The Internet is an incredible tool that enables us to communicate with individuals from across the globe, research all sort of information and even shop. In the past few years, booking hotel accommodation online has become popular due to the internet’s convenience i.e. it is an extremely effective way to search for hotel accommodation, compare packages and rates of different hotels and finally, to actually book hotel accommodation. Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad. If the internet expanded the hotel’s market reach to include global travelers then hackers (criminals), use the internet to gain unauthorized access to your computer and commit fraud and damage your earning potential and hotel reputation.

As an hotelier with a hotel website, you accept reservations and collect payments directly online, and the continuity of your business depends upon your ability to keep your guest’s personal and credit card information safe. To prevent hackers from breaking into your computer systems, you need to install a firewall, ensure sensitive information is encrypted and maintain proper

security (restrict access with passwords) in the office. You can achieve this by taking the following steps:

1.Data Encryption: Use Secure Sockets Layer certifications to secure your guest’s information. A SSL certificate encrypts personal data and lessens the risk of having your private data intercepted by third parties. This will help reassure guests of the safety of their credit card information.

2.Firewalls: Credit card details can be safely sent with SSL, but once stored on the server they are vulnerable to outsiders hacking into the server and accompanying network. A firewall (software or hardware) can protect the server and network from attack by viruses and hackers. So, in addition to signing up for a SSL certification, you need to install a firewall to secure all data stored on your server.

3.Security Protocols: Implement security protocols such as MasterCard Secure Code and Verified by Visa to provide stronger identification for online payments and enhance security for card transactions over the internet.

4.PCI Compliance: The latest security measure is Payment Card Industry Data Security Compliance Certification. By implementing PCI DSS version 1.1, set of comprehensive requirements, you enhance the payment account data security.

To summarize, hackers are a threat to business and you need to take appropriate steps to prevent hackers ruining your hotel’s brand name and image. By implementing the steps listed above, you can prevent your business from becoming a target of hackers.

Comcast Hacked!

The online world is buzzing with news that Comcast, America’s second biggest Internet Service Provider was hacked as service came to a standstill.

Many people, when trying to log on to Comcast found a blank white screen with bold pink letters saying:

KRYOGENIKS EBK and DEFIANT RoXed COMCAST

sHouTz To VIRUS Warlock elul21 coll1er seven and Slacker

Was Comcast just a big target for a hack or was this a BitTorrent revenge attack as some folks have speculated?

It is well known that Comcast has annoyed a large portion of its customer base by going as far as banning BitTorrent traffic and curtailing the use of the popular Peer-2-Peer networks and that this could be a form of revenge by the hackers.

There is much speculation about who the culprits are as the prank is said to have been perpetrated by two young hackers eager to make a name for themselves. There are also rumors circulating that the group responsible for the hack previously targeted Justin Timberlake and Hilary Duff, though this may only be speculation.

There were concerns that the hackers may have accessed customer’s email accounts but this doesn’t appear to have happened, and it would seem that the motivations of the hackers was not for any monetary gain but rather as a kind of revenge tactic.

This highlights the apparent ease with which hackers and senders of viruses can disrupt services. Think about it – if America’s second biggest ISP is at risk then what does that mean for you and I?

Protect yourself

The internet is like the wild wild west of the 1800's. It is an international community and there is not a lot of international laws to govern the internet. Being the new frontier, many people are out looking to scam users for fame or monetary gain. Since the internet is a global community it allows international scammers to scam you with basically no repercussions. We've all heard of the Nigerian scam emails.

Identity protection is critical

Think about all the sensitive information that passes on the computer. I use the internet to do just about everything.

