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Archive for August, 2009

Mechanics Of A Lockbox

August 30th, 2009 Benedict Perez No comments

What is a lockbox? That is the question! It is not just like those types of boxes that you know. This is a key system for an extra layer of safety and security. These are electronic cabinets commonly used by banks or other financial corporations. These come in many different sizes and allow you to monitor and secure access to your locking systems.

These types of electronic cabinets are being controlled by a management system which allows monitoring and remote management from any personal computer or web-enabled device. The management system in this lockbox refers your entire key systems not to any software application or particular security device. The mechanism of this tool is more system derived than mechanical.

This peculiar type of storage can be easily operated, waterproof, and keyless. This is the only confidential lockbox that creates a security seal. For the functioning system you store into it your keys, alarm codes, access control cards, credit cards, memory cards, personal information numbers or PIN, flash drives, passwords, IT security codes and passwords, contact information and cash.

The system works with a computer and this is a web-enabled system. The advancement of modern technology has truly made the computers a very powerful tool in terms of security. You can control all the locks in your homes as well as all the file storage you have through the computer. This is the remote management system of the lockbox where all the security codes are programmed and functional through the computer even when the operator or user is thousands of miles away from the area.

You can browse and check online for more information and inquire further on the mechanism of this highly-technological locking system. A sophisticated storage and locking system such as this may seem inconceivable, but this is now operating and being used by many computer people. The mechanism may be for a single application or for a corporate level lockbox.

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Underground Espionage Syndicate Shut Down

August 30th, 2009 Michael Scott No comments

There are hidden hacker groups that are paid money to hack your computer and steal all your personal data. Anyone can be attacked by these stealth hackers. The high profile case of Mr. Haephrati shined light on this dark underworld.

Michael Haephrati, a computer programmer, originally created the Trojan to spy and harass his former in-laws. It was his method of revenge. His wife, Ruth Brier-Haephrati saw the business opportunity in selling this capability to other people and firms.

The Trojan software evolved into a business application designed to steal the intellectual property of any individual or company. This data was then given to a “subscriber” for a fee. The data sold ranged from correspondence to economic data.

Here is how they did it.

Between May 2003 and May 2005 a psychological hook was delivered to a specific individual. The targeted individual received an email from an address that looked like a known associate. The hook delivered by email was of a lucrative business opportunity. When the target responded to the email their computer received a Trojan from info@targetdata.biz. If the target did not respond to the email, the target would later receive a CD in the mail that contained the psychological hook again with the Trojan hidden in the programming code.

The Trojan allowed Haephrati to remotely control the computer of the target. This Trojan included a key-logger and a store and forward capability. It had the capability of watching what someone was doing on their computer “live” or in real time. It would send files from the target computer to FTP servers located in Israel, the U.S., and other locales. Haephrati had dozens of servers located around the globe.

According to police records, the data stolen included secret marketing plans, data on new products in the making, and even confidential employee data. Police estimate that some 13 gigs of data was stolen from people before they were able to shut it down.

Subscribers of Haephratis used the service to gain economic advantage of their competition.

It appears Haephrati subscribers were charged a one-time fee of $4,000 to create a customized Trojan and to infect a victim’s computer. A Haephrati subscriber was then charged about $1,000 a month to maintain Haephrati’s infrastructure used to store and then forward the victim’s secret and confidential data each month.

The cost to victims of Haephrati’s were huge. They lost their best marketing plans, new secret products in the pipe-line they were working on, and even lost the trust of their employees’ because of stolen employees’ personal data. All of this theft was facilitated by what are known as underground servers. The following price list was found on underground servers in 2007.

U.S.-based credit card with card verification value $1 – $6 UK-based credit card with card verification value $2 – $12 An identity (including U.S. bank account, credit card, date of birth, and government-issued identification number) $14 – $18 List of 29,000 e-mails $5 Online banking account with a $9,900 balance $300 Yahoo Mail cookie exploit”advertised to facilitate full access when successful $3 Valid Yahoo and Hotmail e-mail cookies $3 Compromised computers $6 – $20 Phishing Web site hosting”per site $3 – $5 Verified PayPal account with balance (balance varies) $10 – $50 Unverified PayPal account with balance (balance varies) $12 Skype accounts $12 World of Warcraft accounts”one month duration $10

Haephrati may have never been caught if it wasn’t for his own stupidity. He continued to harass his former in-laws by taking his former father-in-law’s private work and posting it publicly on the Internet to defame his person and character. His former father-in-law went to the police in November of 2004.

The police have their own anti-hacker tools and used secret computer forensic technology tools to trace the Trojan back to Haephrati’s business.

