Recent Posts

Cybercrimes and Tips for Prevention
Prabhanjam India 4:03:00 pm No comments

Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet. This includes anything from downloading illegal music files to stealing millions of dollars from online bank accounts. Cybercrime also includes non-monetary offenses, such as creating and distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the Internet.


Perhaps the most prominent form of cybercrime is identity theft, in which criminals use the Internet to steal personal information from other users. Two of the most common ways this is done is through phishing and pharming. Both of these methods lure users to fake websites, where they are asked to enter personal information. This includes login information, such as usernames and passwords, phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and other information criminals can use to "steal" another person's identity. For this reason, it is smart to always check the URL or Web address of a site to make sure it is legitimate before entering your personal information.
Because cybercrime covers such a broad scope of criminal activity, the examples above are only a few of the thousands of crimes that are considered cybercrimes. While computers and the Internet have made our lives easier in many ways, it is unfortunate that people also use these technologies to take advantage of others. Therefore, it is smart to protect yourself by using antivirus and spyware blocking software and being careful where you enter your personal information.
·         Hacking
·         Child Pornography
·         Software Piracy
·         Cyber Stalking
·         Virus Dissemination
·         Usenet Newsgroup
·         Online Fraud
·         Phishing
1. Hacking:

Hacking in simple terms means an illegal intrusion into a computer system or network. There is an equivalent term to hacking i.e. cracking, but from Indian Laws perspective there is no difference between the term hacking and cracking. Every act committed towards breaking into a computer or network is hacking. Hackers write or use ready-made computer programs to attack the target computer. They possess the desire to destruct and they get the kick out of such destruction. Some hackers hack for personal monetary gains, such as to stealing the credit card information, transferring money from various bank accounts to their own account followed by withdrawal of money. They extort money from some corporate giant threatening him to publish the stolen information which is critical in nature.Motive behind the Crime:Greed, Power, Publicity, Revenge, Adventure, Desire to access forbidden information, Destructive mindset, wants to sell n/w security services.

2. Child Pornography:

Child pornography is a very unfortunate reality of the Internet. The Internet is being highly used by its abusers to reach and abuse children sexually, worldwide.
The Internet is very fast becoming a household commodity in India. Its explosion has made the children a viable victim to the cyber crime. As more homes have access to Internet, more children would be using the Internet and more are the chances of falling victim to the aggression of pedophiles
“Child pornography” means any visual depiction, including
  1. Any photograph
  2. Film, video, picture
  3. Computer or computer-generated image or picture, of sexually explicit conduct, where the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct
Who are Pedophiles?
Pedophiles are those persons who physically or psychologically coerce minors to engage in sexual activities, which the minors would not consciously consent to.
How pedophiles operate?
  1. Pedophiles use a false identity to trap the children/teenagers
  2. Seek child/teen victim in the kids’ areas on the services, such as the Teens BB, Games BB, or chat areas where the kids gather.
  3. Befriend the child/teen.
  4. Extract personal information from the child/teen by winning his/ her confidence.
  5. Get the e-mail address of the child/teen and start making contacts on the victim’s e-mail address as well. Sometimes, these emails contain sexually explicit language.
  6. They start sending pornographic images/text to the victim including child pornographic images in order to help child/teen shed his/ her inhibitions so that a feeling is created in the mind of the victim that what is being fed to him is normal and that everybody does it.
  7. Going a step further, they then extract personal information from child/teen.
  8. At the end of it, the pedophiles set up a meeting with the child/teen out of the house and then drag him/ her into the net to further sexually assault him/ her or to use him/ her as a sex object
In physical world, parents know the face of dangers and they know how to avoid and face the problems by following simple rules and accordingly they advice their children to keep away from dangerous things and ways. But in case of cyber world, most of the parents do not themselves know about the basics of the Internet and dangers posed by various services offered over the Internet. Hence the children are left unprotected in the cyber world. Pedophiles take advantage of this situation and lure the children, who are not advised by their parents or by their teachers about what is wrong and what is right for them while browsing the Internet. 

