Internet Security Issues
"You will learn the truth and the truth will make you free.” John 8:32 INTERNET SECURITY
No discussion of distance learning* is complete without a briefing on internet security matters. Basically, there are three first line of defense actions you can take to protect your home PC: (a) Establish the habit of unplugging your phone line from your PC when you are not on line, (b) set up an internal firewall at your PC and (c) adopt (and update frequently) virus scanning/deleting software.
(a) Unplugging your phone line when not on the Internet: This is easy to do and costs nothing. The main reason for getting into this habit is to prevent unauthorized persons from entering your PC via your phone line when your PC is off. If you use cable, this may be difficult, and therefore, doing (b) and (c) below becomes more urgent. You should know that some PCs can be turned on remotely if the phone jack is plugged in, even if the main power switch to the PC is off. That is why unplugging the phone jack is recommended. This action can also help to mitigate serious damage to your PC from electrical storms or power surges.
(b) Setting up a Firewall: Good Firewall software makes your PC invisible to probing intruders. Some so-called firewalls, however, are not as effective as others. To find out which are effective and which are not, do a Web search on firewalls using your favorite search tool and read-up on the current situation. (smile) One of the best search engines is at http://www.google.com. Windows2000 or WindowsXP come with minimum firewall protection as long as you activate it which you should.
McAfee, Norton and others sell effective firewall software on-line, and you can buy firewall CDs at your local office equipment store like Office Max. The cost is usually under $30/year for the service.
(c) Using virus detecting/deleting software: McAfee, Norton and other firms offer this service for under $30/year.Caveat
Although doing all of the above will likely protect you from the usual teenage hacker, the measures will not secure your PC from competent professional hackers. Why? Read on.
The CIA, FBI, and NSA (National Security Agency) agents can and do use Carnivore, Magic Lantern and Echalon, well-known hacking tools. Click Here for information on these tools. Government and corporate zealots also may "inadvertantly" put cookies in your PC or obtain personal information using new technologies that are easily obtained on the web. This is explained in a timely Feb. 20, 2006 BusinessWeek report (Click Here). Also, be aware that other technologies can "mine" information from standard electric lines going into your home and office. Code named "Tempest" by the government, this type of technology has been going on for quite awhile. Click Here for a report on that.
Even if you generate your own electricity or use solar to insulate your PC from intrusions via the Tempest technology, ominous and difficult to defeat are undetectible software and/or hardware trojans that government agents and private security firms can insert into your PC when you are not home. Another way your phone line (and hence your email if you use dial-up) can be compromised, is if unauthorised persons install trojans at the phone company.This is what the famous Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano did for decades -- before going to prison. What he did is still under Federal investigation (2006) and others may be indicted soon. (Pellicano bribed phone company technicians to install his trojans. He also bribed cops to use the LA Police database to get information on people.)
Trojans can automatically send your data to interested folks when you go on-line. Also, to avoid detection by some of the more sophisticated firewalls which might pick up unauthorized outgoing message packets from your PC, these trojans can be adjusted to simply save and hold your data for later retrieval by an agent going back into your home when you're not in. These practices, which may have been going on for quite awhile, have very likely been expanded substantially since the 9/11 atrocity.
Please note that the NSA apparently already has a "backdoor" way of getting into any PC using a Microsoft operating system via the PC's modem. Click Here for a summary report by Dr. Nicko von Someren (Ph.D., Trinity College) and Dr. Adi Shamir (co-inventor of the RSA cryptographic algorithm), on this aspect. However, don't think that switching to an Apple McIntosh would help. Hackers have already figured out how to get into those machines.
Click Here for the full text of their scholarly report in PDF format.
Click Here for Vicki Sauter's excellent up-to-date reports on fast-changing, internet security issues.
Click Here for the latest FBI 14 things to do to avoid Identity Theft memo.
Click Here for article on how the government may be compiling a large database about your personal life with your help!CELL PHONES DEFINITELY NOT SECURE
If you have a cell phone, be advised that anyone can rig it up in five minutes to keep track of you via the Internet for a small fee without your knowledge. To see how this is done, Click Here for a Feb. 1 , 2006 report by a British journalist.
Feel free to forward this page to your friends. It isn't copyrighted! (smile)
Last Update: 01/8/07 Webcoordinator: Anson Chong
* This Web site was originally created for my Hawaii Community College distance learning classes in political science and economics around 2001. However, because it may be useful to a wider audience, I posted it at the Alternative News site on March 3, 2007.
