tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16537146216274024772024-03-06T00:48:33.233-08:00Phishing : A Online Robbery.How to prevent from phishing.
phishing | phishing filter | what is phishingDignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-92194776275568920672010-03-01T06:57:00.000-08:002010-03-01T06:57:00.223-08:00WordPress Security Plugins - Half the Battle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBgysN77yY9sEk_vRZjftuzBL9XYsgRn8ClBrePsZvLeaIH0xO8zhWYOWue5WOaviQOj4_8CXZ-PEZcdjAvvSRtOuf9bxhB0hd8YD2NGvG0OzA6dV4eb2B8uHL5cjheu77tFjigdwVJE/s1600-h/login-lockdown-a-wordpress-enhanced-login-security-plugin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBgysN77yY9sEk_vRZjftuzBL9XYsgRn8ClBrePsZvLeaIH0xO8zhWYOWue5WOaviQOj4_8CXZ-PEZcdjAvvSRtOuf9bxhB0hd8YD2NGvG0OzA6dV4eb2B8uHL5cjheu77tFjigdwVJE/s320/login-lockdown-a-wordpress-enhanced-login-security-plugin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You might think that installing a few WordPress security plugins does the entire job of protecting your site. Security plugins can help make your site safer (i.e. database backups, login lockouts). Most people don't realize that there's much more involved in order to protect a WordPress blog.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><a name='more'></a><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WordPress is an application powered by PHP and MySQL. Many high-traffic websites use MySQL and PHP for large-volume data storage. If you are a WordPress user, anytime you create a post or page, the information gets stored on your database. Even though there are WordPress plugins out there that can help backup your database in case of disaster, you always want to take all necessary precautions to prevent your site from being hacked.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WordPress developers release a security update when a known vulnerability needs to be addressed, but it's impossible to seal every loophole. In the world of cyber crime, someone will always find a way around it -- it's inevitable. Even with the addition of plugins being installed to "beef up" your security, your WordPress site is still at risk. You can, for example, protect your site from brute force password attacks for your WP admin area. However, this does not protect your database nor does it prevent unwanted visitors from entering your server via FTP. Remember, when it comes to securing your WordPress site, you have to make sure you cover all angles.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Every time a user installs WordPress, it will always install the default folders and directories. Since many people don't bother configuring the back-end, they don't realize that they end up leaving the doors wide open, making them vulnerable for a malicious attack.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With that said, it's important to make sure that you secure all areas of your website, including your server, database, logins, comments, files/directories, and wp-admin. If you're looking for help in securing your blog or website or would like a WordPress security audit, let us know. Just remember, installing a few security plugins is only half the battle. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Learn how to start securing your WordPress site now. Be sure to stop by and sign up for our WordPress Security newsletter and you'll receive your free e-book, "7 Plugins for WordPress Security."</span> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/8681cfe7-80e2-4861-acb3-7fe529304dec/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8681cfe7-80e2-4861-acb3-7fe529304dec" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-67158836754810207822010-02-06T22:32:00.000-08:002010-02-06T22:32:38.197-08:00Surf Anonymously - Protect Your Personal Information by Hiding Your IP Address<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VEkux3h0yLVC3ZmiQSWFC0MFrlpxaiXYE2ewcTkzH7JGyyTleOjEerFK51aq_09PhCobUa4VCtgTp1olpvRbiH3kbJaVCW79CJBe5Sp6EuOig38rFfGDrDXddd0nmAWm7k9aPWDjsdE/s1600-h/13684-w520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9VEkux3h0yLVC3ZmiQSWFC0MFrlpxaiXYE2ewcTkzH7JGyyTleOjEerFK51aq_09PhCobUa4VCtgTp1olpvRbiH3kbJaVCW79CJBe5Sp6EuOig38rFfGDrDXddd0nmAWm7k9aPWDjsdE/s320/13684-w520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Identity theft is one of the worst crimes anyone will experience. As the name of the offense suggests, it is an online crime wherein another person uses your identity for their personal gains. More often than not, your personal information is used to purchase products or even acquire services. The bad thing about this crime is that you may not know it before you see unknown credit card charges or collection calls about the products you did not acquire.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This type of online crime can happen to anyone who frequently uses the internet for various forms of transaction. If you are constantly shopping or paying your bills online there is a possibility that someone is already trying to monitor your activities. That could lead to identity theft once they gain access to your information.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><a name='more'></a><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This type of online attack is possible because of your IP (internet protocol) address. In gist, an IP address can be compared to the mailing information - it's a very specific number assigned by the internet service provider. Once the attacker knows this IP address, the attacker can now monitor your specific online activities. Every information and data sent online (credit card information, passwords, etc) will be monitored by the attacker.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fortunately, there is a way for consumers to protect their personal information. There are online companies that can hide your IP address of their customers. The attacks will be averted because they will be provided with"dummy" information which is useless. Some of these online companies offer their service to surf anonymously for free but it's a lot better to use premium services. If you are constantly using the internet for financial transactions, better use premium services for complete protection.Hiding your IP address to protect your identity can be considered an extra task for some consumers. But this is just a small price to pay to avoid identity theft which can ruin a person's financial standing.</span> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/708ea951-adaa-4b41-a684-0cf691b634e2/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=708ea951-adaa-4b41-a684-0cf691b634e2" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related more-info pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-46379174535415030442010-02-06T05:08:00.000-08:002010-02-06T05:14:42.780-08:00Gmail Login Security Tips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_O6X5h7DeVAg_mxuPABnF3cuojds6yzc-iwApfXmXzWjxgyQOU0yTp8jyblHo3mnnkLDCFWdwhQ6rODncrMK1d8lboWxrRC7NXkqIFT_LOLk-v6rIhNrTgdrHth6ubyTq85k62oMs6yY/s1600-h/Gmail-Login-Problem-Style.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_O6X5h7DeVAg_mxuPABnF3cuojds6yzc-iwApfXmXzWjxgyQOU0yTp8jyblHo3mnnkLDCFWdwhQ6rODncrMK1d8lboWxrRC7NXkqIFT_LOLk-v6rIhNrTgdrHth6ubyTq85k62oMs6yY/s400/Gmail-Login-Problem-Style.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Google's systems are subject to cyber attacks just like every other email server. The best way to counteract the threat of this <a href="http://phishingwiki.blogspot.com/2010/02/tips-for-creating-strong-and-secure.html">breech of securit</a>y is to keep up to date with the Gmail security features and suggested actions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The easiest step toward ensuring your Gmail log in information is secure is to simply not give it out. Emails you receive asking for your personal log in information should be ignored. Gmail, nor any other company or server, would solicit this information directly from users. Also, you should change your password regularly. Gmail recommends you change your password at least twice a year without repeating the same code in the same six month span.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A secure password is also one that is not repeated on other websites. If you use the same password on Gmail and another website, its twice as likely to get discovered. The secondary website may not have the security measures as a large email server and if the password is found in that system its possible the hacker or virus could use that password to try to log in to your Gmail account.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Create a strong password that utilizes both letter and numbers. Once you have a strong password for your log in do not write it down or email it to yourself. This is a common mistake. If you think you may not be able to remember your distinct password, leave a hint for yourself that does not contain any part of the password.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It is vital to keep your PC or Mac computer internally secure. Browsers and operating systems are continually releasing updates to their security system and running these anti-virus software can make sure that even if your email server comes under attack, your operating system and browser can keep your secure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When there are changes to your secondary email address or security question, make certain to update them inside of Gmail immediately. The more accurate this information is, the easier it will be to request your security information and be sure you'll be the one receiving it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When setting up your Gmail options, select "Always use HTTPS." The previous protocol, HTTP, was a less secure system. This new automatically detected protocol ensures that when you're accessing your account on an unsecured network, like a cafe, a hacker will be unable to hijack your personal information. When using a public computer or network, be sure to completely sign out of your account before leaving. An account left logged in is easy prey for a cyber attack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Worst case scenario, if you notice changes to your account that you did not make or request, immediately change all of your log in information. Run frequent scans. There are both malware and anti-spyware software scans available online for free that can tell you if your system as a a problem. </span> <br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_c.png?x-id=6605be88-847b-4e54-a972-d3edf728a13c" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-55625712831357898732010-02-06T04:21:00.000-08:002010-02-06T04:28:55.894-08:00Tips For Creating Strong and Secure Passwords<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6_P2WcZu8tb8pOZRLyHIX1Jve8MspnHuYMI-Puf6_T2YaL_2Pv5dXKZ8UI8SksolzjskndnANZ9TNTUsxsM9eSYBXp6HPdxdDpb_mQzqy08qex_1_3uNreeG2nMy6eIEn0jBIEIvTfo/s1600-h/intouch_secure_password_wallet-163809-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6_P2WcZu8tb8pOZRLyHIX1Jve8MspnHuYMI-Puf6_T2YaL_2Pv5dXKZ8UI8SksolzjskndnANZ9TNTUsxsM9eSYBXp6HPdxdDpb_mQzqy08qex_1_3uNreeG2nMy6eIEn0jBIEIvTfo/s200/intouch_secure_password_wallet-163809-3.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://phishingwiki.blogspot.com/2008/05/dos-attacks-instigation-and-mitigation.html">Computer hacking</a> happens when hackers who know your password do not have to resort to technological exploits, instead they can log on and do anything that you can do on the computer or network. Keeping your password secret is one of the most important things you can do to in information security to <a href="http://phishingwiki.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-to-protect-yourself-from-phishing.html">protect your computer</a> against security breaches.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The first step in information security is creating strong passwords that cannot be easily guessed or deduced. Tips for creating strong passwords include the following: Do not use personal information for your password. Social security numbers, driver's license numbers, phone numbers, birth dates, spouse names, and pet names are all factual information that can be found out by others.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><a name='more'></a><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do not use words that are in the dictionary, including words in foreign languages. Dictionary attacks try these words and combinations of them. Do use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Do not substitute numbers for letters to make words (for example, s0ph1st1cated). Hackers are aware of this trick. Do not use sample passwords that you see in security articles or books, even if they are exceptionally complex.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Generally, longer passwords are harder to crack because a brute force attack must try more combinations before finding a correct one. Windows XP allows up to 128 character passwords, although the welcome screen only displays 12 characters at the password prompt. You can switch to the classic logon screen, or just keep typing the characters after the password field appears to stop accepting them.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols that have meaning to you so you - but no one else - will be able to easily remember the password. For example, mfcrB&G might mean EURomy favorite colors are Blue and Green to you, but to anyone else while computer hacking it looks like a random combination of characters. Do select a password that you can type quickly, to minimize the chance of someone discovering it by watching over your shoulder when you type it. However, do not use common key sequences such as qwerty.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After you create a strong password, you must keep it secure. Tips for keeping passwords secure in information security include the following: Never share your password with anyone else. Do not write your password down. This is the reason why you need to create a password that is easy for you to remember. If you disregard this advice and do write it down, keep the written copy in a locked off-site container.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do change your password on a regular basis, even if your network policies do not require you to do so. Always change your password if you suspect it might have been compromised (for example, if someone was standing over you when you typed it). Do not use the same password for multiple purposes. For example, some people might use the same number combination for their ATM PIN, network logon password, e-mail password, and for all protected Web sites. If this password is cracked in computer hacking, all of your accounts and activities will be compromised. </span> <div class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_c.png?x-id=d3df3966-c1ed-4b8e-a97d-c11dd1013d15" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-86526015735572412612008-08-18T08:45:00.000-07:002008-08-18T08:45:00.955-07:00If You Sell Anything Online Your ePockets Are Being Picked<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You and I are a lot alike. We are both software publishers and eBook authors getting hosed on a regular basis. You and I, my friend, are victims of software piracy that accounted for over $24 BILLION dollars in lost revenue over the last two years*. There are so many ways people can get your product for free these days. If we continue doing nothing we will lose even more money this year as potential customers become more and more aware of just how easy it is to obtain digital products without paying for them.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The question is, why do we put up with this? When we sell our downloadable products they are being easily and freely distributed (read: STOLEN) by the very same people that we are trying to get to purchase. And don’t be fooled, this still occurs very regularly today even though a lot of us take precautions against it. This confirms that people want our products, they just don't want to pay for them …because they don't have to. In fact, 70% of potential customers won't if they can get it for free*.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We know the ideal scenario; what’s supposed to happen. Consider Bob Jones and his knot tying eBook, “Scoutmaster Bob’s Guide To Knots”. Bob uploads his eBook to his web server and creates a sales link to sell it, and this sales link goes through to his payment processor. After the order is placed the customer is redirected to the download page, or "Thank-You" page, in order to automate the delivery process.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now Bob figures he’s all set up and starts his massive promotion efforts. He spends lots of time and money getting people to visit his site and convinces them to place an order because it really is a great product. So, the customers place orders via the sales link then are redirected back to the download page automatically to get what they’ve paid for. Perfect automated system, right? Sorry Bobby, in a perfect world maybe. But here’s what really happens.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Back Door” #1:</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our boy Bob sets up a sales link, a download redirection link (where people go after successfully ordering) and spends time and money promoting his site. People come and visit his web site and feel that they could really use such an extensive knot tying resource and want a copy of it. A couple people place orders and Bob is happy. Because Bob has created such a great product they tell their friends about Bob’s eBook. But instead of telling their friends to check out Bob’s web site they simply email them a copy of the actual eBook. Why not, it doesn’t cost Bob any money right? Those people then tell their friends, who tell their friends, who tell their friends. A couple of weeks later Bob’s knot tying eBook is in the hands of hundreds, even thousands of people…for free. And this is just the first “back door”.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are three (3) "Back Doors" that people use regularly to easily obtain free access to your product:</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back Door #1: Get a copy via email, newsgroups, forums, eBay, MSN, ICQ, ... whatever </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back Door #2: Get refunded and keep the product </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back Door #3: Locate the download page without paying </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And here’s another scary fact: For every 10 copies downloaded, 4 of those are stolen*. How lightly would you take it if you sold a tangible product, like a t-shirt, and only 6 out of ten t-shirts that left the store were paid for? These are lost sales and income forgone, there’s no more blunt way to put it. If you can guarantee that the only way they can get your product is through your payment process you’ve just stopped that leak and increased your profits.