Dangerous Celebrities in Cyberspace!!

This year, the search results for celebrities are safer than they've been in previous years, but there are still dangers when searching online. "Through consumer education and tools, consumers are getting smarter about searching online, yet cybercriminals are getting sneakier in their techniques. Now they're hiding malicious content in 'tiny' places like shortened URLs that can spread virally in social networking sites and Twitter, instead of on websites and downloads.

Cameron Diaz has been named the most dangerous celebrity on the web for 2010 by a top security firm.

Research by the security firm, which has been acquired by Intel, revealed that web users searching for images, screen savers and videos of the 'Knight and Day' actress have a one in ten chance of being presented with results that lead to malicious web pages.

According to the research, cybercriminals often use the names of popular celebrities to trick web users into visiting sites infected with malicious software. Those navigating to the site could find the malware installed on their computers.

Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts was named the second most dangerous celebrity on the web, while Justin Timberlake's current girlfriend, Jessica Biel, took third place.

Also said that while movie stars and models top the 'most dangerous' list this year politicians including US President Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are among the safest celebrities to search for on the net.

The top 10 celebrities from this year’s study with the highest percentages of risk are:

Position	Celebrity
1	Cameron Diaz – Searching for Diaz results in a one in ten chance of landing on a risky site. She has most recently been in the spotlight with blockbuster movies, "Knight and Day" and "Shrek Forever After." When "Cameron Diaz and screensavers" was searched, 19% of the sites were identified as containing malicious downloads.
2	Julia Roberts – Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts is one of America's sweethearts, and will soon be in the spotlight with her upcoming release of "Eat, Pray, Love." The overall risk of searching for Roberts is nine percent, yet searching for "Julia Roberts and downloads" results in a 20% chance of downloading a photo, wallpaper or other file laden with malware.
3	Jessica Biel – Last year's Most Dangerous Celebrity fell two spots with searches resulting in fewer risky sites this year. Biel continues to be in the spotlight with her on-again, off-again relationship with Justin Timberlake, and appeared in "The A-Team" in June 2010. While her overall search risk is 9%, searching for "Jessica Biel and screensavers" results in a 17% chance of landing on a risky site.
4	Gisele Bündchen – The world's highest-paid supermodel moved up two spots since last year. Searching for "Gisele Bündchen and screensavers" can prove risky, 15% of the search results for this beauty can put spyware, malware or viruses on your computer.
5	Brad Pitt – Pitt is often in the spotlight with news of his movies and his personal life. It's no wonder why this leading man has been in the top ten for the past three years. He moved up in rank five spots this year. Downloading photos, screensavers, or other files of Brad can potentially put adware or spyware in your computer.
6	Adriana Lima – Searching for downloads of this Brazilian beauty can direct users to red-ranked sites. Lima is best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2000.
7	Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nicole Kidman – Searching for these Hollywood starlets resulted in an equal number of risky download websites.
8	Tom Cruise – With recent buzz around his MTV Awards performance as well as his movie, "Knight and Day," Cruise rises to the top ten.
9	Heidi Klum, Penelope Cruz – Both of these ladies are consistently in the spotlight, and share the #9 spot. Cybercriminals use their names to lure people to risky sites. Klum hosts "Project Runway" and Cruz has been in the spotlight recently for her role in the "Sex and the City 2" movie and is expected to be in the fourth film of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.
10	Anna Paquin – This "True Blood" star is as dangerous on the web as she is on the screen. Searching for screensavers of Paquin can lead you to downloads filled with malware.

Cybercriminals follow the same hot topics as consumers, and create traps based on the latest trends. Whether you’re surfing the Web from your computer or your phone or clicking on links in Twitter about your favorite celeb, you should surf safely, and make sure you’re using the latest security software.

Read More

Is Your Money Safe Online?

It is important to keep your hard-earned money safe.

The Internet allows you to make life easy and get better rates. It also adds new risks. While online banking is considered safer than traditional paper-based banking, you need to know what the threats are.

The internet is a convenient place to buy almost anything. Unfortunately, if someone gets hold of your credit or debit card details, they may try to use them to shop online fraudulently.

That's why MasterCard and Visa have developed MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa secure services that offer you much greater protection when shopping online.

Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode both work in the same way - by using personal passwords, used by the consumer, to add an extra layer of protection when you buy online in retailer outlets.

  

Where can I shop?

You can shop anywhere online. Signing up does not in any way restrict your ability to use your card to make purchases online, whether or not the website you are shopping at is currently participating in the service or not. It simply means that when you buy from a retailer that is participating, you benefit from that extra level of security. The number of online retailers registered with these services is growing all the time.

