Prometeus - Your 'net consultants !

Hello again !

I will try to offer some hints on this thread about how to keep the private data... well, private .
Each time you give out some details about you online, it is out of your control, EVEN if you post it on your own site. If google indexed it, or other robots, some people saw and saved it, it doesn't matter much if you delete it later, someone will still have it.
Every day we have Paypal accounts "hacked", credit card details stolen, even whole identities...
Not so long time ago, people were thinking using your credit card online is not safe and your money will be stolen.
Well, things are not that bad, the risk exists, but there are ways to mitigate it.
I will try to explain you how to:
1. Keep your core assets fully private while still managing to make payments online;
2. Defend against phishing and malware used to steal your data;
3. Keeping your data away from government surveillance;
4. For the real paranoid and people living in countries where free speech is punishable by the law, how to be known and anonymous in the the same time...
For now, look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 7pYHN9iC9I
While it is a commercial, you do know that is true... You do put your data online, and even if you don't, others might, with or without your consent.
Time to act. See below on a long series about privacy and safety online.

Admin

Hello !

This is the first installment of the series and I will talk more about banks and payement instruments, than about computers.
We always want to protect our money from thieves but still want the convenience of easy paying online.
This is a very important issue and we have tons of instruments developed for this, from Paypal to Moneybookers, from credit cards to Paysafe, Bitcoins, Liberty Reserve and the like. This shows there is a serious problem and a definite answer has not been found yet.
However, it is perfectly safe with this simple solution to keep your money secure AND be able to pay online without any issues, except a little extra cost, usually pennies a year.
This involves having 2 accounts, one for your savings/credit card/investments, whatever and one for online payements.
Some banks will not agree to open you 2 accounts, but they will allow you to have an extra DEBIT card (Prepayed as it is marketed in US and probably other countries). You should be able to bar the credit card from online transactions completely, i.e. the bank will not list it in the databases that can be checked by online payement processors, it will be like your card does not exist for them.
You will probably be able to request a second card, but be careful so it is not linked to the credit card account, but only to your savings account. If that is not possible, you should open another account at the same bank in your name if possible in another currency or same if the bank allows (some don't). If the bank does not like it, ask some family member to open an account and give you full access or change the bank
Once you have done that, you have a private account only your bank will know about and a "public" one for various payments, including online ones.
How it will work ?
Well, get internet banking service (most banks offer this, some free, some charge a bit) and you can then transfer money from the main account to the "exposed" one in the amount you need to make your payement and cover some fees plus a bit of change to be sure. I keep some 2 Eur in, just to make sure the transaction is not rejected because of a few pennies.
It is that simple ! Don't be lazy, it is much worse after you lost you rmoney to get them back, and even if you do, there might be many fees, including overdraft fees, interests and god knows what will the bank invent to make a quick buck from your misfortune.

Admin

If you are using a public computer, then DO NOT USE IT TO PURCHASE THINGS ONLINE even if you use the previous method. Do not use your email associated with Paypal, login to your bank account, even game account... It should be only safe to check weather, see look for train/plane/boat schedules, look for the nearest ATM/restaurant, that sort of things.
Even if you do not have a trojan/keylogger on it, it is very likely someone is watching your keyboard...
Also dont use your friend's computer, no matter how well you trust him/her, because even the most honest people can fall victim to malware.
Malware is a generic name under which unwanted programs are put together. They are having various functions, from controlling your computer remotely and use it to provide "DDoS" services and as a proxy for other illegal activities to spamming and stealing your private data and even identity.
You may say you are safe because you don't put info about you online. Even if you don't, your computer could be "in the service" of someone else and would do it.
A few advices on how to minimize the risk:
1. Use an antivirus and rootkit detector even if you are running Linux, you are not always safe;
2. Check your computer regularly. There are tools for this, besides your antivirus;
3. Use a different computer for online transactions, a virtual machine can do the job if you do not have another computer;
4. Don't allow access to the computer you use for processing sensitive data to anyone, even if family, they might still fall victim to crooks;
5. If you have to take your computer with you, use a hard drive encryption tool such as disk cryptor or even truecrypt is better than nothing. Do not use commercial tools as they have backdoors for the law enforcement and it is likely crooks know them. If possible use an USB stick to boot a virtual machine on it and keep all the data on the stick, including temporary files.
6. Use strong passwords and try to not use the keyboard to input them, use a virtual keyboard or save them some place, in a hidden section of some site or mail, something that doesn't say "here is my password for Paypal".

Admin