Identity Theft is now the number one crime in the entire world. It is estimated that $221 billion a year is lost by businesses worldwide due to identity theft. Cyber crime units now analyze 2,000 to 3,000 new viruses per hour. Much of the malware harvests financial and personal data sold to groups who turn it into cash through identity fraud.
One simple toll-free telephone call can block 99.9% of personal exposure to Identity Theft. Aside from expediency of commerce, it’s shocking that legislation has not been enacted to automatically force this common action without the consumer having to make the call.
Every 3 Seconds someone becomes a victim of Identity Theft, 20 lives ruined every minute, 1200 every hour, 28,800 every day, 201,600 every month, and 2,419,200 every year. The impact on the individual is staggering with thousands of dollars in costs and dozens of hours wasted trying to deal with the personal devastation. It could all have been avoided with one simple telephone call.
On an individual level, how does one become a victim of Identity Theft? And most importantly, how can we avoid becoming a victim of this prevalent crime? The odds are clearly stacked against society, our personal information is readily available in this high technology world.
Just as we use firewalls and virus protection programs for our computer health, we need to closely examine the anatomy of this crime of opportunity. What protections are available to insulate us against the potential damage from stolen personal idenitity information?
Many of us may already be victims of Identity Theft and don’t know it yet, or the impact of the fraud has yet to be perpetuated or discovered. Remember those special event tickets you bought, or the hotel reservation, car rental, or airline flight reservation call you made?
Have you ever purchased an automobile and filled out a loan application? How about an application for a cell phone, a store credit card, or an application for an apartment rental? What about a school, personal or equity loan?
Remember all of the information you probably provided? You most likely gave your credit card details, or birth date, social security number, address, bank account references, employment information and/or phone number.
Now ask yourself a few questions … Who has access to all of that information? Do you know them? Do you trust them? What’s to stop them from selling or misusing that data?
It’s a scary proposition, but right now there are probably several file cabinets or computer storage files in different places of business that house enough of your personal information to allow for an easy theft of your identity. It’s a fact of life, we’re ALL vulnerable. But you can easily block the use of that information. You’ll see how in just a moment, but first …
How does information theft become Identity Theft?
Stealing your personal information is only the first step in the criminal process. Once the information is gathered, the thief must then convert that information into a means by which he or she can profit.
One popular method is to simply call one of your credit card companies posing as you and change the billing address for the card and then begin making a series of purchases. Identity Theft perpetrators don’t even need your credit card, they can simply call and have a duplicate card issued. They can establish utility, cable, or cell phone service in your name. Some even obtain leases, car loans and more.
In one recent case, a local bank in Montgomery County, Maryland USA issued a check for $100,000 for an equity loan on a home. The entire transaction was recorded on bank cameras as the check was handed to an impersonator of the home’s actual owner. And that was the second time it happened to the same victim who was exonerated by authorities as an accomplice in the case.
Identity theft ruins lives. It creates a seemingly infinite number of short term problems that turn into a nightmare that can linger for decades. Don’t assume that it can’t happen to you.
ATMs are one the latest points of attack. Thieves have developed credit cards that can temporarily program any ATM machine to copy the magnetic data off of your credit or debit card when you use the machine. This method has effectively collected hundreds of victims in the course of a single weekend from a single machine.
Identity thieves also use handheld magnetic card readers that can be easily purchased right on the internet. Culprits include waiters and waitresses, store clerks, toll booth collectors, and gas station attendants to name a few.
64% of all fraud complaints involve identity theft and it’s not just credit cards. With your personal information, thieves can open bank accounts, order checks and run up huge debt by writing bad checks in your name. Identity thieves have become so creative and talented that most protections schemes can be thwarted.
So what’s the answer? Credit monitoring services like those offered by the credit bureau agencies? Simply put, that’s like having an alarm to alert you after you’ve been ripped off.
The solution is clear, placing a Fraud Alert on your credit profile with the primary credit bureau agencies will block 99.9% of attempts to use your personal information for credit without your permission. Fraud Alerts require direct contact with you before an account can be opened or credit extended in your name. They can be put in place for a period of 90 days and can be renewed every three months.
Unlike fraud alerts, the alternative Credit Freeze option remains in place indefinitely and no credit of any kind can be issued in your name until you take the required steps to remove the freeze.
Just one telephone call is all it takes to any of the primary credit bureaus in the United States:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Identity Theft is not the only problem in using credit. Inside the complex credit system there are credit robbers. Some of your most trusted creditors are damaging your credit scores and credit rating without your knowledge.
But that’s a story for another article, for now you would be well advised to immediately place a Fraud Alert on your credit profile with any of the credit bureau agencies. Then be sure to update that order every 90 days. It’s the best way to avoid becoming an Identity Theft victim.

