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I know everybody by now, has had either a first hand experience, a family member, or a friend that in one way or another has experienced a fraudulent act and was the victim of a cyber-crime. Since the Internet is a vast wilderness of information, however, a lot of the snail-mail & phone scammers have gone to the Internet. The Internet has also sparked a new type of cyber-criminal, of which the FBI has a division that’s dedicated to Cyber-Crimes. I recently took a course with the FBI Citizen’s Academy and found the Cyber-Crimes class to be an eye opening experience, and I do technology as my living. Here are some links for our protection, I would stress, bookmark these links in your web-browser(s) and keep them for a rainy day.
Internet Crime Complaint Center
IC3's mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime. The IC3 gives the victims of cyber crime a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local and international level, IC3 provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet related crimes.
OnGuard Online provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com
While the Internet can be a safe and convenient place to do business, scammers are out there in "cyber world" targeting unsuspecting consumers. The Looks Too Good To Be True.com website was built to educate you, the consumer, and help prevent you from becoming a victim of an Internet fraud scheme.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Every PC user should read this post!
Unlike Mac users or Linux users who rarely have any issues with malware or spyware, the PC platforms do. This article is for all the “free” applications that exist out there, some of which I actually learned about from a class that I took with the FBI Citizen’s Academy. There were two main applications called SpoofStick & Netcraft Toolbar, they also enlightened me to a few ways to protect us while on the Internet. People can be naïve and think that it’s a safe place, but the Internet, honestly is a wild wildernesses with many evil beasties out there, wanting to cause you harm. With this post, I hope to give you the tool, that are free, to be your protection.
Phishing Protection. Phishing as defined by Wikipedia.com is:
In computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging,[1] and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used.[2] Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.
There are many different applications that are available for a subscription, or fee, however from my class with the FBI Citizen’s Academy – I learned about SpoofStick. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does:
“SpoofStick is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well-known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL. The attacker then tries to trick people into going to the spoofed site by sending out fake email messages or posting links in public places - hoping that some percentage of users won't notice the incorrect URL and give away important information. This practice is sometimes known as “phishing".”
Another application that I learned from my class, is an application called Netcraft Toolbar. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does:
“The Netcraft anti-phishing system consists of a user interface implemented as a toolbar (a small program that is active whenever the user is using a web browser) and central servers, able to respond quickly to large numbers of requests as each user moves around the web. The central servers are managed by Netcraft and hold the information about URLs and sites provided by the Toolbar community and Netcraft.”
These are both free applications that are invaluable for your web browsing. Now lets move on to Spyware protection. Spyware as defined by Wikipedia is:
“Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software. In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.”
Now for the applications that I prefer, they work the best from my personal experience are:
SpywareBlaster is a very easy to use application, its quick, and protects your web browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) from websites that would be toxic to your computers. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does: “Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, you could find your computer to be the brand-new host of one of these unwanted fiends! The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available. Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software. Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox. Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.”
Now for the second application that I like, and use on my own personal PC is Spybot Search & Destroy. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does: “Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.”
With these little tools, you can protect your computer. Remember, an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure. Remember you’ll have to run the updates, and run these programs from time to time to catch and cure problems, but in the end, what’ a few minutes out of your day, vs. hours of re-setting your computer up, and recovering your files from backup.
Phishing Protection. Phishing as defined by Wikipedia.com is:
In computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging,[1] and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used.[2] Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users.[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.
There are many different applications that are available for a subscription, or fee, however from my class with the FBI Citizen’s Academy – I learned about SpoofStick. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does:
“SpoofStick is a simple browser extension that helps users detect spoofed (fake) websites. A spoofed website is typically made to look like a well-known, branded site (like ebay.com or citibank.com) with a slightly different or confusing URL. The attacker then tries to trick people into going to the spoofed site by sending out fake email messages or posting links in public places - hoping that some percentage of users won't notice the incorrect URL and give away important information. This practice is sometimes known as “phishing".”
Another application that I learned from my class, is an application called Netcraft Toolbar. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does:
“The Netcraft anti-phishing system consists of a user interface implemented as a toolbar (a small program that is active whenever the user is using a web browser) and central servers, able to respond quickly to large numbers of requests as each user moves around the web. The central servers are managed by Netcraft and hold the information about URLs and sites provided by the Toolbar community and Netcraft.”
These are both free applications that are invaluable for your web browsing. Now lets move on to Spyware protection. Spyware as defined by Wikipedia is:
“Spyware is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent. While the term spyware suggests software that secretly monitors the user's behavior, the functions of spyware extend well beyond simple monitoring. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software, redirecting Web browser activity, accessing websites blindly that will cause more harmful viruses, or diverting advertising revenue to a third party. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of Internet or other programs. In an attempt to increase the understanding of spyware, a more formal classification of its included software types is captured under the term privacy-invasive software. In response to the emergence of spyware, a small industry has sprung up dealing in anti-spyware software. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security best practices for Microsoft Windows desktop computers. A number of jurisdictions have passed anti-spyware laws, which usually target any software that is surreptitiously installed to control a user's computer.”
Now for the applications that I prefer, they work the best from my personal experience are:
SpywareBlaster is a very easy to use application, its quick, and protects your web browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) from websites that would be toxic to your computers. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does: “Spyware, adware, browser hijackers, and dialers are some of the fastest-growing threats on the Internet today. By simply browsing to a web page, you could find your computer to be the brand-new host of one of these unwanted fiends! The most important step you can take is to secure your system. And SpywareBlaster is the most powerful protection program available. Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software. Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox. Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.”
Now for the second application that I like, and use on my own personal PC is Spybot Search & Destroy. Here is the explanation from their website and what it does: “Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.”
With these little tools, you can protect your computer. Remember, an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure. Remember you’ll have to run the updates, and run these programs from time to time to catch and cure problems, but in the end, what’ a few minutes out of your day, vs. hours of re-setting your computer up, and recovering your files from backup.
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