Posts Tagged ‘internet security’
Cybercriminals – Who Are They And What Do They Do?
Cybercriminals are not lone teenage hackers trying to prove their skills. Modern cybercriminals are organized, sophisticated tech-savvy and well-funded. The goal of these gangs can be summed up in one word: money. They’ve dreamed up hundreds of devious ways to reach their goal. They want sensitive data such as user names and passwords, credit card numbers, or e-mail addresses. They can then sell this data in bulk over the Internet to other criminals or use the information directly to steal or make money in numerous other ways.
Most cybercrime fall into two general categories. These categories can often work together.
The first type of Internet crime is called social engineering. It’s often an attempt to convince a user to open an email attachment or click on a link in an e-mail. These links may lead to a forged website where the user is asked to provide their username and password. This practice is called ‘phishing.’ Another example of social engineering is the scam that tries to convince a victim to send money.
Another type of Internet crime looks for vulnerabilities in legitimate software and attempts to install malware, or malicious software. E-mail links in the example above may direct the user to a website that installs malware.
A few examples: – Cybercriminals may hack into a number of social media accounts – Facebook, MySpace, etc. Then they capture the usernames and passwords of those accounts. That access provides them with the names and details of the ‘friends’ of those accounts. The cybercriminals may pretend to be the owner of the account holder, e-mail their friends with an imaginary emergency. They ask those friends to send money immediately to a specific address or account.
- Suppose the cybercriminals are able to sneak malware into your computer. This malware locates the user names and passwords of your bank accounts, as well as all your e-mail addresses from your address book. They then drain the money out of your bank accounts and send spam e-mails to everyone in your address book. The e-mails are in your name and attempt to infect them with the same malware.
- Maybe they’re able to download malware that opens a backdoor to your computer. More malware is then downloaded to take control your computer remotely. Without your knowledge it has then become a ‘bot’ or zombie,’ one of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of computers in a network known as a ‘botnet.’ Hundreds of botnets are known to exist. These botnets may be used by cybercriminals either to send out billions of spam messages per day or rented out to attack other websites, or even other countries.
Unfortunately these crimes earn the criminals money. The Anti-Phishing Working Group says estimates of direct losses due to phishing alone exceed $1 billion per year. That’s only one piece of Internet crime.
To learn what you can do to protect yourself, visit http://techteachtoo.com/tag/internet-security/. You’ll find information and resources on a variety of topics, including cool tech tools, practical tips & tricks, technology news and more. To get regular updates sign up for the e-mail newsletter or the RSS feed.
Protect Yourself With Proxy Sites
You’ve probably heard of the whole phenomenon of proxy sites, especially if you stay in or around a college campus. Proxy sites are easily some of the most useful tools you could get on the Internet, especially now that privacy and security are such top priorities. Here are a couple of reasons why you’d want to look for a proxy for your own use.
Setting the Internet Free
Although many schools and institutions now feature free wireless Internet access, one big problem with those networks is that they tend to be severely limited. They commonly keep users from accessing sites like MySpace and Friendster, to the ire of many students. Even worse, some go so far as to banning more useful sites, simply because they’re not recognized and permitted by the network administrator.
But Internet users (collegiate ones in particular) can be very resourceful, hence the popularity of proxy sites today. They’re essentially near-empty domains that act as go-betweens for you and the sites you browse. You visit your favorite websites through the proxy site, and so work around the domain name policies set by the network administrator.
At the same time, the school servers also won’t be able to track the sites that you visit. All they’ll see is a record of your visiting the URL of the proxy site, but no more than that. It’s a handy solution if you don’t want the school administrators nosing about your Internet activity.
For Your Eyes Only
It’s not just the school administrators who won’t be able to keep an eye on you. Proxy sites will also help you maintain your anonymity once you begin browsing the Internet. Websites nowadays are able to take note of your IP address and, with a couple of extra steps, track down your location and all but identify who you really are.
By using a proxy site, you put an intermediary IP address between yourself and the sites you browse. As a result, the sites you visit will only be able to see the IP address of the proxy site you used, and not that of your own computer. You can then surf a little easier, assured that anybody trying to track you will have a much harder time for it.
Do you visit sites that you’d prefer nobody else should know about? Are there parts of your Internet browsing habits that you’d rather not share with others? Proxy sites will help you achieve the kind of confidentiality and anonymity you want. The best part of it all is that you won’t even have to shell out a dime to be able to enjoy the privacy afforded by a proxy.
If you’re like most Internet users today, you want your online browsing to be ‘me’ time, something only you know about and enjoy. A lot of people nowadays, though, want to encroach on your privacy and track all sorts of things about your Internet habits. Proxy sites give you a quick and no-cost solution to reclaim the Internet and make your online browsing a personal pastime again.
To make your Internet browsing even more private and secure, experts recommend using a different proxy site each time you browse. ProxySupply.com features a regularly updated list of all the best and latest proxy sites that will keep you surfing in private for a long time.
Best Spyware Adware Removal Software
How do I detect keystroke spyware using spyware remover software downloads? Most people assume that spyware are only there to cause the PC to slow down and display a ton of advertisements. It can actually be used as keystroke spyware to trace and steal sensitive info prefer passwords and credit card numbers.
Since Web hackers and virus creators are always creating new issues for web users, you would like to make sure that you have got the most recent anti-virus software to combat any potential threats to your Web and computer security. There are threats aplenty out there on the Internet with Trojans, worms, spyware, key loggers, scumware, root kits lurking around to infect your PC.
Some emails even have spyware attachments to them. These attachments stealthily install programs that log your computer activity and send the logs to the identity thieves. These emails can additionally be sent to all of your address book and spread the virus even more.
How Do I Detect Keystroke Spyware with Protection Software? There are various programs online which will facilitate you scan your laptop system for malware and viruses, but not several will permanently dispose of all the detected malicious software. These programs are especially dangerous for the reason that they can log your passwords and mastercard information.
Since you rely on your malicious program remover software to try to to a very important job guarding your pc security, it’s best that you browse objective reviews of the present available market leaders and create an informed decision about the software package that suits you. Paying a low purchase worth to stay your PC operating effectively and shield the knowledge stored on your computer could be a very sound investment to create and most packages are terribly cheap anyway.
Necessarily pick up the phone and ensure with company or establishment that they need sent you the email. Use the phone variety you always use not number provided in the e-mail because it will be half from the scam. Additionally don’t open any attachments as they may contain spyware.
For more information visit http://thebestspywareblockers.blogspot.com