Peter Trahan has been the Systems Operation Director at Radio America, a national radio network, for the past eight years. When he first joined the non-profit, it was evident he had work to do – the organization had more than 40 workstations, but not a single one of them was running anti-virus software.

“Job number one was to get some anti-virus protection onto the workstations,” said Trahan. “So the search was on for a solution that was powerful yet inexpensive. As a non-profit, we have to count every penny we spend, and at that time we decided to go with a free product. We chose AVG Free Edition, and we were very pleased with the results.”

However, it was clear that using AVG Free across 40 PCs in a business environment – nonprofit or no – was not the best long-term solution, nor within the terms of the license Trahan discovered. So Trahan started to look around for a way to convert the Free license to the commercial version of the software, and found Walling Data on AVG.com.

“The purchase process was very simple and straightforward,” Trahan remembered. “I emailed Walling with our needs and they called us back to walk us through setting everything up. The centralized management tool in particular makes my job so much easier. In fact, the whole process of converting to the commercial product couldn’t have been easier – and there was no extra charge for the service, which was another pleasant surprise.”

Walling Data is the longest-standing and highest-volume distributor of AVG Technologies solutions in North America, and also the only distributor to offer all its customers free, unlimited, U.S.-based pre- and post-sales support. Walling additionally provides nonprofit organizations with a significant discount on AVG products, making them an even more attractive choice for Radio America.

Trahan admits that, in addition to the unlimited free support they would receive, the price break for non-profits was the icing on the cake.

“As a non-profit, we don’t have a very big IT budget, so price is always an issue for us,” Trahan said. “We were very happy to discover that we got a pretty nice discount on licenses through Walling Data. That was a big plus.”

Since installing AVG, Trahan says that he has had no issues with viruses or other malware and is completely sold on the product and the service he receives through Walling Data. For more information, visit http://www.avg-antivirus.net.

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About Walling Data Systems

Founded in 1994 in North Carolina, Walling Data Systems is a Value-Added Technology Distributor and IT Solution Provider offering innovative high-value solutions to everyday computer security problems for corporate, education, and home technology users. Walling Data was named an Authorized AVG Distributor in 2004 and is the only source for unlimited toll-free phone and “We-Do-It-For-You” remote control support for their AVG customers in the United

States and Canada, one reason why thousands of customers each month choose Walling as their supplier of choice for AVG products. More information at http://www.avg-antivirus.net

About AVG

Founded in 1991 and with offices in the US and Europe, AVG is a leading international developer of Internet threat protection solutions for consumers and SMBs. AVG is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry with more than 70 million active users around the world. The company employs some of the world’s leading experts in Internet security, specifically in the areas of threat research, analysis and detection. AVG’s award-winning products are distributed globally through resellers and over the Internet as well as via third parties through Software Developer’s Kits (SDK).

Programmers continually find and fix PC and software bugs and make these patches available as free Microsoftupdates. While it is important to keep up with Microsoftupdates, there are precautions that should be taken to keep updating the computer from leading to errors later on.

Getting Updates for Microsoft

Computers require updates because the bugs or problems have been found in software or operating systems.  Sometimes these updates include security patches to “loopholes” that were being exploited by virus creators.

