• When last was our information security policy reviewed?
• Do we have an information security officer in each department?
• Are people punished for breaching our information security policy?
• Do we have a chief information security officer?
• Does our website present the list of our contractors and business suppliers?
• Can our security guards identify information assets? E.g. Do our security Guards know what a hard disk is or looks like?
• Are our E-mails digitally signed?
• Can we verify the authenticity of the caller e.g. A caller to a bank, please transfer from my account 200,000 to this account number …… ?
• Do we have an information disclosure policy in place.
• Is our secretary aware of the information she should not give out?
• Do we have an information disposal policy in place? i.e. what type of information is thrown into the dustbin?
• Can our customers differentiate between our website and an illegal copy of our website?
• Who is responsible for the enforcement of policies in our organization?
• Can we beat our chest and say that our customers are not the weakest link in the information security plan of our organization e.g. can we confidently ask 10 customers the Url address of the company? Would they get it right?
• Have we recently disengaged any of our staff that assisted to develop an in-house application?
• Have we disabled all default passwords and usernames of vendor applications?
• Do we have an information classification policy in place?
• Have we disabled usernames and passwords of all disengaged staff or students that came for industrial training (it)?
• Do we immediately install operating system patch updates?
• Are we regularly aware of new released patches by software vendors?

Christopher Okoh
CEO
Computer Security & Network Associates
Website: http://www.compsana.com

If you know what is the ‘Fishing’ then it’s very easy
to understand the definition of ‘Phishing’. Just
replace letter ‘F’ from the word Fishing with ‘Ph’.
Yes I am not joking. I mean it! Phishing is higher
level of spam. Phishing is nothing but fishing in
the sea of Internet. The victimized Net users are
the fishes hooked by the hackers.

Phishing & Spoof Web sites

The role of hacker is to lure the innocent Netizens by
sending an e-mail from spoof sites, pseudo claiming to
be an legitimate enterprise in an attempt to force the
user into surrendering private information such as
password, credit card number, and social security
number etc; which will be used for identity theft.

The hyperlink in the e-mail directs the innocent user
to a spoof Web site where they are asked to
enter personal information like passwords, social
security, and bank account numbers. Basically hackers
create Spoof Web sites to steal the user’s personal
information.

The Idea Behind Spoof Sites

I can give you the well-known example in which users
received Spam e-mails from hackers misleading innocent
users. As if these mails came from eBay, claiming that
the user’s account was about to be suspended unless he
clicked on the hyperlink in the e-mail and update the
credit card information hold by the genuine eBay web
site. The idea behind this scam is very simple as it
is relatively simple to make a Web site look like a
legitimate site. That is why the Phishing is also
called brand spoofing.

Tips To Stop Phishing & Report Phishing

* If you smell anything fishy (phishy) or if you
received an e-mail that appears to be from your bank
requesting you click a hyperlink in the e-mail and
verify your online banking information. Simply delete
such e-mail and make it thumb rule… never click that
hyperlink in the e-mail.

* Contact your bank or financial institution on phone
and confirm whether it has sent you such type of
e-mail.

* Report Phishing to Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

* Send Internet Phishing scam reports to local
authorities like police and crime bureau.

* Send details of a Phishing scam to the Anti-Phishing
Working Group (APWG) to help them to build database of
Phishing scams, and to alert the Netizens.

* Last but not the least if you can’t afford to
neglect or you are tempted to think that the hyperlink
in the received e-mail is worth to click… take a
deep breath, think twice before clicking that
suspicious hyperlink and copy and paste the URL
(hyperlink) into the web browser’s address field and
log on. This will help you to land on legitimate Web
site instead of spoof Web site.

Popular Targets Of Phishers

1) Banks & Financial Institutions.

2) Credit card companies.

3) Auction portals.

4) Online stores.

5) Online stock trading companies.

How To Smell Phishing?

It is very difficult for e-mail recipients to guess
what they have in their mailbox. They can’t guess
Whether it is legitimate e-mail from an organization
With whom they do transactions. Although the “From”
Field of the e-mail may have the web site address of
That organization, and the hyperlink may also appear,
If the sender insists on clicking that hyperlink and
Unfortunately you click that hyperlink you will land
To a spoof Web site. To avoid this situation you must
Have that sense to smell something fishy (phi shy)
Because any legitimate web site never ask you to
Update your personal information simply by sending a
Hyperlink through the e-mail, use your commonsense and
Ask yourself a simple question, why the legitimate web
Site would ask you to update your personal information
through a hyperlink via e-mail, since that
organization has its own legitimate web site? I hope
you have got the answer.

