The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

If you were born before 1960, you may remember a strange phenomenon that was once used by some people to shortcut the process of catching fish. Instead of using a fishing pole and waiting patiently for a fish to swim by and take the bait, they would take a boat out into the lake with several sticks of dynamite in hand.

A quick setup and a toss of one of those sticks of dynamite into the lake resulted in an underwater explosion - either killing or stunning all of the fish in the general area of the explosion. Once dead or stunned, the fish floated to the surface and the so-called fishermen could scoop them up with a net and fill their boat with the catch of the day.

Now outlawed and much more difficult to buy the tackle required, fishing with dynamite is pretty much a thing of the past.

In the past few years a new type of activity has been commonly referred to as Phishing. This does not involve water but involves using bait to catch unsuspecting victims. Once caught, victims give the Phisher their personal information.

This type of scam started online with the phony bank emails asking people to update their information. It then spread to the phony email pretending to be from from that big auction site or the payment processing company they now own. Next was the fraudulent email from the African business people asking for help to transfer millions of dollars from their deceased relatives accounts. Then there was the one in which a poor rich individual was dying and they wanted an honest person to take their millions and distribute it to charities. And lastly in this series has been the business partner needed scam where the foreign company needs an “agent” to help them in this country.

Most of these rip-off scams were geared to trying to get your personal sensitive information to be used to empty your bank account or to commit identity fraud.

Now there is a brand new assault that is targeted at the unemployed and what a good target they can be. Why are the unemployed a good target? Most people who experience unemployment suffer from elevated anxiety about their future. This anxiety increases over time, the longer the period of unemployment continues.

Today with the miracle of the internet, we can search for employment online via massive job sites. You know the big ones, you have seen the commercials and possibly you have even uploaded your resume to them.

The scammers have seen the commercials too. Now they have begun to use these sites disguised as employers offering really good paying, interesting sounding jobs. One of the recent ones was related to a talent agency. Here is how the process goes.

You get an email from the prospective employer telling you that they have seen your resume on the job site and they would like you to fill out their online application and send a resume. In some cases, this is the only step, if they ask for things like your SSN in the application. They might really have it worked out and take it further. They may only ask for basic information and have you upload your resume. Then they build on the game - they make you wait. About a week or so later you get the congratulatory email saying that you have been selected from applicants, and to go online and fill out the agreement, after which you have to fill out the insurance forms, or the W2 form so you can begin your training.

Alarms are going off and red lights flashing!

As a person who has been unemployed for three or more months, wouldn’t you love an offer making $75-100 thousand dollars a year?

I guarantee that some people are giving all of their information. In investigating one of these scams, I found that one online scammer had built over 50 different web sites under 50 different company names. Each time they got the boot from the online job site, they just started a new bogus company.

In fact some sources for my research said that some of the information stolen was not used for identity theft, but sold to other scammers and spammers for their use.

So now, everyone is officially a target, if you have money, no money, if you are an adult or a child, if you are living and breathing and even dead, your personal information can and may be stolen. If or when it is will you have been the one who gave the information away in desperation of getting good employment? My guess is if you are reading this article, you won’t.

Remember these points:

1. When it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. A good paying job usually requires a face to face interview.
3. Even a criminal can buy a secure web site.

4. Online job sites do not screen employers.

Use caution online, it’s a high speed jungle out there and now, they’re Phishing with dynamite!

Jeff Glaze is the Editor of http://www.AtlantaEvent.com, founder of http://www.privacy-first.com e-mail certification program and the author of several e-books. His company, Mostcool Media Inc.( Mostcoolmedia.com ), specializes in marketing planning, coaching, business networking training, web and media development. His e-book “The Six Xtremes Of Power Business Networking” is available here: http://www.atlantaevent.com/ebook.htm Jeff Glaze is available to speak to your group and can be contacted at 678.508.5975

Copyright © 2006 by MostCool Media Inc.

Defending your material possessions is nowadays a lot easier than what it used to be even just a few years ago. Technology has raised the level of protection achievable exponentially.

The use of wireless video cameras, motion detectors and video recording in combination with web based remote monitoring are definitely forcing a good number of “old school” burglars to seriously consider a career change.

A higher level of protection for your material possessions though it is not the only advantage that these latest technologies have to offer. There is another level of home security, growing along side with financial loss prevention, which can be considered even more valuable.

Imagine the convenience of being able to check what is happening on your property at any time, from wherever you are. That is exactly what you can do with an internet based home security camera system.

