Edward C. Reed High School (Sparks, NV) Multimedia Presentation for 2006′s FBLA National Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN. We placed THIRD in the nation with this baby, WHOO! Team: Billy Hong (Technical), Leslie Parawan (Presentation), Yilok Wong (Research)
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Introduction: what is Identity Theft

The term Identity theft is used to refer to fraud that involves someone pretending to be someone else in order to steal money or to get other benefits. The term however is misapplied as it is not possible to steal an identity but only to use it. The person whose identity has been stolen can suffer from various consequences when he or she is held responsible for the perpetrator’s actions. In many countries, there are specific laws regarding identity theft which make it a crime to use another person’s identity for personal gain.

The term identity theft is somewhat different from that of identity fraud. However, the terms are often used interchangeably. Identity fraud is the consequence of identity theft. For instance, someone may steal or appropriate someone’s identifying information without actually committing identity fraud. The best example may be said to be when any data breach occurs. There has been very little evidence to link identity fraud to data breach. A study by Carnegie Mellon University concluded that the probability of becoming a victim to identity theft as a result of data breach is around 2% only.

Identity theft which is also known as ID theft is a crime in which criminals or offenders obtain key pieces of personal information such as social security or driver’s license numbers or any such other similar relevant data of someone else in order to pose as that person. Such data may be used to obtain credit, merchandise and services using the victim’s name. Identity theft can also be used by the thief to obtain false credentials for immigration or other applications.

One of the biggest problems with identity theft is that very often the crimes committed by the identity theft expert are often attributed to the victim and the burden of proof of innocence falls upon the victim that he was not responsible for whatever acts he may have been accused of.

In this article, we will get to know about the various aspects of this evil known as Identity theft, how it is done and how one may protect oneself from becoming a victim of such crime.

Types of Identity Theft

Identity theft can enter into many areas of our lives and involves any instance where a person uses someone else’s identification documents or other identifiers in order to impersonate that person for whatever reason. Identity theft may be broadly divided into two types namely; Financial Fraud and Criminal activities.

Financial Fraud: This type of identity theft includes bank fraud, credit card fraud, computer and telecommunications fraud, social program fraud, tax refund fraud and several more. Financial fraud may further be classified as:

Business/ commercial identity theft wherein the offender uses the victim’s business name in order to obtain credit or other similar benefits.
Financial identity theft wherein the offender uses the victim’s identity to obtain goods and services.
Identity cloning and concealment where the offender uses the victim’s information to assume his or her identity in daily life and thus, deceiving others by impersonating himself as the victim. This may be done by a person in order to avoid arrest for crimes, by a person who is working illegally in foreign countries or by a person who is hiding from creditors or other individuals.
Medical identity theft is where another’s information is used to obtain medical care or drugs. Such offence occurs when someone uses a person’s name and sometimes other parts of their identity such as insurance information, without the victim’s knowledge or consent to obtain medical services or goods. Medical identity theft frequently results in erroneous entries being put into existing medical records, and can involve the creation of fictitious medical records in the victim’s name.

Criminal activities: It is also known as criminal identity theft wherein the offender poses as the victim when he is apprehended for a crime. Identity theft may be used to facilitate crimes including illegal immigration, terrorism and espionage. In some cases, the criminal would obtain state issued ID using stolen documents or personal information belonging to another person or they might simply use a fake ID. When the criminal is arrested for a crime, he presents the fake ID to the authorities, who place charges under the identity theft victim’s name and release the criminal. When the criminal does not appear for the court hearing, a warrant would be issued in the name of the victim. The victim might learn of the incident if the state suspends their own driving license, or through a background check performed for employment or other purposes, or in rare cases, could be arrested when stopped for a minor traffic violation.

Furthermore, some people may impersonate others for non- financial reasons such as to receive praise or attention for the victim’s achievements. This is sometimes referred to as identity theft in the media.

