How to Shop Safely Online

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Pournelle
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Summer Heat ◽  
Internet Explorer ◽  
Security Standards ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Secure Electronic Transaction

Whether you’re a compulsive gadget freak, an eBay addict, or a restrained occasional buyer, the Internet is a shopper’s paradise—open 24/7, offering unlimited choices, and giving us the luxury of shopping—through sleet and snow or summer heat—from our own homes. But at no time have caveats been more important for emptors than now. Devious and ingenious scam artists are just waiting to pounce on anyone who doesn’t take appropriate precautions. A few sound practices can help assure that you get what you pay for, get it on time, and don’t lose your shirt in the bargain. 1. Use a secure browser—Believe it or not, you can’t take browsers for granted. Be sure that you have the latest version of yours, including the latest updates and security patches, and that you’ve set your browser to notify you when you are entering or leaving a secure site. Be sure as well that it complies, as major browsers do (e.g., Netscape and Internet Explorer), with common industry security standards, like SSL and SET technology (see 2 just below). 2. Check out your vendor—Try to use vendors you’re familiar with. Many well-known bricks-and-mortar stores are now “clicks-and-mortar” operations, with both physical stores and sites on the Internet. If you must buy from a place you don’t know, check the site’s security. A secure site will use VeriSign’s Secure Sockets Layer technology (SSL), displaying a locked padlock at the bottom of the screen, Secure Electronic Transaction technology (SET), which shows an unbroken key, or a VeriSign logo indicating that you are at a secure Site. These are not just decorative icons. They are intended to ensure that all personal information you submit to the site will be scrambled en route through the ether and decrypted only when it reaches the licensed merchant. However, this is just the first step. Particularly if you clicked on an ad or a URL sent to you in an e-mail, and therefore did not type the URL in the address bar yourself, you should verify the security certificate (see How to Protect yourself from Frauds, Scams, and Identity Theft, p. 130).

scholarly journals Cyberstalking victimization

Temida ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-162
Author(s):  
Vida Vilic
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Electronic Communication ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
Chat Rooms ◽  
Online Fraud ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Personal Photos ◽  
E Mail

Global social networks contributed to the creation of new, inconspicuous, technically perfect shape of criminality which is hard to suppress because of its intangible characteristics. The most common forms of virtual communications? abuse are: cyberstalking and harassment, identity theft, online fraud, manipulation and misuse of personal information and personal photos, monitoring e-mail accounts and spamming, interception and recording of chat rooms. Cyberstalking is defined as persistent and targeted harassment of an individual by using electronic communication. The victim becomes insecure, frightened, intimidated and does not figure out the best reaction which will terminate the harassment. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance and necessity of studying cyberstalking and to point out its forms in order to find the best ways to prevent this negative social phenomenon. Basic topics that will be analyzed in this paper are the various definitions of cyberstalking, forms of cyberstalking, and the most important characteristics of victims and perpetators.

SPIT

2009 ◽  
pp. 1339-1344
Author(s):  
Kevin Curran
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
Internet Telephony ◽  
Urban Legends ◽  
The People ◽  
Junk Mail ◽  
Spam Filters ◽  
New Type ◽  
Monty Python ◽  
E Mail

Spam in the computer does not simply mean ads. Spam is any message, article, or ad that repeats itself an unacceptable number of times so that it causes annoyance. The content of the spam is of no importance. It could contain your simple “Make Money Fast” hyperlink or a beautiful piece of poetry, but if the message is continuously repeated it becomes spam. The term spam is thought to have been taken from a famous Monty Python sketch. In that sketch spam came with everything the people ordered and the waitress would be constantly saying the word spam. Therefore the meaning of spam is something that repeats itself causing much anger or annoyance. Spam can be categorized as follows: • Junk mail: Mass mailings from legitimate businesses that is unwanted. • Noncommercial spam: Mass mailings of unsolicited messages without an apparent commercial motive including chain letters, urban legends, and joke collections. • Offensive and pornographic spam: Mass mailings of “adult” advertisements or pornographic pictures. • Spam scams: Mass mailings of fraudulent messages or those designed to con people out of personal information for the purpose of identity theft and other criminal acts. • Virus spam: Mass mailings that contain viruses, Trojans, malicious scripts, and so forth. Spoofing (Schwartz & Garfinkel, 1998) is a technique often used by spammers to make them harder to trace. Trojan viruses embedded in e-mail messages also employ spoofing techniques to ensure the source of the message is more difficult to locate (Ishibashi, Yamai, Abe, & Matsuura, 2003). Spam filters and virus scanners can only eliminate a certain amount of spam and also risk catching legitimate e-mails. As the SoBig virus has demonstrated, virus scanners themselves actually add to the e-mail traffic through notification and bounceback messages. SMTP is flawed in that it allows these e-mail headers to be faked, and does not allow for the sender to be authenticated as the “real” sender of the message (Geer, 2004). This article looks at a new type of spam known as spam over Internet telephony (SPIT).