It is important to keep computers and software up to date in order to protect them from known viruses, errors, and malware.  To find out whether the computer is up to date, search for Microsoftupdates on the Microsoft site and use the update scanning tool to determine what updates are missing from the PC.

Most Windows machines will display a message notifying the user that the latest Microsoftupdates are available for download.  If for some reason this function has been disabled, the user can turn on the Automatic Update option.  Under Control Panel, find the System section and click on the Automatic Updates tab to choose a schedule.

Avoid Problems While Updating your Computer

Make sure no other programs are running on the PC before beginning to install updates.  If many new updates are available for the computer, it is advisable to download the most critical updates first and proceed to the lesser ones.  It may only be possible to download a few at a time or per session.

Update or install wizards will guide the computer through these updates.  Make sure to reboot the computer if specified, as the updates will not be recognized or fully installed without this step.

If your computer had problems receiving Microsoftupdates in the past, turn off virus protection software until the updating process has completed.  (But remember to turn them back on once the updates are finished.)  Do not use any programs while the updates are installing; this may pull the computer in too many directions at once and produce errors.

Clean Up After Microsoftupdates

Any time a computer is updated, new entries are made in its Windows registry.  Unfortunately, entries pertaining to old programs and pre-updated versions of software are not erased from the registry automatically as part of the update.  As the amount of data in the registry grows, the computer is prone to file errors, freezes, blue screen errors, and other issues.

The final step to updating the computer is to learn about cleaning your registry after installing Microsoftupdates.  This will help avoid problems caused by obsolete registry entries.  Never go into your registry without doing research first.  This could result in buying a brand new hard drive.

“ The Real Soft” gives 100 % guarantee to users if “Instant Virus Killer” is installed in any computer that computer can never got viruses, no need to reinstall the windows, no need of online updation to the Instant Virus Killer, no need to scan computers for viruses, users are not restricted for USB, Internet, Network Shearing & downloading If that computer got the memory loss or  Hard Drive got formatted by chance & deliberately “Instant Virus Killer” restore the deleted Data in 10 Sec with previous windows, its setting & programs.

If our software got fail to prove any of the above mentioned features your money will be refunded.

Instant System Recovery :

The Real Soft ensures that staff enjoy a trouble-free Computing experience. Employees are able to use computers with the assurance that their session will be free from Viruses , malicious software and system slowdowns. IT personnel can rest easy with the knowledge that The Real Soft makes media computers immune from system slowdowns and software corruption caused by employees accessing online media resources during their work.

Solutions for Corporate IT :

Running complex systems at demanding corporate environment face IT administrators with constant pressure and challenges. Computer failures have negative impact on users’ productivity and waiting hours for IT engineers to bring their computers back to working condition is not an option.

Instant Virus Killer enables users to restore their own failed computers instantly, without having to wait for available IT engineers or suffering from business downtime.

Correspondingly, IT administrators can perform vast maintenance and updates and restoration tasks for multiple computers simultaneously and free the technical support engineers for higher priority tasks.

Analysts indicate that most computer downtime is related to operating system crashes and software application failures. Technicians are often required to repair failures accidentally caused by inexperienced users, or damaged intentionally by bored and frustrated students. In many cases, failure recurs just minutes after repair.

With Instant Virus Killer installed, teachers can restore failed computers in 10 seconds with the press of a button and recover 100% damage during class time without have to know anything about the cause of the problem or wait for available technical support. 

