If you use the internet, you must be aware that a lot of data about your usage is collecting without your being aware of it. Forget about the ads that you may click on the pages you go to – your internet behavior is up for grabs by data miners. In fact, many anti-virus and internet protection suites come with pop-up blockers and ad blockers as do older versions of internet explorer. But till now there was little that you could do about unwanted tracking.

To get round this problem and to ensure privacy of users, Microsoft has now added a feature to the new internet explorer 9. You will be able to block all third party page elements that you want to block and also put in a list of the unblocked ones. The user interface for this is easy to use and you will be provided step by step guidance. As a user you will be able to exercise greater control on who can track your browsing behaviour.

The Federal Trade Commission is upset with the online ad industry and internet marketers for not being transparent enough with users about the data they collect and how they use it. The FTC has asked that browsers should add a do not track feature to their software.

Both Chrome and Mozilla are now also offering variations of the opt-out feature. However, if you do opt-out, it is entirely possible that you may not be able to ‘see’ certain sites or pages, depending on how advertisers react to his new blocking feature.

Microsoft is going to allow the user to create his or her lists of sites which are allowed or prohibited. However it may be difficult for a user to manually list all the possible sites he goes to and in which he does not want his history tracked.

You have a desktop, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook and if you are have a family you probably have more than one computer. Even if you are working you will probably have a desktop and a laptop, unless you only have a laptop. And with the internet being prevalent – you can’t seem to do anything without being connected – you are online a great deal.

And of course cyberspace is dangerous. Not just because your computer can get infected with viruses, Trojans and worse or your hard disk can crash or your data can get corrupted. But your very identity can get stolen, your bank account and credit cards misused, especially if you use the internet for financial purposes – and almost everybody does.

So what are the kinds of programs cyber criminals use?

Spyware, Malware and Adware

These are the least dangerous programs as they usually only track your computer usage and give the information to third parties for sales and marketing purposes. However, they can slow down your computer. There are many programs which are available free on the internet for these, though most anti virus/internet suites also come with anti spyware programs.

Among free programs which are available – there are many of these – the top ranking ones are:

Viruses

Viruses are more dangerous – they can attack the security of your computer. They can come from sites, from email attachments and even programs which you download from the net. Often viruses attach themselves to emails which are sent to everybody in your address book.

They can corrupt data, cause data loss and your system may start behaving erratically if there are viruses present. They can even cause hard disk crashes. To combat viruses you need a good anti-virus program. While free programs like AVG Anti-Virus are available, they are not effective against all viruses.

There are even online scanners which will scan your computer for free, but they are not in use all the time and will only work when you ask for a scan, so there will no real time defense. And then all online anti virus scanners will not remove or disinfect the viruses, but only detect them.

Among the good anti-virus programs which are available are Norton, Symantec, Kapersky, McAfee and BitDefender; there are lots more also.

Trojans

Unlike viruses, Trojans cannot replicate. However, they are more dangerous because they are the tools which hackers use to take control of your computer. Trojans can also steal sensitive data from your computer and even use it as a remote server to send dangerous programs or files to other people. Most anti virus programs are also anti-Trojans.

There are many other similar programs which can infect your computer and compromise the security of your computer and the data stored on it.

How do you know you have been infected?

If your computer is slowing down, if programs do not work properly, if people say you have sent them emails, even though you have not, if your computer keeps on hanging or showing error messages, your computer is most likely infected. If while your are browsing you are taken to other sites which you have not typed in, or there are pop-ups even if the pop-up blocker is turned on, there are chances that your computer has been infected.

What can you do to increase the security of your computer?

When you use wi-fi connections security measure are all the more important. This is because many people may using the same wi-fi connection and you do not know what the other users may be up to and you do not want to be attacked by cybercriminals.

If you have important data on your computer – ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA.

What is a phishing email?

A phishing email is an email which lands in your inbox and asks for sensitive personal data like bank account details, user names, passwords and other security information which the phisher can then use to steal your identity or your money. The email may purportedly come from banks, financial institutions or even friends whose addresses and identities have been mined from data mining sources or even your email address book.

Occasionally these emails may come from social networking sites which are a great source of information for various purposes, often nefarious or may come from supposedly trusted websites like Microsoft, eBay, Paypal or others, though it is not the web site which is sending the emails.

Here you can see screenshots of how a fake email but purported to be from Paypal may read and then there are screenshots of a fake Paypal login page and credit card detail form.

How does it work?

Very often the phishing email tells you to click on a link which will take you to a website which looks exactly like that of your bank or other website and enter data. The email will have already lured you by saying that data has been lost, corrupted or you just need to verify the data to prevent unauthorized transactions from taking place. And they may use pressure tactics saying that your account will be closed if you don’t do this.