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But right now online merchants have no idea who is really downloading their products, or what happens after the downloaded. They lose total control of its distribution. Some thieves/weasels/snakes …whatever you want to call them… even go so far as to sell stolen software and eBooks as their own for a greatly reduced price. This is probably the greatest risk to selling a digital product, and if you ask anyone that’s been doing it for a while they will have experienced this nightmare first hand. The people out there that do this are much worse than one guy that just gets your product for free. These people distribute hundreds or thousands of your product and you don’t see a cent of it. They saturate the market and decrease the value of your product, until it’s virtually worthless. They have to be stopped.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Back Door” #2:</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Back to Bob. There is another big problem for Bob when it comes to protecting his eBook. He doesn’t know that many payment processors promptly, and without hesitation, honor each and every refund request, no questions asked. Seriously…no questions at all, one simple email is all it takes. There's usually no need for the customer to explain anything, just that they would like a refund. They will get their refund right away and the you, the merchant, don’t have a say in the matter at all. And you guessed it, they get to keep the product, for free. There is no requirement to return the product like with a traditional refund, since there's no way to be sure the product was really deleted. Imagine the absolute uproar brick-and-mortar merchants would be in if customers were allowed 100% unconditional refunds on request, and the customer gets to keep the shirt, vacuum cleaner, DVD player, or whatever? Ridiculous right? But it happens to online merchants like Bob every day.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Back Door” #3:</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lastly, Bob’s uploaded product is also easily and regularly downloaded for free by potential customers right from his own web site. People can get to his download page in any number of ways. For example, open up Google. Type this into the search box: “thankyou.htm ebook download”. Now go to the second and third pages. Here are some free products for you if you were the type to download copyrighted material without paying for it. Of course I’m not suggesting you do that, in fact I ask you NOT to download these products, just look at the thank you page to see that the “back door” is certainly easy to find. These people are just like Bob, and they work hard to create their web sites and their products. They are simply unaware of the kick-in-the-teeth they’re taking by not protecting it.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some conscientious merchants claim, "I'm safe, I protect my download location with a third-party tool that creates my download location on the fly." This is a false sense of security and it only blocks one back door. Basically this protection method simply hides the download location, but the product is still just as susceptible to being freely distributed after the download. And it can still be kept if a refund is issued. This is equivalent to the banks simply hiding all the money instead of putting it in the bank vault.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So how are online merchants like Bob, and you, and me supposed to stay afloat? As it is now, the only way to turn a profit is to rely on people’s goodwill in hopes that they will do the right thing. And be content in the fact that some people don't know how easy it is to get online products for free, so these people actually pay for the product. So, if you think about it, within this system it's pure luck that anyone actually pays for a digital product.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But there is hope. There is a real way to stop all types of thieves and freebie-seekers. We must protect the product itself with unique identifiers and access codes for each customer. And until more of us become wise to this one simple truth rampant software and eBook piracy will continue to plague online merchants.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">* - average 40% worldwide software piracy rate for 2001 & 2002, and dollar losses totaling $24.05 billion, based on intensive studies by the Business Software Alliance http://www.bsa.org, and the report - "Quantifying Online Downloading of Unlicensed Software : Survey of Internet Users for BSA - May 29, 2002"</span>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-30961174304921506672008-08-16T08:42:00.000-07:002008-08-16T08:42:00.650-07:00How Did This Happen to Me? Top 10 Ways to Get Spyware or Viruses on Your Computer<div id="body">If you use the internet, you have probably been infected with a virus, trojan or spyware. According to the SANS Internet Storm Center, the average unprotected PC is infected within 20 minutes of normal internet usage. Many people want to know what they did to get infected. Unfortunately, usually it was just one wrong click.<br />
<br />
Here are the top reasons people get infected and how to prevent these common internet security threats.<br />
<br />
<b>10. Exchanging files in chat rooms.</b><br />
<br />
You should never download files from sources you don’t trust. Viruses and other internet security threats can look like valid files or photos. Always scan files with a virus scanner before opening them.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Clicking on popup ads.</b><br />
<br />
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t like popup ads. But whether you like them or not, you should never click on them. Popup ads can take you to a website that secretly downloads adware onto your computer. Enabling a popup blocker on your computer can help protect you. Some popups come from adware programs that have downloaded onto your computer, so if you still see popups after installing a popup blocker, scan your computer for spyware or adware.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Email attachments. </b><br />
<br />
Viruses can be sent out as email attachments to infect your computer if you open them. If you download your email into an email program, scan all email attachments with a virus scanner. Most major webmail programs scan attachments before you download them, but you should still not download files from unknown sources. “Phishing” email, claiming to be from your bank or other financial institution which asks you to provide personal information or download something to your computer is another common email threat.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Instant messaging.</b><br />
<br />
Because people are cautious with email attachments, new viruses are spreading through instant messaging programs. Infections look like valid files or photos, so always be careful accepting file transfers, even from sources you trust.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Downloading music.</b><br />
<br />
Many websites that advertise free music downloads are loaded with spyware. You can even get spyware from these websites without manually starting a download. Other sites make you accept a spyware download to get the music you want.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Browsing websites.</b><br />
<br />
Some websites use “drive-by downloads” – misleading dialogue boxes to secretly install spyware programs. Sometimes spyware can install even if you do not choose “yes” or “accept”. Keep your browser security settings on default to protect yourself against these infections.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Installing free programs or screen savers.</b><br />
<br />
Check the license agreement of any program you install to confirm it does not come bundled with other programs. License agreements are supposed to explain if the software you are downloading will cause advertisements or other downloads. These programs may have long or confusing license agreements where they have buried this information. Always carefully read what you agree to before you download free software.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Adult-related websites.</b><br />
<br />
Many of these sites make a profit by forcing viewers to download spyware and adware to access their site. You may not be able to view these sites if you are using a secure browser or have your security settings too high.<br />
<br />
<b>2. P2P programs like Kazaa or Limewire.</b><br />
<br />
If you share music using peer-to-peer networks, you may be forced to download advertising software onto your computer. This software can generate popups from within your computer. In these cases, you may see popups even if you are not online.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Gaming websites.</b><br />
<br />
It may seem that viewing spoilers for online games will let you win faster, but it can slow down your computer with spyware. Mick Lathrop, part of StopSign’s Spyware Research team says, “I get most of my spyware samples from gaming-related websites.” Avoid any site that requires a software download to access information.<br />
<br />
Even if you have an anti-virus product on your computer, confirm that it protects against the growing threat of spyware. Enable a popup blocker and firewall for further protection. Using safe browsing habits and good security software can keep you safe on the internet.</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-75961215284452873222008-08-14T08:40:00.000-07:002008-08-14T08:40:01.236-07:00Is Shopping Online For Your Horse Gifts Safe?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Shopping for horse gifts or other gift items on the internet </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is quick, convenient and is probably safer than you think. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">However, you still need to be aware that it is essential to </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">vigorously protect your privacy and financial information </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">when making purchases online.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you take the necessary precautions to protect </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">yourself when shopping for those special gifts for horse </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">lovers, it should be no riskier than buying by mail order or </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">over the phone.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To make your shopping experience a safe and happy one, the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Following suggestions may be of help:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. When shopping, always be sure that the Web site is secure </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">before you provide any financial information, like your bank </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">account number or credit card information.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Secured Web sites will use encryption to scramble your </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">information when transmitted over the Internet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There are a couple of ways for you to identify if a Web site </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is secure.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a. A Web site address that is secure is preceded by "https". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For example,https//www.secure-site.com.The letter s at </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the end of http indicates that Web site is secure.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">b. Look for a yellow or golden closed lock or an unbroken </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">key at the bottom of your browser window.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Web sites may use other symbols to indicate their Web </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">site is secure, so if you don't see the two symbols </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">mentioned above continue to investigate and see if you can </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">locate other symbols or information indicating their Web </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">site is secure.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. Still uncomfortable with providing your billing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">information over the Internet? Then you might want to ask </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the business you're shopping if they use alternate methods, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">such as the telephone.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. Whenever possible, it is recommended paying by credit </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">card; this will offer you added protection if a dispute </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">should arise.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. If you prefer not paying by credit card, request that </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">your purchase be sent C.O.D. You can make your payment by </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">check or money order, this is easier to trace than cash. It </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is probably a good idea that you never pay in cash for </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">obvious reasons.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. Some businesses display the Better Business Bureau logo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">on their Web Site, others do not. If you're not feeling at </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">ease, consider checking with the Better Business Bureau for </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a reliability report. The report will include such </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">information as; the length of time the company has been in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">business, the company's complaint history and whether </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the business participates in BBB programs, such as dispute </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">mediation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6. If you shop online auctions, be sure you exercise the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">same good sense you use for your other transactions. Do your </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">homework. Check the "feedback" areas of online auction </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">sites; most of the time they are a good source for getting </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">information about other buyers' who have purchased from the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">seller. You can always check with the Better Business </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Bureau nearest the seller for any complaints if the seller </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">is a business.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Copyright © Mike Gorzalka All Rights Reserved Worldwide.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Roundup puts out a blockbuster newsletter which offers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> some *great* information on every thing form shopping to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> horsemanship and you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You can subscribe here,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Roundup or</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Perfect-Horse-Gifts.com</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You have permission to publish this article</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your web site,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">free of charge, as long as the content of this article is</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">not altered in any way and the author bylines are included.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you choose to publish this article I would appreciate a</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Quick e-mail letting me know where it will be published.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">http://www.mike@perfect-horse-gifts.com or</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mike@perfect-horse-gifts.com</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">of my personal opinions and beliefs and should not be taken</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">as anything more.</span>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-31694038222169822482008-08-12T08:39:00.000-07:002008-08-12T08:39:00.785-07:00Securities<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">NETWORK SECURITIES: IMPORTANCE OF SECURITIES</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Computers and securities must form a strong partnership to keep information safe and secure. It is important for people who spend time surfing the web to understand much of the information given out is easily accessible by individuals who desire to eavesdrop on the data. Unless the web site you are viewing has taken special precautions to secure the web pages, they are open for anyone with the right tools to intercept information over the Web.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Data security has taken on new meaning in recent years, particularly with the introduction and widespread use of the Internet for people and businesses to take care of the things they need to do. Many people see the Internet as a big open door inviting almost anyone to enter their system and stay for a while. With the proper measures, this does not have to be the case and you can effectively close the door and only allow a select group of people inside.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are a number of different ways you can get the data security you need to protect your system through the use of software. Some of these programs work to defend your system by providing encryption which basically scrambles information so it can not be utilized until it has been properly unscrambled on the system or another one. You can find programs that will inspect your system, looking for holes others may take advantage of and offering solution.