Instant Virus Killer does not restrict access and is transparent to users, giving them complete control of the machine and thereby enhancing the end users experience. Giving them the ability to utilize complete system resources.

for more details visit :  http://www.instantviruskiller.com

Teenagers at the present time love to watch movies that show beautiful bodies which are not even covered in any way by clothes or anything else. Given the time to surf the net during their free time or even during school hours, they will go to internet cafés and surf the net to find something that would catch their interests. My friend, Rico, is one of those teenagers who have been caught in this addictive cycle. He thought that by doing so, he will not harm his mom’s computer because it is something really harmless. Or so he thought. His mother thought that he was doing homework and some research that he needed for his class projects. Behind his mother’s trust, he was the one responsible for the malfunctioning of their personal computer. This is something that has happened not only to Rico but also to you perhaps. In fact, it has probably happened to all of us. On my end, a cousin was living with me since my place is located near his school. He can freely use my personal computer and have access to the cyber world. He was also free to use the computer whenever no one else was using it. He has been given the full trust that he would not be using his time in front of the machine on addictive silly cyber freedom, freedom to browse the informative tube either for educational purposes or to feed his eyes with images on the net that leave almost nothing to the imagination. Out of that freedom that was given to him, it seems that it also meant having allowed the viruses to attack the system of the computer. The viruses went on to create havoc and penetrated the programs. You will know that such has happened because when it is time for you to work and do your own things with your computer, you find that you are then unable to open your files. Your operating system may not work up to par and may start slowing down. There are even times when the machine would suddenly turn off. Such a disaster! Now this is what you would feel especially if you rely on it too much. It has become a main part of our daily lives because of the wonder that it brings like it being a good source of information. You can protect your computer from such viruses. Listen to what experts are saying. Use anti virus protection software like cyberdefender free trial. A does not take a long time to complete and that time you spent waiting for it to finish actually is going to help save you computer trouble in the long run.

Basic guide to eliminate a virus from our PC

If you have been a victim of some annoying virus that has installed in your PC and do not know how to delete it, here I present you a guide with simple steps to eliminate the viruses in your PC, but first, it is important to point out that this steps are not permanent, due to the fact that there are many solutions for your problem.First, I will advise you to run the antivirus software that you have installed on your PC; I recommend having one antivirus software installed, because having more than one might cause conflicts in your PC.

Step One: The diagnosis.

If you know that your PC has symptoms of been infected by a virus, which can be: pc constant rebooting, the operative system or the programs take too long to load with no apparent reason, if the size of a software varies out of the blue, if the hard drive runs out of space or reports a lack of it without this necessarily happening, if ghost files appear with weird names and extensions, then probably your computer is, indeed, infected with a virus.The first thing you should do is run your antivirus software, among the ones I personally recommend are: Kaspersky, Avira Premium, BitDefender, these are not the cheapest ones, but are really good scanning your PC looking for viruses. There are also some antivirus softwares that offer their services online through their websites, such as BitDefender Online, if you are interested, here is their website (please check the website), another antivirus that I strongly recommend is Ewido Only, this is an antispyware (please check the website) and what it does is detect spy and unwanted software.

Step Two: Eliminating the Virus.

First of all, I will recommend you to inactivate the system restoration, due to the fact that there are some viruses that have the ability of restoring after every rebooting, for this you should browse in My PC’s properties and tick in the box that says inactivate system restoration o deactivate system restoration in all units. After this, restart the PC but now in the failure proof mode and then re run the antivirus, verifying before that it has been actualized, to be sure, re check it with the BitDefender online and the Ewido online.

Step Three: Verifying the disinfection.

If you have been through all the previous steps and your PC does not show more symptoms of been infected, the advisable thing to do would be to perform daily checks with the antivirus, the BitDefender and the Ewido. Another software I would recommend is the Ccleaner which erases the cookies and the Internet temporary files, you should run it to be sure of the disinfection been successful, besides of this I would also advise you to fragment your hard drive once in a while just to speed up the execution of your files and also having your antivirus software updated.

Doing all of this procedure takes time, but you can be confident that afterward your PC will be completely clean and ready for any virus that could show.