Sometimes the email will ask you to phone a free number, which will be a free hotline number – beware it will be fake – and will ask you information orally.

While often the emails look extremely professional with the right logos and all that, sometimes the actual wording will be in improper or bad English with spelling and grammar mistakes. These are easier to spot.

What you should do to secure yourself

If you do receive an email from your bank, the best thing would be to call them up and ask them if they are actually asking for any such information because they almost never will. If you have secure anti virus software then you may go directly (by typing in the bank’s website address) and check with them through email. Never, never click on the link which is provided in the phishing email. At best you could be the victim of a virus attack at the worst, your identity will be stolen and your monies, too.

There are settings in most email providers which allow emails only from safe sources, do not allow mail to be sent as if it is coming from you and tell you if the mail may have a virus – that is if your anti-virus does not work. If you use Internet Explorer 8, it has a SmartScreen Filter to help detect unsafe and potentially unsafe Web sites as you browse.

The latest anti-virus software like McCafee, Norton and BitDefender and others all come with anti spyware, malware, anti spam and anti phishing add-ons which will lower your risk of being a victim of email fraud. If you suspect that you have inadvertently given your credit card/bank account details, call up the company immediately and tell them. Report to the appropriate authorities in your part of the world.

Make sure you run updates on Windows regularly as it will identify new forms spyware which it will detect and warn you about when you browse the Internet.

If you think you’ve become a victim you should take action early and as soon as possible. Below are some contact details that you can get in touch with to report violations.

Contact:

In the UK contact www. banksafeonline.org.uk, www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk or contact your bank or credit card issuer directly.

In the US, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation, whether online or by telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502. If you are a victim of credit card fraud contact:
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

https://www.paypal.com/helpcenter/main.jsp;jsessionid=0JyNK4tXr9CGtL10Gk06kqhpB2t5pXBhyHfk6KlvYcpvp1yxc5Tp!2015389319?locale=en_GB&_dyncharset=UTF-8&countrycode=US&cmd=_help&serverInstance=9016&t=solutionTab&ft=searchTab&ps=solutionPanels&solutionId=17210&isSrch=Yes
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html#whatifvictim
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/phishing/symptoms.aspx
http://www.bankofscotland-international.com/security/phishing.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4879468.stm
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/ContactOrDealWithHMRC/DG_10014956

Can we even imagine life without the internet today? Besides shrinking the world it has made everything easier to do, whether it is communications or work or even entertainment and gaming. However, it has also opened new vistas to the technologically savvy criminals in the form of identity theft, phishing, banking theft and stealing work and applications and software and worse.

As such, it is important to keep your pcs absolutely secure against viruses, hackers, data theft and more. The F-Secure is one such product which guards against virus, malware, spyware, secretly installed software on your computer, data theft et al. It offers real time detection and disinfection. Since this product is to be used with Windows Home Server software, obviously you should have that software installed on your home network computers to be able to use this protection.

While most customers find the product not as expensive as others in the market, it does seem to have a few negatives: it slows the system when scanning is in progress and some customers complain that their system hangs, thus causing a lot of problems. As security software it offers good value for money with one year’s license which can then be renewed and the product will update regularly. If you are not sure how your system will work with this, you can install a trial version for free and check it out before shelling out the cash.

But on the whole, it seems most customers are very satisfied with the product as it averages a rating of 4/5 with a substantial number of people casting their votes.

Its available from Amazon

All kinds of sensitive and personal data are stored by various organisations in the private and public sectors. Off and on the public hear about how sites were hacked or information lost or there has been breach of confidential data. What makes news, however, is only the tip of the iceberg – there are many more instances where cases are not reported and never come to light.

The European Commission is seriously considering passing laws that make it mandatory for organisations to notify all concerned parties if there has been any data breach. The Telecoms Package currently is only limited to telecom companies. In Europe the laws have still to be passed regarding accountability of breach of data, whereas in many US states these laws have been passed.

As many services are now accessible via the internet there is an increasing danger of people being put to hardship or open to crime if records of online transactions, e-banking and even medical records get into the hands of criminals.

If organisations are forced to make public the nature of data loss, the people concerned can take steps to safeguard themselves and the negative publicity will also negatively affect the company’s image, thus forcing them to use more secure methods.

This all comes after a spate of high profile cases of loss both by private and public organisations.

Via: The Register

Almost everybody now uses the internet to make purchases from various shopping sites like Amazon, eBay and more, buy airline tickets, do hotel and travel bookings, or downloads software which has to be paid for. And despite most sites being highly secure, encrypted sites, there are constantly incidents of people being victims of being defrauded just because they have used their credit card online.

Even though most sites now require the use of the ipin, cvv numbers and additional security measures, the use of the virtual keyboard, it must be remembered that computer crime is on the rise and those who use computers and the internet are always one step ahead of the lay user.

