Spyware Removal

To understand why you want to remove spyware, it is important to know exactly what spyware is and what is does. Spyware is a small program that is uploaded to your computer through contact with a website. This code was originally designed to track visitors to a particular site and find out were else they went. This information was used by the website to tailor the advertising on their site to match the type of places their customers were already going. The program has had many changes over the years since its creation, the first of which was adware. Meaning that the program was used to place ads on your computer. This is when the program started top change into something that was more dangerous to your computer. There were some adware that was minor and you would notice them on occasion but there were some that were far more noticeable. These would place so many ads on your computer that your computer would freeze up and crash. The next evolution in the spyware program came when it started being used to transport Trojan Horse viruses. This is when a virus is placed inside a spyware program allowing it to enter your system undetected by your anti-virus program. This could cause a great deal of damage to your computer very quickly. The final evolution to the spyware program has come with the rise of identity theft. The personal information on your computer is the most valuable thing you have on it. The spyware will gather all your username/password combinations and well as other important account information. Then it will return this information to the person that placed the spyware there to start with. This places your entire life at risk and not just your computer, so you can see why spyware removal is very important. To find out if you have any spyware on your system you can look for system slow down but if you wait till than you will have waited way too long. Other ways of detecting spyware is by watching the harddrive light for unusual activity when you think it should not have activity. There is also the ‘task manager’ on Windows XP that will identify all the running processes on your computer. You will need to research each of these by going to Google to determine if they are rouge processes or not. The best thing you can do if you spend any amount of time online is to have a regular scheduled time to run your spyware removal software. Spyware is so common these days that it is safe to assume that it is there and you need to remove it. Depending on the amount of sensitive information you have on your computer and the amount of sensitive work you do on your computer will determine the schedule. Some will do it after each web session and for some once a week is good enough. That is up to you but you need to be consistent in doing it. Van Whitsett has published a number of articles, both online and off. For more info on this topic, go to Spyware Removal

Why Not to Start Using CGI Proxy Sites?

Why Not to Start Using CGI Proxy Sites? CGI Proxy sites work by very quickly and effectively relaying web page request for users to web sites and back. The CGI Proxy script relays your information without ever revealing exactly who you are. So you are anonymous to the web site you are visiting. This is done in a near seamless manor with the user only seeing a small advertising bar on top of the page. This information is going in both directions with the web site server talking to the server hosting the CGI proxy site. The website server does not know your location (IP address), browser type, language settings, cannot set cookies on your computer and Javascripts may be restricted. What most users do not realize is that the cgi proxy server keeps a log of all the activity including web pages visited, user names, passwords, addresses, credit card numbers or anything else a person enters in in the web pages surfed through a cgi proxy. This treasure of data is exactly what people want to hide on the Internet but by using a CGI Proxy site you have just delivered the information to the CGI Proxy site owwner. In 99% of cases the web site being visited should be more reliable and secure than a web based cgi proxy service. For example visiting Yahoo mail from a new fast running CGI Proxy site, Yahoo is less likely to criminally use provided information collected from its websites combined with the knowledge of your location and browser type than a small website operator hosting a free CGI Proxy script. While logging into your yahoo account and not revealing your location (IP) to yahoo may sound positive, the price you pay is sharing all of your information including passwords with the CGI proxy site owner. Credit card information, addresses, contacts or any other information entered on a web form while surfing pages through a CGI Proxy site are also available in the server logs. Don t take the unneeded risk with your personal information, DO NOT USE WEBBASED CGI PROXY SITES FOR ANONYMITY. CGI Proxy sites do have evolved into a leading way to bypass network website filters that block specific sites. just be sure that you know the risk involved in checking your hotmail from work or looking at your myspace profile at school. This is a leading source of hijacked profiles for these sites. Michael Paul is a web site developer who shares his insight into the working s of the web. Learn more about start using cgi proxy at cgiproxy.info

