Important Info Page

Important Information

Some interesting FACTS about FACEBOOK and TWITTER

Question: What do the American Civil Liberties Union, the Automobile Association, the BBC programs “Watchdog” and “Click”, computer magazines like “Computerworld”, the Electronic Frontier Foundation that defends free speech and privacy on the Internet, the Canadian Privacy Commission, Jewish Internet Defence Force (JIDF), the Archbishop of Westminster, New York Times, the insurance companies Halifax and Prudential, the anti-virus companies McAfee and Symantec, and telecom companies Vodafone and Virgin Media all have in common ?

Answer: They all criticize FACEBOOK

Why ? To find out, just click on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

And then there's Twitter, another social networking site like Facebook, which also shows how problematic such websites are. You can read about a recent hacker attack on Twitter at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8420233.stm . As this BBC report notes: “The attack is the latest in a series of security embarrassments that Twitter has suffered. In August, Twitter was offline for two hours as it struggled to cope with an attack aimed at a Russian blogger. In July many of Twitter's confidential business documents were stolen in a hack attack and published online. Many spammers and scammers are also targeting the service in a bid to hijack accounts and piggyback on the popularity of some Twitter users."

Last August both Twitter and Facebook were hacked. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8188201.stm

For a Computerworld report on another hacker attack on Facebook, see
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140626/Hundreds_of_FACEBOOK_groups_hijacked_

The tale goes on and on … You'll find another recent story at http://www.examiner.com/x-32162-LA-Business-Tech-Examiner~y2009m12d15-Computer-hacker-accesses-30-million-Facebook-MySpace-and-Orkut-usernames-and-passwords which will tell you how millions of Facebook usernames and passwords were hacked.

Most recently, on January 27 the Canadian Privacy Commissioner launched a second investigation of Facebook, as announced in the following press release:

Privacy Commissioner launches new Facebook probe

New complaint highlights dissatisfaction with privacy changes that the popular social networking site has been making in the wake of last summer’s in-depth investigation by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

OTTAWA, January 27, 2010 — In response to a new public complaint, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is once again launching an investigation into Facebook, the social networking site whose privacy policies and practices were the subject of a comprehensive probe by her Office last summer.
The complaint focuses on a tool introduced by Facebook in mid-December 2009, which required users to review their privacy settings. The complainant alleges that the new default settings would have made his information more readily available than the settings he had previously put in place.
“The individual’s complaint mirrors some of the concerns that our Office has heard and expressed to Facebook in recent months,” said Elizabeth Denham, the Assistant Privacy Commissioner who spearheaded the original investigation and follow-up.
“Some Facebook users are disappointed by certain changes being made to the site – changes that were supposed to strengthen their privacy and the protection of their personal information.”

Submitted by Computer Club member Iain Thomson

What is HTTP and HTTPS?

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transport Protocol – which is just another computer program language.

What is the difference between http and https

The main difference between http:// and httpS:// is it's all about keeping you secure.

HTTP is a computer program language and in this case it, HTTP, is a program language that manages information being passed back and forth between web servers and clients. The important thing is the letter S which makes the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.

The S stands for "Secure". If you visit a website or webpage, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following: http://.

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular “unsecured” language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.

This is why you never ever enter your credit card number in an http website! But if the web address begins with https:// which basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

You understand why this is so important, right?

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://.

If it doesn't, there's no way you're going to enter sensitive information like a credit card number.

Thanks to Eric Fellows for submitting the foregoing

(Editors note: Even with this info please be aware not all https sites are protected in this manner. Just a caution – simple rule of thumb, when entering personal information at any site – if you contacted the site then go ahead and enter the information when requested. On the other hand, if a web site has contacted you and is asking for personal information – DON’T!! Also, remember banks and financial institutions DO NOT ask for personal information by e-mail or to be e-mailed etc. Certainly DO NOT enter passwords for anyone. This same policy should be followed for VOICE or Telephone solicitations and/or purchases.)

The number of "spam" messages has tripled since June
and now accounts for as many as 9 out of 10 e-mails sent worldwide.
Before it was about showing off, now it's about ripping people off.

E-mail systems are overloaded or melting down trying to keep up with all the spam.

While "Trojan horse" programs that invade computers have been around for years, they are now more sophisticated, written by professionals rather than bored teenagers. Home computer users are at risk from e-mails that ask them to reveal their bank details, a practice known as "phishing".
The gangs send millions of e-mails, so they only need a fraction of people to reply to make a profit.
It will only end when people stop buying diet pills, herbal highs and sexual performance enhancers.
Spam costs firms up to $1,000 a year per employee in lost productivity and higher computing bills, according to research published last year.

* According to Internet lore, the term "spam" for repetitive unwanted e-mail refers to the Monty Python sketch set in a cafe where every dish comes with Spam, a tinned meat product, and a group of Vikings chants "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam."

* Experts say the rise in spam is largely due to one malicious computer program or worm called "Stration." This hijacks home computers and makes them send out e-mails.

* The most commonly used e-mail subject lines this week were: 1) Please finalize. 2) Thank you for request. 3) Christmas Special! 4) Dating, 15 new messages for you, Olga. 5) News. (Source: McAfee).

* "Pump and dump" share tipping e-mail scams are on the rise. Fraudsters buy cheap, little-known stocks and then hype them by e-mail. The share price rises when others invest. The conmen then sell their stake at a profit and the price falls.

* Experts urge computer users to install anti-virus programs AND KEEP THEM UPDATED;
Never respond to spam e-mails and never reveal financial details.

What do I do if I suspect I’ve received a fraudulent e-mail message?
There are currently several e-mail messages in circulation, claiming to be from financial or retail businesses, requesting customers verify their personal or financial information. Although these messages may look legitimate, they are actually attempts to collect information for the purpose of committing fraud. Some recent phishing scams claim to be from Royal Bank, eBay and SouthTrust Bank.

Tips on how to spot and avoid phishing scams:
If you do not know the source of the e-mail or if it looks suspicious in any way, do not open it, delete it
Do not provide your confidential and financial information over the Internet to unsolicited requests you receive.
Contact your bank or credit card company if you have unwittingly supplied personal or financial information, also report it to info@phonebusters.com and supply the full header information from the original e-mail.
After the fraud has been reported, please delete it from your inbox and deleted items folder.
Do not respond to an unexpected Web page or pop-up window appearing to be from a legitimate company requesting that you provide confidential information for a purpose that seems legitimate.
Do not click on a link contained in e-mail that you suspect may be fraudulent. The link could take you to a fake Web site or initiate the installation of harmful software to your computer.
If you submit confidential or financial information online, always ensure that the Web site you are communicating with is secure. Check for a security symbol such as a closed padlock in your browser screen and the URL in the browser address bar should start with "https:" rather than just "http".
Check the phishing scam for misspelled words.

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