Thursday, April 17, 2008

US-CERT Cyber Security Tip ST05-008 -- How Anonymous Are You?



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: US-CERT Cyber Security Tip ST05-008 -- How Anonymous Are You?
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:47:45 -0400
From: US-CERT Security Tips <security-tips@us-cert.gov>
Organization: US-CERT - +1 202-205-5266
To: security-tips@us-cert.gov


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1                        Cyber Security Tip ST05-008                         How Anonymous Are You?     You may think that you are anonymous as you browse web sites, but    pieces of information about you are always left behind. You can reduce    the amount of information revealed about you by visiting legitimate    sites, checking privacy policies, and minimizing the amount of    personal information you provide.  What information is collected?     When  you  visit  a  web  site,  a  certain  amount  of information is    automatically  sent  to  the  site.  This  information may include the    following:      * IP address - Each computer on the internet is assigned a specific,        unique  IP  (internet  protocol) address. Your computer may have a        static IP address or a dynamic IP address. If you have a static IP        address,  it  never  changes.  However,  some  ISPs own a block of        addresses  and  assign  an  open  one each time you connect to the        internet--this  is  a  dynamic  IP address. You can determine your        computer's   IP   address   at   any   given   time   by  visiting        www.showmyip.com      * domain  name  -  The  internet  is divided into domains, and every        user's  account  is  associated with one of those domains. You can        identify  the  domain  by  looking at the end of URL; for example,        .edu  indicates  an  educational  institution, .gov indicates a US        government  agency,  .org  refers to organization, and .com is for        commercial  use.  Many  countries also have specific domain names.        The  list  of  active  domain names is available from the Internet        Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).      * software  details  -  It  may  be  possible for an organization to        determine  which  browser, including the version, that you used to        access  its  site.  The organization may also be able to determine        what operating system your computer is running.      * page  visits - Information about which pages you visited, how long        you  stayed on a given page, and whether you came to the site from        a  search  engine is often available to the organization operating        the web site.     If  a  web  site uses cookies, the organization may be able to collect    even  more  information, such as your browsing patterns, which include    other  sites  you've  visited. If the site you're vising is malicious,    files  on  your computer, as well as passwords stored in the temporary    memory, may be at risk.  How is this information used?     Generally,   organizations   use  the  information  that  is  gathered    automatically  for  legitimate purposes, such as generating statistics    about  their sites. By analyzing the statistics, the organizations can    better  understand  the  popularity  of  the  site  and which areas of    content  are  being  accessed  the  most. They may be able to use this    information  to  modify the site to better support the behavior of the    people visiting it.     Another way to apply information gathered about users is marketing. If    the  site  uses  cookies  to  determine  other sites or pages you have    visited,  it  may  use this information to advertise certain products.    The  products  may  be  on  the same site or may be offered by partner    sites.     However,  some  sites  may  collect  your  information  for  malicious    purposes.  If  attackers  are  able  to  access  files,  passwords, or    personal  information  on  your computer, they may be able to use this    data  to  their  advantage.  The  attackers  may be able to steal your    identity,  using  and  abusing your personal information for financial    gain.  A  common  practice  is  for  attackers  to  use  this  type of    information  once or twice, then sell or trade it to other people. The    attackers  profit from the sale or trade, and increasing the number of    transactions  makes  it  more  difficult to trace any activity back to    them.  The  attackers  may  also  alter  the security settings on your    computer  so  that  they  can  access  and use your computer for other    malicious activity.  Are you exposing any other personal information?     While  using  cookies may be one method for gathering information, the    easiest  way for attackers to get access to personal information is to    ask  for  it.  By  representing  a malicious site as a legitimate one,    attackers  may  be  able  to  convince  you to give them your address,    credit  card  information,  social  security number, or other personal    data  (see  Avoiding  Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more    information).  How can you limit the amount of information collected about you?       * Be  careful  supplying  personal  information - Unless you trust a        site,   don't   give   your  address,  password,  or  credit  card        information.  Look  for  indications  that  the  site  uses SSL to        encrypt  your  information  (see  Protecting Your Privacy for more        information).  Although  some  sites  require  you  to supply your        social  security  number  (e.g.,  sites  associated with financial        transactions such as loans or credit cards), be especially wary of        providing this information online.      * Limit cookies - If an attacker can access your computer, he or she        may  be  able to find personal data stored in cookies. You may not        realize  the  extent  of  the  information stored on your computer        until  it  is  too late. However, you can limit the use of cookies        (see Browsing Safely: Understanding Active Content and Cookies for        more information).      * Browse  safely - Be careful which web sites you visit; if it seems        suspicious,  leave the site. Also make sure to take precautions by        increasing   your  security  settings  (see  Evaluating  Your  Web        Browser's  Security  Settings  for more information), keeping your        virus   definitions  up  to  date  (see  Understanding  Anti-Virus        Software  for  more  information),  and scanning your computer for        spyware   (see   Recognizing   and   Avoiding   Spyware  for  more        information).  Additional information       * Securing Your Web Browser      _________________________________________________________________       Author: Mindi McDowell      _________________________________________________________________       Produced 2005 by US-CERT, a government organization.       Note: This tip was previously published and is being re-distributed       to increase awareness.          Terms of use        <http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html>         This document can also be found at        <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST05-008.html>        For instructions on subscribing to or unsubscribing from this     mailing list, visit <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/signup.html>.                     -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux)  iQEVAwUBSAdilfRFkHkM87XOAQIwGgf+NshACKQQHbzllecYp5lfEegQeB999E08 +ph/GXn6wkRZFDVfs33IV7tIpyRP5wL6A3XnFncR/hED0+oGWMbog3vh7e3LkPLq KEdwEHmUbugx2jm3cXctnMkbghj5ijSdm/HMc3ci8OwQVPFjt7qF0fmQ38Nvj3MF /aNs6k3eK6oGnNpvfbzRUZP6m+Zy8Zv26teWhwP7gymk+TGpAPDp5DIEt017W4E7 0ty9IixPQtpcdt1+R7FR0JXAXt/TBnj621L2SenDkhqj0SdYJYuGj1b7jeRt9Pfr b+c1xHF8Lao5vkp8ZDgqN9ZRx8CXjdzKSm1AtKVmqgV9643b21JEGg== =T7Rm -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- 

Thursday, April 10, 2008

YouTube - Severe Flood of 06 broome delaware chenango otsego counties

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBkY-jyhfNQ&feature=related
--
How You Make People Feel! People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how you made them feel!

Some Interesting View Points