One of the banes of networks and office computer systems everywhere is the infiltration of problems like malware and viruses in the system and while the computers on such a network have virus protection that helps stop some of these malicious bugs from entering your system, there are still a few who can get in anyway. These often get in via other avenues like websites being browsed and seemingly harmless applications that people in your office may activate. Using an Internet filter in your system can help you prevent such things from happening, and you should use vulnerability scanning for you to pinpoint areas where these may insinuate themselves in.How do you get your network and your system an Internet filter and how do you enact vulnerability scanning to find out where threats to your system and network can easily get in? One of the things you can use when you need to protect your system from such threats is something called an anti-spam appliance or a unified threat management system. The use of penetration testing hardware can also help you keep your system’s walls up, so to speak, when it comes to such problems as viruses, malware, and other similar threats that can compromise your data and your network.When you get yourself an anti-spam appliance and penetration testing system, you are essentially setting up a safeguard for your network. This kind of safeguard includes certain functions like an Internet filter and vulnerability scanning. When you say that your system has a functioning Internet filter, you are actually saying that you are controlling the browsing capabilities of your employees or of the people who use the network. This means that sites that may seem harmful to your network are blocked from being viewed by anyone using the network to open these sites. The use of an Internet filter will not only stop harmful malware and spyware from penetrating your system via the computers of your employees, you also increase productivity by getting people to do more work and less leisurely browsing by restricting their access to such sites.Using a penetration testing appliance in conjunction with your spam and Internet filter hardware can help you find the areas where your system is most vulnerable to attacks from certain malicious entities that are out to hack into your network and to get information from you and your database and this may cost you a lot of money and even damage your business integrity. Vulnerability scanning, especially with the use of a penetration testing appliance, can show you which areas of your network and your system need to have more protection focused on and which areas are already protected from such harmful entities. You may need to activate certain safeguards that your employees may not like, like web and content filters, but then again, they too will suffer if your system gets compromised and your business goes down the drain because of a breach of your system’s protection and integrity.

The World Wide Web is useful and dangerous too! What most people may not know is that by connecting their computers to the internet they are setting themselves up as targets for thieves and unscrupulous people. The US government is taking steps towards inculcating an understanding of the importance of cyber security among citizens especially home computer users. Similarly DSL connection providers like Verizon are also making great efforts to provide secure connections.

DLS users like others need to protect their computer systems and private information stored on computers from cyber thieves and malicious hackers. Recent exercises such as the “Honeymoon Project” found that most computer systems can be hacked into between 3-5 days.

While DSL providers will have security systems in place it is best you take steps to protect yourself and your family and business. It is simple:

1. Install a firewall. It is software that recognizes unauthorized access and blocks it. What is more it prevents unauthorized movement of files from your computer too! This is important as a DSL connection means your computer is always connected to the internet and is susceptible to attack. A firewall must always be the latest version and configured properly to scan your system continuously.

2. Ensure that your anti virus software is functional and updated regularly. Never leave your computer system open to virus attacks. Not only are you putting your files and private information in jeopardy but also that of others who are in your address book and system. Cyber criminals steal credit card and bank information for personal financial gain. Ensure that your computer has the latest virus protection system in place. Be sure to renew the antivirus software license.

3. Configure your computer properly. If you don’t know how to do this seek the help of a trustworthy family member or friend. Use secure and original passwords. Its important to regularly change your password and create unique passwords that are a mix of words and numbers. Read through http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/technology/articles/cyberprimer_091802.htm .

4. Always used authentic operating systems and software. Pay the licensing fees and update your computer regularly with the latest vendor security patches. This will protect your computer system to the highest possible extent. See: http://www.cert.org/.

5. Always use safe e-mail practices. Most “bugs” attack your system through attachments. So never open emails with attachments from unknown sources. All attachments must be scanned before opening. Avoid opening attachments with file extensions like “.vbs.” P2P networks are dangerous as also downloading executable programs. Learn all you can about dangers termed as “Trojan horses.”

In order to protect yourself you need to learn as much as possible on computer security for home users. See: http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html . Protecting your system will make things difficult for hackers, attackers, and crackers. When shutting down your computer after use please make sure you have disconnected your system from the internet completely. This will ensure that attacks don’t happen while you are asleep.

Simple steps could save your life and money.

By now just about everyone who stores files on their computer is aware that the USB stick or “flash drive” is a great tool for handling data in an external hard drive. All along though, the use of these convenient devices has carried with them some inherent security shortcomings.

