Mark this date...... Monday May 3rd at 7:00 pm EST.

Datasavers has been working on making a FREE webinar available to anyone who wishes to learn more about how to effectively secure their computer from the everyday vulnerabilities that are lurking on the internet. We'll cover basic things that anyone can do to accomplich better security whether on their home computer or at their business. Sign up today by visiting the link on the right of our homepage.... Datasaversinc.com and inputting your e-mail address to register. Participation is limited so sign up today! Also, if you can't make it, we'll make the webinar available so you can go out and watch it at a later date. Thanks and we look forward to meeting you!

You scanned your tax documents last year, maybe your birth certificate, or a copy of your health records all the confidential documentation that you do for your company or personal use. They all get stored on a hard drive in your copier. Did you know that? I didn't know until recently that there is a hard drive that stores copies that you make.

This is a very interesting story and one that everyone needs to know about. Read or watch this story:

 

Tony Lopez Investigates: Keeping Your Secrets

Network World has a new report on a report that hackers are breaking into a number of GMail accounts. If you didn't recieve the word yesterday, please make sure that you take the precaution and change your GMail password.

 

Drug-dealing spammers hit Gmail accounts

In light of recent information that is slowly being divulged regarding China's recent attack on google, I am advising people who own Gmail accounts to immediately change their password(s). there is a possibility that the information that was stolen who allow the perpetrators to have cracked Google's password code somehow. I'm not sure of exactly what goes on, but there is enough evidence to suggest that it would be wise for users to change their account passwords. Some of the comments in the article that was posted at the New York Times yesterday is enough evidence for me. Read it yourself:

 

Cyberattack on Google Said to Hit Password System

Seems like some less than desirable people in Japan have created a virus that infects people who use a popular P2P file sharing service called Winni. It is called Kenzero and installs itself after users have downloaded an illegal game called Hentai. It then asks for personal information to launch the game and grabs that info to post on a public website. Then it blackmails the user into paying to remove your name.

If this doesn't catches on with undesirables who go after porn users, it will be a miracle. Sounds like trouble brewing here.

The Full Story at the BBC:

 

Porn virus publishes web history of victims on the net

 

This morning while browsing my security newsletters I ran across a link to a very good guide on how to avoid some of the risks involved with Social Media sites. The most popular of course is facebook. These are guidelines on what to watch out for and should be taken into account especially if you have children or teenagers with Facebook profiles.

 

 

Social Media Risks: The Basics

Here is a another excellent reason to install an application called Defensio which will effectively block spam, malicious content and filters content so you will not be taken advantage of this kind of vulnerability on facebook.

The banner advertisement for greeting cards was intermittently displayed with an application called Farm Town, which has more than 9 million monthly users according to information published on Facebook.

Read the entire article on Network World

 

One of the easiest and best ways to stay ahead of hackers right now is to make sure you have a secure browser. Most of the vulnerabilities we are seeing right now are coming from malicious websites. In effect a user browses to a site that has some malicious code built into it.  Right now the most secure browser is Google's Chrome. One reason being is they have taken advantage of every one else's blunders and just plain built a better more secure browser. So, at least for now its the most secure. Their market penetration is at about 6%. As that goes up, hackers may take the time to penetrate it.

Google's Chrome browser, along with being more secure is really fast and easy to use, so I highly recommend you try it and start implementing it in your day to day browsing habits.

 

From the ...

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This is a good idea for a website, why not check an application before you install it to check its security and privacy rating? I think if more people did this, they might get a better idea how vulnerable they make themselves when installing these on facebook. There are more than facebook apps of course, and I'm sure as time goes on the list for these apps will grow.

Whatapp.org

Pogowasright ran a story this morning about a class action lawsuit brought against Countrywide Financial alleging that client data was stolen and sold by employees, putting at risk tens of thousands and possibly millions of people's financial information. Countrywide was subsequently bought by Bank Of America.

Nice, gives you that nice warm fuzzy feeling doing business with large institutions like this doesn't it? 

For a long time the burden of chasing after credit card theft or fraud has been placed on the shoulders of the issuing bank. That may soon change as more states are passing legislation that requires retail establishments to become PCI compliant and make sure that their systems will prevent such activity from occurring. Frankly it's about time. Why should financial institutions foot the bill for bad practice by a retailer that they have no control over? For smaller institutions this can add up to hefty losses over time. Lets hope more states adopt this practice and do it soon.

Full Story on eSecurity Planet:

 

New Law Lets Banks Recover Data Breach Costs