3.  Software Piracy:


            Beware! That pirated software CD which you bought for a couple of hundred bucks may have saved you some money…but in the long run, it can do a lot more harm to you than good. Do you know that by buying such pirated software, you maybe aiding and abetting crime?
Theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or the counterfeiting and distribution of products intended to pass for the original is termed as termed as software piracy.
Examples of software piracy
  1. Enduser copying - Friends loaning disks to each other, or organizations underreporting the number of software installations they have made.
  2. Hard disk loading – Hard disk vendors loads pirated software
  3. Counterfeiting - large-scale duplication and distribution of illegally copied software.
  4. Illegal downloads from the Internet  - By intrusion, cracking serial numbers etc.
A consumer of pirated software has a lot to lose…
He gets untested software that may have been copied thousands of times over, potentially containing hard-drive-infecting viruses
No technical support in case of software failure
No warranty protection
No legal right to use the product

4. Cyber Stalking


            Cyber Stalking can be defined as the repeated acts harassment or threatening behavior of the cyber criminal towards the victim by using internet services. Stalking in General terms can be referred to as the repeated acts of harassment targeting the victim such as following the victim, making harassing phone calls, killing the victims pet, vandalizing victims property, leaving written messages or objects. Stalking may be followed by serious violent acts such as physical harm to the victim and the same has to be treated and viewed seriously. It all depends on the course of conduct of the stalker.
            Both kind of Stalkers Online & Offline – have desire to control the victims life. Majority of the stalkers are the dejected lovers or ex-lovers, who then want to harass the victim because they failed to satisfy their secret desires. Most of the stalkers are men and victim female.
How do they operate?
Collect all personal information about the victim such as name, family background, Telephone Numbers of residence and work place, daily routine of the victim, address of residence and place of work, date of birth etc. If the stalker is one of the acquaintances of the victim he can easily get this information. If stalker is a stranger to victim, he collects the information from the internet resources such as various profiles, the victim may have filled in while opening the chat or e-mail account or while signing an account with some website.
The stalker may post this information on any website related to sex-services or dating services, posing as if the victim is posting this information and invite the people to call the victim on her telephone numbers to have sexual services. Stalker even uses very filthy and obscene language to invite the interested persons. People of all kind from nook and corner of the World, who come across this information, start calling the victim at her residence and/or work place, asking for sexual services or relationships. Some stalkers subscribe the e-mail account of the victim to innumerable pornographic and sex sites, because of which victim starts receiving such kind of unsolicited e-mails. Some stalkers keep on sending repeated e-mails asking for various kinds of favors or threaten the victim.
In online stalking the stalker can make third party to harass the victim. Follow their victim from board to board. They “hangout” on the same BB’s as their victim, many times posting notes to the victim, making sure the victim is aware that he/she is being followed. Many times they will “flame” their victim (becoming argumentative, insulting) to get their attention. Stalkers will almost always make contact with their victims through email. The letters may be loving, threatening, or sexually explicit. He will many times use multiple names when contacting the victim.
 Contact victim via telephone. If the stalker is able to access the victim’s telephone, he will many times make calls to the victim to threaten, harass, or intimidate them. Track the victim to his/her home.
5. Virus
A computer virus is a program that can ‘infect’ other legitimate programs by modifying them to include a possibly ‘evolved’ copy of itself. Viruses can spread themselves, without the knowledge or permission of the users, to potentially large numbers of programs on many machines. A computer virus passes from computer to computer like a biological virus passes from   person to person. Viruses can also contain instructions that cause damage or annoyance; the combination of possibly damaging code with the ability to spread is what makes viruses a considerable concern.
