Root Love // Cyberpunk NIFO

Internet is used widely and has become a common platform to share the files between the computers in the world. In the modern Internet world we can know about anything from the Internet. Internet has made a new ways to interact among the people and the organizations.

And with increase in the usage of the Internet there are many threats in the computer market like Trojans, spy wares, virus attacks. These threats attack the computers and loss the data and corrupt the computer windows. So it is also very important to protect the computers from these malicious attacks. So to avoid these threats and the hackers and to be safe on the Internet , we must do some steps to stop these threats into the computer. So Computer security is must to protect your data safe in the computer.

These are the few steps to protect the computer from the threats.

A good virus scan

There are number of antivirus support software in the market choose the best among them which provides best encounter measures.  It is recommended that you update the installed antivirus and run the scan once a week to protect from the viruses.

Be careful while downloading

At the time of downloading we should be very careful for downloading the malicious software. There are many sites on the Internet for downloading the movies and songs in which most of the sites, have spy wares and virus in place of the songs and movies. So download the software from the trusted once in the business.

Protect yourself from the dangerous e mails

Email have becomes one of the most common medium to send information from one person to the other on the internet. But also there are many frauds on the Internet which are executed with the mean of email. Emails from an anonymous person whom you don’t know may contain virus and spywares as there attachment,  So to keep yourself safe from all such type of the e mail threats, pay concern towards them and use scanning feature in the mail.

Do not give personal information on the Internet:

It also recommends that you do not give any personal information on the Internet as name and address. Read the instructions carefully before proceeding for any agreement. Do not fill unknown applications forms.

The revolutionary iPhone has taken the world by storm with its sophisticated features that cover the entire milieu of communication and entertainment. But with this gadget’s advanced features is its internal lock that was set by the manufacturer, making the full enjoyment of its functions limited to the subscription to certain service providers. Thus was the conception of the iPhone hack, which aimed to open up the iPhone to many software possibilities other than those provided by its manufacturer. But before submitting your iPhone to these possibilities, get to know more about iPhone hack and decide for yourself if will really maximize the capability of your gadget.

The iPhone is an impressive gizmo that combines the features of a cell phone, camera, music player and basically the personal computer. It has the regular features of the cellular phone furbished by more customized options. It has powerful audio features like that of the iPod. It has a built in camera for photos and videos that can be easily downloaded into any computer and uploaded to the internet. It can operate office and web applications. It can play videos and games for entertainment.

Amidst this queue of features, the iPhone can actually run other newly updated applications. However, this capability is blocked by its manufacturer by putting a Sim Lock to every unit. In the United States, the iPhone can only be used using the AT&T and T-Mobile GSM service providers. Considering the Sim Lock to be an unfortunate curtailing of the iPhone’s capabilities, a number of technicians and hackers worked on cracking into the iPhone system, and enable modifications in the system. These modifications will allow the iPhone to be used using other GSM service providers. It will also enable the iPhone to run programs developed by any third party. The iPhone hacks offer other features such as installing an advanced personal organizer in your iPhone or allowing other music purchasers other than iTunes.

The iPhone hack has been an immensely taxing feat that was nonetheless achieved by a number of hackers across the globe. Today, you can easily search for iPhone unlocking and jail breaking procedures over the internet. These procedures have even been refined to be understood by those with no technical background. Hacking the iPhone can be completed in as short as thirty minutes using a third party software which can be bought on line. Modifying the system of the iPhone also has its limits since hacking it would mean you cannot easily upgrade its software via manufacturer-provided upgrades. Doing so would erase the settings that you have changed, and would lock the iPhone again. While you can simply hack the iPhone again, there is no assurance that your unit would function as perfectly after being hacked a number of times.

If you want to maximize the potential of your iPhone, then the iPhone hack is your best solution. Just make sure to understand the features of the third party iPhone hack software before this supposedly reinforcing method completely destroys your valuable gadget.

With business being conducted more and more so online and the use of the Internet having primary relevance in today’s society comes the need for regulation and protection in a way never needed before. As new ways of doing business online grow so do the dangers and attacks on vulnerable users. We are not only seeing encryption technology and certificate authority but government rules and regulations imposed upon businesses to protect their customers and information.

With all the regulations set either by government or credit card companies to help protect the consumer, the business or the government, it’s easy to get confused as to who is doing what. So here are just some of the protections put into place:

1. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
Identity theft has been on the rise with the ease of stealing credit card information. Of the approximately 650,000 complaints about fraud that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission received each year in the period 2004 to 2006, identity theft was the subject a consistent 35% to 36% of the time.

