Who Knows What About You Online?

Posted on March 18, 2009 by wjimenez275

I was reading an article yesterday about an individual who was inspired to find out what information about him was online. He searched for his own e-mail address on the search engine Pipl. What he found shocked him. He came across a list that he was on that not only contained his email address, but his password. “That isn’t just my password for Comcast, it’s my password for everything that is not tied to my credit card,” he said in an interview. (Link to Article)

As we get more into social networking, we slowly put more and more pieces of ourselves online. Specialized search engines are making it easier than ever to pull that information together into a highly detailed (and potentially invasive) profile of our virtual lives. The new people-tracking utilities build a highly detailed list about you just from information that you yourself put online.  (People Search Engines: They Know Your Dark Secrets)

I did a search for myself and found some interesting things. On one site, not only did it list my name and address, it allowed me to click a link to get an instant map to my house. On another site, it listed my name and also listed the names of my parents and siblings. For $2.00 I could get detailed information about any one of them. I saw my birthday listed and my wish list from Amazon so if someone were looking for information about my interests, there they’d be. You can imagine how that information could be used. Other sites list which schools you’ve attended, what groups you belong to.

Fortunately, you can take steps to limit the information these sites may collect. One way to grab control is to turn the tables and use the new services to search for information on yourself.

For instance, Spokeo lets you see a limited amount of data without subscribing, Pipl and CVGadget are totally free, and Rapleaf offers an open tool to manage your Internet footprint. A couple of other sites to search for your information on are ZabaSearch, Google, Peoplesearchnow.

Many of the services work the way a standard search engine does: If the content disappears from the Web, it also disappears from the search results. That means you need to visit the individual sites connected to your e-mail address and adjust the privacy settings within each one.

Most well-known sites give you the option of making your data private.

People search engines glean their material about you from many well-known sites,including Amazon.com, social networking sites such as Facebook.

You’ll usually need to go within each individual site’s account configuration pages and look for the privacy options to adjust to suit your comfort level.

Here are some places to visit:

  • Amazon: Wish Lists are made public by default. To change that setting, go to this page and select the option to sign in. You can then view any Wish Lists associated with your account and designate them as private.
  • Facebook: Once signed in, look under the ‘Settings’ tab at the top of the page to find the privacy control panel. Click the Profile option to set parameters regarding who can view your content.
  • MySpace: Click the My Account button at the top of the page after logging in, then click Privacy to adjust your settings. Bear in mind that your age and location are typically displayed publicly even if your profile is set as private, as was the case in one of the examples cited in “They Know Your Dark Secrets…And Tell Anyone.” (People Search Engines: Slam the Door).

If you decide to rethink your level of privacy, the most important first step is to search yourself or your family members so that you’ll know exactly which sites’ privacy settings you need to reconfigure.

Ultimately, the power is in your hands. Switch off autopilot and take control.

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Yahoo! News – Stolen-data trove offers look inside a botnet by AP: Yahoo! Tech

Posted on March 16, 2009 by wjimenez275

It’s scary to think how much and what kind of information is getting out from your computer. It’s so important to have updated anti-virus software and firewalls on your computer. Click the link at the bottom of this article to read the entire article. It’s well worth it.

SAN FRANCISCO – Getting hacked is like having your computer turn traitor on you, spying on everything you do and shipping your secrets to identity thieves.

Victims don’t see where their stolen data end up. But sometimes security researchers do, stumbling across stolen-data troves that offer a glimpse of what identity theft looks like from criminals’ perspective.

Researchers from U.K.-based security firm Prevx found one such trove, a Web site used as a stash house for data from 160,000 infected computers before it was shut down this month.

The find offers a case study on just how much data criminals are stealing every day, from the utterly inconsequential to the alarmingly private.

It also shows the difficulty in shuttering criminals’ ID-theft beachheads: The Web site that Prevx found, which was operating on a server in Ukraine, was still online for nearly a month after security researchers alerted the Internet service provider and law-enforcement authorities. The site was sucking up data from 5,000 newly infected computers each day.

The victims in the Prevx find are mostly everyday people handing over their passwords for Facebook and banking sites, along with their love notes and other e-mails. But more dangerous personal information is there, too, including Social Security numbers and other account information from one bank’s infected computer.

via Yahoo! News – Stolen-data trove offers look inside a botnet by AP: Yahoo! Tech.

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Report: Obama helicopter security breached – White House- msnbc.com

Posted on March 1, 2009 by wjimenez275

What’s important to take away from this story is that the use of peer-to-peer file-sharing opened this person’s computer up to the world and basically said, “come take a look at my files, even the private ones”.

A company that monitors peer-to-peer file-sharing networks has discovered a potentially serious security breach involving President Barack Obama’s helicopter, NBC affiliate WPXI in Pittsburgh reported Saturday.

