None of your business: Encryption

There is a fine line between individual privacy and what your employer
needs to know. Should schools be able to run background checks on
teachers, to verify credentials and make sure they have to past history
of child abuse or molestation? Certainly. Should your insurance
company be able to consider your past medical history before selling you
a policy? This is not as clear. Should you be able to remain
completely anonymous online, without even the government able to identify
you? This would protect, for example, a homosexual sailor who would
like to keep his job in the Navy but stay in touch with a boyfriend (this
actually happened and the sailor lost his job, see Don't
Ask, Don't AOL, by Margie Wylie). But shouldn't the government
be able to trace hackers who steal important financial information from
consumers at Amazon.com?

The apparent solution to the lack of privacy on the internet is a technique known
as encryption. Encryption is running
data through filters. One filter scrambles the message, a second
unscrambles it. Anyone who picks up the information in transit would
(in theory) see nothing but garbled characters. (To experience what
this is like, try opening an image file in a word processor). However,
such encryption would also allow people to hide far more easily online.
Many hackers can also run intercepted data through filters of their own
and recover the information. Business moves far more slowly than
the underground community of hackers.

In 1993, the government suggested that the government should hold a
key to all encryption. This way, data could only be accessed by the
receiving part (who would hold a 'key') or the government.
This idea was called a Clipper chip.
The Clipper chip used a mathematical formula known as the SLAPJACK algorithm.
Proponents argued that the Clipper chip (also referred to as "key escrow",
or, later, "key recovery") would thwart hackers and that wiretapping was
often vital to convicting a criminal. Opponents argued that truly
clever hackers would easily find their way around the Clipper's defenses
and that the SLAPJACK algorithm used in the chip had flaws. (Seeman,
Outline)
The Clipper chip initiative was backed by the White House, the National
Security Administration (NSA), and the Attorney General's office and has
been revised several times since it's advent. (EPIC, The
Clipper Chip) The Commerce department shifted the focus of the
Clipper to comply with European regulations and many companies expressed
frustration with the Clipper initiative. The limits placed by the
government on encryption levels (56-bit) have been proved ineffective and
in March, 1998, internal government files were discovered by EPIC that
admitted that "key recovery" was expensive and impractical (CDT, Cryptography
Headlines).

In more recent events, Congress is reviewing the Security
and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act [full
text], introduced in late February by Representatives Bob Goodlatte
(R-VA) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). The SAFE Act ensures that US
citizens may use any form of encryption, anywhere, denies the government
the right to "key recovery", and creates penalties for using encryption
to cover a crime, among other things. (CDT, SAFE
HR 850). The House vote on SAFE will take place in September.

The Online Privacy Alliance,
made up of prominent companies in communications and technology like IBM,
AOL,
and Time Warner, is trying to help
the internet industry self-regulate encryption and other privacy topics.
This may be a step in the right direction - if industry and government
can work together, encryption could be regulated but commonly used.
Still, this leaves out individual consumers and others whose privacy is
actually what is being debated. The Online Privacy Alliance
suggests a caveat emptor approach - consumers should look for privacy
policies and be careful where they post their information.


Last revised: 7/23/99

None of your business: Privacy

Do you have a secret? Have you ever lied? Are there certain
things you don't want your parents to know? How about your friends?
How would you feel if in twenty years, in the midst of a successful career,
someone told your boss that once, when you were 17, you tried some pot
at a party. Or that you are gay or have AIDS. What if they
got this information from an e-mail that you fully expected would not go
beyond yourself and the recipient, but was intercepted and posted on a
web page? That would be an unfair violation of your privacy.

While the Constitution does not literally guarantee your right to privacy,
over the past 223-odd years the Supreme Court has granted privacy protections
under, most notably, the Fifth Amendment's protection for self-incrimination
and the Fourth Amendments protection from unreasonable search and seizure
(Privacy Basics)
Fair
Information Practices have been loosely followed by government and
industry. These are not laws - they are a set of industry ethics.
A generic
copy of these policies states that practices should be open, individuals
maintain the right to know and see what data is being collected from them,
data collection should be limited, specific, and secure, and that data
collectors will be responsible for the use of the information.

