Security

Is it safe to meet online people in person? For the most part, meeting a cyber-buddy for the first time can be a relatively safe experience, providing that you use the proper precautions. Having said that, there are a few guidelines that I'd ... recommend when meeting an online friend for the first time: Get a phone number and call to verify it's legitimate. Always meet in a well lit, public place in a safe neighborhood. Make sure others know who you are meeting and where the meeting is. Don't meet people alone; if possible take another friend along. Here are some additional guidelines from a ... (view more)

SpywareQuake is the latest rogue anti-spyware program that dupes unsuspecting users into registering (paying) for a full version of the program in order to remove a supposed Spyware infection. SpywareQuake operates in the same manner as SpyAxe and ... SpywareStrike by issuing fake warning messages similar to Windows Update Notification balloons. Click here for an example. Like SpyAxe and SpywareStrike, SpywareQuake infects the host computer due to an exploit ("bug") in MS Windows. This exploit *must* be resolved by visiting Windows Update after SpywareQuake is removed; otherwise, you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Jennifer' writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently received an email from an unknown person via Yahoo. I think I understand how the email got to me but I'm not sure. Would the email headers help to tell me this? I'd really like to know ... how this person sent me the email. Can you help? " My response: To sum it up the answer briefly: email headers are often forged by spammers, so it's plausible that the email you received came from somewhere else (other than what is stated in the email header). Having said that, most big-name ISP (Internet Service Providers) have an onslaught of ... (view more)

In my last column I talked about one very important thing you can do to help secure your e-mail . Though it could affect the appearance of some messages, turning off HTML in your e-mail program can go a long way toward protecting your computer. ... Having said that, one of the most useful features of e-mail is the ability to send and receive attachments. An attachment is simply a file that is appended to the e-mail message itself. This can be a data file, like a word processing document or spreadsheet, or can even be a full-blown application such as a disk cleanup tool, an icon changer, etc. ... (view more)

In many ways, e-mail is the perfect marriage between technology and the human personality. Where else can we express ourselves in such a personal way online? Though some would argue that instant messaging is a more convenient communication ... technology, e-mail would still get my vote, all things considered (instant messaging is still a bit too disruptive for my taste). By all accounts, e-mail has literally revolutionized the way people communicate with one another. And as much as I love e-mail, it needs to be secured just like any other application. In fact, e-mail is often the attack vector ... (view more)

How do you know which freeware is safe to download? The fact is that trying out new, free software is sometimes risky. For example: some web sites will purposely mislead visitors by implying that their software is free -- but in fact, the "free" ... software comes bundled with added Spyware or adware . One good rule of thumb is to stick to downloading software from trusted sources (such as infopackets and Clif Notes); but if you're like me and you're always trying out new software on a regular basis, you don't always have the luxury of trusting a source. That's when I break out the big ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader "Jessie" writes: " Dear Dennis, I play Yahoo pinochle quite often. Someone recently told me that they could track my ISP from inside the game room; I assume this could be done by clicking on my name while I'm in the game room. ... What kind of program would they use so that I can block my ISP to it and/or track their ISP? Thank you. " My response: Just to clarify: ISP means Internet Service Provider. For example: Bell Sympatico provides DSL Internet access to its customers. On the other hand: IP means Internet Protocol. Additionally, an IP Address is a number (like a "mailing ... (view more)

This is the second installment of a two part series on good password practices (part 1 is here ). You may recall that I previously discussed some poor and all-too-common password practices that people use. And while it's good for us to know what not ... to do, we also need to educate ourselves about the right way to choose and manage passwords. So without further ado, let's get started! How Passwords are "Cracked" To begin, a good password is difficult to guess. A good password will not be tied or related to any publicly known information about you, including your kid's names, pet's ... (view more)

There's no doubt about it, security is a hard problem to solve. The rich functionality and connectivity we enjoy in today's Internet culture does not come without a price. Admittedly, there are so many variables that affect the overall security ... posture of a computer, that it sometimes seems like an overwhelming task to stay ahead of the curve. But with all the intricacies and technical dependencies that go along with securing our machines, it's still the basic steps that we need to be most concerned about doing. The Most Exploited Weakness in Computer Security The SANS Institute maintains a ... (view more)

In following with Microsoft's "megapatch" on Tuesday , Mozilla Corporation updated its Firefox browser to patch a staggering 24 vulnerabilities. The new Firefox v1.5.0.2 includes 7 patches, with 5 of them marked critical. Mozilla Corporation also ... released 11 new patches for the older Firefox 1.5, and 15 for the Firefox1.0x line. Compared to Microsoft's every-second-Tuesday schedule, Mozilla Corporation releases their security updates erratically (their last update was in February, 2006). They now plan on moving to a schedule that will release their updates every six or eight weeks. ... (view more)