Employees of Tiversa, a Cranberry Township, Pa.-based security company that specializes in peer-to-peer technology, reportedly found engineering and communications information about Marine One at an IP address in Tehran, Iran.

Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, told WPXI-TV: “We found a file containing entire blueprints and avionics package for Marine One, which is the president’s helicopter.”

The company was able to trace the file back to its original source.

“What appears to be a defense contractor in Bethesda, Md., had a file-sharing program on one of their systems that also contained highly sensitive blueprints for Marine One,” Boback said.

Tiversa also found sensitive financial information about the cost of the helicopter on that same computer, WPXI-TV reported.

Someone from the company most likely downloaded a file-sharing program, typically used to exchange music, not realizing the potential problems, Boback said.

“When downloading one of these file-sharing programs, you are effectively allowing others around the world to access your hard drive,” Boback said.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, an adviser to Tiversa, said the company discovered exactly which computer the information came from. “I’m sure that person is embarrassed and may even lose their job, but we know where it came from and we know where it went.”

Boback said the government was notified immediately.

Iran is not the only country that appears to be accessing this type of information through file-sharing programs, Boback told the station.

“We’ve noticed it out of Pakistan, Yemen, Qatar and China. They are actively searching for information that is disclosed in this fashion because it is a great source of intelligence,” Boback said.

Clark told WPXI that he doesn’t know how sensitive this information is, but he said other military information has been found on the Internet in the past and should be monitored more closely.

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said he would ask Congress to investigate how to prevent this from happening again.

via Report: Obama helicopter security breached – White House- msnbc.com.

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Stop thief! Software lets stolen laptops speak up by AP: Yahoo! Tech

Posted on February 25, 2009 by wjimenez275

Stolen laptop? Now you can tell those thieves exactly what you think of them.

Front Door Software Corp.’s Retriever program displays your contact information as your computer boots up. There’s even space for a plea to a Good Samaritan — “$50 for my safe return,” maybe.

In most cases, that’s enough to help an honest person return the machine, said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the five-person company based in Evergreen, Colo.

But in the darkest scenarios, Retriever takes off the kid gloves.

You can log on to a Web site and check a box indicating the computer is missing. Now during start-up, a big yellow and red banner appears on the screen, boldly declaring the laptop lost or stolen. This message is set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes the window.

You can remotely switch on a second password prompt if you fear the thief has also stolen your regular Windows, Macintosh or Linux login.

Behind the scenes, Retriever uses built-in Wi-Fi to sniff out nearby networks, then suss out what Internet service providers power them. With that information in hand, Hafeman said, you can file a police report and get help locating the criminal.

While waiting for law enforcement to come through, you can even let off steam by sending new messages to the nagging “Stolen Computer!” screen.

“You are being tracked. I am right at your door” was one, Hafeman said, adding that she could not bring herself to say others that came to mind. Customers have also tried to induce fear or guilt by switching their contact info to “Secret Service” and “Catholic church.”

The latest version of Retriever, which costs $29.95 for three years of use, is even more aggressive.

Now, when the “stolen” screen pops up, the laptop cries for help. Use a canned message (“Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.”) or record your own.

“You can say, ‘Get your hands off me, you S.O.B.'” Hafeman said.

via Yahoo! News – Stop thief! Software lets stolen laptops speak up by AP: Yahoo! Tech.

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ID thieves go phishing for GTalk, GMail passwords | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

Posted on February 25, 2009 by wjimenez275

If you use Google’s GMail or GTalk services, pay special attention to random e-mails or instant messages requesting your login credentials.

There is a major spam run underway with a phishing scam using social engineering techniques to snag Google Account usernames and passwords and, according to multiple reports, the attack appears to be very effective.

This image shows a GMail message that purports to be an account termination warning from Google but, if a user is tricked into clicking on the link, he/she is redirected to a fake GMail page requesting the login credentials.

via ID thieves go phishing for GTalk, GMail passwords | Zero Day | ZDNet.com.

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Fake Parking Tickets link to Malicious Download Site

Posted on February 4, 2009 by wjimenez275

Since email links aren’t working very well any longer, they’ve moved off-line to get you to download viruses/trojans.

In a scary online-offline Internet scam, hybrid cars in North Dakota have been tagged with fake parking citations that include a Web address hosting malicious software that drops a Trojan onto the computer.

The yellow tickets found on the cars in Grand Forks, North Dakota, read “PARKING VIOLATION This vehicle is in violation of standard parking regulations. To view pictures with information about your parking preferences, go to” and gave a Web site, according to a blog posting on the SANS Internet Storm Center site.