• Pay my bills
• Handle my bank accounts
• Write sensitive emails
• Purchase products
• Store valuable documents and pictures

Now I'm fairly certain that you have probably only 1-2 passwords you use with all your online accounts. Think about the havoc that one can do to you if your password gets out. There is malicious software called keyloggers that keeps track of everything you type on your keyboard and sends that information to a scammer. This can be credit card information, social security numbers, personal information, logins, and passwords. This is how identity fraud happens in addition to other methods. Another common tactic is called phishing, where a user is tricked via a link, email, or virus to a website that looks legitimate. One tactic is to clone a website like citibank.com which is easy to do and then have unsuspecting users enter personal information which gets transmitter to the scammer.

4 Tips to protect my computer from viruses

How to protect my computer from viruses, spyware, and hackers. Here are some tips to use.

1. Avoid illegal sites- If possibly, avoid going to shady sites. Sites that offer free stuff, illegal downloads, and hacker sites often have hidden agendas. Usually they want to make money off of you. Why else would they take the time to put up stuff for free and pay for its costs.
2. Use OpenDNS- DNS is the Domain Name System and when you type in Google.com into your browser, DNS is the service that converts Google.com to a unique IP address to locate Google servers. OpenDNS is a completely free service that blocks web addresses that are potentially harmful. Potentially mistyping a web address could potentially take you to a harmful site, but not with OpenDNS. Visit http://opendns.com to find out how to use their free service and visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305553 to find out how to set your DNS in windows
3. User SiteAdvisor plugin – SiteAdvisor is a plugin for your web browser and informs you of a website's reputation. It can help you from going to harmful websites
4. Get internet security software- Probably the most important thing and your last line of defense is internet security software. Internet security software is a program which usually bundles antivirus, antispyware, firewall, and other security features to help prevent malicious activity happening on your computer.

A website is a platform that enables you to sell your products and services worldwide. It attracts customers but only converts your visitors into your customer if it makes them feel safe on your website. To win their trust, you have to provide them a platform where they can buy whatever they want without worrying about their precious data. No website is 100% secure there are so many hackers are always ready to attack your website. Here are some simple and useful tips you can use to prevent your website from being hacked. Scroll down to have a look.

Keep Software Up To Date: One of the simplest ways to prevent your website from being hacked is by keeping your software up to date. This is because CMS like WordPress, Joomla, PHP, Drupal etc., update their software on a regular basis, which creates an extra layer of security around your website and keeps it protected.

Use Secured Password: Another tip that helps you to prevent your website from being hacked is pick a tough and hard to guess password. It is the first thing that hackers try to break, so, they can enter your website and prevent this situation. It is always good to use safe and secure passwords, which are hard to break and change them shortly.

Secure Your Admin Login: Make sure the admin panel of your website is safe and secure, so, no one can dare to enter it. For this, you should never use your admin name as a username because it is easy to guess and simple to break. So, you should secure your admin login by choosing a tricky admin name and password to protect your website from a hacker.

Use Trusted Plugins: You can prevent your website from being hacked by using trusted plugins. Yes, you heard it right. There are so many plugins that developers use to add functionality to your website and choosing among the best can help you to keep your website secured from any malicious attack.

Backup: Last but not the least way you can save your website from being hacked is by making a backup of your overall website. It gives you assurance that your data is secure and you can change it whenever you need.

Overall, these are some simple and useful ways you can pick to save your website from being hacked. So, what are you waiting for? Before your customer move to your competitor give them a high-level of security that easily wins their trust and provides them best shopping experience ever.

Having a secure network is vital for the success of your company. The last thing your business needs is a breach of security. Sensitive data, customer information and company documents could be exposed to the wrong people if a network is vulnerable. Training your employees in the art of protecting the company network will prevent future attacks.

Employees Can Spot Threads Much Faster

Employees who understand the signs of a potential threat can take actions to prevent any problems. Hackers may leave clues about how and where they attack. Looking for those signs can help your security team initiate security protocol ahead of time. Your business will always be vulnerable if it can not adjust to what hackers are doing.

