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Archive for the ‘security’ Category

Fraud and hacking have become a norm over the Internet as people have become more active and trusting with online business transactions. An important security concern has arisen: how to tackle the problem of Internet security so as to keep sensitive information confidential. The Comodo SSL certificate is one such method with which you can add an extra layer of security to your website for your online customers to use your ecommerce shopping carts safely and securely. Installing an SSL security certificate is always secure for the business: it ensures high standards of data encryption and safe information interchange.

Many people are wary of sharing personal information online as there is always a threat of malicious people seeking to collect sensitive data for their personal benefits. There have been thousands of cases of hackers misusing credit card details to shop for themselves or using others’ email addresses and passwords for electronic marketing scams. With an SSL security certificate installed for your Web application, you protect your customers’ information by encrypting the data before sending it over the Internet. In this way, a hacker is deemed powerless even if he manages to intercept the information that is changing hands online. The Comodo SSL certificate provides a viable and affordable solution for that much needed security to be added to your online businesses and ecommerce Web applications.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security certificates are a popular option for adding security to websites due to their strong encryption and decryption algorithms. By installing the Comodo SSL certificate (available through the ComodoSSLStore) on your website, you can flaunt it and profit off its brand recognition by displaying a Comodo seal on the website. This seal ensures that the customers coming to your site build trust in your online business intentions; that trust keeps them coming back to your ecommerce website. Any website that displays the Comodo seal (free with all ComodoSSLStore products) communicates a message of secure transactions occurring on the ecommerce platform. The SSL security certificate is a standard tool to determine the security of any online business website or ecommerce Web application.

Issued by a standard and recognized certificate authority (CA), the ComodoSSLStore’s Comodo SSL certificate is an authentic tool to add security to your website conducting online financial transactions. Most commonly the SSL security certificate plays a vital role in securing credit card details, passwords, PIN’s, and other sensitive personal information by encrypting it before sending it between end-users and Internet servers. Every Comodo SSL certificate works with two keys – a public key and a private key. The public key is embedded on the client’s side to enable data encryption, and the private key is kept secret from the Internet as it helps in decrypting the encrypted data before reading it. The encrypted code is indecipherable unless decrypted with a special combination of a decrypting algorithm and a private decryption key, all provided with one Comodo SSL certificate.

Such encryption and decryption in combination with different keys makes it possible to ensure strong security measures to prevent data invasion by hackers and online pirates. All data is kept safe; hence, the customers get their money’s worth by doing business with you with the Comodo SSL certificate. Guaranteed lowest prices on the Comodo SSL certificate are available through the ComodoSSLStore.

Recently, Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released the 2010 annual report on Internet crime. The report finds that cybercrime affects all demographic groups and is spread across the globe. Cybercriminals are now using more creative techniques to deceive Internet users. Countries across the world are developing new mechanisms to combat Internet based crime. United States (U.S) has been at the forefront of the fight against cybercrime. IC3 was established more than decade back as a joint initiative by National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Canada, United Kingdom (U.K) and Germany have developed similar centers based on IC3 model.

During the previous year, the crime complaint center received 303,809 complaints in contrast to 336,655 complaints in 2009. Around forty percent of complaints were referred to the counter crime agencies for further investigation. Majority of the complaints were related to non-delivery of payment/ merchandise (14.4%) followed by misusing FBI’s name (13.2%) for defrauding users, identity theft (9.8%) and computer crimes (9.1%). Non-delivery of payment/merchandise, identity theft and auction fraud were the top three crimes, which were referred to counter crime agencies. Victims in California reported most number of complaints followed by Florida, Texas, New York and New Jersey. More than 91% of the complaints were made by U.S residents followed by Canada, United Kingdom (U.K), Australia and Canada. The center also received the 2-millionth complaint during the previous year.

Cybercrime has evolved over the years. The number of complaints related to auction fraud, referred to counter crime agencies has come down from over 71% in 2004 to just over 10% in 2010. The gender gap in cybercrime complaints has also reduced significantly. While, earlier the number of men reporting cybercrime was more than 2.5 times higher than those by women, recent trends show almost equal number of Internet crime complaints by both genders. People over the age of 40 now constitute the majority of complainants.

