Secure Me

5 Enhanced Security Measures Your Online Store Must Have

2012-02-10T02:08:00.000-08:00

There are two reasons you need to have the best possible security you can have for your online store: customer confidence and your own peace of mind. By creating a truly secure transaction, you instill an added degree of confidence for your customer, help engender trust, and put him at ease. This benefits you, as well, in that you’ll see higher conversion rates and you’ll be protected from fraudulent transactions and chargebacks.

There are 5 security measures online stores can use to make transactions as safe as possible:

1. SSL Certificates

While SSL isn’t by any means unique to the transaction processing scenario, it is essential to it. Even customers who aren’t especially savvy know that, unless the online store address starts with “https:”, they aren’t supposed to enter any secure information. Starting with SSL security is a basic requirement of effective online store security.

2. Secure shopping cart software

Online store software should adhere to the PCI standard for shopping carts. This is the minimum level of security that most of the credit card vendors require. Ideally, you’ll choose an online store back end package that provides security that’s enhanced beyond the PCI standard, but that needs to be your starting point.

You can learn more about online security by obtaining your masters degree in information security.

3. Address verification

Address verification services (AVS) is a way for you as the merchant to verify the identity of the person using the credit card. It’s up to you to set up the threshold for error on this one, and what to do when the address doesn’t match up. The credit card companies don’t require this, but you should in order to protect you as well as your customer.

4. Card Verification Value

The CCV or CCV-2 number that’s located on the back side of a credit card is a merchant’s friend when it comes to security. That number isn’t printed on the customer’s statements, and it’s not available online. The only place the consumer can find it is on the back of the credit card. That means when someone puts in that number you know that they’re physically in possession of the card.

5. Transaction security monitoring

There are a number of monitoring services that will check your website’s security for you. This can happen on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis. The higher volume you have on your site, the more frequently this should be done. This is a third-party service that’s often provided by your web hosting company, and it may include other security monitoring such as verifying the security of your web hosting software installation. Even now, customers are wary of making online purchases. Media stories about identity theft and credit card scams abound. It’s up to you to make sure that your customers have a secure transaction that doesn’t put you or them at risk.

The end result of these kinds of enhanced security measure is twofold. First, there is the obvious security benefit for both you and the customer. On top of that, however, you’ll help your customer to trust you more when they know your transactions are secure. This makes buying easier, and makes it more likely that the customer will come back to you the next time.

Author Bio

David Rodwell is a writer in business and economics, specializing in credit card processing. You can find more of his articles located at CreditCardProcessing.net

Emergency! What to do

2012-02-07T01:51:00.000-08:00

Okay. The worst has just happened and you think your network has been infected with a virus. The first rule is don't panic!A virus infection has happened to others and was bound to happen to you at some point. Hopefully you anticipated this and have an Emergency Response Team ready to operate. An Emergency Response Team should be part of your Security Policies and is composed of experts who can take over in an emergency.

If you don't have an Emergency Response Team, don't panic! Here's what you do:

1. Identify what infection you have.

You may have to do some research on an anti-virus Web site if your anti-virus program can't specifically identify which virus has entered your system. If your anti-virus program has all of its updates, it should be able to identify the virus. If your anti-virus program has not been updated recently, do that immediately.

2. Locate the source of the infection.

Scan all machines on your network to pinpoint which machines have the infection.

3. Quarantine all infected machines.

Take them off the network so the infection can't spread. That could mean physically unplugging the offending machines from the network or, if the infection is rampant, taking the entire network offline. You don't want to risk infecting others inside or outside of your network.

4. Eliminate or "cure" the infection.

Run your anti-virus program on all infected machines. Sometimes the anti-virus program can't reverse the infection, which means that you'll have to manually disinfect all machines. To manually disinfect a machine, you have to change registry settings or reinstall a portion, if not all, of the operating system. The anti-virus vendor's Web site should have specific disinfection instructions. If there is no information on the Web site, don't hesitate to give them a call.

5. Don't bring the machines or the network back online until you are sure all traces of the virus are gone.

This means scanning all machines AGAIN.

6. Have a staff meeting and tell everyone what happened, why it happened, and what you had to do to fix it.

Make this a "lessons learned" excursive and not a meeting to point fingers and place blame. You may discover a whole bunch of things you did correctly, too. View this as an opportunity to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Network Security: Anti-Virus Do's and Don'ts

2012-02-07T01:49:00.002-08:00

Viruses cost businesses money, and the threat is not going to go away any time soon. The interoperability between applications only makes it easier for virus writers to release viruses that can spread quickly and quietly without the user's knowledge.

Understanding anti-virus software

Anti-virus programs (also known as AV scanners) are often misconfigured and out-of-date and do little or nothing to protect the systems on which they're installed.

All AV scanners, including products like Norton and McAfee, work with a database that contains information about viruses; this information is called the virus fingerprint or signature. The database needs to be updated frequently so that it contains the most up-to-date virus information. Did you know that anti-virus vendors generally offer updates well ahead of a mass infection? That's because viruses are often detected and reported several weeks to months before end-users are aware of them. However, because people do not keep their scanners updated, a virus can quickly reach epidemic proportions. Then there is the inevitable mass scramble to get to the vendors' Web sites to download the updated files, which sometimes overwhelms the Web sites and further delays updates.

Of course, some virus epidemics have been due to the fact that the virus exhibited completely new code and behaviors that the scanners did not have in their database. The database is based upon existing viruses and behaviors previously seen. This is a significant weakness of AV products that vendors try to overcome with the use of hueristics — a method of anticipating and examining behaviors.

Following are some basic anti-virus rules to follow:-

· Do have a written anti-virus policy that details the responsibilities of management and staff, how anti-virus is to be maintained, and specific instructions on what to do in an emergency.

· Do make sure that anti-virus software is installed on every machine, even if the machine is not capable of running e-mail. Viruses can sit undetected in files on any machine.

· Do update anti-virus signature files and scanning engines regularly. A weekly update is good, although daily is better. If your company has a central anti-virus server, it can install updates on other machines on the network. However, a computer must be turned on for this to work. If a machine was not turned on at the time of the update, it will have to be updated manually.

· Do run the anti-virus program in full-time, background, automatic, auto-protect, or similar mode.

· Do enable scans of the memory, master and boot records, and system files upon start up of every machine. It doesn't take long for an anti-virus program to complete these scans and it's just plain silly not to enable these features.

· Do configure the anti-virus program to scan all files — not just executable programs. Viruses come in all sorts of files and just scanning executables is not enough.

· Do enable the anti-virus heuristic controls (if they are available). A heuristic scan takes longer, but not so much longer that it makes much difference to users.

· Don't allow Windows Scripting Host (WSH) to run on machines that don't need it. Although some Windows programs need WSH to run, most machines can have this removed without harm. WSH controls the Visual Basic Language and many viruses have been written with it. By removing WSH, the virus can't operate.

· Do enable Macro Virus Protection in all your Microsoft Office programs.

· Do disable the Preview Pane view in Outlook and Outlook Express. Some viruses can be launched by simply previewing them, even if the message is never opened. Disabling this feature saves you a lot of grief.

· Do not enable JavaScript for e-mail. Although there are no JavaScript viruses, it's only a matter of time before they appear, too. There are other vulnerabilities in JavaScript other than viruses, so it's a good idea to disable this feature in any case.

· Don't allow your e-mail programs to "auto open" attachments.

· Don't open attachments from people you don't know or attachments that seem suspicious.

· Do configure your e-mail programs to display messages in plain text only if HTML formatted e-mail isn't necessary. This is especially true for Web-based e-mail as there have been a number of vulnerabilities found in using HTML-enabled e-mail.

· Do educate all your users on the dangers of e-mail attachments and viruses in general. Also educate users about virus hoaxes and how to tell the difference between real and imagined threats.

· Do use the security features that come with the product. This includes preventing general users from being able to make changes in the program. Some users try to turn off the virus detection and you don't want them to be able to do that.

· Do educate your users about the anti-virus program you are using and how it works. This helps eliminate confusion, and staff will be less likely to try to disable the anti-virus program on their desktop machines.

Data Security

2012-02-07T01:49:00.000-08:00

DO NOT copy or download restricted sensitive data (e.g. Social Security Numbers, credit card numbers, health records, or other personal information protected by law, such as FERPA) from the University’s administrative systems to your PC, Web server, PDA, laptop, or any other portable device. Storage of such data on portable devices is strictly prohibited, and must require VP level authorization and disk encryption.	DO store restricted personal data on secure servers.
DO NOT store restricted data (e.g. SSN, emplID, PID) at home. This especially includes system backup tapes.	DO contract with certified vendors for off-site storage.
DO NOT store restricted sensitive data on remote third-party sites.
DO NOT send restricted data (e.g. SSN, emplID, PID, grades) un-encrypted using any protocol, including e-mail. E-mail messages can be intercepted by third parties or mistakenly sent to the wrong addresses.	DO encrypt sensitive e-mail or documents before sending via e-mail.
DO NOT leave restricted data in printed form (hard copy) lying around.	DO store restricted data in a secure cabinet.
DO NOT leave restricted data unattended on a copier, fax, or printer.	DO shred/cross shred restricted data that needs to be disposed.
DO NOT download, via Reporting Database Service (RDS), PeopleSoft, or through any other means, data sets not intended for the immediate task at hand.
DO NOT share restricted data with individuals that are not authorized to view.
DO NOT leave a logged on workstation unattended.
DO NOT install Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing software. The following software and their clones are prohibited from use anywhere on campus: Ares, Bittorrent, Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, IMesh, Morpheus, Gnutella, Bearshare, Limewire, Napster, Winmix, Edonky2000, Direct Connect, etc.	DO visit the Network Services' Prohibited Software Policies page to learn more about P2P use on-campus.
DO NOT download programs, applets, and images from unreliable and unknown sources; you might also be downloading Trojan viruses with it.
DO NOT dispose or transfer ownership of computers without making sure it is properly sanitized (with a hard drive erasing software.)
DO NOT use a computer without having an anti-virus or anti-malware software running on it.
DO NOT neglect to make frequent backups of critical data or e-mail that you do not want to lose.	DO follow the e-mail retention policy based on the Florida Public Records Law. Most e-mail must be retained for three years.
DO NOT forward your UCF business e-mail to a third party external e-mail system provided by Internet Service Providers, such as EarthLink, Sprint, Apple, AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail. Such action could potentially expose sensitive information and your personal e-mail inbox may be subject to Florida's public records laws.	DO leave your UCF business e-mails on secure systems provided by UCF.
DO NOT open file attachments from an unsolicited e-mail until you confirm the source by contacting the sender.
DO NOT use easy-to-guess passwords that contains only numbers or letters, without special characters.	DO use a password that is a mixture of numbers, letters, and special characters. Remember to change it quarterly.
DO NOT share passwords with anyone. Use different passwords for different Internet sites as you visit them. This will make it harder for someone to guess your password by not sticking to a common password or a pattern.
DO NOT use wireless technologies for transmitting restricted sensitive data without making certain end-to-end encryption is involved, regardless if wireless encryption is used.	DO use university-provided VPN solution to make your wireless connection equivalent to a wired connection on campus. Visit the Network Services' Wireless Network page for more information.
DO NOT run applications with inherent weaknesses due to old or buggy versions.	DO run the most up-to-date version of your web browser, browser plug-ins (e.g. Adobe Flash, Java), e-mail software, and other programs.

Be-Aware of Cyber Dating

2012-02-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

Before we start...you need to recognize that the only way to stay truly safe in a dating situation is to not date, period! There are always risks in dating, especially when you date strangers (blind dates, first dates and cyber-dates). In addition, teens should not be cyberdating. There are special rules for teens online. These tips are just for those over 18 years old.

Cyberdating is a little different from the other first dates, though. When you first meet a cyberdate in person, offline, you feel as though you know them - the normal first date precautions are often tossed to the wind. You know their favorite actors, authors and foods. You know everything they have told you, but they may not have been telling you the truth. You do not really know them. So treat them as strangers, use all the normal precautions you use with strangers, even cute ones. You should not give any more information to a first cyberdate than you would to a stranger you meet on a plane, or in a club, or in a bar.

Women tend to lie about their weight or age, while men tend to lie about their income, level of baldness and athletic condition. Teenagers pretend to be older than they are. The one rule you can count on is that everyone lies a little. So, keep an open mind.

That photo they sent you may be five years old, heavily doctored up with a graphics program, from when they used to be thin or when they had hair, or of someone else altogether. The best thing about the Internet is also the most dangerous - a person's personality can show through, what you are inside gets a chance to shine without getting overpowered by what you are outside. But, the cues we use in life; body language, dress, personal hygiene, tone of voice...the way we judge the truth of statements...are lost in cyberspace.

Take your time, use your head and be careful!

However, that said, many people have found love online so, if you're still interested in trying to find your soul mate, here are a few safety tips:

Do not believe everything you read online

You can be anything or anyone you want to be online. I keep trying to get people to believe that I am tall, blonde and gorgeous! (So far, no takers...). That cute brunette 24-year-old guy may not be cuter, may not be 24 and most importantly, may not be a guy. There is not truth in advertising protection when you date online.

Do not give out personal information online

Personal information that would let someone find you offline would never be shared online. Your full name, where you work, where you live, your phone number (see my note on giving out your phone number), your fax number...these should not be shared online.

Use an online dating service that uses an anonymizer or re-mailer to mask your real e-mail, or set up a Hotmail or other free account just for dating online. Cyber romance can quickly turn to cyberstalking - it is better to be able to terminate that particular account than to have to set up a new main account, and notify everyone you know.

Take your time - do not rush into things

Take your time to try to get to know the person online first. Everyone can put their best cyber-foot forward in the first couple of e-mails. Being consistent is tougher. Make sure you keep the old e-mails to compare the information they give you. In one e-mail, they might tell you they work for the postal service, in another that they are a student - make sure you check out these inconsistencies. They could be taking night classes, or they could just as easily be lying.

Do not be rushed, and do not rush the other person. Let the relationship develop online until you are comfortable with each other - take your time. Ask your friends - sometimes they are not blinded by the same rose-colored glasses you might be. What you considered cute might ring differently to them. This might seem like dating by committee, but it helps you keep perspective.

Especially when we have been hurt before, we think that we have now found the perfect checklist for a partner. When we see these points in the other person, we forget to explore the other points. Life is more than satisfying a "how tall are you, where do you live (geographically-desirable), if they want or don't want children, or have or don't have children, how much they earn, what religion they are and whether they like romantic movies and Touched by an Angel..." checklist. Values, experience and all the baggage we carry needs to be explored - this takes time. Give it the time it deserves.

Honesty is the best policy

When you go to one of those dating site, they ask you your height, weight, religion, income...lots of personal stuff. In addition, maybe you are not as thin, tall or make as much money as you want to. Maybe you have not been to church or a temple or mosque in thirty years. Maybe you are afraid that if you tell them your mother is living with you (or even more embarrassing, that you are still living with your mother...) no one will want you.

However, if you start out lying, you will be caught, eventually. If you want to shave a few pounds off, or use an older picture...okay. Nevertheless, confess once you think the person might be more than a one-time romance. Do not bait and switch, it's the surest way to end a promising relationship.

This is not the time to explore your fantasies of being a different person than you are...save that for later.

Start with a phone call

You should move from fantasies and chatting online to a phone call before you meet offline in person. The safest way to do this is by using a public phone. Set up a time for the call, and give the other person the telephone number of the public phone. Once you are comfortable enough, you can share real phone numbers, but make sure you have caller ID service. If things go sour, you can always block their calls. It also lets you know what their number really is. If they block your caller ID, do not accept their calls.

When you do meet, do it with a friend and in a very public place

The first time you meet in person, bring a friend. Meet in a mall, or fast food restaurant. Plan for a short first time get together - coffee or a soda. Tell them in advance that it will just be for a few minutes, so they will understand. Treat this as a blind date, only with more care. In a blind date someone you know knows this person, in a cyberdating situation, no one really knows this person. If they insist on meeting you alone, do not go.

Then compare what this person told you about himself or herself online - does it match reality? If not, find someone else. Remember the honesty thing (I am not talking about a few extra pounds, a little less hair, or a few years here or there...) Use your head - you might be lonely, but you are still safe.

Tell a friend

Make sure someone knows whom you are meeting, where you are going and when you are coming back. (Someone other than the person you take with you.) Store all of the e-mail conversations, and let your friend know where to find them. If anything goes wrong, they will be the source of information on how to locate the person you have been chatting with.

Never leave or go home with them

You can extend the meeting to dinner or anything else in a public place. However…PUBLIC is the operative word here. Remember when your mother told you never to get into a car with a stranger? Do not go home with them, to a private place of any kind...not for a while. Take this slow, even if you are not used to taking dating slow...this is special.

Report any attacks or threats to law enforcement

If things go wrong, whether you followed the rules or not, do not be embarrassed to go to the police. Give them all the facts. If you do not report this person, they in all likelihood will do it again. You are allowed to say "no" and have it respected. If anything goes wrong, it is not your fault.

Learn more about protecting yourself and your privacy online and offline

We have a lot of information at our Web site, and many classes you can attend online to teach you how to enjoy cyberspace safely. If you have a special question you need answered, feel free to write to Parry directly(E-mail: parry@aftab.com).

Do not be embarrassed to insist on the following rules

Your safety is the most important thing. Anyone who cares about you will respect you for being careful. Safe cyberdating, like safe sex is just smart! Although we hope that the person you meet online is your true soul mate, we want to make sure you are safe. It's like defensive driving - even if you are the best driver in the whole wide world, there are all those other drivers out there to worry about. This is defensive cyberdating. MOREOVER, IT IS JUST PLAIN SMART!

Make sure you're using a reputable online dating service or chat

Most will give you a free trial period. Make sure that you can use all of their service during that free trial. Make sure they use anonymizers or re-mailers, to mask your real e-mail address. Some people at the end of the free trial give out their e-mail address to allow the other person to find them when the free trial is over - make sure it's an e-mail account you have set up just for this purpose. Do not give out your Web site address if it contains personal information, or personal e-mail address.

If someone makes you uncomfortable, report it to your dating service right away. Make a copy of the message, and keep copies of anything you found offensive so they can check it out. Many also have an e-overlocking feature to keep you from being harassed from someone. Try not to make your essays provocative. Cyberflirtation escalates quickly and it is almost impossible to step back to a less amorous level.

If you have a problem with your service, contact them. If they will not help you, contact WiredSafety.org. We do not endorse any services, but have found that match.com and matchmaker.com seem reputable and have a safe cyberdating area.

If you are being cyber stalked or harassed - get help!

WiredSafety hosts one of the leading cyberstalking help groups online. If you need our help, visit their Cyberstalking Self-help area or just send an e-mail to WiredSafety.org Cyberstalking and Harassment Division via contact form. Do not respond when the cyberstalker contacts you. Just ignore them - most of the time they go away. Never share a photo with anyone online you would not want broadcast to 120 million people all over the world. Often cyber romances end in one party cyberstalking the other. Do not give them any ammunition. When the old-fashioned "for a good time, call Sally" is posted on one bathroom wall, the results can be horrible, when it is posted on the Internet's cyberwall of sexual UseNet groups and chats, it can be very dangerous!

Therefore, have fun, but be smart...and do it safely!
Source :- www.WiredSafety.org

Passwords

2012-02-07T01:43:00.000-08:00

Try to use Strong Passwords

But how to analyze passwords strengths

Download free PASSWORD STRENGTH ANALYSER from here

Microsoft has some tips to share with us to make our passwords very strong and unbreakable. They have made a password strength analyzerthat can help you analyze the strength of your passwords

I recommend all of you to go through password tips from Microsoft that can help you to make stronger password for your Online Banking account, Mail account and PayPal account.

Tips to identify spams and scams

2012-02-07T01:40:00.004-08:00

We have some tips to identify whether the mail you received is a part of email scam or
a spam mail. If any of the following conditions are true then the mail you received might
be an email scam or spam mail.

If you does'nt know the person who has sent you the message.
If you are assured untold sums of money for little or without any effort from your side.
If you are asked to provide money up front for questionable activities, a processing fee, or to pay the cost of expediting the process.
If you are asked to provide your bank account number or other personal financial information, even if the sender offers to deposit money into it.
If the sender request for an immediate action.
If The sender frequently requests secret details or other personal details.
If the sender offers to send you photocopies of government documents, banking details , or other "proofs" to justify and support their claim (All these might be fake).

So try to implement these tips and save your self from spams and email scams.

Laptop Security

2012-02-07T01:40:00.002-08:00

There are some thumb rules to be followed to make your laptop secure from
attacks. I have compiled a few for you.

1. Make sure it’s actually the hotel network to which you’re connecting. WiFi density is so high in some areas that you have to be cautious. Just because you are in a hotel room, doesn’t mean that the hotel network is the only one that can be seen.

2. Keep your anti-virus software and patches up-to-date and firewall enabled. Disable file and printer sharing, likely the easiest way to compromise a remote user. Look for WEP (wireless encryption protocol) or WPA (WiFi protected access) when connecting. If you open the tool to view available wireless networks, it will say unsecured if it is not encrypted. Using WEP (encryption) gives you a reasonable amount of protection from someone just reading the signal out of the air.

3. Set your computer to NOT auto connect to wireless access points that are listed as ‘unsecure’. A common method of compromise is to establish a fake access point. Users with this feature turned off will automatically associate to your fake access point. You can even provide real internet access, but monitor all of their traffic. Or, if the user automatically associated to you, you can browse their shares without them even realizing.

4. When using a hotel network, establish a VPN connection to route your traffic through. The VPN client disables what they call ’split tunneling’, which is the ability for your machine to connect to two or more networks at the same time. By establishing a VPN connection, no one else on the hotel network can see your traffic or connect to you.

Keeping yourself safe online

2012-02-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

So How to be

I have compiled some tips from various sources for staying your self safe, online. Have a glimpse through them and be safe on your side.

Never disclose your personal details to people online.
Don't respond to suspicious e-mails.
Don't click links in suspicious e-mails.
Delete suspicious e-mails and move on.
Update your Anti-virus Definitions.
Install Windows defender, if you are using Microsoft Windows.
Install McAfee Site Advisor, to know the details about a link in search engines like Google or Yahoo before you click that link.
Never accept friendship invitations from unknown peoples in the social community networks.
Use Strong Passwords for your email account and other social community network accounts.
You can get this both from here Windows Defender and McAfee site Advisor

Ubuntu Linux Get Free CD's

2012-02-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Ubuntu is a free, open source Linux Operating System based on Debian Linux. This flavor of Linux focuses on the User Friendliness and usability of Linux. In spite of being open source, Ubuntu team is dedicated to provide support at least for 18 months after a particular release of Ubuntu.

Also Ubuntu is the most preferred flavor of Linux in this world. And Ubuntu support both x86 and Sun sparc architectures. So that you can run Ubuntu even on Sun Hardwares. In order to increase the popularity, the Ubuntu team is giving away free copies of Ubuntu Linux either by download or by free CDs.

Don't get excited.. its true. They are giving away free CDs.

You can get it from here

Free NetBeans CD

2012-02-07T01:29:00.000-08:00

Free NetBeans CD

NetBeans is giving its free NetBeans worldTour CD that includes the NetBeans IDE 5.5, NetBeans Mobility Pack 5.5, NetBeans Profiler 5.5 and Sun Java System Application Server 9.0_1 Platform Edition.

