Promoting your website

Free Website Promotion...Why Not?


Can you ever avail of free website promotion? Is that even feasible?

Of course yes! Nowadays, your baby website can amass huge traffic in no time thanks to free website promotion.

How does this free website promotion go anyway? What are things to be done?

1. Enlist your website.

Look for the hottest Internet directories and enlist your site there. This is the easiest and most effective free website promotion tactic. Start with this step and the rest of the good things will follow.

Just don't forget to prep your website and make it all spruced up for a higher chance to get accepted in your directory of choice.

2. Know your forums.

One reason why forums are created is for free website promotion for everyone. Log in, post actively, let them know about your site in every post and you attract instant visitors right there.

3. Write a press release.

Release your writing prowess and start up a press release that advertises your site! This is a free website promotion tactic that you can do anytime. Type a brief paragraph or two and email it to your friends, colleagues, internet e-zines, newspapers and other media and massive traffic will come to you pronto!

4. Be friendly online.

Free website promotion means you need to be friendly to other webmasters. Why, you ask? So they can link you immediately! Establish contacts and never tire of link requests and exchanges.

5. Write an article.

Say, your website is about your travel agency. Write an article about the perks of traveling or the hottest travel spots in the world. On the concluding paragraph, mention your website in passing. This article works as an advertorial and doubles as a free website promotion approach.

6. Just let the whole world know about your site.

What is free website promotion without the word of mouth? Insert your website, its URL and features in daily conversations and let the good news spread from one mouth to another!

7. Make a banner ad.

Make a banner ad for your site and ask another webmaster to do the same for his site. Then swap!

8. Take up a free website promotion course online.

Yes, there are free website promotion tutorials. But don't you know that you can actually take a free website promotion course that can help you out further? Part of the free website promotion program is signing up for newsletters.

When you make a website, you need not pay anything to promote it. You just read it -- there is such a thing as free website promotion!

Tools for Adsense

Tools for Adsense

If you're just boarding on the AdSense train, and looking to find a quick way to make the profits you've seen all being pulled of all over the Internet, you might be interested in a couple of tools.

These software tools are designed to aid AdSense publishers in getting a better understanding on how traffic flows through their site. Some will help you in understanding which keywords gain you more money and which locations give you the best AdSense payment.

One of the best such tools available is AdSense Gold (http://www.profitbooks.com/go/astracker) which allows you to have a better understanding of which ads and formats actually get more clicks and which are useful or nearly useless.

This program works by tracking views and clicks on all the publisher's pages. It even goes as far as offering you the possibility to see which referrer each visitor came in through.

There's a free tool called SynSense (http://www.singerscreations.com/RSS/Posts/235.asp) which is more of an AdSense monitoring tool. This sits in the tray and offers actualized AdSense stats as you hover your mouse over its icon. It's a very nice tool for those which like to be informed on how their AdSense is doing at all times of the day.

Google provides you with stats in a csv format on their site. So someone made a tool that can automatically download such files and extract a lot of information from them. The name of this tool is CSV AdStats and it is available from http://www.nix.fr/en/csvadstats.aspx?q=download

It has a large number of features, including the possibility to highly customize reported stats, exporting data and charts to other formats. It's in French but the language can very easily be changed to English.

Of course any tool can only access these stats as often as 15 minutes but the authors are well aware of that fact and none of these tools will get you in trouble with Google because of that.

If, however, you're browsing content most of the time, and your tool of choice is the Firefox Internet browser, there's an extension for this program that allows you to view the stats in your status bar.

Again, this software is aware of Google's 15 minute rule and enforces its usage, 15 minutes being the minimum time between updates. The Google AdSense notifier for Firefox can be obtained from http://code.mincus.com/?p=3

There is also a program called Golden Keywords out there that helps you in getting the best keywords for your site. It's really efficient and very easy to use. It does come with a price tag though, it costs $49.95 and it can be obtained from http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=8616-2

So as you can see, software developers are making more and more programs meant to help you in your quest to maximize your AdSense profits. But before you go out looking for them remember that Google has a few features of its own as well.

It does offer some reports (albeit a bit more limited) and using the 'channels' feature is a good way of finding out which ads on your site are really bringing in most of the revenue.

Be on the look out as new tools appear daily and make sure to invest time in your site, as that is the real key in success with AdSense.

Why Advertisers support Adsense?

Why Advertisers support Adsense?

Google is the biggest search engine on the web. It controls over 40% of Internet searches, and with that it controls pay per click advertising (pay per click). PPC involves the advertiser paying a rate for every click through (CTR) in which the advertisers set. As their budget increases, their position increases, and as their position increases, they get more traffic.

This has lead to over 140,000 companies choosing to advertise with them, and they advertise in a number of ways. The first way is through is through appearing on Google searches, the second is through appearing on distributors websites, and the third is through appearing in distributors search results. As advertisers appear in Google searches, the question is sometimes asked. Why do they choose to advertise with distributors as well?

One reason for this is scalability. Those who originally choose to advertise in search results and who were getting a ROI (return on investment) will decide at one point that they need to identify other advertising opportunities. With thousands of websites which have the capacity to display their adverts the advertisers can gain further exposure very quickly.

Another reason why advertisers choose to advertise in Google distributors websites is that it gains them further exposure. 60% of internet users do not use Google, so the advertiser can appeal to a wider audience through choosing to opt for distribution channels. Many website users may be looking to buy a product such as a phone, yet instead of coming across a website which sells such a product, they come across an article. If the article is on a website which contains Adsense then inevitably advertisers can use this channel to penetrate their audience.

Another reason why advertisers choose adsense is because they trust Google. The company is renowned for being an ethical company who are fun to work whilst providing free services to millions worldwide. Advertisers feel that money invested with Google is safe. Despite the evolution of click-fraud and its inevitable disadvantages for advertisers they appear to understand that this is an issue which Google wants to stop and hopefully will eventually. Advertisers are happy that Google admits a problem exits and provides refunds accordingly.

The trust in Google also stems from a trust in pricing. The pricing is set by market forces and therefore advertisers never feel that publishers or Google are overpricing the service. This means that as long as advertisers are able to advertise they will continue to do so, if not at the same rates.

Another strong advantage for advertisers is that they can appear where publishers promote their service. An example of this can seen if you consider a publisher who is discussing the benefits of new IT software. If a software retailer appears on the website then inevitably they will be the likely source from which the web surfer will purchase the product. If the surfer is not interested then you could argue that they would not click on the advert.

