http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/other-forms-of-internet-security.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/other-forms-of-internet-security.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:29:45 -0500
One method besides using antivirus software that can be used but it often not used is an anti-virus card. Most people aren't aware of the fact that anti-virus cards are out there on the market at all. They were developed nearly 15 years ago to monitor the things that are on a computer. Due to the fact that there is very little talk about antivirus cards, there is little hope that this will be the long term answer for solving computer security issues. It is possible though, that it could be an important tool in the future. One more popular option besides using anti-virus software is the use and application of having a network firewall. This form of internet security is more known and generally does have some success. The reason that it is more successful than other things is because of the fact that the firewall that is set up does not allow unknown or unsafe programs to be used on the operating system.

While network firewalls are generally seen as fairly effective, they usually are not used as a replacement for anti-virus software. In some cases though, it is used as a replacement. One other form of internet security in lieu of anti-virus software is the use of system virtualization. This method of security will not allow the operating system to be changed or damaged by a virus. This method while effective, doesn't allow for the removal of things that may already be on a computer. It is very likely in the near future that there will be some new things that come out on the market in order to improve overall internet security. It is not known though whether it will be some better software, or another tool that may not be used.

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There are lots of types of internet security software on the market, and the best are available from k7 computing.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/security-issues-on-social-network-websites.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/security-issues-on-social-network-websites.html Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:37:30 -0500
According to psychologists, the thrill of establishing new relationships over the Internet can be attributed to the expanding growth of social network websites. However, in the zeal to become `social`, we tend to ignore the many security issues hovering over such social network websites. Without a doubt, these social networks help us a lot in establishing contact with our friends, colleagues and relatives, but it is also true that we need to be aware of the endemic security issues in context of these social networking websites.

Before venturing into the steps that we can take, to save ourselves from being a prey to the security issues, we need to understand the real reason behind them. Every social networking website asks the user to fill up a registration form, mentioning therein all the required details. The broad divisions into which the details are segregated are social, professional and personal. The details carry your contact information, email id, your current profession and your personal likes and dislikes. There is a chance that the information you are supplying can be provocative to some and might land you into serious trouble.

This is just one of the many security issues prevalent over social networking websites. There is also a chance that the person whom you actually think to be your friend/colleague turns out to be an impostor. There is also a sect of people who get provoked by the kind of religious feelings/political views that you support. Remember that all these details are filled up by you and only you can protect yourself from the clutches of security issues over social networking websites.

Let us now take an overview of how you can protect yourself from being a victim to these security issues,

1. Never ever share your password with anyone, not even with the closest of your friend/family.

2. Just after you finish typing in your user name and password, remember to turn off the `remember me` button. This helps immensely in protecting your ID from any security issues present in these social network sites.

3. Make it a mandatory habit to always logout of the social network site after you have finished using it.

4. After filling up the required information in the registration form, never forget to edit the privacy settings of the same. If possible, it is always recommended to change the settings to `viewable only to my friends` rather than `viewable to everyone`. This way you can save your profile from being visible to everyone in public.

5. Never provide sensitive information while filling up these forms. What might seem as ordinary to you, can be provocative material to many.

6. In case, you find that your profile has been tampered with, immediately report the matter to the `report abuse/violations` sections.

These small steps can work wonders in providing you with the most solid protection against all possible security issues lurking in such social network websites. Social networking is fun but with a little care we can avoid our personal content/details from being a part of the public, as a whole. The phrase, `A stitch in time saves nine`, is quite apt in this context. If we try to be a little aware of the problems which might crop up because of our ignorance, we can save our profile from all kinds of security issues over social network websites.


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You can have access to articles in portuguese language from page Books

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for Polomercantil


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/critical-information-warefare-and-cyberwar.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/critical-information-warefare-and-cyberwar.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:58:27 -0500
Downside to info revolution- With the current information revolution, the problem of netwar and cyberwar has grown to immense proportions of impotence, dominating numerous political discussions worldwide. Numerous activist-, extremist- and terrorist groups have successfully employed the world wide web and cellular technology in the forms of calls, sms's and mms's to spread the word on their various causes and beliefs in turn recruit new members, coordinate activities and disseminate propaganda. These network-style organizations give non-state individuals the opportunity to challenge Government authority in a way rather unprecedented and unpredictable.

Attack types- Several types cyber attack can be used in warfaree and cyberwar. These attacks include but are definitely not limited to cyber espionage, data gathering ,denial of service attacks, equipment and activity disruptions, critical infrastructure attacks and compromised counterfeit hardware.

