Challenges of Internet Security

Have you had your share of challenges of internet security? It has gotten so that NO ONE is safe from virus attacks! Even the head honcho, Microsoft, has been hit a few times!

It wasn't long ago when the only way you could get a virus was if someone gave you a copy of a program or application on a floppy disk and that is what was infected. And because of the slow spread of physically handing disks around and the fact that most people who used computers were adept in how to use them, viruses were quite easily quarantined and eradicated. People knew about the viruses that were out there and made sure that they scanned each disk before they opened any files or activated any programs.

Now-a-days though, it seems that very few people in comparison have this knowledge and most are very impatient. They just want to put the disk in the computer and run it without doing any security checks. Even when they download things off the internet, they should by rights do a scan for viruses, trojans or any other nasties BEFORE starting up or opening the download. Even if it is just a picture!

Viruses now can infiltrate your computer as easily as just visiting a website and can be passed through the entire internet via the addresses in your address book without you even knowing about it!

As technology advances, the challenges of internet security increase. New types of viruses can now pass from computers to mobile devices, making this an ever increasing threat. Also with more and more people using their computers for online shopping and online banking, there is an even greater threat of personal information being compromised.

Protecting Your Computer

Lucky for us, Antivirus software has kept pace with the virus threats being released daily. Antivirus software has become an essential component to the challenges of internet security and your piece of mind. A good antivirus software package is designed to protect you against viruses that can access your computer through email, web browsers, file servers and copied disks. Also, these new antivirus are updatable and are centralized to aid in configuration and manual or automatic scanning any time you want or need.

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.

Because of the way that new viruses have been programmed to attack your computer, it has become necessary that we fight back with more than just one way of protection. Our antivirus must have more than one way of stopping these viruses from slipping past our defenses. Your antivirus should have some or all of the following:

• antivirus,
• firewall,
• content filtering,
• and intrusion detection

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known company.

Due to the fact that there are constantly new viruses being released to raise havoc on the internet, you want to make sure that you have an antivirus from a company that has been around for a while. You need to have the ability for your antivirus to update regularly and if you get one from a new company or a company that is not that well known, then you risk that when you need to get that update, they might not be there!

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they come from.

4. When opening Word, Excel or binary documents from unknown sources, be careful! Scan them before opening!

5. Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

Following these 5 simple steps are a start to making your computer a safer place for your information.

Your computer is not a safe place to keep your valuable information unless you find out more at Antivirus Software Review. Don't wait until it is too late!

Essential Tips For Secure Online Trading

The internet has caused a sensational boom in the business world by allowing individuals and businesses to conduct online trading with customers all over the world. The most exciting aspect of doing online trading is that it can be done from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately, just as in real life, unscrupulous minds have soured the fun for everyone by engaging in the criminal activities of internet fraud and theft of sensitive financial information of customers. Doing online business seems like a daunting prospect to the uninitiated who has little or no knowledge of the basics of secure trading. However, things are not as grim as they might seem. It is very easy to protect ourselves from internet fraud by taking care to follow certain precautions when doing business online. One of the first things to do before going ahead with a trade deal on the internet is to perform a background search on the business you will be dealing with. Such information can be gleaned from the various credit agencies and trade institutes. If still in doubt, you can also seek out information from the chambers of commerce.

It's always an excellent idea to ask as many questions as possible. Legitimate traders will be quite eager to answer all your queries pertaining to their business and will even provide references on demand. Since appearances can be very deceptive, don't be fooled by a really attractive website into believing that the company is honest. Be especially wary if the company provides only a fax number and an email with no further contact information. Although scammers are found everywhere, be especially suspicious of companies based in third world countries. Promises that seem too good to be true are usually a sign that the company is very interested in getting their hands on your money. Only go through with the deal after carefully verifying such a company's authenticity from third parties. Scammers usually try to entice buyers by posting items in great demand at ridiculously low prices.

Buyers should request a sample to judge the quality of the product and ensure that it meets their needs. Sellers shouldn't send samples to unknown buyers without asking for a small fee. If a buyer requests to complete the transaction using multiple credit card numbers, it's usually a sure sign that the numbers are stolen. If you suspect that you have become a victim of fraud, try contacting your trading partner through telephone to resolve the situation. Most traders are honest and may inadvertently have given you the wrong information due to language and cultural differences. Beware of traders who want to rush the trade. Legitimate traders are usually very patient and can wait a long time before the deal is finalized. You can use this time to verify the true identity of the trader and ask around to see if anyone has had bad experiences in dealing with this particular trader. If you get defrauded even after following all the aforementioned tips of secure trading, it is best to notify the relevant law enforcement authorities and hope that justice is served.

Liam Derbyshire is the founder of http://www.miraclesformen.com.The site is dedicated to helping individuals to improve their health and fitness. This site is based on Secure Trading.

Internet Banking Security Now More Enhanced

Guarantees against online fraud are what most consumers look for in internet banking services. As money is a major consideration here, they just want the best protection for their savings and investments. Regardless of whether they're banking in a brick and mortar institution that has gone online or an online-only bank, consumers demand security.

Banks are working hard to convince customers to try internet banking. Security features of internet banking services are now more advanced giving customers every reason to bank through the internet for added convenience and a lot more benefits. With the ever improving internet technology, anybody today can perform all sorts of financial transactions online in the comforts of their home or office. Apart from the security and convenience, internet banking is also cost effective with less or sometimes no fees at all.

Research experts say that while some consumers see no benefit in eliminating paper when doing transactions, going paperless is actually protection in itself. As an example, a bank's website can now allow you to view your bills and statements online in an instant instead of waiting for several weeks. This means that there's no chance that your credit card and telephone statements will be taken from your mailbox or your trash can.

The encryption technology is the most commonly used to secure websites. As data pass through shared systems or networks wherein a large number of people have access to the information, this tool plays a vital role. It is in this light then that confidential information notably passwords needs to be encrypted to prevent them from leaking to other people and from being changed. The use of a digital signature is another security technique that also involves encryption.

While encryption remains to be used, several large banks now use the latest web-based security system known as SiteKey. The tool uses a new kind of authentication process with the main goal of avoiding phishing, an online fraudulent activity. However, only a few are using this technique because of the system's weaknesses.

The use of usernames and passwords as well as personal identification numbers or PINs is among the standard security features provided by most banks. It is, therefore, highly recommended that the confidential information should not be shared with anyone to avoid the so-called identity theft.

Email alert is another safeguard that banks use. With this feature, customers are alerted via email or text message whenever suspicious transactions occur on their account such as withdrawal of large sums, when they get emails from phishers or when someone attempts to access an account with an incorrect password.

Many major banks also provide scanned images of canceled checks. The check's image not only shows the front side but the back side as well. This will help a customer in verifying the check number, amount and the payee in case he or she forgets the information.

Banks are committed to providing their clients with the best online security in an effort to protect their hard-earned money. It is not surprising then that internet banking customers are now growing in number.

Learn more about Internet Banking Security by visiting http://www.webinternetbanking.com/internetbankingsecurity.html

Protect Yourself From Cyber Criminals

Don't you like to protect your money and keep your private information safe? Are you frightened by the possibility an Internet criminal will steal your credit card and do things with your name after stealing your identity? Guess what! You can prevent this mess from happening. Let's go over the steps you can take to prevent identify theft and loss of your money while you are online.

Take precaution with storing information and passwords on any computer you use. You might be thinking, "I am the only one who uses my computer; therefore, I can store the password I use to log into my computer and any accounts I have with different websites." If you believe this and act accordingly, you could be in trouble. Someone might rob you of your laptop or break into your home and steal your computer. Furthermore, you will probably have to recycle or throw away your computer eventually.

Choose passwords wisely. Do not choose a password that has any part of your name or other information that identifies you. Choose an unusual password or a password you think others will have trouble guessing. If you open an online banking account or PayPal account, create a password that contains numbers and capital letters. Never reveal your passwords.

Be careful when reading E-mail messages from PayPal. The real PayPal site only addresses you by your name and it does not provide links for you to click or ask for your password. If you get a "PayPal" or "eBay" message saying you must verify your account to avoid suspension, ignore it. If you are ever tempted to respond, it is safer to copy and paste the link into your browser. If you ever believe an account of yours has been breached, immediately change your password and report the breach to the site holding your account.

Ignore E-mail messages in which you are asked to submit a form to claim a tax refund. The IRS does not actually contact people online unless they are returning a message.

Ignore messages from Microsoft and others that try to get your personal or financial information by claiming you have won the lottery or that you are a beneficiary of a huge sum of money. Also ignore messages in which each letter for the sender or subject line is capitalized.

Take precaution when sending messages online. A cyber criminal gained access to my debit card after I revealed my new debit card number on a web site's contact message form as a result of not being able to get their system to recognize my new debit card.

Handle your social security number with care. Do not provide it when you use a web site or submit a cover letter, resume or other form of communication online.

Be careful when making online purchases. Make sure the site has a padlock symbol that represents a secure purchase. An https site is highly encrypted to prevent others from seeing your credit card.

Use these tips to prevent identify theft and loss of your money!

Todd Hicks owns Skill Development Institute, an enterprise that provides a keyboard typing lesson and academic study guide. To become a great typist or student, visit Skill Development Institute.

