Who Do You Trust? The Internet Neighborhood

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Before you begin reflecting inwardly and become upset about your psychological well being, I need to tell you this article is about Internet security and what you should do to protect yourself and your information. A good way to start our thought process is to ask ourselves, "Who is connected to the Internet that we trust?" I propose that we start by trusting no one, and add people and businesses that we do trust, one at a time, and then only within limits.

Imagine living in a neighborhood where the crime rate is below average, most of your neighbors are nice and they mow their lawn regularly and otherwise keep their homes looking nice. Occasionally, hoodlums from that nearby, not so nice, neighborhood drive through and vandalize property or even break into a car. Now imagine that every not so nice neighbor hood on the planet is not only nearby, but is really just as close to your house, as the neighbors in your own neighborhood are. If this were really true, a hoodlum from Nigeria could leave his house and be driving by your driveway within minutes! If your curtains were open, they could see right into your living room!

Welcome to the Internet! Every computer in the world, no matter where, that is connected to the Internet can be lurking outside your computer home, trying to see through your computer curtains, within seconds of deciding to try. In parts of some cities, crime is so rampant that everyone covers all of their first floor windows with bars, and installs multiple dead bolt locks on all their doors! They trust no one! If you knock on their door, they will peep at you through their peep hole, maybe get their gun, ask you through the door to identify yourself, and only when they are satisfied that you are likely not a danger to them, will they crack the door to speak with you.

Common sense would also dictate that we are vigilant in protecting our computer homes! Just like our real homes, our computer homes shelter many valuables: our identities, keys to the places we keep our money, our pictures and mementos. We need to be very careful who we crack the door open for.

So let's begin by securing our computer homes. In this neighborhood, we will need locks and bars on our doors and windows: passwords and firewalls. We will also need pest and varmint control: anti-virus software. We will need to keep our curtains closed, and watch our backdoor: anti-spyware and anti-malware software. We will need a peep hole in our front door, and we will need to ask those who would want us to trust them, to identify themselves: encryption and security certificates. And finally, most of all we will need a healthy respect for the dangers of associating with complete strangers: learn about phishing scams and con artists.

Just as in real life, on the Internet, no one can ever be completely safe from all danger. But we can't live our lives if we are always afraid to walk out our door and go to work, or go shopping, or to see friends. We can learn to drive safely, be cautious around strangers, and we can enjoy living despite the risks we have to take every day.

In my next post, I will talk specifically about the practices and products that can help us live our Internet lives safely so we can enjoy all of the benefits that technology can bring to our real lives.

Tom Ledford, Owner
South Side Tech
http://www.southsidetech.com/
3849 Wyndsong Trl
Lexington, KY 40514
859-577-2403
Blog: The Practical Computer - http://www.praccomp.blogspot.com/

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Who Do You Trust? Social Engineering

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"Social engineering" is a broad term used to describe many types of confidence fraud on the Internet. There are many social engineering techniques, including phishing and impersonating a person or website. Learning about social engineering will help you stay alert for threats to your security.

Phishing is using email, instant messaging or other electronic communications in an attempt to trick you into divulging information the scammer can use to further their attack. Never divulge a password, PIN, credit card or Social Security number in an email. Your bank will never ask you to. Most reputable companies follow the best practice for recovering a forgotten password. They will provide you a link to a page on their site that will allow you to reset your password. You should make sure the link connects you to their website by verifying the URL and the website's security certificate.

Another con involves calling people at work and claiming to be from IT support or their company's help desk, to ask you for your password. Don't give anyone your password over the phone. If they are really from your company's IT staff they don't need it, or they can reset it themselves. Some IT departments will call and ask employees for their passwords just to see how may employees fall for this common social engineering con, as part of a security audit, or so that they can determine if they need to do additional security training.

Websites can be impersonated too. A web page can easily be made to look like your bank's login page. My previous article about website security certificates explains how to verify a sites authenticity and why encryption and certificates are important for transmitting credit card and other sensitive information.

We are all busy nowadays but, it is important to pay attention to what we are doing and not let our impatience rush us into bad decisions. I don't know how many times I wish that I would have slowed down a little before I hit "send" or "submit!" Take time to investigate the company, person, webpage, email address or link you are being asked to trust.

Finally, use common sense and continue to stay informed about the risks and best practices for protecting yourself on the Internet. As new security technology and safety measures are being developed, so are new viruses, cons and other threats. One good source of information is your antivirus software company's website. If you would like to dive a little deeper, there are many blogs dedicated to the subject of security.

For more about Tom Ledford:
Tom Ledford, Owner South Side Tech
http://www.southsidetech.com/
3849 Wyndsong Trl
Lexington, KY 40514
859-577-2403
Blog: The Practical Computer - http://praccomp.southsidetech.com/
Twitter: @tcledford

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Panasonic TVP 200 Surrey: Looking for quality the trust on stop solution sites only

With the growth in technology there are numerous consumer friendly gadgets which make your life not only easier but also luxurious to say the least. The vast development in the information and technology sector has led to a revolution where the multinational companies are now competing among themselves to offer those electronic products which cater to all needs of the consumers. The markets today are flourishing with some amazing products which are always climbing up or down the popularity charts as well the price index.

To name some of these electronic innovations one can certainly buy the Panasonic range of products which includes the ones like Panasonic KX-NCP500 Coquitlam etc which offer great comfort to the users. These products are made keeping in mind the needs and requirements of the users who need everything on the click of efficient buttons to save their time and energy. Not only Panasonic there are numerous brands which are famous among the consumers who have an eye for good electronic products.

These products are available on the internet too where one can look for the most suitable model which has maximum features and other things so that at the minimum prize one gets the best deal possible. These products like Panasonic TVP 200 Surrey can also be compared with other products offering the same features. One can read about their reviews and feedback too from the ones who have used them and now wish to offer their experience.

If you are thinking of getting a good phone system in your place which lasts for a long time and ensures that all the incoming call are well received then one can surely invest their money in purchasing a Panasonic phone system which has been in the market from a long time and has received a very positive feedback from the users.

There are numerous websites which offer all the product range together in their different catalogues to make sure that their target audience gets the best of the entire world. Since the consumers have a lot of choices one needs to be very careful in selecting which website to trust and which should not be since there are many which claim to be original in their products but are not.

The internet is certainly a good platform to get ready and order your products where one will get whole range of prices and good quality too.

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