How to Protect Yourself from Hoaxes, Frauds, and Identity Theft

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Pournelle
Keyword(s):  
Cell Phones ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
The Internet ◽  
False Information ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
Common Letter ◽  
Bill Gates ◽  
Wrong Number ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Endless Variety

There are two basic categories of Internet lies: frauds, where the object is to get your money, and hoaxes, where the primary object is just to pull your chain, but there can be far-reaching consequences as well. Hoaxes give the perpetrators ego gratification as they watch their creation spread throughout the Internet. Frauds may give the perpetrators your life savings, and give you months—maybe years—of hassle as you try to repair your credit record and retrieve your very identity. Hoaxes—Hoaxes are spread by e-mail and come in an endless variety of guises. There are, for example, fake virus warnings, chain letters promising riches if you follow their instructions (or threatening dire consequences if you don’t); urban myths about women in peril, dogs in microwaves, and hypodermic needles on theater seats; letters that tug at your heart strings or appeal to your greedy side; Internet petitions (often based on false information); and letters claiming that Bill Gates wants to give you money. Yeah, right. Even the most “innocent” hoaxes are harmful. At the very least, they take up your time, and they try to get you to forward them to other people as well. If you forward a letter to just 40 people, and each of them does the same, and so on, then after just four steps, more than two and a half million copies will have been sent out. That’s a lot of wasted time and wasted bandwidth. These letters can also contain dangerous misinformation and bad advice. One example is a common letter advising women not to stop when pulled over by the highway patrol, but instead to dial #77 on their cell phones to talk to the police—a wrong number in 48 of the 50 states! Perhaps the most common example is the virus hoax—typically a letter forwarded by someone you know warning you that if you find a certain file on your computer it means you are infected with a virus.

E-Technology Challenges to Information Privacy

2011 ◽  
pp. 1438-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Szewczak
Keyword(s):  
United States Of America ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Information Privacy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
The World ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
E Mail

The collection of personal information by electronic technology (e-technology) and the possibility of misuse of that information are primary reasons why people limit their use of the Internet and are even limiting the success of e-commerce (Szewczak, 2004). Various uses of e-technology that collect and/or disseminate personal information include corporate and government databases, e-mail, wireless communications, clickstream tracking, and PC software. The main challenge to personal information privacy is the surreptitious monitoring of user behavior on the Internet without the user’s consent and the possible misuse of the collected information resulting in financial and personal harm to the user. Our focus is primarily on Internet use in the United States of America, though clearly e-technology is global in nature and poses challenges and issues for societies around the world.

Personal Information Privacy and Internet Technology

2005 ◽  
pp. 2272-2276
Author(s):  
Edward J. Szewczak
Keyword(s):  
United States Of America ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Information Privacy ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
E Mail

Concerns about the collection of personal information by Internet technology and the possibility of misuse of that information are a primary reason why people limit their use of the Internet and are even limiting the success of e-commerce (Szewczak, 2004). Various uses of technology that collect and/or disseminate personal information include corporate and government databases, e-mail, wireless communications, clickstream tracking, hardware and software watermarks, and biometric devices. The main challenge to personal information privacy is the surreptitious monitoring of user behavior on the Internet without the user’s consent and the possible misuse of the collected information resulting in financial and personal harm to the user. Our focus is primarily on Internet use in the United States of America, though clearly the technology is global in nature and poses challenges and issues for societies around the world.

Characteristics, Limitations, and Potential of Advergames

2009 ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calin Gurau
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Viral Marketing ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Large Audience ◽  
Internet Platform ◽  
E Mail

Advergames can be defined as online games that incorporate marketing content. Initially, many companies have placed their brands or logos in the virtual environment of computer games launched by specialised gaming firms. However, this form of advergaming is rather static and ineffective, since the player is concentrated on the task required by the game and might not acknowledge the brand image displayed in the background. This limitation has encouraged the firms to create their own advergames, which are developed around a theme or a character directly related with their products and/or brands. In order to ensure a large diffusion of these games, they were made freely available on the Internet. The facilities offered by the Internet platform have increased the interactiveness of the game, and have added a viral marketing dimension. Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. The use of advergames corresponds well to a strategy of viral marketing, which incorporates the following principles: 1. Give away products or services 2. Provide for effortless transfer to others of these products/services 3. Scale easily from a small to a very large audience 4. Exploit common customer motivations and behaviours 5. Utilise existing communication networks to transfer the products/services, or messages about them 6. Take advantage of others’ resources (existing users/customers) The interest in advergames has substantially increased in the last 5 years because of its perceived advantages (FreshGames, 2002; WebResource, 2004): • Low-cost marketing in comparison with the traditional advertising channels, such as TV and radio • A captured audience that can transmit valuable personal information about its demographic profile, behaviour, needs, attitudes, and preferences • Customer retention: the average time spent in an advergame is 7 to 30 minutes, which cannot be reached in the case of a classical TV advertisement • Viral marketing: 81% of the players will e-mail their friends to try a good game All these data demonstrate the huge potential of advergames (Rodgers, 2004). However, despite the hype created by this new advertising method, most of the information describing or debating advergames is professionally-oriented, often written in an advertising style (DeCollibus, 2002; Hartsock, 00 ; Intrapromote, 2004). Very few academic studies have been initiated to investigate the characteristics of advergames, and their influence on consumers’ perceptions and behaviour (Hernandez, Chapa, Minor, Maldonaldo, & Barranzuela, 2004; Nelson, 2002). This article attempts to identify, based on the existent professional literature, the specific characteristics of an efficient advergame, and to verify the existence of these characteristics in 70 advergames that are active online.

