3 Common Social Media Network 'Threats' to Avoid

Online social media network sites have experienced an extraordinary growth in popularity over the last few years. The growth in social media use has captured the attention of not only enthusiastic users but also cyber criminals as well. It was inevitable that internet predators would gravitate towards social sites due to the sheer number of users these sites attract. This criminal element commonly targets innocent site participants with various types' of scams looking for money, personal ID information or to even install spyware or malware.

Here are 3 of the most common scams people using social media sites need to be aware of to better protect themselves against these internet predators.

Shortening (Hiding) Links

Shortening links is an acceptable, expected and encouraged practice on most social sites to 'dress up' rather long links being sent in short messages. This is well and good however shortened links also actually 'hide' the ultimate destination to where you are being redirected. By inadvertently landing on a 'forbidden' site you could easily have unwanted malware installed on your computer. Treat these links like you would suspicious email and only open those that come from a source with which you are already familiar.

'Fun' Questionnaires

How many times have you come across short quizzes sent to you that will tell you things about yourself, friends, or even love life? All you need to do is to 'register' by leaving your contact information including your cell phone number in order to receive your answers and even a prize. Well many times the 'prize' is really a 'surprise' when you have a billing for a subscription you had unknowingly signed up for on your phone. The best approach with these questionnaires is to simply ignore them!

Personal ID Theft

Information 'trawling' or phishing has been around for a while online. Most of us are use to seeing it come through in suspicious emails that require sensitive information in order to complete a transaction. Well those damn cyber criminals have now taken their methods and adapted them to online social media sites. Ever seen a message that says 'someone is looking for you' and then instructs you to click on a link to see who it may be? When the link takes you to one of the login pages of a popular social network you are then required to sign in, DO NOT! By doing so you may be giving a stranger complete access to your account and no telling what they will do with that!

Online social media network sites have grown in popularity and as a result have also become the targets for cyber criminals as well. With the tremendous increase in social media use the online criminal element has spotted an opportunity to target large masses fairly easily. They tend to favor the use of scams which work quite efficiently for them when dealing with large masses of people. 3 of the most commonly used scams to which people using social media sites are exposed are mentioned above. The danger such schemes like these pose to the innocent is magnified when people are unaware of their existence until it is too late. In this case however to be fore-warned is to be fore-armed! It is therefore hoped that this 'heads-up' will help neutralize any efforts and all intentions of this rather creepy online element.

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. To learn more about safely using social media network sites and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques simply visit: http://blogbrawn.com/

Remove Data Protection - Easiest Data Protection Removal Out There

If you're taking the time to read this, it's probably because you are having some second thoughts about data protection. The truth is you are right to be a bit concerned, because it isn't a real antivirus program, it is actually malware. If you have already loaded it on to your computer, you are in a bit of trouble. It is actually quite difficult to remove this virus. With legitimate software, removal would be easy, but since it is a virus, you won't be able to just uninstall it. It digs in too deep for that.

The malicious code burrows deep into your system and infects important system files. It seeks out credit card information, email addresses and other personal information you might have on your computer that can be sold. All this activity slows down your pc and congests your internet bandwidth. Because it digs in so deep, data protection removal can be a labor intensive task.

The ideal situation is to never be infected, it you aren't infected by it, you won't have to delete data protection. The difficult thing about that is that so many routine activities on the internet can lead to an attack. Browsing infected websites could result in your browser getting hijacked, using Adobe software without data protection protection could also get you in trouble, as Adobe utilities seem to have an inherent vulnerability, p2p software is also quite dangerous, as it exposes you to several unprotected users.

When you are first infected, you'll be hit by an endless stream of pop-ups that alert you to a supposed data protection infection, they will tell you that you need to install a certain utility to correct the problem. The utility is the real malware, and when you install it, your real problems will begin.

If you're pretty handy with a computer, you might try to get rid of data protection by deleting it from your pc one file at time. There will be some.Exe,.Bat,.Dll, and.Lnk files associated with it, they should be removed, be careful not to delete something that you aren't sure is related to the data protection. You also need to remove any entries associated to the data protection in the registry, particularly in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE AND HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder.