Strategising- Countries from all over the world have been brainstorming strategies to use the world wide web as an information atomic bomb with the aim of targeting stock exchanges as well as government systems, utilities and activities. An activity extremely reminiscent since cession of the Cold War, is the testing of weak links in networks to gain access to intelligent information. The use of weak spot in systems and networks are thus clearly not a new warfaree strategy.

Leaders in warfare- China is regarded as the forerunning in warfaree and cyberwar, with accusations of spying and cyber attacks on prominent countries such as India, Germany and the United States of America. These attacks have however been rubbished and criticized by the China Intelligence Agency, Government and the country's citizens, with arguments that a country's Government cannot be blamed for compromised computers under the controlled of criminal minds in the form of hackers.

Why the focus on China?- Many people may ask why the focus in terms of warfaree and cyberwar is so much on China, well the reason is simply- because of the country's immense volume of resources. American Cyber War officials have been developing and testing several "wargames" or attack simulations to determine the extent and exact areas of vulnerability in the United States of America, should a serious attack be launched on the country's Internet resources. To date, a couple of dozen Nations acknowledge and boast with highly developed Cyber War capability and capacity, who are also openly hostile towards the United States of America. These include but are not limited to China, North Korea and Iran. The Wargames are developed with Chinese mentality and imagination in mind. Should the wargame be coupled with a Chinese computer boffin on the development team who knows just enough about the web infrastructure, we all would be in for a big surprise or rather scare. What's even more worrying is the fact that the majority of the most professional attackers on the world wide web, don't have buckets full of money or an army of soldiers, all that's required is just the right amount of information. This type of information is however very expensive to obtain and comprises mainly of previously undetected flaws in software, specifically software controlling routers and other fundamental elements of the world wide web.

Establishment of Separate Internet- Attack simulations have identified an enormous amount of flaws and vulnerabilities in the United States of America, which are practical impossible to rectify or re-enforce in turn leaving the country totally unprotected. This has lead to the Department of Defence's establishment of Separate Internet (SIPRI). At first sight SIPRI looks exactly like the Internet, but you can't access the system from the regular Internet. Over and above this, SIPRI transfer most of its data encrypted, which means that even if you successfully tap into the data, you'll still be required to decrypt it. Even with the use SIPRI, much of the military activities are conducted over the regular Internet, we have all come to know and love. Just shows you how highly dependant commercial firms and government agencies, are normal Internet connectivity.

What other flaws have attack simulations pin-pointed thus far?- Attack simulations have shown that even if SIPRI remains up and running that military operations could still be crippled. This can be attributed to military's need and requirements which are solely dependant upon normal internet connectivity. These needs include supplies, equipment maintenance and administration. Simulations have also reveal high risk enemy vulnerabilities. Its safe to assume-no one is safe! The million Dollar question is- how do we handle this sticky situation? The answer comes in the form of scenarios, contingency plans and tons more simulations, to get a holistic view of every countries offensive and defensive Cyber War capabilities and capacities. Just as the world wide web develops and evolves, so should Cyber War plans and strategies.

Influence on satellites- Communications satellites form an essential part of military operation and use, this includes GPS, satellite phones and moving information. The greatest disadvantage is the Internet fibre optics cabling located underground. The weakness spot does however not lie with the cabling, but rather the software used to operate the Internet. The battlefield comprises of hundreds of thousands of software bits and bytes ranging from browsers to router switches as well as millions of hardware items for example servers and routers.

Israeli-Palestinian cyber war - Even though the majority of ethereal cyberwar types are unrelated to the military, the impact and implications for not only cyber wars but also for national sovereignty, international law and relations, are huge. For example Israeli-Palestinian cyberwar which started in September 2000. Attacks were launched on the websites of Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian State Authority's by Israeli hackers. A virtual-Jihad had to be called-in by Palestinians, who retaliated by attacks on official Israeli websites. Thousands of sites were attacked criss-cross, resulting in an immensely strained Internet infrastructure. Development and maintenance of world wide support networks are essential in the battle to combat and eliminate cyberwar. Governmental and State computer hacking is extremely difficult to prevent and often justifiably. This is most probably the reason why Palestinians have waged cyberwar with great success when compared to real life warfare.



The world wide network infrastructures are always on threats,I hope some day we just see cyberpeace against cyberwar.