http://sdinst.blogspot.com

Dealing With Distributed Denial of Service Attacks

Distributed denial of service attacks are frustrating -- they're frustrating for the company under attack, and frustrating for the web host. They can also be costly in terms of business and goodwill lost. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with them, if you are willing to prepare for the possibility of a DDoS before it happens. You may not have seen them very much in the news recently, but distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) have not gone away. If anything, these attacks - or at least their potential - have become scarier over time as malicious hackers have worked on improving their methods. The increase in home-based broadband Internet connections, for example, means that hackers can now more easily infect a larger number of machines with fast, powerful connections to the Internet and make them do their bidding. Let's back up a second and define what we mean by a distributed denial of service attack. A DDoS attack is an attempt to disrupt the service of a computer network and/or company website by overwhelming the processing capacity of the system or by flooding the bandwidth of the business. It is a blatant attempt to consume the system's resources, to the point that genuine, legitimate users (i.e. website visitors) are denied access. Hackers engage in DDoS attacks via a two-step process. First, they infect computers with viruses and Trojans that allow them to control the machines remotely. They will then use these computers, known as "zombies," to overwhelm other systems. These zombie networks can become quite large. In October 2005, Dutch police arrested three people who'd created a zombie network comprising at least 100,000 computers. Some reports estimate the network was more like 1.5 million machines strong. The three who had created the network were using it to extort money from U.S. companies. It must have worked something like a high-tech version of the classic cliché of the mob protection racket: "Nice company website you have there. Be a shame if it crashed and all your customers couldn't get through." Since many commercial websites now rely on a constant Internet presence, this threat carries a real bite behind it. And with that many machines at a hacker's command, even a hardened company such as Microsoft is not immune to a DDoS attack. It's just the thing for the technology wizard with "different" morals who wants to make some money or a political statement. Dealing with the problems raised by DDoS attacks often requires lots of communication between the company being victimized and the ISP. If you're hosting a website that is under attack, that's you; if you're a web hosting reseller, you're still that company's line of communication to the folks who are handling the servers. Needless to say, it helps to know what you're up against.

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Which Internet Providers Are Watching You Surf the Internet?

It's one of the first rules of Internet 101: visiting questionable websites leads to viruses, which entices hackers to access your hard drive and monitor your every click. But can someone still be monitoring your web activity even if you're extra careful when selecting online destinations? The answer may just depend on which Internet provider you use.

A few months ago, The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent out an open letter to 33 companies inquiring about their online targeting practices, or in other words, the extent to which the web activity of their customers is being monitored.

The letter was sent amidst reports that several Internet service providers, including Charter Communications, were planning to sell the web-surfing data of their customers to an online advertising company called NebuAd. (Source: nytimes.com)

The responses to the letter showed that most ISPs, including Comcast, Verizon and AOL, never monitor the web activity of their customers. Some, however, do have targeting systems in place to monitor the online behavior of their customers when logged on to their own web sites.

AT&T was the only company to give "careful consideration" to monitoring the web activity of their customers on ALL web sites.

Although it seems like a dirty trick to pull on their customers, AT&T promise that their approach will not be so deceptive. The company is promoting an "opt-in" approach to web tracking, which will require customers to affirmatively agree to have their surfing monitored. (Source: arcane.org)

In the past, most companies favored an "opt-out" approach to web tracking, which required customers to decline being monitored. Those who failed to refuse monitoring were assumed to be compliant with the system.

Most people agree that the best thing AT&T can do in this situation is to leave the Internet experience to their customer's eyes only.

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Zombie Networks (aka Botnets) - A Serious Little-Known Threat

What is a zombie computer?
A zombie computer, also known as a bot, is a computer that has been infected by a malware, often a trojan, allowing an attacker to take control of the compromised PC and use it to serve malicious purposes like sending spam, hosting illegal websites or launching DDoS attacks.

DDoS what?
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are launched with the aim of crashing a server by flooding it with packets of data. DDoS attacks are effective and dangerous because the traffic can rise from hundreds of thousands of zombies; users are not even aware that they participate at an attack. Imagine your server being bombarded by so much zombies!

Those who are not worried should reconsider their position: an expert estimated that zombie networks count between one million and two million infected machines! And, each day, this number increases dramatically! Yours could really be in!

Another side effect of zombie networks: SPAM!
Who never received spam in their email box? Did you ever wonder why spammers almost never get arrested? Reasons are numerous; however, remember that they often use stolen resources, such as zombie computers, or get protected by corrupt Internet service providers (ISPs) in some foreign countries. That, and many other tricks to obfuscate their traces, makes it a challenge to catch them.

My personal privacy could be at risk?
In fact, not really. Contrary to popular myth, most of attackers are not interested in your latest secret trip with your boyfriend; what they want is your Internet bandwidth and sensitive data like your passwords to commit their crimes!

Maybe you ask yourself: "I have no important accounts and I don't care about my bandwidth being stolen. So, what's the deal?"

Hypocrite and selfish question: on the Internet, what you do affect everyone. And, as you can see, botnets are a major danger poisoning the entire network. Will you let a complete stranger "borrow" your car for a hold-up? No. Same goes for your computer.

My computer is fine; it's not slow at all!
Attackers do not want you to know that your machine fell under their control. Yet, if you are severely infected, you can notice symptoms like unwanted pop-ups, hijacking of your browser, slow-downs, etc.

In all cases, be sure to scan your computer every week with an anti-virus and an anti-spyware. Do not forget a firewall or you will be infected in less than 30 minutes.

It is possible to avoid being infected?
Sure thing! Spend a bit of time to learn how to use a computer; scan emails, web pages, downloads and your hard drive for nasty stuff; resist the temptation to revise your human anatomy on doubtful sites; think before clicking and you should be in business!

If you do not put the effort, you will get infected each time.

Webmaster of DesinfectPC: http://desinfectpc.com
Loves computers, writing and politic.