security | Ain't Complicated

Antivirus Software? Yeah, Sure.

If you want your Windows PC to be secure, here are the essential steps.

1. Use a modern operating system. Sorry, folks—Windows XP simply isn’t secure enough for ordinary people to use today.

2. Keep your OS up to date and backed up. Turn on Windows Update and make sure it’s running properly.

3. Keep applications updated also. Remove unwanted programs that could represent a security threat.

4. Be suspicious of any new software. If you’re not sure a program is safe, don’t install it.

5. Set up standard non-administrator accounts for unsophisticated users. With a standard account a user needs to talk to you and convince you to enter the administrator’s password before installing any new software.

6. Use a modern browser. If you’re still using Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6, stop it.

7. Install an antivirus program and keep it up to date. I recommend the free Microsoft Security Essentials, which is available for download or as an optional update on systems where Windows does not detect an antivirus program.

And one final word: Don’t be paranoid.

The article (Do you really need antivirus software?) is more substantial than what I’ve quoted above. That said, it’s not long and well worth your reading time.

Do You Trust Google?

It turns out Google’s Street View cars found out more about Internet users than previously acknowledged. Last Friday, the company said the cars, which roam the world taking pictures for its location-based applications, scarfed up e-mail addresses, URLs and passwords from residential Wi-Fi networks they passed by in dozens of countries.

[…]

Some privacy advocates say Google’s admission highlights a common attitude among high-tech firms that rush to get out new technologies without enough consideration of how consumers may be harmed in the process.

“First they said they didn’t gather data; then they said they did, but it was only fragments; and today they finally admit entire emails and URLs were captured, as well as passwords,” said John Simpson, director of consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. “Maybe some Google executives are beginning to get it: privacy matters. The reality, though, is that the company’s entire culture needs to change.”

Source: Google ‘mortified’ that Street View cars scarfed up e-mail, passwords; privacy criticism intensifies

If they’re stealing and abusing data from people, what are they doing with the data people give them willingly?

Think: Gmail, Buzz, Maps, Docs, Search, API, and on and on!

Oh, and let this be another reminder to secure your wireless networks, OK?

Personal Security: Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is extremely important, even if you live in a part of the world that seems far removed from “huge” threats to personal security.

As an example of “situational awareness is extremely important,” consider that going down the road in an automobile is a far “huger” threat to personal safety than most people realize.

But this article is about much more than being a safe driver.

The world is a wonderful place, but it can also be a dangerous one. […]

Regardless of the threat, it is very important to recognize that criminal and terrorist attacks do not materialize out of thin air. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Criminals and terrorists follow a process when planning their actions, and this process has several distinct steps. […]

People who practice situational awareness can often spot this planning process as it unfolds and then take appropriate steps to avoid the dangerous situation or prevent it from happening altogether. Because of this, situational awareness is one of the key building blocks of effective personal security — and when exercised by large numbers of people, it can also be an important facet of national security. Since situational awareness is so important, and because we discuss situational awareness so frequently in our analyses, we thought it would be helpful to discuss the subject in detail and provide a primer that can be used by people in all sorts of situations.

[…]

It is critical to stress here that situational awareness does not mean being paranoid or obsessively concerned about your security. It does not mean living with the irrational expectation that there is a dangerous criminal lurking behind every bush. In fact, people simply cannot operate in a state of focused awareness for extended periods, and high alert can be maintained only for very brief periods before exhaustion sets in. The “flight or fight” response can be very helpful if it can be controlled. When it gets out of control, however, a constant stream of adrenaline and stress is simply not healthy for the body or the mind.

[…]

Clearly, few of us are living in the type of intense threat environment currently found in places like Mogadishu, Juarez or Kandahar. Nonetheless, average citizens all over the world face many different kinds of threats on a daily basis — from common thieves and assailants to criminals and mentally disturbed individuals aiming to conduct violent acts to militants wanting to carry out large-scale attacks against subways and aircraft.

Many of the steps required to conduct these attacks must be accomplished in a manner that makes the actions visible to the potential victim and outside observers. It is at these junctures that people practicing situational awareness can detect these attack steps, avoid the danger and alert the authorities.

I think you should read the full article by Scott Stewart over at STRATFOR: A Primer on Situational Awareness. He also has a follow-up article titled Watching for Watchers.