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Ali Bitazar is Computer Network high ranked engineer

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/purchasing-locks-for-commercial-buildings.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/purchasing-locks-for-commercial-buildings.html Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:01:28 -0500
Most commercial buildings, from warehouses to schools, rely on a mixture of lever locks, deadlocks and mortise locks. Each type of lock normally is available in standard, medium and heavy duty construction. Standard duty locks are suitable for privacy locks, patio locks, classrooms and storerooms. Medium duty locks are suitable for office doors, passageways and classrooms. Heavy duty locks are suitable for entry doors, apartments and offices. When choosing a lock, consider how secure the door needs to be--heavy duty locks provide more security than standard duty locks.

Study the lock construction to determine if it's going to do the job. For example, in choosing a heavy duty cylindrical lever lock, look for the following specifications: 1) Meets ANSI/BHMA A156.2, Series 4000, Grade 1 for key-in-lever locksets; 2) Allen-head screws are used on the inside levers to prevent vandalism; 3) Lever is free-wheeling when the outside lever is locked; 4) Meets requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991; and 5) Cylinder assemblies are removable in case the lock ever needs to be rekeyed.

Decide if you can use a mortise lock or need to install a deadlock paired with a cylindrical lock. A mortise lock provides ease of entry since the lever will open the door after the top locking mechanism is unlocked. A deadlock/cylindrical lock combination requires unlocking both the deadlock and the lever lock but provides more security.

Consider having a special coating added to lock levers installed on doors leading to rooms containing hazardous materials. The rough sensation of the abrasive coating alerts anyone opening the door to the potential dangers on the other side.

Added security can be found in electrified door locks. The best locks offer either a "fail safe" or "fail secure' option. A fail safe latch bolt
can be operated by the lever from either side except when the outer lever is electrically locked, then neither lever opens the door. By contrast, on a fail secure lever the deadlock latch bolt can be operated by the inside lever at all times, only the outside lever is inoperable when the latch is electrically locked.

The best lock suppliers will offer locks for every need, including asylum locks, dormitory locks and closet locks. Expect to pay from $40 for a basic lock up to $300 for the most secure locks.



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DoorLocksDirect.com was one of the most professional, courteous, and prompt Internet companies with which I have ever done business. Contact today for Cabinet Hardware



Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/using-comparison-websites-can-save-you-more-money-than-the-high-street.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/using-comparison-websites-can-save-you-more-money-than-the-high-street.html Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:45:40 -0500
Researching a product after finding the price can always cause complication, like not reading all the information properly. So to begin with ignore the price factor, find an item you like, using the example of a television. Know exactly what sized screen you would like best and what you would be happy with and whether it has high definition (HD) available or free view and how many scart sockets you require for things like games consoles or DVD players.

You should be able to find out the round-about price from a nationally recognised store like Argos, Curry's or Dixons but then take the official title of the TV you have selected and paste the details into a comparisons website. Always take into consideration the option of having something posted and whether this will cost you extra but you should have saved some money on the purchase just by finding an on-line store.

Then use your head does the website you can purchase it from seem suspect in anyway? Does it have a company address? Can you contact them via the phone? Try it just if you're not convinced and confirm the price and order. If you're not sure about giving your details over the internet then you could call them but always look for a verified security certificate to ensure your personal data is safely transferred to their website via an encrypted secure socket layer (otherwise known as a SSL certificate).

If you have any doubts then do not use their website but searching on-line for comparison websites can save you hundreds of pounds.

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Oliver is a avid web analyst who likes to promote the correct ways to secure business websites. Oliver works for ssl247.co.uk who specialise in RapidSSL Pro Wildcard as well as RapidSSL Pro Certificates for Apache web servers in the UK.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/how-to-avoid-the-pitfalls-of-on-line-shopping.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/how-to-avoid-the-pitfalls-of-on-line-shopping.html Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:39:20 -0500
Here is a guide to follow to help those new to internet shopping avoid any unscrupulous traders.

Do you recognise the name? Have you heard of the merchant or any of their products before? If not then possibly look elsewhere or at least check on review websites to make sure they have not been given bad reviews. Checking their title in Google should flag up any bad press they have.

Make sure they are able to secure your personal details and have a recognised secure socket layer (SSL) certificate, well known vendors are verisign, rapidssl, thawte and globalsign. They will encrypt the data being sent to the merchant from your browser via their web server and stop anyone from receiving your personal information who is snooping. The other secure way is to use a Paypal account.

Many of the merchant will offer returns and exchanges or even refunds in the same way you would expect a normal high street vendor would and always check for a company address and telephone number and you could even give them a call to just ensure the validity of their information.