A much more user friendly, less time consuming and yes, more effective way to remove data protection is to use a virus removal tool. It can do in minutes what a man would take hours to do. It is faster and more thorough. It will also keep you protected from other problems of the same nature after.

Tired of viruses infecting your computer? Want to surf the web with the peace of mind that your computer is safe and secure? Get your free scan from the top Data Protection removal.

Jim Marshall is an expert computer technician with fifteen years of experience in the industry. Since his own computer was destroyed by malicious software, he has been studying antispyware, adware, and malware systems for years. His website details the comprehensive results of this research, ranking the best antispyware and antivirus programs available.

http://www.spyware-fix.net

Internet Security and Its Enemies

The internet may be the savviest innovation that has ever been created in that it has surely provided comfort and ease in the lives of many. Yet as great of an innovation as this may be, this might actually be a good source for crimes especially for unsuspecting people who just merely want to enjoy the benefits of internet use. That is why it is important to have internet security. Whenever you open the internet, you have to secure it. With the internet security, it protects your computer with its files being accessed by unauthorized people, especially those who have bad intentions such as stealing identities. One of the fundamental ways for you to protect your computer is by using very good passwords that would make it hard for an intruder to identify, backing up your files and using permissions before anyone can access it.

Many businesses now are even more aware of updating and securing their computers as they are aware that many identity thefts are attempting to access their computers via the internet with the knowledge that by having access on those business files and using it in one way or another, they can make huge profits of it. These thieves will always try to find a way how to outwit the company's internet security because of that. That is why companies are more watchful and that whenever there is a need to enhance the system, the first and foremost concern is how to further secure the sensitive data stored.

Unfortunately, some programs are considered to be very helpful in protecting the computer such as Malware, virus, Trojan, Worms, Bots and Spyware. So, internet security authorities should be experts in four major areas concerning these six:

• Malware: it is the common name used to identify a software program that has a malicious intent to either spy, breach or destroy the computer's contents. It is not just limited to infiltrating computers but cell phones, PDA's and other technical devices as well.

• Viruses: they infiltrate the computer maliciously and give the computer user a very hard time. The virus can delete, hide, or make the data stored in the computer inaccessible. It can also make other applications not run anymore.

• Trojan: it is a program that pretends to be helpful when in reality it just seeks to destroy files, steal or change something in the system which could cause major problems to the user.

• Worms: they replicate themselves and swarm through the internet system and could destroy a whole community of computer users, even to the extent of destroying a country's economy.

• Bots: takes over the system and may communicate the computers' contents to others.

All six may be used simultaneously by an internet criminal and continue to develop sophistically. That is why there is now the use of the Antivirus programs, which protect your computers from such malicious attacks. Anti-virus software can freely be downloaded online, but still one should be cautious in downloading software even if it is antivirus ones that may represent themselves to be effective but aren't.

Tina L. Douglas is a skilled writer from California. With numerous experiences in the field of writing for several financial institutions, she is greatly qualified across a variety of economic issues. Her notable pieces of writing involve internet security software.

How to Tell If Your Site Has Been Hacked

How do you know if your site has been hacked? Sometimes you will know because the site has dropped precipitously in the search engine rankings for no apparent reason. Or many of your pages are no longer being indexed by the search engines. Or visitors send you emails complaining that their anti-virus software warns them away from your site. These are not good things to have happen, because by then the damage has been done.

A better approach to to proactively scan your site for hacked pages. What you are looking for are unauthorized links to external sites, because most hackers use those links to boost the search engine rankings of their own sites. That makes most hacked pages easy to find with a few simple search engine queries.

The key is to combine the "site:" command with one or more commonly used hacker ranking terms like "viagra" or "cialis". The "site:" command restricts search engine results to pages from the given domain. For example, the query:

site:about.com

restricts the search to the "about.com" domain. All you need to do is add one or two hacker-targeted keywords to the query, as in:

site:whitehouse.gov viagra

That query will return all indexed pages on the "whitehouse.gov" domain that include the word "viagra". (As I write this, there are in fact two pages on the official White House site that have been hacked in this manner. Oops!)

