Internet Worms

Worms are truly autonomous virtual viruses, spreading across the net, breaking into computers, and replicating without human assistance and usually without human knowledge. Worms are particularly interesting technological constructs, with an intriguing mathematical structure and complexity. They fascinate because they take the digital imitation of life to another step -- they autonomously search for computers, penetrate them, and replicate their intelligence to continue the process.
An Internet worm can be contained in any kind of virus, program or script. Sometimes their inventor will release them into the wild in a single copy, leaving them to replicate by themselves through a variety of stratagems and protocols.
The most successful Internet worm of all time, in terms of sheer saturation, was the code red worm, which scanned the Internet for vulnerable Windows computers running the IIS web server to install itself and continue the infection.
The first worm was released by Robert Morris, a Computer Science graduate student at Cornell University. He released it November 2, 1988. The worm eventually infected more than 6,000 computers across the Internet. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and a $10,050 fine. 

Reference:
The Internet 

Wireless Networking Precautions

Using a wireless internet network ( Wi-Fi) has many advantages for internet users. It allows you to be able to work in any room of your home and even outside your house and still be able to connect to the internet. Along with the advantages, Wi-Fi also comes with some security issues.

If you have the proper software on your computer, you will be able to go places like local coffee shops, hotels, and airports which are hot spots for wireless internet. This means that you can log onto the computer from these places and share the network. Sharing the network means that you may have a greater chance of someone accessing your computer information or sending a virus into your computer. A good idea when using wireless internet at a public place is to never put any personal identification on your computer at that time.

The best way to protect our computer when you have Wi-Fi is to make sure that you have an up-to-date antivirus program installed on your computer. Most anti-virus software will automatically scan your computer to check for any possible threats or viruses. By enabling a WEP or WPA (encryptions on your computer) you can help prevent any intruders from accessing your computer and installing a virus or worm on it.

References:
It List Security

Strong Password (how to create and use them)

Your passwords are the keys you use to access personal information that you've stored on your computer and in your online accounts.

What makes a strong password?

• Make it lengthy.
• Create a phrase made of many words (a "pass phrase") by using the space bar.
• Combine letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Use words and phrases that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.

Password Strategies to Avoid

• Avoid sequences or repeated characters. EX. "123456" or "222222"
• Avoid using only look-alike substitutions of numbers or symbols. EX. "M1cr0$0ft" or "P@ssw0rd".
• Avoid any part of your name, birthday, car number plate, or similar information.
• Avoid dictionary words in any language.
• Use more than one password everywhere.
•  Avoid using online storage. 

 References:
Microsoft Digital LIfe

Internet parental control software

 

      Parental control software lets parents limit what their children see and read online. It also lets parents manage time spent on the Internet or computer, select which programs children can use, and monitor and log all Internet activity. Parental control programs sometimes over-block or under-block, but performance is good enough to give reviewers confidence in recommending programs. Reviews also say that any of the top six or so programs are now impossible for kids to circumvent.


 What to look for
Look for user-selectable access levels and customizable website lists.

Look for filtering of instant messaging and social networking sites.
Look for a package that's easy to maintain and update.

Top 4 Best Parental Control Software
CyberPatrol Parental Control
Net Nanny
Online family. Norton
Safe Eyes

References:
Consumer Search

Internet Filters

Internet filters first appeared in the 1990's largely as a response to the explosion in the amount of pornography freely available on the Internet. They are software tools that can help monitor web content viewed on a particular computer or network. In the case of family safety settings, Internet filters can also help parents manage who kids can communicate with or how long kids can use the computer.

• Parents, guardians, or school administrators can protect kids from viewing inappropriate material as well as identify which websites kids can visit.
• Parents and guardians can block sites by content type or only allow access to certain sites.
• You can prevent unwanted, explicit sexual content from appearing in your search results.
• Businesses can block websites or programs that they don't want their employees to use at work.
  Internet filters can warn you about and block you from suspicious websites that might be fraudulent (also known as phishing filters).
• Internet filters can keep spam out of your inbox (also known as spam filters).
  
  
    

References:
Microsoft Safety and Security

Digital Image Steganography

Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one,  suspects the existence of the message. The word steganography is of Greek origin and means "concealed writing".
In digital steganography, electronic communications may include steganographic coding inside of a transport layer, such as a document file, image file, program or protocol. Media files are ideal for steganographic transmission because of their large size. The advantage of steganography is that the messages do not attract attention to themselves. The stenography includes the concealment of information within computer files.
Digital images could be used for a number of different types of security threats. It is believed that the terrorists that died in the 9-11 crash in New York had aircraft configuration plans sent to them hidden inside of a digital image. The use of digital images for steganography makes use of the weaknesses in the human visual system, which has a low sensitivity in random pattern changes and luminance.The human eye is incapable of discerning small changes in color or patterns and because of this weakness text or graphic files can be inserted into the carrier image without being detected.

References:
iRevolution

Cpmouter Forensics

 Computer forensics is a branch of digital forensic science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media. The goal of computer forensics is to examine digital media in a forensically sound manner with the aim of identifying, preserving, recovering, analyzing and presenting facts and opinions about the information.

A number of techniques are used during computer forensics investigations:

Cross-drive analysis

A forensic technique that correlates information found on multiple hard drives.

Live analysis

The examination of computers from within the operating system using custom forensics or existing sysadmin tools to extract evidence. 

Deleted files
             A common technique used in computer forensics is the recovery of deleted files. 

Computer forensics evidence has been used as evidence in criminal law since the mid 1980s. In court it is subject to the usual requirements for digital evidence, requiring information to be authentic, reliably obtained and admissible.

Reference:
Computer Forensics World