The service which Google provides has created an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to advertise. Although the issue of click fraud still plagues the service it is till widely regarded as the best. New businesses attempt to promote themselves on the web, whilst established brands alike choose to attract interest in their service using the same technique.

Keylogger

The Advancement of the Key logger

A keylogger is a program that runs in your computer’s background secretly recording all your keystrokes. Once your keystrokes are logged, they are hidden away for later retrieval by the attacker. The attacker then carefully reviews the information in hopes of finding passwords or other information that would prove useful to them. For example, a keylogger can easily obtain confidential emails and reveal them to any interested outside party willing to pay for the information.

Keyloggers can be either software or hardware based. Software-based keyloggers are easy to distribute and infect, but at the same time are more easily detectable. Hardware-based keyloggers are more complex and harder to detect. For all that you know, your keyboard could have a keylogger chip attached and anything being typed is recorded into a flash memory sitting inside your keyboard. Keyloggers have become one of the most powerful applications used for gathering information in a world where encrypted traffic is becoming more and more common.

As keyloggers become more advanced, the ability to detect them becomes more difficult. They can violate a user’s privacy for months, or even years, without being noticed. During that time frame, a keylogger can collect a lot of information about the user it is monitoring. A keylogger can potential obtain not only passwords and log-in names, but credit card numbers, bank account details, contacts, interests, web browsing habits, and much more. All this collected information can be used to steal user’s personal documents, money, or even their identity.

A keylogger might be as simple as an .exe and a .dll that is placed in a computer and activated upon boot up via an entry in the registry. Or, the more sophisticated keyloggers, such as the Perfect Keylogger or ProBot Activity Monitor have developed a full line of nasty abilities including:

• Undetectable in the process list and invisible in operation
• A kernel keylogger driver that captures keystrokes even when the user is logged off
• A remote deployment wizard
• The ability to create text snapshots of active applications
• The ability to capture http post data (including log-ins/passwords)
• The ability to timestamp record workstation usage
• HTML and text log file export
• Automatic e-mail log file delivery

All keyloggers are not used for illegal purposes. A variety of other uses have surfaced. Keyloggers have been used to monitor web sites visited as a means of parental control over children. They have been actively used to prevent child pornography and avoid children coming in contact with dangerous elements on the web. Additionally, in December, 2001, a federal court ruled that the FBI did not need a special wiretap order to place a keystroke logging device on a suspect’s computer. The judge allowed the FBI to keep details of its key logging device secret (citing national security concerns). The defendant in the case, Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., indicted for gambling and loan-sharking, used encryption to protect a file on his computer. The FBI used the keystroke logging device to capture Scarfo’s password and gain access to the needed file.

Antivirus Industry

Who are the Players in the Antivirus Industry?

Everyone in the United States has heard of the leading antivirus vendors Symantec, Mcafee, Computer Associates, and Trend Micro. These companies have market-leading presence in the United States. Microsoft, as well, has plans become a key player in this market. Microsoft acquired intellectual property and technology from GeCad software in 2003, a company based in Bucharest, Romania. They also acquired Pelican Software, which had a behavior based security as well as Giant Company Software for spyware and Sybari Software, which manages virus, spam, and phishing filtering.

A lot of discussion has centered on whether Microsoft with come to own a dominant position in the antivirus market by simply bundling its technologies with its operating systems at no charge. This is a similar technique applied in other markets such as word processing and Internet browsers.

Of course there are a number of antivirus vendors who also play in this market. There are many companies with great market presence in other countries that are beginning to become more widely known. These vendors include GriSoft out of the Czech Republic, Sophos in the united Kingdom, Panda Software out of Spain, Kaspersky in Russia, SoftWin in Romania, F-Secure in Finland, Norman in Norway, Arcabit in Poland, VirusBuster out of Hungary, and AhnLab in South Korea.

It is not clear where the industry is heading and everyone in this market faces a rapidly changing landscape. The amount of effort to find and provide fixes for viruses is staggering. Malicious programs are getting more complex and the number of them is increasing. Many companies may find themselves without the resources to match the efforts of those truly bent on creating havoc. Some virus companies are getting of hundreds of new samples a day! Moreover, the new viruses are getting "smarter" in that they propagate themselves quickly and they often hide themselves and are smart enough to move around in a system by renaming themselves in an effort to make it hard to remove them.

Spyware

Why Do I Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me?

Spyware is one of the fastest-growing internet threats. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, spyware infects more than 90% of all PCs today. These unobtrusive, malicious programs are designed to silently bypass firewalls and anti-virus software without the user’s knowledge. Once embedded in a computer, it can wreak havoc on the system’s performance while gathering your personal information. Fortunately, unlike viruses and worms, spyware programs do not usually self-replicate.

Where does it come from?
Typically, spyware originates in three ways. The first and most common way is when the user installs it. In this scenario, spyware is embedded, attached, or bundled with a freeware or shareware program without the user’s knowledge. The user downloads the program to their computer. Once downloaded, the spyware program goes to work collecting data for the spyware author’s personal use or to sell to a third-party. Beware of many P2P file-sharing programs. They are notorious for downloads that posses spyware programs.

The user of a downloadable program should pay extra attention to the accompanying licensing agreement. Often the software publisher will warn the user that a spyware program will be installed along with the requested program. Unfortunately, we do not always take the time to read the fine print. Some agreements may provide special “opt-out” boxes that the user can click to stop the spyware from being included in the download. Be sure to review the document before signing off on the download.

Another way that spyware can access your computer is by tricking you into manipulating the security features designed to prevent any unwanted installations. The Internet Explorer Web browser was designed not to allow websites to start any unwanted downloads. That is why the user has to initiate a download by clicking on a link. These links can prove deceptive. For example, a pop-up modeled after a standard Windows dialog box, may appear on your screen. The message may ask you if you would like to optimize your internet access. It provides yes or no answer buttons, but, no matter which button you push, a download containing the spyware program will commence. Newer versions of Internet Explorer are now making this spyware pathway a little more difficult.

Finally, some spyware applications infect a system by attacking security holes in the Web browser or other software. When the user navigates a webpage controlled by a spyware author, the page contains code designed to attack the browser, and force the installation of the spyware program.

What can spyware programs do?

Spyware programs can accomplish a multitude of malicious tasks. Some of their deeds are simply annoying for the user; others can become downright aggressive in nature.