Note: The Japanese and Simplified Chinese CD contains localized versions of NetBeans IDE 5.0, NetBeans Mobility Pack 5.0, NetBeans Profiler 5.0 and Sun Java System Application Server 8.2 Platform Edition. Localized versions of NetBeans 5.5 are expected to be available in mid December.

The NetBeans worldTour CD will be published and updated as major enhancements and new releases become available.

You can Order it here

Access and Control Your Desktop Remotely with Your Mobile Device

2012-02-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Have you ever dreamed of accessing and controlling your Desktop remotely with your Mobile?.
Now WebEx is here to materialize your dream. You can use WebEx PCNow 3.0 to access your
PC from any mobile device or PC from anywhere!!!. This comes with a very nominal fee per month.

I am sure you can experience the thrill of following features:

Remote Desktop Control - You can access your PCs using a standard web browser, and work as if you were sitting right there.

Mobile Access to Your Files and Folders - You can access files, photos, and documents stored on your remote computer from any mobile phone. Quickly share documents and pictures on the go.

Mobile Organizer - Access your Outlook email, calendar and contacts from your mobile phone. Reply to emails, create appointments and quickly retrieve contact information when you need it.

Mobile Skype™ - You can call or chat with Skype contacts even on mobile devices that are not supported by Skype mobile client.

Mobile Search - If you have Google, Yahoo, Windows, or X1 desktop search installed on your computer, you can search your desktop from any mobile phone.

Mobile Online Storage - 100MBs of free online storage allows you to automatically store important files and access them even when your computer is off-line.

Copy and Paste - Copy and paste text between computers , simply and easily.

Remote Printing - Print any document on your remote computer to a local printer. Instantly obtain a hard copy of any document living on your remote computer.

File Transfer - Transfer files to and from your remote computer. If you travel and forget to bring a document, easily access your computer and transfer the file to your local computer.

Security - It uses 128 Bit SSL so that all data transferred during a remote access session, from end to end, is totally secure and private.

Remote Screen Blanking & Keyboard Locking - This prevents anyone at the remote location from tampering with your computer during a session. Your privacy and your remote access session are protected.

Phone Authentication - This is a unique option that triggers a phone call from the network, requiring that an access code be entered via the phone's keypad to obtain access to the remote computer.

Usage Activity Reports - You can view detailed records of your remote access sessions.

2012-02-07T01:19:00.000-08:00

Security Tips for Students

One must take some precautionary measures when bringing a computer from home and connecting it to the UCF network. Please follow some of the guidelines below to make your computing experience at UCF as safe as possible.

DO NOT turn on file and print sharing.Many new students bring their computers to UCF from home with file sharing turned on. Although this may have been useful at home, this may be exploited by other users at UCF.
DO NOT run a multi-user operating system (e.g. Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, Unix, Linux) without a strong password. We find many systems without an Administrator password.	DO set up strong root/Administrator passwords to your operating systems.
DO NOT leave a logged on workstation unattended.	DO secure your workstation or log off your session when you leave.
DO NOT transmit sensitive data over a non-secure site. Many forms of data traverses on a network in clear text. Please follow these basic steps to avoid unauthorized users from capturing and reading your information: DO NOT send sensitive information (e.g. SSN, credit card number, passwords) over e-mail or instant messaging (AOL, MSN, Yahoo) DO NOT input sensitive data in websites without a secure connection to the site. Look for a lock icon on the bottom right corner of your browser to check if a site is secure.
DO NOT share your account information (e.g. passwords) with any other student or UCF staff. No UCF staff has the authority to ask for your password.
DO NOT use easy to guess passwords.	DO create passwords that contain a mix of numbers and letters (use mixed case) and change them frequently.
DO NOT run a computer without an anti-virus software installed.	DO install free anti-virus software for ResNet residents that you can obtain here .
DO NOT download programs, applets, and images from unreliable and unknown sources; you might also be downloading Trojan viruses with it.
DO NOT open file attachments from an unsolicited e-mail until you confirm the source by contacting the sender.	DO have an updated anti-virus software running on your system all the time.

Cyber security,Physical security Imps

2012-02-07T01:13:00.000-08:00

In September the virus threat even hit Skype, with the discovery of a worm that used Skype phone chat to redirect users to a website that infected their computers. With the Cyberwars becoming more and more heated, everyone from Microsoft and Symantec to the Department of Homeland Security issue alerts, updates, patches and security bulletins. All of this information and help will be to no avail without basic security awareness on the part of every computer user.

The New Media Institute and CyberSecure Technologies have developed a list of security fundamentals to help you protect your computer, your workplace network, and your personal data. These guidelines are designed to keep you conscious of computer security in the broadest possible sense. They are by no means the only practices and procedures you should follow, but they are certainly among the most important!

Physical Security Fundamentals

The front line in protecting your data and your computer is securing the physical equipment itself. The risks are twofold.

