As soon as almost all computer users already got used to -- or at least heard about -- the word "phishing", another somewhat confusing word appeared. Pharming. Does it differ from phishing -- if yes, how?
<b>Two Pharmings</b>
Actually, two completely different fields use the term "pharming" now. We can say there exist two separate "pharmings".
If genetics or businessmen from pharmaceutical industry are talking about pharming (spelled like that) it might have nothing to do with computers. This word has long been familiar to genetic engineers. For them, it's a merger of "farming" and "pharmaceutical" and means the genetic engineering technique -- inserting extraneous genes into host animals or plants in order to make them produce some pharmaceutical product. Although it is very interesting matter, this article isn't about it.
As for PC users, the term "pharming" recently emerged to denote exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software caused by malicious code. This code allows the cybercriminal who contaminated this PC with it to redirect traffic from one IP-address to the one he specified. In other words, a user who types in a URL goes to another web site, not the one he wanted to--and isn't supposed to notice the difference.
Usually such a website is disguised to look like a legitimate one -- of a bank or a credit card company. Sites of this kind are used solely to steal users' confidential information such as passwords, PIN numbers, SSNs and account numbers.
<b>Dangerous Scams</b>
A fake website that's what "traditional" phishing has in common with pharming. This scam can fool even an experienced computer user, and it makes pharming a grave threat. The danger here is that users don't click an email link to get to a counterfeit website.
Most people enter their personal information, unaware of possible fraud. Why should they suspect anything if they type the URL themselves, not following any links in a suspiciously-looking email?
Unfortunately, "ordinary" phishers are also getting smarter. They eagerly learn; there is too much money involved to make criminals earnest students. At first phishing consisted only of a social engineering scam in which phishers spammed consumer e-mail accounts with letters ostensibly from banks. The more people got aware of the scam, the less spelling mistakes these messages contained, and the more fraudulent websites looked like legitimate ones.
Since about November 2004 there has been a lot of publications of a scheme which at first was seen as a new kind of phishing. This technique includes contaminating a PC with a Trojan horse program. The problem is that this Trojan contains a keylogger which lurks at the background until the user of the infected PC visits one of the specified websites. Then the keylogger comes to life to do what it was created for -- to steal information.
It seems that this technique is actually a separate scam aimed at stealing personal information and such attacks are on the rise. Security vendor Symantec warns about commercialisation of malware -- cybercriminals prefer cash to fun, so various kinds of information-stealing software are used more actively.
Spy Audit survey made by ISP Earthlink and Webroot Software also shows disturbing figures - 33.17% PCs contaminated with some program with information stealing capability.
However, more sophisticated identity theft attempts coexist with "old-fashioned" phishing scams. That is why users should not forget the advice which they all are likely to have learned by heart:
<ul>
<li>Never follow a link in an email, if it claims to be from a financial institution</li>
<li>Never open an attachment if the email is from somebody you don't know </li>
<li>Protect your PC from malware </li>
<li>Stay on the alert </li>
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Summary:
As soon as almost all computer users already got used to -- or at least heard about -- the word "phishing", another somewhat confusing word appeared. Pharming. Does it differ from phishing -- if yes, how?
Showing posts with label keylogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keylogging. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Internet Safety And Computer Monitoring
For eight years now, I have been involved in searching for missing and abducted children and have been an advocate for child safety. Parents are scared every time they see a news story about yet another abducted or missing child.
“What if that were my child?” “What would I do if I were that child’s parent?” “Why didn’t that child’s parents do more to keep their child safe?” “How can I keep this from happening to my child?”
Those are just a few of the questions that go through any parents mind when they hear about a child becoming the victim of a child sex predator or just any child that is missing without a clue. In some of these stories, the child or teenager first met someone online, then began to trust that person, then met them offline and disappeared.
When talking about Internet Safety, that is of course the worst case scenario. Other issues involve not wanting your child to be exposed to pornography, not wanting to have your child exposed to people who will make sexual advances to them online, and not wanting your child to do anything that might put them or even you at risk.