Spyware can:
1. Monitor your keystrokes for reporting purposes.
2. Scan files located on your hard drive.
3. Snoop through applications on our desktop.
4. Install other spyware programs into your computer.
5. Read your cookies.
6. Steal credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information.
7. Change the default settings on your home page web browser.
8. Mutate into a second generation of spyware thus making it more difficult to eradicate.
9. Cause your computer to run slower.
10. Deliver annoying pop up advertisements.
11. Add advertising links to web pages for which the author does not get paid. Instead, payment is directed to the spyware programmer that changed the original affiliate’s settings.
12. Provide the user with no uninstall option and places itself in unexpected or hidden places within your computer making it difficult to remove.

Spyware Examples
Here are a few examples of commonly seen spyware programs. Please note that while researchers will often give names to spyware programs, they may not match the names the spyware-writers use.

CoolWebSearch, a group of programs, that install through “holes” found in Internet Explorer. These programs direct traffic to advertisements on Web sites including coolwebsearch.com. This spyware nuisance displays pop-up ads, rewrites search engine results, and alters the computer host file to direct the Domain Name System (DNS) to lookup preselected sites.
Internet Optimizer (a/k/a DyFuCa), likes to redirect Internet Explorer error pages to advertisements. When the user follows the broken link or enters an erroneous URL, a page of advertisements pop up.
180 Solutions reports extensive information to advertisers about the Web sites which you visit. It also alters HTTP requests for affiliate advertisements linked from a Web site. Therefore the 180 Solutions Company makes an unearned profit off of the click through advertisements they’ve altered.
HuntBar (a/k/a WinTools) or Adware.Websearch, is distributed by Traffic Syndicate and is installed by ActiveX drive-by downloading at affiliate websites or by advertisements displayed by other spyware programs. It’s a prime example of how spyware can install more spyware. These programs will add toolbars to Internet Explorer, track Web browsing behavior, and display advertisements.

How can I prevent spyware?
There are a couple things you can do to prevent spyware from infecting your computer system. First, invest in a reliable commercial anti-spyware program. There are several currently on the market including stand alone software packages such as Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware or Windows Antispyware. Other options provide the anti-spyware software as part of an anti-virus package. This type of option is offered by companies such as Sophos, Symantec, and McAfee. Anti-spyware programs can combat spyware by providing real-time protection, scanning, and removal of any found spyware software. As with most programs, update your anti virus software frequently.

As discussed, the Internet Explorer (IE) is often a contributor to the spyware problem because spyware programs like to attach themselves to its functionality. Spyware enjoys penetrating the IE’s weaknesses. Because of this, many users have switched to non-IE browsers. However, if you prefer to stick with Internet Explorer, be sure to update the security patches regularly, and only download programs from reputable sources. This will help reduce your chances of a spyware infiltration.
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And, when all else fails?
Finally, if your computer has been infected with a large number of spyware programs, the only solution you may have is backing up your data, and performing a complete reinstall of the operating system.

Trojan Horse

Trojan Horse….Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

1. Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.
2. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.
3. Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.
4. Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.

Surfing the Web Anonymously

Surfing the Web Anonymously – Questions to Ask

When you surf the web it is possible to learn information about you even when you don't want to advertise who you are. This is true even if your system contains no virus or malware software. Specifically information that is easily available online includes your IP address, your country (and often more location information based on IP address), what computer system you are on, what browser you use, your browser history, and other information. It gets worse. People can get your computer's name and even find out your name if your machine supports programs like finger or identd. Also, cookies can track your habits as you move from machine to machine.

How do people get this basic information about you?

When you visit another web site, information about you can be retrieved. Basically, information is intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities.

How do you stop this from happening?

First of all, it is possible to serf the web anonymously and thereby stop leaving a trail for others to find. Note that this is not fool-proof, but it makes it much harder for people to know who you are. There are products called anonymous proxy servers that help protect you. The anonymous proxy server replaces your Internet address for its own. This has the effect of hiding your IP address and making it much harder for people to track you.


How do I get an anonymous proxy server?

There are many vendors who sell anonymous proxy servers. There are also free proxy servers available to you. Two such products are ShadowSurf and Guardster. Guardster (http://www.guardster.com/) offers various services for anonymous and secure access to the web, some paid as well as a free service. ShadowSurf (http://www.shadowsurf.com/) ShadowSurf provides anonymous surfing at their site for free. Go to it and you will find a box to enter a URL that you want no one to track. There are many others, but here are two that are frequently used.

Another interesting product, given the recent news about the Google search engine filtering its findings for the Chinese government, is Anonymizer (http://www.anonymizer.com). This company, among others, recently (Feb 1st, 2006) pressed that it "is developing a new anti-censorship solution that will enable Chinese citizens to safely access the entire Internet filter-free" (http://www.anonymizer.com/consumer/media/press_releases/02012006.html).

Does an anonymous proxy server make you 100% safe?

No. Still, you are much better off if you use such technology.

What other things should I be concerned about when trying to keep my private information private?

Three other items come to mind when trying to keep your information private. First, you can use an encrypted connection to hide your surfing. This article does not go into detail on this, but search the web and you will find a lot of information on this. Secondly, delete cookies after each session. Third, you can configure your browser to remove JavaScript, Java, and active content. This actually leads to limitations, so you need to think about the cost/benefit of this course of action.


Anything else?

Wishing you happy and safe surfing!

What are Intrusion Detection Systems?

Intrusion Detection System (IDS) are a necessary part of any strategy for enterprise security. What are Intrusion Detection systems? CERIAS, The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, defines it this way:

"The purpose of an intrusion detection system (or IDS) is to detect unauthorized access or misuse of a computer system. Intrusion detection systems are kind of like burglar alarms for computers. They sound alarms and sometimes even take corrective action when an intruder or abuser is detected. Many different intrusion detection systems have been developed but the detection schemes generally fall into one of two categories, anomaly detection or misuse detection. Anomaly detectors look for behavior that deviates from normal system use. Misuse detectors look for behavior that matches a known attack scenario. A great deal of time and effort has been invested in intrusion detection, and this list provides links to many sites that discuss some of these efforts"(http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/about/history/coast_resources/intrusion_detection/)

There is a sub-category of intrusion detection systems called network intrusion detection systems (NIDS). These systems monitors packets on the network wire and looks for suspicious activity. Network intrusion detection systems can monitor many computers at a time over a network, while other intrusion detection systems may monitor only one.

