Is Your Personal Computer A Crime Scene

Cyber criminals today are easily turning personal computers into a crime scene. The next victim might even be you.

First, consider these two easy questions--1) do you conduct online transactions on your personal computer such as shopping, checking your bank balance and the like? and 2) do you have to key in your credit card number, social security number and/or bank account number when conducting online transactions? If you answered "yes" to one or both, then consider this final question: do you have some sort of computer security software such as anti virus or firewall installed on your personal computer?

To be perfectly honest, there is no "correct" answer to the last question. You can answer "yes" or "no" to the last question and yet still be vulnerable to the most cunning of cyber criminals. You can probably attribute this to the "unguarded moment" pitfall or even the "human error" factor. To illustrate, let us draw from real-life experience.

A network security specialist recently blogged about his rather embarrassing experience with having several forms of spyware infecting his personal laptop. To briefly summarize his experience, he downloaded an unauthorized patch (or "crack") for one of the games he usually plays on his laptop while on the road. To obtain a "crack", one would necessarily have to go to the websites frequented by software pirates. After installing the "crack", he discovers it is actually a trojan that subsequently downloaded a horde of other spyware into his laptop. One would think that a network security specialist would have all sorts of computer security software on his laptop and above all, he should know better! But obviously he fell victim because of that brief "unguarded moment" when he chose to download a quick fix for his hobby. Now stop and think for a moment--if it happened to a seasoned network security specialist, how many times has this happened to the non-tech savvy computer user?

The point really is not that brief mistake that the person commits in downloading spurious software. The actual crime occurs when the trojan and spyware execute their intent. As you probably know by now, trojans and spyware can record your keystrokes when you type in credit card or bank account numbers. Once recorded, the information is sent back to the perpetrator of the trojan or the spyware. The theft has been committed, your identity can now be used and abused easily by the criminal.

That is the reality in today's wired world. Organized crime have turned their attention to the internet because of the anonymity involved. Unsuspecting computer users can easily become targets because the same precautions being taken in daily life to avoid being victims of crime have not yet become habit once you fire up that computer.

Without a doubt, having anti virus or anti spyware or firewall programs on your computer can help mitigate the possibility of being an online crime victim. But the real challenge for the casual computer users is how to adapt their behavior when it comes to personal security in everyday life to protecting themselves online. For some it will even be a paradigm shift. In the end though it does not have to be rocket science. Just as you would in real life--maintain presence of mind, common sense and use your better judgment.

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