The Company Can Come Up With An Overall Safety Plan

Management, IT staff and other employees should come up with a plan to stop hacking attempts. Having a policy will help the company establish uniform guidelines for employees to abide by. This will allow for the proper training of anyone who works for your company. Employees will learn basic data security, IT staff can implement a secure network while management can exceed the entire operation.

Any Communication Can Be Seen If Left Unprotected

Emails, IM sessions and any other Internet activity can be monitored if left unprotected. Starting a cyber-security program will stop employees from being lazy with their communications. They will know how to encrypt emails, keep transaction information secure and keep personal documents protected. Even a simple action such as using a privacy screen on your computer can thwart a potential hacker. Anyone could potentially use information left on your computer to plan an attack on the company network.

Keeping Tabs On Employee Activities Could Root Out A Mole

Your business may have an employee who is hacking into the network. Keeping your company to keep track of employee activity can make it easy to stop an inside job. ID numbers should be given to all employees who need to get on the company network. This is a small step that can stop a big break of trust and security.

Any action that makes your company a more secure company should be undertaken. Keeping your Internet servers secure is even more important in the 21st century business world. Other companies will not want to share information with your business if it can not be kept safe. Customers will not want to do business with a company that exposes their information to others. Your own employees may not take your company seriously if it does not take safety seriously.

You can have the best security software and hardware deployed in your home and office, but if someone can easily guess your passwords, you've left the worst possible hole open to hackers.

Strong passwords should be the norm. Too many people do not take password selection to heart and leave themselves open to the easiest method that hackers use to compromise your data. You may laugh when you read that numerous people use the word password, as their account password. If you are one of those people that do use "password", I'm sorry, but keep reading. Another common one used is the series of numbers: 123456. A lot of sites that do not require strong passwords will at least require six characters, so that's the reason for some to lazily pick the six number sequences.

Systems are broken into hackers that easily guess some passwords and for others, they will run password cracking software. A password cracking program will run through a dictionary, common password phrases, and birth date combinations. Once a password is cracked, you are vulnerable to loss of privacy, identity and financial theft. Your computer could have been used by the hacker to victimize other computers.

Here are some tips for better password use.

1. The longer the password the better. You may worry about remembering a long password but there is a trick that you can use. Try to create phrase that you will easily remember and use the first letter from the phrase. If you throw in some numbers, or characters, you will really have boosted the strength. Here's one example of that technique. Say you love your mom's cooking and who does not? "I love my mom's cooking no matter what she makes!" Ilmmcnmwsm! If you capitalize the letter I, followed by lower case letters and throw an exclamation on the end, you've built a pretty hard to crack password.

2. Do not use text found in the dictionary. A password cracker program can run through millions of words in seconds. I have seen them work, as part of my computer forensics training. Some password cracking programs are freely available on the internet and others are sold, that can crack specific programs.

3. I know you may not want to, but change your passwords on a regular basis. Some recommend that you do so every two to three months. Set a reminder on your calendar program.

4. If a hacker gets sent to a password reset link, then they will guess the answers to your security phrases. If you pick simple ones, then you have just made the hackers task a little easier. It was reported that the Vice President nominee, Sarah Palin's email was hacked, because the hacker had done some research on her. The report said that he knew her zip code, birthday, and where she met her husband.

There are some software tools and hardware devices that can help you secure you passwords. I will write about some of those in a future article. For now, use the best passwords you can and make them strong.

Many years ago, I think it was back in the year 2000 – I had come up with a scheme to bait red hatter hackers with decoy systems in government, military and corporate facilities. Making the hackers think they've gotten into the system, then simply watch where they go, what they do, and how they do it. No, I'm severely the first person to consider this, using decoys in warfare has been talked about since the days of Sun Tzu. This is just taking a modern day spin on the topic. Trust me when I tell you this has been done in human wars or thousands of years in various forms.