There is a basic danger to your data, and therefore your security from natural or technological causes related to our basic computer and technology infrastructure. There is no way to prevent power failures, surges, bad connections and faulty data transmission. You can, however, minimize the damage to your system and your information.

More importantly, there is danger posed by the loss of physical control of your computer. The most extensive breaches of computer data in the past six months have been the lost laptops and unsecured workstations at companies like SAIC and a host of government agencies. Physical security is paramount!

Always be aware of people who have physical access to your computer—family members, roommates, co-workers, members of a cleaning crew, and maybe others. Physical access to your computer, whether legitimate or not, is a key factor in cyber security. After all, the casual use of your laptop by a person you trust going to a dangerous site or opening a suspicious email, can blow your system out of the water.

Identifying the people who could gain remote access to your computer is more difficult but not impossible. If you are connected to a network at work, share files through a remote connection, or exchange data across the Internet, you are vulnerable to a security breach. Either someone or something can access your information.

To deal with these physical aspects of computer and data security, we recommend the following:

• Protect your computer from physical damage:- Simple as it may sound, the first line of defense against losing your data is to make sure your computer is safe from actual physical damage. There are horror stories we have all heard about irreplaceable data being lost because a laptop fell into a pool or out the back of a poorly packed SUV. When you are using your machine, keep any liquids far from the machine itself. And above all, make sure the cords and wires are situated so they will not be inadvertently disconnected or pull down your computer when someone trips over them! Keep your machine safe from harm and your data will be safe from harm!

• Protect your computer from electrical damage:- Electrical shutoffs, power failures, and electrical surges are all part of modern life. Your computer requires a steady “clean” source of power in order to operate properly. Turn it off in a storm! Use a power surge protector! Do not run motors or other heavy duty equipment (copiers, fans, air conditioners, etc.) on the same circuit as your computer! If possible, install an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that will maintain enough power for your computer to complete a normal shutdown even if the power fails.

• Protect your computer when you are not using it:- If you only step away from your computer for a few minutes, there is enough time for a casual passerby to use your equipment. Securing your work area, at home or the office prevents even friendly users, the kids or your co-workers, from accidentally corrupting your system or deleting your information. After all, it is simple to sit down at an unoccupied computer access either the Internet or email. Your personal information is at risk when your computer equipment is unsecured! If possible, turn your workstation or laptop off when it is not being used. At a minimum, secure it from unwanted use by logging off your network and putting the system into password secured standby.

• Disconnect your computer from the Internet when you are not using it:- We have all left our computers connected to the Internet and walked away from them. Permanent connections, either through a business network or DSL are commonplace. The risk, however, is becoming more and more serious. IM sessions, automatic program updates, email, and scripting all have risks based on their continued connection to the Internet and the unattended nature of their activities. If another person using IM (Instant Messenger) has an infection, you run the risk of unwanted intrusions yourself just by being on their chat list!

• Carefully consider your security settings:- Programs and data are only as secure as your passwords and security settings. Operating systems, browsers, and most commercially available software have put in place a series of options that give the user the ability to require identification and passwords for everything from logging on to opening a specific file. Use what your system offers! It can be tailored to meet your needs and requirements. If the choice is ease of use or security, opt for security. Enabling program options that increase convenience may leave you more vulnerable. Examine all system settings, particularly the security settings, and select options that decrease your risk of data loss or intrusion.

• Back up your data:- Files and data are lost by users all the time. We have all accidentally erased a file. No matter how much you protect your data and the machine that houses it, it can be lost. The hard drives we all depend on to store our data have a fixed life expectancy. A low but significant percentage of them fail within months of production but all of them eventually crash. In addition, files can be damaged or destroyed by a virus or worm, a natural event, or a problem with your equipment. A simple disruption of transmission from the hard drive through the CPU can render a file useless. Regularly backing up your data is a no-brainer. Using a CD, DVD, network drive, tapes, or an external memory device will mitigate any problems created when your data is corrupted or destroyed. How often you back up your data is a function of its importance. If your data changes frequently or is critical to your work or personal well-being, back up frequently.

• Protect your backups:- When you make your data backups, make sure they are kept in a safe, secure location. It does no good to secure your PC and leave the backups where anyone might find them!

• Guard your peripherals:- With the spread of flash drives, portable computer memory, memory cards and mini hard drives many users store valuable data in multiple places. This greatly lessens the chance of permanently loosing data and files but increases the exposure you have to unauthorized access. Many of the devices are so small they are easily misplaced or lost. Users also use these devices to transfer files between machines without realizing a copy of the file could be left on the device itself. Encrypt important data files on these devices. Keep close track of miniature memory devices. Wipe them clean when a transfer has been completed. Do not leave them in computer chip slots or USB pots. Be careful. Your data is easily accessed if the device falls into the wrong hands.