As a former missionary in northwest Mexico and as current chairman of a mission board with personnel in that same region, I find the article an essential, compelling read.

And as a Christian, I’m thankful to be able to rest securely in the knowledge of “divine resources and assets” being “deployed” for my protection and the protection of those in my care.

So in closing I offer you just three verses:

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).

“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalm 34:7).

There are more; feel free to post them as comments below.

The Web, Your Secrets, Your Number

Far too many people just don’t care about online privacy. Maybe you’re one of them. And maybe I don’t care if I spit into the wind on this subject. Again.

Hidden inside Ashley Hayes-Beaty’s computer, a tiny file helps gather personal details about her, all to be put up for sale for a tenth of a penny.

[…]

The Journal examined the 50 most popular U.S. websites, which account for about 40% of the Web pages viewed by Americans. (The Journal also tested its own site, WSJ.com.) It then analyzed the tracking files and programs these sites downloaded onto a test computer.

As a group, the top 50 sites placed 3,180 tracking files in total on the Journal’s test computer. Nearly a third of these were innocuous, deployed to remember the password to a favorite site or tally most-popular articles.

But over two-thirds—2,224—were installed by 131 companies, many of which are in the business of tracking Web users to create rich databases of consumer profiles that can be sold.

The top venue for such technology, the Journal found, was….

I was surprised.

Maybe you won’t be.

Dictionary.com

Amazing!

The top venue for such technology, the Journal found, was IAC/InterActive Corp.’s Dictionary.com. A visit to the online dictionary site resulted in 234 files or programs being downloaded onto the Journal’s test computer, 223 of which were from companies that track Web users.

It’s a long article, but I highly recommend it to you: The Web’s New Gold Mine: Your Secrets

ZeuS: Do You Know This Security Issue?

I read a bit about the ZeuS malware this earlier this morning. Here’s one quote…but I don’t know who said it:

“The average corporation or consumer doesn’t know
there’s an issue there.”

Whoever it was said it, said this also:

“You can have all that stuff current
and you’re still not safe.”

I don’t know if that applies to part of my Internet security fortress: Malwarebytes ‘ Anti-Malware.

If you use computers and the Internet, I suppose you really should ready this: Online Business Banking? Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

If you don’t use computers and the Internet…. 😯

Buzzed a la Google

I know this is long. And I know it’s about three favorite services on the Web: Google, Gmail, and Buzz.

But it really is an essential read. Even if you think privacy and security are passé in a pleasantly quaint and/or outright irritating sort of way.

On February 9, 2010, many Gmail users woke up to find a slightly different look to their inbox, along with some never-before-seen features. They were told that this was Google’s latest attempt at creating a social networking and messaging tool; it would be called Google Buzz. The company designed the service to seamlessly integrate with the company’s web-based email program, allowing its users to share links, photos, videos, status messages, and comments that would be organized in a “conversations” section of their inbox.

It seemed cool enough, but what many users didn’t know is that they were now sharing what was thought to be private information with other Gmail users.

Google executive Sergey Brin recently said that it was Google’s intention to “help bridge the gap between work and leisure,” but many parents feared for their children’s safety and strongly criticized Google for taking little to no account of privacy concerns for Gmail users who are underage.

[…]

Similar concerns have come up as a result of another Google feature that has yet to be disabled. Apparently by default, the mobile version of Google Buzz publishes a person’s exact location when they post any type of message to the service. This particular feature could be disastrous for many reasons, but especially if a user is in a situation similar to the woman discussed previously, i.e. has an abusive ex who can now track her down at a moment’s notice.

Not only that, but there are a thousand scenarios in which this could be dangerous for children. What if a young student updates Google Buzz using their mobile phone while walking home from school alone, unaware of the fact that complete strangers can be “following” them on the service? These are the types of concerns many believe Google isn’t taking into account or taking seriously enough.

[…]

“If your child has a Gmail account, talk to them about what Google Buzz is and how they should be properly using it,” Li said. “Please take action, which may be as dramatic as completely disabling Buzz on your child’s account. Do this as soon as possible, as I’m concerned that unsavory characters are already exploiting this parental control loophole.”

Now please read the full article: The Trials and Tribulations of Google Buzz.