Having the operational intelligence of knowing where a foreign hacking Army is trying to exploit your IT systems is of extreme value. At the Las Vegas hacker convention in 2013 there was a speech given by a gentleman who reiterated something that a governor had said at the national Governors' convention, he explained that it may be impossible to 100% protect all of our IT data and information, but if we could protect 99% of it we'd be well on our way to eliminate most all of the hacking exploits.

It would make the cost of hacking extremely expensive for foreign hacking armies, and they would not be able to use their "B-game players" meaning they would have to pay to hire and train the best, and there are a limited number of people with the intelligence to pull off hacking at that highest level – that to me makes a lot of sense, but let's talk about this further anyway?

You see, there was an interesting article in MIT Technology News on August 2, 2013 titled; "Chinese Hacking Team Caught Taking Over Decoy Water Plant – A hacking group accused of being operated by the Chinese army now seems to be going after industrial control systems," by Tom Simonite.

It turns out this strategy works extremely well, and either China has to come clean, up its game, or deal with the consequences. Knowing that their hackers might be watched will cause them to tread more carefully, so slowing them down, and it will also mean that they will not want any of their less than super genius IQ level hackers involved in the process.

When a foreign Army starts messing around with our citizens' most valuable resources, infrastructure, water supplies, energy plants, or anything as serious as that – that to me is an act of war. I do not think China wants to go there, and yes, they have been put on notice. Please consider all this and think on it.

What is Computer Hacking?

Computer hacking is the practice of making malicious modifications to a program in order to achieve a goal outside the original purpose of the creator. A person who engages into these activities is called a Hacker, who is usually an expert programmer who regards hacking as an art and as a way to apply their skills in real life situations. But other hackers have far more dangerous objectives than just to demonstrate their skills, like stealing personal information, gaining unauthorized access, etc.

Who are Hackers?

Hacking has been a serious problem. Hacking has gained tremendous development after the introduction of the internet because of the ease of access to systems around the world which this technology provides. With the increasing use of the internet, hacking has also become a more serious issue in recent times. Hackers are usually young individuals in the field of programming but there are also some old sheep. Also the easy access to any type of information has helped expand expertise in the field of hacking. Now it does not require an expert programmer to hack a computer of private network. Just a nice guiding article can turn a kid into an expert hacker.

Threats of Hacking

Hackers have become so expert that even giant software associates like Microsoft and Nintendo are not safe from this misery, causing losses of millions of dollars every year. The goals are not limited to the giants, private users are also greatly affected by this threat. The theft of personal information, credit destruction, and unauthorized access to private information are only some of the threats that hacking pose to private users.

How to protect yourself against Hacking

Hacking is a complex issue but the process of to protect yourself from hacking is quite simple. Simple precautions can mean the difference between a full proof secure system and a vulnerable network. Follow these simple tips to save yourself from hackers.

Hackers are always searching for loose ends in your security. So its important to pay attention to all little things in order to have a full proof security for your data and computer. Virus and Spyware are true Hacker's tools. Weakening your security and secretly sending your private information in wrong hands. The best way to beat them is to use anti virus and anti spyware software. It is also important to use updated versions of security software and OS as they loses efficiency with time. Another good strategy is to use a firewall to stop unauthorized access to your system. And it is also important to be careful when surfing the internet and using emails. These simple tricks can mean the difference. And remember, Care is Better Than Cure.

Gmail security – Methods to protect Gmail

Gmail is regarded as the popular internet based E-mail platform on the planet, actually it’s far more than merely an Email account. Lots of people utilize the extra features that come with Gmail, just like Google Drive, YouTube, The calendar and so on. What if a hacker gains entry to your Gmail account? He would gain access to your E-mails, your documents on Drive, your calendar meetings and more. If the hacker gets access to our Gmail account he could potentially hack every account we have on the web. Here’s a good example of how hackers break into a PayPal accounts once they hacked your Gmail. All they will is go over your emails, discover what companies you’re registered to, in this example PayPal. Then they go over to PayPal.com click “I forgot my password”, some sites inquire some silly queries which can be quite simple for the hacker to discover, such as “What was the name of your high school”, and so the site just sends the new password to your email account – Game over – the account has been hacked. In this article we’ll target Gmail security and just how Google helps us accomplish this using uncomplicated features that they’ve developed.