While "viagra" is the most obvious term to search for, there are other possibilities. Any erectile dysfunction drug is a candidate: "levitra", "cialis", etc. Generic version of the brand names are also popular: "sildenafil", "vardenafil", etc. Really, any kind of high-demand pharmaceutical product is a good candidate, though you can also look for money-making schemes (think "forex" or "online gambling") and other things that a spam catcher would normally isolate in your incoming email.

Of course, you will not actually see these links on the pages in question. Hackers do their best to hide the links from human visitors. But they do not hide them from search engines, because the point is to get the search engines to find those links and count them as "votes" to getting their own "money sites" to rank highly for sought-after, highly commercial and extremely competitive terms. That is why a simple search query exposes hacked pages.

What do you do once you have found a hacked page on one of your sites? It depends on how the links were added to your pages and how your pages are generated. You will find lots of help online on how to get rid of link spam from a website and how to "harden" your site against future attacks.

Just remember to run this check on each of your sites every few days. It is a very quick and simple way to detect potential link spam before it becomes a real problem.

Be sure to check out Eric Giguere's privacy policy plugin, useful for anyone running WordPress. Eric is a co-founder of Synclastic Media and has written extensively about all aspects of Internet marketing, website and blog development, and software programming.

Safeguard Yourself From Fraud When Buying Online

Most people are comfortable enough to shop online, but be wary, there are identity theft and fraud at any corner you turn. Here are five easy tips for your online payment and shopping that can keep your online shopping experience a happy one.

Five Tips For Online Payment

1. Make sure you choose the best available account with your credit card company. A good credit card company that allows you to shop online will usually have encryption software to protect against identity theft, as well as auto log out once you've been inactive for a period of time online, usually about 10 minutes.

If you have any questions regarding payment and security, always talk to the company's representative directly, better to be safe than sorry.

2. If you have a standing instruction or recurring billing with a company's program, you'll most likely receive and invoice or email every month notifying you about the payment. Safeguard yourself by not signing in from the email link, and instead take the effort to go to the said company website and sign in from there.

Also watch out for emails from your credit card company, if they have asked you to verify certain account, make sure you call your credit card company to confirm the validation, this way you can keep yourself at arm's length from any bogus emails.

3. When you do sign in with a username and password to a company website, make sure you're always clearing your cache and history on your own computer. Finish what you've set out to do as quickly as possible, this is especially important if you're using a dial up modem.

Alongside with our advancing technology, it has made it possible for online identity theft to monitor your online activity. Therefore always take precaution and make it quick when doing online transaction, so to speak, to safeguard your own interest and money!

4. Whenever a transaction is successful, you'll always receive an email with the date stated, whether immediately or a couple of days later. Be sure that you've receive it and do call your credit card company if you do not! Also, check your online account to make sure the said payment was sent our or posted.

5. This is one of the most important tips you can use when shopping online, always change your password monthly, because this way frauds will have a hard time to keep up. Sometimes your credit provider will offer you a security check, which you'll have to answer every time you attempt to log on. Check with your credit companies to see if they offer such services.

The worst part about online payment is frauds and theft, therefore any precaution and safety steps you take to protect yourself can make a tremendous difference in buying online. It is worth it to have some of the best security software, and changing passwords works.

Only thing worst than not getting secured is not doing anything about it! Always take the extra preventive measure against theft and keep your hard earned money doing things you like instead!

The author is also currently working on his website on wireless surround sound speakers, as well as why he have chosen definitive technology speakers over the rest in the marketplace.

I Want to Change My IP Address - Using IP Hiding Tools to Protect Your Identity Online

Shopping online is one of the many conveniences created by the internet. Instead of spending hours outside just to buy a few things, the internet has allowed everyone to shop for the products they want and have them delivered. It's a win-win solution for the business owner and buyer as the owner is no longer limited in some areas while the buyer get's what he or she wants without wasting time traveling.

