Friday, December 3, 2010

Wireless Networking Precautions


When using a wireless internet network (Wi-Fi), it has many advantages for internet users. Wireless networking allows you to be able to work in any room of your home and outside your house, while still being connected to the internet.  Wi-Fi also comes with security issues. If you can pick your Wi-Fi signal from outside your house, that means that others will be able to do the same. Wireless internet users should take some extra precautions to protect their information from being hacked into by others.
The best way to protect our computer when you have Wi-Fi is to make sure that you have an up-to-date antivirus program installed on your computer. Most anti-virus software will automatically scan your computer to check for any possible threats or viruses. By enabling this, you can help prevent any intruders from accessing your computer and installing a virus on it.  Also, if you have the proper software on your computer, you will be able to go places like local coffee shops, hotels, and airports which are hot spots for wireless internet. This means that you can log onto the computer from these places and share the network. Sharing the network means that you may have a greater chance of someone accessing your computer information or sending a virus into your computer. Therefore, you should never put any personal identification on your computer at that time. Do not give your social security number at that time to anybody or order anything online with a credit card while using the public internet.



Strong Passwords (how to create and use them)

Strong passwords are important protections to help you have safer online transactions.  Keys to password strength are length and complexity.  An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers. Whenever possible, use at least 14 characters or more.  The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better  Use the entire keyboard, not just the letters and characters you use or see most often.  Create a strong password you can remember.  It is important to test your password with a password checker.
Do not let anyone see your password, but write it down.  Do not create a password with any dictionary words in any language because they are vulnerable.  Also, try to avoid abbreviations, personal information, or sequences/repeated characters.  Cyber criminals can use sophisticated tools that can decipher a password.

Internet Parental Control Software

Internet parental control software programs give you the ability to control as well as monitor children's use of the Internet, wherever you are.  Therefore, this enables you to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet.  These programs enable businesses to limit and control their employees access to the Internet and to any programs.  It also helps with integration with popular search engines, block Images and videos sections in popular search engines, and restrict chat and instant messaging. 


Internet parental control software programs manage installed copies remotely from a single computer through local network or internet and enable auto-save for the settings on a web server.  Special web sites and special programs can be lListed with their own timetables and time limits and give you a time restricted programs list. Some internet parental control software programs are iProtectYou, and CyberSieve.





http://www.softforyou.com/

Internet Filters

Internet filters are software tools that help monitor web content viewed on a particular network or computer. Internet filters with family safety settings can help parents manage who kids can communicate with or how long kids can use the computer.  You also can prevent unwanted, explicit content from appearing in your search results.  
Businesses can block websites that they don't want their employees to use at work. Internet filters can warn you about and block you from suspicious websites that might be fraudulent (phishing filters) as well as keep spam out of your inbox.  Some internet filter software programs include Net Nanny, Puresight PC, CYERsitter, and Safe Eyes.


Internet Parental Guidance

The internet can present great risks for children's safety.  Children should be taught how to properly use the internet.  Parents should make sure they spend enough time with them and teach them how to use the computer and Internet, instead of just letting them make dangerous mistakes out of curiosity or ignorance.

Online security involves protection against malicious software that may access the computer while children are browsing the Internet, as well as keeping them safe from harmful strangers and internet abusers who are using it for criminal or immoral purposes.  Therefore, parents should teach their children the basics of Internet browsing privacy.  They need to be explained what they should or should not do online, such as talking to strangers or displaying personal information to others, and to not answer messages holding harmful content. They should be limited to only a few programs.  Setting some browsing options that are safe for the computer and the child is also a smart option.






Digital Image Steganography

The word steganography is originated from the Greek Language meaning “Covered Writing".  Digital Image Steganography is the act of hiding a secret message within a larger one in a way that other people can not recognize the contents of the hidden message. For example, a message might be hidden within an image by changing the least significant bits to be the message bits.  



Steganography is a science that has various useful applications.  It deals with communicating secret data in image, audio, or video files.  It comes under the assumption that if the feature is visible, the focus to attack is apparent.  Therefore the goal is to always conceal the existence of embedded data.  Steganography's ultimate objectives are undetectability, and capacity of the hidden data.  Steganography is used in various useful applications, such as: copyright control of materials, enhancing image search engines and smart IDs.  Similar to any other science, steganography can also be used for bad intentions.


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V18-4X5JR3B-1&_user=687439&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1566219523&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000038299&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=687439&md5=083f24d17556b2174c6621fdbe3d4955&searchtype=a

Computer Forensics



Computer forensics is a type of digital forensic science that deals with legal evidence found in digital storage media.  The purpose is to observe, recover, link, and understand info found in computers.  Computer forensics is similar to data recovery, and is associated with the investigation of computer crime and is also used in civil proceedings.  It has been used in many high profile cases as evidence, and also is widely accepted as reliable in the European and United States court systems.
Personal computers developing overtime in history became more accessible to consumers and therefore began to be abused for criminal activity.  Hacking and other frauds became new recognizable computer crimes.  Computer forensics became popular during this time to recover and investigate evidence due to these emerging crimes.  Today, computer forensics helps to investigate crimes such as child pornography, fraud, cyberstalking, rape, and murder.