Who is breaking into your system?

One common misconception of software hackers is that it is usually people outside your network who break into your systems and cause mayhem. The reality, especially for corporate workers, is that insiders can and usually do cause the majority of security breaches. Insiders often impersonate people with more privileges then themselves to gain access to sensitive information.

How do intruders break into your system?

The simplest and easiest way to break in is to let someone have physical access to a system. Despite the best of efforts, it is often impossible to stop someone once they have physical access to a machine. Also, if someone has an account on a system already, at a low permission level, another way to break in is to use tricks of the trade to be granted higher-level privileges through holes in your system. Finally, there are many ways to gain access to systems even if one is working remotely. Remote intrusion techniques have become harder and more complex to fight.


How does one stop intrusions?


There are several Freeware/shareware Intrusion Detection Systems as well as commercial intrusion detection systems.

Open Source Intrusion Detection Systems

Below are a few of the open source intrusion detection systems:

AIDE (http://sourceforge.net/projects/aide) Self-described as "AIDE (Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment) is a free replacement for Tripwire. It does the same things as the semi-free Tripwire and more. There are other free replacements available so why build a new one? All the other replacements do not achieve the level of Tripwire. And I wanted a program that would exceed the limitations of Tripwire."

File System Saint (http://sourceforge.net/projects/fss) - Self-described as, "File System Saint is a lightweight host-based intrusion detection system with primary focus on speed and ease of use."


Snort (www.snort.org) Self-described as "Snort® is an open source network intrusion prevention and detection system utilizing a rule-driven language, which combines the benefits of signature, protocol and anomaly based inspection methods. With millions of downloads to date, Snort is the most widely deployed intrusion detection and prevention technology worldwide and has become the de facto standard for the industry."

Commercial Intrusion Detection Systems

If you are looking for Commercial Intrusion Detection Systems, here are a few of these as well:

Tripwire
http://www.tripwire.com

Touch Technology Inc (POLYCENTER Security Intrusion Detector)
Http://www.ttinet.com

Internet Security Systems (Real Secure Server Sensor)
http://www.iss.net


eEye Digital Security (SecureIIS Web Server Protection)
http://www.eeye.com

Securing Your Computer System

Securing Your Computer System

Today, more and more people are using their computers for everything from communication to online banking and investing to shopping. As we do these things on a more regular basis, we open ourselves up to potential hackers, attackers and crackers. While some may be looking to phish your personal information and identity for resale, others simply just want to use your computer as a platform from which to attack other unknowing targets. Below are a few easy, cost-effective steps you can take to make your computer more secure.

1. Always make backups of important information and store in a safe place separate from your computer.
2. Update and patch your operating system, web browser and software frequently. If you have a Windows operating system, start by going to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and running the update wizard. This program will help you find the latest patches for your Windows computer. Also go to www.officeupdate.microsoft.com to locate possible patches for your Office programs.
3. Install a firewall. Without a good firewall, viruses, worms, Trojans, malware and adware can all easily access your computer from the Internet. Consideration should be given to the benefits and differences between hardware and software based firewall programs.
4. Review your browser and email settings for optimum security. Why should you do this? Active-X and JavaScript are often used by hackers to plant malicious programs into your computers. While cookies are relatively harmless in terms of security concerns, they do still track your movements on the Internet to build a profile of you. At a minimum set your security setting for the “internet zone” to High, and your “trusted sites zone” to Medium Low.
5. Install antivirus software and set for automatic updates so that you receive the most current versions.
6. Do not open unknown email attachments. It is simply not enough that you may recognize the address from which it originates because many viruses can spread from a familiar address.
7. Do not run programs from unknown origins. Also, do not send these types of programs to friends and coworkers because they contain funny or amusing stories or jokes. They may contain a Trojans horse waiting to infect a computer.
8. Disable hidden filename extensions. By default, the Windows operating system is set to “hide file extensions for known file types”. Disable this option so that file extensions display in Windows. Some file extensions will, by default, continue to remain hidden, but you are more likely to see any unusual file extensions that do not belong.
9. Turn off your computer and disconnect from the network when not using the computer. A hacker can not attack your computer when you are disconnected from the network or the computer is off.
10. Consider making a boot disk on a floppy disk in case your computer is damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Obviously, you need to take this step before you experience a hostile breach of your system.

Protection You Can Afford

There are numerous ways you can lose the information on your computer. Your child decides to play Chopin on your keyboard, a power surge, lightening, a virus, or even simple equipment failure. Therefore, backing up the contents of your hard drive is an absolute MUST. By regularly making backup copies of your files and storing them in a separate location, you can typically get some, if not all, of your information back in the event your computer crashes.

While a regular backup to floppy, CD, or zip drive will save your files, wouldn’t it be great if you could create an exact copy (a drive image) of your hard disk? That means backups of all your files, programs, and user settings. This would definitely save you time when it came to reloading. Acronis may be able to help.

Acronis True Image 9.0 is a robust disk-imaging utility software that copies the entire contents of your hard drive including data and operating system files, personalized settings, and more, onto another disk or disk partition. Its layout is easy to use and navigate. It also includes wizards which can walk you through both backing up and restoring your computer. Highlighted features include:

• Secure Zone — allows you to save data to a special hidden partition located on your hard drive which would eliminate the need to purchase an extra hard drive.
• PC Cloning — you can upgrade to a new system disk without needing to reinstall the operating system and applications, or configure user settings.
• Acronis Snap Restore - lightening-speed restore of your PC from an image. You can start working in seconds while your system is still being restored.

Acronis provides a free test-drive of its product and a 30-day money back guarantee. When you are ready to purchase, you can either download for $49.99, or if you so desire, order a boxed version for $59.99. With Acronis True Image Home 9.0, you can rest easy that your family pictures, personal documents, tax returns, resumes, and other important information will not be lost forever.