The center also helps in cyber security awareness education through initiatives such as guiding students on safe Internet usage and helping senior citizens in preventing Identity theft. The center has also developed an Internet Complaint Search and Investigation System (ICSIS), which aids different counter crime agencies to share and communicate information and collaborate in their fight against cybercrime. Analysts at the center help investigative authorizes by compiling information. Experts at IC3 also provide analytical support to counter crime agencies in developing case leads and facilitate multijurisdictional collaboration. The center also tracks cases referred to the investigating authorities. IC3.net database tools aid security professionals at FBI to conduct searches and develop cases against perpetrators of cybercrime.

Proactive action is required to deal with the multifarious threats emanating from the Internet. Security professionals are required to keep themselves abreast of the latest online threats, evolving crime techniques and strategies adopted by offenders to deceive users through webinars, online training and discussions with other security experts.

Internet users must adhere to the cyber security fundamentals and inculcate safe online practices. Cyber security awareness is crucial to thwart sophisticated threats from cyber criminals. Government bodies, vendors of security products and IT security firms must collaborate and devise programs to develop IT security conscious culture among Internet users.

Over the recent years, countries across the world have witnessed major advancements in information technology. European Union has been one of the major regions, which has witnessed tremendous advancements in Internet infrastructure. The region has high Internet adoption rates and broadband connections. The Union plans to implement e-governance between Brussels based EU parliament and 27 member-countries. However, high Internet usage makes EU susceptible to cybercrime and cyber-attacks. Recently, Europol, EU’s law enforcement agency released a report highlighting the threats posed by cybercrime. According to the report, the dynamic nature of cybercrime makes it inevitable for all stakeholders such as law enforcement agencies, academic institutions, Internet service providers, financial institutions and Internet security firms to collaborate with each other and enhance information security awareness among the people. The collaboration may facilitate information sharing, development of technical tools and promote research and development to counter cybercrime.

Crime has evolved as an organized activity and criminals are using a combination of online and offline channels to perpetuate crime. The growth of crime has led to the creation of illicit markets for selling stolen information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, names, date of birth and contact details. European Union countries must make efforts to create awareness among Internet users against sophisticated crime mechanisms such as social engineering techniques, data breaches, online solicitation, installation of botnets, and abuse of unsecured wireless connections. Internet users must be made aware of the risks involved in online payment transactions and downloads from suspicious sites and unsolicited e-mails. The organized cybercrime syndicates have clearly defined specialists for code writing, Internet hosting, launching phishing attacks, pharming and hacking among many others. Countries need to create a strong force of information security professionals to deal with the constantly evolving crime in the Internet environment. The all-pervasive nature of Internet facilitates criminals in initiating crime from any part of the world. Businesses worldwide are forced to spend considerable resources to deal with cybercrime. Organizations can streamline Internet infrastructure by availing services such as penetration testing, security auditing, ethical hacking, and vulnerability assessment. Such services may help in proactive protection against dynamic threats in the IT environment.

Logaway.com is an internet based service that can help redefine internet security for you. That means that when you use Logaway, you don’t need to download tons of software or reconfigure your computer to get use of the awesome security services offered by them. You need only to register, log in and set up your Logaway home page in a way that works best for you.

Although Logaway has a preference for Safari, Firefox or Google Chrome, Logaway works with every modern internet browser. There are no downloads needed, and the service is free. After you register on Logaway, simply find the websites that you use among the thousands already registered. If you want to start using a new site and need to register, this site has a button that will direct you there. If you, for some reason, need to use a site that isn’t already registered with Logaway, you have the option to add it. In the very rare occasions that you find a site that does not instantly work with Logaway, such as a banking site that uses a site key, you can use a bookmarking function to allow you to access it with the same ease and security as everything else on the site.

Aside from the secure access to your password protected sites, Logaway allows you to customize and add gadgets to your start page, so that when you log in, you have access instantly to news feeds, information and search engines right at your fingertips. When you log in at your home computer, you will see icons to access your favorite sites, the time and date, the movies playing at your local theater or any one of dozens of gadgets that you can choose to set up.

Logaway can work on any computer you can use to access the modern world wide web, and with your secure login, it will bring up your specific information every time.