Read More

Eight threats your Anti-Virus will not stop!!!

News headlines are a constant reminder that malware attacks and data leakage are on the rise. High-profile incidents that make big news might seem out of the ordinary. Yet businesses of every size face similar risks in the everyday acts of using digital technology and the internet for legitimate purposes.

Anti-virus technology was a first and extremely necessary response to security threats that have escalated over the past decade. The original anti-virus concept blocked attacks by using patterns, or signatures, to identify malicious software code. Signature-based detection was sufficient when threats were fewer, farther between and generally less dangerous.

Now that organized criminals relentlessly troll for vulnerabilities, the risk is high for any organization that uses technology in ordinary and legitimate ways. Because exposure lies in such routine situations, organizations must update their protection beyond traditional anti-virus. As news headlines show, letting your guard down has dangerous consequences. Here are eight everyday threats, related incidents from the real world and countermeasures you can put in place.

1. The zero-day threat
2. Working outside the firewall
3. The unpatched PC
4. The uncontrolled application
5. Web insecurity
6. The lost laptop
7. Misdirected email
8. The infected USB device

Read More

Be careful whenever you're using a public computer!!

Please be careful whenever you're using a computer at a public place such as libraries, internet cafes, airports, and coffee shops, etc.

Check the back of the computer and see if the below device is there. If so, do not use it!!!!

New storing device fits at the end of the keyboard cable connecting to the computer specialized to save all typed keys in it!!

It could be used commonly in internet cafes, exhibitions, hotels and airports. Please be careful when you access internet from these places to enter your bank accounts online or any other important websites.

After you enter the bank account details and leave the computer, it will be very easy to open your account again as all what you have typed has been saved in the Black Device.  

Therefore, you should check the computer for any suspicious device behind it before using the internet in public places accessing important websites.

These devices are generally known as "key loggers". The brand of keylogger shown in the message is a KeyShark Key Logger and is available for sale at many different computer outlets and websites around the world.


Product information about the device describes it as follows:


This is a device that can be connected to a keyboard to record all keystrokes. It has a changeable password, keyword search, enable/disable option, and stores over a years worth of data.


Keyshark plugs in between your keyboard and your computer. A microcontroller interprets the data, and stores information in the non-volatile memory (which retains the information even when there is a loss of power.) This means that the Key Shark device can be unplugged, and the information will not be lost.

The black Keyshark Key Logger shown in the photographs is in fact only one kind of hardware keylogger. The devices come in all shapes and sizes and are not always black. There are also USB and wifi keyloggers as well as PS/2 devices like the one shown here.

It should be noted that the devices themselves are not illegal and can be easily procured. Possible legitimate applications for keyloggers might be the monitoring of children's use of the Internet, permission based monitoring of staff activity or helping software developers learn how test users interact with new software products. Law enforcement agencies may also use the devices when gathering evidence or intelligence. That said, keyloggers can indeed be used for nefarious and illegal purposes. An unscrupulous Internet Cafe owner or staff member could certainly install the devices unbeknownst to customers.

All in all, however, a much more potent keylogging threat to users exists in the form of software keyloggers. Software keyloggers, which can perform the same function as hardware devices such as the Keyshark, are much cheaper and can potentially be installed on a great many more computers. Keylogger software in the form of trojans horses can be installed on thousands or even millions of computers via malware email campaigns that cost the criminal very little to implement. Therefore, it seems probable that serious criminals are considerably more likely to operate software keyloggers than use the more expensive and cumbersome hardware variety.

Read More

Facts about P2P file sharing: Know the risks

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing is a convenient way to share public-domain music, audio, images, documents, and software programs over the Internet.

Using P2P, you can store files on your computer and go online to search for and share files with others using the same software; programs such as BitTorrent, Morpheus, Kazaa, LimeWire, and iMesh, among many others.

It's a good idea to understand and anticipate the risks of P2P file sharing before you download your first file.

Risk #1: Exposing your computer to unwanted software

Shared files can contain security risks such as viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software. A file that appears legitimate could be a virus in disguise. Unwary file sharers can download beneficial software that incorporates undisclosed spyware with it.

You can help prevent these dangers by following these steps:

• Use a firewall
• Update your operating system and the other software on your computer
• Install antivirus software such and keep it active and current
• Install antispyware software and keep it active and current

Risk #2: Breaking copyright laws

Reputable P2P software is legal to use, but if you choose to do so, it's important to understand and differentiate between copyrighted and public domain material and to share responsibly.