More Information on Firewalls

It seems nowadays if you are not online, you don’t exist. It really does not matter what type of company you run, you should have an online presence to let your prospects and clients know about your company and services. When you decide to take the leap onto the Internet there are some precautions you should take. I have friends who say all the time, I really have nothing to hide or worry about. This may be true, but malicious users like to deface websites.Which can ruin you and your businesses reputation. This is a paper about firewalls protecting your company from outside threats and unauthorized access. A firewall is a great start. Firewalls can be both hardware and software based. There are many different firewall vendors some of the bigger names are Cisco, Symantec, and Checkpoint. The difficult part is configuring the firewall. This is where many intruders bypass security, because the firewall is poorly configured. I would like to mention that there are many Open Source programs and operating systems that offer great firewall software. I personally believe that OpenBSD has one of the most secure operating systems and firewall configurations if done right. FreeBSD also has firewall software, it is called IPTABLES.IPTABLES offers packet filtering, NAT and you can even change packets in Linux. I have to say you can do anything you want in Linux, because the source code is right there. It’s a beautiful thing. Linux also uses this; you can build a firewall with the old system sitting in your garage and two Linux compatible network cards.Linux can be hardened, this means to make the operating system more secure. I like the tool Bastille Linux its is developed by Jeff Beale. To really get a grasp on firewalls you need to understand TCP/IP and allot of different protocols to know if you should allow or deny them into your network. IP addresses identify hosts on the Internet they look like this 127.214.234.54. Firewalls can block IP addresses, ports, protocols and even keywords that come into packets. Hackers that want into you network have many different tools at their disposal to try to bypass firewalls. One common attack is known as Denial Of Service or DOS attacks. The attacker simply floods your network, firewalls with so many packets that it cannot handle them and sometimes crashes. Firewalls are available with DOS filtering to keep these attacks low, and start dropping packets. Firewalls do not protect you from internal threats such as employees bringing in viruses from home. Or remote users using VPN s (virtual Private Networks) bypassing your firewall. Think about if you bring your son to work and he downloads music on your fast company internet connection only to introduce your corporate network with a worm or even worst a Trojan horse. Service ports that are open to the public such as Port 80 HTTP, have know vulnerabilities on the Internet. FTP has many vulnerabilities as well. Are there different types of firewalls? Yes. There are hardware and software firewalls. You might be even using Zone Alarm or Black Ice Defender. These are software based firewalls, the more I study firewall technology I realize that everything truly is a software firewall. A computer is nothing without software to tell it what to do. Packet Filters Packet Filters look at source and destination addresses. This is where firewall rule sets come in to play. The firewall administrator must determine which source and destination ports and addresses to allow or deny. The security administrator needs to keep up to date with alerts on vulnerabilities as new holes are found and created daily. A technique known as spoofing can sometimes fool firewalls but making it appear that a packet is coming from inside the protected network when in fact it is an attacker changing the source address. Application Gateways Application Gateways are like errand boys. You request a file and the application gateway grabs it for you.This is great for logging connections, and setting up authentication as well. Statefull Packet Inspection Statefull Packet Inspection is a technique used by Cisco PIX firewalls and Checkpoint Firewalls these firewalls look at the data coming across the network.It can also authenticate connections, users can usually not notice that the firewall is in place. Allot of firewalls now allow you to configure VPN s which is awesome if you have remote workers and satellite offices and need to transfer data securely. Intrusion Detection is also something to consider, I like SNORT. SNORT can detect known attacks against your system and does a great job at logging them if set up correctly. There are thousands of different software and hardware solutions you can purchase for you home or network. I happen to like Open Source, because I like learning and knowledge and the Open Source community has taught me more than the corporate world ever will. A book I would like to recommend that is great for learning firewalls is called simply enough Building Internet Firewalls, it is by O reilly. That is all for now. One last tip, backup, backup, backup. Benjamin Hargis CEO MCP Phuture Networks phuturenetworks.com computersecurityadvice.com Email ceo@phuturenetworks.com

E-Commerce Security

Securities: There are several areas of security that are in extreme need of attention. Any company that obtains and retains personal information is liable for that information. This being said, there are certain protocols to follow to ensure that the information provided is kept safe. Personal Information Collection. Let s look at an E-commerce Store environment. Whether you are a multi-million dollar operation, or simply a small specialty E-commerce store, you are responsible for the information that is collected from your various shoppers. Anytime information is collected, security becomes a significant factor. The Internet is not a safe place. Data is sent back and forth through various servers through which personal and non-personal information is housed. The problem with data transfer is the ability to intercept and record that data that is moving from server a to server b. Hackers have the ability to intercept and use that information, such as credit card numbers and expiry dates, to falsely do transactions. Now that being said, there is technology out there that can eliminate this serious threat. SSL - The encryption of data passed through server’s means that anyone illegally intercepting data transfers will not have the ability to read whatever data is contained there within. This is an especially important tool for any E-commerce operations. You must use SSL technologies to ensure that your consumer data is protected from fraudulent activity. Shopping Cart Technologies The shopping cart built with ASP technology is secure enough that the average user will feel safe using the systems. One of the features for keeping the site secure is identifying users through credentials typed into a login form. This system will automatically display a login from an unauthenticated user accessing a protected portion of the site. OPT-in/out Procedures Having both opt-in and opt-out measures will allow customers choose whether they want to receive various sales and advertising emails throughout the year. Some customers want the option of not receiving emails because they view them as spam. But others want to be kept up-to-date about sales and different advertisements so they can shop during those times. Another technique that can be used is a double opt-in method. Customers will get an email verifying that they have signed up to receive emails from the organization. At the end of every email will be an opt-out/unsubscribe link if the customer does not wish to receive anymore emails. This will automatically remove them from the emailing system but keep the email on file for future reference. Maintaining Privacy Your Implied Consent In some cases, your consent is implied if we ask you to provide personal information with a stated purpose. For example, we can only deliver the product you have purchased if you provide us with your address and phone number. Your Express Consent In other cases, we will ask you to give your express consent to use your personal information to advise you of products or services that may be of interest. You always have the opportunity to opt out of having your information used for this purpose. For example, when you subscribe to the Future Flash newsletter, we will also ask for your express consent to send you promotional information. Withdrawing Your Consent If you have opted in or subscribed to one of our newsletters or mailing lists, we will always provide you the opportunity to opt out or unsubscribe. For example, each e-mail we send you will tell you how to decline further e-mail.” Transaction Security This is one of the most important aspects for businesses operating online. There are always stories in the news about credit card numbers being collected by individuals online. To combat this, all transactions will go through a secure transaction line, provided through the company’s financial institution. All processes are handled by the bank, ensuring a highly secure line that will instill customers with trust. Transaction Cancellations Customers will have the options for canceling transactions within a predetermined amount of time. This enables the customer to have a grace period, or ‘cooling-off’ period, the equivalent to a retail stores grace period for returns. This will also ensure that the actual customers are making the purchases, and not a customer using pirated information. Information Divulgence What staff have the ability to view what information and for what purpose. Disclosure of Information To full-fill orders and ship orders, information collected from users may be needed by service providers to complete transactions. In this event, only information needed to complete the sale and or delivery of the purchased products will be disclosed to any service provider. Alex Simms is a content writer for Avalon Studios, a Web Design and Development firm working with small businesses.