To discuss online privacy, there are a couple basic definitions to take
into account. I'm sure that no matter how little time you have spent
online, you have been asked if you would like to accept a cookie, or told
that a cookie has been sent. Well, of course,
you think at first. Mmmmm....cookie. Unfortunately, cookies
are not quite that tangible nor delectable. A cookie
is a piece of data that a web site collects about you when you visit (Cookie
Central,
Cookies).
The data varies with the web site - a commercial web site will collect
demographics
(that is, sex, age, and other advertising information) to learn more about
you, while an e-mail service may collect identifying
or personal (name, mailing address) information
to recognize you. Cookies allow a web site to be tailor made for
you as long as you stay in that domain name or each time you visit.
An CGI or JavaScript code in the beginning of the web page you visit instructs
you browser to send certain information to a server. If you have
ever checked a box saying "Remember My Password", you have set a cookie.

There are two aspects of privacy online. One is a need for protection
for yourself. Online stalking has been a problem, with people harassing
new 'friends' online and sometimes even threatening them, or confronting
them in person. The second is a need to protect your data from strangers.
This comes not from the fear of physical, but financial harm. The
first is the fear of being mugged on the way down to the mail box, and
the second is the fear of being mugged on the way back, while carrying
your paycheck and credit card bill.

The Communication Decency Act (CDA, see also section How
Obscene!: The Plot Thickens) stated that telecommunications,
meaning the internet, e-mail, chat and chat programs (including IRC, AIM,
and ICQ) should not be used to purposely harass or intimidate. You
cannot e-mail bomb people. Also, under the law you must identify
yourself. This part of the CDA was unaffected by the Supreme Court
decision regarding obscenity clauses.

There are three levels
of online privacy provided by systems administrators (admin), like the
guy in the back room at school or AOL monitors. (Bowman, What
Is Privacy?). The first is Complete Privacy. Here, the
admin agrees not to read any of your e-mail or keep track of where you
go on the web in any way. This obviously allows the most privacy,
but often creates a liability to admins and Internet Service Providers
(ISP). The second level is Almost Complete Privacy. Here admins
will look at your e-mails and chats if they suspect any sort of illegal
activity. The third level is No Privacy. Here admins are allowed
to look at any email you send, whether the subject is "My Plan To Plunge
The Internet Into Darkness" or "My Rave With Dave".

Your privacy is protected by some laws already. The Electronic
Communcations Privacy Act, created in the late 70's in response to the
Watergate scandal, already protects against interception of electronically
transmitted messages as well as the privacy of information stored within
a private computer system (Bowman, What
Is The Electronic Communications Privacy Act ("ECPA")). But in
March of 1992, the FBI suggested that all communications be designed so
that law enforcement agents could tap into them from afar (Cranor, Digital
Liberties). This would have made e-mail, the internet, chat rooms,
and even ISPs vulnerable to be intercepted at any time. Opponents
claimed that the first version of the bill gave the FBI privileges it had
not been afforded in older wiretapping laws. The FBI worked with
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Representative Don Edwards (D-CA) to refine
a new bill (Edwards/Leahy
Digital Telephony Legislation (HR 4922/S 2375)), which was passed almost
unanimously into law. ISPs were now exempt from the law. Some
considered this a failure, but most agreed that the protection afforded
to ISPs was a victory or at least a good compromise. However, this
simply makes intercepting data illegal. It does not make it impossible.

A recent survey by the Georgetown
Business School states that 93% of commercial internet sites collect
some sort of data that may be used to identify your (this may be your home
address, you e-mail address, name, etc.) and 57% collect demographics. Over
one third of these sites did not post any information that they were collecting
data and/or what it would be used for. The report concluded that
only 10% of the commercial web sites that collected personal or demographic
information followed fair information practices in respect to notice, choice,
access, security and contact information. The Center for Democracy
and Technology believes that "the study shows that definite progress
has been made in making many more Web sites privacy sensitive. But those
numbers also show that real fair information practices are incorporated
by only a small number of sites and most sites have yet to embody more
than minimum disclosure of their information practices."



