Email and Cell Phone Scams

July 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Version of an image of a credit card 

Image via Wikipedia

Today, with so much information regarding a person’s life is on the Internet, so much can go wrong if people are not careful.

Guarding against the malicious intent of hackers with the best firewall, security, and anti-virus programs is a good start. However, no computer program can replace common sense, when it comes to protecting your personal information, regardless of how protected computers are from harm.

When it comes to protecting your personal information, including user names and passwords, credit card, and other account information, it pays to be vigilant against fraudulent websites and email messages.

Fraudulent Emails

Proceed with extreme caution when dealing with emails in your blackberry smart phone asking for your personal information, dealing with financial affairs, with these do’s and don’ts:

Do not:

  • Click on any links contained in unsolicited emails
  • Reply to unsolicited emails
  • Fill out any forms contained in emails asking for personal information
  • Open attachments contained in emails from unknown senders
  • Respond to emails asking you to act quickly, or emails telling you that it is an urgent matter

Do:

  • Remember that when emails promise offers or deals that appear too good to be true, they probably are
  • Verify requests for any personal information claiming to be a financial institution where you conduct business
  • Log onto your personal account at the official site and contact them using the information on the site.
  • Contact the business and make them aware of the emails
  • Always compare the link in the e-mail with the link to which you are directed and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site

Fraudulent Text Messages

With smishing, scammers send text messages to cell phones, offering deals in an attempt to secure personal information.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Using Antivirus Software After You’ve Been Infected

July 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have you found that a malicious virus has infected your computer? As you may know, viruses are programs that usually infect your computer through email or file attachments from websites. They attack your computer’s files and are able to spread very quickly. You may find your computer slowing down considerably or that your applications are not performing properly.

Your computer may start shutting down or restarting all by itself. This can be particularly hard on you if you are doing something like working on online Bachelors programs or other such actions. Viruses are designed to cause as much damage as possible, to include deleting files or corrupting your operating system.

So how do you fix this problem when you realize that you’ve been infected?

Do some online research for obtaining a copy of antivirus software. You can find many free and paid software packages. You should make sure that the software is legitimate, and not just another way for more viruses to attack your computer.

If you choose a free option, you will just need to click on the link to start the download. These packages will provide instructions. You may need to provide some registration information in order to complete the install.

If you chose a commercial package, you will follow the same instructions as above; however, you will need to enter payment information.

You can also choose to go to a storefront and purchase an antivirus program on CD. In this instance, you’ll simply insert the CD into your computer’s CD drive and it will automatically run.

After running the antivirus software and you have gotten rid of the viruses, make sure you run the program regularly to reduce the chances of getting infected again.

 

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,

A More Secure Way to Survey Customers

July 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Concerns about computer viruses and clickjacking have forced many Internet users to avoid survey sites. They worry that these sites will infect their computers with malicious programs that will steal their information or post embarrassing information to their Facebook accounts. Instead of using survey sites that look troublesome to your customers, consider using an option that they can trust.

Avoid Third-Party Survey Sites

Third-party survey sites worry many Internet users because they have had bad experiences with them in the past. They might have encountered a clickjacked link on Twitter or Facebook that caused their accounts to relay information that they never authorized. In some cases, they find the information quite embarrassing, especially when the content focuses on sex scandals and ridiculous celebrity gossip.

Using a third-party survey site, therefore, could create a wall between you and your customers. If you want to get honest information from them, then you should avoid using these sites.

Targeted Surveys on Your Website

Instead of using a third-party survey site, consider using a survey service that can question customers on your website. Internet users often feel safer answering survey questions that pop up on the websites they already trust. A company like kissinsights.com can offer targeted survey questions that appear on your site. They then gather the responses to give you an accurate look at what your customers think.

Online business owners always have to stay on top of the latest trends. Doing this can help you make customers feel more comfortable and lead your business to higher levels of success.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: , ,

Keeping Your System Safe from Hackers

July 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Endpoint antivirus software 

Image via Wikipedia

Hackers love the challenge of getting into a business’s computer system to get access to personal information and release viruses. Protecting yourself from these kinds of attacks is essential.

When a hacker enters your system, they are often searching for the goldmine of customer information saved on a business computer server. They look for names, bank account information, social security numbers and more. It is essential that you protect your customer’s information with a strong firewall. You should also have top of the line protection software that is designed specifically for businesses. The investment is well worth it when your customers can trust your system with their personal information.

If you do business online, your site should be protected by as SSL certificate. This gives customers confidence that your site is safe. Your email is a potential hot spot for hackers to enter your system. Be wary of any message that has attachments, images, click boxes or that is unfamiliar. If you are in doubt, don’t open it. Once you open an email or click on a link that is unknown, a hacker can have an open door to your system. With a quality anti malware and anti-virus software program, you can protect yourself from threats such as this.

