Internet fraud, cyber-terrorism... have a nice day!
So, I've grown up with the Internet and now kind of feel like someone who has lived in a friendly neighborhood forever - blind to the druglords and gangs that now rove the streets... "You aren't safe here anymore." is the thought that's sinking in.
The Net has become an unfriendly, unsafe place. Internet fraud and cyber terrorism are real. Perhaps it's nothing new, but it's worse now - only because there's so many people who blindly disregard the dangers (I count myself among them). There's people who have had time to learn how to exploit the technologies involved and organizations which realize the value in infecting the systems from within. Yes, there are the "script kiddies" who think it's cool to write unintelligent hacks with frameworks that make it easy for anyone to unleash a new virus or worm. But at the other end of the spectrum are very real countries, governments, and organizations which have "Cyber Warfare" divisions. The U.S. government even dables - it's part of national security, afterall. It's a different sort of arms race, and most people shrug it off... Because it's not a very tangible threat.
What can you do besides wear a tinfoil hat when you surf?
1. Keep your OS up-to-date and patched with the latest security patches released from your OS vendor.
2. Use Firefox (http://getfirefox.com) as your browser (because Internet Explorer is too easily exploited and is just bloat-code anyway!)
3. Use a virus scanner and keep it's database up-to-date with latest definitions
4. Install and run an Ad-aware and Spyware filter (some of these also work as popup blockers too!) PC Magazine: Antispyware Oh yeah, and some Spyware "removers" are actually spyware themselves (trojan horses - they may remove malware, but they install their own flavor... neat, huh?)
5. If you have broadband connection, use a physical firewall (don't just plug your machine into the network!), and turn your system off when you aren't using it (or have it use power-save mode and make sure it turns off your wireless/network connection when in that mode).
6. Think! Someone else is (thinking)... and they want to a) steal your identity, b) use your machine as a resource to launch denial of service and other attacks anonymously, c) destroy your data (for fun?), d) make you think... (oh, wait...) *shrug*
Have a nice day!
The Net has become an unfriendly, unsafe place. Internet fraud and cyber terrorism are real. Perhaps it's nothing new, but it's worse now - only because there's so many people who blindly disregard the dangers (I count myself among them). There's people who have had time to learn how to exploit the technologies involved and organizations which realize the value in infecting the systems from within. Yes, there are the "script kiddies" who think it's cool to write unintelligent hacks with frameworks that make it easy for anyone to unleash a new virus or worm. But at the other end of the spectrum are very real countries, governments, and organizations which have "Cyber Warfare" divisions. The U.S. government even dables - it's part of national security, afterall. It's a different sort of arms race, and most people shrug it off... Because it's not a very tangible threat.
What can you do besides wear a tinfoil hat when you surf?
1. Keep your OS up-to-date and patched with the latest security patches released from your OS vendor.
2. Use Firefox (http://getfirefox.com) as your browser (because Internet Explorer is too easily exploited and is just bloat-code anyway!)
3. Use a virus scanner and keep it's database up-to-date with latest definitions
4. Install and run an Ad-aware and Spyware filter (some of these also work as popup blockers too!) PC Magazine: Antispyware Oh yeah, and some Spyware "removers" are actually spyware themselves (trojan horses - they may remove malware, but they install their own flavor... neat, huh?)
5. If you have broadband connection, use a physical firewall (don't just plug your machine into the network!), and turn your system off when you aren't using it (or have it use power-save mode and make sure it turns off your wireless/network connection when in that mode).
6. Think! Someone else is (thinking)... and they want to a) steal your identity, b) use your machine as a resource to launch denial of service and other attacks anonymously, c) destroy your data (for fun?), d) make you think... (oh, wait...) *shrug*
Have a nice day!
posted by Joe R at 3:31 PM
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