In 2005, the world’s biggest credit card issuers including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and the JCB International Credit Card Company formed a consortium for the purpose of establishing adequate and consistent data security measures that must be used by all merchants, banks, and service providers that store, process, or transmit cardholder data.

These requirements apply not only to data in motion but also data at rest in databases, Web servers, and applications that store and/or process credit card data. PCI DSS also requires that crypto keys and their transmissions and storage be effectively managed. While not mandated by the standard, it is also recommended that organizations provide visibility into the SSL traffic to detect threats and employ Web gateway solutions that offer SSL scanning and policy enforcement for encrypted traffic.

All merchants and service providers must perform a quarterly network scan. The penalties for violators are severe. They may face higher processing fees or, in more severe cases, can even be barred from using or processing PCI member credit cards at all. In extreme cases, credit card companies issue substantial fines. Visa, for example, levies penalties of up to $500,000 for each instance of non-compliance while American Express fines merchants up to $15,000 per day.

2. HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, which
affects all health-related organizations in the United States, was originally intended to
protect health insurance information when workers changed or lost their jobs. In 2005,
HIPAA expanded its charter and adopted a new set of standards for the electronic maintenance and transmission of protected health information (PHI) – information about the health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care that can be linked to a
specific individual. To assure the security of patient-related data, HIPAA regulations require health plan administrators, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers to protect and secure any individually-identifiable health-related information including that which is stored
or transmitted electronically. To ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI), HIPAA provides a uniform level of protection of all health information that is housed or transmitted electronically and that pertains to an individual. Specifically, health care organizations are required to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronic protected health care information; to protect against threats to the security or integrity of such information and against unauthorized disclosure or use of protected health care information; and to educate the entire workforce on achieving compliance.

The penalties for violating HIPAA requirements can be quite severe, for example:
• Each instance of unauthorized disclosure by a health care provider is punishable
by fines ranging from $10,000 to $25,000
• Each instance of intentional unauthorized disclosure is punishable by fines
ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 and possible jail time
• Although certainly not part of HIPAA itself, the most severe penalty of all might
be exposure to lawsuits from the individual whose private medical information is revealed in violation of HIPPA requirements

3. Sarbanes-Oxley
The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, commonly
known as “Sarbanes-Oxley” or “SOX”, was enacted in response to the flood of headline-
dominating financial transgressions by companies such as Enron, Arthur Andersen, and
Worldcom that led not only to their downfall but to a serious decline in stock markets
and the economic health of the United States. In a nutshell, it was too easy for a company
to “cook the books” and for executives to line their pockets at the expense of shareholders
while claiming ignorance. SOX greatly tightened restrictions on methods companies can
use for maintaining and reporting financial data, and on their financial processes generally.
SOX is enforced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While SOX does not specifically mandate the use of encryption in maintaining or transmitting information, it does require that institutions maintain tight control over access to their sensitive financial data.

The Information Technology Governance Institute (ITGI), a group created to assist companies with IT governance, has created a set of security-related recommendations for helping with SOX compliance. One of them is to employ SSL or similar encryption to secure IP connections whenever passwords or other sensitive data may traverse the link.

Another is to use digital certificates whenever financial information is moved between systems.

One of the provisions of SOX as an embezzlement preventative is that no single individual in a company should be in position to both make and receive any given payment—a so-called segregation of duties requirement. Therefore it is very important for companies to be able to prove the identity of the author of key communications such as emails that have to do with making or receiving payments, and to be able to state with certainty that they have not been tampered with. Digital signatures are ideal for this purpose.

SOX compliance is a major issue for virtually any publicly traded firm and is the subject of untold numbers of hours spent in company meetings. Its provisions are still not completely understood by many firms, but everyone involved does understand one thing: SOX is very serious business and a breach can lead to detrimental consequences. Penalties include large fines and jail terms, in addition to damaged public images for them, their employers, and the brand. With consequences this severe and so much ill-defined, many companies are going beyond the letter of the law and incorporating technologies such as strong encryption—such as that offered by SGC technology—that clearly can help demonstrate compliance with the spirit of the law.