Fighting Spam

Fighting Spam
How prevalent is Spam? According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (www.oma.org):
“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”
In 2003, President Bush signed the “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail. The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanor crime subject to up to one year in jail.
One major point that needs to be discussed about this: spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations. Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.
So what do you do about this? Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.
Number 1: Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.
There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to. If you are interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you will be amazed at what you get back. Interestingly, there is a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open source project geared to fight Internet "spambots" and "spam spiders", by giving them bogus HTML web pages, which contain bogus email addresses
A couple suggestions for you: a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.
Number 2: Get spam blocking software. There are many programs out there for this. (go to www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net for example). You may also buy a professional version. Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time. The software is not foolproof, but they really do help. You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.
Number 3: Use the multiple email address approach.
There are a lot of free email addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.
Number 4: Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.
A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses. Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you. Personal email is far more “open country” for spamers. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT. Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.
Number 5: Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets. If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vender. The concept is simple. If you know someone, they can send you emails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.

How many spy ware items are infecting your computer?


I just had, by mistake, a plug-in called Intelligent Explorer attach to my browser. What a nightmare! I have another article on this topic, but this brings home a point. Spyware or adware items are continually infecting computers. Most computers have no protection from them. Most frightening is the frequency of them. From the InfosecWriters web site, "According to a 2004 survey by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 91% of users questioned were familiar with the term spyware. Only 53% believed their computers were infected, but a scan found that 80% of their PCs had some type of spyware installed on them." It goes on to say, "...The average number of spyware components per computer was 93 with one computer having well over a thousand."

What is Spyware?

Butte College (www.bctv.butte.edu/support/spyware.html) offers this definition:

“The term ‘spyware’ is broadly defined as any program that gets into your computer without permission and hides in the background while it makes unwanted changes to your user experience.
Spyware is generally not designed to damage your computer. The damage it does is more a by-product of its main mission, which is to serve you targeted advertisements or make your browser display certain sites or search results.
At present, most spyware targets only the Windows operating system (Internet Explorer).”

To be fair, spyware can be harmless, for example tracking cookies don’t do much. While such things infringe on your privacy, they don't really harm anything. Others, however, are extremely dangerous.

So what do you do about it?

No spyware program seems to do everything, but there are a lot of goods solutions out there that can help. Here is a list of some of the top Spyware tools to look at:


1) Try Ad-Aware 6.0 Professional from LavaSoft (there is also a free version with less functionality)

2) Spybot Search & Destroy from PepiMK Software


3) Xoftspy form Pareto Logic

5) Spyware Guard from Javacool Software is a free program

4) Pest Patrol (now part of Computer Associates by acquisition)

5) McAfee Anti-Spyware

One thing is for certain: you do need to take spyware seriously. For some reason, too many people out there think anti-virus solutions are the end-all solution. They are not.

And, when all else fails?

Finally, as drastic as it seems, if your computer has been infected with a large number of spyware programs, the only solution you may have is backing up your data, and performing a complete reinstall of the operating system.

Top 10 Home Software Programs in 2006

Top 10 Home Software Programs in 2006

Word processing and spreadsheets were the first of the killer apps for home computers when PCs first started to propagate to the millions of households out there. Then, there were Internet Browsers that took everyone by storm. So what are the hot categories and hot products now? There are more products then ever out there for the home shopper and many of them not that good. We looked over many, many different products and product categories to find the best home products, the hot home product categories, and the best software products period. The list is neither exhaustive nor scientific, but the products listed here are definitely great! If you have a computer at home, take a look at these products!

The Hot Product Categories

When searching reviews and products out there on the web some of these categories were not the top on my list, but nevertheless, they are not only out there, but getting a lot of attention. Here are ten top selling software categories for the home computer:

• Home design and gardening software
• Spyware and Adware
• Family Tree Legends
• Video Sharing
• Website builders
• Speech to text conversion
• Parental control and Internet filtering
• Disk-imaging utilities
• Spam Blockers
• Internet Security


Top 10 Best Software Products

The home software market has never had so many choices and for the categories listed above there are too many products to mention. Below are ten standout products for each of these areas.
• Home design and gardening software - Home Designer Pro 7.0
• Spyware and Adware - CounterSpy 1.5
• Family Tree Legends - Family Tree Legend 5.0
• Video Sharing - Grouper
• Website builders – SiteMaker
• Speech to text conversion – Dragon Naturally Speaking 8
• Parental control and Internet filtering – ContentProtect 2.0
• Disk-imaging utility - Acronis True Image
• Spam - Cloudmark Desktop
• Internet Security - ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6

For each of these products there are additional information in the following articles. Take a look at these home software products!

Get Into the Zone

Malware. An odd sounding word created to lump all malicious software programs, including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, and other malevolent codes into one cause-your-computer-serious-hurt category.

In 2005, Computer Economics released a report on malware. The good news was that for the first time since 2002, the total worldwide financial losses from malware actually declined to a mere $14.2 billion. The bad news was that the nature of malware was changing from overt threats to more focused, covert attacks. This definitely is not great news for the average computer user just trying to keep up with the hundreds of malware programs that bombard us daily.

It’s not an easy task keeping malware out of your computer system. In order to accomplish this, you need a strong antivirus program. One such program that can deliver the goods is ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6 from Zone Labs. Zone Labs is one of the most trusted brands in Internet Security for good reason. Their product, simply put, kicks serious malware gluteus maximus.

zone alarm has received more review recommendations that any other Internet-security software suite because of its superb firewall and anti virus protection. It blocks pop-up ads, protects against identify theft and provides adequate spam filters that are flexible. It even beats the market leader, Norton Internet Security, which is often criticized for excessive system drag.

Its newest version includes these additional features:

• Triple Defense Firewall to prevent spyware from sending your information across the Internet. It also makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Net.
• Smart Defense Advisor which can automatically adjust your security settings for maximum protection against the latest virus and spyware outbreaks.
• Advanced Identify and Privacy Protection to prevent your personal data from leaving your computer without your approval.

The bonus for the average user who cringes at the idea of setting-up one of these systems is that the interface is easier to understand and use in comparison to most if its competitors. If you choose to venture beyond the out-of-the-box default settings, and install a more elaborate filtering, know that this will require some additional time to set up on your part.

Overall, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite is a user-friendly, comprehensive security solution that will have your computer safe from Internet hazards and cyber criminals within minutes of installation.

Antivirus Software Suites

Fighting off Viruses: Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder and harder each day. While it may border on the paranoid, it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down for one second. Even corporate giant Microsoft has found its own systems compromised on more than one occasion.

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the Internet and downloadable programs? Life was simple then in terms of computer viruses. With the primary way in which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a lot easier. By today’s standards, it used to take quite a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and slow down the system. The antivirus software of that time was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before they caused too much damage. Additionally, computer users were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our desktop.

