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June 8, 2007
How can I protect myself and my computer?
What steps can I take to protect myself from online fraud?
- Keep private information private. Smart surfers don’t disclose personal information unless they know who’s collecting it, why, and how it’s going to be used. And they never disclose their passwords.
- Get to know online merchants. Be cautious of a company that claims to have a secret connection overseas or doesn’t allow e-mail replies
- Question out-of-this-world claims. Claims like “you can earn over $50,000 a month” or “lose weight without dieting” suggest a scam. Be wary of any company that makes a product or performance claim that is unlikely - or just plain hard to believe.
- Make sure it’s secure. If you buy something on the Internet and need to give your credit card number, verify the online security or encryption before you do business.
- Know who’s who. Online, anyone can be anyone, anywhere. Because it’s easy to fake e-mail addresses, be mindful of whom you’re listening to or talking with before you give out personal information.
What steps can I take to protect my computer?
- Watch the .exe files. Secret programs may exist in files you download - especially .exe files. These files could ruin your hard drive, hijack your modem, or collect information about you without your knowledge. Install a virus protection program before you go online.
- Filter for fun. Inexpensive “filtering” software programs help make sure your family members are protected from sites that may not be age - or interest - appropriate.
Protect Yourself Online. Secure Transactions
The Internet has become a vast marketplace for global goods and services. For e-commerce to prosper, you have to feel safe about transmitting credit card and other financial information over the Internet. Because information traveling over the network actually passes through many computers along the way, the opportunity exists for someone to steal confidential information. Hackers also break into computers to steal stored data. No one really how often this actually happens. (more…)
April 6, 2007
Norton Internet Security 2007. Safe Surfing
The Internet is a wonderous technology ?? enabling family and friends miles apart to keep in constant contact, offering us a world of libraries to explore and giving everyone a media in which to freely express their own ideas. But ?? between hackers, viruses and privacy threats ?? there is a downside to the Web. Can you enjoy the valuable resources available through the Internet, while protecting yourself? Yes. In this article, we’ll outline the best tips and tools to help you surf safely. (more…)
March 11, 2007
Protect Yourself Online. Safety Tips for Parents
You may have heard stories about children being exploited online, whether through unwanted overtures by adults or exposure to sexually oriented or violent content. Are these reports true or just a lot of media hype? Considering the millions of kids online, the frequency with which these incidents occur is quite small. While it is true that material of a sexual nature can be accessed over the Internet, this kind of content represents only a fraction of the vast collection of information online.
The chances of a child accidentally stumbling across inappropriate material are slim, as most sites now clearly post warnings. Many sites require visitors to register and provide a credit card number in order to verify their age. Unfortunately, the media obsession with sensationalism can obscure the fact that cyberspace teems with exciting resources for both adults and children - one reason why schools around the world are connecting to the Internet in record numbers.
Just like in the real world, parents should exercise supervision. Of course this is easier said then done, particularly when children may be more comfortable with computer technology than their parents. If this sounds like you, don’t be intimidated by the technology. You don’t have to understand how an internal combustion engine works to drive a car. Obviously if a six-year-old can use a computer, certainly an adult can too. Many libraries, community centers and colleges offers hands-on training, so spend the time to familiarize yourself with the technology. Or ask your kids for help.
To keep your kids from becoming targets of crime and exploitation, consider these tips:
- Use common sense to keep them out of trouble. Don’t just get them an Internet account and turn them loose.
- Monitor their activity. Ask them what sites they visit and why. Set-up the computer in a common area so you can keep an eye on things.
- Set limits. It’s up to you to determine how much time they spend online.
- Use filtering software, which allows you to block selected websites. Among the ones to evaluate are:
- Cyber Patrol
- CYBERsitter
- Net Nanny
- SurfWatch
- The BAIR browser, designed to block pornographic sites.
- Agree upon a few rules with your kids:
- Don’t give out a credit card number online or via e-mail.
- Don’t divulge personal information without your approval.
- Make sure they let you know immediately if they encounter any material that makes them feel uncomfortable.
A related and perhaps not as serious problem is websites that target children. In the past, some sites have solicited personal information from kids in order to direct market to them. While public outcry has limited this practice, it’s best to discuss this with your children.
September 10, 2006
Police Warn Parents to Monitor Kids Online Activity
Experts say one out of every five children online receives some sort of sexual solicitation. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department is trying to educate parents on keeping kids safe.
Vince Reece sees it all in his job as a detective for Sacramento’s Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. “Some of them will come on right away, and immediately try and cyber sex you within a couple of sentences,” said Reece. (more…)
December 7, 2005
Antivirus, Anti-Antivirus techniques
There are mainly two basic techniques for detecting virus infection, the first one depends on closely watching all files that are potential for infection, making sure they did not alter, and the second one depending on knowing how all existing viruses look like, and make sure they don’t reside among the system. Although both ways seep pretty much dumb and obsolete for a normal rationalist, they remain the main techniques on which most of the antivirus software rely, and although there exists some smarter ways for virus detection (maybe we’ll talk about those in another article soon), those later are more expensive in development and in runtime. Following we will take a closer look on the two basic techniques, how they are implemented, and how they are usually defeated. (more…)
August 13, 2005
Online protection for the safe surfer
Hacking used to be a sport that required a lot of technical knowledge, but this is no longer the case due to the influx of freely available, idiot-proof programs such as ‘Back Orifice’ and ‘Net Bus’. You could be under attack from a hacker each time you go on-line and you wouldn’t even know about it. (more…)
June 3, 2005
Secure Socket Layer ?? Malicious Payload Delivery System
Many organizations eagerly embrace the principles of ???defense-in-depth??? by placing numerous layers of protection within their domain of responsibility. These layers include, but are not limited to: firewalls, host-based virus protection, network and host-based intrusion detection systems, proxy servers, and other software and/or hardware solutions. Generally, these protection measures rely on the inspection or identification of message content. For instance, if a virus arrives at the organization, hopefully the anti-virus signature file has been updated so the virus will be identified and isolated. Should the virus protection vendors not have time to publish a new version, the organization??s active content filtering system may recognize the malicious behavior of the virus and still protect the company??s valuable data assets. (more…)
December 30, 2004
Watch out for the script kiddies
We like to think that crack attacks on computer networks are the work of sophisticated hacker/crackers who spend hours writing complicated code and meticulously probing a target computer for a security hole to breech. Much to the surprise of most people, the typical network cracker is a 12-16 year old boy who found some cracking code on the Internet and decided to try it out. What makes the script kiddie so dangerous is not the vast amount of knowledge that they possess, but rather their lack of knowledge. Often a script kiddie will run a script on a system without having any understanding at all of what he or she is doing. (more…)
August 31, 2004
Windows updates made easy
If you are running Windows XP and are at all concerned about the security of your computer you will be well aware of how important it is to install all the critical updates made available by Microsoft. Every few months a new flaw is discovered in the code, which if not patched quickly could result in a malicious hacker gaining access to your system and wreaking havoc. One major bug which was unearthed recently meant that you could have your entire C: drive wiped out if you were unlucky enough to click on a specially formed URL. All I can say is ouch! (more…)
