Infosec Security

I have seen a few of these in the past month.

http://www.malwarehelp.org/antivirus-suite-removal-2010.html

I strongly suggest considering downloading Malwarebytes, at least the free version.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Posted by Norm

I don't proudly admit that I use the social website Facebook. The main reason, I use it is to keep up whats happening with the kids.  Open social networks like, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. are breeding grounds for malware, identity theft, and other internet crimes.  However, social sites are here to stay, so how do we protect ourselfs. Don't enter too much personal information other than name, etc. You don't need to post your phone numbers because if they are your friends they will have it already, or email it them instead. Be smart remember that whatever you publish will be public at some point. So if you don't want your boss, Mom, Dad, or anyone else to know about...don't post it.

Other things to keep in mind. Keep your PC patched with the latest Windows Updates, Virus Signature, and beware of clicking on links that seem fishy.  Read the article below about the most recent attack distributed via Facebook.

http://www.internetnews.com/Facebook_Attack.htm

Posted by Norm

I was looking through old emails and links. I found a good one on practicing your Anti-Phishing techniques. I think I posted this before. Here is the link: http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/antiphishing_phil/quiz/index.html

Posted by Norm

You want to keep your post private. Here's how, after you type your entry continue to scroll down to the Advance Options section looking for "Entries can be read by". Make sure the only to co-authors is clicked. That's it.

If you don't have an account on Thinkersloft, you will not be able to read that entry. So if you are a family member and don't yet have one let me know.

Posted by Norm

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) website was wiped out by hackers. The RIAA is well know for lawsuit against computer users who they aledge copy MP3. 

You can read the article here.

Cybercrime is on the rise and now a newer way to intice users to give away personal information.

You can read the article here.

Posted by Norm

Do you back up your data? If not, NOW is the time to do it. Don't wait. I have never had a hard really crash until recently. Unfortunately, it was my daughters, when she returned to college, after Thanksgiving.  She lost her all her high school, college, and digital photographs, etc. She had planned on backing it up during her Christmas break.

The hard drive's Master File Table was corrupted. The hard drive was telling her computer that I have nothing on me and by the way I need to be formatted for use.  Trust me not a good sign.

She took it to her college's technical support staff. They tried all the basic non-evasive techniques to recover the drive. No success. Normally, at this point the drive is put to rest or you pay up to $2000 to have a data recovery lab attempt to recover.
Good news is that this story doesn't end on a sad note. I was able to recover all her data. Cost: $79.

Ok...back to my main point.  Backup all your data on a regular basis, once a month, week, or whatever suits your value of your data.

Posted by Norm

Posted by Norm

I found a great way to educate someone on PHISHING. Check out this simple game and learn how to protect yourself.

http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/antiphishing_phil/quiz/index.html

Posted by Norm

Is your PC open to attack? You would be surprised. It only takes one wrong click and now your system is a Zombie, ready to be activated in a larger attack against bigger systems.

How can you protect yourself? Good Security Practices, thats how. Belarc is a good step, ensuring your system is up to date.

The next step is to see what others can see from the outside. Shields UP! is a good online tool, which will scan your system similiar to what a hacker might do. Shields UP! is safe to use but read before "proceed".

Give a try! If you have problems, I will be more than happy to walk you thru it the first few times. Copy and paste this link into your brower

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Posted by Norm

The Belarc Advisor is a FREE download. Belarc does both basic security and software inventory of your system. I recommend printing off your initial results to file away. I run Belarc every month or so. Belarc monitors the patches from Microsoft and can tell you if your system needs to be updated.

Belarc also gives your versions of installed software, which can be valuable to ensure you have the current version.

Best Practice is to ensure all your operating system and installed software are updated with the lastest updates to protect your system from potential exploits.

Belarc can be downloaded from http://www.belarc.com.

Posted by Norm