4. FISMA
The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) is a U.S. federal government law intended to bolster computer and network security within the government and affiliated parties such as government contractors by mandating yearly audits. It requires each federal agency to develop, document, and implement an agency-wide program to provide information security for the information and information management systems that support the operations and assets of the agency, including those provided or managed by another agency, contractor, or other source. The information contained on RFID tags, which sometimes contains sensitive data, is one major application area.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electro- technical Commission (IEC) have issued a series of standards collectively known as
“ISO27K” that provide best practice guidance on Information Security Management Sys- tems (ISMS) for protection of confidential information, including the use of encryption. As a set of voluntary international standards, ISO27K recommendations are not enforceable and therefore compliance with the standards themselves is not required. However, they make a number of recommendations on achieving compliance with laws, regulations, contractual obligations, and internal or external security requirements.

5. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The Financial Modernization Act of 1999, also known as the “Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB)
Act,” is intended to protect consumers’ personal financial information held by financial institutions including banks, securities firms, insurance companies, credit card agencies and other companies that provide services such as lending, brokering, or servicing any type of consumer loan; transferring or safeguarding money; preparing individual tax returns; providing financial advice or credit counseling; providing residential real estate settlement services; and collecting consumer debts. It covers organizations issuing such personal information as well as those receiving it.

The FFIEC also has power to investigate institutions and enforce compliance with GLB Act rules, and it expects its recommendations to be followed. If an institution employs weak or no encryption, it carries the burden of demonstrating to the FFIEC that it is nonetheless fulfilling its information safeguarding obligations.

6. Department of Defense Directive 8100.2
The Department of Defense Directive 8100.2, in effect since 2004, defines mandatory security policies for the use of wireless technologies within the DoD Global Information Grid. Its main purpose is to protect DoD computer networks from the security vulnerabilities introduced via wireless networks. The directive applies to all DoD employees as well as visitors to DoD facilities. It also applies to contractors and others who have access to DoD information.

The directive requires that all data sent to or from wireless devices, as well as all VoIP packets, be encrypted. It also requires that the encryption technology comply with FIPS
140-2 Level 1 or Level 2—which do not specify a particular encryption strength. In addition it specifies that all DoD components ensure that robust, standards-based, FIPS 140-validated authentication and encryption are used in their wireless infrastructure and security technology—including new technologies that emerge in the future.

Spam is everywhere. It’s the “in-box lunch meat” nobody likes,
wants or looks forward too. Unfortunately, many folks enjoy
“eating” this product because if they didn’t, there wouldn’t be
any. Read on…

The federal government’s ill-conceived CAN-SPAM Act did little
more than make a few legislators feel better about themselves.
Did this legislation stop spam? No. Did it at least slow down
the flow of spam? Nope.

You can’t eliminate a problem by treating the symptoms. If you
want to eradicate a problem, you must make its environment one
that will not support it.

There’s a new plan recently hatched by some well-intentioned
folks at Blue Security that several of my clients have asked
about. On the surface, it sounds like a good idea but, in my
humble opinion, the model is fatally flawed. Here’s the scoop…

1. You sign up for their “list” which is basically a “do not
spam me list” and that gives them the authorization to act on
your behalf.

2. You then have to send EACH spam message to them for inclusion
on their list.

3. They then send the spammer a “stop order” (which, if they can
even find the spammer, will be ignored).

4. They then flood the spammer with basically a DDoS
(Distributed Denial of Service) attack hoping to bring down the
spammer’s server.

This all sounds great until you think about it rationally…

1. Spammers use “open relays” and hundreds of addresses to
prevent you from finding their originating location.

2. The “stop order” they send is just their way of fulfilling
the letter of the law under the CAN-Spam act.

3. The part I have the biggest problem with is they then
effectively BECOME A SPAMMER by sending thousands of messages in
a Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS). This is the same
thing hackers do when they bring down a website by sending so
much traffic to a server it basically shuts down.

4. Most spam is sent from your neighbor’s PC. I spend a great
amount of my time cleaning “bad guys” from client’s computers.
There are MILLIONS of “zombie computers” that are infected with
auto-dialers and trojans that are being used without the owner’s
knowledge to send spam. Don’t believe me? Just run Counter Spy
on grandma’s PC and tell me what you find!

5. How long do you really think it will be until the spammers
turn the tables on Blue Security and initiate their own DDoS
attack? It will be interesting to watch.

Other fight-back tactics against spammers have failed. Last
year, Lycos Europe rolled out a screensaver that conducted DDoS
attacks against known spammers. Within days, however, Lycos
buckled under pressure from security groups, which called it
vigilantism, and ISPs, who worried that attacks originating from
their members would make them liable to legal action on the part
of spammers.