But the convenience of online shopping has also caused a few problems. While it's easy to shop online, the information entered can be stolen and used without any permission. Attacks are made on innocent online shoppers. Their credit card information is stolen and eventually sold for others to use. The real credit card owner will just be surprised with the unknown charges made on his or her credit card. Before they become aware of the situation, they are already victims of identity theft.

These attacks are possible because of the exposed IP address. Everyone is provided with this unique number by their ISP (Internet Service Provide) and this data is shared to every website visited. This is used for business reasons - websites want to know the location of their visitors. Unfortunately, some abuse this free information by using it as a bridge to monitor the user's activity. Without any warning, the credit card data is stolen.

The exposed IP address can be easily hidden through simple tools. Users can consider proxy server websites so that they can surf anonymously and even shop online. There are hundreds of proxy server websites to choose from and although they are a bit slow, they can easily hide your IP address from websites and hackers. The second option is to use an application that automatically hides the user information in any browser. Although IP hiding applications are not free, it is faster and can be used in more websites.

For a reliable tool to change your IP address, surf anonymously and protect your identity online from hackers, CLICK HERE!

For reliable and affordable tools to surf anonymously and protect yourself from identity theft, visit http://anonymousinternetbrowsing.com

Guide to Internet Security

In the earlier days of the internet, user security wasn't as tight. There were fewer threats to users and those that existed tended to target businesses instead of individuals. Now, however, threats seem to be looming around each and every corner. As computer and internet use has proliferated in the past decade, so has the variety of viruses, malware, spyware, and other security threats. Understanding your computer's security risk, and actively working to protect it, has become a key element in responsible computing.

The Threats

Malware typically presents itself in several forms.

- Viruses - These are small programs that attach to other code and infect it. Viruses can change certain computer settings, corrupt files, or even crash your computer entirely.

- Spyware - This type of software is typically installed on your computer without your knowledge. Its intent is to gather personal information about you. Sometimes spyware may include a key-logger, which transcribes every key you type and compromises passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and anything else you might type out on your computer.

- Phishing scams - Scams are typically e-mails or websites, made to look legit, that ask you for your personal information or credit card information. The goal of these scams is obvious--to gain access to your personal information.

- Spam - Another threat that comes via e-mail, spam can contain spyware hidden in messages that will install itself on your computer.

How to Protect Yourself

Your first line of defense against malware is a firewall. Firewalls monitor all in and out computer traffic and prevent unauthorized communications. While computers typically come with firewalls installed, they are sometimes not as effective as commercial firewalls.

Another crucial defense is to install anti-virus software on your computer. While some anti-virus software is free, this is one area that you don't want to skimp on. If you install a free anti-virus program and your computer is attacked by something that slipped through the cracks, you will end up paying to fix or replace your computer anyway. It is always better to avoid the headache and ensure that your computer is receiving the best security from the get-go. Anti-key-logging and anti-spyware software are also excellent tools to use in conjunction with an anti-virus.

Spam blockers are useful for preventing spam, malicious or not, from entering your inbox. The only down side to spam blockers is that they can sometimes mistake normal e-mails for spam and filter them accordingly. If you are using a spam blocker, it is helpful to check in the box on occasion to be sure that everything is sorted correctly.

Also, on shared computers, always make sure your data is password protected. People often underestimate the security threat posed by others that have direct access to your computer. If you have information that you would not want to make readily available to other users, be sure to password-protect it with a strong password.

Useful Tips

• Ensure that every computer you own that accesses the internet has a virus protection program installed and running.
• Don't open attachments from unknown sources.
• Make your passwords complicated and difficult for others to figure out. Strong passwords make use of numbers, letters, and symbols.
• Avoid sending too much personal information, particularly credit card numbers and bank account numbers, over the internet. If you use a credit card to pay for something online, be sure that the payment system is trustworthy and secure.

Imaging Network Technology is a computer support service that specializes in computer security, 24/7 tech support, and network infrastructure. Visit Imaging Network Technology.