How many times have you found yourself in a time crunch because something in your house was in urgent need of repair and the only way to get it done was for you to be present. Think of how convenient could be being able to supervise the work from your office instead.

You could also have your housekeeping done in all tranquillity as you keep your productivity and income flowing. This would also mean that you would not have to spend your free time, working hard to keep the house clean.

Some of us have pets which are by necessity left alone in the house. Well, I am sure that if you are one concerned pet owner you would certainly feel much better if you could see how your best friend is doing, any time you whish to.

And then of course the most obvious of all supervising needs… kids.

If your kids are of young age he or she, or they, will have to be in company of a baby sitter, but even if they are not alone, I have no doubts about it because I am a parent myself, you would be able to carry through your working day in a much more relaxed manner if you were able check on them every now and then.

Not to mention of course those horrible cases of child abuse that we hear about occasionally in the news. Your cameras are running all the time and even if you are not “watching” all the time, it’s all being recorded. You could, just to be safe, go over a portion of the recorded video sometimes… being parents is hard enough without having to deal with extraordinarily challenging situations.

Imagine the typical scenario of an average middle class family where both parents have to work in order to be able to afford their somewhat comfortable life style. The children are already at the point when they don’t like to be called children anymore. You know, when the girls start using make up if you are not there and the boys don’t want to be kissed in public anymore…

I can assure you, from personal experience, when the kids are in their teens you want to be there, especially if you are not. In this particular case a remote monitoring security camera system is “The” most useful tool you may have around the house.

On a closing note security cameras with online remote monitoring gives you the opportunity to make sure everything is all right any time you whish to do so, giving you peace of mind if you have kids, pets, cleaning service, baby sitter, gardner, work done at the house… you name it. It really is an investment which increases exponentially the eventuality of a much safer future for you and your family, and that is much more precious than any material possession.

The author owns four websites covering all aspects of Home Security. To find resources and information about companies specialized in security consulting and alarm systems installation visit http://www.SecurityCameraHome.info.

If your house is on fire would your gun or firearms be safe?

If a burglar were to break into your house, would he find your gun easily and steal it?

Is your gun easily accessible so that it can be reached by others who are unauthorized to handle the gun, allowing misuse?

These are the three main important questions that every gun owner must answer, and if the answer to any one of these questions or to all of these questions is in the affirmative, then what he needs immediately is a gun safe.

Consider these 4 revealing statistics:

1. In the United States of America, the FBI has estimated that there are more than 341,000 incidents of firearm theft from private citizens every year on average.

By nature, we tend to believe that firearm theft will not occur to “us” …and that theft only occurs to others. It is time to get wiser, that theft does not wait for any man. For many who possess guns or firearms that are actually hierlooms, the loss of the firearms would mean much more than normal loss. It means loss of something sentimental, and it would be worse if that hierloom was used in the commission of a crime resulting in loss of life.

2.Guns and firearms are stolen with a purpose - stolen guns often end up in the hands of unwanted individuals and criminals who may use them to commit further misdeeds, burglary, theft, robbery and even cause bodily harm to others. Worse, children and kids may mistaken a real gun for a toy and mishandle it if the gun is not stored away properly, resulting in accidents.

We have read and seen actual cases where kids have easy access to the parents firearms, resulting in terrible unnecessary loss of lives and untold misery that lasts for life.

3. It is estimated that over 30% of the firearms used in the commission of a crime are stolen from American homes and businesses. Now, that is a really worrisome figure. Theft of guns is becoming a source of further crime and gun-owners must take on a role to prevent increasing firearms theft.

4. A burglar has a time window of around 6 minutes to look quickly for prized possessions and assets to steal when he breaks into a home, this being the time burglars would be “comfortable” in the commission of his crime.

Frustrate the burglar’s “time comfort zone”, by storing away your gun properly.

Considering your responsibility as a firearms owner,it is no longer wise to store your gun in a drawer, or under a desk or behind a picture frame - places where burglars and unauthorized persons will zoom in for.

Every responsible gun owner needs a gun vault or a gun safe - fireproofed, locked and inaccessible to unwanted persons…and safe from theft, fire and misuse.

Peter Lim is a Certified Financial Planner and webmaster. For more free resources on safes - gun safe, sentry safe, wall safe and hidden safes, visit his website http://safes.best-online-guides.info

There is nothing that will take your breath away faster or give you that punched in the stomach feeling than realizing your child is missing. Whether it is in a grocery store or in a mall, a parking lot in broad daylight or in a park or even at home all it takes is a moment’s distraction when it hits you-YOUR CHILD IS MISSING!