Build Fake Login Pages

2012-01-20T01:34:00.000-08:00

Wanna Build fake login pages,

-No programming needed

-Just WYSIWYG method

How to secure your facebook account

2011-12-20T05:31:00.000-08:00

In the past few years a lot of social apps have been developed which has changed our life completely. Now a days, we have 2 lives, one which is the actual physical life and the other is a virtual life which we live through these social apps. Facebook has become a major part of this virtual life. Nobody wants anyone else to take control of their life. Since our virtual life is online, we need to take care that it is not hacked by any stupid hacker and used for their own benefit.

According the Facebook statistics there are more than 750 Million Active facebook users. This makes is a very important target for all the hackers. I have no doubts that the developers at facebook are working 24×7 to make it as secure as possible but the hackers are also working 24×7 to find out a loophole using which they could take control of your account. But for our safety we also need to work a little harder. According to me, the best possible way to do this is by learning how to hack facebook yourself. If you know the loopholes you will never fall for it.

Now you might be thinking, how can I learn about hacking Facebook. If you ask me, I would say google it and learn it yourself. But I know that nobody has got so much time to search for each and every facebook hack possible. Luckily Rafay Baloch, the author of “A beginners Guide To Ethical Hacking”, has the answer to your question with his newly created “Facebook Hacking Course“.

Facebook hacking course is basically a set of videos which will show you different methods used by hackers to hack Facebook account passwords and how you can protect your self from getting hacked. It will include each and every possible methods that a hacker could use to get your facebook credentials. Along with each video you will get a lab which will tell you exactly how to replicate this attack in a safe environment. It also provides bonus techniques using which you could become anonymous on the internet. If you want to become a hacker this is the first thing you would want to learn. There is also a second bonus with it. You will get email support from none other than Rafay himself.

Now before you make your decision lets hear some words from Rafay: “Friends, if you ask me “Is Facebook safe?” my answer would be “Yes. Its safer than your own computer but remember it is still possible that your facebook account may get hacked and that is because all the hacking methods are client based and not server based, which means that the hackers directly attack you and not facebook. And securing your facebook account depends on how better you can avoid these attacks.”

Now I leave it up to you. You may go and take this course which I would highly recommend or you may leave it up to the hackers to find and hack your account.

2011-12-20T05:29:00.000-08:00

These are Top 20 Hacking Tools, the list is exhaustive, this are a few to name.

Nessus

The “Nessus” Project aims to provide to the internet community a free, powerful, up-to-date and easy to use remote security scanner for Linux, BSD, Solaris, and other flavors of Unix.

Ethereal

Ethereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. Ethereal has several powerful features, including a rich display filter language and the ability to view the reconstructed stream of a TCP session.

Snort

Snort is an open source network intrusion detection system, capable of performing real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks.

Netcat

Netcat has been dubbed the network swiss army knife. It is a simple Unix utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using TCP or UDP protocol

TCPdump

TCPdump is the most used network sniffer/analyzer for UNIX. TCPTrace analyzes the dump file format generated by TCPdump and other applications.

Hping

Hping is a command-line oriented TCP/IP packet assembler/analyzer, kind of like the “ping” program (but with a lot of extensions).

DNSiff

DNSiff is a collection of tools for network auditing and penetration testing. dsniff, filesnarf, mailsnarf, msgsnarf, urlsnarf, and webspy passively monitor a network for interesting data (passwords, e-mail, files, etc.).

GFI LANguard

GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.) automatically scans your entire network, IP by IP, and plays the devil’s advocate alerting you to security vulnerabilities.

Ettercap

>Ettercap is a multipurpose sniffer/interceptor/logger for switched LAN. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones)and includes many feature for network and host analysis.

Nikto

Nikto is an Open Source (GPL) web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 2500 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, versions on over 375 servers, and version specific problems on over 230 servers.

John the Ripper

John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, currently available for many flavors of Unix.

OpenSSH

OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools, which encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks.

TripWire

Tripwire is a tool that can be used for data and program integrity assurance.

Kismet

Kismet is an 802.11 wireless network sniffer – this is different from a normal network sniffer (such as Ethereal or tcpdump) because it separates and identifies different wireless networks in the area.

NetFilter

NetFilter and iptables are the framework inside the Linux 2.4.x kernel which enables packet filtering, network address translation (NAT) and other packetmangling.

IP Filter

IP Filter is a software package that can be used to provide network address translation (NAT) or firewall services.

OpenBSD Packet Filter

fport

fport identifys all open TCP/IP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning application.

SAINT

SAINT network vulnerability assessment scanner detects vulnerabilities in your network’s security before they can be exploited.

OpenPGP

OpenPGP is a non-proprietary protocol for encrypting email using public key cryptography. It is based on PGP as originally developed by Phil Zimmermann.

I still don’t know why people take it for granted to download virus protection software, and they wonder why their computers get hacked into.