX, VFind. This is the paper the anti-virus industry didn't want published. It completely removes the mystery of anti-virus technology. If you are considering the purchase of an anti-virus product for UNIX you need to read this paper! Written in an easy to read, first person, narrative by the designer of VFind, Pete Radatti.
April 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.5 Article 11 in series. The split network architecture.
March 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.4 Article 10 in series. The computer security game.
March 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.3 Article 9 in series. Users can call COPS to look for security holes in systems.
Febuary 1996	The Plausibility of Unix Virus Attacks An updated rebuttal to a paper published by a Scientist and includes references to like papers written on this subject. The definitive reference for anyone interested in this subject.
Febuary 1996	The CyberSoft Virus Description Language This is a historical and technical paper on the CyberSoft Virus Description Language (CVDL) and how it performs to detect viruses in source code by providing forward reference proximity scanning. CVDL also enhances virus scanning by searching for keywords using case insensitivity and proximity testing.
January 1996	The Sun Observer, Volume 10 No.1 Article 8 in series. Testing and guarding your systems.
October 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.10 Article 7 in series. Performing regular backups.
September 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.9 Article 5 in series. Writing Unix scripts with if-then-else statements
August 1995	Computer Viruses In Unix Networks Describes various attacks (viruses, Trojan horses, worms, etc.) that can occur against UNIX systems. Although many people assume that the UNIX system is immune to attacks, this paper dispels these assumptions and demonstrates the vulnerability of the UNIX system. It also addresses the problem of UNIX as a cross platform carrier of viruses and discusses steps to be taken to prevent and monitor systems against attacks.
August 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.8 Article 4 in series. Exploring the csh script language
July 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.7 Article 3 in series. The find command helps locate lost files, sort files
June 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.6 Article 2 in series. Manipulating the contents of files. The grep, strings and more commands. Piping.
May 1995	The Sun Observer, Volume 8 No.5 Article 1 in series. Getting Started with the Unix system. Exploring the Unix file system and file name conventions. Very basic information for the novice user.
May 1995	CyberSoft Moral Guidelines Contains comments from CyberSoft President Peter V. Radatti and a reproduction of "Rudimentary Treatise on the Construction of Locks" by Charles Tomlinson, 1853. The reproduction is by permission of Addison-Wesley and is taken from page 144 of the book, "Firewalls and Internet Security" by William R. Cheswick and Steven M. Bellovin
April 1995	Anti-Virus For Multimedia Publishers A short discussion on the possibility of viruses being transmitted on media heretofore considered virus free and what publishers can do to protect themselves and their customers.