In 2005, Haephrati and his wife were extradited from the UK to Israel and pled guilty to the charges of economic and industrial espionage.

Some type of secret plea agreement was reached and the Haephrati’s were set free. The rumor on the street is that Haephrati now sub-contracts his Trojan and espionage service to law enforcement agencies only.

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Usefulness Of Lock Boxes

August 29th, 2009 Benedict Perez No comments

There are so many types of lock boxes and these things are either wall-mountable or simply portable which are usually made of slick metallic finish. They are strongly-built with hardened steel shackle for extra endurance and longevity. These have a built-in compartment that can hold over several numbers of keys. These are the perfect storage for your house, car or padlock keys, pieces of jewelry, personal and confidential files, guns and cash.

Though these are mostly made of solid metals with reinforced bodies, they can still be considered as decorative house accessories because of their attractive designs. They come in different shapes, sizes and colors with styles and designs that will certainly suit to your personal taste. Most lock boxes for house or office use have shutter doors that provide enhanced weather temperament.

The steel cash lock boxes have built-in compartment trays for coins and other removable items. They also are the portable types and come in attractive colors, shapes and designs. These types of safety storage are provided with combination locks for extra security. Inside these types of cash storage are lid trays with spring-loaded clip holders for you dollar bills.

Security lock boxes are portable for easy transport and at the same time serve as your metallic organizers equipped with security codes for the safety of the contents. These have built-in metal rails inside them to accommodate file folders. These are also designed with organizer pockets inside the lids to store calculators, pens and other smaller valuables. These are an excellent storage for your personal or confidential file including guns and other personal effects.

Generally, lock boxes are designed with re-settable combinations for your security. You may change the combination coded from time to time and these are very easy to perform. These storage containers for your valuables and keys have user-friendly combination-code programming that offers great convenience to the users or owners. You can browse and check online for websites for more information on these items and can offer you your desired lock boxes.

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Importance of Identity Theft Insurance

August 28th, 2009 Jean Nicholson No comments

The identity theft insurance which includes coverage on fraud alerts allow clients to monitor irregular activities involving the credibility standing of the insured. This is available in most banking institutions for their depositors or account holders, although the banks program may not as effective as that offered by insurers specializing on a plan like this. This particular protection includes the fraud alerts which are very vital to the insurer and for the client.

The clients with the identity theft insurance plan are accorded their respective personal accounts with relative codes for clients to gain easy access in the monitoring system provided for by the insurance company. The clients can personally verify anytime or on a regular basis or as often as their needs arise. These needs include may refer to any suspected irregular activities that concern them. So far, so good this is one of the best privileges offered by the insurer to their insured clients.

The incessant crime of ages is already a global menace which has harbored within the net where these criminals have set their fangs. These venomenous creatures have shattered the good names of innocent people who are their victims. The damaging aftermaths caused upon their victims lives are unpardonable. Several big companies are enrolling in this identity theft insurance. The executives of these companies are the type of clients who need to protect their names and interests as well as that of their immediate families.

The insurer is responsible for implementing the necessary precautionary measures available to secure the client interest. This id theft disease has already infected the entire globe yet the criminals are still free and seeking more preys. This is one type of crime which is really hard to suppress, thus the best way to avoid the devastating consequences of this hateful crime is to be covered with the identity theft insurance. It is the insurers obligation, by all means, to keep their clients interest secured and protected.

For those individuals who feel the need for this kind of security from a duly certified insurer, they can browse and search for these accredited companies. Anyone can visit the web sites of the accredited insurer and inquire on quotations for the coverage. These companies are composed of experts and professional who can address any persons concerns regarding identity theft insurance.

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Advantages of Personal Alarms

August 28th, 2009 Charlie Duff No comments

The personal alarms are very handy and quite convenient for anyone to carry along at any time of the day at any place. These gadgets are devices or gadgets specially designed and formulated to serve in cases of distress or emergency. These devices are very effective in avoiding attacks against any form of physical attack.

Most of these personal alarms emit some signals or distressing sounds to caution or alert people. The signal or sound can cause alarm to the attackers thus these devices are truly effective deterrents for attackers. These help in preventing the approach of assailants or attackers. With the devices unwanted elements are compelled to stay away from you.

These discomforting decibels are only heard by the very sensitive ears of the dogs but not by the human ears. The dog is the most common molesters of people especially small children. This animal may be repelled by the use of the modern ultrasonic innovation which releases a non-harmful but discomforting high frequency sound of up to fifteen feet audible only to canines.

The high-frequency sound released by this ultrasonic canine-repelling gadget has been carefully built to make the canine immediately uncomfortable making run away from you. This emitted signal is not really fatal and will not cause any consequent injury to animals sense of hearing. It will only caution the animal to stay away from you for will have to associate your presence with the discomfort. Dogs have good memories and can remember things especially discomforting ones.