Last revised: 7/23/99

Browse the Internet Virus Free

Copied: Code speck

The internet is a dangerous place these days no matter if you have a PC or MAC, you download or you don't. In this article I'm going to show how to protect your Windows PC with some free software that essentially makes your PC impervious to ANY virus (or potential unwanted programs - PUPS) while browsing websites on the Internet.

First, let me explain how 90% of my customers get infected. We'll use "Bob" as our example.

1. Bob never installs his Windows critical updates for whatever reason.
2. Bob has basic antivirus (also known as signature based antivirus) that may or may not be updated.
3. Bob gets on the Internet everyday and mainly reads the news from various news site, searches for stuff on Google and maybe plays free online games.
4. One day while searching for a cheap cell phone Bob all of the sudden is inundated with lot's of popups and a new (fake) antivirus program that says he's infected and needs to buy this antivirus "right now!!!"
5. Bob is infected with malware and a fake anti-virus.

Bob could have prevented this malware infection with a few free anti-malware applications, and when I say a few I only mean two:

1. A free anti-virus - There are 3 free anti-virus applications that are pretty robust and easy for the average PC user to install. Avira's AntiVir, Avast Antivirus and Grisoft's AVG Free.
2. Sandboxie Free - This application places all files downloaded from the Sandboxie web browser into a "virtual computer" that runs on your computer (ya never know it's there). If configured properly, once you close the Sandboxie web browser the virtual computer is destroyed along with any malicious files that you may have accidentally downloaded to it.

Now we're going to secure your PC with both applications: A free Anti-virus and the Sandboxie web browser.

1. Pick your antivirus. My personal favorite is Avira, but any of the 3 anti-viruses I previously mentioned will work just fine. Download, install and update it (updates are usually automatic). Remember, anti-virus by itself is not enough protection for your PC these days, you need additional protection.
2. Now it's time to install Sandboxie. You can go to Sandboxie(dot)com and download the free version of Sandboxie from there. Once Sandboxie is installed you should have an icon on the desktop called "Run Sandboxed Web Browser". If the shortcut is not on the desktop you may click start, all programs, Sandboxie, then right-click over "Run Sandboxed Web Browser" and click send to desktop. Next, we'll configure the Default Sandbox to DELETE all contents once the Sandboxed Web Browser is closed. This is the most important part.
3. Click Start (or click the Windows globe for Vista).
4. Click All Programs.
5. Click Sandboxie.
6. Click Sandboxie Control.
7. Right Click Sandbox DefaultBox.
8. Click Sandbox Settings.
9. Click Delete.
10. Click Invocation.
11. Click the First Checkbox (automatically delete the contents of the sandbox).
12. Click Apply and OK.
13. Close Sandboxie Control.

Ok, now we're all set to say goodbye to any form of malware (viruses) that get's installed via browsing ANY site on the internet. Go ahead and double click "Run Sandboxed Web Browser". Looks just like you're default web browser (firefox or IE) right!

Notice the little # signs on each side of the title bar at the top of the web browser. This means that ALL files downloaded unintentionally are stuck inside the sandbox and are DELETED as soon as you close the web browser. Basically this means you can visit any website without having to EVER worry about getting infected. That is the power of browsing the web via a sandboxed web browser.

One last quick note. If you want to intentionally download a file (like a picture) Sandboxie will ask you where you would like to "recover" the file. This is up to you. You can recover to the default folder or choose a folder. Please be aware that recovering files can be dangerous, this is where you'll need your free anti-virus (to scan recovered files).