The Internet helped change all that. The Internet provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to host with lightening speed. No longer could a computer user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software downloads. Today’s viruses can attack through multiple entry points, spread without human intervention, and take full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or program. With technology advancing everyday, and the convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the potential of new types of threats also increase.

Protecting Your Computer
Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept pace with current virus threats. Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops. Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.
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.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated. You need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of your computer system from the desktop to the network, and from the gateway to the server. Consider a more comprehensive security system which includes several features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. This type of system will make it more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.
2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-known, reputable company.
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software. Become familiar with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it to start automatically each time you boot your computer. This will protect your system by automatically checking your computer each time it is powered up.
3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.
4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel documents of unknown sources especially if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.
5. Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software
There are numerous applications available to consumers. With a little research, you can pick the program that is right for you. Many programs provide a trial version which allows you to download the program and test its abilities. However, be aware that some anti-virus programs can be difficult to uninstall. As a precaution make sure to set up a System Restore point before installing.

Here are a few programs which typically receive high marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005™ provides virus protection and hacker security through ongoing support and updates. When a virus breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005™ promises to provide a patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5 hours. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly and run a complete virus scan.

BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email protection, and heuristics in a virtual environment. This provides a new security layer that keeps the operating system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious pieces of code for which signatures have not been released yet.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 program is simple to install and use. The user only needs to choose from three levels of protection. It allows updates as frequently as every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer. The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature and round-the-clock technical support.

PC-cillin Internet Security combines antivirus security and a personal firewall—for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable antivirus program that has received high marks for its reliability. In the past, free downloadable antivirus programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues relating to its reliability. However, AVG from Grisoft, remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs available. While AVG can not be installed on a server operating system and there is no technical support, it still makes a good choice for many home computer users. The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with no further obligation necessary.

Spyware Beware and Spam Buster

Spyware Beware

Spyware and Adware are not only an ever increasing nuisance for computer users everywhere, but also a booming industry. According to Webroot Software, Inc., the distribution of online advertisements through spyware and adware has become a $2 billion industry.

The aggressive advertising and spying tactics demonstrated by some of these programs, require an equally aggressive response from a seasoned eradicator. Sunbelt Software is such a company. A leader in Anti-Spyware, Anti-Spam, Network Security and System Management tools, they gave consistently remained on the cutting-edge of anti-spyware programming since 1994.

One of their more notable software applications is CounterSpy 1.5. CounterSpy is designed to detect and remove spyware that is already in your computer system. Additionally, it provides real-time protection while preventing browser hijacking and changes to your computer’s Registry.

Other notable features include:
• Detection and Removal of Tracking Cookies – while it is true that applications like Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta are free, they do not include the ability to detect and remove tracking cookies like CounterSpy does.
• History Cleaner - erases any traceable trails left on your computer as you surf the Internet.
• Secure File Eraser - a powerful deletion tool that can completely eliminate all files you want removed from your computer including images, music, movies and applications.
• PC Explorer - allows you a look into files and areas that are normally inconvenient to access, such as your startup programs, browser helper objects, and ActiveX programs that are being downloaded or used.
• Support for Older Operating Systems – includes Windows 98SE, Windows ME, and Windows NT.

Recommended by PC World, ConsumerSearch, and Dell, CounterSpy holds one of the highest effective ratings for spyware removal. It also received high marks from TopTenReviews (2006) for ease of use, customization/installation, and help/support. For only $19.95 per machine, users can receive a one year subscription with updates, upgrades, and technical support from real live humans. CounterSpy definitely provides ease of use and affordability for just about any computer user from the novice to the expert.

Spam Buster

Spam. Nobody likes it. Nobody wants it. No, we aren’t talking about the canned meat, but those unsolicited, unwanted, irrelevant, or even inappropriate messages that hit our email in mass quantities. While most mailboxes have some type of spam filtering software built into their system, they never seem to do a very good job of catching what you want them to catch, and letting through what you want them to let through. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to turn to some type of additional spam filtering product. One such filtering system, designed for Outlook and Outlook Express users, is receiving rave reviews for its superior detection and low rate of false positives (i.e,. what you want to get through does).

Cloudmark Desktop, formerly known as SpamNet and SafetyBar, uses a unique community-based filtering process. This community-based filtering system relies on users to report any new spam. Within minutes of a spammer being reported, they are placed on a blacklist. At that point, no other member will receive that particular spam. Cloudmark also applies the same basic process to phishing email scams.

What is interesting is how Cloudmark creates a digital reputation model of reporting spam. Each user starts with a neutral reputation. A user’s reputation will rise if they are among the first to identify undesirable content. On the flip side of the coin, a user’s reputation falls when they falsely reports spam. The result is a system that is automated, highly scalable and resistant to tampering.

An added bonus is that because the software doesn’t depend upon the user to configure its settings, it installs in minutes and is easy to use. Cloudmark blocks over 98% of spam from reaching your inbox and boasts over one million users worldwide.

The cost of program is $39.95 for a one-year subscription. The subscription is renewable annually. For those wanting to test drive the product, a free 15-day trial period for either your Outlook or Outlook Express is available.

Computer Viruses

Computer Viruses that Come a Calling

Every day new computer viruses are created to annoy us and to wreck havoc on our computer systems. Below are ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent in terms of being seen the most or in their ability to potentially cause damage. New viruses are created daily. This is by no means an all inclusive list. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.

Virus: Trojan.Lodear
A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.

Virus: W32.Beagle.CO@mm
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.

Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban
A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.

Virus: W32/Netsky-P
A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.

Virus: W32/Mytob-GH
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform. Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.

Virus: W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.

Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER
This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).

Virus: Zafi-D
A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh" and the text "Error in packed file!".

Virus: W32/Netsky-D
A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.

Virus: W32/Zafi-B
A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to “We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)”

Beware Internet Explorer Plug-Ins

Just what is Intelligent Explorer? For your safety, you really need to know


I recently hit, by mistake, what I thought was an Explorer upgrade option. It turned out to be a pop-up appearing legitimate but really was not. It uploaded a product called Intelligent Explorer on my machine. What a nightmare!