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Software exists allowing the person in charge of the network to know the instant an intruder is noticed on the system so appropriate steps can be taken quickly. There are many other good programs on the market you help you protect your system and data. Be proactive and find the solutions you need before you absolutely need them.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Getting Data Security Software</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By far, the best place to start your search for the data security software you need is through the Internet. You can learn in detail about different software packages currently available and choose the one or combination of them to provide the security you need. Making sure your data is secure should not be left to chance.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">EMAIL ENCRYPTION</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Email encryption can be a great step to make sure the messages you send via email are kept completely private and out of the view of anyone else. One of the great things about living in the USA is the ability to pass snail mail from one person to another without worrying about anyone reading through it and casting aspersions. Some people living in countries not so free do not have the freedom to send mail without fear. The same privacy we receive in snail mail is what we should expect when sending digital mail to people we care about. While you do not need to worry about the government reading through your email (for the most part), other people may eavesdrop. There are a number of people who get a thrill out of looking at other people's email without permission by using various programs to snoop into the email.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One of things to consider is some people do not use any kind of email encryption whatsoever. These people are basically writing information on a wall for anyone who desires to read it and look it over. While you may not be passing any personally sensitive material, you may not want people to know the details of your life found in the emails you send.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Email encryption basically allows your computer to encode your message so that it does not make sense to people who may intercept it. The person it is meant for can decode the message to read it properly</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SECURITY SOFTWARE</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Security software is all about protecting your computer systems and data from those who would like to gain access to it for a variety of reasons. Many companies have found it necessary to create websites to tell the world who they are and what they have to offer but it also carries with it a problem. The moment you put up a web server at your site, you are inviting the world to your site and possibly to other portions of your system.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SPAM FILTERS</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Spam filters can be one of the best tools you can use to get rid of practically all of the junk mail you and/or your company receives. It is amazing the amount of spam delivered to people all across the United States of America each and every day. Various companies help to deliver hundreds of millions of advertisements and contacts to people each and every day through email in the USA alone.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEM</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Intrusion detection systems can be the safeguard you need to protect your computer system from unauthorized access by people who do not have your permission to be in a particular area of the system. It is a step to make sure your data and IT systems are as safe as possible all of the time. You should recognize the possibility of intruders entering your system from remote locations outside of your network and from inside it as well.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">VIRUS PROTECTION</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Virus protection should be a part of every single computer used to surf the Internet or to work as part of a network. If you can read this page, posted on the web, you need to have some sort of quality virus protection on your computer. It seems almost everyone has had some kind of bout with a virus of some type either catching it and destroying it or suffering from its damaging effects.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">EMAIL FILTERS</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Email filters can read your email so you do not have to read every single message delivered to your computer. It is amazing to consider the impact email has had on people's lives since it was first introduced to the general public back in the 1990's. I can remember the computer systems designed to specifically handle email and very little else so people could keep in contact with friends and relatives many miles away.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">COMPUTER ENCRYPTION</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Encryption is one of the most popular ways information is protected and has been a way to send hidden or secret messages from one place to another. The idea is based on an age old practice called cryptography which is a coded message sent an individual who has the key to unlock the message in code so that it makes sense. Coded messages have been found dating back as far as the Roman Empire.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">COMPUTER VIRUS PROTECTION</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Computer virus protection should be one of the most important aspects of your computer system no matter if your computer is part of a huge network or is a single personal computer. There are a couple of different kinds of viruses and many variations of them, some of which have literally traveled around the world. Usually, once a virus has settled into a computer, it looks for the opportunity to duplicate itself and email itself to others.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SECURING WEB SERVER SOFTWARE</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Web server software is one of the most important aspects of your server allowing people to view your website at any time day or night. The Internet has had a profound effect on the entire world and continues to grow more and more each hour of every day as people produce unimaginable amounts of information worldwide. Unfortunately, with all of the web traffic, there are also some people who do not use the Web for good.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WEBSITE FILTERS</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Web site filters are a wonderful way for companies to make sure their employees are visiting websites appropriate to their job description. One of the major difficulties with the Internet is the amount of inappropriate websites popping up when you search for almost anything on the Internet. Imagine what would happen if your receptionist is looking up information pertinent for his/her job and a pornographic site pops up as a customer enters the door who catches a glimpse of the pictures on the monitor.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">SERVER SOFTWARE</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Server software is at the very heart of any computer network as it provides the tools needed to make the network operate properly. After investing in quality hardware for the network, it is of equal importance to make sure the software used is of high quality and performs the tasks you desire efficiently without fail. You want to make sure you have a powerful combination of both hardware and software</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">COMPLYING WITH CHILDREN INERNET ACT</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Childrens Internet Protection Act was introduced to congress in 1999 with the idea of providing some level of protection for the content minors are allowed to view on certain computer systems. All schools with minors in attendance must follow the rules established by this law. Also, any public place providing Internet access to the public which includes minors must also follow this law.</span>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-40336378719644856592008-08-10T08:36:00.000-07:002008-08-10T08:36:00.635-07:00Anti-Spyware Protection: Behind How-To Tips<div id="body" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There is no doubt that "how-to articles" have become a separate genre. One can find such an article about almost anything; there are even some entitled "How to Write a How-To Article". And, of course, the Web is swarming with the ones like "10 Steps to Protect Your PC from Spyware"(if not 10, any number will do; odd ones like 5,7,9 are most popular) or "How to Forget About Spyware For Good". Please don't accuse me of being sarcastic -- I am not; all these articles by all means are informative and so very useful. They all include really handy tips to protect you from this recently emerged plague called spyware. But…<br />
<br />
A typical how-to article is short and snappy, with all unnecessary particulars carefully avoided. An ideal one is a clear scheme of what to do and how (because it is a how-to article). Some essential facts will surely be omitted just for the sake of brevity. Let's look into the author's "trash bin" for info ruthlessly (and maybe baselessly) thrown away.<br />
<br />
<b>Hint one: What on earth is spyware?</b><br />
<br />
When you decide to apply "anti-spyware protection", you'd better realize what you want to be protected against. Unfortunately, there is not such thing as complete security. And…<br />
<br />
"There is no such thing as spyware in itself"-- you are perplexed, aren't you? I bet you are; what's more, it was Kaspersky who recently expressed this opinion. "The term spyware is basically a marketing gimmick," wrote Kaspersky in the company weblog on March 03, 2005. "Just to separate new ersatz-security products from traditional ones, just to push almost zero-value products to the security market."<br />
<br />
This quote (extremely curtailed and out of the context) have already spread all over the Internet, but it is very useful to read the whole posting to see the whole picture, so visit <u>http://www.viruslist.com/en/Weblog?Weblogid=156679222</u><br />
<br />
Few definitions caused so much controversy and confusion as did "spyware". Eugeny Kaspersky blames marketers for having coined this term--and partially he is right. But only partially.<br />
<br />
As a professional, he classified various malicious programs according to their structure and characteristics; in this classification there is indeed no place for "spyware", which is too vague term to exactly denote anything with a particular structure.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, marketers and journalists needed an expressive, easy-to-remember word to name existing (!) information-stealing programs to tell users (who may be not so versed in software as its developers) how to protect their computers.<br />
<br />
What is "spyware" then? <i>Spyware is a commonly used general term for any type of software that gathers personal information about the user without his or her knowledge and transmits it to a destination specified by the author of the program. Spyware applications are frequently bundled in other programs--often freeware or shareware--that can be downloaded from the Internet.</i><br />
<br />
So, the term is very general and doesn't reflect either structure or characteristics of such software. After all, <i>it is only a conventional word for programs that steal information.</i><br />
<br />
According to Kaspersky, programs which are now called spyware, have existed for years. It's true. Who disagrees? Password-stealing Trojans were actually known as far back as in 1996. But it's also true that most dangerous information-stealing programs are on the rise. Spy Audit survey made by ISP Earthlink and Webroot Software (the survey lasted for a whole year 2004) showed--16.48% of all scanned consumer PCs in 2004 had a system-monitor, 16.69% had a Trojan.<br />
<br />
Another bitter truth is that some unscrupulous producers now are jumping at the chance of making quick money. There are lots of suspicious, low-performing, or adware-installing products. See, for example, the list at <u>http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm</u> But saying that all the dedicated anti-spyware solutions are like that…To put it mildly, it's a bit too much.<br />
<br />
<b>Hint Two: Too Many Promises Made -- Is it Possible to Keep them?</b><br />
<br />
There are loads of software programs nowadays created for fighting spyware. An ordinary consumer tends to get lost in plenty of information and lots of products, which are supposed to help him get rid of spyware. If all the advertising claims were true, it would have been easy. In reality it isn't.<br />
<br />
Anti- spyware and anti-viruses work almost the same way. The efficiency of most anti-spyware programs is determined (and restricted, too) by signature bases. The more code clips (i.e. signatures) there are in the base, the more effectively the program works – it means the more spyware programs it can identify. Only programs from the signature base are recognized as spyware; all other spy programs will be running unnoticed and unstopped.<br />
<br />
So, absolutely all the signature- basis- containing programs are pretty much the same, whatever their ads say. They all rely on the same "match pattern"; the difference is only how many signatures each of them contains.<br />
<br />
What conclusion we can make here? The bigger the signature base, the more reliable the product is, no matter whether it is anti-spyware or an anti-virus. If the software applies signature base, it's better to choose a product from a big company, which can afford spending plenty of money on research and updates.<br />
<br />
Another conclusion we can make is that all such software without constant updating pretty quickly becomes useless and even dangerous, because users still expect it to protect their PCs. New spyware is constantly being developed, and anti-spyware developers have to catch up with it all the time. This race started when very first malicious programs appeared, and it is impossible to say whether it will ever end.</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-78647970430578245312008-08-08T08:34:00.000-07:002008-08-08T08:34:14.985-07:00New CipherSend Online Security Service Thwarts Email Address Theft And Soothes Password Fatigue<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In 1997, I decided after 15 years as a practicing CPA that it was time to put down my pencil and explore a new venture on the exciting new internet which, while perhaps not exactly in its infancy at that point, was still at least a pimply faced teenaged medium still unexplored by most accountants.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I founded CPAsites.com and made a life for myself and a few other employees by designing and managing websites for CPA firms across the country. We had no competition in the early, heady days of the late 90's and were able to quickly secure a name for ourselves by offering quality sites to quality firms.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since 1997 however, the internet has grown from a pimply faced teenaged medium to a...well, goliath-sized pimply faced teenaged medium. I can recall getting my first spam messages in the early days of email and like everyone else, I thought they were "kinda' neat" in the way that my teenage daughters think college mail is "kinda' neat."</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As a website developer in 2005 however, spam has become the bane of my existence. Invariably, once a week, we get a call or email from a CPA exasperated by the volume of spam email he or she is receiving and, also invariably, we - or the website we host for the accountant - gets the blame. "Please remove all of our email addresses off the site!" they proclaim with finality.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So much for the golden age of instant internet communication at your fingertips. Dutifully, we would comply with their requests and it wasn't until I endeavored to solve another common CPA complaint that I stumbled on the perfect solution for email theft.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For several years, the second most common complaint coming from my CPA clients was concerning an easy way to have clients email them securely from their website. After we explain to them the intricacies of password management and secure logins, they immediately dropped their security plans. They, like everyone else on the internet, suffer from "password fatigue" and weren't about to subject their clients to learning and remembering yet another password just to send their CPA some tax information.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About a year ago, we finally decided there SHOULD be an easy way to just click on a website or email link and download a person's encryption key so that you can email encrypted documents to the individual. We searched. There wasn't. Seeing a critical need not only for our CPA clients, but also for attorneys, physicians and other financial professionals, we called an encryption programmer, gave him our idea and said "do it."</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The result is CipherSend.com which began selling in March of 2005 for $19.95. As the encryption programmers promised, it works perfectly for what we needed (click the button, encrypt anything and send it with no password), but imagine our surprise when we realized it also solved an even bigger problem - spambots stealing our clients' email addresses!</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When our clients replace their email addresses with CipherSend buttons, spambot crawlers are stopped in their tracks. The button-owner's email address is stored on our secure server, not on his or her public website. Needless to say, both we and our clients were rather delighted that a "side effect" of the program was even better than the intended cure!</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The service is ideally suited for professionals and physicians who can now quickly and easily receive secure documents from clients, associates and patients at their standard email address without the inconvenience of giving out passwords or secure logins, but it is also finding a huge market among millions of aggravated spam victims needing to replace an email address posted on a public website or included in the coding of a contact form.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">CipherSend offers advantages over standard website email or contact forms with its spam-block security and double notification to site visitors when their email has been delivered and again when it is opened by the recipient. Despite the low price, CipherSend uses sophisticated 2048-bit RSA asymmetrical (two-key) encryption algorithms with maximum key length and meets government security regulations required in the healthcare industry for the transfer of patient medical information.