About the Author:

My name is Matt and I offer st. louis computer repair and consulting services. If you're not in St. Louis I can help with your PC remotely right over your internet connection! Call my St. Louis office at 314.226.4279 and schedule your appointment today. I also have a site that reviews cheap all in one printers.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Browse the Internet Virus Free

How to Remove Spyware from Your Computer?

Copied: Code Speck

How can we remove spyware from our computer? This is a tough task for those people who know little about computer knowledge. Fortunately, you can take a few minutes to read this article and follow the steps bellow to protect your computer from spyware.

There are two main paths that spyware act on a computer. One is to monitor everything the users do in his system and then transfer the information or data it collects from this computer to the third party of this spyware. The other is to catch the setting of IE or other browsers on users’ computer and then change it to other unwanted, malicious or insecure websites. Large scale of pop ups will show up while you use this infected computer and your computer system will finally be a mess. For the safety of your PC, you have to pay enough attention to deal with spyware.

If you really want to prevent spyware, you can follow the five steps here:

1. Backup your important files and data first and then disconnect the internet;

2. Download the anti-spyware program from safe website.

3. Run the Full scan or Online Scan and remove the detected threats.

4. Install a forcible Fire Wall.

5. Contact the support team of security program once you have any question on the program or your computer.

The existence of spyware definitely will slow down your PC; bring other negative effect to your computer. It is so bad to your computer life. You should equip your computer with forcible security or anti-spyware program and be watchful while using computer, then you can be at ease with your computer experience!

http://www.threatremove.com/how-to-save-your-computer-from-viruses/

About the Author:

Spyware Cease, started its development cycle in early 2006. It is is a highly-integrated anti-spyware program that enables you to prevent and clean up the latest spyware threats like keyloggers, trojans, adware, malicious cookies tracking, browser hijackers, worms, phishing attacks and other malicious spyware attacks, effectively eliminating unwanted pop-ups, minimizing identities thieves and speed up PC performance.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How to Remove Spyware from Your Computer?

How to Save Your Computer from Viruses?

Copied: Code Speck

Many computer users are not masters in solving computer problems. So they always like to turn to some professional persons for help. However, it will be better if we can grasp some basic knowledge about computer and sometimes we can even save our computer from viruses by ourselves. So what should we do for this?

In the first place, we should know the symptoms of an infected computer. And this is especially crucial for computer rookie because it is difficult to tell whether your computer has been infected or not. You know that because of the power of internet and the development of computer technology, computer virus will also update and be more complex than it just showed up decades ago. So if we want to distinguish infected files and remove them successfully, carefulness and patience are needed as well as relative knowledge. Here are some examples for an infected computer:

Your computer freezes or block up frequently;

You get lots of error messages or popups;

You can’t load some programs or applications as usual;

Your browser goes blank without any reason or become empty when you click some websites, etc.

What can we do if our computers really get infected? Don’t be panic! You can follow the steps bellow and save your computer by yourself!

1. Backup the important documents or information first.
2. Download a forcible security program for your computer.
3. Run the Online scan of this program to detect threats on your computer.
4. Disconnect your computer from internet and run the Full scan.
5. Remove the detected files found by your anti-virus program. For those files in Quarantine folder, you can delete them after confirming.

After the above steps, you can also send your Scan results or Analysis report to the support team and ask for further help for your problem. If possible, have your anti-virus program keep up-to-date whenever you use it. This will be the guarantee of your computer security.

About the Author:

Spyware Cease, started its development cycle in early 2006. It is is a highly-integrated anti-spyware program that enables you to prevent and clean up the latest spyware threats like keyloggers, trojans, adware, malicious cookies tracking, browser hijackers, worms, phishing attacks and other malicious spyware attacks, effectively eliminating unwanted pop-ups, minimizing identities thieves and speed up PC performance.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How to Save Your Computer from Viruses?

Internet and Computer Fraud

White Collar Crime Unit
The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney's White Collar Crime Unit prosecutes traditional economic crimes such as theft, forgery, credit card fraud, and identity theft. It also prosecutes a variety of high-tech computer crimes, including computer fraud, computer damage, and unauthorized computer access crimes.