And that is all it takes is a split second of a distraction. The phone rings, you see someone you have not seen in a long time; the examples of distractions are almost endless.

Fortunately in MOST of these cases they have just wandered off and are easily found. But the pure unadulterated fear for those few moments-you won’t soon forget. Those are the lucky ones.

The unlucky ones are the ones where it turns into a missing child story. According to FBI missing child statistics a parent or caregiver calls law enforcement about a missing child 2100 times a day.

An uncommon example occurred nearby recently. Eight year old Evan Thompson was on his first camping trip in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains near Canon City, Colorado. He disappeared shortly after breakfast. He had no food or water with him and no medication for his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Those mountains have snakes, cougars, and bears. After four days he was finally found and is okay.

How many times have you noticed the flyers in your local grocery store or Wal-Mart of pictures of missing children? Have you ever seen a milk carton or received a postcard with a photo of a missing child? Those are the unlucky ones and there are tens of thousands of them annually. To learn more, check out
http://www.missingkids.com

There are products available that can help in keeping track of your child. Especially for younger children this is a worthwhile investment. Don’t be caught off guard. Be alert, be aware, and be safe.

Jack Krohn started Security Solutions to help people prevent crime. His websites http://www.aaa-safetyfirst.com/childguard.htm
offer unique, hard to find products for self defense, home security and professional high tech surveillance equipment for homes and business.

Join us Today for special offers and deep discounts on specified self defense and home security products. http://www.aaa-safetyfirst.com

Alarm Contacts- Contact switches are magnetic switches used to protect doors and windows for the most part. There are three main styles that are used by most alarm companies. They are recessed contacts, surface mount contacts and roller-ball contacts.

Recessed contacts are hidden in the window tracks and door jams so that they can’t be seen when the window or door is closed. The switch is on the fixed or non-movable side of the opening and a magnet is placed on the movable side. When the magnet meets the switch the circuit is complete and the control knows it is closed. Recessed contacts are more complicated to install unless they are placed during the construction phase of your home or business. A good installation technician can install recessed contacts in your home after construction as long as they have an unfinished basement, accessible attic or closet to run the wires in.

Surface mount contacts function the same as recessed ones however they are visible when the doors or windows are closed. They come in three main sizes being large, small and micro. They come in the colors white, gray and brown so they can blend in to the door trim or window- sill they are mounted on.

Roller-ball contacts are in the hinge side of your door jam and the spring- loaded ball is pushed in when the door is closed completing the circuit. These are more likely to need replacement in a few years as they are considered a moving part.

All types of recessed and surface mount contacts can be hardwired directly to your control panel or you can get them in a wireless version. Wireless contacts have a transmitter tied to them or built into them that sends a radio signal to a receiver in the control. The transmitter is surface mounted and comes in two colors, white and brown. If white and brown are not your desired colors, you can paint the switches and transmitters to match your decor.

Doors are the most common point of entry and should be protected by your system. I always recommend contacting every perimeter door in your home or business

Window contacts can add up in a hurry as most homes have many windows. I have always felt that window contacts give the homeowner a false sense of security because of the fact that a window has to be opened in order for them to work. If your window is locked (and it should be) when you are away or sleeping, a burglar has to break the glass or remove the glass to unlock it. If they break the glass and the alarm does not sound, why would they open the window? Instead they would most likely clear the broken glass and climb in. That is why your money is better spent on motion detectors and/or glass- break sound detectors.

If you have children, window contacts can be a valuable tool. They will keep your youngsters from opening the window for a stranger. And they will also make your teenager sorry you ever read this. (If they tell you all they want for the holidays is a magnet, the jigs up!) Window contacts are often better at keeping people in than they are at keeping burglars out. If you do choose to use window contacts you may like the fact that the surface mounted versions can be set up so that you can keep your window open a few inches for ventilation and still be armed.

Matthew Francis Alarms@expertsknow.com

22 year veteran of the alarm industry
Installer, salesman, licensed alarm company owner, monitoring station designer, promotions and marketing director with one of the worlds largest security dealers. He now works as a consumer advocate, teaching consumers how to buy or get systems for free (without being taken). He is committed to being unbiased.
His web site is http://www.expertsknow.com

The vast array of home security products available on the market today can be dizzying. Home security products can be wireless or hard wired, optional or required or simple or complex. Determining which home security products you need can be difficult enough and it becomes more complicated when you have to choose between the assortment of models that are available for each product. Wading through all of the available information can be overwhelming. For this reason choosing only the most basic home security products can greatly simplify the process. The control panel, keypad, access control sensors and an audible or visible alarm are some of the basic home security products that are used in just about every home security system.

The control panel is one of the most important home security products available. This is the heart of any security system. All of the wiring for the other home security products meets at the control panel and the entire system is tied together at this location. Without this valuable component, the security system would not function properly.

The keypad is another of many home security products that exists in just about every security system. The keypad is where the homeowner interacts with the system. The system can be activated and deactivated at this location. The keypad is also where the system displays messages for the homeowners. If there has been a breach of security while you were away or if one of your home security products is malfunctioning, the keypad will display these important messages for you. The other purpose that the keypad plays is to display the current status of the system.

Access control sensors are other home security products that are critical to the function of a home security system. These home security products are used to detect if a door or window is opened while the security system is activated. When these sensors are triggered an alarm will sound either immediately or on a delay. The reason that most security systems incorporate a delay is to enable the homeowner to deactivate the system upon returning to their home.

Finally, an audible alarm and strobe lights are other home security products that are commonly used. These home security products can be used separately or in conjunction with each other. The importance of these components is that they alert the homeowners as well as their neighbors to a possible intruder. In most cases a triggered alarm is enough to cause the burglar to vacate the property as quickly as possible.

Not all home security products are necessary. Many home security products such as motion detectors and security cameras are optional while home security products such as the control panel, keypad, access control sensors and audible or visual alarms are necessary for the system to function properly.

Robert H the author of this article, invites you to Find more informative articles on home security, and news on all the latest home security products at his his website here www.homesecurity.info-net-work.com

Millions of people everyday rely on fire extinguishers to put out minor fires which start in the home. Fire extinguishers contain a powder which is known to instantly put out a fire and prevent it from spreading any further. In 2004, fire extinguishers saved over 25 lives in the United States and prevented over 1,500 injuries. Fire departments all over the world encourage home owners to have at least one fire extinguisher in the home at all times. That said, studies show that approximately 80% of homeowners do have at least one in their home, but the question is do they know how to use it?

Sure it’s great to know there’s a fire extinguisher close by if you ever need one, but what most people don’t understand is if you don’t know how to use these devices, they are practically useless. Everyone should know how to use a fire extinguisher and if you are one of the many who don’t, the follow steps will provide you with everything you need to know.

The easiest way to learn how to use a fire extinguisher is to memorize the acronym P.A.S.S. and memorize the meaning of each letter. The following list will provide you with the meanings of each letter:

P – The first letter to remember is “P”. This indicates to the user to pull the pin. Pulling the pin is the first step in the process and is crucial to the successful execution of fire extinguishers.

A – The “A” stands for Aim. This tells the user to aim the fire extinguisher nozzle towards the base of the flames.

S – The first “S” stands for Squeeze. This advises the user to squeeze the trigger while maintaining the extinguisher in an upright position.

S – The last “S” stands for Sweep. The user will then sweep the extinguisher from side to side making sure to cover the area of the fire completely.

Remembering the word PASS can save the life of you or someone you love.

Having a fire extinguisher in your home is a great idea however the location of your extinguisher is a determining factor in whether or not it will be useful. You will want to keep your fire extinguisher in areas which are most likely to produce fires such as kitchens, near fireplaces, garages or areas with a number of candles (perhaps a bedroom).

Do not keep your fire extinguisher near your stove. Stoves are a prime target for fires and should a fire break out near your stove, you will want to be able to access your extinguisher. You may also want to keep your extinguisher near an exit so you can leave it the fire becomes too large.

Jim Staller has worked in the industrial field for more than 15 years. In his spare time, he serves as a contributing writer for http://www.industrial101.com - a site offering information about data aquisition, cleanrooms, frequency converters and more.

Some time ago, I was one of the most prolific contributors to
one of the most popular newsgroups on Usenet. The newsgroup’s
purpose was to provide fraudulently-obtained, but valid,
passwords for websites.

The process there is fairly straightforward: someone posts the
web site address of a site that they want (free and illegal)
access to. Several group members with colorful nicknames then
“run” the site. If a valid username/password is found, it is
emailed to the requestor, who in turn publicly heaps praise on
the grantor, thus inflating his or her ego. My colorful nickname
was “PassBandit”.

