Access to free WiFi abound these days. You can find one in the nearest coffee shop, fast food outlet, schools and airports. Free WiFi allows people to check on their emails, pay their bills online or simply log on to their accounts on various social networking websites. Little did they know that with this privilege comes their vulnerability to online intruders.
Free WiFi does not have the capability to ensure that users can log on to websites securely. This gives snoops and hijackers the freedom to view the users’ data such as their usernames, passwords, contact information and other confidential data.
So instead of taking advantage of free WiFi access, be wise and choose paid WiFi. Shelling out money to do your business online is better than risking your own privacy. Doing so would also keep you from being a possible victim of identity fraud and other cyber crimes.
Today, the threat landscape is arguably more dynamic than ever. Identity theft is an increasingly prevalent security issue, particularly for organizations that store and manage information that could facilitate identity theft. Compromises that result in the loss of personal data could be quite costly, not only to the people whose identity may be at risk and their respective financial institutions, but also to the organization responsible for collecting the data.
Data breaches that lead to identity theft could damage an organization’s reputation, and undermine customer and institutional confidence in the organization. Underground economy servers are used by criminals and criminal organizations to sell stolen information, typically for subsequent use in identity theft. This data can include government-issued identification numbers (such as social security numbers), credit cards, bank cards, personal identification numbers (PINs), user accounts, and email address lists.
Source: Volume XII Symantec Internet Security Report
No one can deny the ubiquity of the Internet in this day and age. Even grade schoolers can now access the Internet in the comfort of their own homes. But parents have a perennial worry that their child might be viewing inappropriate sites or might be talking to people they should not be talking to online. For starters, parents should make sure that all computers in the house are located in a common area, like the living room. On the technical side, there are resources out there that can help restrict sites visited by your child. One useful site is ProtectKids.com, a site under the nonprofit Enough is Enough.
Image source: Geeks.com
Do you want to build your own website but lack the knowledge on how to go about it? Do you want to learn but do not have the financial capacity to enroll in a computer school? Do not fret because there are a lot of resources online that can help you learn the basics in building a website. Below are some among thousands out there.
For HTML - W3Schools
For CSS - CSS Tutorial
For Java script - EchoEcho
For Photoshop - Tutorialized
For Flash - Flash Designer Zone
For Dreamweaver - Dreamweaver Tutorial
For Cold Fusion - Free Programming Resources
For PHP - PHP.net
Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, said that the U.S. government’s cybersecurity people are trying to come up with an early warning system to detect computer attacks on sensitive infrastructure. Some experts, though, think that this idea is not quite feasible. Present technologies are only able to detect a hack after the fact. Chertoff remains persistent, though not clear on the details as they are considered classified information. Chertoff’s department also aims to reduce Internet access to government agencies that would hopefully lessen the chances of getting hacked. The project would require experts from the private sector said Chertoff, but he did not yet say exactly how many they will be needing.
More information at CNN.com.
Image source: MSNBC
Almost everything now is done through the Internet - from bank transactions to keeping in touch with family and friends - as long as you have an account with a site, you are required to come up with a password. To keep your password safe and secure, be sure to keep in mind these following tips:
Avoid using dictionary-accepted words, names of persons, places or things and foreign-language words.
Avoid incorporating any personal information in your password (i.e. employee number or birthday).
Make sure your password is made up of at least six characters.
It is recommended to combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters in your password.
Create a unique password for each account that you have.
Do not let a soul know what your password is.
More tips at SecurityFocus.
Image source: VirtualTypingServices
Social networking sites are not going anywhere soon. Many people benefit from them because they can make new friends, keep in contact with friends and relatives in other parts of the globe and expand their business networks. The need for social interaction is innate in each and every one of us. With its growing popularity, many have spawned, giving users hundreds of sites to choose from.
In 2007, Nielsen unveiled its top social networking sites according to traffic.
MySpace - launched in 2003, based loosely on the features of one of the earliest social networking sites, Friendster
Facebook - founded by Mark Zuckerberg while still studying at Harvard University and was launched in 2004.
Classmates Online - started in 1995 by Randy Conrads
Windows Live Spaces - launched in 2004 by Microsoft.
AOL Hometown - has a feature called the EasyDesign for hassle-free customization of your web page.
Image sources: GreasyGuide, GearyI, Classmates Online, Windows Live Spaces, AOL Hometown
Nowadays, blogging has become a part of the daily lives of millions of people around the world. If you are just starting out your own blog or looking to start a blog but haven’t decided yet which platform to use, here are some topnotch choices you can choose from.
Presenting the top blogging hosts for 2007 according to the Blogger’s Choice Awards.
Blogger - started in 1999 by Pyra Labs and later acquired by Google in 2003.
Multiply - a social networking site that allows users not only to blog but also to share media, from photos to music to videos.
WordPress - started out in 2005 with a lot of user-friendly features.
Populum - currently under construction but will relaunch on April 2008.
LiveJournal - launched by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999, which revolves around the concept of having a friends list and syndication.
Image sources: Blogger, Multiply, LiveJournal, Wikipedia
A recent report from a European Union privacy panel calls for Internet search engine providers, like Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL, to delete search data it collects from users after six months wherever their headquarters may be based. It emphasized that these search engines should abide by European data protection rules.
The report is expected to boil down to more stringent privacy policies. The EU is now revising data-protection rules.
Search engines collect the users’ IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, a set of unique numbers that identify individual computers. These sets of numbers can pinpoint a computer’s location or service provider, which obviously brews some security issues if stored permanently on a third-party system.
More details at ABCNews.
Image source: RichKahmer
Software giant Microsoft offered to acquire Yahoo in January of this year, only to be rejected in February, saying that Mr. Gates’ company underestimated their value. Now, the company is being more aggressive and set an April 26th deadline for Yahoo to accept its $41 billion proposal, with a warning that if Yahoo still would not budge, they would initiate a hostile takeover for a lower value.
Since Yahoo’s initial rejection of Microsoft’s offer, it began to consider deals with Google, MySpace and AOL, but has not come up with an alternative to Microsoft’s proposal. Microsoft, on the other hand, is determined to do anything to close the deal.
More details at CNN.com.
Image sources: Yahoo, Wikipedia.com
Posted by Administrator on April 10th, 2008