CAPTCHA Services

The term CAPTCHA may sound strange at first but honestly we re all using it everyday of our lives. The Internet is a platform that allows us to communicate in quick and economic manner. However, this has its own problems because the Internet is also plagued with spammers and there s lot of spam and junk mail that s doing the rounds. CAPTCHA is the short form for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. It refers to the tests that we have to complete if we wish to send a mail or document. There are various types of CAPTCHA configurations; most commonly we deal with the ones that have a unique mix of numbers and alphabets with maybe a line drawn across them. The letters aren t written straight and it takes just a few seconds for users to key in what s typed in the prompt box. This little test may seem unnecessary to a few people but it s a very powerful tool that internet users have at their disposal. The computer is a smart device but has its own limitations. A CAPTCHA is a process wherein a computer asks any user to complete a test. Strangely the computer has the intelligence to create and grade the test, but can t solve it. As such this minor challenge-response test can determine whether users are human or bots because users entering the right answer are accepted as human because of the computers incapacity to solve a CAPTCHA. Since spamming is an imminent problem Drupal CAPTCHA has become a necessity of sorts. It is known that a great number of Drupal pages are swamped with continuous amounts of spam. Of course the use of various modules are intended to control the spamming brigade and filter spam before it reaches this sector, the use of Drupal CAPTCHA is thought to be effective. Apart from all the spam protection that s already incorporated the use of Drupal CAPTCHA compliments the protection process. The module simply adds a CAPTCHA to all forms used by users and guests. Users simply need to answer the test for the form to be submitted. Since there s a real need for CAPTCHA, make sure you select a reputed CAPTCHA Service to ensure the best interests of your company and users. CAPTCHA Service providers will make available CAPTCHA that is compatible with varying programming languages. To ensure that that the service does not go kaput, providers may guarantee a backup server in a remote network that will keep the system running despite hosting or network problems. You could choose to check a free test from probable service providers before confirming business with anyone. The term CAPTCHA came into being in 2000 when Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper and John Langford put their heads together. In case users have a disability or genuinely find it difficult to read the CAPTCHA correctly, for accessibility reasons the use of CAPTCHA audio versions is recommended for those using the service. It may also be referred to as a reverse Turing test since it is used by a computer to test humans rather than the other way round. Renowned author Jay Blaze has detailed knowledge regarding spamming. He has studied spammers psychology and reasons why spamming is so popular. Jay Blaze provides valuable information regarding protection from bots and which systems are more vulnerable towards spam attacks. To know more you can visit: CAPTCHA and Drupal CAPTCHA

Network Security - All About Firewalls

The Importance of Firewalls to Network Security Most networks should have a firewall in place before they are up and running. A firewall is the most common form of network security employed by companies large and small. If you own a personal computer your anti-virus software company may at one time or another have offered you firewall protection. A firewall on a home network is just as important as one on a corporate network. Why? Most smaller networks have as many security issues that larger corporate networks have. A firewall helps protect a network against potential data loss, corruption and hackers. What Is A Firewall A firewall is nothing more than a fancy term used to describe a blockade that prevents outside forces from accessing your network. It is called a firewall because it prevent information or data loss from one place to another. Typically a firewall is some program or hardware that you have to install in your computer that helps filter information coming from the Web to your computer network. A firewall provides a series of filters that screens information allowing only safe information to pass through to your network. In a large company, multiple computers are often linked using network cards. Companies usually provide multiple connections to the Internet. In order to protect all of these computers a firewall is necessary so that only certain people can access corporate computers through the Web (those that are authorized to do so). While a firewall is not foolproof it basically does a good job of protecting computers from Internet threats at their connection points. Article by Frank Owen, visit his web site on network security for more information on network security networksecurityinsider.com

Consumer Beware-Identity Theft Tools

The Tools Used In Identity Theft Identity theft is very quickly becoming the crime of choice for thousands of criminals worldwide. With online Internet access to just about any kind of database you want becoming easier and easier to acquire, the crime of Identity Theft is becoming so easy, a child could do it, if they are even mildly adept at using a computer. So how does identity theft occur? Below are some of the ways you can become a victim Identity Theft From The Dead: The goal here is to scour through newspapers obituary columns to find out who has died lately. Then once you get a list of the dearly departed and their addresses, you go over to their homes and grab any mail that is laying around. Some of the items used in identity theft are bank statements, credit card receipts, tax bills, and utility bills. They will even go through the garbage looking for anything that will help the perpetrators with the identity theft This may take a few days maybe up to a month, but you can be sure that many of the dearly departed s loved ones are to traumatized and busy with other details to stop credit card bills and invoices from creditors from being sent out. Another way to exploit those who have left this earth, is to make an appointment with a realtor to view the property of the newly deceased. Once inside, the thieves will go through the house looking for mail, invoices, even ID that may still be in the house, literally anything that will help the crooks with the identity theft of your loved on. Scotland just had over 7000 dead identity theft victims in a recent crime spree perpetrated by Scottish gangs. Statistics say that around 30 percent of all ID thefts occur by stealing the identity of a dead person. High Tech Identity Theft: One of the laziest ways to perpetrate identity theft, is to place a computer recording device on a victims computer. Once this type of spy software is installed, it will capture and record ALL computer activity... everything from passwords, banking information and credit card numbers, to private emails and chat conversations. The spy software will then relay this information over the Internet directly into the identity theft criminals email account. The nice thing for the crooks who operate this way is, they just let the victims emails pile up in an free untraceable email account, and then maybe once a month use an email parser to scan these emails for the information they need to get your money.This can be a totally automated process.The spy software is easy to buy off the Internet. There are over 500 types of this spy software commercially available to anyone who want to buy it. Identity Theft Through Mail. If the crook can get hold of your mail they will easily be able pull off and identity theft on you, and spoof a lending institution into granting a bank account to the scammers. They will simply take a leisurely drive through the country in the guise of delivering handbills to mailboxes. While they are at these country mailboxes they will pilfer your mail, Many of us aren t waiting for our bills with baited breath, so it can be a couple of months until we realize we haven t received our bills. By that time the identity theft has occurred and the crooks are long gone. The other simpler way to get your mail is to put in a change of address to the post office and re route your mail to the identity thieves new post box. This is a common practice, and if you are on vacation you will be none the wiser. Identity Theft Through Forged ID: These tools are a bit more high tech an require some computer skill, but nevertheless many identity theft has been perpetrated by generating social security cards, drivers licenses and birth certificates. The software to do this can be acquired online freely if you know your way around. All that s required for this type of identity theft is a computer a printer and a software to tell the computer how to do what you want. Identity Theft Through Shopping. Have you ever been to a restaurant and paid with your credit card? Do you follow the waiter to the cash register and watch him as he runs your card through? It s very simple to grab your credit card numbers including your expiry date and the 3 or 4 digit security code on the back of your card. Then all the crook has to do to make you a victim of identity theft, is wait a few weeks and then go on an online shopping spree, using your stolen credit card information. It will be very unlikely that you will be able to sort out which retail outlet your card numbers were stolen from. This type of identity theft is extremely easy to pull off. Elizabeth Ward makes it easy to protect your Internet and computer privacy. Learn the 4 essential steps to spy proofing your computer. To receive your FREE mini-course visit Spy Proof Your Computer Mini Course