As such, this online purchase security system is a boon and a safeguard against misuse of credit card details by fraudsters. You swipe your card into the machine and it encrypts the data and you plug it in to the usb port in your computer, thus eliminating the need to type in all the details. And this device does not store the data on your computer either, it just transfers it to the form online – this way you can use a different card to make your next purchase, too.

It comes with a retractable cable which plugs into the usb port and also comes with software to use it. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Nowadays most businesses are dependent on computers and the internet for a range of uses and it is vital that you have good business security software whether you use one computer, a networked computer or many different pcs. Whether items or services are bought and sold through your pcs or not just keep in mind that any pc with an internet connection is open to hackers, virus attacks and even Trojans which can not only damage the data on your computer or erase it, but even compromise the security of your business.

If your computers are accessed by workers from other places, whether home-based or out of town or even out of the country, you need a certain level of security. In this case you need special encryption software so transactions and communications are secure.

You can get software solutions which come with all your needs in place and which are not high maintenance either. While you can install firewalls and anti-virus programs, you do need something which is comprehensive so that you don’t have to afraid of any kind of virtual attacks. Check Point Safe Solutions offers such kind of software which you can use easily and safely.

Anti-spyware is the less harmless brother of a virus of a worm. Most specialists and experts will probably contradict me at this point saying that there is no comparison between them and so on – frankly, for the common user the effects are not measured the same way an expert measures them. A typical user will notice that his system is slowing down gently but surely and will rarely stop to analyse why – all he wants to know is the cure to his problem, and as soon as possible. Within this article we shall discuss about what to look for in your anti-spyware software and how to configure it for maximum protection.

Viruses are surely not a new occurrence in the computer world – by now, almost everybody knows the importance of installing antivirus software. However, just to be on the safe side I will list some of the most important parts of configuring an antivirus for your system. First there is security – maybe your computer is not 100% protected just by using an antivirus, but it will protect most of your files from being corrupted and destroyed. Aside from this, your operating system will be more protected – remember those viruses that could tear down the OS? Why bother reinstalling your system and going through so many hoops when you can simply install antivirus software. These are the major advantages of using AV software.

Now, we shall discuss how you can maximize the protection of your system using a series of tips. As support I used Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009, but most of these tips apply to almost any other antivirus application out there.

As a computer user you must be aware that whenever you are connected to the internet – and lots of people are online most of the time – your system is open to vulnerabilities and attacks. Forget about spam emails and phishing, there are people out there who exploit these ‘leaks’ in your computer systems for data collection, for spying on your net usage and for unleashing viruses and Trojans on your computer.

The absolute worst that spyware can do is identity theft and then you are in trouble. There is sophisticated spyware which can actually analyse your keystrokes and finds out all your passwords and log-in ids, and that is why it is of utmost important that you have very good anti-spyware installed on your system.

How Anti Spyware Works

It scans your computer just like anti-virus software does and the good ones offer real time protection. It detects and removes the spyware/malware from your computer without affecting the speed and performance of the computer. If you can still use the computer while the scan is going on and if it also provides support and updates then it is a reasonably good software.

Unfortunately, no matter how good an anti spyware software you have, not one will be able to remove all the spyware/malware from you computer and that’s why experts recommend that you use more than one so that you are safer.

The Best Anti Spywares in the Market

There are two kinds of software you can buy: one is anti-virus along with anti-spyware and the other is only anti-spyware (which can be used with any other anti-virus software).

Among the two-in-ones, Vipre has received PC Anti-Virus Reviews number one rating for its ease of use, excellent anti-virus and anti-spyware detection, fast scanning speed and being light on computer resources.

Next comes BitDefender which gives real time anti-virus and anti-spyware protection along with removing keyloggers and rootkits, preventing phishing attacks and reducing the chances of identity theft.

Kaspersky comes in at number three, though it has managed to garner quite a fan following after it has increased its ease and speed of use.

The Stand-Alones Which You Can Purchase

Among the stand-along anti-spywares are Spyware Doctor AntiSpyware 2009, which offers improved protection, risk evaluation, rootkit removal and more. There is Zone Alarm Pro Antispyware 2009 which offers identity theft protection and a firewall and is cheaper than Spware Doctor. CounterSpy V2 Antispyware 2009 comes in third only because its installation is not that easy.

The Stand-Alones Which Are Free

If you don’t want to buy then it is better to have some protection than none, though almost everybody agrees that the free versions do not do as good a job as the paid for ones.

Microsoft has a download of free Microsoft Windows Defender 1.1 which is an anti-spyware program for users of genuine Windows XP.

Download Microsoft Windows Defender 1.1 from Microsoft

Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free is not bad, but it will not detect everything. You can download it from here:

Spybot Search & Destroy is another anti-spyware program which also offer immunization features.