INTERNET-Upgrades-Viruses-more

[cbassn]

 Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010


                                 How to Disappear from Facebook and Twitter

By Sophia Yan

Need to disappear from Facebook or Twitter?
Now you can scrub yourself from the Internet with Web 2.0 Suicide Machine, a nifty service that purges your online presence from these all-consuming social networks.

Since its Dec. 19 launch,   Suicide Machine    has assisted more than 1,000 virtual deaths, severing more than 80,500 friendships on Facebook and removing some 276,000 tweets from Twitter.

Once you hand over your log-in details and click Commit, the program will methodically delete your info — Twitter tweets, MySpace contacts, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections — much like users could do manually.

What remains is a brittle cyberskeleton: a profile with no data. Users seem to love it. Testimonials range from joyous farewells ("Goodbye, cruel world!") to good-riddance denouements ("Thank you, microblogging. You are, in fact, totally useless"). Suicide Machine is so popular that thousands of people are waiting their turn for their own cyberoffing. "Our server is so busy handling the requests," says Suicide Machine co-creator Walter Langelaar. (See the 50 best websites of 2009.)

But be warned: As in life, resurrection is impossible. Going through the process means that your Web doppelgänger will croak for good. When it does, you'll receive a cybermemorial on the site. RIP, 2.0. We'll miss you.

What appeals to many of the site's boosters is the simplicity of the exit. When trying to close an online account, users are often asked to fill out a questionnaire. More important, their information and connections aren't then erased; they're just unpublished. By deleting all your data, Suicide Machine says, your private information is snuffed out on website servers. (See the top 10 Facebook stories of 2009.)

Not everyone thinks the proposition is so cool. The uptick in social suicides has put Facebook in a tizzy. In an e-mail to Suicide Machine's founders — Langelaar, 32; Gordan Savicic, 30; and Danya Vasiliev, 31 — Facebook demanded that they "cease this activity immediately," citing a violation of users' privacy. But the founders disagree, saying users voluntarily hand over their log-in details. Though Facebook blocked Suicide Machine from accessing its site earlier this month, Suicide Machine's creators, and the suicides, are continuing. "Compared to the more than 350 million users [on Facebook], we think deleting a few hundred is not very impressive," says Langelaar. "But they picked up on it as a potential threat." LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter have not yet publicly responded. (See a story on Foursquare's social-networking twist.)

Langelaar, who is based in Rotterdam, and Vasiliev, who works in Berlin, first met in 2002 during their undergraduate studies. The pair met Savicic while in art school in the Netherlands in 2007. They describe their work as "geek chic." Suicide Machine isn't the first collaborative new-media project for the trio, who also operate media lab Moddr and are members of the Rotterdam-based artist collective Worm. Inspiration for the Web 2.0–suicide idea took root when Worm threw a 2008 New Year's Eve party themed "Web 2.0 Suicide Night." Recalls Langelaar: "The idea was that everybody would be nice and analog."


 Click to Print Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1954631,00.html

[thirtyhz]

I noticed this yesterday.  It's built into the smiley set we're using.

Might need to dump a few of these.  We'll work out the kinks  over the next few days.
Don't forget to log weird things like this in the suggestions posting area. 

That's my "to do" list.

[slim2none]

Let the Poster beware!  Looks to me like there is no security on the internet at all  -  and no matter how much you might scrub up afterward, who knows who took that info somewhere before the scrub. 

This following article for example - AT&T, spidey sense, etc.

There was an article on AP on Jan 16, 2010  regarding the strange happenings of three Georgia women who logged on to Facebook, then found themselves on the accounts of total strangers with the ability to see all that stranger’s account info.  No link on this, sorry. 

 This all seems to hub around AT&T and some problems with routing, or so goes the explanation..   I am always highly suspicious of AT&T due to past experience  .AT&T, spidey sense, etc.

Be careful out there folks, it’s a virtual jungle!

[thirtyhz]

It's getting bad, be certain of it.  Seems like Facebook is getting more than it's share of grief.

Thanks for posting this one, s2n...

[slim2none]

YW thirty 
AT&T is despicable...a despicable legal 'person'.   hehe 

   

[cbassn]

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=71357&full_skip=1
 
 
 
                                McAfee Warns of Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure


By Jennifer LeClaire
January 28, 2010 2:32PM

       
McAfee reports that critical infrastructures face a significant risk from cyberattacks, with average downtime costing $6.3 million a day. CEO Dave DeWalt said attacks could cause economic disruptions and even loss of life. He warned that the recent attack on Google and others "was the most sophisticated threat seen in years." 
 


  On Thursday, McAfee shed light on the cost and impact of cyberattacks on critical infrastructures such as electrical grids, oil and gas production, telecommunications and transportation networks.

More than half of 600 IT security  executives from critical infrastructure  enterprises worldwide report large-scale attacks or infiltrations from organized crime, terrorists or nation-states.

The average estimated cost of downtime associated with a major incident was a jaw-dropping $6.3 million per day.

"In today's economic climate, it is imperative that organizations prepare for the instability that cyberattacks on critical infrastructure can cause," said Dave DeWalt, president and CEO of McAfee. "From public transportation to energy  to telecommunications, these are the systems we depend on every day.

 An attack on any of these industries could cause widespread economic disruptions, environmental disasters, loss of property, and even loss of life."

