Guest Post: Steps to Take to Ensure Your Bank Accounts Can't Be Hacked

NOTE: The following is a guest post by Courtney Gordner. The blog maintainer is not responsible for its contents.

Allowing a bank to store all of your financial information is supposed to keep it safe, but that is not always the case. Although banks generally have the best anti-hacking software available and take extra precautions to keep this information secure, things do happens that can allow these documents to fall into the wrong hands. In many cases, it is not the bank's fault, as there are things that you should be doing to protect your bank account.

Guest Post: Preparation: Why should I and how to start.

The following is a guest blog to kick off a new series of articles about personal security and disaster preparedness. Many thanks to Kim Walsh for providing the first article!

My journey to the preparedness world has been long and winding. Like many of my generation there was no reason to learn survival skills or think about disaster prep. We had stores aplenty right? We had easy access to everything we could ever want or need.

Then I got married. I married a man raised on hunting, survival, preparedness. Not out of any sort of paranoia like so many survival shows these days seem to imply but because it was just how his father had been raised and his father before him. I was reluctant to even open the doors at first. Who cared about edible plant or food storage or water filtration? We lived in a pretty populated place, we have never been rich but we had enough to go to the store when needed. And guns? Not needed. Violence and disaster happened to other people.

Then I got a wakeup call. An active shooter decided to shoot up our apartment complex. Our complex was situated more like a hotel. You had a secure door to buzz through and all the front doors were interior. The shooter’s apartment was not even 3 yards from my own. First I heard the pops. I brushed those off. Then I heard someone banging on my door. I was about to answer and ask them to stop as my husband was sleeping in prep for a late shift but some instinct stopped me. An hour later my husband got up for work and went onto the porch to be greeted by SWAT with guns drawn. We were asked if they could use our apartment to gain entry as the front door was glass and being watched by the shooter. Then we were evacuated. The officer who led us out said that ignoring that door probably saved my life

.

That is when I realized bad things can happen any time and any place and often do to wonderful people. So I decided to learn to shoot and to prepare for worst case. We have lived in multiple state but all were earthquake zones. One was also a volcano zone. So then my question was: How do I start?

The four real issues are: food, water, shelter, protection. So I have set about learning all I can about each in different situations. I now live in the desert on the edge of BLM land. I know where the water sources are for wildlife. I know where to find game. I also know several escape routes off the interstate if needed.

Examine where you live. What type of natural disasters can happen? If needed can you lock yourself down at home while still gaining access to food and water? If you need to get out of the area do you know the less traveled paths? Honestly it’s not about the apocalypse or aliens, it is about knowing that sometimes bad things happen. Job loss, illness, accident, fire, tornado, earthquake, hurricane, etc. Knowing that bad things are a possibility is what being prepared means. It is seeing those possibilities and doing what you can to make sure you and your family are able to weather any eventuality.  

Kim Walsh is a writer, designer, rights advocate, fribromyalgia awareness activist, wife, mother, and friend. You can check out her blog, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.

Guest Post: Malware search checks online security for text you highlight

NOTE: The following is a guest post by Courtney Gordner. The blog maintainer is not responsible for its contents.

Security is a huge issue in today’s digital world, especially since we now keep so much of our personal information stored on mobile devices and computers. Just stop for a moment and think about how much dangerous software there is floating around out there, it’s enough to drive someone mad.

Malware and spyware can log information and keep track of what we’re doing when we use a computer. A simple virus could take down a working device and ruin an entire day’s worth of work or more. Those are a couple of the most common threats, but the list goes on and on. It goes without saying, there are a lot of dastardly things that could be accomplished with our sensitive data- especially if someone were able to monitor keystrokes and log passwords.

Long story short, security is important all the time. You would think with everything so streamlined and instant, that digital security would be the same way. In most cases, it’s not. To remain protected, you have to install third party security software, which generally does not offer streamlined support unless you pay a heavy premium. Of course, there are security firms that offer features like free email and file scanning, but they’re the exception more than they are the rule. Still, what do you do when you want streamlined protection? What do you do when you want to know right away if a download or URL is safe to visit?

With Malware Search, scans can actually be activated instantly. Once the software has been installed on your computer, you can right-click on a link (including download URLs) to scan the target using several different malware databases. It relies on a variety of sources like Threat Expert, Process Library, and Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center to ensure target links are safe to visit. It’s similar to VirusTotal, in that it uses a large collection of remote security engines to do the work, except Malware Search does it in a much more convenient way. With VirusTotal you have to download a package first, and then scan it. With Malware Search, you can just right click on an item and figure out what you need to. It’s streamlined, and most importantly always available.