Exam 000-530 is also known as IBM internet security systems technical test V1. This certification is one of the important courses from IBM that provides technical security solutions for the clients. This certification is designed based upon the latest technical security technology and also fulfills the ISS portfolio among the competitive technology. Candidates who hold this certification can able to assist the pre and post sales advices to provide opportunities in closing the security issues.

Prerequisites for 000-530:

There are various mandatory prerequisites required for the candidates before they register for this examination. The mandatory skills are as follows:

• Strong knowledge in the security industry
• Knowledge in networking as well as system administration
• Knowledge in basic concepts of IBM ISS portfolio
• Facilitate the evaluations and ability to perform a product demo
• Analyze the marketing strategies and find new competitors
• Compare and contrast all the competing technologies
• Knowledge in positioning the IBM ISS during the competition
• Knowledge on selling techniques
• Analyze new opportunities

Objectives:

Technical sales process and IBM ISS knowledge are the two objectives of 000-530 examination. Examination consists of 60 multiple choice questions and time duration of the examination is 90 minutes. The minimum passing score is 65% and the candidates will receive the certification from IBM within 3 weeks after successfully passing the examination.

Candidates can register this examination from any part of the world. Apart from English, the other language options that are available to write this exam are German, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, French, and Italian. Candidates who are willing to write this examination in other languages apart from English should mention the same in the exam center at the time of registration. If no language option is mentioned, then the default language option is English.

Logaway.com offers you internet security and password organization, and it costs nothing to use the service. Getting started with Logaway requires nothing more than registering with the site and loading your passwords into their highly encrypted website. As a matter of fact, your encrypted information never even goes to the Logaway servers. It remains stored in your personal Logaway Browser where it can only be accessed by you, using your password and in the case of a non authorized computer, your case specific site key. Logaway compares it to having a safe kept inside of a locker. Even if someone gets the combination to the locker, they will also need to know the combination to the safe.

When you log on, the sites you set up will be easily accessible by icons set on your personal page. As if this weren’t enough, Logaway offers gadgets that you can customize to your personal web page, so that you can get up to the minute information on any number of news feeds and informational sources. The Logaway homepage uses your full computer screen to put all your computing needs right at your fingertips.

Around a central quick start panel which holds your favorite site icons, you can use the left and right sides of your browser to display a clock and a calendar, a listing of the movies playing at your local theater, wire service feeds showing the latest in news, weather, entertainment, and sports and search engine browsers to allow you to look up new information whenever you have the need.

The Logaway gadgets make your personalized login site not only secure, but useful and entertaining at the same time. Instead of keeping a security site up, Logaway uses your browser and converts it to a one stop location for all your internet needs.

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Unified Threat Management (UTM) is a comprehensive solution which has recently emerged in the network security industry. Since its advent in 2004, the worldwide market of UTM has gained the market of worth $1.2 billion in 2007 and is predicted to achieve 35-40% compounded annual growth rate by the end of 2011.

In theory, UTM is an evolution of the traditional firewall into an all inclusive security product. UTM can perform multiple security functions ranging from network firewalling, network intrusion prevention and gateway antivirus (AV), gateway anti-spam, VPN, content filtering, load balancing to an on-appliance reporting in one single appliance.

The need of an all integrated security system emerged in the wake of increasing number of attacks on corporate information systems. More incidence and cases of hacking/cracking, viruses and worms were being reported. Also, the technique with which newer attack systems target the end users as the weakest link in an enterprise, was posing serious threat for organizations. For SMEs, unauthorized employee access and data security were also major business concerns. If avoided, this could result in damaged reputation or loss of confidential data leading to huge financial losses and legal liabilities.

In today’s data intensive world, enterprises need to choose the UTM devices rather more carefully. In order to simplify the approach towards security, network administrators leave disparate point solutions for integrated coverage such a VPN connectivity, antivirus, intrusion detection. Some UTMs dilute the defense and make networks vulnerable to attacks. It needs to be understood that a UTM has to tackle key security issues without leaving vital features such as management, reporting and updateability out of the context.

With dozens of UTMs available in market today, customers should focus on a device that is a winning combination of centralized management, proven solutions, advanced reporting and easy updates. There are several UTM devices available in the market. UTMs have 8 layer technology which treats user as the 8th layer network stack. In UTM, the IT administration can create user identity based security policies. The management has the complete visibility and control over activities of assigned users.

The Key Points of UTM:

• A single UTM appliance works as a comprehensive security solution.
• Safeguards and manages a company’s security strategy.
• Simplified Security at its best
• Reduced technical training requirements for IT. Only one product is to learn.
• No multiple software installation and maintenance
• Easy Management: Plug & Play Architecture, Web-based GUI for management
• Performance: Zero-hour protection without compromising on the network performance

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Day by day, the number of internet users is increasing. Similarly, spamming, viruses, malware and phasing scam issues are also becoming more common. There are many cyber terrorists who exist and are always ready to catch easy victims. If you have doubts about the importance of internet security then continue reading for valuable security information.

Hacking: This constitutes unauthorized access to any computer network. Hacking is one of the major issues nowadays in the internet world. Hackers use loop holes in your security system to access your accounts and steal important information. Once they hack your account, they can steal and miss use your information.

They can control your transactions and use them for illegal or objectionable purpose. And, in some cases, they can hack into your back account rob money from it.

Email Fraud: This occurs when people communicate with you via e-mail and fraudulently acquire sensitive information. First they communicate with you normally to become trustworthy. Later, they request instant messaging where they can more easily steal sensitive information.

They can steal your contact details, bank account details, and other information. Online scams involve bank account details such as access numbers, passwords and other sensitive information. Spammers can also sell your details to other parties such as your email address and mobile number. These sold items can generate promotional, snail mail, or phone calls requesting that you buy unsolicited items.

Sexual Abuse: Hackers always look for easy victims over the internet and you could be their first choice. The internet is flooded with pornographic content and sexual predators and there are numerous examples of pedophiles that have trapped people though web cams, chat messages, etc. internet pornography is one of the major threats for people who often post their photos and videos over the internet. These can be misused and even posted on pornographic sites.

Cyber Terrorism: Hackers also try to break into national and international security systems to access secret information. Various government websites are available over the internet with a great deal of national information and hackers try to break into them and disclose secret matters.

These points highlight the importance of internet security. Therefore you should take steps to secure your system network from such cyber criminals. This can be done by following these simple tips:

Fire Wall: You can install a fire wall to protect your network. If you are a home user then you only need a basic firewall to get protection against cyber threats. Always use updated fire walls, anti-viruses and anti-malware in order to obtain the best protection.

Internet security Software: to protect a business, it’s better to use strong security software and network analyzers.

Security Hardware: Install firewall devices between the router and computer to protect your network from malware attack.

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Avoid Unnecessary Surfing: People often conduct unnecessary surfing over internet. To avoid cyber infiltration, use Web Application Security assessments. Also, social media websites are not always secure so it’s better to avoid revealing personal information over such sites. This includes the posting of personal images and videos. It can be harmful.

Before you experience harmful internet security threats, it’s better to protect yourself from these hazards through preventative measures. It’s time to become a smart internet user.

Recently, an Italian security researcher identified vulnerability in Internet Explorer (IE), which attackers may exploit to extract sensitive information related to Internet users. Rosario Valotta, identified a new cookiejacking technique, which he used to hijack cookies by bypassing the protection on IE. However, the attack requires user action to be successful. The researcher has termed the cookiejacking technique as an advanced clickjacking approach, which exploits zero day vulnerability. Attackers need to extract victim’s username on Windows, identify the operating system in use. This helps attackers to determine the folders, which store the cookies. Attackers may then use clickjacking technique to place cookie text behind a picture. Again, fraudsters need to target cookie related to the website logged in by the user at the time of the attack. Attackers may exploit the vulnerability on all versions of IE including IE9 on any Windows operating system such as XP, Vista and even Windows 7. In this case, security researcher enticed Facebook users to play a game, which involves clicking, dragging and dropping. When users drag an object in the game to a picture, they inadvertently also send cookies to the fraudsters. Valotta was able to extract cookies of around 80 of his friends on Facebook within three days.