Many programs will even warn you if a site has potential threats on it. This is critical if you are surfing the internet and have a such such as this come up on a search engine. By making your system secure, you can prevent potential hackers from entering your system.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet, Protections Tagged With: , ,

Must Have Features of an Anti-Virus Program

July 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

One of the biggest choices computer users have to make is what type of antivirus program to use. Antivirus programs protect your most valuable documents and data, and UFX Markets Trading investments from viruses and hackers. However, with so many companies putting out new antivirus programs it can be hard to figure out which ones offer the best protection.

Whether you are a casual computer user or an avid computer user like an online trading broker, here’s a look at some of the features you should look for in an antivirus program that will help protect your data and documents.

Real Time Scanning

If you are connected to the Internet 24/7 than you need a virus protection that is running during that period of time. Some virus scanners will only run once you’ve started the scan, by then it could be too late as this detects the virus only after its gotten on your computer. With real time scanning, viruses are caught when they are trying to download themselves onto the computer which allows you to stop them in their tracks before they do any damage.

Firewall Protection

Firewalls are designed to protect your data and documents from viruses and hackers. A firewall will prevent anyone without access from gaining the ability to view any personal information that might be on your computer. This often serves as the first line of defense against hacker attacks and viruses as they are stopped before they even make it onto your computer.

If you are looking for a virus protection program that will give you the best protection, look for a program that offers firewalls and real time scanning.

 

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Computers, Internet Tagged With: , ,

All Work and no Play makes Jack a Dull boy

June 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Cover of "The Shining [Blu-ray]" 

Cover of The Shining [Blu-ray]

Anyone who has seen the movie, The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson as the psychotic caretaker of a mountain resort hotel, thinks of Nicholson’s character’s descent into insanity when they hear the famous proverb, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy“.

You might not see it in direct tv sunday ticket but I’m sure you remember the line.

One effect of the movie’s use of the proverb on popular culture was the inspiration for a computer virus titled Sunday. Seattle, Washington computer users discovered the Sunday computer virus in November of 1989. It is a member of the Jerusalem virus family. Users in Jerusalem, Israel, discovered the computer virus in October of 1987.

Once infected, the symptoms include:

  • The increase of COM and EXE files by size
  • COM files increased by a set amount
  • EXE files increased by anywhere from that set amount, to 9 or 10 bytes less

The Infected files on the computer contained the string “Today is SunDay! Why do you work so hard? All work and no play make you a dull boy! Come on! Let’s go out and have some fun!”

The Sunday virus was a patched version of the Jerusalem virus, in that it infected files differently. Modified from the Jerusalem virus, the Sunday virus infected .EXE, .COM, and .OVL files, which like the Jerusalem, occasionally corrupted the infected files.

The Jerusalem was initially the virus of the day and it spawned a number of variants. The creators of the Sunday virus intended it to set off every Sunday, while the Jerusalem ran every February 13.

The Sunday virus failed to execute its payload, because of an error in the code. Since Windows, the DOS viruses, such as Jerusalem, and its variants, are obsolete.

 

You might not see it in direct tv sunday ticket but I’m sure you remember the line.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Hosting Review

June 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are several things to look for when choosing a reliable web hosting review.

How reliable is the service of a web host?
Most surveys indicate that reliability is an e-businesses main concern. You ought to look for at least a 95 percent guarantee uptime, to make positive that the service is indeed reliable

How nice is phone support?
When it comes to phone support, you ought to look for 24/7 phone support that’s always available with a live operator. Once you have discovered, you ought to always check it. Call or e-mail the technical support line at ten o clock on Sunday night then expect it to be answered

What kind of performance am I able to expect?
A great hosting company has or more T3 lines that are always connected to the Net, not going through anyone else network operations middle. The servers ought to be fast, ideally Pentium Pro or Linux. You ought to also let your host know in the event you plan to make use of bandwidth killers such as streaming audio or video.

How much will it cost me?
The entry level hosting service with a single domain name, twenty 30 MB (Mega Bytes) of hard drive space, e-mail services, and up to a one GB (Giga Bytes) of every month bandwidth ought to cost you no over 50 dollars

How is security handled?
The passwords to your net site or domain ought to be necessary to control the host as well as manage the world wide web-site. Every file on your server ought to even be backed up on a every day basis. You ought to always look for a host that offers you secure transactions as well.

What about a control panel?
all hosting packages come with some type of control panel, enabling you to configure your hosting packages as well as your settings without having to learn the whole operating process that powers the site. Control panels can be accessed through a secure webpage, and then they will appear in your web browser. The most popular control panels are Helm, Cpanel, Hsphere, Plesk, and Ensim. The most common is Cpanel, which only runs on Linux. Most beginners and other users would be more suited to Cpanel, as it runs on the cheaper platform of Linux.

How much bandwidth will I require for information transfer?
Roughly estimating, 2GB of bandwidth ought to be ideal for a small personal site. If you’re going to walking a medium site with text and pics but no sizable files, three GB would be ideal. Larger sites on the other hand, require 30 GB of bandwidth. Nice hosting companys will send you an e-mail if you are about to run out of bandwidth, letting you know that your site may go offline in the event you exceed the quota. This way, you can upgrade your plan in the event you pick to do so.