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Since messages and documents are encrypted right on the sender's computer with a downloaded public key and decrypted by the recipient's private key, CipherSend represents true end-to-end security. A demo of the button can be found on the CipherSend.com website and the program has a 30 day free trial membership.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Generally, "the law of unintended consequences" is a nightmare scenario for people introducing a new product or service on the market, but for this fortunate CPA, "two birds with one stone" just took on new meaning and made my life a whole lot less stressful!</span>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-73863112557481840482008-08-06T07:53:00.000-07:002008-08-06T07:55:44.690-07:00Protecting Your Children On The Internet<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you are a parent, as am I, I think we can agree there is </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">little else more important than keeping our children safe </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and protected. It's difficult enough keeping them safe from </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">the unscrupulous people we read about in the news, but </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">dealing with children and the Internet takes it to a </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">completely new level.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Many young people find instant messaging and e-mail a </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">convenient and fun way to talk with their friends. If you </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">have children, like me, when they're not on the phone, </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">they're talking with their friends on the Internet. We have </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">very strict rules and guidelines about who they can talk </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">with and for how long. We have given them detailed </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">instructions on what to do when they receive e-mail from </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">someone they don't know or receive an anonymous instant </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">message.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Recently, someone close to me received a death threat via an </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">anonymous instant message. The language this person used was </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">so vulgar and explicit you would have thought it came from a </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">prison inmate. Interestingly enough, the person at the other </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">end was a child.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After significant investigation we determined this person </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">was a school mate. They had received detailed information about </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">the child including the child's instant messenger alias, </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">their home address and color, and what type of cars the </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">family drove. Can you imagine how scared this child and </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">child's family was? Quite frankly, it was not only sad but </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">sickening that another child could be so verbally brutal. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Additional investigation revealed that the school these </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">children go to were aware that this had been going on for </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">quite some time. Other children had been receiving </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">similar threats.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This particular event was all the result of several children </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">speaking in a chat roam and one child in particular got </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">upset about something that was said. That child contacted </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">another child, who is known to be mean, and asked them to </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">scare one of the other children. We got to the bottom of the </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">whole mess and everyone felt a bit of relief.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's very important to pay attention and, in some cases, </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">monitor what children are doing on the Internet. It's for </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">their protection and the protection of others. I'm sure I am </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">going to get an ear full from privacy rights advocates on </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">this one. Regardless, the safety of our children is one of </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">the most important tasks a parent has.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If your children use e-mail and Instant Messaging on a </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">regular basis you should;</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1) Limit the number of people they can e-mail and message with; </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /> <br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2) Work with them to develop an approved list of friends; </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /> <br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3) Limit the amount of the time they spend e-mailing and </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">messaging; </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /> <br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4) Make your presence known while they are e-mailing or </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">messaging; and </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /> <br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5) If necessary install some sort of monitoring software to see </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">what is going on in chat rooms.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Update: Shortly after writing this article, a 13 year old </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">boy at a middle school in my area was arrested for e-mailing </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">death threats to two teachers. In one e-mail he indicated he </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">was planning on bringing a gun to school to kill a teacher. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The other e-mail, sent to a teacher at a different school, </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">indicated that he planned on targeting students as well. For </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">further details please see the full article at South </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Florida's Sun Sentinel "http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pcletter18feb18,1,216444. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">story?ctrack=1&cset=true."</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For information on computer monitoring software take a look </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">at WatchRight http://www.watchright.com/.</span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A good site to visit to learn more about protecting children </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">on the Internet is www.protectkids.com. It's full of great </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">information every parent should know. Other sites you may </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">want to visit are http://www.isafe.org/, and </span><br style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Obscenity Crimes Reporting http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/.</span>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-50383671587555362642008-07-15T04:31:00.000-07:002008-07-15T04:31:00.578-07:00Backup and Save your business!There you are busily typing away on your PC or your <br />
Laptop, and all of a sudden the strangest thing happens. <br />
The screen goes black, extinquished like a candle in the <br />
wind.<br />
A message appears saying: "The file hal.dll is missing or <br />
corrupt. Windows can not start." Well you know that 95% of <br />
computer glitches are solved by a simple reboot, so <br />
click…oops, can't click, no Windows. Ok then, you reset, <br />
and you think you are sure to be OK when the reboot <br />
completes.<br />
Wrong! The same error message appears "The file hal.dll is <br />
missing or corrupt. Windows can not start." How is it <br />
possible for one measly file to kill your system?<br />
DISASTER…What to do now? Phone your tech friend and ask <br />
his advice. He tells you the bad news. You are obliged to <br />
re-install Windows from the original disc! Oh My God! Will <br />
I lose all my programs and data? Yes, you will have to re- <br />
install all your programs. No your data may be safe, but <br />
only if you don't have to reformat your hard disc.<br />
But, your friend asks, I hope you have all your backups.<br />
DO YOU, because that is the key to saving your business. <br />
You know that in today's business world, 95% of your <br />
business information is stored on your computer. This <br />
applies not only to online businesses, but also to offline <br />
ones. In this paperless society of ours, business people <br />
are printing less and less of all their transactions.<br />
Think hard. Where the heck did I hide my original Windows <br />
disc? Really, are you organized enough that you can easily <br />
find your original installation discs, along with the code <br />
numbers they need to re-install.<br />
You own some programs you downloaded off the Net, but they <br />
are stored on your hard drive. Are they backed up? When is <br />
the last time you backed up your data, the lifeblood of <br />
your business.<br />
What backup system do you use? Do you use the old- <br />
fashioned tape systems, or do you backup to CD or DVD? <br />
Whichever one you use, the key is that your backups must be <br />
frequent enough to keep you out of major trouble.<br />
Program backups do not have to be constantly repeated like <br />
Data does. Programs do not change, unless you downloaded an <br />
update. Then your update must be saved on your hard drive, <br />
and also backed up.<br />
Data includes so many different things that it's easy to <br />
forget to back up some items. 'My Documents' contains much <br />
of the data, but not nearly all. Do you know where your <br />
Favorite links are stored? Where is your email that you <br />
saved? Along with your email address book, Microsoft hides <br />
these files quite well.<br />
It took me weeks to find, and then remember where they are <br />
hidden in Documents and Settings. I never did find the <br />
email settings, so have not saved those.<br />
Bottom line: what should you back up, and how often?<br />
Whatever media you use, you must have at least 2 current <br />
backups of everything, and preferably 3. If you use CD or <br />
DVD, have you ever noticed how some discs suddenly become <br />
unreadable, and for no apparent reason. It happens oh too <br />
frequently.. I lose up to 15% this way. CDs have an <br />
expected shelf life of maybe 2 years. Some will surely last <br />
longer, too many die prematurely.<br />
Does that mean you should not use CDs or DVDs to back up? <br />
Of course you should. It is the cheapest backup system I know about. But you MUST have more than one copy. I prefer 3. <br />
The proof of this comes when you save your business by <br />
being able to start over because your backups are up to <br />
date.<br />
Imagine if you lose all your programs and have to buy them <br />
over again.<br />
Imagine if you lose all your emails that have your <br />
registration codes for the programs you bought online. And <br />
what about all the sales and purchase data in your emails. <br />
What about your contact list, your email lists, etc.<br />
Imagine losing all your accounting data that you must have <br />
for year-end tax reporting!<br />
Enough said. Programs already backed up on 2 or 3 copies only need to be updated by adding new programs you buy, and upgrades that come out.<br />
Data should be backed up based on the frequency of your <br />
transactions. It could be daily, or every 2 or 3 days if <br />
your business is in the early growth stage..<br />
Without backups…your business may be dead in the water! <br />
Don't get careless. You may say I will save a disc or two <br />
by backing up less often. Why? One CD-rom disc costs a <br />
buck. Big deal when it means life or death for your <br />
business.<br />
Why take chances. Can anyone predict when you will have a <br />
problem, a computer crash, a new virus? Of course not. <br />
Don't live dangerously, this isn't a thrill ride, it's <br />
your life, your business life!Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-73213567085690783542008-07-13T04:30:00.000-07:002008-07-13T04:30:01.669-07:00Top 10 tips for Safe Internet ShoppingOver £5 billion pounds was spent on online shopping in 2004. The Internet was the fastest growing retail sector last year, attracting one in four shoppers. The growth rate for the online market was 27.4 per cent, six times better than for the traditional retail market. This looks set to rise as more and more people look for more convenient ways of shopping. It’s easy to search for a product and then purchase it – all at the click of a button and from the comfort of your home. You have a fun time shopping, browsing, reading and gathering information about products, and you don't have to take time out from your busy schedule to fight traffic, crowds and queues to buy the perfect gift for your recipient.<br />
But how can you ensure you are shopping safely? Brad Bagherian, Managing Director, at Elaborations Ltd, a web design company in Amersham, has put together the following tips for safe surfing:<br />
1. Take your time<br />
Take your time when purchasing online since high pressure sales tactics, just like in the real world, often indicate possible frauds. Ensure the site is easy to use, designed well and looks professional. An amateur’s site will often look cluttered.<br />
If you are in doubt, stop the transaction. You can stop the transaction anytime before pressing the Pay and / or Confirm button that sends your order off to the business.<br />
2. Look for Contact Details<br />
You may think all online shops will have their contact details on their website. You might be surprised to find that some do not provide their details, no email address and no phone number. This is a sure red flag. Reputable online shops will always provide concise contact information, this includes a physical address and a phone number. If you are suspicious trust your gut feelings. Do not buy online if you are unsure that the shop is real.<br />
3. Consider all costs before purchasing<br />
Shop around and compare prices before buying. When you calculate the cost of a product make sure that you take into account of the delivery charge and the VAT – these are often not included in the overall price. Also make sure what you're buying is not subject to any import restrictions.<br />
4. Check the Returns Policy<br />
Most reputable online shops offer strong guarantees and stand behind their products. Check the Returns Policy before you proceed to the checkout. Things you should take particular note of are; what happens if the goods are damaged or faulty, who should pay the postage costs for the return of an unwanted item and how many days you have to return an unwanted item. Online shopping surpasses the physical shops in convenience, but there is a disadvantage of being unable to physically touch the products, so the greater the refund policy period the better. If there is no refund policy, the best advice is to stay away.<br />
Plus don't forget that under the Distance Selling Regulations, you do have a seven-day-cooling-off period in case you change your mind. For further information on Distance Selling Regulations see http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/ecomm.htm<br />
5. Check Delivery Options<br />
Find out when they will be delivering and whether you can choose the delivery date and time. Make sure the address you provide for delivery will have someone available who can sign for the package when it arrives.<br />
Various delivery options may incur extra costs. For example, faster delivery, registered post and weekend delivery may cost extra. So if you don’t want to be surprised when checking out, make sure you find out what their delivery terms are like.<br />
6. Protect your Personal Information<br />
Avoid giving out personal information that is not strictly necessary for a successful purchase.<br />
Check the companies Privacy Policy (which is usually located at the bottom of the website) which tells you what they intend to do with your information. They should maintain your personal details in the strictest privacy and confidentiality according to the 1998 Data Protection Act.<br />
7. Ensure the Transaction is Secure<br />
Check whether the website complies with the industry’s security standards (SSL) which help prevent fraud and protect you by encrypting the personal information you send over the Internet during the transaction. This encryption means that a hacker will not be able to steal your credit card and personal information. You must ensure the following two measures are in place before you complete any transaction on the Internet <br />
Ensure a padlock image is present on the bottom right hand side of your browser <br />
Ensure the web address begins with “https”<br />
8. Pay by Credit Card<br />
This will give you added protection because your credit card issuer becomes jointly responsible for the goods that you buy. So if there is a problem that the company won’t resolve, the credit card company will assist you. While the problem is being investigated, you would not need to pay the credit card charge and if the company still doesn’t deliver or they are a scam, you’re in a much better position to claim your money back.<br />
9. Keep a record of everything<br />