New Security in the SafeStick

However; in recent times new developments have led to new security solutions being made available in the form of password protection, anti-virus features, as well as encryption that now brings a new level of peace of mind for users of the SafeStick and other similar external hard drives.

A New Level of Risk Management Is Achieved

For instance, with the new SafeStick users can now perform scans on outside systems and enjoy the benefits of complete security regardless if the outside system contains its own effective anti-virus protection or not. The end result is complete assurance that the SafeStick can’t be infected with any viruses as outside scans are being performed.

Just To Be On the Safe Side…

Even so, as a secondary form of anti-virus backup it is recommended that any flash drive be scanned as soon as it is plugged back into your computer, just to be on the safe side. In this way you can rest assure that any new virus that for some reason was able to bypass the encrypted flash drive will not infect your computer and damage its files.

Advice on Password Management

When it comes to passwords and the SafeStick or any other type of secure flash drive for that matter, it is highly advisable that you use password management software in the flash drive. Also it should also go without saying that any password manager should definitely be encrypted for basic security password security.

The Most Secure USB Sticks

Right now the most secure and overall safest USB sticks or flash drives on the market would be those such as the SafeStick that feature “advanced encryption standard”. It is at the present time universally recognized as the very latest technology in corporate grade standards and is often referred to as “AES”. Currently you can simply do no better than this.

The Added Cost Is No Deterrent to the Growing Popularity of the SafeStick

As with so many other new technologies such as that that is contained in the SafeStick, for the time being you will have to pay a bit more to acquire it. However; this added cost has done nothing to detract from the ever increasing popularity of the SafeStick, as more security conscious computer users are continuing to switch to them.

A Few Final Thoughts on Implementing the Use of the SafeStick

On a final note: You may want to consider updating your firms policies regarding security when you first begin to introduce the SafeStick to avoid any problems that can occur due to transition. Also being that the use of any encrypted flash drives will mean more passwords being introduced, some type of password management data base is highly advisable.

It is important to keep up with Outlook Express updates, but the proper precautions should be taken to ensure that the computer’s security is not violated.  Recently, a virus has been circulating in an email message with the subject “outlook express update.”  Learn how to install updates properly and avoid security threats.

Avoid Viruses While Updating

If an email message with the “outlook express update” arrives, delete it immediately. Outlook Express has the capability of running programs as soon as the email message containing them is opened, so do not even open this message.  Microsoft has a comprehensive system for providing updates for its products and does not include updates over email.

Before determining what updates to install for Outlook Express or any other program, make sure the computer’s virus protection software is current.  While it may be advisable to turn off these programs during updates, some updates can be installed with the software running.  This is the safest option; however, if the update requires a temporary disabling of virus protection, as long as the update is coming from a trusted website, the computer should not experience a security threat.

Determine the Availability of New Updates for MicrosoftTo find valid updates for Outlook Express, doing a quick search for “outlook express update” will produce the appropriate Microsoft web pages.  It is possible to search the site for particular problems the computer has experienced running Outlook Express or simply download a cumulative update package.

Be sure to check which version of Outlook Express is on the computer in order to get the correct update package.  It may also be advisable to upgrade to a newer version of Outlook Express at this time.

Install wizards will guide the computer through the update installation process.  Reboot the computer when asked — ignoring this step will cause an incomplete installation.  Once the package has been installed, it may be necessary to revisit Microsoft’s Update Center for instructions on enabling particular fixes for specific problems.

Protect the Computer against Future Errors

Any time updates are made to Outlook Express, new entries are made in the Windows registry.  However, entries pertaining to the old version remain in the registry and add to the clutter and ballooning size of most windows registries.

Registry maintenance will prevent future errors caused by extraneous registry information leftover from installing updates.  Read more about running a registry cleaner after Outlook Express updates to ensure that the computer remains error-free.  You never want to go at it with your registry alone.  Not even the most experienced techie will do this.