Better yet, you can also check to see if a particular URL or web address is safe by viewing its Web of Trust listing.

Malware Search comes as a browser extension for both Chrome and Firefox. While the add-on itself hasn’t been updated in some time, the malware databases it uses are constantly being improved. Even though it’s an older extension it still works great with the latest versions of the aforementioned browsers.

Malware Search keeps you from going in blind because you can scan any link or URL and find out enough information to know whether or not it’s safe to visit. Unfortunately, there are no mobile variants of the software, so it’s for desktop use only. You can pick it up for Google Chrome from the Chrome Web Store, or Firefox from the Mozilla Add-ons page. When a site is infected with malware, they are kicked off Google which makes their SEO ranking go down. It’s important for you to understand if you run your own website the risks involved in becoming infected. Make sure you are using SEO Tools to see how you’re site is doing in searches so you can stay ahead of the game.

Courtney Gordner is a blogger/journalist who loves writing on any topic! Read more from her at her blog, www.talkviral.com

Guest Post: Hacker’s Breakfast: TrainACE and n2grate Team Up for a Free Hacking Seminar

The following is a Guest Post from TrainACE. I attended the last Hacker's Breakfast, and found it a very informative training seminar. You can read my thoughts on the last Hacker's Breakfast here.

TrainACE and their cyber security training extension, Advanced Security are announcing another installation in their series of free hacking seminars, dubbed Hacker’s Breakfast. Previously having planned an event with FireEye, they have teamed up with n2grate Government Technology Solutions this time around to host the latest installation featuring multiple speakers and training demonstrations. Blue Coat and Solera Networks will have Subject Matter Expert technicians talk about mission assurance technologies and web-based security.

A difference from this Hacker’s Breakfast and the previous event in the series is the inclusion of live demonstrations. The session for product demonstrations will feature kiosks related to advanced threat protection from Blue Coat, Netronome, and Packet Shaper. Event sponsor Solera Networks will have an exhibit for big data security intelligence and analytics.

The seminar itself will start off with a presentation on web-based security and its significance to mobile workers, social networking, and threat protection. The speakers will address web-based security on a number of devices, covering users who own desktops, laptops, and mobile platforms. Next up on the itinerary will be the break for kiosk. For the rest of the seminar, a session will cover how the Department of Defense and other federal agencies should handle mission-critical program security. The seminar will close with another period allotted to additional product and training demonstrations.

However, the opportunity is only available to Government and Department of Defense employees and the event is capped at 70 registrants. Sign up immediately in order to reserve a place at this leading edge event!

Hacker’s Breakfast will be held at TrainACE in Ashburn, VA on July 24, 2013. The event opens with registration and breakfast at 8:00AM and will finish at 12:30PM.


Learn more and register online here: Hacker’s Breakfast – The FREE Hacking Training Seminar Series by TrainACE.

Guest Post: I Can Have Most of My Threat Research Tools in a Single Interface?

The following is a guest post submitted to Caffeine Security. The owner of Caffeine Security is not responsible for its content.  This post is being shared because I feel this has the potential to be a very informative webinar.  I previously attended a TrainACE "Hacker's Breakfast" which you can read about in a previous post.

The answer is “Yes”! Join Advanced Security by TrainACE in this FREE, hour long webinar covering a few aspects of Advanced Threat Intelligence. During this webinar, you’ll be part of a live demo analysis of suspected malicious URL.  Each malicious URL has the potential to completely cripple a company’s network infrastructure and it’s important that any string which looks suspicious be fully analyzed before it falls into the hands of an unsuspecting victim. Attendees will also be shown how to effectively complete the majority of threat research from a single interface. Compiling all data into one spot will make it more manageable and make analysis much more effective.  REGISTER HERE NOW; space is limited!

TrainACE is an IT Certification and cyber security training company. This is only one of many free hacking tutorials they provide to the public. They also host regular meet-ups and events to discuss the latest and greatest topics in cyber security. 


About the Author

This is a guest post from Megan Horner, Marketing Coordinator at TrainACE. TrainACE offers advanced cyber security training such as Mobile Hacking and Wireless Security. Follow TrainACE on Twitter @pentesttraining.

Guest Post: Ransomware Threat Escalates Worldwide (from @pentesttraining)

The following is a guest post submitted to Caffeine Security. The owner of Caffeine Security is not responsible for its content.

Consumers face a growing malware threat that echoes the fear and helplessness of a kidnapping. The latest malware ploy, called ransomware, literally holds a user’s data hostage. In return for the promise of unlocking the computer or cell phone, digital kidnappers demand money or potentially lucrative information. Experts estimate that ransomware netted criminals over $5 million in 2012 alone.