White Collar Inquiries
The White Collar Crime Unit receives frequent inquiries from the public about internet and computer fraud. Some inquiries turn out to be civil matters rather than criminal matters. Civil matters are referred elsewhere for resolution. Criminal matters are investigated by a team of skilled investigators who prepare cases for prosecution by the deputies of the White Collar Crime Unit. They aggressively pursue criminals suspected of computer crimes and have an excellent track record for seeking restitution when possible.

Prevention
It is far easier to prevent computer crime than it is to prosecute it and secure restitution, and most victims will never fully recover all that they have lost. For this reason, the White Collar Crime Unit also focuses on Crime Prevention, providing computer safety information and extensive community outreach.

Protect yourself! Learn all that you can on the ways to prevent these types of computer-related scams.

Internet Fraud

Just as you should take caution with any phone calls or mail you receive about suspicious-sounding deals, you should do the same when you're online. Internet fraud can be found in chat rooms, e-mail, web sites and message boards. Listed below are the top ten online frauds for 2003, which cost each victim an average of $5271:

1. Online Auction Sites

Nearly 90 percent of Internet fraud was associated with online auction sites. These sites offer anything from high-value collectibles to computers. Generally you will send money for the item, but you will receive a lower-quality or lower-priced item, or nothing at all.

2. General Merchandise Sales

Sites that offer retail goods. Like the online auction sites, what you pay for may not be what you receive.

3. Nigerian Money Offers

Someone claiming to be a representative of the Nigerian (or any other country's) government asks you to help move millions of dollars of overpayments into overseas bank accounts. They ask for your bank account number, so they can transfer the money into your account temporarily and claim you will receive a percentage of the money for helping. In actuality, they drain your bank account.

4. Information / Adult Services

Web sites that offer music, pictures or games for download. Some downloads could contain viruses that can infect your computer, and some can charge your phone bill (if using a dial-up modem).

5. Internet Access Services

So-called "internet providers" that promise free or low-priced Internet access, free web page design or other Internet services, then do not deliver.

6. Computer Equipment and Software

Computer equipment and software that was paid for but was never delivered or was not what you ordered.

7. Work-At-Home Schemes

Business opportunities that claim you can make thousands of dollars a month working at home. These schemes usually require buying materials or information about the business. What you receive in return is inadequate materials or nothing at all.

8. Lotteries

False promises to help a consumer win money or collect on winnings from foreign lotteries.

9. Fake Checks

Consumers are paid with phony checks for products or services, with instructions to wire back some of the money to the offender.

10. Advance Fee Loans

Loan schemes that charge an up-front fee, and promise you will be approved for a loan regardless of your credit history.

Also be leery of online investment schemes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, most likely it is too good to be true.

In Hawaii, Internet fraud can be prosecuted under traditional theft statutes. If the amount of the victim's loss exceeds $300.00, the suspect can face up to five-years in prison and a $10,000.00 fine. If the amount of the victim's loss exceeds $20,000.00, the suspect can face up to ten-years in prison and a $25,000.00 fine.

Computer Crimes

With the advent of the Internet, the phrases "computer tampering" and "network intrusions" (commonly known as "hacking" or "cracking") have taken on several new meanings. The Hawaii Penal Code has been updated to include the realm of cyberspace.

Breaking into someone's computer may seem like fun, but the consequences are not: Under Hawaii law, breaking into someone's computer and causing damage may result in a prison sentence of up to ten-years and a $25,000.00 fine. Merely accessing a computer and obtaining information could result in a prison sentence of up to ten-years and a $25,000.00 fine.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney takes computer-related crimes very seriously. As criminals have become more high-tech, so has law enforcement. The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney has access to considerable resources, including investigators trained in computer forensic examination who assist us with a criminal prosecution.