Krishna Pai is a webmaster and a writer. Get Internet Security tips, Computer Tutorials, reviews, Hardware & Software Tips, How to guides at

http://www.cheapest-computer-hardware-software.com/

For more Computer tips join his “Build Computer ezine” at http://www.cheapest-computer-hardware-software.com/build_computer_ezine.html

Ok, you’ve got a computer, and you get online. You surf your favorite sites, Sports, Shopping, Cowchip Tossing Blogs, and so on. Your kids download songs and IM their friends. But are you being tracked? Is your personal information stored safe on your computer or is it being mined to a geeky looking guy sitting in the dark half a continent away? Do you know for sure you are secure? Many people don’t.

They take it for granted that their service provider is watching over them.
If there is one thing I can’t stress enough, it’s always read the fine print before
You hit the download button.
A survey I read about a year ago stated that
Less than 7 % read the info posted on the Download windows. Some Spyware will
Download itself without even you knowing it.

And then how about the Link Hijackings? You go to your Bank URL, but you don’t
Notice that it’s been changed slightly. The Login and Password you enter now is in
The hands of a person who likes to shop!

There are the less dangerous Pop-ups. They are annoying sure, but sometimes it
Can get so bad you can’t click them closed fast enough to even close out your browser.

Spyware can slow your computer to a crawl, taking minutes to open a site. It can
Log your keystrokes, mine your data, reboot your computer, even cause it to not boot up.

You’ve got to be safe people!

The Internet is a wonderful place.
It’s come a long way and it’s got a long way to go still, enjoy it.

About the Author:
Doug Woodall
SpywareBiz

Doug Woodall has a website at http://www.spywarebiz.com. There he provides free information and recommended products to combat Spyware.

He also runs the SpywareBiz Blog at http://learningfolder.com/Blogs/297/

He is a member of the IWA (International Webmasters Association)

Doug can be reached at spywarebiz@comcast.net

Article edited for proper content by Wendy McCallum

Spyware is one of the biggest threats to your privacy and the security of your data. Here’s a series of helpful questions and answers that can help you remove and minimize future spyware from your computer.

Spyware comes in various forms, but basically it is a program or piece of information on your computer that either sends data about you or your computer habits to someone else on the Internet. This can be a company that is collecting data, or a thief seeking to steal access to your computer or data like bank information on it. Spyware can also be a program that places unwanted ads on your computer. Cookies can be considered spyware. They are little piece of information placed in your web browser to track your web habits. This is useful sometimes as a web site can see you have visited it before and let you on without a registration process. Cookies are also used to keep track of your progress through a web store. They are also used to customize website ads to your likes and dislikes.

Spyware is bad because for one it can hog precious system resources like memory and hard disk space. It can also compromise your privacy, providing outsiders with information about your computer habits. If a spyware program installs a keylogger it can capture your keystrokes and send it to a third party. This can potentially expose your user IDs and passwords to thieves. Some spyware are trojans which allows someone to log into your computer remotely and use it for their own purposes like sending spam or launching malicious attacks on other computers on the Internet, making it look like you are at fault.

There are several techniques how spyware get’s on your computer. Sometimes they arrive as an automatic download from a website you are surfing. Typically this happens a lot on porn sites. Sometimes if you download a free or illegal piece of software, they are embedded in the installation process. Or spyware can get on your computer via an email attachment that you shouldn’t have opened.

Sometimes a spyware program is very obvious and it can be deleted manually. It adds itself to your menu bar and be found listed in your Add/Remove Programs list in your Windows Control Panel. Click START, (then if you have Win95/98/Me click Settings) then Control Panel then Add/Remove Programs and look for a program that you don’t recognize. Sometimes its obvious….like “XXX dialer” or something like that. Just use the Add/Remove Programs features to remove it. Sometimes its not as evident and you have to go diving into the registry and delete entries and also search for specific files on your hard drive and remove them. There are good list of spyware removal techniques that can be found on the internet.