Filed Under: Servers

Hackers Wear Hats of Varying Colors

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Among computer programmers and network administrators, there is a universal language of jargon. The differences in their level of expertise, divides them into subgroups, pertaining to the work they do in computers.

Computer hackers are no different. Reasons for hacking into computers differ and according to Raphael Finkel, the computer scientist who compiled the first glossary of computer jargon, they wear different colored hats.

Black Hat Hacker

Black hat hackers use computers, networks, or phones, to break through security without authorization. Their intent is malicious in nature, such as for credit card fraud, identity theft, or for piracy and vandalism.

White Hat Hacker

Sometimes called ethical hackers, white hat hackers break through security for non-malicious reasons. They test their own security programs and perform vulnerability assessment and penetration tests, under contract.

Blue Hat Hacker

Blue hat hackers test systems for bugs before launching new systems. They work outside of computer security consulting firms. Their job is to close exploits in the systems

Grey Hat Hacker

Appropriately, grey hat hackers get their name because they are combinations of White Hat and Black Hat Hackers. They surf the Internet, hacking into computer systems, specifically to notify administrators that they have indeed hacked their systems. Grey hat hackers may then offer to repair the computer systems, for a fee.

Other hatless hackers:

Hacktivist

Cyber terrorists use hactivism to deface websites or interrupt Internet service. They use technology to share announcements or messages of a political, religious, or ideological nature.

Elite Hacker

Even among hackers, there is a social status. Elite hackers are the most skilled of all hackers, and they circulate newfound exploits to each other, using what they call leet speak, a special symbolic form of writing.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: , ,

Phreakers – the world’s first hackers

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Blue Box at the Computer History Museum

Image via Wikipedia

The slang word, phreaking, describes the activity of people who studied, explored, and experimented with telecommunication systems. These systems included equipment connected to public telephone networks. People closely link phreaking with computer hacking, especially now that telephone networks are computerized. The term phreak blends the words phone and freak together. A large number of phreaks are blind.

Phreakers specialized in tricking the phone company switches into connecting free phone calls all over the world. They accomplished this with a method called Blue Boxing. This refers to the blue box that contained electronic components, which produced the tones that moved the switches to make calls.

One phreaker, John Draper, otherwise known as Captain Crunch, used a whistle that came as a prize in the cereal of the same name as Joe’s alias, to mimic the tones used by the phone company. He covered one of the holes of the toy whistle and blew through it, reproducing the exact frequency of 2600 Hz that long-distance phone companies used to signal that a long distance call ended by either party hanging up. All billing for the long distance calls stopped, which enabled Captain Crunch to continue on the line undetected, free of charge.

Amazingly, one trick of Draper’s was connecting back to himself through all seven continents around the world, just to give him the satisfaction of hearing himself talk, with a 20-second delay.

In the early 1980′s, computer hackers started using methods used by phreakers. Finding the phone numbers of the modems that belonged to businesses, gave them the ability to exploit those businesses.

An underground ezine title Phrack, a combination of the words Phreak and Hack, circulated in 1985, and focused on stories about hacking and phreaking.

Filed Under: Computers, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Can you hack me now?

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
for the mars rover Category:Images of Mars

Image via Wikipedia

Before the Mars Rover landed on the surface of the Big Red Planet, computer experts analyzed all the software components of the rover extensively. They needed to ensure that the software did not contain any bugs that would cause critical failures when the rover received commands on the surface of Mars.

Ames Research Center is working to develop automatic validation and verification technologies for aviation and aerospace software. To guarantee that they wrote the software correctly, they developed the Java Pathfinder, to use with programs written in the Java program language.

The Java Pathfinder started out as a checker of every possible behavior of a program to weed out the bugs in the system. It quickly evolved into several different technologies, including a tool called Symbolic Pathfinder. Lab testing exposed a flaw when testing Java programs for web applications.

Engineers discovered that the Symbolic Pathfinder could only handle integers and real numbers as inputs. When applied to the Web, they found the inputs were text strings. They worked to create a new capability for the Symbolic Pathfinder tool to handle text input as symbolic input, which allowed for broader verification of Java programs.

The new version of the Symbolic Pathfinder automatically executes a program for all possible ways to find defects, and to find what causes the defects. Technicians applied the tool when writing scripts for robots and to air-traffic control software.

This advancement will allow for greater security when consumers shop or bank online, on sites that use Java applications. Enhancements to the Symbolic Pathfinder tool include analysis of potential problems, covering a wide range of behaviors such as the detection of security holes in complex Java programs.

Technology such as the Symbolic Pathfinder is necessary to keep up with the security problems that pop up as more and more people put their sensitive information online, to keep a step ahead of hackers.

Filed Under: Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,
«Older Posts