PLN to build wind farms in Aceh, NTT Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 03/28/2011 9:04 PM | Business A | A | A |     State electricity firm PT PLN says it will investigate building wind power plants in Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara. PLN planning and technology chief Nasri Sebayang said on Monday that the company built two small-scale, 200,000-kilowatt wind power plants as pilot projects in the areas. “The location of th … Read More

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Georgia ranked seventh in identity theft complaints nationwide, with 9,556 people reporting some form of theft. Identity fraud totaled $54 billion in 2009, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, which is focused on the global financial services industry. Identity-theft experts are watching the evolution of a new intrusion as more people bare all on social networking sites and download risky mobile phone applications. “We’re starting to see the convergence of social networking giving thieves the tools to break into other accounts,” said John Sileo, identity theft expert and author of “Privacy Means Profit.” By sharing seemingly mundane personal details and preferences, people might be giving the bad guys clues about their security codes. For example, by revealing your dog’s name, hometown and date of birth on your Facebook page, a persistent hacker could reasonably guess potential passwords and use computer programs to run millions of iterations of possibilities, Sileo said. If your dog is named Fido, maybe your password is F1D0, fydough or phydo. Breaking one password can have a domino effect on personal and financial security.

Most people use one or two passwords for multiple accounts, Sileo said. Cyber scamming is nothing new, but the manner in which thieves use the information is constantly changing. Social media is a gateway to the latest scams, experts say. Tracking the numbers involving social media-related crimes is nearly impossible, said Michael Rand, chief of victimization statistics at the Bureau of Justice Statistics, an agency that publishes the National Crime Victimization Survey. “I think the social media stuff is so new that I don’t know anybody who is collecting it,” Rand said. Even high-ranking corporate heads and officials aren’t immune. Last spring, an ambitious hacker compromised a personal e-mail account that belonged to Babe Atkins-Byrne, a long-time GOP activist and wife of former GOP candidate for governor Bill Byrne. Atkins-Byrne had some 4,800 contacts in her account, all of whom received a request for funds to be wired to her in Scotland. “It was a nightmare,” Atkins-Byrne said. “Some people actually believed it. Why they would think my husband or my family would leave me in Scotland, I don’t know, but some people thought about sending money.” Atkins-Byrne isn’t sure how the hackers obtained her Yahoo e-mail address, but she fears it had to do with her recent Facebook activity. Facebook did not respond to an interview request. “I had that same address all those years without a problem, and then I got on Facebook and it wasn’t too long after that that it happened,” she said. “I quit Facebook. It’s not worth it.”

These types of e-mail scams have an average 6-percent return, Sileo said. That’s all hackers and ID thieves need. “A friend’s grandmother sent $3,000,” Sileo said. “[She] had no idea these types of thing happen; she barely can hit reply.” Using social media to help decode a person’s life is cheaper and faster than traditional forms of ID theft because it allows access to a greater number of people in less time. “The more people, the more access, the more criminals,” FBI Special Agent Charles Pavelites said. “That’s the law of averages.” Security experts are now eying mobile phones as the next identity theft frontier. Not all mobile phone applications are safe and secure, leaving people open to harmful software. John Hering, a mobile phone security provider, noted the recent popularity and vulnerability of a legitimate gaming application. What users didn’t know is hackers had rewrapped the application with Trojan malware, he said. Days after downloading the game, the malware “woke up” and placed calls to 900 numbers in Somalia, racking up charges on the user’s bill. A vigilant user might catch this scam  and notice the few extra dollars in charges on his bill; the hackers are banking on those who don’t. “Maybe they only charge $5 or $10,” Hering said. “But [they do it] to millions of people.” Identity protection tips Exercise judgment when sharing personal details on Facebook, such as your whereabouts, date of birth and family members’ names. Examine privacy settings to ensure only approved friends can access your wall posts. Only download mobile phone applications from trusted sources. Check the reviews from other users and application rankings to determine popularity and safety. Rotate passwords every few months, and do not use the same few passwords for multiple accounts. Keep the passwords in a safe place in your home — not on your laptop or phone. Consider identity theft products that monitor your credit file and send alerts when your account has been active. Check mail daily and shred any personal documents before trashing.

Christopher Lewis, 20, and Michael Nebel, 28, were part of a telephone hacking group called Kryogeniks that took control of the Comcast.net website in May 2008.

After taking over an account used to manage Comcast’s Domain Name System information, they redirected visitors to their own website for several hours. Comcast.net drew about 5 million visitors per day at the time.

During the incident, visitors who went to the site were greeted with the message “KRYOGENICS Defiant and EBK RoXed Comcast. sHouTz to VIRUS Warlock elul21 coll1er seven.”

The two men were sentenced Friday by Judge Robert Kelly in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Lewis, also known as EBK, and Nebel, a.k.a. Slacker, must also pay almost US$90,000 in restitution to Comcast.