These are very efficient and effective in locating a lost or missing child in a populated area. The most popular type is the electronic child leash panda. The child wears the panda-shaped transmitter which constantly sends signal to the adult or parent who has the receiver. These are some of the personal alarms that immediately alert people to attend someone needing help.

There are other types of these distressing-releasing sound electronic devices like the watch dog and the pocket whistle which are applicable to humans and animals alike. These gadgets can surely scare them because of that peculiar sound coming from them. You can browse and check online for some websites that can provide you with the different types of personal alarms.

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Why Antivirus Is Vital To Your Computer?

August 27th, 2009 Arhur Monderos No comments

Has your PC performance degraded due to continuous virus attacks and other malware infections? Although the market boasts of various anti-virus tools, there are free versions of antivirus applications that can be downloaded for safety of your computer. Installation of simple anti-virus software can be a great option if you do not intend to buy an anti-virus software application.

What exactly is an Antivirus Software?

Antivirus software is a computer application that is designed to identify, obstruct and eliminate computer viruses or any other malware (harmful applications) that might be dangerous for your computer security.

How does an Antivirus Software really work?

Usually any anti virus software will primarily scan your computer for presence of before known viruses that are already defined in the virus dictionary. The computer scans through all your files to discover known viruses to diagnose doubtful behavior existing in any computer programs. Once detected the infections can be deleted or quarantined on the authority of the seriousness of the infection.

What should I expect from my free Antivirus software? Download your free Antivirus software from a secure website, or else you can end up having additional virus infections and spyware attacks. Choose a software program that is easy and quick to download. Choose an anti-virus program with simple and easy-to-use features that will spare you all the technical jargon but will do a great job at virus removal and protection.

Make confident your free Antivirus software is efficient in the essential removing and quarantine of virus and malware infection.Look for other features, like Live updates for virus definitions and removing of malware.Many Antivirus programs come with spyware and malware protection, select the one that gives you the maximum benefits.

Try to use: Avast This software, which shows sufficient and good enough virus detection and removal, comes with a 60-day trial, after which you must register. A completely free version of this antivirus software requires your email address. Although the performance is not bad, it is not easy-to-navigate and does not provide a progress bar that indicates the progress of the scanning process.

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Here Are 5 Best Antivirus Software!

August 27th, 2009 Arhur Monderos No comments

AOL Active Virus Shield

This software is one of the most easy to use and most efficient antivirus programs available for free. However the only hurdle is that the installation of this software requires an email activation code that you can get only once you have registered online. The virus detection rate is impressive. It also provides an active virus shield that guarantees real-time security for your computer. So the process might be time consuming, but it is surly worth the wait.

Avira AntiVir

AntiVir is relatively popular and efficient software that is very fast which comes at the cost of thorough scanning however. One of the disadvantages of Avira is the terribly annoying full-screen pop-ups that open up at random intervals. Overall the virus detection and protection is good enough for it to be ranked at the second position in our list.

Norton Antivirus

Norton Antivirus is one of the finest antivirus applications that is extraordinarily efficient on blocking viruses and spyware with advanced protection. This antivirus software not just detects offline virus and spyware and defend the PC from infections but is also dynamic in the background while you are surfing the net. One of the extra perks of this software is that it also scans and cleans all email and immediate messaging attachments that provides you safety from receiving viruses and also prevents the spreading of the infection to others. The Norton Antivirus also checks for fresh updates continuously and automatically blocks fresh and emerging threats.

Avast

This software, which shows sufficient and good enough virus detection and removal, comes with a 60-day trial, after which you must register. A completely free version of this antivirus software requires your email address. Although the performance is not bad, it is not easy-to-navigate and does not provide a progress bar that indicates the progress of the scanning process.

Panda Antivirus

Panda Antivirus is an application that offers stable, quick and long term protection against all types of viruses and spyware. This software does an efficient job with virus detection and removal. The daily updates of this application ensure you are protected against all new threats that appear around the World Wide Web.

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How To Protect Your Computer?

August 27th, 2009 Arhur Monderos No comments

If you think your computer may be infected, take all necessary steps to clear your system and avoid infecting other computers.

There are various anti virus software programs available to choose from. Some of these anti virus software programs are free, but a few programs require a monthly or yearly fee. Anti virus software is used to protect your valuable computer systems from viruses, trojans and adware.

Step 1 Be cautious about what disks and files you accept from other people.