When in doubt about a given file, it's best not to share or download it.

Tips for file sharing more safely

• Monitor family P2P use and don't assume that using an Internet filter will protect your family from accessing or downloading unwanted or illegal material.

Because most Internet filters cannot block P2P file sharing, it's important to set guidelines and ensure that all family members are educated about illegal file sharing.

• Treat all downloaded files with suspicion and use updated industry standard antivirus software to scan each new file before you click it. Set your antivirus software to automatically scan your hard disk on a regular basis, or do it manually yourself.
• Delete any pirated material found on a family computer, digital audio player, CD-ROM disc, or other storage device and consider disabling the P2P software's downloading option or blocking outside access to the program by changing your computer's Internet firewall settings.
• Learn all you can about your P2P software and be very careful about which files you make available to others. Most P2P shared files are typically stored in a single folder on your computer (often named "Shared Files").
• Do not store copies of copyrighted files that you have legally purchased, such as songs from a CD or a licensed retail music site in your P2P file-sharing folder.
• Back up important files on an external storage device or a CD-ROM disc before sharing or downloading files.

Read More

Five Important Tips for using a public computer

Public computers at libraries, Internet cafes, airports, and coffee shops are convenient, cheaper than buying your own laptop, and sometimes even free to use. But are they safe? Depends on how you use them.

Here are 5 tips on using public computers without compromising your personal or financial information.

1. Don't save your logon information


Always log out of Web sites by clicking "log out" on the site. It's not enough to simply close the browser window or type in another address.
Many programs (especially social networking Web sites, Web mail, and instant messenger programs) include automatic login features that will save your user name and password. Disable this option so no one can log in as you.

2. Don't leave the computer unattended with sensitive information on the screen

If you have to leave the public computer, log out of all programs and close all windows that might display sensitive information.

3. Erase your tracks

Internet Explorer 8 offers InPrivate browsing that leaves no trace of specific Web activity.Other browsers also support InPrivate browsing.

Internet Explorer also keeps a record of your passwords and every page you visit, even after you've closed them and logged out.

Disable the feature that stores passwords

Before you go to the Web, turn off the Internet Explorer feature that "remembers" your passwords.

• In Internet Explorer, click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
• Click the Content tab, and then click Settings, next to AutoComplete.
• Click to clear both check boxes having to do with passwords.

Delete your temporary Internet files and your history

When you finish your use of a public computer, you can help protect your private information by deleting your temporary Internet files.

4. Watch for over-the-shoulder snoops


When you use a public computer, be on the look out for thieves who look over your shoulder or watch as you enter sensitive passwords to collect your information.

5. Don't enter sensitive information into a public computer



These measures provide some protection against casual hackers who use a public computer after you have.
But keep in mind that an industrious thief might have installed sophisticated software on the public computer that records every keystroke and then e-mails that information back to the thief.

Then it doesn't matter if you haven't saved your information or if you've erased your tracks. They still have access to this information.

If you really want to be safe, avoid typing your credit card number or any other financial or otherwise sensitive information into any public computer.

Read More

Website Trust Marks: What They Are and How They Work?

Trustmarks are the images or logos that retailers can place on their websites to show that they have passed various security and privacy tests, and reassure customers that it is safe to shop on the site.

Believe it or not, but in the U.S., two-thirds of consumers now shop online, according to Yankee Group Research, which recently released a report that discusses the importance of trust marks to web merchants and their customers.

Clearly, online commerce is big business and trust marks are very critical to consumers who need assurances that they are dealing with a reputable website. It’s important for sellers to promote security because we all know cybercriminals and online fraudsters find it relatively easy to steal personal and financial data from consumers and merchants.

Trust marks, often displayed on a home page or the checkout page, can indicate a range of things, including whether or not the website uses certain encryption technology; if the business is accredited; or how thoroughly, if at all, the website is scanned for vulnerabilities that could be exploited to steal data and identity information from customers.

There is also the risk that displaying too many security logos and reassurances can be counter-productive. Check out this basket page from a website - there are 11 mentions of security, including five logos.

The intention to offer lots of reassurance is a good one, but it may have customers wondering why the retailer is so keen to reassure them.

Some very well known retailers aren't bothering with these Trustmark, and it doesn't seem to be doing them any harm. I couldn't spot any Trustmarks on Amazon.co.uk, though the 'sign in using our secure server' wording on the Amazon call to action does offer reassurance:

Read More