There are a few things you can do to stop spyware. Don’t download programs by companies you are not familiar with. Avoid shareware and freeware. Don’t download illegal pirated software. Set your browser security to high. One Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options > then the Security tab and move the slider to MEDIUM or preferably HIGH. The only problem with this is it may block access to some websites you want to see. Ultimately your best bet is to get an anti-spyware program and scan your system regularly.

Mike Stewart and his company http://www.Freespamfilter.nl provide Free Anti Virus - Spyware remover - Adware removal - Pop Up Blockers and Spam Filters at their website http://www.Freespamfilter.nl

Camera-audio may seem a useful accessory to be implemented with no problems into one’s home surveillance camera system. One may think that this addition will improve the level of information available and support surveillance and investigations with useful knowledge and cues.

When one looks through many Catalogs of Surveillance Cameras, one can will find that many surveillance cameras have no built-in Camera-audio microphones. This is in contrast with many hand held video cameras (camcorders) readily available for personal use.

You may find however on the market, many cameras being offered for home surveillance purposes, which include a tiny microphone in their advertised features. Not a word of warning is offered by the suppliers.

It may therefore come as a surprise to find out that the mere existence of such a facility being implemented into one’s camera is against the law, at least in the USA.

The origin of this legislation, matured over years of hot debates, is centered on the fundamental right of citizens to privacy. It moved along two different paths.

One path dealt with authorizing law enforcement authorities to break the privacy of ordinary citizens when there is suspicion (in a very large sense) of criminal conduct.

The other path means to forbid individuals from spying on their unaware fellow citizen by eavesdropping and collecting audio evidence of conversations.

Normally only video imaging is considered permitted. Any breach of privacy in video records, if documented, is self evident and prosecutable. On the contrary the mere existence of audio capability in any given commercially available surveillance camera is illegal, according to strict interpretation of the law, except that in the privacy of your home you may legally monitor your own baby’s voice.

This law may not be compulsory in every country, but, given the increasing globalization of tendencies and technological trends, the matter should be checked anywhere, if necessary, with legal advice.

Notwithstanding law requirements, it is a fact that such surveillance equipment is publicly advertised and available from many stores, and it is possible that customers are not advised of legal restrictions applicable.
With the elimination of Camera-audio, the subject of home surveillance video is simplified in this respect because there is no more need for a separate channel of transmission and transformation of audio signals.

We publish these notes as we believe it is important that homeowners be alerted in advance of the legal implications of their decisions in implementing home surveillance Camera-audio so that they can independently investigate their own specific case.
Read more >
http://www.1st-diy-home-surveillance-guide.com/Camera-audio.html

Elia Levi is a retired engineer.
He built a website to assist you with a step-by-step guide to understand, design, select and set up, all by yourself the best and least expensive surveillance system for your home security.
Find out how at
http://www.1st-diy-home-surveillance-guide.com

In part nine of this series on home security, I am going to giver you a list of things to watch out for to help in spotting possibly suspicious people, its surprising how regularly we miss rather obvious signs that should put us on our guard.

1. Somebody going from house to house, this is particularly suspicious if, once a few homes have been visited, one or more of the people go into a back or side yard. It is even more suspicious if another remains in the front when this occurs. It may be that they are looking for a house to burglarize, or there could be a burglary in progress.

2. If somebody is waiting around in front of a home this becomes very suspicious if you know the homeowners are away. The individual you can see may be a lookout for a burglary that is in progress inside.

3. Everyone seen forcing an entry into a home. This is clearly suspicious at anytime and in any circumstances immediately dial 911 or 999 if in the U.K.

4. If you see anybody who does not live in the home, going into the yard, it is possible that a burglary is being committed.

5. Someone running away particularly if something valuable is being carried, they may be leaving the scene of a crime.

6. If you see somebody showing strange mental or physical symptoms, they may be injured or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

7. Anybody moving property may be considered suspicious in some circumstances. Perhaps if it is late at night or if the item is not wrapped, it is possible that the article has been stolen.

8. A large number of comings and goings from a particular house, this may not be suspicious, unless it occurs on a daily or very regular basis, especially during late or unusual hours when it could signify vice or drug related activities.

With all of the above situations you must use your common sense, in the majority of situations there is a perfectly innocent explanation for what you see but if you are not certain dial 911 or 999 in the U.K. and let the police investigate.