How do viruses spread? 
            Viruses can often spread without any readily visible symptoms. A virus can start on event-driven effects (for example, triggered after a specific number of executions), time-driven effects (triggered on a specific date, such as Friday the 13th) or can occur at random
  1. Display a message to prompt an action which may set of the virus
  2. Erase files
  3. Scramble data on a hard disk
  4. Cause erratic screen behavior
  5. Halt the PC
  6. Just replicate it!
The first computer virus ever to be see was called BRAIN and it appeared in 1986
 5 World’s Worst Virus Attacks
a) LoveLetter
            LoveLetter is the virus everyone learned to hate in 2000. The infection affected millions of computers and caused more damage than any other computer virus to date. Users were infected via e-mail, through Internet chat systems, and through other file sharing systems. The worm sent copies of itself via Microsoft Outlook's address book entries. The mail included an executable file attachment with the e-mail subject line, "ILOVEYOU." The worm had the ability to overwrite several types of files, including .gif and .jpg files. It modified the Internet Explorer start page and changed Registry keys. It also moved other files and hid MP3 files on affected systems.
b)   Klez
            The Klez worm, which blends different virus traits, was first detected in October 2001. Klez distributes itself like a virus, but sometimes acts like a worm, other times like a Trojan horse. Klez isn't as destructive as other worms, but it is widespread, hard to exterminate--and still active. In fact, so far, no other virus has stayed in circulation quite like Klez. It spreads via open networks and e-mail-regardless of the e-mail program you use. Klez sometimes masquerades as a worm-removal tool! It may corrupt files and disable anti-virus products. It steals data from a victim's e-mail address book, mixing and matching new senders and recipients for a new round of infection.
c)  Melissa
            The Melissa virus swamped corporate networks with a tidal wave of e-mail messages in March 1999. Through Microsoft Outlook, when a user opened an e-mail message containing an infected Word attachment, the virus was sent to the first 50 names in the user's address book. The e-mail fooled many recipients because it bore the name of someone the recipient knew and referred to a document they had allegedly requested. So much e-mail traffic was generated so quickly that companies like Intel and Microsoft had to turn off their e-mail servers. The Melissa virus was the first virus capable of hopping from one machine to another on its own. And it's another good example of a virus with multiple variants.
d)  Nimda
            Nimda (also known as the Concept Virus) appeared in September 2001, attacking tens of thousands of servers and hundreds of thousands of PCs. The worm modified Web documents and executable files, then created numerous copies of itself. The worm spread as an embedded attachment in an HTML e-mail message that would execute as soon as the recipient opened the message (unlike the typical attached virus that requires manual launching of the attachment). It also moved via server-to-server Web traffic, infected shared hard drives on networks, and downloaded itself to users browsing Web pages hosted on infected servers. Nimda soon inspired a crowd of imitators that followed the same pattern.
e) Anna Kournikova worm
            The Anna Kournikova (or VBS.SST@mm) worm, appearing in February 2001, didn't cause data loss, although in the process of boosting the profile of its namesake, the Russian tennis player, it did cause embarrassment and disruption for many personal and business users. The worm showed up in Microsoft Outlook users' e-mail in-boxes with an attachment (supposedly a picture of Kournikova). The attachment proved hard to resist. The result? Clicking the bogus attachment sent copies of the worm via e-mail to all addresses found in the victim's Outlook address book. Kournikova also brought about a number of copycat variants.
Most worm creators have never been identified, but a 21-year-old Dutchman, Jan de Wit, admitted to unleashing this worm. The admitted virus writer is appealing a 150-hour community service sentence handed down in September 2001 by a judge in the Netherlands.
6.      Usenet Newsgroup:
·         Possible Criminal Uses of Usenet
·         Distribution/Sale of pornographic material.
·         Distribution/Sale of pirated softwares
·         Distribution of Hacking Software
·         Sale of Stolen credit card numbers
·         Sale of Stolen Data/Stolen property.
7.   7. Online Fraud:

·         The net is a boon for people to conduct business effectively, very quickly. It saves businesses a lot of time, money and resources.Unfortunately, the net is also an open invitation to scamsters and fraudsters and online frauds are becoming increasingly rampant. 
·         Spoofwebsites and email security alerts- Fraudsters create authentic looking websites that are actually nothing but a spoof. The purpose of these websites is to make the user enter personal information. This information is then used to access business and bank accounts. Fraudsters are increasingly turning to email to generate traffic to these websites.
·         A lot of customers of financial institutions recently received such emails. Such emails usually contain a link to a spoof website and mislead users to enter User ids and passwords on the pretence that security details can be updated, or passwords changed.
·         If you ever get an email containing an embedded link, and a request for you to enter secret details, treat it as suspicious. Do not input any sensitive information that might help provide access to your accounts, even if the page appears legitimate. No reputable company ever sends emails of this type.
·         Virus hoax emails- It is a sad fact of life that there are those who enjoy exploiting the concerns of others. Many emailed warnings about viruses are hoaxes, designed purely to cause concern and disrupt businesses.
·         These warnings may be genuine, so don't take them lightly, but always check the story out by visiting an anti-virus site such as McAfee, Sophos or Symantec before taking any action, including forwarding them to friends and colleagues.
·         Lottery Frauds- These are letters or emails, which inform the recipient that he/ she has won a prize in a lottery. To get the money, the recipient has to reply. After which another mail is received asking for bank details so that the money can be directly transferred. The email also asks for a processing fee/ handling fee. Of course, the money is never transferred in this case, the processing fee is swindled and the banking details are used for other frauds and scams.
·         Spoofing- Spoofing means illegal intrusion, posing as a genuine user. A hacker logs-in to a computer illegally, using a different identity than his own. He is able to do this by having previously obtained actual password. He creates a new identity by fooling the computer into thinking he is the genuine system operator. The hacker then takes control of the system. He can commit innumerable number of frauds using this false identity.
       8. Credit Card Fraud
            The unauthorized and illegal use of a credit card to purchase property.
9.    9.   Phishing

            The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the users information. By spamming large groups of people, the phisher counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with legitimately. Phishing, also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on fishing, the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.

            Cyber Law deals with the accurate issues of the internet usage and all devices connected over the network, their suited exercise in order to prevent and control cyber crimes. Since the internet is all over the world the rules and regulations are a bit cloudy but we need to withhold in mind a few things to ensure that we are using the internet in a suited and suitable manner without causing any effort.
1.   The internet’s jurisdictional boundaries may not be positive but the users are plod by the jurisdictional laws of the station in which they reside.
2.   Do not access web sites that may not be common by the jurisdiction in your space.
3.   Do not post any offensive material that may cause an outrage among other internet users. Articles with an offensive tone on sensitive subjects like religion, politics etc., Uploading child pornography and other offensive materials is considered a crime in many countries and is punishable depending upon the country’s laws.  
4.   Illegally downloading and distributing protected items like knowing property and copyrighted articles is a cyber crime and those who are caught spicy in such acts can be prosecuted.
5.   Duplication of snort or software from CDs and DVDs that are copyrighted and distribution of these on the internet is punishable.
6.   Stealing user information (phishing) and impersonating a user (ID theft) are serious cyber crimes.
7.   Sending bulk messages that can affect networks and dilemma mailboxes is called spamming. The US introduced CAN-SPAM Act t in 2003 that allows prosecution of spammers.
8.   Sending malicious codes such as viruses and worms through websites and e-mails is a cyber crime that can cause serious damages and anyone caught inviting in the act can be seriously punished.
9.   Any spot that allows users to download materials without acquiring qualified permissions can be prosecuted or even be made to halt down. Napster.com was shut down for similar reasons.
10. Illegal bank transactions through internet,  to any risky individuals who might threaten national security is a cyber crime that will be considered as a breach of national security and those caught fascinating in such acts can be punished by the government.
            Even though the Cyber Laws are not very sure to everyone the increase in cyber crime rate has pushed many governments to introduce Acts that would govern the cyber location at least within their jurisdictions. The governments of USA, UK, Canada and China have enforced Cyber Laws to control Cyber crimes. The other nations that have followed in introducing Cyber laws are India, Australia, Malaysia, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand etc. Among all these nations China emerges to be the strictest in its laws regarding the exercise of the internet.
Digital signature:

            A digital signature authenticates electronic documents in a similar manner a handwritten signature authenticates printed documents. This signature cannot be forged and it asserts that a named person wrote or otherwise agreed to the document to which the signature is attached. The recipient of a digitally signed message can verify that the message originated from the person whose signature is attached to the document and that the message has not been altered either intentionally or accidentally since it was signed. Also, the signer of a document cannot later disown it by claiming that the signature was forged. In other words, digital signatures enable the "authentication" and “non-repudiation” of digital messages, assuring the recipient of a digital message of both the identity of the sender and the integrity of the message.
            A digital signature is issued by a Certification Authority (CA) and is signed with the CA's private key. A digital signature typically contains the: Owner's public key, the Owner's name, Expiration date of the public key, the Name of the issuer (the CA that issued the Digital ID), Serial number of the digital signature, and the digital signature of the issuer. Digital signatures deploy the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology.
If you file electronically using digital signature you do not have to submit a physical copy of the return. Even if you do not have a digital signature, you can still e-File the returns. However, you must also physically submit the printed copy of the filled up Form along with the copy of the Provisional Acknowledgement Number of your e-Return
General Tips:

Are You A Safe Cyber Surfer?


     Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your computer, your information and your peace of mind from computer creeps who try to slow down a network operation, or worse yet, steal personal information to commit a crime. Here are some tips to help you, from the Mumbai Police
     Make sure your passwords have both letters and numbers, and are at least eight characters long. Avoid common words: some hackers use programs that can try every word in the dictionary. Don’t use your personal information, your login name or adjacent keys on the keyboard as passwords-and don’t share your passwords online or over the phone. 
  
     Protect yourself from viruses by installing anti-virus software and updating it regularly. You can download anti-virus software from the Web sites of software companies, or buy it in retail stores; the best recognize old and new viruses and update automatically. 
  
     Prevent unauthorized access to your computer through firewall software or hardware, especially if you are a high-speed user. A properly configured firewall makes it tougher for hackers to locate your computer. Firewalls are also designed to prevent hackers from getting into your programs and files. Some recently released operating system software and some hardware devices come with a built-in firewall. Some firewalls block outgoing information as well as incoming files. That stops hackers from planting programs called spyware-that cause your computer to send out your personal information without your approval. 
  
     Don’t open a file attached to an e-mail unless you are expecting it or know what it contains. If you send an attachment, type a message explaining what it is. Never forward any e-mail warning about a new virus. It may be a hoax and could be used to spread a virus. 
  
    When something bad happens-you think you’ve been hacked or infected by a virus- 
e-mail a report of the incident to your Internet provider and the hacker’s Internet provider, if you can tell what it is, as well as your software vendor.

Preventing credit/debit card fraud:

By taking certain precautions, a user can prevent their credit or debit card from being misused both online and offline.
1.      Do not provide photocopies of both the sides of  the credit card to anyone. The card verification value (CVV) which is required for online transactions is printed on the reverse of the card. Anyone can use the card for online purchases if the information is available with them.
2.      Do not click on links in email seeking details of  your account, they could be phishing emails from fraudsters. Most reputed companies will ask you to visit their website directly.
3.      While using a credit card for making payments online, check if the website is secure The CVV will also be required.
4.      Do not give any information to persons seeking credit card information over phone.
5.      Notify your bank / credit card issuer if you do not receive the monthly credit card statement on time. If a credit card is misplaced or lost, get it cancelled immediately.

Online Safety Tips

 

