Internet Security Tips Provided by Expert at Solid Technology

June 19, 2009 - PRLog -- Despite the frequent warnings about Internet security, an expert warns countless businesses are continuously victimized by cybercrime. And he recommends numerous precautions.

“Every day, even sophisticated businesses fall prey to fraud, confidence scams, and outright lawless piracy that crowd the internet.” said Joe Shipley, the systems administrator for Solid Technology, http://www.solidtechnology.com, in Portland, OR.

Shipley has a fun, gregarious personality, but he gets very serious when he talks about Internet dangers.

He says recent damage inflicted by the worm, Conficker, has infected more than 8.9 million computers, according to published reports. That’s despite the media’s heavy advance warnings about impending dangers. Conficker has since infected computer networks in business, including financial services, and the public sector. Shipley believes the cost in money and time is astronomical.

Even thousands of students at Kapiolani Community College, www.kcc.hawaii.edu/ in Honolulu, HI are at-risk – even though most young adults are generally considered to be tech-savvy. The college’s Web site warns the 15,487 students that they are vulnerable after a computer containing their personal information was found with malware a few weeks ago.

“The Internet is a cheap delivery platform for the fraudsters,” said Shipley. “It costs almost nothing to send small amounts of data – email does it for basically free – and the pirates only have to trick you once.”

“If they send out ten million mails, only one or two people might fall for them, but the net cost was so low to them that it’s worth it,” he added. “Malware, adware, and spyware all fall into a category of malicious programs that aim to control, monitor, or benefit from the resources on your computer without your permission. He says that these programs, along with Trojan viruses, are the tools that internet outlaws use to scam businesses and individuals.”

Shipley warns against additional threats:

“You have to weigh the cost of a security action versus the benefit. How much is the time saved by having your browser remember your online banking password worth?  When the compromise is that anyone with access to your computer can sit down and access your bank accounts?”

He advises having secure passwords – many are too short and should be changed at least once a year.

“We have had people try to use passwords from ‘password’ to ‘hat’ – the latter can be cracked in milliseconds with a brute-force cracking program,” he said.

He warns of the dangers of Trojan horses, which are computer applications intentionally designed to compromise your security and put your computer to work for a third party.
“Any application from an untrustworthy source can install a Trojan horse,” Shipley explained.

He warns that Trojan horses perform a myriad of functions, such as:

•   Reading your mail
•   Recording your passwords and logins
•   Watching your actions on the computer
•   Using your computer to pump out millions of spam emails
•   Processing resources to participate in web-based attacks on other sites and users
•   Exploiting your address book to try to infect the computers of your friends and colleagues.”

“If you suspect you’re infected with a Trojan, damage is already likely done but sever the machine from the network and attempt a virus scan and cleaning,” he advised. ”After a system has been that compromised at that level, a lot of times the only real path to security is a complete reformat and reinstall.”

He also warns against clicking on unsolicited links on your screen. He says a lot of so-called spyware cleaners are not to be trusted. It takes a good deal of sleuthing to check them out.

“It’s critical that you know what address bars or what security certificates are,” he said. “Don’t follow or click on external links in e-mail and examine any Web site you are considering to run an application in great detail.”

Shipley points out phishing, which is the illegal practice of sending authentic-looking but fraudulent e-mails, continues to be problematical – it steals confidential information that can result in thousands of dollars in cost – from fraud or identity theft.

He says spyware is a major threat because it causes pop-ups, slow performance and security dangers.

“If you’re asked to run executables you don’t know and trust – don’t do it,” he warned. “For people with slow computers, lots of time it’s because their computer has been compromised.

He said the safest way to browse the Internet – any time you’re asked to install something – the common-sense rule is don’t.”
His simple prevention measures include:

•   Antivirus software, such as Avira, http://www.avira.com/.
•   Effective tools for spyware programs are Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, http://www.lavasoft.com, or Spybot - Search & Destroy, http://www.safer-networking.org/.
•   Firefox as a safe Web browser, http://www.mozilla.com.
•   Windows Firewall for protection from network attacks from malicious software, known as worms, for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer users, http://www.microsoft.com.
•   For your credit report copies, visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

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Solid Technology is a highly mobile, diminutive company in Portland, OR comprised of experienced professionals who are passionate about the Internet and its related technological benefits. The Solid Technology Approach has provided solid solutions in connectivity, hosting, website application development and data-management needs since 1997.

Solid Technology strategies also include:

• Web Site Enhancement Tools (Blogging, RSS Feeds and Social Networking, such as Twitter or Linked-In)
• Dealer and Specialty Product Locators
• Calculators
• Catalogue Shopping Carts
• Online Forms (Including Referral, Newsletter Signups or Product Info Request)
• Fast-streaming media