Will The Internet Betray You - Are Social Networks Your Friend or Foe?

Not long ago, I was discussing with an overseas acquaintance the reality that so much of who we are is now online that you can go look up just about anyone and learn all about them. Today, there are conspiracy theorists who say the NSA is creating a dossier on every American in the country, which may or may not be so, but if it is, why would they stop there? Why not all planetary humans? Talk about the data base from hell, that would be a whopper, and something like that misused could literally create hell on Earth, especially for those who have come to expect freedom and liberty during their life experience.

Now then, my acquaintance had assumed that I went online to look up all the information about him, which was a false assumption, you see I hadn't. Not that there wasn't any curiosity there, it's just that I had other things to do, and since our conversation was light-weight, it didn't matter anyway. He noted that there was ample information online to verify who he was, what he had done in his life, and thus, his potential to perhaps work on one of our up and coming projects. Still, he noted that he tried to keep his online information to a minimum, but admitted he couldn't hide everything considering today's Internet.

Yes, the Internet is interesting, sometimes I think it is our friend, other times, I wonder if it is the enemy, as I see friends posting on Facebook etc, which I do not participate. You see, right now those behind all this Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Social Networking phenomena are busy trying to figure out how to best exploit all this data, so it should not surprise anyone all the behind the scenes activities with big time corporations, advertisers, marketing companies, and yes, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Not just here, but around the world.

Consider this, your data, information, contacts, associations, etc. could be shared by foreign nations, international criminals, multi-national companies, and it already is to a lesser degree, but what I am saying is this will become the norm, and you'll just have to accept all this. So, I guess you ought to be asking yourself if the Internet and the social networks you play on are ever going to betray you in the future. Are those social media sites, and social networks your friend or foe? Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Internet Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Spotting a Dodgy Email - 5 Tips

We have all seen the emails that claim we are due a reward or gift voucher or there is a problem with some account we have. Most encourage you to click a link and enter some details and while a lot of us are aware of these types of scams a lot more are not.

First a few examples of the types of emails we are talking about:

"Your PayPal account has been suspended"

"You have won a $100 voucher to Walmart"

"You are approved for xxx visa card"

"Winning lottery notification"

"DHL failed to deliver"

"You won a cruise"

Disaster relief scam emails

Email verification emails from sites you have not signed up to

These are just some examples and we all will have one of these emails in our inbox right now or within the next 24 hours. These types of emails are generally designed to do one of 3 things.

1. Get your personal information for identity theft, resale

2. Gain access to accounts you may have

3. Install malicious software

4. Con you to fleece you of your hard earned money

Now when you are looking at scam emails your best defence is common sense but here are a few tips to help you not become one of the thousands scammed by such emails.

1. Common sense wins every time

As we mentioned common sense is your number one defence against these emails. Your bank, PayPal and other financial services will NEVER ask you for things like passwords, card details and other very personal details via email. Any emails or forms that you are redirected to asking for passwords should set alarm bells ringing. There are some that even bold enough to ask for your pin number!

2. Looking for spelling and grammar errors

Although these scam emails are getting better and better they do tend to lack in the spelling and grammar areas. I have seen emails that look very legitimate with logos and such and it is not until you read the email that it becomes very obvious that this email is not from your bank or some other such site.

3. Check the link

This is probably the biggest giveaway and the one people do not know about. For example I saw a scam email the other day that appeared to be from Walmart claiming someone had won $1000 in a raffle and that they needed to click the link and enter details to claim.

The link was something like "http://www.Walmart.com.xyz.biz". To most people this looks fine it looks like it is going to Walmart's website but the problem is that it is not. The Walmart part is a sub domain of the site xyz.com and has nothing to do with Walmart.

Upon clicking the link you are taken to a well done copy of Walmart's website where you enter your details and send these scammers your information to be used for whatever reason but again the website is not it is part of xyz.biz and is just designed to trick you into thinking the site is legitimate.

This happens on many email scams I have received and it is always worth just hovering over the link they want you to click just to see where it takes you (but don't click) If you are still unsure go directly to the company's website rather than via the link and login to your account that way. NEVER login to an account via a suspicious email.

4. The opening line or subject

Things like "You have won" or verify your bank account" are usually giveaways and are 99.9% of the time scams. Messages that start with things like dear friend or hello friend are usually good indicators that a lot of rubbish is about to follow.