Step 2 Don’t reuse disks that have been in other computers, don’t download files from insecure sites, and don’t open e-mail attachments unless you are expecting them. Be wary of messages and attachments, even from people you know, with vague subject lines and contents, such as ‘Check this’ or ‘See these pics!!!’

Step 3 Obtain an antivirus program to more safely share disks, download files from the Internet and open e-mail attachments.

Step 4 If your system gets a virus, visit your virus-scan software manufacturer’s Web site and install any virus updates that are available. Then run the software. The software may not be able to delete the virus, but it may be able to identify it.

Step 5 Search the Web for information regarding your specific virus by typing the name of the virus or its associated file into a search engine, followed by the word ‘virus.’ For example, ‘Melissa virus,’ ‘BubbleBoy virus,’ and so on.

Step 6 Download and install any software patches or other programs that will help you eliminate the virus. Or follow any instructions you find on deleting the virus manually.

Step 7 Run another virus scan to make confident the virus was dealt with properly.

Step 8 Employ extra caution when you receive attachments that end in the commonly used extensions .doc, .exe, .com, .xls or .ppt. Never open attachments that end in .vbs or .js, since a typical user would never have a reason to open these files.

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Conducting Public Criminal Records Check

August 26th, 2009 Rowen Owen No comments

We can indeed quite readily find out the truth about people on many things, past and present, not least their criminal history or current standing from their Public Criminal Records. There are several other related supportive-type record categories such as Arrest, Inmates, Jail, Sex Offender and Police Records but Free Criminal Records is the most widely used as far as Criminal Violation Checks are concerned.

Being Public Records, they are accessible by anyone so long as its done legitimately. As little as just a full name and state of residence is enough to initiate a search on Public Criminal Records. This can be done at the local police department if the exact residence of the subject is known. Otherwise, it can be done at the state level agency tasked with the function. The request can be submitted by mail, fax, telephone or walk in. Online option over the internet is also increasingly available. In the case of requesting them from the FBI, it must be done in writing. Then again, the no-fuss way is by purchasing them from commercial record providers.

The standard information found in Public Criminal Records are the personal particulars of the subject, the details of the crime like date and place where its committed, the case type and number, photographs, conviction or sentence, arresting agency and so forth. If there were multiple criminal violations, they will all be shown except for those which were committed outside of the state.

The information contained in Public Criminal Records includes personal particulars of the subject, details of the criminal violation like date, place, offense type, photographs, conviction and arresting agency. If there were multiple convictions, each and every one of them will be produced as long as they were documented within the same state jurisdiction. Related information from other record categories may also show up.

Free Criminal Records Search are useful in many ways, official and private. They are widely used in employee screening, police investigation, court proceedings, assessing volunteers and background check of neighbors, colleagues, friends and even relatives. Therere laws in place to ensure that theres no infringement of individual privacy or personal discrimination and lawyers and other expertise are often called upon to buy-off the intended use of the Public Criminal Records against any violation in itself.

Free Public Criminal Records are widely retrieved these days. They are done so for a variety of reasons, most common of which are employment screening, social volunteer assessment, police work, legal proceeding support and background checks on neighbors, colleagues, tenants, friends and even relatives. It must be noted though that restriction concerning privacy and discrimination applies so its best to check with the authorities or professionals on their proper access and use.

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The Essence Of Exit Devices

August 25th, 2009 Benedict Perez No comments

People who visit public buildings and commercial spaces always give little thought about the safety of the buildings structure and also its security. Since a number of people go in and out of these infrastructures it is equipped with state-of-the-art devices that can pre-empt untoward accidents.

It is the duty of the buildings management to keep in mind details like these to ensure the safety of the buildings tenants and its clients. What they do is they install exit devices.

The law says that every commercial and public building in North America must be outfitted with at least one, and likely numerous, exit devices. These devices play a crucial role in the safety and security of human lives as well as in securing the property from robbers and terrorists. A door remains locked from the outside when this device is installed in it.

Doors remain locked from the outside when this device is installed in a door. It is also known as a crash bar and panic bar because its mechanism allows hands-free exit. One can simply crash or apply full-body force to immediately open the door which is particularly helpful in emergency cases.

It is actually advantageous for an establishment to make use of these devices to secure a building for it is guaranteed to go with in any type and kind of door. A property owner who wishes to keep people from entering some parts of a building can install exit devices to non-public entrances. People who have disabilities or those with limited mobility can open these doors easily in order to save themselves from harm.

Aside from that, there is no need to worry about emergency situations. Emergencies like fire, because people inside the building can use these doors as emergency exits by simply activating the crash bar on the inside of the door.

It was first released in the market with a brand name Von Duprin in the 1990s. These are now widely used in every establishment and are in fact recommended by building inspectors.

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