While the attack looks sophisticated, cybercriminals may extract the requisite information through browser exploits, javascript detection tools, and use social engineering techniques to make user perform a specific action. Web browsers use cookies to store site preferences and login credentials. Unwary Internet users often do not clear the cookies on the web browser. Some Internet users also check ‘Remember my password’ option or ‘keep me logged in’ option. Attackers may exploit the popularity of games on social networking sites to trick users into revealing sensitive information, without being aware of the malicious activity. Attackers may also attempt to steal confidential user information related to e-mail accounts, and online banking and shopping sites. Organizations must encourage employees to undertake e-learning and online degree programs on cyber security to avoid falling prey to social engineering attacks directed at stealing privileged business information. Cybercriminals may use the collected information to impersonate a legitimate user, conduct fraudulent transactions, and steal further personally identifiable information. Attackers may also leverage the victim’s user name on Windows to gain remote access to a computer system.

Microsoft has reportedly described the latest security threat as not a high risk threat as successful attack requires high user interaction, visit to a malicious webpage, lured to drag and drop objects, and knowledge of the website, which the user is logged on to. However, security researchers at Trend Micro have argued that attackers may take advantage of negligence, and lack of security awareness among non-technical users to extract sensitive information through social engineering techniques. According to the Internet security firm, they block on an average around 13 million attempts by users to access malicious sites.

Developers must constantly identify the security flaws and initiate remediating measures to prevent their exploitation by attackers. The prevailing IT security scenario requires professionals to constantly enhance their skill sets and awareness through online university degree programs, and security conferences.

Internet users must refrain from clicking on links send by strangers, and be cautious while clicking links on websites. Deleting cookies, avoid clicking on ‘remember my password’ option, clearing browsing history may help protect Internet users from securing sensitive information. Internet users must avoid falling prey to playing enticing games and puzzles. Usually, professionals qualified in masters of security science and IT security certifications identify and warn users on latest security threats. Internet users must follow security blogs and advisories to abreast themselves of latest cyber threats.

Cybercriminals constantly find ways to exploit software vulnerabilities and user negligence to install malware or extract confidential information. While some of the scams have become common, cybercriminals tend to repackage, refine and make use of new themes to defraud users. In the recent times, cybercriminals have been quick to exploit events such as Royal Wedding and Osama bin Laden’s death. Cybercriminals try to lead users to malicious and fake sites through phishing, SEO poisoning and other techniques. One of the scams involves enticing customers to purchase fake anti-virus software. Internet security firm Trend Micro has identified a trend wherein cybercriminals attempt to monetize their schemes by creating accounts with FAKEAV affiliates. The affiliates provide URLs to the landing pages, which display fake anti-virus scanners. Researchers identified that most of the domain names are propagated within two days of their registration. Unwary Internet users, who click on a malicious link are redirected to a fake website, wherein they get a false virus alert and are enticed to purchase the fake scanner. The income generated is shared between the affiliates and other cybercriminals.

Security researchers at Sophos recently identified a scam, wherein Internet users allegedly receive an e-mail from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The cleverly crafted e-mail by scammers attempts to scare users by informing them that their IP address has been logged on several illegal websites. The e-mail asks users to respond to their questions listed on the attached zip file. When susceptible Internet users download the file, they inadvertently download malicious software. The malware then alerts uses that their computers are infected with malware. The e-mail scares users to purchase counterfeit anti-virus scanners to safeguard their computers. Users are required to enter the names, addresses, credit card number, card expiry date and other personally identifiable information.

Internet users must be wary of social engineering schemes used by cybercriminals to extract sensitive information. They must avoid responding to e-mails from strangers. They must directly visit the website of a legitimate vendor to purchase and download anti-virus solution and programs. Social engineering techniques are also used to entice employees of an organization to reveal sensitive business information. Employees must be guided on the various security threats through training sessions, huddle meetings, e-learning programs and encouraging them to undertake online computer degree programs.

Security professionals qualified in IT masters degree may enable an organization to identify emerging Internet-based threats, update IT security policy and ensure proper adherence to security guidelines by employees. online technology degree programs may help IT professionals to update themselves on latest information security practices, and monitoring mechanisms.