5. Attachments

If you receive and email from someone you don't know that contains an attachment your finger should be hovering over the delete message button. These types of messages usually contain attachments that are either viruses or forms used to phish your personal information.

Craig is a Computer Repair Technician and blogger who offers advice and tutorials on all things tech related at his blog computerlearnhow. To learn how to protect your online identity check Stay Safe Online

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Hackers and Their Methods of Operendi Don't Always Give Them Away

Often hacker groups methods to pin the crime on someone else. So, let's say you have 160 known hacking groups world-wide, most are loosely affiliated. Plus, you have government and foreign military or cyber-spy commands perhaps adding another 50 or so to the mix, some quite sophisticated. Not long ago, I was reading 150 page research report on cyber security, cyber warfare, hactivists, and criminal hackers. Okay so let's talk for second shall we?

One of the chapters in the report suggested that it was easy to tell if a hacking group was part of a state-sponsored cyber command, or just would-be hackers messing around because you could tell by their style and methods. However, I would question this because cyber commands would be wise to cloak as hactivists, or petty hacker teenagers when trying to break into a system of a Corporation, or government agency. Meanwhile the report proposes that the hackers aren't that smart, and that they always use the same methods of operandi, I completely disagree with this.

There may be some that do, but I bet most of them have many tricks up their sleeve, and they may even purposely mimic the methodologies and tactics of other hacking groups to shield and hide their own identities - in other words, mix it up a little so they don't get caught. Wouldn't they, or are we to believe and think hackers are stupid or something? They aren't, they're obviously smart enough to break into nearly every single computer system on the planet, they have been busy breaking into everything in the last few years, these aren't stupid individuals - in fact, I wonder if anything is safe of sacred anymore?

Next, I'd like to point out that the authorities are busy hiring these hackers who have experience for their own security computer needs. If these hackers were so naïve and stupid, then I doubt very much if the corporations, and government agencies would be hiring them in the first place. Whereas the methods and strategies, as well as the tactics used by various hackers could at times act as a fingerprint, it might also be nothing more than a false positive or a disguise purposely used to conceal their own hacking group.

Therefore, I thought it was rather naïve of that research paper, partially completed by a computer scientist, to even suggest such. Even if they were talking in hindsight or about how things have historically been in the past, I think they might be missing something. Sure some of the hackers that aren't perhaps wise enough to understand this concept, or are still learning might make such a mistake to always use the same methods, but I doubt that is true for experienced hackers.

Heck even chimpanzees, don't always use the same methods as to not give away their intentions, so I thought humans understand this concept too. Of course, that's just my opinion after reading about 1000 pages last week of research reports on cyber security. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Internet Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Deal With A Malware Infected Notebook

No matter what OS you are using, at any time, malware can still bring your notebook to its knees. The important thing, however, is not to stress out over spyware and malware while you're on the road. Read on for tips that will help you troubleshoot any problems you may encounter and keep your notebook running while you are away from the office.

THE RIGHT TOOLS

Most of us have some anti-spyware and antivirus software installed on our business notebooks; some of us have more than one loaded. But these programs aren't really going to be very helpful unless we update them frequently. Even the popular Spybot Search & Destroy needs updating to do its job properly. When a user notices a problem, a common first reaction is to run the anti-spyware and antivirus programs on his machine. That's a great idea, of course, but it's important that you update and install the most current version of the software before you run the program. Doing this can save you a bit of time and will help root out any new infections you may have picked up while surfing the Web. Although you can set most enterprise-level antivirus programs to update automatically, there are some programs that require manual updates before you start the lengthy scanning process. For example, when using Spybot Search & Destroy, all you have to do is click the Update icon on the left side of the screen to download the newest malware definitions. After you download the latest definitions and detection rules, click the Search For Problems icon and follow any prompts to complete the update.

THE BEST DEFENSE

One of the best ways to prevent your computer from being loaded down with malware is to never let the stuff in the door. Windows includes a basic firewall (it's activated by default), but added protection helps. You will want to check that Windows Firewall is up and running on your computer. To access the firewall in Windows Vista/7, click the Windows icon, select Control Panel, and then select Windows Firewall; in WinXP, click Start, Control Panel, and Windows Firewall. If the firewall is set to Off, simply select the radio button or link for On and click OK.