For more vital home security tips and information about
Home Security visit http://www.homesecuritynews.info

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to
http://www.homesecuritynews.info

Adware and Spyware are malicious files that have been created for the purpose of being installed onto your computer, usually without your consent or knowledge. Spyware has become the number one threat to all internet users world wide. Did you know that it is possible that 9 out of every 10 computers that are currently online are infected with adware or spyware and worst of all possibly both.

Adware Spyware will ruin your internet experience and your expensive pc, this spyware killer can lead to you being fired from your job, it has caused family break ups and bank accounts to be emptied without a trace. People have also been sent to prison for what this spyware has added to their computers.

Invest in an Eliminator Spyware software program today! Why because these malicious adware spyware files are invading your PRIVACY, attempting to Steal Your IDENTITY, and destroying your valuable computer.

Having an antivirus program is Not Enough! You need to equip yourself with a firewall and a reputable anti spyware removal tool to ensure that you are not infected with spyware.

You have spent the money on buying the latest technology computer why not protect it for a few bucks more.

Detecting spyware should be your first priority on the internet today to protect you from this killer spyware plague.

Ron Cripps is a webmaster and has concerns on the ever growing adware threat the we all currently face on the internet. Ron has a web site that reviews Adware and Spyware Software and its threats.

And you thought your family and children were so safe inside the home environment cozily protected from potent health hazards! But did you know that the source of asthma, lead poisoning, and many such types of chronic health conditions could lie within your home environs?

According to recent survey it has been revealed that your family especially the kids are threatened with major health risks if the design/architecture, built and maintenance of your home is improper.

So while planning out a new home or a home remodeling/renovation make sure that your home planner or design architect makes use of healthier home building techniques and technology. This shall ensure that your family and kids residing in such healthy homes are much more healthier and safer!

You might incur higher expenses while constructing a healthy and environmental friendly home as compared to normal homes. But the health and life of your children and family is supposed to be of utmost importance above anything else!

So while you are busy with your home plans or home renovation ideas spare a thought on the following points to build a healthier and safer home.

· Budget your home plans keeping in mind that you have to use non-toxic or less toxic building materials that are a bit more expensive than general building materials.

· General building and construction materials (particularly glues, paints, varnishes, insulators, etc.) are usually loaded with toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as urea, formaldehyde, lead, asbestos, carbon monoxide, etc. derived from petroleum. If inhaled continuously these toxins accumulate in the body leading to serious health problems.

· While constructing cabinets and countertops or for sheathing, sub-flooring and roof decking the ideal choice is solid wood but if it is too expensive go in for exterior grade plywood only instead of particleboard/fiberboard that contains toxic glue mixed with wood chips.

· Avoid vinyl and wall-to-wall carpet flooring. Vinyl floors contain poly vinyl chloride (PVC) a harmful chemical while fully carpeted floors accumulates dust, dust mites, molds, etc. all of which are potent causative agents of allergy, asthma and other chronic respiratory problems. Instead use healthier floor alternatives as cork, solid wood, marmoleum, tiles, bamboo, and so on.

· Always make use of strictly low-odor and non-toxic paints containing highly reduced amounts of VOCs such as paints comprising of just clay and pigments. Paints are usually loaded with high quantities of lead. Avoid using such paints completely.

· Avoid using resins and glues that contain formaldehyde especially urea formaldehyde.

· To build the foundation, walls and roof panels of a healthy home make use of thick, natural, hygroscopic and breathable plasters and stuccoes such as clay-treated wood chip placed over sand and fine gravel instead of using foam boards or poly vapor barriers. This renders efficient indoor humidity control thus preventing the formation of molds. In this way you can also avoid the accumulation of harmful radon gas inside your home.

· Avoid building bedrooms/living rooms over the garage space of your house. Toxic gasoline fumes can outgas from the fuel tank of your car and infiltrate into the bedrooms.

· Install carbon monoxide testers/detectors especially near furnaces, fireplaces, and garage areas of your home. Radon testers must be essentially placed in the basement areas of your home as this harmful radioactive gas occurring in soil can seep into your home through the foundation.

· For construction of a healthy home only hire registered professional home planners and home builders/contractors who have the required knowledge of building and planning healthier homes based on strict building guidelines.

Article by: Regal Services Editorial. Regal Services offers Best Cad Conversion Services. For your Paper to Cad Conversion services, trust Regal for an error-free and affordable service.

“Male. Obsessed with computers. Lacking a girlfriend. Aged 14 to 34. Capable of creating chaos worldwide.”