Once you have made an online purchase, you will receive an email confirmation and an order reference number. Print these out and keep a note of any reference numbers provided during the transaction. It would also be useful to print out the details of the product or service you ordered. If there was a special offer on at the time, print out the web page with the offer on it. This will include vital information such as the web address, date and time it was printed. If you can not print out the information, then save the page in a folder on your PC for reference. These may be relevant if a dispute arises.<br />
10. Know Your Rights<br />
Online consumers have exactly the same rights as offline consumers. The goods should fit the product description and be as satisfactory as described online. If something goes wrong with your purchase, there are actions you can take with the shop, and your bank to fix the problem. For further information take a look at the Office of Fair Trading website.Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-25558020451490469222008-07-11T04:28:00.000-07:002008-07-11T04:28:00.733-07:00Internet Shopping - How Safe Is It?<div id="body">Millions of people make purchases online, but many people are still wary. They fear the unknown and have many doubts and questions about who they are dealing with. They are afraid of being scammed, and rightfully so. Online shopping can be a completely safe and rewarding experience provided you are dealing with a legitimate, reputable retailer. But how do you know if they are legitimate??? Here lies the "fear of the unknown."<br />
Well, as with anything in life, there are precautions to take, questions you should ask yourself, and signs to look out for. Provided you are careful with who you decide to purchase from, online shopping can be a very convenient and pleasurable experience.<br />
<u>Important Safety Precautions</u>:<br />
Take a good look around the website. Make sure you read their Privacy Policy. A privacy policy let's you know the procedures and methods they have in place to secure your personal information. Find the answers to these questions...Do they share your information with others? Some companies sell or distribute your information to other companies. You may wind up on everybody's mailing list. Do they have security measures in place to protect your information (i.e. SSL)? SSL is the abbreviation for Secured Socket Layer. SSL is security software that encrypts information transmitted between browsers. What this means in layman's terms is that your personal information such as name, address, credit card number, etc. is coded or scrambled so that anyone who may try to intercept this information as it is transmitting cannot read it. But don't just rely on them telling you that their site is secure, check for yourself. You will know when you are in a secure browser by looking at the bottom browser bar on your computer (lower right). If the browser is secure, you will see a security lock image. Also check the web address in your top browser bar. Secure web addresses begin with "https" whereas, non-secure pages begin with "http."<br />
Setting up accounts with online stores is quite common. However, many people are leery of this because they don't understand why it is sometimes necessary. Generally, the only information you are providing is your name, address, email address, and sometimes your phone number. This is all necessary information that the store needs in order to ship your order or contact you regarding your order. Setting up an account with the retailer usually provides you with additional such as tracking the status of your order. On the other hand, if the account set-up asks for more than just your basic contact information, then you may not want <br />
to proceed. You should not be required to provide your social security number, bank account number, or birthdate. This information is much more personal and should not be necessary to have an order shipped.<br />
Read the shipping and returns policies before making a purchase. Make sure you feel comfortable with them. Find answers to these questions...What is their shipping timeframe? Is it within a reasonable amount of time? Will they notify you if it will take longer than anticipated? What choices will you have then? Do they allow returns? Are there restrictions on what items you can return and explanations as to why? Do they make sense?<br />
Don't make huge purchases right off the bat. Make a small, low cost purchase with the company and consider it a low-risk test of their credibility. This allows the retailer a chance to prove themselves worthy of your business, but limits the monetary risk you are taking. Should all go well, you can make a larger purchase in the future with peace of mind, now knowing that this is a legitimate business.<br />
There are many advantages to purchasing online and as long as you are careful with who you choose to deal with you can reap the rewards.<br />
<u>Here are some of the benefits</u>:<br />
<u>Convenience</u>: Why fight the crowds in the stores, especially during the holidays, when you can sit at home on your computer and shop. And price comparisons are just a click away when shopping on the internet. There's no need to fight traffic running from store to store looking for the "best deal." You can have your purchase delivered to your doorstep within a few days.<br />
<u>Prices</u>: Online retailers and storefronts purchase their products from the same manufacturers. However, an online retailer doesn't have the costly overhead that a storefront has (i.e. Lease payments on the building, heat and electric, just to name a few). Therefore, the online retailer doesn't have to markup the price as much as the storefront in order to make the same profit. So you, the consumer, come out the winner!<br />
<u>Store Hours</u>: Online retailers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Shop at your convenience.<br />
So as long as you take some simple precautions, shopping online can be a very pleasurable, time saving and money saving experience.</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-33053946624646805562008-07-09T04:27:00.000-07:002008-07-09T04:27:00.288-07:00Web and Computer Security<div id="body">Well, if that would have been said to me by my father when I was 2 years of age, I would have understood. But when today, my own computer tells me that when I am 34, I wonder why I spent $1500 on my computer hardware and software just to enjoy the (un-realized) benefits of this great and revolutionary information technology?<br />
Today’s cyberspace is hazardous. None of today’s PC users can claim that they never had a computer virus issue or a PC security breach. Now, if you count today’s number of PC users worldwide, they will soon be 1 billion by 2010 according to analysts. When I see all the computer viruses, infections, trojans, and what not around me, and compare it with the 1 billion innocent computer users around the world, I simply feel sorry not only for those billion users but for myself too. But again, as a common user myself, I must admit it was not all doomsday for the whole industry since 1987 when I started to use computers. So, as a responsible member of this great IT revolution, I must share some of the best tips and tricks that I learned to use to make the minimum room for productivity on my computer.<br />
Please note this is a tutorial for someone who has basic know-how of computer usage. For those who are newbies, I would recommend asking a local expert’s help before trying anything out mentioned in this tutorial. In that case, make room for payment from deep pocket. For your own convenience, print this tutorial for step-by-step instructions.<br />
Whenever my computer is infected, I act on any of the following options;<br />
1. FORMAT HARD DISK: I back up all of my data on a CD-Writer if it is still accessible. And then format the whole hard disk drive and re-install each and every application.<br />
2. USE SOFTWARE: I exhaust all anti-virus and other software options. This is usually my first priority as compared to formatting the whole computer hard disk drives.<br />
Now, let me explain both options in detail;<br />
PRE-REQUISITES: Make sure you have a CD-Drive (Writer), empty writable CDs, Windows OS CD (bootable) that contains files such as Format.exe, Scandisk.exe, FDisk.exe, and Attrib.exe files. Microsoft Office CD, Anti-Virus CD, GoldenHawk CD Writing Software in DOS (copy2cd.exe and cdtools.exe), Serial Numbers of your License, Driver CDs of Motherboard, VGA, Network, Sound and Modem devices. Optionally, download (using www.download.com or www.tucows.com) these software from any Internet Café when your own computer is inaccessible and save it on a CD so that you can use it anytime for security purposes;<br />
Golden Hawk DOS based CD Writing Software<br />
HTech Fireman Windows based CD Writing Software<br />
Driver Genius Pro<br />
Partition Magic<br />
AVG AntiVirus<br />
SpywareBlaster & SpywareGuard<br />
Spybot Search & Destroy<br />
Ad-Aware<br />
IE-SpyAd<br />
ZoneAlarm<br />
HiJackThis & CWShredder<br />
I have intentionally avoided mention of many commercially good and more friendly software’s mention here as I wanted everything to do FREE without any additional costs apart from the usual OS licenses. For your own convenience, you can research Google or Yahoo search engines find further information about such commercial software and their availability / pricing.<br />
1. FORMAT HARD DISK<br />
I know it is painful and surgical type of solution, but sometimes, it is the ONLY solution left after exhausting all of our efforts to revive our computer machine after a virus attack. Follow this procedure;<br />
Booting Up: Try booting your computer normally first and see if you can login easily. If you can’t or your computer hangs up, try holding F8 key when starting Windows and you will get the Safe Mode. Even if you don’t get the Safe Mode, don’t worry.<br />
Power up your computer and press DEL key or F2 key to login your CMOS. In CMOS, go to Boot Preferences and make CD Drive as boot drive as your first boot drive and change the hard disk drive as the second boot drive. If you don’t see your CD Drive in the boot-up options, your CD Drive is not properly installed. Check the connectors or ask your CD Drive provider for instructions to install the CD Drive. Now, when your CD Drive is ready, insert your Windows OS CD in the CD Drive and restart your computer machine. When prompted, select the option “Boot from CD with CD Option”. When you get the prompt, Notice the CD Drive letter that was allocated to your CD Drive when it installed the CD Driver. It is usually D: drive or the last drive letter depending on the number of your partitions. Note it down as it is the actual drive letter where you will have to type a DOS command like d:<br />
You should now be able to run all software utilities such as Format, Scandisk, FDisk or Windows Installation Setup.exe files. Right now, simply make sure they exist by typing a DOS command dir at the CD drive letter. If you don’t find it with this simple directory command, use dir/s filename to search the file. For example, to search fdisk.exe file, type dir/s fdisk.exe.<br />
BACKING UP YOUR DATA: Before formatting your hard disk drive, please make sure you have proper back up of your critical data files such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc files on a CD or any other media for backup that you have access to. In this tutorial, we assume you have a CD-Writer installed for taking backups on Writeable CDs. Their capacity is usually 700MB or less. Here, you should seriously consider using Zipping software like WinZip or WinRAR.<br />
VIA WINDOWS: If you can luckily login to your Windows OS, you should run the CD-Writer software such as HTech Fireman to back up all of your data on an empty CD. If you don’t know how to do it, read their user manual for detailed instruction set. If you can’t access your Windows OS, read on.<br />
VIA DOS: Some of the files that you wish to make back-up, may be hidden. To un-hide them, use attrib *.* +r +s +h.<br />
Now, use the software from Golden Hawk file named as copy2cd.exe to backup your data files or directories on a writeable CD. Before using this command, make sure you are in an appropriate path on the computer such as E:/ where the actual file copy2cd.exe file resides;<br />
Copy2cd c:data*.* f:<br />
Here we assumed that f: is a CD Writer drive. Now, repeat the same for all of your files to back up. When finished, run cdtools.exe command i.e. cdtools f: to finish by selecting option “Disc Finalization”.<br />
If you can’t back up your data using the above-mentioned procedure, either ask an outside expert’s help personally or via internet. If all fails, forget your data forever and carry on installing a new OS as mentioned in this tutorial.<br />
Backing up Your Drivers: An interesting tool to mentioned here is a software that automatically backs up all of your drivers of CD, modem, sound card, vga, usb, printer or just about anything that is currently installed on your system. But this software works only in an operational windows OS, and not in DOS. It is a good and time-saving practice to keep a backup of all of your drivers on a CD by using such a software. Its name is Driver Genius Pro and it is commercial software, not a freeware.<br />
USING FDISK: You may skip this option and go straight to Formatting Hard Disk option, if you wish to use other useful partitions that may contain your data. Before going ahead with this option, Make sure there is no useful data left on your computer to be backed up. This option will delete all of the computer partitions and create new ones.<br />
i) Boot up your computer using Windows OS CD.<br />
ii) Run this command <br />
fdisk<br />
iii) Press option 3 to delete all current partitions.<br />
iv) To create a new partition, select option 1 and select Y to answer the maximum size question by the program.<br />
v) Next, select option 2<br />
vi) Press Esc key to quit and restart your computer to<br />
See the URL http://www.compguystechweb.com/troubleshooting/fdisk/fdisk_scr.html for detailed instructions alongwith screenshots. Now, that you have created the primary partition, you can continue to format the newly created partition. There is a very user-friendly but commercial software called Partition Magic by PowerQuest to manage your partitions easily after installation of Windows.<br />
FORMATTING HARD DISK: Now that you have created new partitions, It is time to format them so that you can start installing Windows. This is how you make your C: drive usable by your Windows OS for installation. Boot up your computer with Windows CD and type format c: command at the prompt. When prompted for maximum size, press, YES. After complete processing you will be presented with the successful report about the formatting of the C: drive. Select your new drive name and press ENTER to finish.<br />
INSTALLING WINDOWS: Microsoft has made it very easy for a newbie to install a completely new OS on a newly formatted partition. It is all wizard based and you simply have to click NEXT each time whenever asked a question. Boot up your computer from the Windows CD and select Start with CD Option. When on DOS prompt, change to the CD Drive that it just created which is usually d: if you have only one partition C. Now type command setup.exe to start the windows installation process.<br />
During installation, make sure you properly name your PC as per your preferences and select your regions and Time zone. When finished, the computer will re-boot and during next re-boot it may ask some drivers of your Sound Card, VGA, Network, or other devices attached. Provide the requisite driver CDs and locate the paths of the appropriate drivers. If you are not sure, leave it like that and press NEXT to ignore. When your windows installation is complete, you can install Microsoft Office, setup internet connection and start using it as normally as you would. Please make sure you install all the security software such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, adware, and other software as mentioned in the next section.<br />
2. USE SOFTWARE<br />
Installing Anti-Virus: Download free AVG Antivirus software and install it. Make sure you get its free key from their website by registering. This software is not auto-updated for critical viruses and for an auto-update version, you will have to pay. If you wish to pay, we would recommend world’s most popular brands Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micros instead. No matter what Anti-Virus software you install, make sure you enable its Auto-Protect feature for automatic protection of your computer’s resources and in-coming or out-going emails from any virus attack. Some software even allow you to setup silent detection and destruction without any disturbance to your work. Further, they are auto-updated via internet at the regular interval that you setup. Hence, you can rest assured that whenever a security threat is spread all over the world, your software will automatically download the requisite updated version and install its defense on your computer.<br />
BROWSER SECURITY: To setup your browser (Internet Explorer on Windows) for maximum security against the usual threats, follow this procedure;<br />
i) Start up your browser<br />
ii) Go to IE > Tools > Windows Update > Product Updates, and selected Security Updates to be automatically updated. Microsoft releases patches and security patches from time to time to make sure your system's security is up-to-date.<br />
iii) Now, go to Internet Options/Security/Internet, press 'default level', then OK. Now press "Custom Level." In the ActiveX section, set the first two options ("Download signed and unsigned ActiveX controls) to 'prompt', and 'Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe" to 'disable'. Now you will be asked whether you want ActiveX objects to be executed and whether you want software to be installed. Sites that you know for sure are above suspicion can be moved to the Trusted Zone in Internet Option/security.<br />
If you use another browser such as Firefox or Netscape, see their documentation on how to securely set it up against any such internet threats.<br />
Installing Anti-Spyware: Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, your computer may become a victim. You can install SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard to effectively guard your computer from such internet threats.<br />
It includes Fast Real-Time Scanning engine for known spyware and heuristic/generic detection capabilities to catch new / mutated spyware and Download Protection along with Browser Hijacking Protection in real-time.<br />
Simply download the software (free) from their website and install it on your system. Make sure you download its latest update too or enable its Auto-Update feature to be updated automatically in the background. Now, when you are ready, run the software to check the spyware on your computer. When spyware are found, it reports accordingly. Press "select all", then press option "kill all checked". Although it won't protect you from 100% spyware, But it is a very important extra layer of protection.<br />