Now comes the step of adding another layer of protection. Search online and you'll find several free firewalls available that do a good job of protecting your computer from unwanted intrusions. A number of these programs, once installed, will prompt you to determine which programs are authorized to access the Internet. Then the programs will block the rest (or at least seek permission to allow a new program to access the Internet). Of course, the enterprise-level offerings include powerful firewalls, so if your company uses programs such those, make sure they're up and running before you leave for a business trip. You can also search the Web for the latest highly rated antivirus and personal firewall solutions, many of which have free versions available for download.

DON'T CLICK THAT

Automated spyware and antivirus tools are great, but they're no substitute for a little bit of vigilance on your part. Got an email from someone you don't know? Immediately trash it without opening it. Even if your email program automatically opens your new messages in a reading pane, it's a good idea never to download an unexpected attachment. Consider using an alternative email service provider (various Web-based options are available) that can give you an extra layer of protection by immediately scanning all incoming and outgoing attachments for virus threats. Also, no matter what the pop-ups tell you, don't click anything that jumps unsolicited onto your screen claiming to be able to fix a virus or spyware problem. These pop-ups are more often than not carriers of spyware and viruses in the guise of an actual message from your OS. A general rule of thumb is that if it opens in a browser window and you did not specifically point your browser toward it, don't click it. Just close the window and go about your business.

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE RUNNING

So, your system is armed to the teeth with regularly updated antivirus and anti-spyware utilities, but you're still having troubles? There are some simple fixes you can run in Windows to help you at least get around spyware problems. You can simply monitor and control the programs your computer is running at startup. To do this in WinXP, click Start, then Run, and then type msconfig into the window that appears. Click OK and then click the Startup tab. See anything with a blank entry? If something refuses to identify itself, it's a pretty good bet you don't need it to start up your machine. Deselect suspicious checkboxes (you can also streamline your computer's startup routine here, if you wish, by deselecting programs that automatically load that you rarely use). Click OK and restart when prompted. In Vista, open the Windows Defender program. Choose Tools and Software Explorer and then click Startup Programs from the Category menu. Your startup programs will display in the left pane. Simply click a program to highlight it and then click the Disable button. Alternatively, you can permanently terminate a program by clicking the Remove button. It's also a good idea to set a restore point when you know your computer is working well. That way, you can always restore your machine to a time when it was functioning properly. To create a restore point, click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and System Restore. Click Create A Restore Point, and then follow the wizard that appears. To restore your machine, click Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time.

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Registry Cleaners and Fixes

Computers have really changed the world these past decades. They started out as huge complicated machines that help us process calculations. Now, they still are complicated machines that still aid in calculations but now offer lots of capabilities. The size of computers has also drastically decreased. Since the computers of today have overwhelming processing capability, it is sometimes unavoidable for it to encounter errors. It helps to have the best Windows XP registry cleaner on hand for situations like this.

Currently, Windows XP is the most widely used operating system. Business process outsourcing companies and call centers are known to use this operating system because of VoIP issues surrounding the newer operating systems. People who own single core and low RAM desktops and laptops also prefer this OS because it is lightweight. Only those who have tons of RAM and at least dual cores can safely run Windows 7 with no problem. Due to these, it really pays to have the best Windows XP registry cleaner especially if you are a computer technician.

The registry is actually a collection of information, also called a database, that houses all the hardware and software configurations. Having this on your operating system is a big plus because it saves several milliseconds of processing. For computers, milliseconds really count.

There are many things that a program should do if you are to consider it the best Windows XP registry cleaner. The following are only some of the important functions of a good registry cleaner. Take note that every program has its specialization but the good ones will offer part of everything.

The basic function of the program is to repair problems in the registry which concern useless, malfunctioning or duplicate entries. These can be categorized into either help incorrect help files, incorrect application paths, missing shared DLLs, obsolete software and many more. These things are hardly damaging to the computer but they will contribute to lag if left alone.

Another scenario that warrants a registry fix is when hardware problems arise. An example is when you have inserted a DVD in your drive and it is not read. If the disk ran successfully on another computer and you are sure that drivers are installed, there may be a registry problem. A common error with hardware is invalid path assignment.

The best Windows XP registry cleaner should be able to do most of the functions mentioned earlier. Additionally, if the software has lots of online support, you would do well to choose that. Examples of online support include live chat and forums.

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