The Evil That Spyware Can Do

Spyware usually refers to software that is created with the sole purpose of taking partial or complete control of a person’s computer without the permission of the owner of the computer. What spyware does is that it uses the resources in your computer to report certain information to someone else that you do not know. Simply put spyware spies on you and on your computer. What kind of spying does spyware do? Spyware monitors what you do on your computer and then forwards your information to someone else by using the Internet. The spying that spyware carries out differs, spyware can keep track of the websites that you frequent and then send this information to someone else. This information usually allows other people to see the sort of information that you’re interested in and they can then send you different adverts in the form of spam. Legitimate companies may also use spyware to advertise to you. In this case such spyware is usually called adware. Adware isn’t as bad as spyware but it may just be as annoying if not even more so. Other forms of spyware may have a more dangerous way of operating. Some of these dangerous forms of spyware may record every stroke that you make on your computer. These forms of spyware can detect you passwords and collect other information such as your credit card and bank account information. Anything you type on your computer is in the domain of these criminals and they can steal everything from your money to your identity. Where does spyware come from? Most forms of spyware usually come from visiting websites that install something on your computer. Some of these websites have different forms of spam on them and they trigger pop-ups which may then come up on your screen. Most of these pop-ups make you click on them because they are usually offering one free promo or the other. When you click on them however, they do something else. This something else is usually the installation of one form of malicious software or the other. Most times you hardly ever notice anything. At other times you see a whole lot of annoying pop-ups or your homepage gets changed to something else. How can you get rid of spyware on your computer? A whole number of computer software programs exist which can help you get rid of any spyware on your computer. These computer software programs are usually called anti-spyware programs. Different forms of popular software in this category exist and they are: SpyBlaster, Windows Defender, WebRoot Spy Sweeper and a number of other software programs. Some of these programs may be free but the best of these programs usually come at a price. Some Internet providers also provide you with some of these software programs for free. Regardless of the type on anti-spyware you will need constant updates as newer versions of anti-spyware become available. How often should you run your anti-spyware program? Making sure you’re really safe is a personal task and if you want to make sure that you’re absolutely safe, you should run your anti-spyware program every time that you use your computer. These programs are quick and easy to use and they can work in the background wile you focus your efforts on doing something else. Darren Williger is an over-caffeinated, security oriented winemaking enthusiast who writes for CaffeineZone.com , NetworkSecurity.WS , and HomemadeWine.com

Data Protection

Data protection is a vital part of running a company. When valuable files and information is lost, the company suffers tremendously. It is hard in this day and age to stay on top of the business world. An important part is to keep client information, sales records and inventory backed up so unfortunate things do not occur. An individual can purchase helpful equipment for data protection purposes. They can be directly installed in to the network systems or computers. An individual could even hook this piece of equipment to the outside of a computer for even simpler access. There are times when a computer or hard disk cashes for no apparent reason. Things just quit working at times. It is vital for a company to continue to run smoothly buy backing up their important facts and figures. Several locations on the internet and local stores in an individual area can assist a business in data protection material. An individual can purchase certain equipment that can assist in protecting valuable information. New hard drives can be placed in the computers or external drives can be bought as well. A company could invest in tape drives and CD dives that can assist in backing up several gigs of information. A tape drive can back up terabytes of important information that is vital to the working of a company. This size of a drive will be able to safe information for weeks without human contact. This is the best way to go to be sure the company is safe and secure. Every company relies on their clients and inventory to be successful. Every business venture has set backs and problems that may occur. With data protection devices, an individual does not need to worry if there will be a malfunction with the network or a computer. Everything will be safe from harm and damage. When an individual relies heavily on a machine, it is a fantastic suggestion to make sure that the machine will not break down. If it does, a backup plan is always a necessity. P Abbey owns and operates dataprotectionfacts.com Data Protection

How To Surf Anonymously And Safely

Nobody wants their private information all over the internet. If some hacker gets a hold of some of your personal information, it can ruin your life. Did you know that many websites collect your personal information without your permission and without you even knowing it? They collect this information for a variety of reasons. They like to get information and send you spam and adware. Sometimes hackers can get this information and use it for identity theft. But I know you are wondering “how do they get my private information through the Internet?” It is actually quite easy. First of all, every computer has an IP address. When you visit someone’s website, the website owner can track you through your IP address. All IP addresses are logged into the website’s server. You IP address can give away details many private details like, where you live. It can be quite a scary thought, but there is a solution. The solution is an anonymous proxy server. So, what is an anonymous proxy server? An anonymous proxy server is a machine that is between your computer and the server you are accessing to view the web page you want to look at. They provide the best privacy and hide your IP address so you can surf anonymously and securely. No one will even be able to tell that you are using an anonymous proxy server! FindProxy.org is one of the best tools for hiding your identity from online scammers. It is your guide to private online surfing. They have a huge list of fresh proxy servers. The best thing about Findproxy.org is that they are 100% free and that they are always up to date. Being updated frequently is very important because eventually all proxies get blocked. For more on proxies, visit Free Proxy Click here for Free Articles The best Webmasters Directory site.