scholarly journals “I Just Bought a Flat Screen T.V. in Kolkata?” Application of Laws for International Outsourcing Related Identity Theft

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Grant
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Consumer Privacy ◽  
Flat Screen ◽  
Service Jobs ◽  
Related Identity ◽  
Do So

Because the internet makes it economical to do so, many American companies have sent their customer service jobs overseas. Workers in these outsourced jobs often have access to personal financial information of American citizens. Recent identity thefts, both in America and abroad, highlight the need for laws mandating tighter security by the companies that hold and trade personal information. This paper explores American legislation attempting to deal with identity theft crime as well as parallel laws in India, where many of the outsourced jobs are located. Furthermore, this paper suggests that any federal legislation ought not to preempt state law, as California law is currently protecting consumer privacy stronger than proposed legislation would.

Societal Safety and Preservation in the Digital Era

2020 ◽  
pp. 732-748
Author(s):  
Dylas Gudoshava
Keyword(s):  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Credit Card ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Related Literature ◽  
Internet Privacy ◽  
Privacy Threats ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
E Mail

This article is a presentation of a study dealing with internet privacy. It also includes an investigation of internet privacy threats. These include but are not limited to personal information being sold to third parties without permission, visits to websites secretly tracked, credit card theft, e-mail addresses and other personal information captured for marketing or other purposes without permission, as well as pop ups. All of these are one of many consequences of bad privacy protection. The article will also examine the differences between the developed and the developing countries' internet utilisation on issues to do with fundamental privacy protection. Different methods will be used to complete this article, and these include studies of related literature and articles. Privacy violations on the internet are a significant problem, and the internet users have a right to an adequate privacy protection.

Fraud and Identity Theft Issues

2012 ◽  
pp. 245-260
Author(s):  
Ranaganayakulu Dhanalakshmi ◽  
Chenniappan Chellappan
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Credit Card ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Identity Theft ◽  
Phishing Attacks ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Cross Site

Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. In spite of the different possible attacks discussed in later chapters, this chapter can focus on phishing attacks – a form of indirect attacks– such as an act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. Phishing attacks use ‘spoofed’ e-mails and fraudulent websites designed to fool recipients into divulging personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames and passwords, social security numbers, et cetera. The vulnerabilities on various phishing methods such as domain name spoofing, URL obfuscation, susceptive e-mails, spoofed DNS and IP addresses, and cross site scripting are analyzed, and the chapter concludes that an integrated approach is required to mitigate phishing attacks.

A hitchhiker’s guide to microscopy and microanalysis using telecommunications, e-mail, and the Internet

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 390-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nestor J. Zaluzec
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Information Superhighway ◽  
The World ◽  
Exchange Information ◽  
On Line ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Software And Hardware ◽  
Communication Software ◽  
Basic Ideas ◽  
E Mail

The Information SuperHighway, Email, The Internet, FTP, BBS, Modems, : all buzz words which are becoming more and more routine in our daily life. Confusing terminology? Hopefully it won't be in a few minutes, all you need is to have a handle on a few basic concepts and terms and you will be on-line with the rest of the "telecommunication experts". These terms all refer to some type or aspect of tools associated with a range of computer-based communication software and hardware. They are in fact far less complex than the instruments we use on a day to day basis as microscopist's and microanalyst's. The key is for each of us to know what each is and how to make use of the wealth of information which they can make available to us for the asking. Basically all of these items relate to mechanisms and protocols by which we as scientists can easily exchange information rapidly and efficiently to colleagues in the office down the hall, or half-way around the world using computers and various communications media. The purpose of this tutorial/paper is to outline and demonstrate the basic ideas of some of the major information systems available to all of us today. For the sake of simplicity we will break this presentation down into two distinct (but as we shall see later connected) areas: telecommunications over conventional phone lines, and telecommunications by computer networks. Live tutorial/demonstrations of both procedures will be presented in the Computer Workshop/Software Exchange during the course of the meeting.

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