Sometimes, the identity thieves hack into databases to steal personal information. However this type of thievery is much rarer then the use of old fashioned methods such as scouring the garbage for old receipts or looking over someone’s shoulder while they are doing a financial transaction. Therefore, one must be wary of such criminals anywhere where filling out a long application could provide a thief with enough information to inspire an identity theft.

Ways of obtaining personal information

In most cases, a criminal needs to obtain personally identifiable information or documents about an individual in order to impersonate them. They may succeed in doing so in the following ways:

Stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish containing personal information. This practice is also known as dumpster driving.
Retrieving information from redundant equipment like computer servers that have been disposed off carelessly.
Researching about victim in government registers, internet search engines or public records search services.
Stealing payment or identification cards, either by pick pocketing or surreptitiously by skimming through a compromised card reader.
Remotely reading information from an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip on a smart cart, RFID- enabled credit card or passport.
Eavesdropping on public transactions to obtain personal data. Such practice is commonly known as shoulder surfing.
Stealing personal information from computers and computer databases (Trojan horses, hacking and zero day attacks)
Data breach that results in the public (i.e. posted on the internet) or easily obtainable (i.e. printed on a mailing label) display of sensitive information such as credit card numbers, etc.
Advertising bogus job offers (either full time or work from home based) to which the victims will reply with their full name, address, curriculum vitae, telephone numbers and banking details.
Infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information.
Impersonating a trusted company/ institution/ organization in an electronic communication to promote revealing of personal information which is commonly known as phishing.
Obtaining castings of fingers for falsifying fingerprint identification.
Browsing social network sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo etc. online for personal details that have been posted by users.
Changing the victim’s address thereby diverting billing statements to another location to either get current legitimate account information or to delay discovery of fraudulent accounts.
Using false pretenses to trick a business (usually through a customer service representative) into disclosing customer information. This practice is known as pretexting.
Stealing checks to acquire banking information, including account numbers and bank routing numbers.

The above are a few of the many ways in which an identity thief may obtain sensitive information relating to the victims.

Identity theft & identity fraud

As mentioned earlier, identity theft and identity fraud are different from each other but nowadays, these two terms are interchangeably used to refer to identity theft. Identity fraud involves impersonating the victim for economic gain, whereas identity theft involves stealing the victim’s credentials used for such impersonation. In the electronic realm, the victim’s identity information is surreptitiously recorded during online transactions by logging their keystrokes by seducing them into cons like phishing. The typical use of stolen identity credentials is to carry out online purchases that are billed to the victim and stolen identity information to open fraudulent bank accounts for obtaining loans on the victim’s name.

Position in India

The Indian legislature like those of other countries has recognized the threat Identity theft poses to the social and economic life of the country and in the year 2000, passed the legislation under the Information Technology Act 2000, Chapter IX.

Sec 43(b) of the aforementioned act provides that “if any person without the permission of the owner or any other person who is in charge of a computer, computer system or computer network,

(b) downloads, copies or extracts any data base or information from such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium;

He shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation not exceeding one crore rupees to the person so affected.”

Ways to prevent identity theft

There is no hard and fast rule which guarantees that one shall never fall victim to some form of identity theft but one may take the following simple steps to protect oneself:

One should destroy private records and statements and other documents that contain financial information.
One may secure his mailbox by emptying it quickly, locking it or getting a P.O. box so that the criminals don’t have a chance to snatch sensitive information. Furthermore, one must never mail outgoing bill payments and checks from home.
One must safeguard his/her identification cards such as social security number card, license, health insurance cards, etc.
One must not leave a paper trail, i.e. ATM, credit card or gas station receipts behind.
Whenever anyone contacts you asking for private identity or financial information, one must first confirm as to who is on the other end of the line, which company does he represent and the reason for the call.
One must be careful at ATMs and while using phone cards. Shoulder surfers can get their account and PIN numbers.
Never give personal information of any kind over the telephone or online unless you initiate the contact. Furthermore, never give out any of your personal information to telemarketers.

