Dejections

October 14th, 2008

Is your Best Friend a Hack?

Posted in Security Portal

I was on myspace.com the other day and was appaled at the
number of young people interested in hacking into other people’s
sites. They even suggested getting a software called keylogger.

Oddly enough, keylogger is easily obtainable as a free download
and there are thousands of sites offering it under the category
surveillance and security software.

It allows a person to track keyboard behavior and desktop
behavior and I was surprised at how easily I can use it to
monitor my own computer as well as other people’s.

The legal ramnifications are not clear as to the liabilities
and consequences of hacking and there are very few cases relating
to it.

Most of us know hacking as people who ruin websites with
trojans and viruses and so forth. My websites was once hacked
with a domain hijacking and I was weary of people who would
go to lengths to ruin people’s day. There are many companies
who create and design anti-spyware and thank the lord for
Norton antivirus and McFee to block all the hacking efforts.

The FBI supposedly uses keylogger and other spyware to spy on known criminals and I can understand how it can be used
on the right side of the law. But on the wrong side of the
law or unethical uses by “black hat” users it can have a
devastating effect on a website owner.

I just hope that there are enough people out there to know
that hacking is unethical if not illegal and hope there are
technologies to prevent unauthorized use of the internet.
It’s bad enough for most of us marketers trying to stay on the
good side of the spam laws without worrying about hackers.

Norman Dreamer has 2 websites http://www.MidnightFantacy.com
and http://wxyz.0moola.com.

October 13th, 2008

Breaking Into Your PC: “News”…

Posted in Security Portal

You’d better learn news from media, not from emails, security experts warn us users again.

Numerous emails with “breaking news” in subject lines are appearing in users’ inboxes. If you got one, don’t look into such a message — delete it straight away. Don’t open its attachment. Those who distribute malicious code take advantage of our curiosity. They use especially effective social engineering techniques to lure users into opening attachments and following links.

Is there anybody who wouldn’t like to be the very first one to learn breaking news or see something really exciting? For example, something like:

“Osama bin Laden caught”,
“Saddam Hussein has died”,
“Michael Jackson tried to commit suicide”.

Would you like to open a message with such a subject line and learn what’s in it? You’d better not. There are malicious programs inside these “news” waiting for you to click.

These (and similar) tricks are usually called social engineering. Online criminals have become good psychologists. They are ingenious in finding new ways to make people do what they want — open an attachment or click on a link to visit a certain website. For these unprincipled rogues it’s all right to profiteer from human tears and blood — they actively use news about tragic events as a bait.

One of the latest, detected by Trend Micro in mid-July, was a spam e-mail with “TERROR HITS LONDON,” subject line. It mimicked a CNN newsletter and asked the recipients to “see attachments for unique amateur video shots.” When a user opened the attachment, his PC gets infected with the Trojan horse program named Troj_DonBomb.A

On August 5th another one was reported by Sophos– an email disguised as an alert about the death
of 140 US marines in Iraq. The email claims to contain a breaking news report from Guardian Unlimited and has a link to the “full story” which leads users to a bogus web page with two Trojans built in.

Cgab-A and Borodr-Fam Trojans slip through unpatched Internet Explorers. These Trojans will allow the criminal to take full control over the infected PC; they also be collecting the user’s personal information and using his computer to send more copies of thesmselves.

It’s not the first time these emails are disguised as news alerts — there were outbreaks when infected spam posed as CNN news. It seems that spoofing legitimate news agencies to infect more PC users by means of bogus “news alerts” has become a popular social engineering technique. And by all means there will be more of them in future.

So, it’s better not to learn any news from e-mail messages.
Try to resist the temptation to open email with some REALLY BREAKING NEWS.

Don’t open, don’t click. And patch your browser.

Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation, LLC — an independent software developing company that provides various solutions for information security. The company’s R&D department created an innovative technology, which disables the very processes of information capturing — keylogging, screenshoting, etc. It makes the company’s anti-spy software truly unique: it doesn’t detect spy programs or information-stealing Trojans one by one — they all simply can’t work.

Learn more — visit the company’s website
http://www.anti-keyloggers.com

October 11th, 2008

Hurricane Evacuation

Posted in Security Portal

For homeowners making the decision about whether or not to leave your home during a hurricane can be a difficult one. Once a hurricane has been announced most homeowners know what the proper precautions are. You should prepare you house the same way whether you are planning on leaving your home or riding the storm out. Follow the path of the storm and monitor the intensity your area should be expecting. Go through the local papers and find out what where your hurricane shelter is and what the evacuation procedures are. If you can’t find the listings in the paper check the city listings in your local phone book. It is always a good idea to call ahead before there is the threat of a hurricane to ask questions about any special needs you might have. Elderly relatives, young children and pets are some areas that might require special attention.

As the storm rolls in follow the local and national news to find out if you should evacuate. If you are in a structurally sound home located inland often times you will not have to evacuate. If you are not ordered to evacuate and you feel confident in your home you should ride the storm out there. Evacuating when you don’t have too causes more traffic and may overwhelm the local shelters. Make sure to store enough food to last two weeks and provide enough fresh drinking water to provide each person with three gallons. Make sure to bring any outdoor furniture or potted plants into the house and place in a secure location. Check to make sure that you have enough batteries for flashlights and a battery powered radio.

If you are asked to evacuate you should follow the advice above for preparing your house for the storm. Cover any windows with either plywood or storm shutters. Tape placed on window will not make them any more secure, it only helps to prevent shattering if the window is broken. Make arrangements for your pets before a storm is announced, and make sure to allow yourself enough time to get your pets to their shelter and then get your family to yours. Make sure to take any necessary medications for you and your family with you to the shelter.

Find out everything that you should know about hurricanes at http://my-hurricane-guide.info

September 15th, 2008

Stand-by Generators - Security & Comfort

Posted in Security Portal

With the hurricane season upon us, coupled with the increased abundance of tornadoes that have spawned over the last few years and the general shortage of electrical power on the grid, more and more home owners are considering the installation of a stand-by electrical generator to provide emergency power in the event of an electrical power outage.

Stand-by generators provide security and a level of comfort in the event of a utility power failure. They can maintain indoor climate, provide lighting, keep food from spoiling and allow a family to function.

Stand-by generators differ from portable generators in that they are permanently installed and have a permanent connection to a fuel source, either propane or natural gas. Diesel powered stand-by generators are available, but as a general statement they are designed for commercial installations and provide more power than a typical home would require.

I generally recommend the use of propane over natural gas to power stand-by generators. The reason that I recommend propane is that the fuel storage is self contained on the home owner’s property. Although this is more expensive (the cost of the tank and its installation), than connecting directly to a natural gas pipeline, it provides much better electric power security. In many cases, especially disasters caused by hurricanes and tornadoes, natural gas pipelines are shut down to avoid fires and explosions in the damaged areas. Having a stand-by generator without a fuel source, doesn’t accomplish anything.

The majority of stand-by generators are installed so that when a utility power failure occurs, the stand-by generator will start automatically, switch all or a portion of the home load to the generator circuits and when utility power is restored the generator will turn-off and restore the load to its normal position.

For additional information on stand-by generators for your home or other renovation projects, visit Renovation Headquarters.