I did some research on the web and found messages like this one from a BullGuard Antivirus Forum,

"PLEASE HELP!!! I HAVE A SPYWARE, TROJAN AND HIJACKER ON MY COMPUTER. I HAVE RUN BULLGUARD, CWSHREDDER AND AD-AWARE. ALL HAVE PICKED UP THE VIRUSES AND SAID THAT THEY HAVE BEEN MOVED/REMOVED BUT WHEN I LOG ONTO THE INTERNET THAT DAMN INTELLIGENT EXPLORER TOOLBAR IS SHOWING"

Another message from spywareinfo Forum goes something like this:

"Hey I'm having issues with something called Internet explorer toolbar - Intelligent explorer. I can’t find a way to remove it from my comp and I really don’t want to reinstall windows. I've used spybot, ad-ware, and cw shredder but nothing seems to work."

It appears that Intelligent Explorer allows other software to be downloaded to your machine and this is where the problem occurs. What is even more remarkable is that by downloading Intelligent Explorer, their license grants them the right to install software add-ins on your computer at their will. Take a look at what the software license for Intelligent Explore says (go to http://www.ieplugin.com/terms.html to read it all):

"You grant to us the right, exercisable by us until you uninstall the Software or this agreement is otherwise terminated, to provide to you the Service of downloading and causing to be displayed advertising material on your computer, through ‘pop-up’ or other display while you use your browser. You acknowledge and agree that installation of the Software may automatically modify toolbars and other settings of your browser. By installing the Software you agree to such modifications."

The company, IBC incorporated, is incorporated in Belize. I really can't believe this license!


One end user found highly objectionable pop-up advertisements generated by this software bundled with Intelligent Explorer in the form of extreme pornography.

I have yet to break this.


Intelligent Explorer is a plug-in, which can create a new home page, as well as start up and endless loop of pop-ups. You can remove the view bar, but then starting up Internet Explorer will cause it to reappear. I asked some friends to help, and no one could tell me what to do.

This is what I did:

I bought a copy of a program called XoftSpy and it removed the software. It took two scans and a reboot to do it. This is not an advertisement for this product. They advertised it was free, which it was to run, but then I had to buy it to actually fix anything. It cost me $40 and I am sure that there are freeware products out there as well, but that is what ended the nightmare for me. Other spyware products I have seen out there include spybot, NoAdware, Spyware Eliminator, Pal Spyware Remover, and Spyware C.O.P.

Let the buyer beware!

About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

What does encryption do for me?

Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many different ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure, including:

1) Encrypting your email

2) Encrypting your files

To programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added benefit of both being free with source code available.

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?

Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is easy to break.

Why bother to encrypt my email?

It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best intentions to stop it.

How do I go about encrypting my email?

There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email. A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu offshoot GPG.

PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This "is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text."

Why bother to encrypt my files?

The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer. If you have financial data with important information like social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information. Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.

How do I go about encrypting my files?

AxCrypt File Encryption Software (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/) Self-described as "Free Personal Privacy and Security for Windows 98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption, Compression and transparent Decrypt and Open in the original application."


Website Security Rules of the Road

In 2004, online consumer spending was at a record $65.1 billion. More and more people are attracted to the ease of online shopping and are spending higher amounts. Unfortunately, the chances of becoming a victim of Internet fraud are also increasing. The Internet National Fraud Center Watch reported that the average loss to fraud victims for just the first six months of 2005 was $2,579. This is compared to the $895 average for all of 2004. Complaints relating to general merchandise purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) accounted for 30% of Internet fraud complaints, and auction purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) topped the list at 44%.

While many e-commerce Websites are reputable and have taken the necessary safety precautions to protect you, it never hurts to always proceed cautiously. If you are making an online purchase consider these easy steps:

1. Use only one credit card, preferably with a low credit limit, when making online purchases. Avoid using an ATM or debit card.
2. Be wary of unsolicited offers by sellers. The Internet National Fraud Information Center Watch reported that email, as a method of contact by Internet scammers was up 22% in 2004.While the offer may be legitimate, spammers like to use this tactic to side-step reputable sites that provide consumer protection for online purchases.
3. Use only reputable e-commerce websites that list a street address and telephone number in case you need to contact them directly.
4. Read the website’s privacy policy. Some websites may reserve the right to sell/give your information to a third party. Check the document to see if they allow an opportunity to “opt-out” of receiving special offers from third-party vendors or for permission to share your personal information.
5. Check for a lock symbol in the status bar at the bottom of your Web browser window. Also, do not provide your personal information if the website address doesn’t start with “https” (a sign that the site is using a secure server).
6. Choose only verified sellers. Check to see if the vendor is a verified member of a reputable third party such as the Better Business Bureau, VeriSign, or Guardian eCommerce. These third-party sites help to ensure online consumers will be protected when shopping or conducting e-commerce transactions.
7. Check that the delivery date posted is reasonable. If you have not dealt with the vendor on a regular basis, be wary of any Website that states the shipment will be delayed 20 or more days. Delivery dates of 7-10 days are more common.
8. Keep a paper trail of all online transactions. Print out a hard copy of the transaction and keep it in a file for future reference.
9. Be wary of website offers that just sound too good to be true. The Internet is littered with get rich quick scams and false advertising claims. Investigate all claims thoroughly before proceeding.
10. If you do not receive what you paid for, and the vendor will not return your emails or calls, contact your state’s Department of Consumer Affairs for further assistance.

About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

About Encryption and Making Your System Secure

What does encryption do for me?

Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many different ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure, including:

1) Encrypting your email

2) Encrypting your files

To programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added benefit of both being free with source code available.

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?

Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is easy to break.

Why bother to encrypt my email?

It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best intentions to stop it.

How do I go about encrypting my email?

There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email. A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu offshoot GPG.

PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This "is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text."

Why bother to encrypt my files?

The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer. If you have financial data with important information like social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information. Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.

How do I go about encrypting my files?

AxCrypt File Encryption Software (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/) Self-described as "Free Personal Privacy and Security for Windows 98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption, Compression and transparent Decrypt and Open in the original application."


Website Security Rules of the Road

In 2004, online consumer spending was at a record $65.1 billion. More and more people are attracted to the ease of online shopping and are spending higher amounts. Unfortunately, the chances of becoming a victim of Internet fraud are also increasing. The Internet National Fraud Center Watch reported that the average loss to fraud victims for just the first six months of 2005 was $2,579. This is compared to the $895 average for all of 2004. Complaints relating to general merchandise purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) accounted for 30% of Internet fraud complaints, and auction purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) topped the list at 44%.