Zone Alarm Install Guide - Updated

The following instructions only apply if you are installing Zone Alarm for the very first time. These instructions are NOT for the people who already have Zone Alarm installed on their computers, and are upgrading to the latest version. 1. Create a New Folder on your desktop and Rename it to Downloads. By doing this you will have one central location for all programs that you download. When you download any program DO NOT select Run, select Save and when you have saved it scan it with an anti-virus program. I recommend the use of AVG AntiVirus which I have covered in another post. 2. Go to the download link on my blog and select I only want basic ZoneAlarm protection and then proceed to download ZoneAlarm. Download it into the folder named Downloads, BUT DO NOT install it until you have followed the instructions below. 3. Once you have downloaded your version of ZoneAlarm to your Desktop Folder, disconnect from the Internet. If you use Cable or DSL Modem, disconnect it and close any other running programs apart from your basic programs to run Windows. This includes the Windows Firewall. To find out what Applications are running go to Task Manager (Control Alt Delete). Look for Applications, make sure there are NO Applications running. If they are, use the End Task Button. To disable the Windows Firewall go to your Control Panel, switch it to Classic View then double click on Windows Firewall and then click the Off button. 4. Go into your Control Panel, on top of the screen you will see Tools, click on it, then another tab will show up and click on Folder Options, in the new panel that opens click on View. Scroll down to where it says Hidden Files and Folders, put a dot or check-mark in the box that says, “Show hidden files and folders”, then REMOVE the check mark from the next two boxes that say the following,” Hide Extensions for known file types” and “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)”. Drop down to bottom of panel and click Apply. Now go to the top of the panel and click on “Apply to All Folders”, click Yes in new window then click OK in Folder Options panel. This way all your folders will show the change. Close the control Panel. For full details goto Free PC Security Colin Richards Free PC Security cotojo.wordpress.com

How To Maintain Your Computer

If you do not take minimal precautionary measures you will eventually have some type of computer problem, if you have not already. However; there are some very simple things you can do to keep your computer functioning much as it was when you initially purchased it. One of the most important and basic things one can do is to purchase and install anti virus software. I have helped many people solve computer problems that could have easily been avoided if only they had done some very simple things. I cannot believe the amount of people who do not have basic protective and defensive software such as virus protection and virus removal software installed on their computer. What amazes me even more is some will have the basic software installed and it is not used and kept updated. You must understand that if software is not kept updated, it is much like a 12 cylinder engine running on only 4 cylinders. It is just limping along and it is literally impossible for the engine to work and perform as it was engineered and designed, or perform at maximum proficiency. So if you have installed protective software, it is imperative that you keep the software updated. Remember how fast your computer worked when you first purchased it? Your computer slowing down is usually such a gradual process that most of us don’t realize how slow the computer is functioning until a very blatant problem reveals itself. If your computer has lost much of its speed, you can probably correct it by following the steps listed below. 1) Make certain you get in the habit of deleting temporary internet files from your computer at least daily. This will clear unnecessary internet files that gradually slow down your computer. 2) Properly shut down your computer first, and then its power source at least once a week. Leave the power off for at least one minute before restarting your computer. This will allow fragments of deleted software programs and files to be removed from your computer. 3) Purchase, install and keep updated a good firewall. A good firewall will help keep potential intruders from getting in your system and snooping around. A good firewall will also help keep confidential and personal information safely inside your computer. 4) Purchase, install and keep updated a good computer anti virus software. Anti virus software if installed, kept updated and run a scan of you entire system at least twice a month will help protect your computer from various computer viruses and worms. Computer viruses and worms can bring your computer to a crawl or a complete halt. Anti virus protection software is critical to the good health of any computer. An ounce of prevention is better that a pound of cure. That is never more true than when attempting to keep your computer running efficiently. As the adage goes; “you can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” You can choose to either invest a little money and time upfront, or spend a lot more money and lose a lot of valuable time to correct a problem that I know from experience will cause a lot more headaches, stress and aggravation if you have to experience and correct it. I am one who demands a lot from my computer. My computer is literally a workhorse and has in excess of 60 programs installed at any given time. Click here probity.bezoogle.com/pp/anti-virus/ to learn more about protecting your computer.

HELP! Have I Just Been Scammed?!

