Lionheart Group Scam Prevention Toolkit » browser

How Are My Actions On The Internet Being Tracked?

Sat, 22 May 2010 09:00:17 +0000

Make no mistake about it, when you surf the web, you are constantly being tracked. There are a lot of web sites out there that want to get as much as information about you as possible so they place little pieces of software called cookies into your browser to see what sites you are going to. But some web sites take it even beyond that. There are some businesses that are willing to skirt the law just to be able to track what you are doing online. There is a thin line between what the law allows you snoop on and what it doesn’t. Some business web sites either cross the line or get very close to it. To make sure you are not a victim to an overzealous business, I will show you what information the web sites are able to get just from your browser alone. Tracking Via IP Address The first thing that you should know about when you are surfing the web is a thing called an IP address. You may have heard that term plenty of times but you might not be sure what it means. An IP address is a group of numbers that identify your computer on a web site. A web site is able to tell what part of the world you are from through your IP address and can even narrow it down to what section of which city you are in. Every single thing that is connected to the web has an IP address – it is how you are able to connect to the different servers and web sites that you go to. You don’t see the actual numbers because it sits behind something that is called a DNS . That is a program that takes the numbers of the IP address and transfers it to a name. That name is what you type into the browser to get to the site that you want to visit. So the IP address is the first way that they are able to track your browser. Tracking Via Adware The second most common way to track you whenever you use your browser is to install a program that is known as adware. This type of program will see which web sites that you are visiting and will then serve adverts that are based on the content of those web sites. You may think that it is the web site that is sending you the pop up, but in reality it is the program that is installed on your computer. These programs are not only seeing the web sites that you are visiting, and sending ads that go along with it, they are also sending that data to a remote server and tracking what you are doing. The combination of the two allows them to make a lot of money off of you. This is especially true if you are not aware of where the ads are coming from. Tracking Via Cookies And the last way that they will track you is by what I mentioned before and that is a cookie in your system. Almost every web site uses cookie technology. The problem is that some web sites abuse the ability to leave a cookie in someone’s computer. These are the different ways that companies are able to track you when you use a web browser. Make sure that you always remember what they are. How Are My Actions On The Internet Being Tracked? is a post from: Security FAQs

Read the rest here:
How Are My Actions On The Internet Being Tracked?

Can I Limit My Exposure To Malware By Reading Web Site RSS Feeds?

Tue, 18 May 2010 09:00:59 +0000

When you think of getting information off of a web page you usually think of it being a simple process – you type the URL of the site that you want to go to in the browser, go to the web page, and then read the content that is on the page. It sounds simple, right? Most of the time it is, but there are times when this is not so simple. Inside of the code that made it possible for you to read the page that you are looking at could be lurking some dangerous malware. Malware can be easily picked up and hidden on a web page. So, unless it is a trusted site, then you are taking a chance that nothing is going to happen to your computer when you actually visit the page. But there are other ways that you can get the information off of the site as well. Subscribe To Your Favourite Sites Via RSS You can use a technology called RSS that will allow you to see the content as well, at least most of the time. Some web pages will limit the amount of lines that the RSS feed shows so that you will be forced to visit the web page itself (this is typically because they are afraid of having their content scraped) . Other RSS feeds will only give you the title of the story that is being discussed – you must, again, visit the web page to get the full details. But by far, most web pages will allow you to read the entire story in the RSS feed itself. They may show little ads in the RSS feed so that they can provide you the content while at the same time they are still able to get paid. RSS Feed Reading May Be Safer If you are reading the information about the web page on an RSS feed then this means that you are less vulnerable to an attack as the majority of attacks happen when you are exposed to the code that is on the actual web page itself. With an RSS feed the actual page is not going to your browser, it is only the content of the site that is being delivered to you. Keep in mind; even though it may be safer to receive the content like this, it is not fool proof. If someone wanted to, they could easily attack the RSS feed as well. The main reason that this is safer at this point is because attackers do not bother with it. There are not that many reported attacks when it comes to the RSS feed. Even though RSS feeds are not one hundred percent safe, they seem to be safer than visiting the actual web page. So if you want to make sure that your computer is not attacked, try subscribing to the RSS feed of a site instead. Can I Limit My Exposure To Malware By Reading Web Site RSS Feeds? is a post from: Security FAQs