Spam will NEVER go away until you attack its real source engine.
If you don’t order anything from a spammer and don’t even click
on his link to open the message, the monetary incentive for spam
is removed. Spammers operate under the same economic rules as
the rest of us…supply and demand.

Take away the demand and you eliminate the supply. Simple.

In short, America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyber security.

And this is also a matter of public safety and national security. We count on computer networks to deliver our oil and gas, our power and our water.  We rely on them for public transportations and air traffic control. Yet we know that cyber intruders have probed our electrical grid and that in other countries cyber attacks have plunged entire cities into darkness.

Have you turned off automatic updates for Windows and other programs on the rationale that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” Then consider this: Your programs may be very, very broken, and you don’t know it. The days of big splashy viruses that announce themselves to PC users are over. The modern cybercriminal prefers to invisibly take control of your PC, and unpatched software gives them the perfect opportunity to do so.

But we’ve had to learn a whole new vocabulary just to stay ahead of the cyber criminals who would do us harm — spyware and malware and spoofing and phishing and botnets. Millions of Americans have been victimized, their privacy violated, their identities stolen, their lives upended, and their wallets emptied. According to one survey, in the past two years alone cyber crime has cost Americans more than $8 billion.

The Federal Government is putting computer security and Identity Theft on high priority; don’t you think it is time for you to take the responsibility to get the best computer security for your computer and the best Identity Theft protection for you and your family?

Check out the best of both worlds in one place, click the link below and you’re on your way to getting computer security and identity theft protection.

June 11, 2008 – Toronto, Canada – Air Defense’s Chief Technology Officer, Amit Sinah will discuss Hacking the Invisible Networks at the 2008 Wireless & Mobile Expo and Conference.

Invisible networks are proliferating across the world from hotspots to corporate WLANs to RFID compatibility in the warehouse. While unable to be seen by the naked eye, hackers see these networks as a new opportunity to access corporate data and make considerable profit. If a security strategy isn’t considered as part of the development of invisible networks, companies will find little luxury in their new found flexibility if a data breach occurs.

The session will examine tools that are designed to exploit three of the most popular wireless networks, Wifi, BlueTooth and RFID, and discuss the important wireless security best practices that will help secure the invisible networks.

The presentation will conclude with a discussion of security best practices for countering potential attacks through the different types of wireless communications introduced earlier. Building a layered approach to wireless security is where secure communication begins. Locking down devices and communication between devices is a start; however, organizations must also have visibility into their wireless network to understand where breaches are occurring.

As Chief Technology Officer of AirDefense, Dr. Sinha is responsible for research & development, intellectual property and for steering the strategic technology direction of the company. He formerly served as Vice President and Chief Technologist at Engim, a company he co-founded. He has co-authored over 25 journal/conference papers, contributed chapters to 3 books, and is the inventor of 15 US patents. Dr. Sinha received his S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his B.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Have you ever thought your new neighbor looks like one of the pictures on the post office bulletin board or shown on America’s Most Wanted? Now you can be sure you and your family are safe by taking a peek into their pasts to find any criminal behavior. There are many times when it is a good idea to run a criminal background check: When interviewing questionable service providers, entering a new caregiver situation, hiring new employees, checking for identity theft or dating someone you do not know. An online criminal background check is an important and inexpensive precautionary measure that helps you discover and ward off impending danger, injury or financial devastation.

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States and could potentially be dangerous for you. Anyone, at any age, is a prime target. However, an online criminal background check is an easy way to detect this type of fraud. You can quickly get a report that will show if someone is committing crimes under your name. A personal criminal background check is the first step in regaining your personal security and enables you to get a hold on each affected area of your life and quickly unveil the fraud.

Conducting an offline background check on yourself would take many hours and could be quite costly. First, you would need to identify your focus. The term “background check” can include a wide variety of information from different sources You would need to contact each individual agency to request the appropriate information. If your offline search was not thorough, you still may not uncover a thief. On the other hand, online criminal background checks are simplified and the results can be more detailed. Different kinds of online criminal background checks allow you to view motor vehicle records, district court reports, county court records and more. You can purchase one type of report or a complete report to provide a global view of any individual.

Unfortunately, there are many questionable services available on the Internet and criminal record companies are no exception. Remember, there is no such thing as a free online background check! All reputable background checking services will charge a small fee to pay for administrative time and reporting agencies fees. Many companies who offer free reports simply reproduce stored data in order to make a quick profit, or use that offer as a lure to get you to their website. Stored data is outdated and does not reflect the latest activity.

Professional background checking agencies like CrimeNC.com and their parent company Network Research Services provide the most up to date information. You can view court records online almost instantly. They can also submit requests to multiple agencies for each customized search. Sometimes when there are newly updated issues included in these reports, more time may be necessary to obtain accurate information from the court reporters.

Be sure you are investing in a quality background check because the most recent and most accurate information provided by a reputable company may give you an entirely different outlook on your situation.

To find more information about criminal background checks in North Carolina visit NC criminal background checks or to learn how to purchase a criminal background check visit NC criminal records.

Welcome to the age of the Internet gangster. Gone are the days when young computer nerds sat alone in their rooms figuring out how to break in to their schools’ computer systems to change grades. Also fading into nostalgia are the times when hackers teamed up with small-time hoods to pull off credit-card scams that victimized local banks.

The days of spammers, phishers, and identity thieves, the typical culprits of today’s online crime stories, are upon us. These criminals have created their own syndicates to invade your computers and crack your company’s network security.

Over the past several years, Internet security firms have discovered strong connections to gangs in Eastern Europe that have worldwide reach and operate with seeming impunity. Today’s Internet criminals have extended the turf of what law-enforcement agencies have traditionally called the Mafia. These Internet bad guys have adapted to new modes of crime, turning from numbers and narcotics rackets in the mid-20th century to Internet identity theft and denial-of-service (DOS) attacks.

Today’s Internet hooligans follow a basic business model, according to Andrew Jaquith, senior analyst at the Yankee Group. While the size of the criminal organization might vary, the basic network-crime process involves four levels of expertise.

It starts with (1.) vulnerability checkers. These computer engineers look for entries into corporate networks. Once an opening is located, specialists create custom-written software to maximize the vulnerability. Then (2.) other specialists get into the act to use the compromised systems as a base to locate other vulnerable computers. As a collection of compromised computer systems is established, (3.) other programmers write software to place all the compromised computers under the control of (4.) a master cybercriminal, the fourth actor in the chain.

The result of this strategy is what computer security experts identify as a drastic upsurge in the intensity and caliber of network attacks. Internet crime lords passed a watershed of sorts one year ago, Jaquith said. “It was at that point that viruses, Trojans, and spam started to be linked with monetary payouts,” he said.

Before last year, spam, adware, and spyware antics were relatively innocuous, being little more than an inconvenience to computer users. “But 12 to 18 months ago, the folks that did these things realized that they could generate e-mail spam and martial denial-of-service bots for extortion purposes,” he said.

The term “botnet” is slang for a network of remotely controlled computers that carry out instructions from one or more hackers. The newest viruses circulating on the Internet are able to scan a potential host computer for vulnerabilities, then take over that computer and adapt to its environment, propagating itself by connecting through the Internet to other potential hosts. The more compromised computers there are linked together, the more valuable the botnet becomes.

Given the existence of botnets that consist of thousands of personal and enterprise computers, many Internet security experts are convinced that Internet criminals are developing their own hierarchy, from traditional street runners or soldiers to a cadre of crime captains who report to higher-up dons.

“We hear that botnets are rentable by the hour now,” said Jaquith, who pointed out that botnets have become hot commodities for Internet crime families. “That phenomenon is certainly real,” he said.

To protect yourself, you need an Internet security team of experts making sure that you, your family, and your business computer are always safe and secure. The best protection you can have in today’s rapidly changing world of cyber-attacks is to have expert support for all your Internet security needs that will provide technical support without any hassles and without charging you extra fees. It will become even more critical than it is today as time goes on. You need to find your own personal team of experts to rely on. If you ever have a security problem, you will want to have a trusted expert you can call for professional help, without any hassles and extra costs!

Because cybercriminals are becoming smarter and more sophisticated in their operations, they are real threats to your personal security and privacy. Your money, your computer, your family, and your business are all at risk. These cybercriminals leave you with three choices:

(1) Do nothing and hope their attacks, risks, and threats don’t occur on your computer.

(2) Do research and get training to protect yourself, your family, and your business.

(3) Get professional help to lockdown your system from all their attacks, risks, and threats.

Remember: When you say “No!” to hackers and spyware, everyone wins! When you don’t, we all lose!