A third hacker, James Black, who also goes by the name Defiant, was sentenced last month to four months in prison.

The attack was one of several in recent years that have shown how weak controls over corporate DNS accounts can lead to major problems. Earlier this year, Chinese search giant Baidu was taken offline in a similar hack.

In the case of Comcast, the hackers used social engineering techniques to trick an employee into giving them information that helped them access Comcast’s DNS account with Network Solutions.

According to Black’s plea agreement in March this year, the Kryogeniks crew gained administrative access to the Network Solutions account on May 27, 2008, and redirected Comcast traffic to their own website.

It cost Comcast about $90,000 to recover from the attack.

Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert’s e-mail address is robert_mcmillan@idg.com

image credit:http://4.bp.blogspot.com The present world is seeing exponential growth of technology, which comes with its own complications. Now Logic in your automobile has become a new threat for hacking. According to some experts, now someone can take control of your car in order to steel it, cause the driver harm and convince the driver to pull over to for "urgent maintenance" or ruin the car .There is a potential danger but the good news that … Read More

via Internet Security Blog

Computer that too Laptop has become every man's need these days.Many laptops are being stolen everyday in railways station,airport and even from home.If your laptop contain some thing very useful and private I mean your credit card info or saved passwords then it can cause you nightmare if it is stolen.So before going to the police station and banging your head there if you would follow these simple steps illustrated  below then I feel your half … Read More

via Mr. Mumbai Chapter .. !!

Information Security (Wikipedia Definition) is a broader term than IT Security or Internet Security or Enterprise Data Security. Information Security encompasses data stored in digital fashion (electronic format), trade secrets, know-how, intellectual property rights, historical data, information on data access, policies and procedures laid down, compliance & standards established within the organization, plans and budgets, financial & ma … Read More

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Millions of Americans currently keep guns in their homes for hunting or self defense purposes. Many gun owners are outspoken proponents of gun ownership and gun rights, and appreciate the feeling of protection provided by their guns. Although a gun can give a sense of safety in the event of a street attack or home invasion, owning a gun also poses many dangers in and of itself.

Studies consistently show that guns kept inside the home are more likely to be used on a friend or family member than on an intruder or criminal. The gun owner may inadvertently shoot a perceived threat, not realizing that they have been frightened by a family member, friend, or acquaintance. This scenario is often referred to as the “shooting the milkman” situation. A scared gun owner may shoot first, before identifying the person. Tragically, this can lead to the accidental injury or even death of a loved one.

These dangers become compounded when there are children living in the home. Even if parents think the guns are secured, it can be surprising what children, even young ones, can get into. Too many adults take for granted that young children will understand the dangers of a gun. Unfortunately, news stories about kids accidentally killing friends or siblings with a gun they think is a toy show the true danger of guns in a home with children.

If you do keep a gun in the home, whether for hunting or for protection, it is crucial that you follow the appropriate safety precautions. Keep friends, family members, and yourself safe from gun related accidents in the home by storing the guns securely. The guns must not be accessible by anyone except the adults living in the home. Even if the gun is unloaded and the safety is on, never point a gun at anyone for fun, especially if your children are watching. Your finger should never touch the trigger of a firearm unless you plan to fire it at that instant.

Every adult with access to the gun should enroll in a class on proper ownership and use of a firearm. Knowing as much as you can about your gun is the key to safety. All gun owners should know what it feels like to shoot their gun, including the effect of kickback, as well as the safety lock and other essential features.

If you cannot own it responsibly and use it effectively, there is no reason to own a gun. In a self defense situation, many people would be too afraid to actually shoot the attacker. In this instance, it’s actually better not to pull out the gun at all. If you’re not prepared to shoot, it becomes more likely that your attacker will grab your gun away from you. Pulling out a gun is also likely to escalate the situation if you’re confronted by an armed attacker. Waving around a gun is not a sensible way to scare off an intruder in your home.

Although you certainly have the right to keep and bear arms, you should carefully consider the potential consequences of doing so. There are plenty of other options for those who aren’t prepared to deal with the safety issue of having a gun in the home. Stun guns and TASER devices are too examples of non-lethal self defense devices that will take an attacker down quickly, but won’t hurt innocent people.



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It really is a matter of what you can afford and just how much protection you would feel safer with. There are many options available to you when it comes to home security – from alarms to cameras to baby monitors; from inexpensive deterrent measures through to complex security systems.

You can do all or just a select few of the following, but whatever options you choose you and your family will be safer. 

In no particular order of price or complexity:

Signs and decals advising of the presence of security cameras or systems can be placed around the perimeter of your property and on your windows (whether the cameras or systems actually exit or not).

Fake security cameras and alarms can be installed in visible positions around you home (they look just like the real thing).

Security lighting (motion detecting) – will deter criminals who prefer to work under cover of dark and because they are motion detecting they will save you money by not being on constantly.

Hard wired and wireless security systems – give you the ability to get help quickly and easily when you need it.