Telecommunication Fraud

The telecommunications industry is booming, as is the amount of fraud associated with it. Although there is no guaranteed fix to stop this type of fraud and abuse, some fraud can be prevented by adopting the following procedures, both at home and the office:

• Insist everyone use common sense when using the telephone.
• Catch problems early by reviewing your telephone bill immediately after your receive it.
• Question long calls, calls with high costs-per-minute or calls made late at night or after business hours.
• Monitor your total telecommunications usage/costs each month, and if there is a sudden increase, investigate it.
• If you receive a call about free cable television, free cellular phone, free long distance or any other telecommunications deal that sounds too good to be true, most likely it is too good to be true.
  

Prevention

"Spam Scam" – Spoofing You Out Of Personal Information

Consumers should be on the alert for sophisticated "spoof" e-mails that trick unwary and unsuspecting Internet users into giving personal information that can be used to drain bank accounts, fraudulently get credit cards and commit other crimes.

The scam is commonly called "spoofing" because the spam mail sent uses familiar or legitimate-sounding names of companies to gain personal information. This scam capitalizes on names that are close to the real one. In a recent example, instead of the real Earthlink.net, the spam mail used an URL like www.earthlinkservice.com. Small and large companies have been spoofed, such as Bank of America, Best Buy, PayPal and Ebay.

Consumers may be sent e-mails that seemingly come from a company with which they've done business or be sent by hyperlink to a phony web site - designed even to look like the legitimate business web site. One victim reported getting a seemingly authentic e-mail from what appeared to be his Internet Service Provider telling him his credit card had expired and new information was needed. He was asked to provide a credit card number and to give his bank account number and ATM PIN number.

Another name for "spoofing" is "phishing". In "phishing" scams, "phishers" send millions of bogus e-mails with the hope of luring victims to a fraudulent (or spoofed) website where the Internet user would then be tricked into divulging personal information, such as passwords, account numbers, or credit card information. According to Kiplinger's Magazine, up to five percent of e-mail recipients respond to phishing e-mails, leaving them vulnerable to credit card fraud and identity theft.

How to Update your Computer with Latest Computer Accessories

Author: Vinnit

Are you a technology driven person Do you want to pool in whatever is latest and exciting in your computer or laptop Well, if such is the case with you, then you must be looking for extremely proficient, smart and handy computer accessories. With the latest technology hailing in, the computing standards of an individual have undergone a drastic change – for the better! Computing is no more a story of working with traditional computer sets as today it demands a list long of additional accessories to add flair in one’s ways of computing.

Talking about the list of computer accessories, there is a lot available which a person wishes to buy. But an individual should always heed to the factor that as to what he actually requires at his domicile. There are numerous computer peripherals that one can get along with his computer such as speakers, printers etc. but one has to see whether these things are actually needed or not.

Connectors play a vital role in your day to day computing needs. But without the availability of basic computer peripherals it stands almost as a handicap. To make it work efficiently, you should buy latest computer accessories like parallel port, serial port, Ethernet network, universal serial busmodem, PS2 port etc. Consider those connectors which deliver a good air flow as they help in proper functioning of your computer devices.

Flash products come next in the list of products driven by latest technology among computer accessories. These products are used to store your digital data and which can be retained for daily use. The alluring advantage is that they can be easily plugged in to any computer and are effortless to deal with. These latest computer accessories are included in the list of vital purchases for the simple reason that they are easy to carry. You can buy them as pen driver, USB driver, thumb driver, key driver etc. They feature a bulk of storage capacity and are advantageous to take in use for data storage needs.

The crucial need of transferring data from one computer to another is best dealt by the switch boxes. These are used in case computers do not function good in swapping the devices like monitors and PS2. If done so, they can harm the functioning of other computer. One can buy latest Computer Accessories online as well, to increase the functionality of their PC and enjoy new dimensions like never before!

About the Author:

Vinnit Alex is well known author has written article on Acer Laptops, Computer Store, UPS, Online Shopping and many other subjects.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How to Update your Computing with Latest Computer Accessories