Conclusion

Identity theft is an evil which has grown on a large scale with the advancement of technology and dealings in day to day life. The irony is that though these technological advancements have contributed to simplify our lives (for instance, one does not have to stand in long ques just to pay their telephone bills which can be easily done by the click of a button on the internet) but at the same time it has made our lives much more complicated by giving rise to new forms of crimes such as identity theft along with many more for which we have to be cautitious when dealing with sensitive information such as passwords and other data which might pose a threat to our security and integrity as well as the security of the country as a whole. Though many countries have passed various legislation to neutralize this menace but in the present scenario, the crimes relating to identity theft is still booming with little effect of these legislations on them.

Thus the best way to check this problem depends upon the people who might be the probable targets of these identity thieves and this includes everyone who is a part of the population of the country and abroad. They must be really careful while disclosing sensitive data on the net, ATMs, telephone or any other place where someone might be able to take advantage of the data disclosed by you for their own benefits. In this way will be able to deter such criminals from committing such crimes and in the long run, protect ourselves from becoming the victims of these criminals.

#52VolCanO#52 !^The_TanK^! 60_esraa_60 *Sexy_Lady*#01

The best way you can be anonymous online is by using an anonymous http proxy.  The problem is, there are many different kinds of proxy servers that it can be difficult to know for sure which one will truly make you anonymous online.  The best http proxy is called an elite proxy and it is the only way you can be 100% anonymous online.

Proxy servers work by transferring data back to your computer while you are web surfing. Your actual web surfing is done through or via the proxy server. So, the IP shown is the IP of the proxy and not your personal computer. If anyone checked your IP while you were surfing, the IP they see isn’t yours but is the proxies and if you are using an elite proxy they have no way of knowing that you even changed or have hidden your IP.

Elite proxies are the absolute best of all the different kinds of proxy servers because they are completely anonymous and secure. This is possible because not only are you 100% anonymous, but the IPs they give you look like any normal IP found online and not a proxy IP. They have no way of knowing that you are using a proxy server. There is no use in changing your IP if someone can tell you have done it.

For anyone who is serious about changing their IP with an anonymous http proxy, nothing beats an elite proxy. The speed, anonymity and ability for IPs to be cloaked so you look like any other average Joe on the internet makes them the absolute best proxy solution.

This video helps you to connect to the Internet via a Proxy Server which in turn makes you be anonymous(get privacy) on the Internet. I prefer Advance Browser, because it lets you select your proxy in few clicks. No need to add it all the way going to Internet Options. You can easily have as many as proxy addresses setup, and just select any to use.

In a network of computers, an application program or the computer system will function as a server. It acts as a link to get the information required from the other servers by the user of the computer. The client or the user will be connected to the proxy server when he requests for a file or a connection or a web page or any other details that are available from the other server. The request of the client is evaluated by the proxy server based on the rules of filtering.

For example, the proxy server may filter the traffic based on the protocol or the IP address. If the proxy server validates the request according to the filter, then it offers the resource by just connecting it to the concerned server and pass on the request for the service on client’s behalf. The proxy server has also got the option to alter the request of the client or the response of the server and in many cases the request is served without any communication to the particular server. Instead, in this circumstance, it caches the reply from the remote server and forwards the further requests direct with regard to the same matter.

The proxy server has got two purposes. One is that it keeps all the computers behind it as anonymous mainly for the purpose of security. The next one is that it speeds up the access to the resource through caching. It is popularly used just for the purpose of caching the web pages from the web server.

The proxy server also passes the replies and the requests without any modification and is generally called as the gate way. It is also otherwise called as the tunneling proxy.

The proxy server can be located in the local computer of the user or even at different points between the source servers and the user or in the internet. The reverse proxy is a type of proxy that is utilized as a front end to speed up and cache the resources in demand like web page.

Although there are various uses that can be obtained from the proxy servers, the most important one is that it reduces the cost of the hardware. A company may be in possession of many computers that are connected on the same network or may be even under the control of one server and thus does not allow all the computers to have the connection to the internet directly. Under these circumstances, each and every computer under the same network can be connected to a single proxy server and in turn the proxy server will connect the computers to the main server for access to the internet.

The latest official identity theft statistics are out and they are disturbing, alarming and frightening. Most people usually wait until something happens to them before taking action. This is usually the case all over the United States when it comes to victims of this crime. By taking a proactive stance and the defensive position on a crime like ID theft, you limit the thieves from ever being able to rob you of your identity as well as protect yourself from any future attempts. It is always best to be prepared for the storm rather than to wait until it hits to find shelter. Here are some of the most recent statistics on this ever growing and popular crime.

Victims

In 2008 there were about 10 million victims who fell prey to identity theft in the United States. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
It is estimated that 1 out of every 10 American has already been a victim of ID theft someway or another.
1.6 million Families went through bank account fraud or had their debit cards breached and exposed. These were NOT related to credit cards. (U.S. Department of Justice 2005)
Families whose Household income was ,000or higher were two times more likely to encounter identity theft than households whose salary and income were under ,000 (U.S. DOJ 2005)
7% of people who had their identity stolen had it done in order for the thieves to commit medical identity theft.

The next section of statistics we focus on is discovery. This part is one of the hardest since it is when people normally find out they have become a victim of ID theft and by then it is already too late.

Discovery

Between 38 to 48 % of ID theft victims find out about their identity being stolen within the first three months of the crime. About 9 to 18% of the victims never really know their identity has been stolen until well over four years or later. (these statistics come from the Identity Theft Resource Center Aftermath Study)
Between 50.2 Million Americans are now using some kind of credit monitoring service to protect themselves. (As of Sept 2008 provided by the Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
Around 44% of American consumers view their reports using credit report agencies online while one in seven receive their credit report at home.

Focusing on recovery takes tremendous tolls on ID theft victims. Countless hours and a lot of money are spent trying to undo the damage this horrendous crime has caused in the victims lives Some people spend years doing this. But by then it is too late for anything other than trying to return your life back to normal.

Recovery

Depending on the seriousness of the case, victims of ID theft take about 5,840 hours trying to counter and correct the effects and damaged caused by the crime. This equals to almost working a full-time job for two whole years by the way. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
The average victim of ID theft will spend 330 hours fixing the harm and damage caused by the crime. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
26 to 32% of ID theft victims take about 4 to 6 months to fix the problem. 11 to 23% of the victims take anywhere between 7 months to a full year trying to resolve their cases. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
46% of victims involved in having their identity stolen ended up installing an antivirus, firewall or a anti-spyware program or software on their computer after the fact.
23% ended up switching their primary bank while 22% ended up switching their credit card company as well. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
Identity theft victims have to contact several different agencies while attempting to resolve the fraud committed against them.
66% must work together with financial institutions.
40% must contact credit bureaus.
35% have to get help from their local law enforcement agencies.
24% have no choice but to deal with debt collectors.
20% need to work together with assistant services for identity theft.
13% must contact the Federal Trade Commission. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)

When people look at the overall cost ID theft has on the world, the numbers are quite shocking to say the least. With the usage in Internet rising daily and people all over the word having access to computers, this crime and numbers can only rise. If that is the case, many consumers out there will be in for a costly, time consuming journey when trying to regain their identity and life back.

Overall Cost

31 billion dollars was the current account fraud total in 2008. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
221 billion dollars a year are lost by businesses all over the world due to identity theft. (Aberdeen Group)
Identity thefts victims lose around 1 to ,378 of they own money while trying to regain their identity and resolve the problem. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
The average cost of ID theft victims is 0 (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
47% of identity theft victims come across problems when trying to qualify for a new loan. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
70% of Identity theft victims encounter serious hurdles when attempting to remove negative information on their credit reports which resulted from the Identity theft. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
Average amount of money lost per household amounted to ,620. (U.S. DOJ 2005)

Culprits

43% of ID theft victims knew the culprit and perpetrator of the crime. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)
The most likely culprit involved in case of child identity theft were the children’s parents. (ITRC Aftermath Study 2004)

This section which covers the methods use by identity theft thieves is one that most people need to focus on since it can very well help them to avoid falling victim to this crime and ending up here as a statistic.

Methods

43% (Almost half) of every identity theft crime is due to physical paperwork or wallets being stolen. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
Online activity was to blame for 11% of methods used for this crime. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
A stolen credit card number or a debit card accounted for 38% of the methods used for identity theft. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
A stolen Social Security number was to blame for 37% of identity theft victims. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
36% of all identity theft victims report having their phone number and name endangered. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
24% of the ID theft victims financial account numbers were endangered and compromised due to the ID theft crime. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)
Well over 35 million data records of corporate and government data were breached and compromised in 2008. (ITRC)
In 2008, much of the 59% of new account fraud reported was due to Perpetrators opening up new stolen credit cards and store branded credit card accounts. (Javelin Strategy and Research 2009)

The numbers paint a compelling truth and serve as a warning to all of us; protect yourself before you become the next victim of identity theft. Unless people take a defensive and proactive approach to this crime, they may end up being another number added to the many victims already on this list. Remember that ID thieves never take a day off, never cease to stop doing anything other than to try and strip you of your identity and all they can get out it in return. Protect yourself today.

Viruses happen. They’ve been around for years and unfortunately that doesn’t look like changing. They sneak up on you when you least expect them and when your computer defenses are weak. What happens when you need to do a computer virus repair?

Of course, you should be running up to date anti virus software at all times. But since anti virus software involves both computers and software writers, that can be easier said than done. If there’s a loophole in a software program, you can bet that a virus writer will exploit it quicker than the software writer can patch the hole.

Even if you have all your anti virus defenses in place, occasionally a virus will still slip through the net – maybe a scheduled update fails, perhaps the anti virus software company launches a new version that causes your current program to stop getting updates or you’ve just plain ignored the “you need to update” messages. Whatever the reason, it’s irritating when your computer gets taken over by a malicious virus.

So, if you’ve caught a computer virus, just what do you need to do when you need to perform a virus repair on your computer?

If you’re not already running an up to date virus removal program, install one now. Most of the programs around can cure most viruses for you when they detect that you’ve got a problem. If you’ve got a boot sector virus you may not be so lucky, but otherwise there’s a good chance that they can help.

Unplug your network and internet cables. These will stop your computer from causing damage on your network or to unknown computer users across the internet. Also remember to disconnect your infected computer from your home wireless network before you cause any damage there. There’ll be a little icon (probably at the bottom of your screen) that should allow you to do this. Otherwise you’ll need to delve around in your Control Panel.

Once your computer is safely isolated, run your anti virus program, following any virus disinfection prompts as they appear. If you’re one of the few people in the world who don’t have an anti-virus program on your computer, you’ll obviously need to download and install a program before you can run this step of the process.

Once that’s been done, reconnect your internet connection and if necessary update your anti virus software with the latest virus signatures and then re-run the software. This should trap anything that has crept through your defenses whilst you were running the first virus scan.

With luck, you’ve now repaired any virus infection you may have had.

Next, make sure you keep it that way.

Get Windows Security Center to advise you when there problems with your virus repair software. If you’re running XP or Vista, you’ll find the Security Center in your Control Panel (or just search Help and it will point you in the right direction).

Check your virus repair software settings. Make sure that the virus signatures are regularly updated so that you keep any potential future infection safely out of harms way.

What is proxy server? Proxy server is one that acts on behalf of another server, usually for Web related purposes. Proxy server is a type of firewall. It intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The proxy server can effectively hide the true network addresses and keep the keep machines behind it anonymous mainly for security reasons (so it is a part of firewall) and it speeds up access to a resource by caching. What is Open Proxy? An open proxy is a proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user. What is Caching Proxy Server Caching proxies keep local copies of frequently requested resources, allowing large organizations to significantly reduce their upstream bandwidth usage and cost. A proxy that focuses on World Wide Web traffic is called a “web proxy”. The most common use of a web proxy is to serve as a web cache. Firewall/Proxy Server Practical: Locate an open proxy and then configure your Browser to use this Open proxy for connecting to Internet. Also prove that all the Internet traffic from your PC passes through this open proxy server. Steps involved: Go to proxy4free.com or xroxy.com and note down the ip address and port number of an open proxy. Goto ip-address.com (not ip-address.com). It will show the real ip and your country and city. Note down this information. Open Internet Explorer , Go to Tools , Internet Options , Connections , LAN settings. Select the Checkbox with the label “Use a Proxy Server for your LAN” Enter the IP address and …

Find yourself in need of a proxy server and wondering just how do I setup a proxy server?  A proxy server is a service that passes requests for information from the client to the destination website and then passes the information back.  If you are looking to setup your own proxy server, there are two main solutions.  One is hosted on your personal computer and the other is hosted externally on a server connected to the internet.

There are a wide variety of software solutions on the market, both free and paid, that allow you to setup a proxy server on your home personal computer.  This software turns your home computer into a proxy server which could then be used to control access to the internet for any other computer at your home that connected to the internet through your main personal computer.  This kind of setup is used in many work places and universities.  While this does allow you to setup a proxy server, it is used mainly for controlling and monitoring access to the internet for all computers in your home or workplace.  This setup does not give you a unique or different IP.  Since the proxy server is hosted on your personal home computer the IP used is that of your own computer.  If you wish to setup a proxy server to get a different IP, you will need an externally hosted proxy server.

An externally hosted proxy server is one that is hosted in a data center and not at home on your personal computer.  These kinds of proxy servers are typically hosted on linux based operating systems.  An externally hosted proxy server is the only proxy server setup that will allow you to change your IP.  By connecting first to the proxy server and then using it to access your desired website, the IP shown to the desired website is the one that the proxy server uses.  Your personal home computer IP is never revealed or known to anyone other than the proxy server you connect to.

For the best kind of proxy server you will need to setup a linux based proxy that is hosted in a data center.  This kind of proxy server configuration allows you to gain access to IPs outside of the ones your home personal computer typically gets from your ISP and allows you to remain anonymous online.  This is the best solution if you want to know how to setup a proxy server.

A surveillance program authorized by the Bush administration to allow the National Security Agency to spy on the internet activities of federal employees is now being expanded. The Obama administration is planning to expand the Einstein internet surveillance software.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

When you are shopping, banking or accessing other sensitive or confidential information online, how can you be sure that no one can monitor or intercept this personal information? Moreover, how can you be sure that someone can’t get this information from your computer later? The answer of the first question is simpler that the second one. Mil Shield is a powerful privacy protection tool that can automatically clean all online and offline traces from your computer, which is very important to your Internet privacy, as you will see below:

Traces left on your computer

The discussion above covers the protection of your Internet privacy from Internet cheats or impostors. However the encryption can not help if someone gets to control your PC or has access to your computer through one of the numerous security holes in the operating system and application software. The thing is that Internet Explorer leaves many traces of your Web surfing. These include Internet history, cookies, Temporary Internet files (a.k.a. Internet cache) and AutoComplete forms and passwords. If an intruder gets access to these traces, he can have a full record of all Web surfing and even some of your computer activities that are not related to Internet.

You can delete some of these traces through Internet Explorer options but not all of them are really deleted (see the article Delete Index.dat files for the most obscure and hard to erase traces). Furthermore, it is real pain to have to clean even these traces because there is no centralized place to control this and there is no way to automate the process. Finally, some of the traces are actually good for your browsing experience – Internet cache speeds up the browsing, cookies protect you from entering your user information over and over again and history makes it easy to type the addresses of your favorite Web sites.

Secure pages and secure connections

Everything that you enter in the online forms when you are shopping, travels through many (tens or even hundreds) switching devices and computers. In order to be sure that no one can intercept this information, a special way of communication is used, called Secure Socket Layer (SSL). SSL ciphers (encrypts) the information on your computer and deciphers (decrypts) the information on the Web server that you are accessing. But how can you be sure that SSL is used when you are shopping online?

