Since a good number of people are going to buy stuff online this Chistmas I'm want to share a few safety tips so that you don't end up sending your credit card or bank account information to Russian hacker without your knowledge.

There is a lot of information out on the net regarding Internet safety (making sure that you are dealing with a legitimate buisness, do not shop on website that do not show the https adress in your browser etc. etc. etc......

But the most overlook aspect of internet security are a type of malware that record what you type on your keyboard and then send a file to some unscrupulous hacker. Those are called Keylogger. The hacker can then use a simple program to filter out the blabla and go straight to your credit card number and all the info needed to use your card or your banking information if you went to your bank website.

For this kind of attack it doesn't matter how secure or well encrypted the company website is because it is your own computer that is recording your keystroke!

So how can you protect yourself from this??

There is two option

First option

- keep your antivirus and antispyware updated and scan your computer before making any purchase online. But this option is only good if the spyware that is on your computer, is in the database of your antivirus and antispyware software. And you have to be aware that new spyware are added everyday and that it can take a few hour to a few days before your antivirus and antispyware software can even be aware of the threat. And by that time thousand and even hundred of thousand of computer can be infected.

This option is good but it is like playing Russian roulette with your banking information.

second option

- Download a Linux live CD. Linux Live CD are bootable operating system that wont affect your hardrive. Nothing is recorded on your computer and you can surf the web with it without fear. once you are done all you have to do is reeboot your computer and remove the cd.

Here are a few Live CD


If you have an old computer (128 mb of ram ) you should use Puppy Linux All the instruction are on the site to get you going. The video tutorial for doing this are here

If you have a more modern computer 512 mb of ram or more) I would recommend using the Mandriva one Live CD It has more feature than Puppy Linux and it is easier to use for beginner.

I wish you all a safe online shopping experience.

   

You can also use Windows Washer to erase your web tracks for you.

   

Sure but if you have a keylogger type malware on your computer. Windows washer is of no use. because the keystroke logg are not going to be in your temp folder.

   

Yeah, amazing it is how many people foolishly allow their computers to be compromised. Myself, I am paranoid about security and virus protection and, consequently, even at work I have not had a virus event since kakworm back in 2000.

Hardware & software firewalls, routed IPs, up-to-date anti-virus, up-to-date anti-spyware, up-to-date security patches, and phishing block software all keep me out of trouble on my internet surfing machines.

   

And don't forget no Peer-to-peer, no porn, no warez. If you follow those rule you should be good.

But ain't all that maintenance a bit tedious ??? You know working for your computer all the time to keep it safe. It shouldn't be like that!

Bart do you need to use specialize software for your work that will only work with a Microsoft OS? do you know about virtualisation software?

   

Before buying from a new online site, I always perform a whois lookup on it, to check it out:

http://www.whois.sc/

You put the web address in there, and it gives you details about the dates, the ownership etc.

   

That's a great website to know if you are dealing with a legitimate business or not.

But if your computer is already infected by keylogger type malware it won't matter how secure the commercial website is because it is your own computer that will send your personal information to unscrupulous hacker. And you won't even know about it until you receive your credit card bill!

   

Elvis is absolutely right. I can't tell you the number of customers I've had report to me that they found out too late that they had spyware, keyloggers etc. and next thing they knew their accounts/credit cards had all been pilfered and charged up. After that I flat-out refused to do banking etc. on any Windows system ever again. It's far too dangerous.

The problem is, there is always a slight lag between the time a new piece of malware comes out and the time the threat is spotted, a fix is found, and your anti-malware software downloads the updated information. If, for example, a new keylogger comes out, and you get infected within that window, anything you do will be recorded because your anti-malware software doesn't know about it yet. There is so much malware out there now that there's a significant chance of this happening to you eventually, even if you update and scan religiously.

Another great livecd you can try is PCLinuxOS, found at http://www.pclinuxos.com . I've used Linux as my primary OS for some time, and tried several versions of several distros. I liked this one so much I installed it immediately.

Once you have a livecd, it only takes a minute or two to exit Windows, reboot to the cd, and log in to your banking. A couple minutes extra to save you a world of trouble.

   

Ex-Expat wrote

Exactly right you don't have to give up your window to do this. A LiveCD will not touch your hardrive! but you will be able to surf the web whit 100% certainty that your information is safe. And if you feel like it you can also go to website that you would never dare to go on your regular system because it would leave a trace or risk infecting your windowsXP.

Did I mention That Linux OS are great for porn surfing too

   

And that could be one of the reasons you end up with viruses and keyloggers

   

Great tips. Thanks.

I also recommend that people never use their primary credit card online. Ever. Apply for a second with a very low limit. Tell the card company what it's for and not to automatically increase the limit. If it get's used for anything else but small online purchases they may be able to flag it faster, it also follows that if your main card is ever used for online purchases they may be able to react. Never use the online card anywhere but online.

   

Yeah but I don't have to worry about that anymore

Here how it look when you have customize your desktop



If you want more pic just ask

   

Somebody's running Compiz and visiting kde-look.org.

Which brings up another good point... if you actually install Linux, it's crazy customizable. If you've got the time, you can make it look however you want.

If you are considering switching to Linux, btw, you can ease yourself into it first by using programs that are available on both Windows and Linux. Examples: Firefox browser, Thunderbird e-mail, OpenOffice office suite, GIMP image editor. Then when you actually make the switch, you'll already know how to use your programs. This is, incidentally, how I got my father painlessly moved to Linux, despite his severe computer illiteracy. He hardly knows the difference, but now we spend our calls and time together actually visiting, instead of dealing with crashing, freezing, and spyware messes.

   

Yeah man of a certain age tend to get in trouble a lot on the Internet (My dad was no exception )


Ex-Pat wrote

Indeed

some people tend to run there system has lean as they can but since my computer is powerful enough I don't mind a little bling bling on the desktop

   

Nah he wasn't doing pr0n or anything. He's just not terribly computer savvy, and overly concerned about "bothering" me with more questions. So he'd get a popup and click a fake "Cancel" button to try to close it... stuff like that.


o/~ It donnn't mean a thing, if it ainnn't got that bling... o/~