If you just aren't really satisfied with their security or the look of the website and have any doubts at all then do not give your information out, there are always more internet based merchants out there and it's always better to be safe.

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Oliver is a avid web security analyst who wishes to promote the correct ways to protect corporate websites. Oliver works for ssl247.co.uk who allow you to Buy SSL Certificate as well as trial SSL certificates for IIS web servers in the UK.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/on-line-shopping-is-the-stress-free-way-to-shop-and-can-save-you-hours-of-time.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/on-line-shopping-is-the-stress-free-way-to-shop-and-can-save-you-hours-of-time.html Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:10:12 -0500
Many well known grocery stores are now providing internet shopping services such as Tesco's and Waitrose and if you are the sort of household who pretty much buy the same things week in week out then you will already know what you need. Setting up an account is easy and once you have done your shopping list you can use the same one each week rather than the two hour jaunt spent visiting the supermarket every week. Online, they do it for you and deliver it for a small charge. Money well spent if you are after releasing some precious time for other things. The one thing about grocery shopping online is that some of the fresh or fruit and veg you get are picked by the grocer so i often find you get some short dated things, but apart from that its ok.

The other area internet shopping can save you a load of time is at Christmas and as much as the girls love trawling around for a bargain, you can usually find what you want slightly cheaper on-line anyway. Setting up an Amazon account or even ebay isn't too difficult and with their added security measures, it means that your details are transmitted securely when you make a purchase. Given the amount of online transactions and stores to choose from - there are just bound to be bargains to be had. Many traditionally high street stores will also do special on-line offers such as Argos, Boots, M and S and WH Smiths, they will deliver all of your gifts for you so all you need to do is find some wrapping paper. You can also use a Paypal account to make purchases to ensure your details are secure and not going to be snooped on.

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Oliver is a avid web analyst who trys to advertise the correct ways to protect business websites. Oliver works for ssl247.co.uk who specialise in Apache SSL for webservers in the UK.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/how-does-3d-payer-authentication-work-why-has-it-been-introduced.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/how-does-3d-payer-authentication-work-why-has-it-been-introduced.html Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:15:28 -0500 This changes with the introduction of 3-D Secure services which provides Internet merchants with the ability to verify the consumer's true identity through a secure, electronic, non 'face-to-face' authentication process.
To press the importance of eliminating card and chargeback fraud on Internet transactions the Card Associations have also instituted chargeback liability shift to protect merchants from online fraud and habitual chargeback offenders.

How does it work?

From an Issuers Point of View:
Issuers must license 3-D Secure "Access Control Server" software from a certified vendor. Issuers then register BINs directly with Verified By VISA and MasterCard SecureCode depending on what card brands they issue. Issuer BINS are installed on the ACS server and cardholders are requested to register their card number with VbV and SecureCode by selecting a unique password and 'secret phrase.

From an Acquirers Point of View:
Acquirers enroll with VISA and SecureCode to register their acquiring BINs/ICAs. Acquirers must identify how they will support the MPI to enable 3-D Secure. Merchants are enrolled by their acquiring bank and registered on the MPI (hosted by FAC) and Directory Server. The Card Associations set up specific parameters in BASE I and INET to ensure 3-D Secure transactions are flagged correctly for both interchange price reductions and chargeback handling. The MID, merchant name, BIN and security certificate are all that are enrolled on the Directory Server. No MCC!

From the Card Associations Point of View:
The Directory Server is the 'traffic cop' that manages and monitors BINS and 3-D Secure messages between Issuer, Acquirer and Merchant. The Directory server receives authentication requests from FAC once a merchant is integrated. The Directory Server determines if the card number is in an enrolled Issuer BIN range, directs requests for cardholder authentication to the appropriate Issuer (ACS) and then responds back to the merchant starting the process of payer authentication directly with the consumer.

From the Card Associations Point of View:
All "attempted" payer authentication requests, whether validated or not, are stored on the Authentication History Server (at VISA and MasterCard) providing data for acquirers and issuers in the event of a transaction dispute. VISA and MasterCard have implemented payer authentication scenarios based on the responses from the ACS server and the MPI software that determine liability shift protection for Issuer and Acquirers.