While many e-commerce Websites are reputable and have taken the necessary safety precautions to protect you, it never hurts to always proceed cautiously. If you are making an online purchase consider these easy steps:

1. Use only one credit card, preferably with a low credit limit, when making online purchases. Avoid using an ATM or debit card.
2. Be wary of unsolicited offers by sellers. The Internet National Fraud Information Center Watch reported that email, as a method of contact by Internet scammers was up 22% in 2004.While the offer may be legitimate, spammers like to use this tactic to side-step reputable sites that provide consumer protection for online purchases.
3. Use only reputable e-commerce websites that list a street address and telephone number in case you need to contact them directly.
4. Read the website’s privacy policy. Some websites may reserve the right to sell/give your information to a third party. Check the document to see if they allow an opportunity to “opt-out” of receiving special offers from third-party vendors or for permission to share your personal information.
5. Check for a lock symbol in the status bar at the bottom of your Web browser window. Also, do not provide your personal information if the website address doesn’t start with “https” (a sign that the site is using a secure server).
6. Choose only verified sellers. Check to see if the vendor is a verified member of a reputable third party such as the Better Business Bureau, VeriSign, or Guardian eCommerce. These third-party sites help to ensure online consumers will be protected when shopping or conducting e-commerce transactions.
7. Check that the delivery date posted is reasonable. If you have not dealt with the vendor on a regular basis, be wary of any Website that states the shipment will be delayed 20 or more days. Delivery dates of 7-10 days are more common.
8. Keep a paper trail of all online transactions. Print out a hard copy of the transaction and keep it in a file for future reference.
9. Be wary of website offers that just sound too good to be true. The Internet is littered with get rich quick scams and false advertising claims. Investigate all claims thoroughly before proceeding.
10. If you do not receive what you paid for, and the vendor will not return your emails or calls, contact your state’s Department of Consumer Affairs for further assistance.

Computer Security

2008Security Watch - What is this year going to have in store for us?


There is a lot going on in the information security space. 2006 looks to be an interesting year in these regards. Below are some things to watch for in 2006, some of them are good and, unfortunately, some aren’t.


First the good news:

- We are getting a lot more serious about our security. This has a lot of reasons behind it. For example, new privacy laws are mandating organizations to tighten their security. Look to see more consumer privacy laws passed in the coming year and more tightening of security systems.

- Authentication requirements are increasing. This is closing in large security holes. Corporations are requiring a great deal more of authentication to get into secure systems (this also is on the bad news side)

- There is a plethora of sophisticated programs to help us be more secure and they will continue to get better. Competition right now is strong in the security industry sparking a lot of innovation.

- ISPs are now taking on the responsibility to help us with our security. Take AOL's recent commercials as a good sign that others will follow the trend.



Now the bad news:

- Securing our networks is costing us. Most companies are globalizing their organizations and making them secure costs a lot of money. It will get worse before it gets better.

- Authentication requirements are increasing. This is getting claustrophobic. Corporations are requiring a great deal more authentication to get into secure systems (This is also on the good news side) Unfortunately, for the end user, it is one more thing to be unhappy about, not unlike airport security lines.

- Hackers are getting more sophisticated. For example, Botnets are becoming more complex and harder and harder to catch and stop. Do a search on botnets on the Internet. They really are causing a whole lot of problems, but it does not stop there. The number of viruses and malware out there is staggering.

- Spammers keep finding more creative ways to fill our email boxes. Don't look for this trend to stop anytime soon.



Department of Defense Crackdown on Security

The top commander of the department of Defense network operations just ordered a crackdown on security. According to a recent article by NetworkWorld on January 16,2006, Lt. General Charles Croom is quoted as saying, “The attacks are coming from everywhere and they’re getting better.” His talk was the keynote address at the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Conference held on January 9 - 14, 2005 in Clearwater, Florida. The event is sponsored by the Defense Cyber Crime Center and the Joint Task Force. Over 500 computer crime specialists from the FBI and the military attended the event.
The crackdown was related to a recent arrest of a “Computer Virus Broker” named Jeanson James Ancheta. On further investigation, a Department of Justice press release from Nov 3rd, 2005 offered the following information on this incident, “In the first prosecution of its kind in the nation, a well-known member of the “botmaster underground” has been indicted on federal charges for profiting from the use of “botnets” – armies of computers that are under the control of the botmaster and are used to launch destructive attacks or to send huge quantities of spam across the Internet.
Jeanson James Ancheta, 20, of Downey, California, was arrested this morning by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ancheta was indicted yesterday in two separate conspiracies, as well as substantive charges of attempting to cause damage to protected computers, causing damage to computers used by the federal government in national defense, accessing protected computers without authorization to commit fraud and money laundering.”
The press release goes on to describe more details of this scheme that clearly show why the Deparment of Defense is so concerned (for more information go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/anchetaArrest.htm )
“Ancheta had become an affiliate of several different advertising service companies, and those companies paid him a commission based upon the number of installations. To avoid detection by network administrators, security analysts and law enforcement, Ancheta would vary the download times and rates of the adware installations. When companies hosting Ancheta’s adware servers discovered the malicious activity, Ancheta redirected his botnet armies to a different server he controlled to pick up adware. To generate the roughly $60,000 he received in advertising affiliate proceeds, Ancheta caused the surreptitious installation of adware on approximately 400,000 compromised computers. Ancheta used the advertising affiliate proceeds he earned to pay for, among other things, the multiple servers used to conduct his schemes.
Ancheta used programs powerful enough to cause the infection of computers at the Weapons Division of the United States Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, as well as computers belonging to the Defense Information Systems Agency, a component of the United States Department of Defense. Both networks are used exclusively by the federal government in furtherance of national defense. After being arrested this morning at the FBI Field Office in Los Angeles, Ancheta was transported to United States District Court in Los Angeles. It is unclear if he will make his initial court appearance this afternoon or tomorrow. Ancheta is charged with two counts of conspiracy, two counts of attempted transmission of code to a protected computer, two counts of transmission of code to a government computer, five counts of accessing a protected computer to commit fraud and five counts of money laundering. Count 17 of the indictment seeks the forfeiture of more than $60,000 in cash, a BMW automobile and computer equipment that the indictment alleges are the proceeds and instrumentalities of Ancheta’s illegal activity.”

Some recent news. Ancheta pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to violate anti-spam and computer misuse laws, and fraud and will serve from 4-6 years in prison, under the plea agreement - plus heavy fines.