We decided to point to a few basic tools and information which may help to make the Internet a little safer. Please note that you should use your own discretion before using any of these tools or facilities, as we do not recommend anything and any action on your part is entirely at your own risk.
INTERNET ADVISORY CENTERS
Occasionally an ‘Internet storm’ is breaking loose when criminals or opposing forces launch attacks against various assets of their rivals, not to mention Information or Cyber Warfare incidents. Allegedly the Internet was severely interrupted in southern China during June 2009 when a game provider spent thousands of dollars to hire botnets to shut down his rivals in a revenge attack.
Unscrupulous elements sometimes use a ‘Joe Job’ to discredit rivals, and regular Internet users may end up in the crossfire. A ‘Joe Job’ is a spamming technique that sends out unsolicited e-mails using spoofed sender data. The emails are aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the alleged sender, which is actually the victim, and recipients are encouraged to take action against the victim. The name ‘Joe Job’ originated from such a spam attack on Joe Doll when he removed a user from his website facility due to spamvertising through his site. Most e-mail ‘Joe Jobs’ are acts of revenge by individuals or organizations that also use spam for other purposes, and may involve an unscrupulous business trying to defame a competitor.
It may therefore be wise to keep an eye on some of the Internet Advisory Centers to avoid becoming a ‘casualty’ of such events, as it may provide additional opportunities for unethical elements to harvest email addresses, spread malware and engage in other illegal activities. Many honorable companies and individuals have lost money or were forced to shut down as result of deception and attacks via the Internet, and it will be wise not to end up at the wrong side of the ‘fence’.
INTERNET SECURITY TOOLS
Threat Resource Centre: The TrendMicro Threat Resource Centre is just one of many online facilities that indicate the level of Web, Malware and Spam threats on the Internet. It includes a facility to check if it is relative safe to visit a specific website according to TrendMicro, which is an Internet security and antivirus provider. Some of the dangerous websites operated by online criminals deploy scripts that use browser exploits to degrade computer security systems, and may eventually turn a computer into a zombie from where criminals can launch spam or attacks on other Internet facilities. The most innocent websites can be hacked by criminals who may then install some of their malicious scripts on these websites without the website owner even knowing it. The TrendMicro Threat Resource Center may help to identify risks and it is therefore included here.
Various other services list dangerous websites but please note that it does not necessary indicate that the website owner is a criminal if a website is identified as dangerous, it may be that a hacker have planted malicious code.
HouseCall: The TrendMicro HouseCall tool can be used to identify malicious software and exploits on computers, and performs a basic computer scan similar to antivirus software. Before using this tool, please note the DISCLAIMER below.
SANDBOXIE
Sandboxie may be handy as a potential security solution for Windows users who want to install and run programs in a virtual sandbox environment without writing to the hard drive. Installing software may otherwise affect computers when evaluating or experimenting with new software. Although it is always advisable to stay clear of dangerous websites, this software can also be used to protect any existing Internet browser when visiting unknown websites for added protection against dangerous scripts that may be installed.
Some of the most common ways to gain access to a computer or to install spyware or malware is to encourage people to install utility tools, taskbars and browser plug-ins. Please note that cookies are an essential part of the Internet and it may be impossible to use many facilities such as forums, social sites and many more without it, however it may be wise to clear cookies occasionally if you wish to disallow tracking of your Internet or shopping habits, especially before visiting e-commerce or banking facilities.
BE CAREFUL BEFORE TELLING OR INVITING A FRIEND
Many Internet sites have ‘Tell a Friend’ or ‘Invite a friend’ facilities, especially Social Sites and Content Managed Systems, which is perfectly normal. It however may become a serious problem when the e-mail address or contact details of friends are disclosed to a spam gang running a harvesting website. Some sites and applications may even request access to all contacts, which can be extremely dangerous if banking details, identity numbers and even passwords are stored in note fields. Surely family and friends will not appreciate their privacy being compromised to gangsters.
DECEPTION
Deceptive e-mails from spam gangs and criminals are very common and may include joe jobs, advance fee fraud, pharmaceutical offers, prize winnings, job offerings, scare tactics, billing notifications for something not ordered, fake bank notifications, and many more. The aim with many of these e-mails is to encourage people to do something like taking action against an innocent website owner, forwarding a bogus warnings, visiting a dangerous website, unsubscribing from a mailing list while actually confirming a guessed e-mail address, and many more. It is common sense in most cases just to ignore e-mails from unknown originators and not to click on links in strange messages. It is advisable to contact your e-mail service provider if spam messages get annoying. Alternatively a third-party spam filter service like Spamcop can be used.
Spamvertising and deceptive advertising is also common and aims to encourage people to visit websites of unethical owners. It is also common sense to think twice before acting on flashing ads, offers that are too good to be true, lucky visitor announcements and the like. It may be a good idea to add the IP addresses or URL’s of certain websites to your antivirus website blacklist. The Spamhaus 10 Worst ROKSO Spammers often indicate the domains used by spam gangs and advertised in their botnets. These sites should definitely be avoided.
INTERNET BLOGS
Many Internet users have their own blogs and frequently experience problems with spam comments. It may be wise to regard all links in blog comments as suspicious. Many unappreciated blog comments originate from spambots and can largely be avoided with appropriate filters or add-ons. Akismet is probably the most common used filter for WordPress blogging; however a gatekeeper like Bad Behavior may prevent spambots before scraping a blog to capture the admin e-mail address during registration.
GENERAL REMARKS
Firewalls, antivirus and other security software and systems should always be obtained from reputable suppliers to avoid fake or weak protection systems and Trojans. See previous posts concerning the distribution of fake antivirus software and malware.
This website is protected with a variety of automated and other security measures; however we cannot reveal the nature of our protection systems without jeopardizing it. Due to the nature of this site and our goal to inform Internet users about hazards, it can be expected that we may eventually receive attention from criminal elements. Our visitors should therefore use discretion if a tarnishing campaign should be started against us. We can assure visitors that we only have their best interests at heart and will do our best to protect ourselves and our visitors, we will never send spam, nor engage in profanity, nor will we distribute unwanted goods and charge for it.
Visitors are welcome to contact us via the site facilities or can join our forum to discuss any matter; however it was decided not to publish contact information that can be harvested by spambots.
DISCLAIMER
Please note that we do not have any affiliation or relationship with TrendMicro, Sandboxie or any of the other services mentioned above and do not recommend anything concerning their products or services, neither can we confirm that the information supplied via these external services are correct. The tools and information provided by TrendMicro and others are supplied as is, without any warranties or recommendations and is used at the sole discretion of those who decide to use it.
OTHER RESOURCES
Spamhaus Top Ten Statistics
Project Honeypot
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