The Payer Authentication Process
- Issuers and Acquirers register independently and the service is not interdependent;
- Issuers can be enrolled but not their cardholders; alternatively neither can be enrolled - this drives the merchant chargeback liability shift conditions;
- Likewise, Acquirers can be enrolled but not their merchants leaving the liability for fraud with the merchant if payer authentication is not completed prior to the payment authorisation.
- FAC's MPI software communicates with the merchant's payment page and passes the authentication requests to the Directory Server(s) to validate Issuer enrollment;
- The Directory Server queries to determine if the Issuer BIN is enrolled and if yes, communicates with the Issuer ACS server to validate if cardholder is registered;
- If both enrolled, the Directory Server responds via FAC's MPI and sends the message to the merchant to generate the 'pop up' window for the consumer to enter their password information.
- Authentication of the consumer takes place directly between the consumer and the ACS server through a secure browser connection;
- The ACS provides the payer authentication response back to FAC's MPI.

Merchant proceeds with the payment authorisation depending on the authentication response codes provided by the MPI.

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First Atlantic Commerce offer Offshore credit card merchant processing and international merchant account for online businesses across the world. Our secure online payment gateway offers custom payment and risk management solutions to help mitigate online fraud

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/internet-filter-bypass-bypass-a-school-or-office-internet-filter.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/internet-filter-bypass-bypass-a-school-or-office-internet-filter.html Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:51:33 -0500

The first one to say is bypassing internet filters and firewall - Using VPN one could easily bypass local restrictions including those applied through DNS or through URL blocking/IP blocking. Once connected to VPN you no longer query your local DNS for name resolution of your favorite website, you are querying a no-restriction VPN DNS and it would unblock your blocked website. Normally, the restrictions via DNS are applied per zones e.g. e-commerce websites, entertainment websites etc are blocked, but as far as you are not using local DNS you bypass internet filters and these restrictions. Similarly when you try to reach a particular website that is blocked using URL or IP, your request travels to your VPN IP and again your local internet filters cannot block your website. This kind of solution is very productive at schools, universities and offices where one can easily unblock social networking websites etc. It is equally productive in cases when you would like to conceal your web browsing history from everyone, may it be your ISP, your local admin etc they will just see your traffic from the VPN IP and nothing else. These are other consequent advantages.


Another advantage is for unblock VOIP - Voice over IP. There are many ISPs around the world that block VOIP. Many institutions that do not allow the blessing of VOIP but using VPN your VOIP gets unblocked. For example the SIP URL (Proxy/Protocol) is blocked and using a VPN would unblock SIP etc. This solution is working perfectly for VOIP lovers all over the world, and is highly recommended when VPN account offers unlimited bandwidth (100 mbit / Unlimited traffic) so you just have to connect it once and do all your browsing plus VOIP through it. There could be no easier solution that this. According to a research 90% people in Middle East are using VPN for unblocking VOIP - that could be either built-in in their VOIP devices, or they connect their computers/routers to VPN server and unblock VOIP. Any case, it works great.

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For more information about secure vpn connection, anonymous internet surfing, unblock VOIP and anonymous web surfing please follow this link Internet Filter Bypass.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/whata%80%99s-website-monitoring-service.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/security/whata%80%99s-website-monitoring-service.html Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:17:12 -0500
Here come web monitoring services for the help of web site owners and web masters. Online web monitoring services are offered by many websites, obviously these services are charged. Some web sites lure customers with different "Free monitoring offers" which is no good to users. The better deal I found was with 100pulse.com, which offers to monitor two websites free as of now.

User needs to register with 100pulse.com to use this service; the websites can be monitored with the frequency of 5 minutes to 3 hours. Apart from this, the user can specify when to alert for first failure or for the second or on third failure, or the required response time after which to be alerted. The report for a particular web site that is being monitored can be obtained through email on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Multiple contacts can be alerted for a website's outages.

What if the website is being updated for content or design changes, just customize the schedule maintenance for the required website. User can specify the date and time the monitoring to be stopped, and has an option to add more than one maintenance schedules.
As the reports are concerned the user can get the reports in their inbox, what if the reports are deleted by mistake. Just go to the reports page of 100pulse.com to get the consolidated reports based on the time period the user selects. Not just the usual numerical reports, one can get the graphically illustrated reports.

Apart from these, know the availability of the site right now, the IP and the location where the site is hosted by using the tools available. Right now the protocol supported by 100pulse.com is http.

Want to have a genuine web monitoring service for free, try 100pulse.com.


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Contact us @
http://100pulse.com
For Queries - support@100pulse.com

Contact Details:
HIOXINDIA,
No.7A-F, Ganesha Complex campus,
N.K.Palayam Road,
Singanallur,
Coimbatore,
Tamilnadu, INDIA.
PinCode - 641005.

Phone Numbers
Phone: +91-(0)422-547769,4348664
Mobile: (0) 93447 03071


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>