The above description is the profile of the average computer-virus writer, according to Jan Hruska, the chief executive of British-based Sophos PLC, the world’s fourth-largest anti-virus solutions provider.

“They have a chronic lack of girlfriends, are usually socially inadequate and are drawn compulsively to write self- replicating codes. It’s a form of digital graffiti to them,” Hruska added.

To create and spread cyber infections, virus writers explore known bugs in existing software, or look for vulnerabilities in new versions.

With more and more new OS (operating system) versions, there will be more new forms of viruses, as every single software or OS will carry new features, and new executables that can be carriers of the infection.

Executables are files that launch applications in a computer’s operating system, and feature more prominently in new platforms like Microsoft’s Windows 2000 and Windows XP than they did in the older DOS or Windows 3.1.

Virus writers also share information to create variants of the same infection, such as the Klez worm, which has been among the world’s most prolific viruses.

The Klez, a mass-mailing worm that originated in November 2001, propagates via e-mail using a wide variety of messages and destroys files on local and network drives.

But the news gets worse. Recent events have uncovered what may be a new trend: spammers paying virus writers to create worms that plant an open proxy, which the spammer then can use to forward spam automatically. Many suspect this occurred with the SoBig virus.

The Sobig worms, began spreading in the early part of 2003. The unusual thing about them was they contained an expiration date and were given a short life cycle to see how features worked in the wild.

Having an expiration date also makes the virus more dangerous, because most people would have been alerted to the new worm within a few weeks and anti-virus definitions would have been updated.

A variant of Sobig, Sobig-F was so efficient that just a few infected machines could send thousands of messages. Sobig-F created a denial-of-service effect on some networks, as e- mail servers became clogged with copies of the worm.

According to Mikko Hypponen, manager of anti-virus research for Finland-based F-Secure Corp, Sobig-F sent an estimated 300 million copies of itself.

Computer Economics, Inc. states, “Nearly 63,000 viruses have rolled through the Internet, causing an estimated $65 billion in damage.” However criminal prosecutions have been few, penalties light and just a handful of people have gone to prison for spreading the destructive bugs.

Why is so little being done? Antiquated laws and, for many years, as crazy as it sounds, a “wink, wink” or even admiring attitude toward virus creators.

One person has been sent to prison in the United States and just two in Britain, authorities say. But the low numbers are “not reflective of how seriously we take these cases, but more reflective of the fact that these are very hard cases to prosecute,” said Chris Painter, the deputy chief of computer crimes at the U.S. Department of Justice.

So what can you do to protect yourself against computer viruses?

Well, first and foremost, make sure you have proven anti-virus protection like like Symantec’s Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee’s ViruScan.

In addition, If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend installing Microsoft’s Service Pack 2. SP2 tightens your PC’s security with a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer. Plus, the newly minted Security Center gives you one easy-to-use interface for keeping tabs on your PC’s security apps.

“Male. Obsessed with computers. Lacking a girlfriend. Aged 14 to 34. Capable of creating chaos worldwide.”

Now, I’m no psychiatrist, but to me, the above description sounds more like someone with a few “bats in the belfry!”

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net

Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net

If you’ve had the chance to go into a big financial institute like a bank or the stock exchange, or the cash register section in a convenience store, you will notice that there are closed circuit televisions (CCTV) monitoring each transaction. CCTV is a collection of television cameras that receive live feed from a cable, antenna or satellite system and are used for surveillance purposes.

Experiments using CCTV were initially done in the United Kingdom during the 70s. They were manufactured to help increase security in financial institutions but were not widely accepted until a government report written in 1994, supported their use. After that, CCTV cameras were installed in parking garages, public areas like parks and transportation stations like train and bus stations. With the help of these monitoring systems, criminals have been caught in the act and questionable behavior of individuals in public places is caught on camera and a crime is prevented before it can take place. Cameras installed on streetlights have also proved effective in identifying traffic violations like speeding and running red lights.

Casinos use elaborate surveillance systems throughout their establishments. With literally millions of dollars changing hands every minute, the casino industry has every reason to ensure the security of their compound. They have hundreds of cameras installed in the floors that monitor the movements of employees and players. They have highly sophisticated facial recognition systems that can identify possible criminals or past offenders. The cameras they use are equipped with infrared systems that identify hidden objects obscured from the vision of the security personnel.