Here are some tips to ensure that your account is not the weak
account that the other “PassBandit”s of the world compromise:

1. The password is more important than the username. Do not
assume that because you have an unusual username (including
e-mail addresses), you can choose a simple password.

2. Make your reminder question tough and unique — something
such as “What was my first pet’s name?”.

3. Do not use your username as the password. Similarly, do not
use a password that “fits” with the username. The may be cute,
clever, and easy to remember, but username:password combinations
such as intel:inside, moody:blues, hewlett:packard, or
foghorn:leghorn will be compromised very quickly.

4. Make every password AT LEAST 6 characters long.

5. Use a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, and numbers –
and, if allowed, include symbols, i.e., “Hammer*shreW” or
“booKbuicK-720″. The more variety your password contains, the
less likely that it will be guessed.

6. Do not use a single word as your entire password. At several
hundred guesses per second, my software could (and often did) go
through entire unabridged dictionary files, many megabytes in
size, and in several languages in no time. Combine two unrelated
words, such as bookbuick or hammershrew.

7. Change your password frequently if the site gives you that
option.

8. Do not use the same username/password combination at multiple
sites.

I’ve grown out of “PassBandit”, and it no longer holds a thrill
for me. Instead, I’ve hopped the fence and teach loss prevention
topics. But there are thousands of “PassBandit”s out there
looking to get your into your website stash. Don’t make it easy
for them.

Nearly every high school student, and even many junior high
students, has a cell phones. This makes it very easy for you to
keep tabs on your teenagers with cell phone listening devices.
Because they are interested in have phones that allow them to
call their friends, you will be the hero when you give them a
cell phone. And because you want to keep tabs and make sure that
they are not engaging in destructive behavior, you can make use
of these cell phone listening devices to keep track of where
they are and what they are doing.

The great thing about today’s cell phone listening devices is
that they do more than just let you listen to conversations over
the cell phone. They also let you hear what is going on in the
room, and they come equipped with GPS trackers. These are great
because you know where your teenager is, as well as what she or
he is doing.

Car tracking devices merely let you know where your car is.
There is no way of knowing whether or not your teen is in the
car. When you make use of cell phone listening devices with GPS
tracking capability, you can know where your teen is. The phone
is something he or she will keep on the person. The car can be
parked where it should be, and then someone else can give a ride
to someplace forbidden. A cell phone bug is a more complete
device.

In addition to showing location, cell phone listening devices
also let you listen in. The most advanced device works just like
a regular cell phone. Your teen will get incoming calls, have a
phone book, make calls, and even sometimes have a camera on the
phone. The only difference is that you have the power to listen
in. You dial a secret secondary number that gives you access to
the phone. You can hear the conversation over the phone (and
record it) or you can activate the microphone on the phone that
picks up the sounds in the room.

You can always know exactly what is going on with your teens you
make use of cell phone listening devices.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com. This article is about:
Cell Phone Listening Devices.

Identity Theft and Your Personal Information

——————————————–
Identity theft is apparently the “in thing” these days. By
media accounts, hackers and evildoers lurk everywhere trying
to steal your personal information. In the past few months,
one company after another is being forced to admit customer
data has been lost or stolen.

In many cases, they have then come forth repeatedly over the
next few weeks, or even months revising the estimated number
of impacted customers. To date, I don’t think any have ever
lowered those numbers.

Identity Theft and Respected Companies

————————————–
Generally speaking, these aren’t fly-by-night organizations.
These are respected companies who we’ve come to trust. In
many instances, the loss wasn’t even the work of a
“malicious hacker” or other mystical force beyond their
control; it was simple carelessness. The frequency of such
reports of identity theft is making it difficult for
consumers to feel confident in those with whom we do
business. Customers are outraged that companies are not
doing more to protect their information from the forces of
evil.

You and Your Personal Information

———————————
What about you? How are you at keeping you personal
information under wraps? Some of these high profile
incidents were the result of a trivial mistake that could
have happened to anyone, including you.

Let’s consider two events that didn’t make the front page of
C|Net or CNN.

The Keys To The Castle

———————-
I consult for a client who doesn’t trust me. It’s nothing
personal, they don’t trust anyone. Whenever I visit this
site, I am forced to contact the client throughout the visit
to have them type a credential, or password, to grant access
to a server or router. It’s really annoying.

I really respect this client.

They don’t really know me; I’m “the consultant”. They’re
taking the proper steps when dealing with a consultant,
providing the absolute minimum amount of information
required. They would never give me unsupervised access to
the network, and certainly wouldn’t consider giving me
passwords to their servers or routers. Not on purpose
anyway.