A lot of our most crucial private information is in our Gmail and in the era of adware and spyware, keyloggers and phishing sites, using only your password to protect our precious details may not be sufficient. Gmail is often a constant target for attackers because it wins hackers a considerable source of income, thankfully Google is aware about that. That’s why Google built a number of things to assist all of us maximize our Gmail security, lets examine the those mechanisms.

Two-step verification

At times known as Multi Factor Authentication, this technique adds a level of protection to your account. As soon as you enable this feature, you’ll receive a SMS message which has a confirmation code every time you sign in. Then Gmail asks for this code in the sign on process. The two step verification guarantees that you have 2 things so that you can sign in: Some thing you know (The password) and something you have (Your cellular phone). You can tell Gmail to trust your computer for Thirty days, so you won’t be sent a Text message whenever you login. Two-step verification is a well known principle in the Information Security community and its considered one of the ideal methods to enhance security.

I strongly recommend making use of 2SV, it increases your security by many factors and it’s easy to enable.

If you want to find out more on it go here http://www.google.com/landing/2step/?utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-sk&utm_medium=ha#tab=why-you-need-it

Notifications

This feature helps you stay in tune with the security of your account. The notification option, should you enable it, will alert you on the phone or by E-mail (A back up Email address you have) in case your security password has been altered, or possibly a suspicious sign on has been attempted.This really is helpful because if a hacker manages to hack your account and to change the password, you may quickly take action and reconfigure your other web accounts, like PayPal and Facebook to send mail to your backup Email rather than your Gmail account. This will likely cut the connection between the compromised Gmail account and your other website accounts.This course of action will contain the hacker’s access and reduce the danger.

Connected applications and Sites

Gmail can communicate with other web sites and you may choose to give these sites access to your Gmail account, a few hackers make use of this option in order to get access to unsuspecting victims’ accounts. You ought to examine this list of connected applications and site and make sure that you trust each of the websites which are listed, Should you don’t then remove them.

Recover

Lastly if you’re concerned about losing the important data that’s on your account you could back up things by downloading it to your computer. Sadly Google only supports back up for Buzz, Contacts, Drive, Reader and YouTube and not the inbox messages themselves.

Here’s an excellent video clip by Google that discusses a few of the things we’ve discussed here in this article http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMabEyrtPRg

I’m pleased you’re taking an initiative towards finding out how to accomplish Gmail security and I hope you’ll carry out what you have learned here.

Cyber ​​attacks and cyber terrorism have disrupted many US government computer systems. These hackers, many of them "patriotic hackers" from China have also hit many of the United States' largest corporations. At the North Pole, a US territory, they also hit Santa Claus Corporation. But this time they stub the Christmas "wish lists" of 1.1 billion children.

Santa Claus Corporation has been busy notifying all the children that their private information has been jeopardized by hackers. The Federal Trade Commission is suing the company for preventing identity thieves to steal this data. There may also be violations of HIPPA because often handicapped or physically challenged children tell Santa Claus of their ailments in letters when they send in their Christmas wish lists.

Because of all the negative publicity this has caused Santa Claus Corporation a huge problem. It may even cut down in the number of orders this year, which are already down by 20% due to the global economic financial meltdown and crisis. If things get much worse, it could very much hurt the corporation's stock, which is already down 40% from October of 2008.

Mr. Claus rated; "I'm not sure what the hackers want with all these Christmas wish-lists, but if they'd like to provide the toys for all the children, which personal information they put, then be my guest. those toys delivered by December 25th. And do not forget the Hanukkah list either, those are due even sooner, as our Corporation now has the contract for Hanukkah as well. "

Parents, Santa, and federal authorities are fit to be tied over this hacking incident.