Next, install another software that is called Spybot Search & Destroy. It works exactly like SpywareBlaster, but it never hurts to have a double layer of spyware detection alongwith Spybot R&D.<br />
Installing Anti-Adware: Adware is a common term used to describe potentially dangerous websites and scripts that do data-mining, aggressive advertising, Parasites, Scumware, selected traditional Trojans, Dialers, Malware, Browser hijackers, and tracking components. There is a very good software called Ad-Aware available to scan and remove such nuisances from your system.<br />
To start using it, simply visit Lavasoft USA website and download its free non-commercial version of Ad-Aware Personal Edition. Run its setup program and install it. When prompted, ask it to scan your computer. If there are any adware found, it is detected and removed automatically by Ad-Aware. Run this software on a weekly or daily basis, if possible to keep your system clean.<br />
In addition to the Ad-Aware, Internet Explorer comes with a very handy tool that allows you to block specific sites that may carry well-known advertisers, marketers, crapware pushers to the Restricted sites Zone. If you had to input 50000+ of such sites manually yourself, it would takes years. Luckily, there is a software that does it all automatically and it is called IE-SPYAD. Once you merge this list of sites and domains into the Registry, the web sites for these companies will not be able to use cookies, ActiveX controls, Java applets, or scripting to compromise your privacy or your PC while you surf the Net. Nor will they be able to use your browser to push unwanted pop-ups, cookies, or auto-installing programs on your PC. It is not an ad blocker. It will stop top unwanted crapware from being installed behind your back via "drive-by-downloads"; prevent the hijacking of your home page.<br />
This Restricted sites list is based in part on info from: discussions in the SpywareInfo Forums and other forums that specialize in crapware removal major crapware reference sites: doxdesk, cexx.org, Kephyr.com, PestPatrol and SpywareGuide.<br />
To start using it, simply download it from their website and run its install.bat file. Make sure you run its update as well soon after its installation.<br />
INSTALLING FIREWALL: A firewall software acts as a defense shield against hackers, intruders, and blocks access attempts to your computer. ZoneAlarm is a professional firewall software that works in a stealth mode automatically and makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.<br />
Download it from ZoneLabs website and run its setup for installation. I recommend you use its Express Settings which automatically configures your most commonly used software like browser, chat messengers, ftp software to access internet, while blocks every other internet traffic in real-time. If any software or service tries to upload or download any data, it pops up an alert whereby you can allow or disallow such internet traffic.<br />
Computer Slow Down: It is very common to see many complaining about their computer slow-down. The fastest and easiest cure is using Windows’ built-in Defragmenter utitlity that you can find in Startà Programs à Accessories à System Utitlities à Disk Defragmantor and run thorough defragmantation. It will take a while before it ends.<br />
If your system’s performance does not improve after running defragmantation utility, consider scanning your computer via a software utility called HiJackThis which you can download and install on your system. Use this tool carefully as it is intended for advanced users only. HijackThis is a tool, that lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, startup items and allows you to inspect, and optionally remove selected items. The program can create a backup of your original settings and also ignore selected items. Additional features include a simple list of all startup items, default start page, online updates and more.<br />
CWShredder is a utility for removing CoolWebSearch (aka CoolWwwSearch, YouFindAll, White-Pages.ws and a dozen other names). This tool will find and destroy all traces of the CoolWebSearch (CWS) hijacker on your system including redirections, IE slowdowns, start page changes, un-authorized addition of sites in IE Trusted Zone, and blocking access to IE options or setup.<br />
Download CWShredder from their official website only as there is a similar named virus/trojan on the loose at various websites which you may accidently download and install, hence become more infected than being cured instead. When it is installed successfully, run the software to scan your local machine. Select the fix button & it will get rid of everything related to CoolWebSearch. Close ALL other programs & windows, including IE, before running CWShredder. Reboot after doing this.<br />
I know there is still a lot left, but as I wanted to keep this tutorial as brief as possible, hence I covered only the critical elements here. I am sure you will have fewer breakdowns (if not ZERO0 and more productive hours on your computer. I would recommend you to setup all the software’s auto update and auto-check options to free your time for more productive things than just playing hide and seek with spywares, adwares or viruses. Happy and safe computing!</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-90439027450082875002008-07-07T04:25:00.000-07:002008-07-07T04:25:00.492-07:00Dirty Little Computer Viruses and How To Protect YourselfWhether you have learned your lesson from a past experience <br />
with a nasty computer virus or have been pressing your luck <br />
by surfing the web and downloading various files or opening <br />
those email messages sent to you by people you don’t know <br />
without any real understanding of just how vulnerable you <br />
really are each time you log onto your computer you now have <br />
the opportunity to discover what steps you can take to avoid <br />
such an annoying and many times destructive infestation.<br />
<br />
Listed below are some of the guidelines you can follow in <br />
order to keep those nasty viruses from making a mess out of <br />
your computer and your life.<br />
<br />
•Purchase and install a well respected antivirus software <br />
program and be sure to set it up so that it automatically <br />
runs when the computer starts up each time.<br />
<br />
•Make sure to keep your antivirus software up to date by <br />
either using the automatic update feature that many come <br />
with or make it a habit to manually check at least once or <br />
twice a week for updates on your own.<br />
<br />
•Set your antivirus program to scan for potential viruses <br />
each time you open a word-processing document like the ones <br />
that get sent through email. Viruses found in <br />
word-processing documents are called Macro Viruses.<br />
<br />
•When purchasing software make sure to only buy from <br />
vendors that are well known and from ones you trust.<br />
<br />
•Resist swapping data with the use of floppy disks or other <br />
mobile storage devices between various computers. If <br />
exchanging programs between computers is unavoidable just <br />
make sure to scan the storage device(s) for viruses before <br />
transferring data from one computer to the next.<br />
<br />
•If using floppy disks to transfer data make sure to format <br />
them before using them for the first time.<br />
<br />
•Never use pirated software. This is both illegal and a <br />
very good way to invite an unwanted computer virus.<br />
<br />
•When downloading software from the internet do so as <br />
little as possible. There are many neat programs available <br />
on the internet, but unfortunately there are many viruses <br />
that go along with them also.<br />
<br />
•If you must download programs from the internet ALWAYS <br />
scan them for viruses BEFORE opening them up to install on <br />
your computer.<br />
<br />
•Probably the most important and neglected method of <br />
disaster recovery are periodic backups of all important <br />
files found on your computer. Should a virus happen to get <br />
through your lines of defense you may need to replace the <br />
virus corrupted files with fresh ones that have been kept <br />
for such an occasion.<br />
<br />
Finally, it is not guaranteed that if you follow the above <br />
steps that you will not be the victim of a computer virus, <br />
but you can sure bet that if followed you will greatly <br />
reduce the chance of being an unsuspecting recipient of such <br />
an unwanted program.Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-81560426124091275532008-07-05T04:24:00.000-07:002008-07-05T04:24:01.003-07:008 Simple Ways to Defend Against Evil Doers Both Online and Off<div id="body">There once was a time when the only option people had when shopping was to either call in or snail mail in a catalog order form or to jump in the family car, fight through traffic, and wait in long checkout lines to complete the purchase.<br />
Well, nowadays there’s still a few major mail order catalogs floating around and we all still visit our local retail outlets, but time has also introduced the internet as one of our options to shop from the comforts of home.<br />
The internet has made shopping at home a breeze and along with it has unfortunately brought the so called ”Evil Doers” who I believe have such little happiness in their own lives that they must leech pleasure from the hardworking and innocent individuals of our wonderful and surrounding nations.<br />
And yes, I am speaking of the ever growing problem known as Identity and Credit Card Theft.<br />
As an online and offline consumer it is in my best interest to protect myself while at the same time wanting to help others protect themselves as well.<br />
Below is a short yet thorough list of ways that you can follow to help yourself stay safe and be a happy consumer and keep “Evil Doers” at bay.<br />
1) Always shred sensitive materials such as bank statements before throwing them away in the regular trash. Just because the paper documents are in the garbage doesn’t mean they are safe from peeping eyes.<br />
2) Contact your local bank or credit card provider to request a card with a low limit. This can make you feel more at ease about shopping at those not so familiar places and can reduce the damages caused by such an ill intended individual if they get hold of your number.<br />
Also never give out the 3-letter Card Identification Number found on the back of the credit card unless you absolutely trust the merchant you are dealing with.<br />
3) NEVER give out your social security card number for any reason! If capable you are best to obtain a tax I.D. number from the Internal Revenue Service or local tax agency.<br />
If any “Evil Doer” gets hold of your personal information such as home address, birth date, and Social Security Number you are at great risk of being victimized.<br />
4) Only purchase items online through secure order pages which is typically indicated by a small, yellow, “Padlock” image usually located somewhere near the bottom of your internet browsers window.<br />
5) If you ever receive an email asking for sensitive information and claiming to be from a company that you have an account with, NEVER supply the requested information and never click any links or hit reply to send such personal information back to the “company”.<br />
Many legit companies will not ask for sensitive information via email.<br />
If you get such an email you are better off to make a copy of the letter you received then close that browser window and then open a NEW window and access the company directly from their website address.<br />
You should then submit the email you made a copy of to the company so that their anti- fraud personnel can take the necessary steps to send out warnings of possible fraudulent activity to be aware of to its members.<br />
6) Be cautious about downloading and installing unnecessary programs onto your computer. If there are programs that you indeed must download ALWAYS scan the files for viruses and make sure that your anti-virus program is up to date.<br />
There’s a wide variety of viruses that are distributed to unprotected computer systems and some of which are known as “Key Stroke Loggers” that record your sensitive log in names and passwords and then are made known to the trouble maker.<br />
7) If possible try to utilize 2 different computers when using the internet.<br />
One computer should only be used for general internet surfing just in case it was to obtain a virus such as a Key Stroke Logger so there would be little threat of someone getting your personal information.<br />
Only use the second computer to access more sensitive information such as online banking or other important websites that require passwords and important information.<br />
8) Finally, if there are young members of the family that have computer use privileges be sure to monitor and restrict the sites and programs they are allowed to use.<br />
Many fraudulent individuals love to prey on the unexpecting and inexperienced web surfer.<br />
In any case just be certain to contact the police or appropriate authorities the INSTANT you believe that you have become a victim of Identity Theft or Credit Card Number Theft.<br />
The sooner you tell the authorities the better the chance they can help you recover from a financial catastrophe.</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-50038327629652779452008-07-03T04:23:00.000-07:002008-07-03T04:23:00.924-07:00Protect Your Little Black Book<div id="body">The movie Little Black Book features a young woman, Stacy, who is frustrated when her boyfriend refuses to share information about his past relationships. When his PDA, a Palm Tungsten C, falls into her hands, she is faced with a conundrum. Does she give it back, or does she explore it? If she gave it back, we wouldn’t have a movie, now would we? Stacy then proceeds to identify his ex-girlfriends and contact them. Let the games begin.<br />
Could this really happen? Of course it could. Most PDA’s contain a plethora of information about a person and their activities, their digital footprints. People store contact information, appointments, meetings and midnight rendezvous’. They store passwords, login ID’s and PIN numbers. They have photos of people they know and sometimes in awkward circumstances. It’s a lot to have to explain. The courts are only beginning to grapple with how to handle the content in a PDA. One person’s little black book can be very incriminating indeed.<br />
For the rest of us, we have nothing as exotic; however, we are all in danger of exposure and threat. Identify theft has become one of the largest white-collar crimes. There is enough information in the average PDA for someone to take over your life. So, what’s the solution? Give up your PDA? No. You face the same problem with the typical day planner. It has all of the same information, it’s just not as accessible. In fact, a PDA has certain advantages over a planner. You can password protect some of the data. You can even encrypt data. Most importantly, you have a backup. The data is safely stored on your computer and archived on external media if you have taken the proper steps.<br />
That duplication of data also means an identity thief has more ways to get to it. So, what can you do? Well, the first concern is to make sure that you backup your data. Synchronize your PDA at least daily. I synchronize my Treo 600 2-3 times each day, usually when I arrive at my office or leave it. Backing up your data means that you should be creating a copy on tape, CD, zip disk, flash ROM or other external media and storing it offsite. If you are not, you are asking for trouble and your business is at risk. If your PDA is ever stolen, you will need to restore that data on a new PDA.<br />
Next, you need to minimize the amount of data someone can actually access. Let’s face it, if a hacker really wants to get your data, they will succeed. However, not every criminal is a super hacker. Sometimes you just want to keep your information from prying eyes. Just because you labeled something as private in your PDA doesn’t mean someone else can’t read it. It depends on what application you synchronize with. If you sync with Outlook, records that are private on your PDA may be public in Outlook.<br />
The best way to protect passwords and PIN numbers is to store them in a password application that encrypts the data. The best applications have both a PDA application and a desktop application that allows access to the information from either system. The trouble is converting that data from whatever format it’s in currently. I’ve struggled with this one myself. There is no easy method I’ve found so far. Just set aside time to copy and paste the data into the password application. It might take a few hours to get that information into a secure application.<br />
If you’re worried about someone viewing your schedule, the best approach is to archive your past history periodically. Outlook has settings that allow you to specify to how often calendar events will be archived. This will wipe the history from your PDA also. Archives are usually stored in an external file that can be accessed later.<br />
If you have incriminating photos, delete them. If you want a copy, save it on external media like tape, CD and flash ROM. For contacts, you can archive them or simply move the record to an external file. Outlook allows you to create a .pst file that you can use to save email, calendar, address, tasks, or other information. Once you move a record, it will be removed from your PDA.<br />
And, don’t forget to delete the cookies and memory cache on your PDA’s web browser. Remember that website you checked out last week? Is that something you want everyone else to know about? I don’t think so.<br />
Don’t forget physical security; keep an eye on your PDA. It’s possible to take steps to protect your data and remove your digital footprints. Protect your little black book and it will protect you.</div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-72999299243726200892008-07-01T04:14:00.000-07:002008-07-01T04:14:00.278-07:00Can I Guess Your Password?We all know that it’s dangerous to use the same password for more than one program. If you sign up for a program run by someone of low moral fibre, what is to stop them running through various programs with your username and password to see what they can access?<br />
<br />
But of course remembering all the different passwords can be a headache. And writing them down somewhere isn’t a great deal safer than using the same password again and again.<br />
<br />
You can buy software that stores the passwords for you, but do you really want to pay money for another piece of software that performs a solitary function?<br />
<br />
Try this simple, two-step, technique that lets you generate an infinite number of passwords, without having to remember any of them.<br />
<br />