Then there was the day I was working alongside the client
and needed to reconfigure a router to complete a task. It’s
a long walk to the client’s office to get the password for
that particular router. Yes, this is a client who apparently
has a unique password for every piece of equipment they own.
Conveniently the client does keep a password protected file
on a USB key that contained the needed information. The
client was completely appropriate and even asked permission
before using my laptop to fetch the file. I consented, and
even made the gesture of turning away while he unlocked the
file and retrieved the required password.

Have you ever used Google Desktop Search? It’s a very cool,
and aptly named, program that is a Google for your PC. It
will index your files and make them searchable through a
fast, flexible, and easy to use interface. It’ll even cache
the contents of files so if you move it off your hard drive,
you’ll still be able to see the contents of what was once
there. Normally it does all this in the background when you
computer is sitting idle. It also does it anytime you open a
file.

Your Personal Information Is The Prize

————————————–
You guessed it. Logins, passwords, public and private IP
addresses. You name it, I had it. The client who would never
give me a single password had turned over all of them at
once.

What kind of wondrous data was now available? Personnel
records, salary data, trade secrets? Maybe, if this was a
corporate client. What about an academic, a University even?
Student records, financial aid forms, and grant information.
The possibilities were endless.

I promptly deleted the cache. The customer didn’t want me to
have the information, nor did I.

Would You Hand Your Credit Card To A Stranger?

———————————————-
The previous example showed how simple it is to
inadvertently reveal a large amount of data. It’s funny how
easily a person can dismiss this type of loss. After all,
it’s not your data, right?

So let’s get a bit more personal.

Convenience And Computer Security Are Rarely Compatible

——————————————————-
I have a good trust relationship with my next client. She is
quite comfortable with me administering and securing the
corporate network. When it comes to her personal credit card
information however, well, not so much.

Pretty much every web browser available these days has quite
a few convenience features designed to make your day to day
“net experience simpler”. One of these convenience features
came into play in this example, specifically the Firefox
browser’s auto-completion feature.

Not too long ago, I was tasked by this client to make
arrangements for transfer of an internet domain to their
ownership. Not a difficult task, she could have handled it
herself. She was quite a capable computer user; she just
didn’t want to be bothered with the process.

I set aside 20 minutes to go through her domain registrar’s
step-by-step transfer wizard. I summoned the client to
explain the details of the transfer displayed on my laptop
screen. Facing the payment options screen the client asked
if she could proceed. I relinquished control of my laptop
and she entered the credit card information required to
complete the transaction.

Web Browsers Cache Your Personal Information

——————————————–
Most modern web browsers, for convenience, will cache
information entered into web forms. The intent is to be able
to recall this information if it’s requested by another
form. The following day, I was in the process of registering
another domain with the same registrar and was surprised,
for half a second, when the payment screen pre-populated
using the same information used the day before. In addition
to the credit card information I also had my client’s
personal home address, and telephone number. This was quite
a bit of personal information the client never had any
intention of giving me.

So What’s Your Point?

———————
These two examples are very different but do share two
important attributes. First, data the client intended to
keep private was revealed to me. Second, the reason for the
“compromise” of the data was due to the “victim” working
with said data on a computer they neither owned nor were
familiar with. Under different circumstances, the end
results could have been quite devastating.

Conclusion

———-
When using a computer system you do not own, perhaps at a
kiosk, or Internet Café, be aware that the computer itself
is going to remember a lot of what you’ve done as part of
basic functionality. Additionally, most entities that are
going to provide you with access to a computer, including
your employer, probably have systems in place that could
collect additional data you don’t desire to share. Even
WiFi hotspots that allow you to use your own notebook or PDA
to surf the web while sipping coffee can be a potential
information collector.

The moral of the story is, when dealing with computer
systems that aren’t your own, never handle data or documents
that you wouldn’t want left behind unprotected. In all odds,
once you walk away from that computer, you’ve done just
that.

About The Author

—————-
Erich currently specializes in providing network and security
solutions for small to medium businesses that frequently have
to resolve the conflict of need versus budget.
His commitment to precision and excellence is eclipsed only by
his fascination with gadgets, particularly ones that are
shiny, or that blink, or that beep. Erich is a
staff writer for http://www.defendingthenet.com and several other
e-zines. If you would like to contact Erich you can e-mail
him at erich.heintz@gmail.com or
DefendTheNet@ParaLogic.Net.