Secreatine - Security On Creatine

Freeze Your Credit & ID Thieves

cuseman — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:00:44 +0000

If you are one of the many unfortunate people who fall victim to identity theft, freezing your credit file is one of the cheapest, easiest and quickest methods to limit the damage. Credit-file freezing, now available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, prevents anyone, even you, from opening a new account with your name and credentials.

The procedures for freezing your credit file vary by state and require notifying all three credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Consumer’s Union has a detailed, state-specific guide for freezing your credit file.

It is important to remember that freezing your credit file does not protect any active accounts that may have already been compromised; it simply protects you from the creation of additional, fraudulent accounts. If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft please contact your bank, credit card company, and any other lenders immediately.

Never Underestimate the Insider Threat

cuseman — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:03:02 +0000

This article in PC World underscores the existing and growing insider threat. A former employee of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has plead guilty to charges of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship and accessing a U.S. government computer system to unlawfully find information about her relatives and the Islamic organization Hizballah. Hizballah is an Islamic movement founded after the Israeli military seizure of Lebanon in 1982, which resulted in the formation of Islamic resistance units committed to the liberation of the occupied territories and the ejection of Israeli forces.

Disgruntled employees and terrorists alike are potential suspects for insider abuse for the purposes of espionage, financial gain, organized crime and political destabilization. The risk of excessive damage from insider threats can be limited by enforcing the policies of least privilege and separation of duties as well as the implementation of security controls that monitor privilege escalation and abuse.

About to Download Adware or Spyware?

cuseman — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:33:33 +0000

There is so much software out there on the web that pretends to be helpful. Coupon toolbars, search toolbars, peer-to-peer file sharing applications and even utilities that claim to remove spyware. So how can you tell if that program you are about to download is classified as spyware or comes bundled with the nasty stuff? There are a number of valuable websites where you can begin a quick investigation into the integrity of that cool little widget.

First, SpywareGuide.com is good site for scoping out the most recently discovered malware, and they even maintain of full database of discovered malware and list the utilities that can detect and remove the pesky programs if you have already installed them. The Spyware Database has a rundown of the most popular spyware and suggestions on automated and manual removal. If by chance you do not find what you are looking for, The Database of Spyware Project has an alphabetical listing of reported malware. Many times, a simple Google search will reveal whether that toolbar is a productivity gem or a giant headache.

When downloading any software from the Internet, please be sure to read the End User License Agreement (EULA) or Terms of Service (TOS). Finally, look for some certification from a reputable source stating that the software you are about to download has been evaluated and found to be free of spyware and in compliance with minimal privacy standards.

Are You Being Defrauded?

cuseman — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:21:54 +0000

There are so many offline and online scams today that it is hard to keep track of what advertisements and promotions are legitimate and which ones are trying to steal your identity, pilfer your personal information, or knowingly bilk you of hard-earned money. The Consumer Fraud Reporting Organization runs a website that will quickly educate its visitors about the most common scams and help consumers sort out fact from fiction. There are simply too many con artists and the laws that govern them are just too liberal for the authorities to fully protect the consumer. As a result, advertisements, E-Mails, telemarketers and websites promoting various scams are plentiful and prominent in our society. The only way to protect yourself is through education, vigilance, and by maintaining a certain level of skepticism that everything you see, hear or read is actually true.

Please visit the Consumer Fraud Reporting Organization today and take the necessary steps to protect yourself!

Limit SPAM With BugMeNot

cuseman — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:48:36 +0000

BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information, such as the New York Times Online, YouTube and The Internet Movie Database. Revealing your personal or professional E-Mail address to many of these sites can result in a barrage of SPAM and unsolicited mail. BugMeNot hosts a database of legitimate login credentials for websites requiring “free” registration, and allows its user to maintain a clean E-Mail Inbox. Better still, there is no charge for this service!

Help protect your privacy and visit BugMeNot.com today!

Banish Viruses Forever With AVG Free

cuseman — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 22:04:42 +0000

Grisoft’s AVG Free is simple one of the best freeware Anti-Virus programs on the market. It is free for personal and educational use, stable, and does not monopolize system resources like Norton or McAfee. Finally, AVG Free has industry-leading intervals for updating virus definitions and offers real-time protection while boasting above-average detection rates.

Download AVG Free

Protect Your Passwords!

cuseman — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:10:10 +0000

The yellow sticky remains one of the most egregious security violations and should be avoided at all costs. Do not write down your password and store it in plain view. If you store your passwords on yellow stickies, banish that practice forever! Instead, get a password manager. There are many available. Mac users have Keychain Access. Windows users should check out some of the many free utilities and services available to them, including:

1) Clipperz Online Password Management
2) KeyWallet Password Manager
3) PINs Secure Password Manager

Lifehack has a great article on the issue of password management if you would like to read up further on the subject.

Squash Spyware With Spybot

cuseman — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:52:10 +0000

Safer Networking’s Spybot is a wonderful free utility for the detection and removal of Adware and Spyware. Spyware is malicious software that covertly installs on your system for the purpose of gathering personal information and violating the confidentiality of your data. Spyware can surreptitiously reveal financial information like credit card numbers, record keystrokes and track system usage trends of the victim. Adware uses a similar framework but for the less harmful (yet more annoying) goal of serving advertisements en masse. Adware can result in altered home pages and search results as well as pop-up advertisements and SPAM.

Spybot can remove known malware of this nature and help immunize your system from future infections. Malware scans should always be run in conjunction with virus scanning.

Download Spybot

Are You A Victim Of Identity Theft?

cuseman — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:26:47 +0000

How can you be sure if your identity and good name are truly safe? The easiest answer is to periodically review your credit report and check for anomalies such as unrecognized accounts, charges or debts. Most states give a consumer access to one free credit report every year from each of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies, which are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Although you can call each agency individually, AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers obtain their free credit reports. This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every twelve months from all three agencies listed above.

Unfortunately, consumers often fall victim to scams related to the pursuit of their free credit report. The most common is FreeCreditReport.com, which sells you a credit monitoring service when you attempt to access your “free” information. In fact, the website states: “When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring. If you don’t cancel your membership within the 30-day trial period, you will be billed $14.95 for each month that you continue your membership.”

Please do not fall victim to this scam. To obtain your free credit report for 2007, visit AnnualCreditReport.com today. If you feel that you are at a particularly high risk of identity theft, your bank or credit card company is usually the best avenue for obtaining a credit monitoring and protection service.

Information Assurance vs. Information Security

cuseman — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:50:28 +0000

Information assurance (IA) and information security (IS) are often incorrectly used interchangeably, but the two terms are not synonymous. The official definition of IA, as recognized by the U.S. government, is “Measures that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation. These measures include providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.” This definition can be simplified to “the complete preservation of information confidentiality, integrity and availability in all of the informations’ various states, otherwise known as the C.I.A. Model.”

Information security is a large subset of IA which deals primarily with the more glorious tools and tactics for protecting information from threats such as con artists (phishing), hackers (exploits) and malicious code (viruses). IA covers a much broader spectrum of information management and protection such as certification and accreditation (C&A), business continuity planning (BCP), compliance and disaster recovery planning (DRP).