The site referenced shows photos of cars in parking lots in that town and prompts the visitor to download a toolbar to see purported photos of the ticketed car. Downloading the executable installs a Trojan and displays a fake security alert when the system is rebooted. The fake alert prompts the computer user to install a fake anti-virus scanner, SANS said.

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Is your computer sending out spam or viruses without you knowing it?

Posted on January 17, 2009 by wjimenez275

Sometimes computers seem to have a life of their own. In some cases, they do. Your computer may be part of a network of computers that are sending our spam and viruses to other computers, and you don’t even know it.

I’d like for you to read this article from the Free PC Security blog that explains what Bots are and how to find out if your computer is one: Botnets – Are You One?

PC security is critical in this day and age. There are plenty of free tools that will diagnose and protect your computers. I’ve posted a few earlier articles that address this. Take a look back.

Internet Security: What is it and why do I need it? and What Free Security Programs can Protect My PC?

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What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? – PC World

Posted on January 12, 2009 by wjimenez275

What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC?

Lincoln Spector

Jan 12, 2009 3:44 pm

You really can protect your PC with free software, but there’s a price. Multiple free security programs usually aren’t as easy to use as one pricey suite. Your less likely to get decent support (perhaps I should say even less likely). And they lack features like antispam and child protection which you may or may not need. All of the companies that give away security programs sell more feature-rich versions, which come with better support and additional features.

On the other hand, they’re free. And they have less overhead than the big suites, so they won’t slow down your PC as much.

What do you need? First and foremost, a good firewall (the one that comes with Windows doesn’t qualify) and real-time antivirus protection. (The term antivirus is somewhat misleading. In their current versions, these programs protect you from all sorts of malware, not just viruses.) It’s also a good idea to get a second malware fighter–one that you don’t run in real-time. It’s like going to another doctor for a second opinion–except it doesn’t cost anything.

Start with the Comodo firewall. It regular beats out the not-for-free firewalls in independent tests. It’s not the easiest firewall in the world–it gets in your face an awful lot with questions that would confuse most novices–but PC World readers should be able to handle it.

Comodo recently added antivirus, making itself the first free suite. But I’ve yet to see any independent test results on Comodo’s antivirus, and therefore don’t trust it. So, when you install Comodo, uncheck the Antivirus option and just install the firewall.

That means you need separate antivirus software. Go with Avast. It’s free, uninstrusive, and did very well on AV-Comparitive’s last round of tests.

I’ll give you two choices for extra protection, and there’s no real reason not use both of them. They are SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes. Scan your hard drive with one or the other of them every week or so–and if you suspect something.

via What Free Security Programs Can Protect My PC? – PC World.

By-the-way, the posts of another individual whom  I respect can be found here – http://freepcsecurity.co.uk/. Colin always has some fresh insight on security, which he tests out on his own systems. I’d recommend signing up for his blog.

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Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam …..

Posted on December 22, 2008 by wjimenez275

Spam, Yuck. Well, okay, that Spam too. However, the spam that affects us daily is worse. Some stats from this past year from Symantec:
Top Trends in 2008
Spam: In 2008 the annual average spam rate was 81.2 percent, meaning a little over 81% of all email sent/received in 2008 was spam. An increasing proportion of spam originated from reputable web-based email and application service providers.
Viruses: The average virus level for 2008 was 1 in 143.8 emails, down from 2007 where levels averaged at 1 in 117.7 emails. The decline can be attributed to the transition to spreading malware using malicious content hosted on websites and drive-by installs rather than favoring email as the primary means of distribution.
Phishing: The number of phishing attacks was 1 in 244.9 (.41 percent) emails across 2008, compared to 1 in 156 emails in 2007.

With all of the spam and phishing emails coming into your inbox, wouldn’t it be nice to have a program that filters it out before you see it?
If you use Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Outlook Express for your email program, I’d recommend a program called iHateSpam from Sunbelt Software. It’s an inexpensive program that filters a large majority of your incoming spam to a spam folder, where you can delete it without even touching it.

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Major Web Browsers Fail Password Protection Tests – ZDNet

Posted on December 16, 2008 by wjimenez275

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=2305

That nifty password management feature in your favorite Web browser could be helping identity thieves pilfer your personal data.

That’s the biggest takeaway from the results of this test which shows that all the major Web browsers — including IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome — are vulnerable to a total of 20 vulnerabilities that could expose password-related information.  Among the problems are three in particular that, when combined, allow password thieves to take passwords without the user’s knowledge.  They are:

  1. The destination where passwords are sent is not checked.
  2. The location where passwords are requested is not checked.
  3. Invisible form elements can trigger password management.

Google’s shiny new Chrome browser was among the worst offenders.   According to the study,  Chrome’s password manager contains multiple unpatched issues that “form a toxic soup of potential vulnerabilities that can coalesce into broad insecurity.”

Read the entire article here

See my blog article on Password Programs here

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