HELP! Have I Just Been Scammed?! There s a plus and a minus to doing business on the net. The plus is instant gratification. The minus? Instant gratification! Let s face it, people begin to expect certain things in connection to working and purchasing items on the internet. And, unfortunately, because of those same expectations, it also tends to bring out the worst in ourselves at times. I spend many hours during the week talking with other publishers and network marketers, and the common problem many have is the irate customer. You know the ones I m referring to? Those people who decide to shoot first and ask questions later ? MARKETERS HAVE OUTSIDE LIVES, TOO Though often my own life doesn t reflect what I m about to say, many, many people promoting products and services online do have lives! If they are working exclusively online, they do find the time for friends and family. If they work their online business in a part-time capacity, no doubt they have outside JOBS or other obligations that prevent them from sitting 24 hours a day in front of their own computers. As a matter of fact, sleeping comes to mind... remember sleeping?! Differences in time zones fly out of many peoples minds when they communicate online. Remember, it s called the WORLD-WIDE WEB for a reason! Just because you happen to be up and surfing doesn t mean the guy at the other end is... Find a good world clock. Checking the time alone may help lower your blood pressure! THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE MADE ON THE NET You can save yourself a LOT of aggrevation, fear, and frustration by paying attention to one single factor when making a purchase online. Thousands of merchants use PayPal. And... PayPal has a CONTINUE button! That s right! On your you ve just sent money PayPal payment confirmation page, how many of us know to LOOK FOR and USE the CONTINUE button in the lower right-hand corner of that page? If set up correctly, the merchant using PayPal has that CONTINUE button right there for your convenience! By clicking the CONTINUE button, 99.9% of the time it whisks you away to your confirmation and/or download page to complete your order. So, before you go ballistic, ask yourself, DID I click that PayPal CONTINUE link? Frankly, I love PayPal! I truly do. However, this IS one feature I sure wish they would correct. This one little misplaced, hard-to-find button has got to be the thorn in every merchant s and customer s side. Hey PayPal! Move it up where everyone can see it! SO WERE YOU REALLY SCAMMED? Hey, it does happen! I m not saying it doesn t, and it is truly unfortunate when it does. But, scamming is not limited to only the buyer s side, and everyone would do well to remember that. Perhaps that occasional seller who does make it a tad harder to complete your order has had to do it for self-preservation. Perhaps THEY, the seller, have been ripped off more times then they care to admit and are just trying to protect themselves! It can be a two-way street. SO... LET S BE NICE My suggestion is that before either side comes to blows, let s all take a deep breath and count to 10. Personally, I ve met hundreds, if not thousands, of truly wonderful people online. On the other hand, the ones we d all like to see a lot less of can be counted on just one hand. For the most part, people want to help! People want to be successful and see you succeed, too. You truly can attract more bees with honey than you can with vinegar when communicating online. Give the guy the benefit of the doubt, first. Try it and see! © Theresa Cahill - All Rights Reserved. Feel free to distribute this article. Please keep it intact and with the resource box included below. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the owner of mywizardads.com and invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful information and more at mywizardads.com/sitemap.html

Security

There are more viruses being spread across the internet every day. A few years ago actually encountering a virus was a rare occurrence (despite what the antivirus writers would have you believe). This is no longer the case and you can now expect to encounter viruses on a regular basis. Any computer attached to the internet even for short periods is now a target for crackers who want to distribute their software so that attacks on other systems can be made via a large number of computers not associated with themselves. There is not much that you can do about security on your web site except to make sure that your password is secure and that you select a web host with a reasonable level of security. When it comes to protecting your own computer from viruses and other attacks there is a lot that you can do. There are two pieces of software that it is essential for you to run if your computer is connected to the internet. These are antivirus and firewall software. If you have been listening to the reports of viruses over the last few years you are probably already running antivirus software. There are a number of reasonable antivirus products out there and there are regular reviews in various computer magazines to help you to choose the most effective. If your computer has a permanent connection to the internet then you probably have either a hardware firewall already in place or are running a software firewall. What I am suggesting now is that even if you use a dial up connection and only connect to the internet on rare occasions you still need to be running firewall software to protect your computer from attack. But I don t have anything of importance to anyone else running on my computer, why would anyone want to crack my system? Well it is not so much what is on your system that the crackers are interested in, it is the fact that your system exists that is their main interest. By cracking your system and running their software on your computer (and thousands of others like yours) they can quickly locate more interesting systems to crack. By using thousands (or tens of thousands) of computers like yours they can implement Denial of Service attacks. Why give crackers access to your system and passively participate in their criminal activities when there is free firewall software available that can help to protect your computer from such attacks. How vulnerable to attack is your computer? Find out for yourself by going to Shields Up ( grc.com/intro.htm). This site can run a probe on your windows computer and find out just how vulnerable that your system is to attack. Crackers run probes just like this one only theirs usually has a malicious payload attached where this site merely uses a benign probe to produce a report for you that identifies How vulnerable your computer is to such attacks. Once you have seen this for yourself, download and install a firewall such as Zone Alarm and repeat the above test. See how much more secure your system is now. But remember that the crackers are always moving the goal posts so once you have done this don t just sit back and think you are safe. Keep your firewall software up to date (just like you do for your anti virus software) and keep an eye out for anything else that you can do to improve the security of your system. Try to keep one step ahead of the crackers if you can. Stephen Chapman runs a computer help website at felgall.com/ Internet design/development ebooks and software at members.felgall.com/ Javascript help at javascript.about.com/