<strong>Step One:</strong> Choose a 4-6 letter word or number sequence that you can remember easily. Needless to say, don’t reveal this to anyone. For the purpose of this demonstration, I’ll choose the word "cash"<br />
<br />
<strong>Step Two:</strong> Apply this secret word or number sequence to the name of the program you are setting up the password for. <br />
<br />
To accomplish this, invent a couple of easy to remember rules.<br />
<br />
<strong>Rule 1:</strong> Decide which part of the program name you are going to use. It could be the whole name, the first 6 letters of the name, the last 8 letters of the name. It’s totally up to you, be as creative as you like.<br />
<br />
eg – For the program TrafficSwarm, I might choose the first 8 letters of the name. This give me: "traffics"<br />
<br />
<strong>Rule 2:</strong> Take the portion of the program name you have selected and merge it with your secret word or number sequence to create a unique password. Again, be as creative as you can with this rule. You could replace every second letter, every third letter, every vowel or every consonant.<br />
<br />
eg – If I replace every second letter of "traffics" with my secret word "cash", I get " t <strong>c</strong> a <strong>a</strong> f <strong>s</strong> c <strong>h</strong> "<br />
<br />
or<br />
<br />
- If I replace every vowel of "traffics" with my secret word "cash", I get " t r <strong>c</strong> f f <strong>a</strong> c s ". The "s" and the "h" are not used as "traffics" has only two vowels, but some words will use all four letters of "cash". Some words might have more than four vowels, in which case just start back at the beginning with "c" and "a" and so on…<br />
<br />
You don’t have to worry about making your rules overly complex. Even the best code-breakers would need to see several of your passwords before they could start to guess what you rules are.<br />
<br />
As long as you keep your rules safe and sound, your password is secure. But the real beauty of this system, is that you don’t have to remember the passwords you create. You ONLY have to remember the rules.<br />
<br />
When you log into the program the next time, just apply your rules to the program name, and you can work out what password you generated. Once you have been using the rules for a while, you’ll generate the password in your head, without even having to pause.<br />
<br />
Don’t worry if it seems a little complicated at first. Read this article through a couple more times and then try this technique with just a couple of programs. Once you are happy with it, all that’s left to do is to start working your way through existing programs and update your passwords. It’s time consuming, but for peace of mind you’ll be glad you did.Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-4631059601886829842008-06-29T04:12:00.000-07:002008-06-29T04:14:07.909-07:00Don't Miss Information Because of Misinformation<font size="2">It has been said that with the wealth of information, freely available, the Internet has the ability to make you smarter, faster, than any other medium on the planet.<br />
<br />
Of course with an equal amount of mis-information, it also has the ability to make you dumber, faster, than any other medium on the planet.<br />
<br />
So how do you decide which sources of information to trust and which sources to avoid?<br />
<br />
It has long been a source of debate, whether or not, any information can be 100% reliable. There is, it is said, no such thing as absolute truth (is that an absolute truth?).<br />
<br />
Really though, there is no point in driving yourself mad with such trivial philosophies. All you have to do is decide, in your own mind, where your level of skepticism begins and ends. And skepticism is important in this day and age. That isn’t a negative viewpoint, it’s just a realistic assessment of what you need to survive.<br />
<br />
Imagine for a moment that you're looking for a solution that will send your weekly newsletter to your eagerly awaiting mailing list. You can choose from a myriad of different software, hardware, third-party solutions. Some free, some cheap, some expensive and some unreliable. A decision has to be made. Who’s going to help you? Look at the options.<br />
<br />
<strong>SPAM:</strong> Lots of unsolicited emails promise to have the definitive solution and at one time this might have been worth a look. Today, however, if a company is so discourteous that they ignore the generally accepted rules of spamming do you really want to do business with them?<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict:</strong> <u>Dubious</u><br />
<br />
<strong>WEBSITE:</strong> Ranked high on Google, plenty of glowing testimonials, even a 30 day money-back guarantee. But wait! Are those testimonials real or fictitious? Is there a clause that will prevent you from returning the product if you dislike it? Can you really believe anything you are being told?<br />
<br />
The reality is, that many companies will say anything to make a sale. This is true both on the Internet and the High Street. Desire for profit can quickly deteriorate good intentions. I don’t need to preach about this. You know it’s true.<br />
<br />
Accept this, then temper your paranoia by checking the facts. Legitimate companies exist on the Internet by the thousand. The ones worth buying from will happily talk to you on the phone and answer your questions in person. They will respond to your questions by email, probably on the same day. And, if they’re really worth spending money on, they will let you personally contact previous customers so you can confirm that what they’re saying is true.<br />
<br />
Make the company work for the sale. If they can’t be bothered to reply to your emails or turn the answering machine off, don’t bother to give them your credit card number.<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict:</strong> <u>Tread carefully</u><br />
<br />
<strong>RECOMMENDATIONS:</strong> The product/service is recommended by a third party, perhaps in an ezine, or on a website. Sounds great? A genuine testimonial? But wait!<br />
<br />
What is the recommender’s motive? <br />
<br />
Love for fellow man? <br />
<br />
Appreciation of the product? <br />
<br />
Cash? <br />
<br />
If you picked option number 3, you’re probably right. Joint ventures and affiliate programmes have led to many a recommendation of a product/service that hasn't been evaluated or even used. There are exceptions but there’s a good chance that the recommendation is linked to a commission.<br />
<br />
This doesn’t, by itself, mean the testimonial is bogus. It simply means, as previously stated, that you should use some skepticism.<br />
<br />
Look for recommendations from newsletters or websites that have been around for some time. If they have a reputation to consider, they will (should?) think twice before promoting something they haven’t fully investigated.<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict:</strong> <u>Useful, be sure about the source</u><br />
<br />
<strong>SEARCH ENGINES:</strong> Once you’ve found the product/service that sets you alight, look for negative feedback. Search for the product name alongside words like "hate" or "problem".<br />
<br />
If lots of people have used this product and had problems, then at least few will likely have posted their experiences on a forum.<br />
<br />
If no results appear, take this as a good sign and move on.<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict:</strong> <u>Essential step</u><br />
<br />
<strong>FORUMS:</strong> If you're really having difficulty finding what you are looking for, forums could be the key.<br />
<br />
Look around for about half a dozen forums that you like and have plenty of traffic. Then post a description of what you need on all of them. Check back frequently and see what comes up.<br />
<br />
Forums are an excellent way to find uncensored information offered solely for its value. Generally speaking, what you see is what you get.<br />
<br />
There are, of course, exceptions. Occasionally someone might recommend something, solely because they are affiliated in some way. But if the forum is busy enough, they probably won’t get away with it.<br />
<br />
<strong>Verdict:</strong> <u>About as safe as you can hope to find</u><br />
<br />
Does the above sound obvious to you? Maybe it is, but every day hundreds or even thousands lose money on poor or useful products/services that they were convinced were perfect. If you doubt it, check through a few related forums.<br />
<br />
If you run your own ezine/website/forum, ask yourself what you can do to help those who aren’t as experienced. Your honesty will set you apart from the rest.<br />
<br />
If all of this seems helpful, all well and good. Your final task is to apply the above information to this article and ask yourself, with just a touch of skepticism:<br />
<br />
"Is it information or misinformation?"</font>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-47691578553320612062008-06-22T05:59:00.000-07:002008-06-22T05:59:00.232-07:00Spy Scanners - Don't Compromise your Privacy<div id="body"><p>Spies, spyware, internet parasites are among what they are usually called. These are scouts that monitor your web activities. The work undercover to check on your surfing patterns, spending habits, items bought, they extract email addresses, hijack browsers, steal credit card information. These are just some of the things a spyware is capable of.</p><p>A spyware is mainly an information hungry parasite determined to gather data from a user or surfer without him knowing it.</p><p>The information gathered by these parasites are then sent to the originator without the users consent. Most often, the information gathered by the spyware are used to generate ads and pop-ups on the user’s PC.</p><p>Spywares and Adwares aside from being a nuisance and an invasion of privacy can also jeopardize the optimal performance of your PC. They can eat up unused disk spaces and position themselves in an inconspicuous location in your hard drive. They can also eat the bandwidth, crash your system and oftentimes inflict themselves in the Registry or in the memory of your computer.</p><p>Spyware and Adwares have become very rampant nowadays. Prevent yourself from being a victim of these by:</p><p>* Being careful of Freeware and Shareware Downloads</p><p>- Some of these downloads are tagged with spywares which may be unknown to the user. Refrain from downloading sharewares and freewares from unknown sources.</p><p>* Installing a good spyware/adware scanner and removal software</p><p>- There are a number of spyware scanner and/or removal softwares in the market today. A good spyware scanner can effectively locate all spywares installed on your PC and a good spyware removal tool can effectively remove all the spywares detected.</p><p>Spy Scanners are programs designed to detect spies in your PC. A good spy scanner can effectively search through the most unnoticeable embedded files that spy on you.</p><p>Most Spy scanners include a spyware removal function. Other spy scanners do not entail spyware removal features but display the logs of the spyware detected in your PC. The information in the logs contains the location and nature of the spywares.</p><p>For spy scanners with no built-in spyware removal functions, a manual deletion of the spyware files could also be done since the location and the file type is specified in the logs. Some Spy scanner products on the market today have spyware scan available for non-paying users and the removal tool available only for paying users.</p><p>Spy Scanners when installed can be chosen to run on demand or periodically.</p></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-32357980953419979112008-06-20T05:57:00.000-07:002008-06-20T05:57:00.642-07:00How to Manage Your Username and Password The Easy and Secure Way<div id="body"><p>Have been an Internet user for more than 9 years, I have 100's <br />of logins and passwords to keep. I'm paranoid. I'm now even <br />more paranoid after I joined YMMSS because I use online payment<br />systems on weekly basis if not daily.</p><p>I used to use Microsoft Excel to manage my usernames, passwords, <br />and other registration information, both online and offline. <br />Excel is not safe because there are programs to crack password <br />protected Excel workbooks and I even cracked the spreadsheet and <br />VBA source code password for one of my old Excel financial <br />models I developed. Today I still use Excel to store some personal <br />information but I only save the Excel file on my another <br />PC that is not connected to Internet.</p><p>In my article "6 Essential Steps to Protect Your Computer On the <br />Internet", I highly recommended the award winning RoboForm. Free <br />version of RoboForm (http://www.roboform.com) does come with <br />limitations such as 10 Passcards only. If you don't want to buy <br />the Pro version (costs $29.99 as of my writing), there is an <br />easy-to-use freeware (see below) you can download right now and <br />manage unlimited usernames and passwords.</p><p>Download freeware Password Safe from SourceForge.net - the Open <br />Source community.</p><p>https://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/</p><p>Here are some great features of Password Safe:</p><p>- No installation is required. Simply download and double click the <br />pwsafe.exe file.</p><p>- Easy portable. Just copy and paste the EXE file and .dat database <br />file to any disks. Be aware that when you open Password Safe in <br />the other disk, you need to specify the database file location <br />(the .dat file).</p><p>- One master password unlocks an entire password database that can <br />contain all your other passwords.</p><p>- Grouping. Usernames and passwords can be grouped into different <br />categories you define, eg. Email Address, Payment, etc. You are in <br />total control.</p><p>- Strong, random password generation.</p><p>- Copy username and password to clipboard so that you don't have to <br />type them. Always keep in mind that you should never type any <br />username and password.</p><p>- Browse to URL. With one click, the URL related to your username <br />and password can be opened in your default web browser. Another <br />save on typing.</p><p>- You can create more than one password database (but you have to <br />memorize more than one master password. Not recommended.)</p><p>Here are some tips of using Password Safe (version 2.04) and <br />managing password in general.</p><p>Tip #1 - Always create a strong master password (Safe Combination <br />as used in the software).</p><p>Strong password should meet the following criteria:</p><p>- At least 8 characters long to prevent cracking. The longer the better.</p><p>- The password should contain lowercase, uppercase, numeric, and any <br />other characters that are available on keyboard.</p><p>- Ideally you should not use any meaningful words or numbers in the <br />password. Totally random password is the best.</p><p>Tip #2 - Let PasswordSafe generate random password for you.</p><p>To generate random password:</p><p>- Click the menu item Edit.</p><p>- Select Add Entry (or use corresponding icon button).</p><p>- When the dialogue window opens, on the right hand side, you can <br />see a Random Password Generate button. Click it, a random password <br />will be automatically inserted in the Password field.</p><p>The generated random password is constructed according to the password <br />policy defined in Password Safe. You can modify the default policy.</p><p>- Click the menu item Manage. <br />- In the dropdown menu, click Options. <br />- Click the Password Policy tab. <br />- Change the policy based on the strong password criteria stated above.</p><p>Some sites only allow alphanumeric passwords so make sure you select <br />the appropriate check boxes when this is the case.</p><p>Tip #3 - Very Important: Never type your master password when open <br />PasswordSafe.</p><p>Keylogger spyware can record keystrokes.</p><p>How can you enter master password without typing? I do this.</p><p>Step 1: Open a Notepad file (.txt).</p><p>Step 2: Copy and paste an article from any Internet website to <br />this .txt file.</p><p>Step 3: Select characters from this article and copy, paste to form your <br />master password.</p><p>Tip #4 - Very Important: Never lose your master password.</p><p>I memorize my master password. In addition, I also physically write it <br />down to a hand written study material that has my previous uni works. <br />Among the 1,000's of words, I placed my 22 characters master password <br />in two different pages in encrypted format that can let me derive <br />my master password.</p><p>Tip #5 - Categorize username and password.</p><p>When you add a new entry, you need to specify Group, Title, <br />Username, Password, and Notes. The entries that share the same Group <br />name will be gathered together automatically.</p><p>One Group can contain another Group as its sub Group. For example, <br />I have Email Address group which contains three sub-groups as <br />Friend, Work, Family.</p><p>Tip #6 - For security reasons, always use Copy Username to <br />Clipboard and Copy Password to Clipboard.</p><p>Remember, never type username and password on a web form. This is how <br />to do it.</p><p>- Highlight an entry.</p><p>- Right click mouse.</p><p>- In the pop-up menu, select Copy Username to Clipboard or Copy Password <br />to Clipboard</p><p>- Go to your login form, paste the username or password.</p><p>You can use mouse to do copy and paste. If you prefer short-cut keys, <br />this is how.</p><p>Copy: Ctrl+C<br />Paste: Ctrl+V</p><p>Tip #7 - Use "Browse to URL" rather than typing URL in browser address bar.</p><p>When you enter a new entry or edit an existing one, you can enter a URL <br />(must start with http://) at the first line in the Notes field. You can save website login <br />page's URL in this field. When you need to open a login page in browser, <br />right click the entry and click Browse to URL in the pop-up menu. Then <br />the login page will be opened in your default web browser automatically.</p><p>Tip #8 - Don't forget to backup your password database file.</p><p>Use the Make Backup menu item to save a second copy of your password file.</p><p>Tip #9 - Store your backups in a different offline computer or location.</p><p>This is a widely used backup strategy.</p><p>Tip #10 - Use the Notes field to store as many information as you want. Very handy for memo.</p><p>If you don't have two computers, you need to use other storage media <br />to save a second copy of your backup file and version them by date <br />(easy to track back). Other storage media can be zip drive, <br />thumb drive, floppy disk, CD, etc.</p><p>Off site backups are also important. Don't overlook this. You lose <br />all your data if you lose both your computer and your other <br />storage media all together for any reason.</p><p>Many companies provide online storage services for a fee. You can <br />store any digital files (you should password protect these files <br />first) on their secure servers. Search Google and you will find a lot.