Cyberattacks on the Rise

The report, titled In the Crossfire: Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Cyberwar, warns of the rising risk of cyberattacks. Thirty-seven percent of IT executives said the vulnerability of their sector has increased over the past 12 months, and two-fifths expect a major security incident in their sector within the next year. Only 20 percent think their sector is safe from serious cyberattack over the next five years.

Many of the world's critical infrastructures were built for reliability and availability, McAfee noted,      not security.

Traditionally, these organizations have had little to no cyber protection, and have relied on guards, gates and guns. Today, however, McAfee said computer networks are interconnected with corporate IT networks and other infrastructure networks accessible from anywhere in the world.

"The recently identified Operation Aurora       was the largest and most sophisticated cyberattack targeted at specific corporations, but it could have just as easily targeted the world's critical infrastructure," DeWalt said. "The attack announced by Google and identified by McAfee was the most sophisticated threat  seen in years, making it a watershed moment in cybersecurity because of the targeted and coordinated nature of the attack."

The Role of Regulation

More than a third of respondents believe their sector is unprepared to deal with major attacks or stealthy infiltrations by high-level adversaries, while two-thirds of IT execs report the current economic climate has caused cutbacks in the security resources available.

More than half, or 55 percent, believe the laws in their country are inadequate to deter potential cyberattacks, with those based in Russia, Mexico and Brazil the most skeptical. Another 45 percent don't believe the authorities are capable of preventing or deterring attacks.

"Governance issues are at the center of any discussion of security for critical infrastructure," said Stewart Baker, a distinguished visiting fellow at CSIS and a lawyer at Steptoe and Johnson. "The relationships between the governments and private-sector organizations involved are complex, but it is essential that each have faith in the others' ability. The security industry will always strive to stay one step ahead, but in the absence of any technological silver bullet, regulation has a role to play in defending critical infrastructures around the world."
 

 

[cbassn]

http://www.online-bank.ca/online-banking/2010/02/04/online-banking-phishing-scam-warning-from-american-bankers-association/





    ONLINE BANKING PHISHING SCAM, WARNING FROM ABA.

[thirtyhz]

Well, don't know if this is intrigue or just an overwhelmed site....

Stop Forum Spam is toast, and has been down for two days.  Not the norm for this site...not at all.

I guess what's odd about the situation is that spammers have been VERY active of late.  I've heard from several people that the amount of spam circulating has increased dramatically over the last couple of weeks.  I know our site has been bombarded with spammers trying to obtain membership (bot activity included).

Wonder if they (SFS) got hit/hacked?

[thirtyhz]

Well, potential conspiracy nixed.

Apparently GoDaddy wiped out the DNS servers for StopForumSpam. 

They should be back up in a couple of days.

[cbassn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTkXgqK1l9A

"Cyber Wars - Aurora Project"   4 mins.  From CBS 60 Minutes TV program.

[cbassn]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=5408&tag=nl.e550


'Mozilla Firefox hit by Malware Add-Ons"

[cbassn]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100222/usa/us_it_computer_security_internet_ftc_1?printer=1



                        FTC warns firms, organizations of widespread data breach


Mon Feb 22, 4:35 PM
 


WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday it has notified nearly 100 companies and organizations of data breaches involving personal information about customers or employees.


The FTC declined to identify the companies or organizations involved, but said they were both "private and public entities, including schools and local governments."


The companies and organizations ranged in size from "businesses with as few as eight employees to publicly held corporations employing tens of thousands," the FTC said in a statement.


It said sensitive data about customers and employees had been shared from the computer networks of the companies and organizations and made available on Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks.


The information was accessible to "any users of those networks, who could use it to commit identity theft or fraud," the FTC said.


"Unfortunately, companies and institutions of all sizes are vulnerable to serious P2P-related breaches, placing consumers' sensitive information at risk," FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said.


"For example, we found health-related information, financial records, and drivers' license and social security numbers -- the kind of information that could lead to identity theft," Leibowitz said.


"Companies should take a hard look at their systems to ensure that there are no unauthorized P2P file-sharing programs and that authorized programs are properly configured and secure," he said.


"Just as important, companies that distribute P2P programs, for their part, should ensure that their software design does not contribute to inadvertent file sharing," he added.


P2P file-sharing software is used in a variety of ways including for playing games, making online telephone calls or sharing music, video and documents.


The FTC, in the notification letters to the companies and organizations, urged them to review their security practices "to ensure that they are reasonable, appropriate, and in compliance with the law.


     "It is your responsibility to protect such information from unauthorized access, including taking steps to control the use of P2P software on your own networks and those of your service providers," the letters stated.

[slim2none]

Malvertising...hoo boy. I'd like to have just a brief moment in time with the turds that think up this stuff!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20000898-245.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

March 22, 2010 12:57 PM PDT


This report from Avast presents evidence and charts to show how malvertising, (viruses, malware) has been inserted into ads on various sites:  Yahoo, Fox, Google, and has shown up on DoubleClick. New York Times and Drudge Report, and others.

[thirtyhz]

Geez....This might help to explain some of the issues I've had with my computer, my dsl, etc.

I'm getting truly annoyed with garbage online...you'd think with all of the time .gov spends online, they'd get off the rock and get to work cleaning some of this up.

Or, maybe it's just planned that way. 

The last three days have been pure grief with getting anything done online.   

[thirtyhz]

I think my computer is getting healthy again!

 

Geez...I can sign in AND write!  YAY!