How to Prevent Hackers From Entering Your eGold Account

If your account was compromised while AccSent was enabled, there is a high probability that you either have a security hole in your computer, which allowed hackers to take control of your computer or you have a Trojan virus, spyware or keylogger software installed on your computer because someone not only had access to your e-gold passphrase, they also had access to your email address password. AccSent monitors account access attempts and issues a one-time PIN challenge to those coming from IP address ranges or browsers that differ from the last authorized account access. Your account was accessed from remoteip 202.74.73.70 and a pin was sent to the email address on the account. The person logged into your email account and retrieved the pin, accessed your e-gold account and made an unauthorized spend from the account. Until you remove the malicious software from your computer, your account is still vulnerable. Your email account has also been compromised so it is important that you change the password for your account after your computer is cleaned. If the malicious software is still on your computer, someone is able to read your emails, delete your emails or send emails from your account. The only other way your account could have been compromised is if you received a phishing email with a link for you to click on to access your account. If you clicked on the link and went to a fake e-gold site and entered your e-gold account information along with your email account information, your account could have been compromised without malicious software being installed on your computer. Have you received any emails within the past few weeks, which appeared to come from e-gold requesting that you log into your account? Did the email contain a link or an attachment? Did you attempt to open the attachment? Did you click on the link or attempt to access your account from a link in this email? Have you run a complete virus scan of all computers used to access your account with updated anti-virus software? You should also check your computer for Spyware and Trojan keyloggers. Some people mistakenly assume that anti-virus software protects them from keyloggers and Spyware. Most anti-virus software does not adequately check for keyloggers and Spyware. If you have checked all the computers used to access your account with only an anti virus software, we strongly recommend you use a software that specifically checks for Spyware and keyloggers. There are Trojans keyloggers that monitors Internet Explorer windows until a user visits the e-gold login page: e-gold.com/acct/login.html. Once the user is logged in, the Trojan opens a hidden Internet Explorer window in which it accesses the user s account balance: e-gold.com/acct/balance.asp. After ascertaining the value of the user s account it attempts to transfer their funds to another account using the hidden window. Most viruses are conveyed by spammed e-mail in the form of HTML messages. The scripts run on viewing, no clicking on attachments is necessary. They may also arrive as image attachments. Once the image is viewed, the program is executed. Either way, the system is now infected and is just waiting for you to check your e-gold account balance. You can protect yourself by: * Using another browser instead of Internet Explorer (IE). Firefox by Mozilla is an excellent choice. You can visit mozilla.org for more information. * Do Not auto-preview incoming e-mail. * Do Not open obvious spam. * Do run a full virus scan regularly. As of today we know specifically of 10 viruses that could cause a problem similar to the one you are having. 1. Win32/Goldun.ia (One customer said he did not find anything when he ran Norton and McAfee anti-virus software, but he found the Win32/Goldun.ia Trojan when he used a software called Kaspersky ) 2. T SPY_HAXDORY (A customer who was receiving the fake login confirmation page located a virus with Trend Micro Housecall identified as T SPY_HAXDORY. Removing this seemed to solve the problem without having to reinstall windows.) 3. TROJ_GOLDUN.DO which has a file named CPU.EXE found in the c:windows directory. This was found with Trend Micro s PC-cillin. 4. cpu.exe (Aladinz.l Trojan) more information regarding this virus can be found at auditmypc.com/process/cpu.asp 5. GDIWXP.DLL 6. pwsteal.trojan 7. Win32.Grams.I which monitors Internet Explorer windows until the user visits the e-gold login page: e-gold.com/acct/login.html. Once the user is logged in Grams opens a hidden Internet Explorer window in which it accesses the user s account balance: e-gold.com/acct/balance.asp 8. Trojan.LdPinch.L 9. Trojan.PWS.GoldSpy e.exe in Directory D:Documents and Settings 10. mssync20.exe copies in the windowssystem32 directory. This is a root kit who is only detectable by its activity with antivirus programs. You can use the Kaspersky antivirus. It is called rootkit in the internet, this detects it with some antirootkits, Once customer said, the best for me was Iceword. You have to remove it manually in secure mode in windows and search the registry keys (more then 15). We investigated and placed a block on account #4644717 to prevent it from receiving additional funds. Unfortunately we will not be able to refund your money because all e-gold spends are final and not reversible as stated in the e-gold account user agreement. e-gold is also contractually prohibited from freezing e-gold accounts or releasing e-gold account information in the absence of a court order or subpoena. You might want to consider obtaining some combination of help from a legal professional or law enforcement to obtain a court order, if the size of your loss warrants expenditure of your resources (time and money) to resolve.

Ebusiness Security

Security is as much a social issue as a practical or technical one. Some security problems are a direct result of business hostilities. Information that is valuable to a business may also be valuable to competitors or disgruntled employees. The removal or sabotage of that information may also be valuable to a competitor. Other problems are caused by the electronic equivalent of joyriding, a random sort of malice, which is nonetheless annoying and perhaps fatal for a business. More serious security issues include spam and other kinds of unsolicited mail. While only an annoyance to individuals, spam can become a serious drain on resources once it starts infiltrating a business. The unwanted mail has to be forwarded along the company network, where it can take up disk space and use computer power that could be put to more constructive uses. Another concern is the use of company resources for illegal activities. Chief among these is reading or distributing Internet porn and advertising pyramid schemes. Companies with permanent Internet connections are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of activities. Without adequate security, computer-literate users may find it easy to create non-existent user accounts, which can be used to abet illegal activities with relative impunity. Then there is threat of hacking attacks from outside. Hackers may decide to joyride into a commercial system just to prove they can. Less often, they will target a company or organization if the organization has annoyed them in the some way. In either case, solid security is essential. More worrying, hackers can use a company s computers as a warehouse for illegal information and make it look as if the company, not the hacker, is responsible for the appearance of the information. Computer-savvy employees may sometimes be able to intercept private email and disgruntled ex-employees may hold a company hostage, threatening to destroy all their records if their demands are not met. Ebusiness provides detailed information on Ebusiness, Ebusiness Solutions, Ebusiness Software, Ebusiness Consulting and more. Ebusiness is affiliated with Make Money Online With Surveys .