We all know that the Internet is a cool place to hang with friends and check out new things. But don’t forget about the Internet’s risks and dangers. If you’re going to use the Web, do it safely! Here are some suggestions on what you should and shouldn’t be doing online to help protect you against the bad stuff.
Be careful online.
Never reveal personally – identifiable information online. 
            A lot of creeps use the Internet to take advantage of other people, especially kids and teens. Never reveal any personally-identifiable information online, whether it’s on your profile page or in a blog, chatroom, instant messenger chat or email.
  • Always use a screen name instead of your real name.
  • Never give out your address, telephone number, hangout spots or links to other websites or pages where this information is available.
  • Be careful about sending pictures to people you do not know very well.
  • Never tell people personal or private information about your friends or family.
  • Never assume you’re completely anonymous online. Even if you don’t put personal information online, there are different ways that people can still figure out who you are and where you live.
Never share your password with other people (except for your parents).
            Your passwords to websites, email accounts and instant messenger services should not be shared with friends or strangers. Your friends may not be as safe as you are and may unknowingly subject you to danger. You should, however, share your passwords with your parents if they ask so they can make sure you’re using the Internet safely.
Never arrange meetings with strangers.
            Just because you’ve seen a person’s picture and read his or her profile, does not mean you know them. Many people online lie about who they are and what their intentions are. Just because someone seems nice online, does not mean they really are. They could be trying to hurt you. Never arrange a meeting with a stranger you’ve met online. Even meeting a stranger in a crowded place could be dangerous as he could follow you home. If you wish to meet an online friend in person, talk to your parents and arrange a time and place where your friend can meet your parents first, just in case. If you are worried about your parents meeting one of your online friends, you probably shouldn’t be friends with them in the first place.
Don’t believe everything you read or see online.
            Be wary of everything you see online unless it is from a trusted source. People lie about their age, who they are, what they look like, where they live, how they know you and what their interests are. Also, a lot of websites and emails contain information that is misleading or just plain untrue. If a person or deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Ask your parents to help you figure out what information is really true.
Don’t download files or software without your parents’ permission.
            There are a lot of files on the Internet that are unsafe to download to a computer. Some files will bombard you with pop-up ads all day long. Some files will actually track everything you and your family does on your computer, including your logins, passwords and credit card information, which criminals then use to steal money from you and do other harm. There is no easy way to tell which files are bad and which are ok to download. That free desktop wallpaper you want to download might also steal your parents’ credit card information. Ask your parents before you download any files or software from the Internet.
Don’t respond to inappropriate messages or emails.
            Some people send inappropriate messages just to see if you will respond. If you do, you are simply encouraging them to send more inappropriate material to you. Don’t respond to inappropriate messages. Instead, talk to your parents about how to report them to the right place.
Don’t post inappropriate content.
            If you post information about tennis, you will attract people who are interested in tennis. If you post inappropriate content or pictures, you will attract people who have inappropriate interests. If you post jokes, photos or other content that contain sexual references you will probably attract people who are only interested in talking about sex. Be mindful of what you are communicating to the rest of the online world through the content you put onto the Internet.
Be leery of personal questions from strangers.
            People you don’t know who ask personal questions are often up to no good. Don’t continue communicating with strangers who ask you personal questions. Talk to your parents about how to block them from communicating with you and report them to the right place.
Don’t be bullied into fights.
            People tend to say things online that they would never say in person. Some people even say rude and malicious things, sometimes just to see if you will respond. Don’t respond to these people. Instead, talk to your parents about how to block them from communicating with you and report them to the right place.
Don’t use adult sites.
            There are some websites that kids just should not use. Don’t use websites that contain adult content or that facilitate communication with older adults. No matter how much you think you know about the Internet, there are some people and places you just aren’t ready to deal with. Enjoy websites that are designed for people your own age.
Understand what you put online will be there forever.
            Assume that everything you put online—- every email you write, every picture you post, every blog or journal entry you post—- will be accessible on the Internet forever. Many search engines copy Internet pages and save them for viewing even after the pages are no longer online. Think about that before you post anything online. Do you really want pictures or blog entries to be seen 10 years from now?

Protect Your Personal Computer
  1. Use the latest version of a good anti-virus software package which allows updation from the Internet.
  2. Use the latest version of the operating system, web browsers and e-mail programs.
  3. Don’t open e-mail attachments unless you know the source. Attachments, especially executables (those having .exe extension) can be dangerous.
  4. Confirm the site you are doing business with. Secure yourself against "Web-Spoofing". Do not go to websites from email links.
  5. Create passwords containing atleast 8 digits. They should not be dictionary words. They should combine upper and lower case characters.
  6. Use different passwords for different websites.
  7. Send credit card information only to secure sites.
  8. Use a security program that gives you control over "Cookies" that send information back to websites. Letting all cookies in without monitoring them could be risky.
Protect Your Website
  1. Stay informed and be in touch with security related news.
  2. Watch traffic to your site. Put host-based intrusion detection devices on your web servers and monitor activity looking for any irregularities.
  3. Put in firewall.
  4. Configure your firewall correctly.
  5. Develop your web content off line.
  6. Make sure that the web servers running your public web site are physically separate and individually protected from your internal corporate network.
  7. Protect your databases. If your web site serves up dynamic content from database, consider putting that database behind a second interface on your firewall, with tighter access rules than the interface to your web server.
  8. Back up your web site after every update.
Use Strong Password