It is a very real problem that all parents need to address. Ignore what your children and teenagers do online at your own peril. If they are more computer literate than you are, it makes it even more difficult to know how to monitor their online activities. In addition to that, you feel as a parent you shouldn’t be “snooping” on them.
Your children can benefit greatly by being allowed to use the Internet. These days they can learn more online than they ever will in just school alone. They need both, so you have to find a way to balance the need for your children to go online with making sure they are safe online.
Fortunately there are programs available that can help you achieve that balance. The first thing you need to do is make sure your child knows about safety. In the footer of this article will be a link to the Kidsearch Network Website and to RunawayTeens.org where you will find the information they need to learn and what you as a parent need to know. There is even tools you can use to test your child to see how much they have learned.
The second step is to get a program like Online Safety Shield. Whether you tell your children or teenager it is there or not, the program will monitor everything that is done on each computer you install it on. It will allow you to flag certain keywords that you are concerned about your child encountering or that will associate with websites that are on that topic.
It will even take screen captures that allow you to see later which websites your child visited that contained that type of content. It does a lot more, but it’s best if you take a look at it for yourself. Just go to this website, http://www.onlinesafetyshield.com to see which version is right for you.
The bottom line is that Internet Safety is something that every parent has to be concerned about. Your children need to be able to make use of this great tool for learning, however you need to have some peace of mind that they are using it wisely. Learn more. Teach more. Be an “involved” parent. Your child’s life may depend on it.
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Summary:
For eight years now, I have been involved in searching for missing and abducted children and have been an advocate for child safety. Parents are scared every time they see a news story about yet another abducted or missing child.
“What if that were my child?” “What would I do if I were that child’s parent?” “Why didn’t that child’s parents do more to keep their child safe?” “How can I keep this from happening to my child?”
Those are just a few of the questions that go t...
“What if that were my child?” “What would I do if I were that child’s parent?” “Why didn’t that child’s parents do more to keep their child safe?” “How can I keep this from happening to my child?”
Those are just a few of the questions that go through any parents mind when they hear about a child becoming the victim of a child sex predator or just any child that is missing without a clue. In some of these stories, the child or teenager first met someone online, then began to trust that person, then met them offline and disappeared.
When talking about Internet Safety, that is of course the worst case scenario. Other issues involve not wanting your child to be exposed to pornography, not wanting to have your child exposed to people who will make sexual advances to them online, and not wanting your child to do anything that might put them or even you at risk.
It is a very real problem that all parents need to address. Ignore what your children and teenagers do online at your own peril. If they are more computer literate than you are, it makes it even more difficult to know how to monitor their online activities. In addition to that, you feel as a parent you shouldn’t be “snooping” on them.
Your children can benefit greatly by being allowed to use the Internet. These days they can learn more online than they ever will in just school alone. They need both, so you have to find a way to balance the need for your children to go online with making sure they are safe online.
Fortunately there are programs available that can help you achieve that balance. The first thing you need to do is make sure your child knows about safety. In the footer of this article will be a link to the Kidsearch Network Website and to RunawayTeens.org where you will find the information they need to learn and what you as a parent need to know. There is even tools you can use to test your child to see how much they have learned.
The second step is to get a program like Online Safety Shield. Whether you tell your children or teenager it is there or not, the program will monitor everything that is done on each computer you install it on. It will allow you to flag certain keywords that you are concerned about your child encountering or that will associate with websites that are on that topic.
It will even take screen captures that allow you to see later which websites your child visited that contained that type of content. It does a lot more, but it’s best if you take a look at it for yourself. Just go to this website, http://www.onlinesafetyshield.com to see which version is right for you.
The bottom line is that Internet Safety is something that every parent has to be concerned about. Your children need to be able to make use of this great tool for learning, however you need to have some peace of mind that they are using it wisely. Learn more. Teach more. Be an “involved” parent. Your child’s life may depend on it.
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Summary:
For eight years now, I have been involved in searching for missing and abducted children and have been an advocate for child safety. Parents are scared every time they see a news story about yet another abducted or missing child.
“What if that were my child?” “What would I do if I were that child’s parent?” “Why didn’t that child’s parents do more to keep their child safe?” “How can I keep this from happening to my child?”
Those are just a few of the questions that go t...
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