Signs That Your Computer Has Been Infected By Spyware

Spyware is hidden programs that unbeknownst to you, download themselves into your operating system along with your intentional downloads. Mainly entering your computer via freeware and shareware, they can harm your PC as well as your personal life as they record your every movement on the computer in addition to sometimes having the ability to scan files in your hard drive. All of this secretly obtained information is reported back to the Spyware originator through the program and can lead to an overload of junk mail in your email boxes as well as claiming your identity through the personal information it retrieves off your PC. • The first sign that you’re computer has been infected by Spyware would be sluggish performance of your PC. Spyware will slow down your ability to surf the internet as you browse through and load pages from various websites. It will make your programs load and run slow as well and may even cause the system to crash. • You might see that certain toolbars have been added to your web browser that you have no recollection of putting there. This is another warning sign that your system has been infiltrated with a Spyware program or programs. • Another symptom of Spyware infection is pop-ups that appear on your browser windows that are completely unrelated to the site you’re visiting and even if your pop-up blocker is turned on. • If you notice that your settings have been changed, whether within your programs, files or browser options, that’s another sign to watch for, especially if you reset them and they don’t remain that way upon closing and re-opening the files/programs or after completely restarting your PC. • If your computer seems to have taken on a life all its own, opening and closing files and programs, sliding out and then shutting it’s CD door in addition to any other types of weird activity, there’s a good chance you’ve been infected by Spyware. • When you open your email box and see that half the messages you sent were returned ‘undeliverable’ or emails were sent on your behalf that you didn’t write, that’s another Spyware warning sign. • One more symptom of being infected with Spyware is if your modem’s activity light flashes continuously when you’re not on the internet. And if your system light is flashing on and off, that’s yet another tell-tale sign. • The worst thing that could happen is if someone actually does acquire your personal information and uses it to steal from you by claiming your identity. If you receive a credit card bill or bank statement containing unidentified activity, your computer is one of the first places you should look. You best bets for protecting your PC from getting infected by Spyware is to be extremely careful when downloading free files, programs, music, etc. from the internet and ensuring that everyone else who uses the computer does the same. Installing Anti-Spyware software is highly recommended and you should run it constantly and use it scan your system regularly to identify and destroy any interlopers. Gray Rollins is a featured writer for MySpywareGuide.com. If you re looking for a tool to help you remove spyware from your computer, then be sure to get yourself a copy of XoftSpySE . If you re looking to learn even more about spyware and other Internet threats , then be sure to visit TheSecurityPro.com

Site Security Issues Abound

It has happened web wide and it has happened to the best of the best - NASA, DOD, Google, Microsoft as well as the New York Times. Hacking is big business and very often isn’t profitable or isn’t actively malicious, it is just good fun for bored people. Last year, in October, Google blog was hacked, ironically not long after their post regarding their security was published. In April of this year, a user-end security flaw, which was exploited on AdWords, let a malicious file be installed onto the users’ personal systems which was used to take their passwords and get into their accounts. In this day and age of security breaches, nothing is sacred. Not theirs, and certainly not yours. Chances are that your web site is safe, but do you know that for a fact. Many of the new users to the web site industry rely on a thing we used to call security by obscurity. They presumed that because they were not large and well to do companies or offered services that no one would be interested in and that security was a waste of time and effort. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your best defense against a cracker is to defend yourself. Software has its place, granted, but some of the best defenses against being hacked are very little more than common sense. Social engineering is responsible for more infiltration than any amount of hacking has ever accomplished. A few simple rules of thumb • If you are going to be selling through an e-cart or store front on your web site, make sure you know enough about the software to secure it and if you don’t, hire someone who does. DON’T give out your server password to anyone, for any reason, unless they work for you. Limit the access to the server to people who really have need of it and when they no longer do, delete the account. • KNOW how to operate your own server and maintain your equipment Check your web log regularly for strange or unusual activity. (There is actually software which will do this for you, such as “Tripwire” and “Inet Security Scanner” for Windows that will help you keep track of your log files and send you an alert if there is any strange behavior there.) • Always keep a complete backup of your website and all the files it contains. Keep one on your computer as well and make sure that you update the backup weekly to provide for changes that you’ve made recently. • Keep all of your web site software updated. If you use a forum, make sure to update it regularly. Many of the updates are security upgrades that you don’t want to miss out on. Get the scoop on adware, malware and spyware issues as well as how to protect your PC from intruders at: adaware-resource.com Adaware In order to obtain more information on website security and other steps you can take to prevent viruses and malware, log on to adaware-resource.com

Security Software - Gotta Have Them

Security software is a must for your computer. There are different types of security software. Let’s look at the most important kind that you need. Firewalls A firewall is like a shield for your computer. It stands out front, and protects your computer from hostile internet traffic. Without one of these, hackers can get into your personal computer and take whatever they want. Credit card numbers, names, birthdates and social security numbers are all available to identity thieves if your computer isn’t being protected by a firewall. It stands between internet traffic and the connections to get into your computer, keeping out bad traffic, but letting regular or non-threatening internet traffic travel freely. Spyware Detecting Software Spyware is a type of software that gets into your computer, usually without you even knowing it’s in there. It can monitor your browsing activity and report back to big databases all over the place. There are even some types of malicious software that will scan your files for personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account and routing numbers, social security numbers, etc. We all know what can happen if this type of information gets into the hands of certain people. Unfortunately, this is the biggest threat to internet users, as 9 out of 10 computers that are on the internet right now can have spyware software in their systems. If spyware gets into your computer, it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to remove it yourself and get it all. Spyware was made so that It’s difficult to remove. Spyware detecting software finds and removes spyware in usually one sweep. Anti-Virus Software You could try and pay to have your computer cleaned of viruses, however it could get really difficult to remove the viruses, and it probably will get really expensive. Instead, you should prevent the viruses from getting in to your system in the first place. Prevention is definitely the key. Viruses can actually wipe out entire hard disks, affect the memory of your computer, and cost you a lot of money. It has been estimated that 99% of people have experienced a computer virus, so crossing your fingers and hoping that one doesn’t get in your system probably won’t work. Download an anti-virus software that will not allow viruses to enter your computer. Computers are expensive in themselves, and allowing malicious software to be installed into your computer could end up costing you thousands of dollars, and could ultimately force you into purchasing a new system. Security software can eliminate this threat. Author and internet entrepreneur Bernard Pragides offers expert advice and tips regarding identity theft. Learn more about identity theft and fraud by visiting his blog at identity4life-blog.com and his website IdentityProtek.com for more helpful information.