Understanding Encryption

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:30:29 +0000

Encryption takes data in its original (plaintext.) form and uses a mathematical algorithm (cipher) and an encryption key to transform it into an unreadable form (ciphertext). Decryption takes ciphertext and transforms it back into plaintext, which once again uses the cipher in conjunction with a key. What do you think of when you hear the word encryption ? Is it spies sending their superiors information in secret code? Perhaps you visualize windowless rooms in some secret government facility where pale, bespectacled code-breakers pour over ss of secret messages and try to decipher them? This might happen in the movies, but the code-breaker today is just as likely to be a 14-year-old script kiddy , and the secret facility his bedroom. He enjoys a slice of pizza and listens to his pirated music collection while he uses tools written by a real hacker to crack the encryption on your network. Encryption is an incredibly useful security tool. It can prevent crackers from sniffing information on your WLAN, it secures authentication of computers and users, and it can protect data on hard drives. However, not all encryption is created equal. Some methods are stronger than others, and even strong encryption can be undermined by poor implementation or improper use.

Continued here:
Understanding Encryption

Protecting Your Computers With A Personal Firewall

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:30:05 +0000

A firewall protects your network from unauthorized trespassers. Many routers have firewall functions built in to check traffic leaving or entering the network, but you also should run a personal firewall on each client computer on your WLAN . Personal firewall software usually costs around $40 and it is often bundled with antivirus software. A personal firewall is an application that runs on your computer and protects it against unauthorized access. Like a hardware firewall, it’s configurable to allow or disallow different types of traffic to enter and leave your PC. Personal firewalls monitor ports, which are numbered software addresses that your computer uses for different networking tasks. For example, a Web server communicates through port 80, an e-mail server through port 25. Many of these ports aren’t needed by your PC, and a good personal firewall closes or blocks unused or unneeded ports to prevent an intruder from accessing your computer through one of them. A personal firewall also can monitor activity on your PC and alert you when an application attempts to reach the Internet or your WLAN. This is important because some worms and Trojan horse software attempt to use your computer to infect other computers, or to “phone home” to a cracker so that he can get into your computer. Personal firewalls are an effective way to protect individual computers on your WLAN. Read more on Firewalls .

The Tell-Tale Signs That Your Computer May Have Become Infected With A Virus

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:30:37 +0000

These days most people use their computers on a fairly regular basis. I would even go as so far to say that most people may be on their computers for at least up to an hour a day. That figure would be people that are using the computer strictly for recreational purposes only. We would have to add to that figure if we included people who are using their computer for work and play. It has become the center of our entertainment and work place universe, so most people get to know their machines very intimately. When you use any kind of tool on a regular basis you start to get a feel when something is wrong with it. You may not be able to tell what is exactly wrong but you may have a gut feeling that things are not right. Viral Infection When it comes to using your computer there are signs that it may be infected by a virus without running a virus scanner. Lets go over a couple of those signs. Keep in mind that this is not a surefire list that will reveal a virus on your system. Some viruses are sneaky and do their best to make sure that you do not know that they are on your system. They want to be able to collect data or use your computer resources without you knowing about it. That is why it is still a good ideal to run an antivirus scanner on a regular basis, with or without signs of foul play. Others times some of these signs that I am about to mention may show up but there is no infection on the computer. There may be a program running that you do not know about or a problem with the hardware. Signs Of An Infection Either way the signs that we are going to discuss are just that, signs. They in no way mean that you definitely have a virus. It means that you should do a quick scan with an antivirus program because there is a possibility that you may have a bug in your system. The first sign that you may have a virus or other infection in your system is that you might have a lot of activity going on in your Internet connection. Your computer connects to the Internet and your home network a lot in the process of everyday computing. Most of the time it is connecting for things that you do not know about but they are of a legit purpose. It may connect to the ISP to update its status or it may be even talking to your router to pull information from it. So just because you are not actively browsing the web and you see the light become active does not mean something is automatically wrong. The time to be worried that something is wrong is if the Internet light that you have on your router is going crazy all day long. If there is a constant sending of data packets out your computer and your browser is not open, now it may be time to be concerned. Slow Responses Another sign that you may have an infection on your system is when at certain times your computer may slow to a crawl while you are using it. This is especially noticeable after you start up the computer and only have certain programs open and you are not actively using them. If there is nothing running on your computer, and yet it is still moving very slowly, then there may be a good chance that there is an infection somewhere on your computer. You can click cntrl-alt-del and call up the task manager to see if you can pinpoint the problem. If there is a task taking up a lot of the CPU time and you or Google do not recognize the name then it is definitely time to run an antivirus check. Pop Up Plague Another sign that is not so discreet is the emergence of pop ups on your system when you are not connected to the Internet. This is most likely the sign of malware that has been planted on your computer and not necessarily a virus. You will still want to run an antivirus check to make sure that there is no infection. After the antivirus scan, make sure that you run a spyware analysis program on your computer as well. I have shown you several signs that may indicate that you have a virus or other infection on your computer. If you are a frequent computer user then keeping a look out on any kind of abnormal computer behavior can be the first step in not becoming a victim of the bad guys.

View post:
The Tell-Tale Signs That Your Computer May Have Become Infected With A Virus

How Can I Help My Elderly Friends And Relatives Protect Themselves On The Internet?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:30:29 +0000

For many of us, we have grown up in an age of computers and electronic devices all around us. So when the era of the internet came to pass, there was a leap of knowledge that was needed to adjust but the divide was not that great. For the elderly among us, they can remember a time before the digital age and some of the new technology can seem enticing but yet strange and alien at the same time. Most scams run on the internet today are perpetrated against the elderly. Hopefully I can give you some tips to protect your loved ones. Protecting Your Loved Ones Some people will make a joke and say if you want to protect people from the dangers of the Internet then get a Mac or Linux box and tell them not to use Windows. This is funny but not true especially these days. Macs are becoming more and more popular and everyday new exploits are being found that can be used against them. Exploits are becoming more common and big business on all systems so security is a top priority for all of them. The fact is that most people use a Windows version operating system so you will have to show them how to protect themselves on such machines. Email Security The first thing that you will want to tell them is to be skeptical when it comes to email. People believe that it takes a highly technical genius to scam people on the internet. This is simply not true. Most attacks on people, especially the elderly, are low tech email scams. They will either involve sending a link to a person to get their information through phishing or just a straight out direct scam to get the person to send them money. A lot of the elderly believe everything that they read in their emails and have to be told the many, many different ways that people can be scammed through them. Malicious Programs Another thing that they must be instructed on, is not to open any programs that are sent to them outside of their family or friends. Scammers will send friendly looking e-cards and other digital goodies through an email attachment. Most people would not think that an e-card with hearts and flowers on it would hold a digital ticking time bomb. Looks can be deceiving though. The elderly, just like everyone else, must be taught that attachments, no matter what they look like, can be dangerous. Safe Communications A new attack but one that is growing everyday is the use of the software program Skype to send links to a phishing site. There are a lot of elderly people that use Skype as a cheap and easy way to talk to and see videos of their loved ones. Their relatives might set it up for them so they can be confused as to who is sending a link to them. Skype has a lot of spammers now and the elderly must be warned that it has become just like their emails so they must remain vigilant. Hopefully I have gone over several ways that you can help protect the elderly in your life when they use a computer. It is a new world that they are in so maybe you can help them navigate it.

See the original post here:
How Can I Help My Elderly Friends And Relatives Protect Themselves On The Internet?

Using A Virtual Machine To Protect Your Computer

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:30:31 +0000

If you are a person who works with a computer on a daily basis then you will gather a lot of data on your computer that you are going to want to keep secure. The first level of protecting your data is to create back ups that will make sure that your data is available if anything goes wrong. Also, if your operating system supports it, you can create a kind of restore point for your data and installed programs on your computer. This will create an image that will bring your computer to its form on the date of the restore point that you set. Virtual Machine If you do not have time for that or a back up, a great way to protect your data when you are surfing the web or doing other dangerous activities is to use a virtual machine. A virtual machine is a program that you can set up on your computer that will allow you to use another operating system on top of the one that you are already using. It will give you the same rights and abilities that using the host operating system gives you. You can run programs and surf the web, all in an protected environment. There are ways for hackers to get around this security blanket but they are very complicated and not widely distributed. With software like this you can now run a Windows machine and if you feel an operation is not safe for that machine you can open up the VM and run it in Linux. VMWare The most popular virtual machine that is out there right now is called VMWare . This is the leader in the world of Virtual machines as of right now. They give you a very good free version of their software that you can run indefinitely. This is great when you already have a VM Image already set up. If you want to create your own virtual machine then you will have to use the paid version of the software. Alternatives Other companies that are in the same space include Microsoft and several open source versions that are available on Linux and Windows. The Microsoft version is called Virtual PC. They also give away a free version that will allow you to run other operating systems. There are several different variants of virtual machines on Linux. The most popular being Xen and Virtual box (which also runs on Windows). Also if you want to run a VM without a lot of hassle, there is a Linux distribution that is call Wubi. It is sort of a virtual machine but instead of being a program that runs an operating system, it is itself the operating system. You can install this on Windows just like any other program and when you open it up it will be running the Ubuntu distro of Linux. This is also a very reliable way to keep your data secure from any dangerous operations. I have given you several ways that you can keep your computer’s data secure from any unruly virus that might infect your computer. If you have important files and you need to go the extra mile past antivirus then running a virtual machine is a good way to go.

Excerpt from:
Using A Virtual Machine To Protect Your Computer

Being Proactive About WLAN Security

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Perhaps the most important defense is to be proactive in securing your WLAN . Don’t wait for threats to emerge before taking action. Now that you know the threats to your WLAN and some ways to deal with them, you can take what you know and put it to work. Each vendor maintains patches and updates on its Web site. You could go to every Web site and search for all the vulnerabilities that affect your devices. You may even find most of what you’re looking for after quite a while. The best place to start is the Security Focus Web site. Security Focus maintains an exhaustive list of vulnerabilities for hardware and software from every vendor. If it’s vulnerable, it’s listed on their site. Often vulnerabilities are listed on Security Focus even before the developers of an application or device know about the problem. In those rare cases when a company refuses to acknowledge an issue, this Web site may be the only place where you’ll find it listed. Make it a habit to check the site regularly for new threats. Many vendors will send you an email warning you of vulnerabilities if you took the time to register your product (and lets face it, most of us don’t). For the 90 percent of users that use a Microsoft operating system, the Windows Update feature will help you keep the operating system patched and save you from becoming a casualty when the next worm surfaces. Most cracker tools exploit holes that have not been patched. If you don’t maintain your systems, you are remaining vulnerable when you should be safe. Taking the time to patch software and update the firmware on devices will minimize your risk and reduce your headaches.

Continued here:
Being Proactive About WLAN Security

Using Software To Recover Your Data

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:44 +0000

Data recovery can be a really hard process if you don’t understand or know what it is that you are doing. When a person is having to perform data recovery that means that either their folder or file has become encrypted. After your file or folders are encrypted, it can cause damage to your computer and you must take certain steps to get the data back that was lost. There are lots of ways that you can recover data from your computer. Some people download freeware that walks them step by step on how to recover their data while others do it straight from their computer. If you decide to do it yourself you will find that the method of data recovery will vary depending on what kind of computer that you’re using. Mac, Windows Vista and Windows 7 are all a bit different when it comes to this process. That’s another reason why people decide to use a free program to recover their data. For beginners, the best way to go about getting your data back is using the free software program. Most of the programs require you to download the software. Before you begin, they usually ask for your email address. Once you provide them with your email address you can review the directions that they give. When you have problems, you can contact customer service and they will be there to help. That is another reason why downloading and using software to recover data is a really good thing when you are new. If you decide to do this by yourself, you won’t be able to have any help. In order to make sure that you have a really good program, do some research on it first before you decide to download the software and see what people are saying about it. After you have downloaded and finished the data recovery, make sure that you back things up. You can back them up with buying a flash drive or floppy disk. If you haven’t backed up your files and pictures, you should do it soon. Mistakes can happen at anytime and they are called mistakes because we didn’t plan on them happening. Another word of advice is to make sure that your computer is password protected and that you have your firewall on plus virus protection turned on too.

Original post:
Using Software To Recover Your Data

Cyber Security: Why Is So Important?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:30:37 +0000

Do we actually need cyber security? I strongly believe that we do. Everybody has their own thoughts on cyber security, some of which are valid facts, and some of which are misconceptions. The Internet is a dynamic technology and you can never predict the changes that are constantly occurring. Furthermore, every change can lead to more dangerous threats that had not been previously imagined. That is why there have been number of incidents in the past where the Internet has been used as the medium for some serious crimes which are named as ‘Cyber Crimes’. If proper means are not used to tackle this problem then the rate of cyber crime will just continue to increase. Below are some of the reasons behind the need for cyber security – 1.) Who are hackers and what do they do? We all are aware of hackers . But do you actually know how they operate? A hacker could be anyone. He might be your business rival, your friend or any other person who is trying to hijack your computer’s resources. They somehow enter into your computer with the help of many malicious programs and scripts, all of which can be found on the internet or easily coded by someone with a little know how. Once he succeeds in hijacking your computer, then he can misuse your confidential information such as e-mail accounts, bank accounts, credit cards and any other useful information he finds stored on your system. 2.) Online fraud and identity theft. Cyber criminals follow a number of techniques in order to acquire e-mail Ids, credit card numbers, bank account numbers and passwords which are then misused by them. These kinds of scams are known as ‘ phishing ‘. These criminals cheat people by pretending to be spokespeople of big organisations or deceased millionaires and sending emails to their victims which will try to trick them into revealing confidential information. 3.) Cyber thefts are increasing daily. Conventional thefts can be compensated by insurance cover but once you lose your confidential data from your computer, no-one can help you. These kinds of incidents are not only restricted to individuals but huge companies and institutions are falling prey to cyber theft too. 4.) Computer viruses can really mess up your system. Viruses can not only slow your system down, they can make it crash too. There are number of ways in which viruses can enter your computer. One of them is through accessing insecure web sites and downloading infected files. Its not only household computers that can be infected as even big business can be affected too. For example, in 1999 the Melissa virus lead to the termination of many services in Microsoft and other huge companies. 5.) Spyware keeps tabs on your activity. Spyware is a form of malware that can enter your computer and install itself automatically. It is not only meant to spy on you but also steal information from your computer. The dangerous part is that people do not even realize its presence on their computers. Some reports suggest that about 92% of computers are infected by spyware and that users are unaware of it! 6.) Adware is annoying. The main purpose of adware is to pop up unwanted ads as you are surfing the Internet. This can quickly become extremely annoying and frustrating. Nowadays adware is often integrated with spyware in order to exploit your computer to great heights. These are just some of the different ways cyber criminals steal your resources and information. They are always a step ahead and the security industry is forever trying to keep up with their new plans and codes. Therefore, it is very necessary to protect your system for all the threats caused by cyber criminals. Wouldn’t you agree?

Excerpt from:
Cyber Security: Why Is So Important?