</p><p>I have two computers. One is used to surf net and it does not have any <br />sensitive info stored on it. Another one is for my development work <br />(not connected to Internet) and it has my backup files. I also store <br />my backups in a thumb drive and CDs sometimes.</p></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-46399968614110850162008-06-18T05:56:00.000-07:002008-06-18T06:09:44.185-07:00Behavior to Stay Safer Online<div id="body"><p><b>1</b>. Importance of a Virus Scanner: A Antivirus program can help to prevent you from becoming infected with a Virus or Trojan. It is extremely important to make sure this program is updated at least once a week, and all drives are scanned. Viruses usually are used to destroy your Data or Hardware. Where as Trojans are used to gain remote access into your system. Always scan any new files you receive as well, even if they are off a friend, you don't know where those files originated from. ALWAYS use a little common sense when on the Internet as well. Don't accept files from an entrusted source. Don't go to web sites you have received spam for, they can be infected with viruses or asking you to download files that are infected. Always go only to official sites (i.e... If you ask for a web address for Norton and someone says ww.nortfix.com, that is obviously not an official site). Keep in mind that an Antivirus will only detect known viruses. It is possible that someone can create a new virus or manipulate an existing Virus or Trojan to the point it will no longer be detected by an Antivirus. As each unknown virus is discovered it is then added into the Antivirus database. Always create rescue disks for your Antivirus program, these will enable you to access your computer through MS-DOS if you are unable to access it through windows. If you do not have an Antivirus program try the HouseCall free online virus scan the link if on the top right side of this page. Also never run 2 different Antivirus . By using two different Antivirus software, sometimes the rule sets can cause conflicts in each other.. or think the other is a virus.. which can also give false positives (meaning it detects a file as a Virus or Trojan, when it isn't one).. or not detect viruses as it should. Always delete files you do not remember downloading.</p><p><b>2</b>. Importance of a Trojan scanner: A Trojan scanner is exclusively designed to guard against Trojan horses. A Trojan is a method of intrusion into a system. It is a malicious, security breaking program that is disguised as something harmless. A Trojan can grant complete access to your system to unknown parties, allowing them to commit criminal offenses with your Internet connection. If those offenses are investigated the trail will lead right to you. It also possible for them to get personal or business data and some passwords memorized within your computer. The Cleaner is a good Trojan scanner located on www.moosoft.com. Never open any file or download a file off an entrusted source, spammed web sites being one of them. It is very common for someone to set up a web site, then spam that web site saying you are infected with some virus or Trojan download this fix, or saying they have some great password cracking program, etc. Then you fall for it and your infected. Never use any war tools that require you to install something that brings up a warning on your Antivirus, why not to do this will be explained more on the IRC Newbie page. Always delete files you do not remember downloading.</p><p><b>3</b>. Importance of running a Firewall: A Firewall is one of your best defenses of being hacked. That is if your using a good Firewall and have it configured right. ZoneAlarm free download is a decent Firewall. Although I would recommend ZoneAlarm Pro, which blocks a lot of commonly used hacking attempts. Another one I would not recommend is BlackIce, if you see that one run like there is no tomorrow (gives a lot of false positives). Ultimately though I would recommend running at least one Firewall, even if your computer is connected behind a gateway/router. When looking into firewalls it is a good idea to check what features it has. While one may block a number of hacking attempts, it may not block ads or cookies. Make sure to get all the details before deciding on a Firewall to purchase.</p><p>Also if you on Windows XP you can configure the Firewall they have built into it, go to start menu ... control panel ..... click network connections ..... double click local area connections ..go to properties ... then select the advanced tab. There you will find the XP Firewall and can enable it. You can also click on the link they provide to learn more about it. Never run 2 firewalls unless one is a software and the other a hardware. Security threats such as those dealing on the application level (your Operating System).. software Firewall can analyze that data better. Whereas hardware better analyzes incoming data from the Internet (snifters, etc.). If you have your own server.. good idea to choose a good one of each (hardware and software). If I am not running a Firewall but would like to see what connections my computer has open how do I do that? Simply go to your start menu under programs or programs/accessories you will find the MS-DOS prompt/Command prompt once you have that open type the command "netstat -an" without the quotations. There is will list the protocol of the connection TCP/UDP, the local address and foreign address, as well as the state which will show either as listening or established. Keep in mind that any connection to the Internet will show up there.</p><p><b>4</b>. Importance of Windows Updates: It is extremely important to update windows. If you are not sure how to, just go to your start menu, then to programs you will see Windows Update there. Windows critical updates are related to security issues within Windows itself. These security issues can be exploited by hackers, these issues can also cause you to get infected easier with a virus if you are a Outlook Express user. As vulnerabilities are detected in Windows critical updates are released for them.<br />Always be sure to update Windows on a regular basis.</p><p><b>5</b>. Safer Passwords: Never have Windows remember your passwords. If you ever do get an intruder on your system passwords saved in Windows can be retrieved. Instead what I recommend is saving all your passwords to notepad then saving them on a floppy disk. A simple copy and paste to use your passwords for any sites you visit, or accounts you may have online. Never use simple passwords such as names of places, things or people. Also do not use passwords that consist of either all letters or all numbers. The best passwords to have should have a combination of letters and numbers(e.g. g74npw2m5), when possible, use symbols (e.g. #^&%!). If the password is case sensitive, then use upper and lower case . Also make sure that the letters and numbers you use are not in clusters on your keyboard (within same general area on keyboard). Make your passwords longer then you may normally make them. Doing this will make any passwords you have harder for an outside party to crack. Apply this to anything you do on the Internet that requires a password. This one I speak from experience on, my last website on a free host, the password was cracked and the content of those pages changed. For many things available on the Internet you require Username and a password, if someone knows your Username or can figure it out, that is half their battle. So make the other half of their battle as difficult as possible. On Irc including characters in your passwords such as ¤, å, ¥, § ,etc... will help even more, to make your passwords harder to crack. Never use any of the following for your passwords (in whole or part): your name or a pet's name, girlfriend, boyfriend. Anything relating to any hobbies you have. Numbers dealing with you, relatives, friends, family, etc. (birthdays ,Social Insurance Number, significant dates, etc.). All of this can and WILL come back to haunt you.</p><p><b>6</b>. What is Spyware?: Software that is installed on your computer/or a virus, which gathers information about you without your consent or knowledge of it. This information can end up in the hands of advertisers, spam e-mail lists, and other interested parties. It can gather information from cookies on your computer. Cookies can store information about websites you have visited, to develop a general idea of your online activity. Cookies generally store information such as preferences from websites, and they are stored on the hard drive of your computer. If your not comfortable with the idea of someone getting any information about your online activities, as most people are. There are programs out there that can be used for either removing cookies from sites you have visited as well as programs that will detect and remove known spyware programs. Lavasoft Ad-aware is a good program for removing spyware programs. Window Washer is an excellent program for removing a lot of your online history (cookies/temp Internet files... etc...). For people who use Kazaa, don't be surprised if that shows up on an Ad-aware scan, It will. Once you remove the spyware detected, Kazaa will fail to work without it. A suggestion for future use, switch to Kazaa Lite.</p></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-50839107261778039492008-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:002008-06-16T07:45:00.811-07:005 Simple Steps to Protect Your Digital Downloads<div id="body"><p>A couple of days ago, I was searching for a popular eBook online.</p><p>Now I'm not going to tell you the name of this eBook for reasons you'll understand in the next few minutes.</p><p>Okay, so here I was, opening Google, entering the name of the eBook - clicking search, and checking through the first few pages of search results.</p><p>-> Forward to Page 5 of Google</p><p>I saw a link that looked like a PDF document.</p><p>Right click -> open in new window</p><p>There, in full glory, was the eBook I was searching for!</p><p>The complete eBook, mind you, not a trial or demo - sitting there for the world to download.</p><p>And this is a product that sells for over $25 online!!</p><p>Obviously I'm not going to tell you the name of the eBook because it would not be fair to the reseller.</p><p>But it just made me realise that one of the reasons digital theft is so prevalent is simply because... its so EASY!</p><p>Don't get me wrong. I don't condone theft of any kind - digital or otherwise.</p><p>But would YOU shell out $25 for a product that everyone can 'legally' download off the 5th page of Google?</p><p>Most people would just shrug their shoulders, hit the save button and thank their lucky stars.</p><p>Result: The opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers</p><p>One of the problems with selling digital products online is that it is so SIMPLE to do. So now everyone and their grandmother wants to do it.</p><p>But most newbies have no idea that it requires only a few simple steps to ensure a moderate degree of security for your downloads.</p><p>So here I've outlined the five most BASIC security steps That anyone selling digital products online must take.</p><p>These will take you only a few minutes to do, and you do not need any special software or programming knowledge.</p><p><strong>1. ZIP THAT FILE </strong></p><p>The biggest problem arises when sellers store their downloads as PDF documents, as in my experience above.</p><p>Now you should know that Google, Altavista and many other search engines can read and list PDF files.</p><p>While this may not be a problem for those adding content to their sites in the form of PDF newsletters and reports, it also means that you must never store a product you want to SELL as a PDF file (unless it is in a password- protected folder).</p><p>It gets worse. Google also converts your PDF files into HTML documents. So ordinary browsers not only have access to your PDF file, but - horror of horrors - they can download your SOURCE FILE as well!!</p><p>The next logical step is for them to customize it with their own links, compile it and sell it or give it away.</p><p>Result: The opposite of $ KA-CHING $ for the sellers ...AND the author.</p><p>A simple way of keeping your files out of the reach of spiders is to upload them as a zip file. Search engines cannot look inside zip files (yet) and list their contents.</p><p><strong>2. CREATE AN INDEX.HTML FILE</strong></p><p>You MUST have an index.html file in EVERY folder. It acts like a curtain that keeps your files away from prying eyes.</p><p>A folder without an index file is like a house without walls. Everyone can enter and help themselves to the valuables.</p><p>The 'index.htm' file is the default file that opens when you click on the link here -</p><p>http://ebizwhizpublishing.com</p><p>If you don't create an index.htm or index.html file, you'd be allowing everyone to directly access the root directory of the folder where you store your downloads.</p><p>Here is a folder I uploaded to show you what happens when you DON'T have an index file.</p><p>http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/test/</p><p>As you can see, all the files stored in it are clearly visible and ready to download.</p><p>And yes, feel free to help yourself - I won't accuse you of stealing :-)</p><p><strong>3. SHOW PEEPING TOMS THE EXIT</strong></p><p>You can use a simple script to redirect peeping Toms back to your home page.</p><p>Here's the easiest way to do it using what it called a "meta refresh tag." Add it between the Header tags like this.</p><p><xmp>&lt;head &gt; &lt; META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;URL=http://ebizwhizpublishing.com" &gt; &lt;/head&gt;</xmp></p><p><xmp>replace &lt;br&gt; &lt; with &lt; &lt;br&gt; &gt; with &gt;&lt;br&gt; " with " </xmp></p><p>Just replace my URL with your own in the example above and paste it into the head of your document (before your text).</p><p>You can see how it works by clicking on the test folder here.</p><p>http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/redirect/</p><p>Now even though you click on the folder URL, you will be sent to my home page.</p><p><strong>4. SPIDER-PROOF YOUR DOWNLOAD PAGES</strong></p><p>To prevent search engine spiders from reading and listing the download pages that link to your eBooks add the tag below in the head of the document.</p><p>This "Robot" tag tells the spider that this page is not to be spidered or indexed. As a result it should never show up on a search.</p><p><xmp>&lt;head&gt; &lt;META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW"&gt; &lt;/head&gt;</xmp></p><p><strong>5. CHANGE YOUR DOWNLOAD LINKS OFTEN</strong></p><p>To prevent unscrupulous people from posting your download links on forums or message boards, change the folder or file name where you store them from time to time, even if it means having to change the download links in your merchant account.</p><p>Using these methods will give you a good degree of satisfaction, knowing that you have taken the most basic steps to protect your digital valuables - and at absolutely no cost to you.</p></div>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1653714621627402477.post-67553774715147866072008-06-14T07:51:00.000-07:002008-06-14T08:13:04.728-07:00Beware of the Newest Activity Online: Phishing<p>No. I’m not talking here about the outdoor activity enjoyed <br />by many. And no again; I did not misspell it. Phishing is <br />the name given to the latest online scam where millions of <br />unwary Americans are getting their identities stolen.</p><p>This fraudulent activity is considered the fastest growing <br />crime of modern times. The favorite target groups of <br />phishers seem to be very young children and senior citizens, <br />as they do not often ask for credit reports, fill out credit <br />card applications or solicit loans. This allows the thieves <br />to go undetected for longer periods of time; but still, be <br />careful. We all are potential targets.</p><p>Remember when throwing away unshredded documents with <br />personal information in the trash bin was considered a big <br />risk for identity theft? While this still happens, identity <br />thieves have become more sophisticated in recent times, and <br />this is how they do it…</p><p>Phishers create bogus e-mails that look as if they came from <br />large, well-known institutions and banks, such as eBay, <br />Paypal, Citibank, EarthLink, and Wells Fargo among others. <br />These e-mails claim that you are due for an account update, <br />or that the account number, password, social security number <br />or other confidential information needs to be verified. Then <br />they warn you, stating that if you do not do it within a <br />certain period of time, that your account will be closed, <br />terminated, the service discontinued, or something to that <br />effect.</p><p>They even provide you with links to websites that look <br />legitimate, because they hijack the real logos of these <br />well known banks, and trusted institutions and companies. <br />And that is the scary part… these e-mails look 100% <br />legitimate, but they are not.</p><p>In some cases it goes even further… some of these phishers <br />are installing spyware on your computer to monitor your <br />online activities. So… should you leave the online world for <br />good? Not necessarily.</p><p>These are a few things you can do to protect yourself from <br />these scammers:</p><p>1. Do not respond to any e-mail that asks for personal <br />information from you, such as account number, credit card <br />number, user names, passwords, etc. If you suspect that the <br />e-mail, indeed, be legitimate, contact your bank or <br />institution to verify this.</p><p>2. When in doubt, visit the Anti-Phishing Working Group for <br />an update of the latest scams, and tips to avoid becoming a <br />victim. The website’s URL is www.antiphishing.org</p><p>3. Websites like www.Paypal.com, www.citibank.com, and <br />www.ebay.com, offer security tips and tell you what <br />information they’d never ask for in an e-mail.</p><p>4. Get anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date.</p><p>5. If you suspect you have received a fraudulent e-mail, do <br />not click on any links within it, and forward it to the FTC <br />at uce@FTC.gov</p><p>Finally, if you suspect you’ve been a victim of this fraud, <br />get a copy of your credit report immediately to check for <br />unusual activity. If you discover that you’ve been a victim <br />of identity theft, close your account at once and…</p><p>- Call the Credit Bureau.</p><p>- File a police report.</p><p>- Call the FTC ID theft hotline at (877)IDTHEFT.</p><p>- Alert other financial institutions where you have accounts.</p><p>According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, phishers send <br />millions of e-mails a day, getting about 5% response. Even <br />with this low response, it is estimated that about 150,000 <br />Americans have fallen prey to these scams since May of 2004. <br />Get informed. Do not become a victim yourself.</p>Dignityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18156554781919195654noreply@blogger.com0