  • For each computer and service you use (e-mail, chatting, online purchasing, for example), you should have a password.
  • You shouldn’t write them down nor should you share them with anyone, even your best friends.
  • Computer intruders use trial-and-error, or brute-force techniques, to discover passwords.
  • Use alphanumeric characters and special characters in your password.
  • The length of password should be as long as possible (More than 8 characters).
  • Do not write it to some place where it is visible to someone else.
Tips For Children
  1. Do not give out identifying information such as name, home address, school name or telephone number in a chat room.
  2. Do not send your photograph to any one on the Net without initially checking with the parent or guardian.
  3. Do not respond to messages or bulletin board items that are obscene, belligerent or threatening.
  4. Never arrange a face to face meeting without informing your parent or guardian.
  5. Remember that people online may not be who they seem to be
Take a test before opening e-mail attachment
  • Is the email from someone that you know?
  • Have you received email from this sender before?
  • Were you expecting email with an attachment from this sender?
  • Does email from the sender with the contents as described in the Subject line and the name of the attachment(s) make sense?
  • Does this email contain a virus? To determine this, you need to install and use an anti-virus program.
What is computer security and why should we care about computer security?

  1. What is computer security?
Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.
  1. Why should I care about computer security?
We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs.  Although you may not consider your communications "top secret," you probably do not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer, or examining personal information stored on your computer (such as financial statements).
  1. Who would want to break into my computer at home?
Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.
Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.
Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data.
  1. How easy is it to break into my computer?
Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities (informally called "holes") to exploit in computer software. The complexity of software makes it increasingly difficult to thoroughly test the security of computer systems.
When holes are discovered, computer vendors will usually develop patches to address the problem(s). However, it is up to you, the user, to obtain and install the patches, or correctly configure the software to operate more securely.
Also, some software applications have default settings that allow other users to access your computer unless you change the settings to be more secure. Examples include chat programs that let outsiders execute commands on your computer or web browsers that could allow someone to place harmful programs on your computer that run when you click on them.
Complaints:
You can get the crime related information on other below mentioned web sites links:- 

Mumbai Police, www.mumbaipolice.org
Pune Police:, www.punepolice.com
Thane Police:, www.thanepolice.org
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team:, www.cert-in.org.in
            If you think you or anyone you know are in immediate danger, please contact your local police station or main control room (Phone no. 100) immediately!  Online reporting should NEVER be used in the event of an emergency requiring immediate attention.
What type of documents should be included in my application which can be considered as proof or evidence in regard to my complaint?
Every possible information which can be provided by you with proper documents can be included in the application letter and be considered as proof or evidence. Proof or Evidence may include the following:
b.      1.  E-mail printouts,
2.             2. Chat-room or newsgroup text or screenshots if taken by you,
3.        3.  Email printouts should contain full email header information,
4.         4.   Transaction acknowledgements or receipts,Credit card records,
5.        5.  transaction details and receipts,
6.        6.  Envelopes or letters received via post courier,
7.        7.  FAX copies,
8.             8.  Pamphlets or brochures (if you have received),
9.        9.  Phone bills,
10.       10. Printed or preferably electronic copies of web pages
            Keep the necessary information in a safe location; you will be required to provide them for investigation as and when required.
Conclusion:
            Capacity of human mind is unfathomable. It is not possible to eliminate cyber crime from the cyber space. It is quite possible to check them. History is the witness that no legislation has succeeded in totally eliminating crime from the globe. The only possible step is to make people aware of their rights and duties (to report crime as a collective duty towards the society) and further making the application of the laws more stringent to check crime. Undoubtedly the Act is a historical step in the cyber world. Further I all together do not deny that there is a need to bring changes in the Information Technology Act to make it more effective to combat cyber crime. I would conclude with a word of caution for the pro-legislation school that it should be kept in mind that the provisions of the cyber law are not made so stringent that it may retard the growth of the industry and prove to be counter-productive.















   









www.prabhanjam.com

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Wikipedia

Search results

Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *