Safe Internet Blog

Whether we like it or not, we are all living in the Information Age. We have nothing left but adapt to rapidly developing information technology, no matter who we are and what we do for living.  The Internet, in particular, means for us boundless opportunities in life and business ?but also lots of dangers unheard of just a decade ago. We should be aware of these dangers if we want to use the huge potential of the Internet and to avoid the hazards it brings us. Warning: There are Websites You’d Better Not Visit Phishing websites Thanks to authors of numerous articles on this topic, “classic” phishing technique is relatively well known. This scam involves setting bogus websites and luring people to visit them, as a rule, by links in emails. Phishing website is disguised to look like a legitimate one — of a bank or a credit card company, and users are invited to provide their identifying information. Sites of this kind are used solely to steal users’ passwords, PIN numbers, SSNs and other confidential information.

At first phishing consisted only of a social engineering scam in which phishers spammed consumer e-mail accounts with letters ostensibly from banks. The more people got aware of the scam, the less spelling mistakes these messages contained, and the more these fraudulent websites resembled legitimate ones. Phishers are getting smarter. They eagerly learn; there is enough money involved here to turn criminals into earnest students. Since about November 2004 there has been a lot of publications of a scheme which at first was seen as a new kind of phishing. This technique includes contaminating a PC with a Trojan horse program. The problem is that this Trojan contains a keylogger which lurks at the background until the user of the infected PC visits one of the specified websites. Then the keylogger comes to life to do what it was created for — to steal information. It seems that this technique is actually a separate scam aimed at stealing personal information and such attacks are on the rise. Security experts warn about commercialisation of malware — cybercriminals prefer cash to fun, so various kinds of information-stealing software are used more actively.

It is considered that a man major in web hosting review may help a lot on  computer support or web design.

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As soon as almost all computer users already got used to — or at least heard about — the word “phishing”, another somewhat confusing word appeared. He can do web design. Pharming. Does it differ from phishing — if yes, how? Two Pharmings Actually, two completely different fields use the term “pharming” now. We can say there exist two separate “pharmings”. If genetics or businessmen from pharmaceutical industry are talking about pharming (spelled like that) it might have nothing to do with computers. This word has long been familiar to genetic engineers. For them, it’s a merger of “farming” and “pharmaceutical”  and means the genetic engineering technique — inserting extraneous genes into host animals or plants in order to make them produce some pharmaceutical product. Although it is very interesting matter, this article isn’t about it. As for PC users, the term “pharming” recently emerged to denote exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software caused by malicious code.  This code allows the cybercriminal who contaminated this PC with it to redirect traffic from one IP-address to the one he specified. She likes Christmas Presents.

In other words, a user who types in a URL goes to another web site, not the one he wanted to–and isn’t supposed to notice the difference. Usually such a website is disguised to look like a legitimate one — of a bank or a credit card company. Sites of this kind are used solely to steal users’ confidential information such as passwords, PIN numbers, SSNs and account numbers.Dangerous Scams A fake website that’s what “traditional” phishing has in common with pharming. This scam can fool even an experienced computer user, and it makes pharming a grave threat.  The danger here is that users don’t click an email link to get to a counterfeit website. Most people enter their personal information, unaware of possible fraud. Why should they suspect anything if they type the URL themselves, not following any links in a suspiciously-looking email? Unfortunately, “ordinary” phishers are also getting smarter. They eagerly learn; there is too much money involved to make criminals earnest students. At first phishing consisted only of a social engineering scam in which phishers spammed consumer e-mail accounts with letters ostensibly  from banks. The more people got aware of the scam, the less spelling mistakes these messages contained, and the more fraudulent websites looked like legitimate ones. He is a Costume Hire owner.

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1. Is my communication with someone online can’t be seen by others, can I have privacy? Yes you can. You can make use of data encryption by sharing key only to legitimate end users. In case the data do get to other parties, it will not be of any use since it is encrypted thus making it unreadable.

2. What is a hash? Is it the key? A hash value is a string of characters that represent encrypted data. In other words, it is the encrypted data.

3. What does SSL stand for, what does it mean? SSL is an acronym for Secure Socket Layer. SSL is a type of public key encryption.

4. How can a firewall protect my computer? A firewall monitors and filters out unwanted data packets from an Internet connection.

5. What is a proxy server? Proxy servers stands between computers accessing the internet and the web servers. They relay requests from users to web servers and vice versa, without the servers realizing who is behind them. This creates a privacy for the users in that web servers have no idea that the real user interacting with them are behind the proxy server.

6. What is a botnet? It is an network of what we call zombie computers. A bot or zombie computer is a computer that has transformed into automatic machines or bots that are under the control of a malicious operator.

7. What is DDoS what does it stand for? DDoS is Distributed Denial of Service. It is an attack that uses computers over the internet to send millions of requests to a server with the goal of overwhelming and crashing the server. In a large scale DDoS attack, the whole internet traffic is affected.

8. Define computer virus, what does it do? Usually, a computer virus is a malicious code that resides within a big program. Although not all viruses harm computer, there are ones that are recorded to have caused calamities.

9. What is phishing? Phishing is a method intended to fool ignorant people into giving away classified information like bank account numbers, usernames and passwords and credit card information, by faking a legitimate web site.

10. What does Cracker mean? What’s a Black Hat? We call hackers infiltrating secured systems to cause rogue things acquire certain informations as crackers. A black hat hacker is someone who actively attempts to break into systems or use computer viruses to steal information or achieve other purposes.

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I guess you have been in a situation where you are convinced to buy certain goods but regretted later when you’ve got home. I have. I usually categorize that kind of marketing as high pressure psychological selling, because the salesman usually applies high level of psychological pressure on the prospect to finally succeed in selling the goods. Trojans and worms are more and more into these practices of iplementing psychological pressure in order to compromise a victim. Such techniques implements but not limited to the exploitation of human basic psychologies: Curiosity, Greed, and Fear. How do we tell that a trojan or a worm virus is trying to get into our system using a psychological pressure? These are things to beare of to help us tell just prior to their attempts to compromise our system: 1. Is it forcing us to run or download something, for fear of something such as getting our computer infected by a trojan, computer virus or worm? If it is while it’s not at all the active running antivirus software we have installed, we can say that it is definitely a virus, malware, or even a worm. 2. Is it free and giving away a software that's too good to be true even after we cross checked it with other people? At times, it can be just a marketing hype, but it’s a best practice to beware about the urge to download or agreeing on something it is offering. Downloading a program or just opening a page containing java script or flash application would be enough to get our computer compromised by a computer virus, malware, or trojan. 3. Are we aware of the brands (if any)? Is it a rather famous antivirus brand, or just some very popular one, but not an antivirus? At times the viruses take advantage of well known brand names only to trick uncautious people. Do you remember the “XP Antivirus 2008″ virus disguising Antivirus Software Downloads? Its high success rate really was boosted by the “XP” brand, riding on Windows XP’s brand. Lately, a brand new release of the virus is already spreading, one that we know as “XP Antivirus 2009″. 4. Always best to double-check weather the URL or domain name we type is right to make sure it is safe. You have to do this if you wish not to unwantingly enter a phishing site, in which case is a much worse scenario compared to contracting a virus. A rogue site is an latest psychological scam in that it tricked visitors into thinking that it’s the right site they’re searching to visit. Everything they have on the page would in turn then be taken for granted by unsuspecting visitors. 5. If you are not sure about those things mentioned above, consult someone you know who knows better about them. There should be at the very least something certain about it, like a popular brand name of antivirus or computer security software solution, the exact URL or at least domain name of the target site, what should be classified into being too good to be true and what not. The success rate this way of contagion has is surprisingly high, assuming the wide availability of legitimate computer security software and antivirus or Internet Security Software available in the market. Based on this fact, I always tell everyone who asked me about computer security to continuously learn about it, even for just a small bit of knowledge. As only with knowledge even for just a little, can we actually pertain in the safe environment against malicious software.

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Identity theft is a definite threat to us all, effecting hundreds of people everyday across the globe. There are insurance policies that can be taken out in order to cover yourself against ID theft, but this may not be necessary, as there are a number of measures you can take to help you to avoid becoming a victim, most of which rely on simple common sense.

ID theft is a technique used by criminals allowing them to benefit financially through claiming they are you, for example taking out loans, applying for credit cards etc. all in your name.

One of the issues with when dealing with this type of fraud is that police have limited resources, especially as the majority of these criminals don't even live in the UK.

Doing all you can to avoid becoming a victim of ID theft is easier than you may think and being aware of the following points could save you a lot of grief.

1. Always make sure any important documents and financial related documents containing sensitive information are kept out of sight in a safe place. These include official documents such as passports and driving licence documents, as well as financial documents such as bank and credit card statements, bank account details, insurance documents etc.
2. Frequently monitor your bank accounts and credit card statements to ensure there are no suspicious transactions. If possible, set up internet banking for all banking products as this will allow you to regularly check statements without having to wait for your monthly statements. Online banking is also very secure, with many banks now providing customers with card readers which generate pass codes that must be used when logging in to your account, or making a payment. If you do notice anything that looks suspicious, contact your bank or credit card provider immediately.
3. Buy a paper shredder. You can pick one up from £5 to £30 and you can use it to shred any official documents that you don’t need to keep. This includes bank statements, loan or credit card application forms and even junk mail containing any of your details i.e. name, address, telephone number etc. Simply throwing these documents away could result in them falling into the wrong hands.
4. Make sure you are aware of when your regular financial documents arrive, ensuring you are aware of anything out of the ordinary, for example you haven't received your credit card bill for 7 weeks.
5. At least once a year, apply for a copy of your credit file to check all current finance arrangements in your name, allowing you to spot anything unusual.
6. Never give out sensitive information over the phone unless it was you that made the call or are 100% sure that the call is legitimate. For example, you receive a phone call from somebody claiming to be your credit card provider and they request personal information such as your full name, DOB and Mother's maiden name. These are types of information that fraudsters will want to get hold of, so be vigilant.
7. Never trust emails claiming to be your bank or Credit Card company. Some of these emails can look extremely convincing and the irony is that many of them claim to require your details to help tackle fraud. You can usually spot these emails as the URL that you are required to click may appear to be the official site, but on closer inspection you will see it is in fact close, by hovering your cursor over this link. You will then be re-directed to a spoof page that looks genuine but is actually used to steal your login details
8. When moving house, subscribe The Royal Mail’s redirection service. This will ensure that any mail intended for you is delivered to your new address.
9. Check your bills as soon as they arrive in the post. If you ever spoy anything out of the ordinary, it is recommended that you contact your bank or credit card provider as soon as possible.

There are a few main techniques employed by criminals to carry out ID theft. These include:

Bin Diving

Going through your bins searching for bills or other documents containing your personal information.

Skimming

Used to steal credit/debit card numbers using a special storage device. The riak can be reduced by keeping your card on your person or in view when using it to make payments.

Phishing

Claiming to be a legitimate financial institution to gain your trust then push you to reveal your personal information.

Changing Your Address

Diverting your bills, statements and other sensitive documents to another address by filling out a change of address form.

Old-Fashioned Stealing

Stealing wallets; mail etc. to get enough information about you.

Pretexting

Used to obtain personal information from a number of sources such as financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources by impersonating you

Once your personal information has been stolen by an identity thief, they can use it for a number of different things.

Credit card fraud:

• A new credit card can be applied for in your name. The card can then be used to get credit and all unpaid bills will appear on your credit report, damaging your credit history.
• By changing your address, they could run up charges on your account but you will be unaware as you are not getting the bills. It could be some time before you notice anything unusual.

Phone or utilities fraud:

• A new phone or wireless account could be opened in your name, or even utility services like electricity, water, or satellite television.

Bank fraud:

• Counterfeit checks made with your details.
• Bank accounts opened in your name.
• Credit or debit card cloned allowing them to use your cards.
• A loan taken out in your name.

Government documents fraud:

• Used to get official ID cards such as a driving licence under your name but with their picture.
• Use of your details to get government benefits.
• Fraudulent tax return made using your information.

Other fraud:

• Qualify for a job using your personal information
• Rent a property in your name.

These days, most banks have intelligent anti-fraud systems that recognise any unusual activity on your card, for example you withdraw money from a cash point in the UK and later that day money is withdrawn from an ATM  in Canada. 

Most credit cards offer some kind of anti-theft insurance, protecting you against fraud. But the fact is that ID theft is heavily promoted and sometimes over exaggerated to help sell the product.

A spokesman from the UK's fraud Prevention Service - the CIFAS, has ID theft is still a relatively rare crime, but it is on the increase.

So as long as you’re cautious with who you give your personal information to, keeping it in a safe place, shred all unwanted documents containing your information, you should remain safe from fraud.

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As a fairly new tactic, phishing is being used by thieves that are committed to getting ahold of your identity or gaining access to other personal information. Bulk emails are sent that look like emails that are sent by real companies, in hopes that you click on links which take you to a website designed to get your information away from you.

When using phishing, criminals come up with emails that have the same look and feel of emails companies that you do business with might send out. Through these impostor emails, you are instructed to click on links which will have you end up on a impostor site, again modeled after the real company website. You are duped into giving out your valuable information which is used by the criminal. This is a great reason to use a protect identity theft service.

The main stream media has been giving more attention to this criminal activity because they have become more common lately. The entire phishing exercise has become very sophisticated, which is making it very difficult to distinguish if you have received a phishing email, or are on a phishing site. Therefore, it is very vital that you be aware of emails you receive and links you click on.

Phishing attempts can be thought of as a form of evolved spam. Traditional spam is merely an advertisement trying to convince you to click through to a site and make a purchase. But phishing brings spam to a much different level as they are trying to fool you into clicking through to a website and providing valuable personal information to the thieves.

Of course, once they have gotten your personal information, the criminal then has free reign to do anything they want with it. For example, if they got a hold of your user name and password to a online financial institution, the thief could log into your online account and take all of your money and leave you with nothing. Really, the sky is the limit.

Phishing sites and schemes are active for a very short period of time, which means that even if you were successful in notifying the appropriate agencies about the criminal activity, nothing much could be done. All the thieves need is a short bit of time to trick a handful of victims to provide what the thieves are seeking, then they disappear.

And because a lot of the complex phishing attacks are run by foreign criminals, even if the authorities could track them down, there is little that they can do. Your best defense to a phishing attack is to refrain from clicking on any link in an email and to protect your identity with some sort of TrustedID solution.

This phishing scheme is yet another way criminals are making use of sophisticated methods to steal your personal information so so they can profit from it. Keep on your toes when it comes to any email that appear to come from a financial institution or other business you are familiar with. If you want to be safe and secure, consider using a identity protection plan.

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Often times we get an email in our inbox from a financial institution we are familiar with, letting us know we need to bring up to date our data on the site. We should be asking if this is really the site you are familiar with is the one requesting the information, and not a thief?

Criminals designing websites to pass themselves off as a company or credit company is becoming a very large problem. The only reason for these sites is to mislead you into giving away your personal data. The partnership of using websites and emails to fool you into revealing your personal information is called “phishing”. Phishing is a very good reason to always be making use of a identity protection theft service.

Spotting a phishing email is not as easy as you might think it is. They most often look very genuine and will spoof the emails you normally receive from the real business. However, when you click on the phishing email link, you are taken to a site which has the sole purpose of stealing your personal information.

The fake, or phishing, websites usually have the same design and feeling of the website for the real business. One way to differentiate between the sham and real site is to carefully look at the website domain name. The impostor may have a portion of name in its address, but it will always have more characters that give it away.

The individuals that are behind the phishing websites are most times professional criminals. They usually can afford to spend a lot of cash and time to make very realistic sites and emails since a bunch of money to be made in stealing personal information. They are out to steal from you, so it is always a great idea to be using a identity theft security plan.

Since the idea is to steal your identity, or other data that can be used to make money, they want to seem genuine. These phishing sites will use the same design and usability that the real website uses, including using real logos and slogans.

Because the phishing emails and websites can appear to be the real thing, it is often times hard for people to tell that they are on a fake website. The better effort the criminals put into the design of these impostor emails and websites, the more likely they will trick unsuspecting people.

In order to never become a victim of a phishing attack, you should make a habit of never click links found in emails. If you think of the genuine nature of the email, then just go to the site like you normally would. The only defense against these phishing attacks is by never clicking on the email link in the first place, and by using a identity theft protection plan solution.

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