First, you have to look at the address bar of your browser and see what the address of the page where you enter your personal and credit card information looks like. If the address begins with https: (s for secure) instead of http:, then this page is using SSL. Note that only the page(s) where you actually enter your personal and credit card information need to be protected with SSL. All other pages on the Web site in most cases don’t use SSL because they don’t need to.

Digital certificates, cipher strength and Internet privacy

With SSL (the secure protocol described above) you can be sure that no one can intercept and decode the private information sent to the online store or whatever web page you are accessing via secure connection. However, there is another danger – how can you be sure that the online shop itself is not a cheat or impostor?

To address this concern, when you visit the online store order page and you submit your personal data, the online store server automatically sends its digital certificate. This is essentially an electronic ID card that proves the online store identity to your browser, and verifies that it was issued by a certificate authority that your browser trusts. This certificate is issued to the online store by a trusted third party called a certificate authority. In addition to proving the online store identity, the certificate provides a cryptographic “key” (cipher) that is used to encode and decode your communication with the online store. Once your browser approves the certificate, the secure server encrypts any information before it travels across the Internet.

Conclusion

As we saw the online shopping experience can be safe and joyful only if we take some precautions. Here is a summary of the steps that you need to follow in order to protect your Internet privacy:

- Check if the order page(s) are SSL protected. The address of the page must begin with https: and (if you are using Internet Explorer) the little padlock icon on the bottom of the browser window must be locked.

- If the security alerts of Internet Explorer don’t bother you, leave them turned on (or turn them on if they are turned off).

- Use a browser that supports 128-bit cipher strength and (if you are really paranoid) check the digital certificates of the secure pages.

- Use a privacy protection program like Mil Shield in order to avoid the possibility of someone that can steal your personal information after the online transaction.

Well, happy shopping!

Article source: http://www.milincorporated.com/a_online_shopping.html

The Offensive Internet: Speech, Privacy, and Reputation

US $13.82 End Date: Saturday Feb-25-2012 3:58:36 PST Buy It Now for only: US $13.82 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Internet Privacy for Dummies

* Covers the essentials: An individual Internet user needs to know to help maintain personal privacy. Topics include securing a PC and Internet connection, knowing the risks of releasing personal information, cutting back on spam and other e-mail nuisances, and dealing with personal privacy away from the computer.
* Covers the enhanced features of the latest releases of Internet filtering software and privacy tools.
* Series features: The...For Dummies series has always been popular with new Internet users. Internet For Dummies remains the #1 beginning reference for Internet users. This book looks to follow the successes of its predecessors.

List Price: $ 21.99 Price: $ 10.74

A breach in privacy, receiving all kinds of spam, and even distributing private information are just some of the violations and “online crimes” that many people are doing on the internet.  Though we can say that the World Wide Web provides access and convenience for many in terms of communication with others, there are just some instances when abuse and violations of privacy happen because of this freedom.  Therefore, for internet users all over the world, it is important that they know or be aware of internet privacy laws that could protect not only their rights as internet users but their overall privacy and personal information as well.  Whether it is within the home or at the office, internet privacy should be taken into much consideration, be respected by both parties, and laws regarding its protection should be enacted and exercised in order to promote discipline and limitation on the World Wide Web.

This article is going to provide several state laws regarding internet privacy in terms of its different aspects such as ISP permissions, confidentiality with regards to email addresses, and the like.

• Both Nevada and Minnesota have passed internet privacy laws which require Internet Service Providers to keep certain information concerning their subscribers confidential unless the subscriber stated otherwise or gives permission to disclose information.  Though Minnesota allows the act of asking permission from subscribers, both states still prohibit unauthorized disclosure of personally identifying information, which includes the person’s email addresses or telephone numbers.  Violation of this law is punishable by a fine of to 0 per violation.

• For California and Utah, non-financial businesses are required to disclose to customers, either through writing or email, the types of personal information that the business shares to a third party for reasons such as direct marketing purposes or for compensation.  Specifically under the California internet privacy law, businesses can provide its customers a privacy statement in order to give them a choice whether to disclose such information or not at no cost whatsoever.

• California also has the Online Privacy Protection Act which requires an operator or a person that collects personally identifiable information from residents of the state through an online website for commercial purposes to post clearly and concisely its privacy policies on its official website and to completely comply with such policies.  These policies should display the number of categories of personally identifiable information, provide descriptions for each, as well as the third party sites with whom the operator shares the information with.  

• Connecticut and Delaware are states that both require employers who are established there to give prior notice to its employees with regards to monitoring their email communications or internet access.  This basically means that an employer is absolutely prohibited to intercept electronic mail or the history of the employee’s internet usage unless he or she has notified the employee prior to this, either through a written or electronic notice.   This law, particularly under the Delaware code, punishes each violation with a penalty of 0.   

 

Many watchdog groups have accused Google of disregarding internet privacy. Wayne Madsen says that Google entered an agreement with the NSA to share security threats, however there are always strings attached. Many countries from Israel to New Zealand have said Google did not take into consideration privacy interests when they released their new products Google buzz and street view.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Internet privacy consists of privacy over the media of the Internet: the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and to control who can access that information. Many people use the term to mean universal Internet privacy: every user of the Internet possessing Internet privacy.

Internet privacy is the part of computer privacy. So many experts of Internet privacy have the same opinion that Internet privacy does not really exist. Privacy advocates believe: it should exist.

Those people who use internet casually don’t need achieve total anonymity. Regular Internet users have to take care of privacy. You never know who can misuse your personal information. So many people desire much stronger privacy. In that case, they may use Internet anonymity to ensure privacy.

You can read more: www.infosecuritylab.com

Securing Privacy in the Internet Age NEW

US $50.90 End Date: Thursday Feb-23-2012 6:37:35 PST Buy It Now for only: US $50.90 Buy it now | Add to watch list

The defensive driving online course is indeed a giant leap in the field of drivers’ education, whether it has appeared as a necessity for those who have little time to spare attending the courses of a defensive driving school or just as a natural option in a world that uses the computer on a regular basis for most of their daily communication needs. The various purposes of defensive driving courses make them quite popular for different types of drivers in several circumstances imposed by the daily driving routine on ever-less-safe roads everywhere in the world, not only in metropolitan areas where the number of cars is no longer much smaller than the number of residents.

The Texas defensive driving online course option has attracted more and more students recently in spite of the great traditional driving schools in Dallas and Houston which employ very experienced instructors and offer a wide range of live courses. The defensive driving online program envisages the removal of the usual hassle that a driver is likely to experience in a driving school. It also considerably helps the drivers who do not have such a school in their area and would have to commute to one on a weekly basis to attend the courses or even take a break from work and stay there till the course is over.

If you live in Houston or Dallas, for example, and your work doesn’t allow you to attend the classes, you can always use the Internet to do defensive driving course. Since there are neither teachers nor workbooks involved in the process, just the personal computer, defensive driving online looks very easy to do especially because there is no need for special software. Know, that an online defensive driving course in Texas doesn’t have to be finished during one session.

The student may move through the course at his or her own pace and revisit any section that might need reinforcing. The course is structured in such a way, that when you come next time, you’re begining where you’ve left previously. Defensive driving online courses are devised in such a manner that they provide the right combination of text and graphics, as well as animations and videos to offer enough visual support for a better understanding of the written material. For those students who passed the final exam, a certificate of completion will be issued, listing the score achieved. The quizzes available throughout the course will play a very important part in auto evaluation though they will not influence in any way the final score obtained in the exam.

Regardless, whether you’re gaining your defensive driving course practice online, or attending one of many driving schools, say in Texas. Defensive driving course online comes into play when you’re convicted of one of many road infringements, such as DUI, severe traffic violation; or, you may just want to improve your driving skills, and gain an insurance premium bonus. The ease that the defensive driving online classes bring is unparalel, and hence its popularity.