How can you protect yourself from becoming a victim of cyber crime?

To prevent criminals from reaching your personal computer it is important to have a good antivirus protection program in place as well as a firewall. Ensure you use spyware programs and of course that you keep up on all the security updates for these programs as well.

Protect your personal information. Although many now have pictures and their entire lives posted on blogs and other sites, they are playing in dangerous waters. Criminals can locate everything about you from something as simple as your email address. So, simply put, minimize the information you provide online. Don't give out vital information like your Social Security Number or anything else unless you trust the source and their use for that information.

When shopping online, always ensure that you are using secure sites for your e-commerce transactions and payments.

Password protect everything, and do not use the obvious birth date or mailing address or any other simple to guess password. Pick up instead a program like roboform that will generate randomized letter and number combinations that are not associated with anything in your life.

When all is said and done if you really want to protect yourself from cyber criminals and cyber crime, you can always purchase a detailed report on how safe you are online. This report is called a risk assessment report and can give you a greater insight into how and where you are risking yourself online and how you can fix the problem. The prevention of identity theft and other cyber crimes begins with you. Knowing how to protect yourself and minimize your risk is essentially all you can do to limit the chances you are taking with your life.

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I think if we do all these statements,we are safe, particularly if you buy a good antivirus. if you have more suggestion I am eager to hearing from you.

Palin e-mail snoop found guilty on two charges

David C. Kernell, 22, was convicted by a federal jury in Knoxville, Tenn., today for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and obstruction of justice, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James R. Dedrick for the Eastern District of Tennessee announced.
After a week-long trial, a jury found Kernell guilty of one count of misdemeanor unauthorized access to obtain information from a computer and one count of obstruction of justice. The jury found Kernell not guilty of wire fraud. The jury could not reach a verdict on the identity theft charge and the judge declared a mistrial as to that charge.

I believe, access to private individuals’ information is not ethical. But remember if you want to find people information; do not do this with your president or Prime Minister private information. They are more serious than the ordinary people.

http://cryptome.org

Cybercrime Quiz: Assess Your Risk

Computers and the Internet offer great benefits to society.However, they also present opportunities for criminal activities such as fraud and identity theft. As an Internet user, it is important that you have a clear picture of what cybercrime actually is so that you can take steps to reduce your risk.
Dear my friends,
Please answer these questions. 3 days later I will send the answers.
Q1. If you do not purchase goods or services on the Internet, you can’t become a victim of cybercrime .
True False


Q2. Purchasing goods or services on the Internet is safe, as long as you are connected to a Web site that supports secure transactions.
True False


Q3. The Internet is so big that things like fraud or identity theft shouldn’t really concern you; the probability you will be targeted is very small unless you use the Internet a lot.
True False


Q4. Viruses, worms and other older forms of malicious software are nuisances created by reckless teenagers. Spyware is the main problem today and is funded by criminals.
True False


Q5. Bots (short for "robot") are all over the Internet. Some are good, some are bad but they are here to stay.
True False



Q6. You are protected against identity theft on the Internet if you have a firewall to keep out intruders, hackers and criminals.
True False


Q7. There’s little risk involved in letting other people use your computer - as long as they are family members.
True False


Q8. Not all programs are at risk. For example, photographs can’t contain harmful code.
True False


Q9. People who don’t use Microsoft Windows are safe. The bad guys take advantage of Windows users because it is easy and leave Linux and Macintosh users alone.
True False


Q10. A legitimate company will not ask for personal information in an email message. Even though it may look convincing, messages that urgently request personal information are likely bogus.
True False


www.symantec.com

The first cyber crime in the world

The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820! That is not surprising considering the fact that the abacus, which is thought to be the earliest form of a computer, has been around since 3500 B.C. in India, Japan and China. The era of modern computers, however, began with the analytical engine of Charles Babbage. In 1820, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a textile manufacturer in France, produced the loom. This device allowed the repetition of a series of steps in the weaving of special fabrics. This resulted in a fear amongst Jacquard's employees that their traditional employment and livelihood were being threatened. They committed acts of sabotage to discourage Jacquard from further use of the new technology. This is the first recorded cyber crime! http//cybercrime.planetindia.net/intro.htm

This story is very interesting for me. But is it really a cyber crime? I don't think so.In cybercrime definition we have: Cybercrime is criminal activity done using computers and the Internet.In this story we have sabotage in textile machines, not in computers and internet.

I will be grateful if you send your comments and suggestions about this subject.

What is cyber crime

Parents, teachers, non-profits, government, and industry have been working hard to protect kids online. However, we also need to think about protecting the Internet from kids who might abuse it.
The Department of Justice categorizes computer crime in three ways:
The computer as a target - attacking the computers of others (spreading viruses is an example).
The computer as a weapon - using a computer to commit "traditional crime" that we see in the physical world (such as fraud or illegal gambling).
The computer as an accessory - using a computer as a "fancy filing cabinet" to store illegal or stolen information.
Reports of alleged computer crime have been a hot news item of late. Especially alarming is the realization that many of the masterminds behind these criminal acts are mere kids. In fact, children no longer need to be highly skilled in order to execute cyber crimes. "Hacker tools" are easily available on the Net and, once downloaded, can be used by even novice computer users. This greatly expands the population of possible wrongdoers. Children (and in some cases - their parents) often think that shutting down or defacing Web sites or releasing network viruses are amusing pranks. Kids might not even realize that what they are doing is illegal. Still other kids might find themselves hanging out online with skilled hackers who share hacking tools with them and encourage them to do inappropriate things online. Unfortunately, some of these kids don't realize that they are committing crimes until it is too late. Even more distressing and difficult to combat is the fact that some in the media portray the computer criminal as a modern day Robin Hood. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In my opinion the best way, parents can prevent their children from cyber crimes is advise and inform them with cyber laws and abuse of internet aftermaths. But some barriers that exist and parents can not aware their children are:

1) Parents are so busy.

2) They don't know any thing about cyber crimes and cyber laws.

3) Children are smarter and more eager and have more access to internet information and technology.

Imagine you have a child. How can you create context for your child to understand what cyber crimes are?

I will wait for your comments and ideas.

Cyberlaw

Cyberlaw is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdaiction.