I can’t even remember how many times I’ve been asked by both friends and strangers if it’s a good idea to use a proxy server.  The answer I always give is “Yes!!!”

Whenever I travel, I usually drive, so that means when I’m on the road, I’m usually working.  If I stop at Panera for a quick snack or if I’m staying in a motel over-night, I bring my laptop in so I can get things done.  Because of this, I’m relying on public Wi-Fi during my trips.  With all the talk of identity theft and hackers, I always wondered if someone sitting at the next table or staying in the next room was a hacker.  I tried to be cautious, but the worry was still there until I discovered Private Proxy.   Now, I can go anywhere and work on the Internet without worrying about my privacy.  Yes, there are free proxies available, but I was always told that you get what you pay for and some of those free proxies aren’t run by very scrupulous people.  These people can, and sometimes do, monitor the information being sent out and will use it against you.  Another thing to consider is that since the proxies are free, they are public and anyone can use them (just like public Wi-Fi).  No information you send out is encrypted.  With Private Proxy, I’m assured of an unmonitored, encrypted connection at all times.  This way, I feel much safer knowing that no one can read my personal information.

I also like that no one can figure out if I’m home or on the road.  Since Private Proxy gives me a choice of many rotating and static connections in the US, Canada and the Netherlands, I can be “seen” as being in the States even when I’m over-seas.  It also works to my advantage in the opposite way.  If a friend invites me to her child’s birthday party and I have had enough of ball pits and clowns for the year, I can choose one of the proxy servers on the other side of the country so it looks like I’m traveling.  Not that I don’t like my friends, their kids or their parties, but there is only so much of the bad magic tricks and silly string one person can handle!

When you meet new people, how well do you know them before you invite them into your home?  Today, when most people hear about identity theft, they think of hackers stealing personal information over the Internet.  Sure, you have to protect yourself on-line, but you also must be careful of new acquaintances and friends that you meet in the real world.  How trusting are you?  Here is a scenario that was relayed to me recently:

My friend Pam had always wanted to take a class in pottery but there was never anything offered in her area.  One day, she received a class schedule from her local community college and saw the perfect class for her:  Pottery 101.  It was a 10 week course, close to home and the price was right, so she signed up.   The first day of class, she was early and chose a seat towards the back of the room.  Tony came in the room shortly after and sat next to her.  They had some time to talk before class started and found conversation very easy.  There was no romantic interest, but Pam thought that Tony would make a great friend.

Pam and Tony would go out for coffee every night after class, sometimes with a group and sometimes alone.  Either way, they really enjoyed each other’s company, so they started making plans to go out on weekends.  The first time Tony picked Pam up at her apartment, she gave him the grand tour, which included her home office.  Tony admired the antique safe that was in a prominent position.  Pam told him that she bought it at an estate sale and it was where she kept all her important papers.  She said she never had a combination for it, and jokingly added that she felt that it looked impressive enough to deter any burglar.  Because of this, she felt it didn’t need to be locked.

For months, they hung out together.  Pam talked about her family that was living in another state and how difficult it was sometimes to live so far from them.  Tony could sympathize since he had recently become a US citizen, but his girlfriend wasn’t yet able to come over from their native country.  Time went on and they became almost inseparable friends and confidants.

After knowing each other for a little over a year, Tony announced that he was going to visit his family and girlfriend overseas.  Pam was so happy for him because she knew how much he missed them all.  She drove him to the airport and saw him off.  She didn’t expect to hear from him during his trip, but she was to pick him up in two weeks.  Pam had all of Tony’s flight information and got to the airport a few minutes before the plane landed.     

Obituaries are published daily in every newspaper in the United States and every day, people look through them to see if anyone they may have known recently died.  An obituary is a good way for friends of the recently deceased to know of any funeral arrangements so they could pay their respects.   It’s also a good way for identity thieves, known as “ghosters” to gather information in order to resurrect that person; or, at least that person’s identity.  Think of all the information held in one, small obituary.  The name and age of the deceased, spouse’s name, number of children and their ages, home towns of everyone and close relatives who pre-deceased them all help a ghoster to rebuild a life.  The obituary is also helpful in letting the ghoster know when those closest to the deceased will not be at home so the houses could be invaded to gather yet more information.  After all, aren’t the times of viewings and funerals listed in these obituaries?

There are many people willing to pay for new identities for a number of reasons.  An experienced ghoster will find a wide variety of potential identities by looking through many different newspapers.  No one is safe.  What if a whole family wants to begin a new life?  Identities will be needed for a man, a woman and however many children they have.  Knowing what times a house will probably be empty, the ghoster will make an unannounced visit.  Neighbors will probably also be at the viewing or funeral, so there’s a good chance the ghoster will never be seen.  Going through the house of the deceased person could turn up a birth certificate, driver’s license and Social Security card.  In fact, if the ghoster plans things out ahead of time, he could get to quite a few houses in one day, gathering information from each.  The information doesn’t have to be used immediately; the ghoster has all the time in the world to wait for the need to arise.

Any information found can be used for anything from simple credit card fraud to something as involved as taking on that person’s full identity.  If Stella Oldman needs some new furniture, but doesn’t have the money, no problem!  With the Social Security number and driver’s license in the name of Carolyn Baines, she can apply for credit and never have to pay a dime.  Or, Stella could want to escape a criminal warrant, so with a Social Security card, driver’s license and birth certificate, she can assume Carolyn’s identity and start life over as an innocent woman.

In this age of cyber-crime, you would be surprised at how many people still use the same password for everything.  What makes this practice an even bigger threat to security is when that password is something like “abcd1234”.  I don’t know if it is laziness or forgetfulness, but this dangerous practice has been going on since the beginning of the Internet, and it seems as if it’s here to stay.  If you are one of those people that use the same password over and over again, or if you know someone who does, please read on.

The password is a valuable security mechanism.  Every website you register to asks you to make up a password, usually consisting of at least eight characters, both alpha and numeric that is case sensitive.  That means that if you choose the password “sEcUrItY65”, you will not be allowed access to the site if you type in “security65” or any other combination of upper and lower case letters.  It must match exactly.  It gets tedious and confusing when you must think up a unique password for everything from on-line newspapers to banking sites.

Another mistake people make when making up passwords is to use easily discovered children’s names combined with birthdates.  Some even use their pet’s name.  If a hacker should break into your line of communication while you are using a public hotspot and gets the password for your Facebook account, he just about has it made.  From Facebook, he can see your kids’ names and birthdates, your pets’ names, your birthdate, your spouse’s name and birthdate and your e-mail address.  The hacker can even try using your Facebook password on your e-mail account and banking sites.

Are you safe from identity theft in your own home? Are you sure?

We all need to learn to be more careful when allowing people into our homes.  Identity theft is a growing concern, not only when using the Internet, but also in our daily lives.  Most of us are aware of the dangers of hacking, but how many of us are aware of how we can be scammed in real life?  Here is a possible scenario that could happen to your elderly uncle:

Sam is 80 years old and lived alone for years after his wife passed away.  He had owned a very lucrative business for years and he and his wife saved up a very good sum of money for their retirement.  The one thing he never had to worry about was money.

Recently, Sam slipped in his kitchen and broke his hip.  When he was released from the hospital, he had to spend some time in a nursing home.   This is where he met a very attentive volunteer, Tara.

Tara was in her early 20s and was studying to be a nurse’s aide.  She volunteered at the nursing home at least 5 days every week and she was very good with all the patients.  When Sam first came to the nursing home, he was depressed about his condition, so Tara was assigned to bring him his meals and sit with him to keep him company while he ate.  Even though there was a huge age difference, Sam realized that he had a lot in common with Tara.  They both had the same taste in movies and literature and Tara loved to listen to Sam’s stories about when he was a child.  In the next couple of months, they became very close.

When Sam was scheduled to be released from the nursing home, his doctors conferred with Sam’s children, who both lived out of state, and they decided that he should not be left alone.  He needed help with cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping because even though he was healing nicely, he still had a bit of trouble getting around.  When they approached Sam with the idea of getting him a live-in companion, he immediately thought to ask Tara if she would like the job.

A week later, Sam was brought back home and Tara moved into the guest bedroom.  Sam was so happy to have someone to talk to all day.  Tara was a great cook and kept his house immaculate.  When she went grocery shopping, she would sometimes stop at the library and bring home a movie or book she thought Sam would like.  She took him on short walks in the neighborhood to help get the strength back into his hip.  Within a few weeks, Tara was like family.  Sam trusted Tara so much that he decided to add her as a signatory on his bank accounts so he wouldn’t have to be bothered with paying bills.

Everything was going great.  Sam had a companion who loved to sit and talk with him for hours.  They had such a set routine that Sam never even noticed that Tara never seemed to go to class.  The one time he asked her about it, she told him that she was on a break between terms.

As a Private Proxy client representative, I hear from a lot of people who are concerned about their privacy.  Some of these people never gave their privacy a second thought when they went on-line.  Of course, most have heard all of the horror stories about identity theft; after all, most people use the Internet often.  But, that only happens to other people, right?  WRONG!  Here is a possible scenario that could happen to anyone that surfs the Internet from their local hotspot like Starbucks or Panera:

All of a sudden, you realize you have a problem when your credit card is being declined.  At first, you may not think anything of it, but when the second card is declined, you decide to call the card companies.  When they tell you your cards are maxed out, you don’t see how that could be since you didn’t use the cards that often and always pay the bills in full at the end of the month.  There was no way you could be maxed out.  Still in disbelief, you ask for copies of all of your transactions for the month.

When you receive the transaction report, you are shocked!  There were purchases made from stores you never heard of.  According to the reports, you bought televisions, stereo systems, and computer equipment.  You even treated yourself to a vacation in Hawaii.  All this happened during the previous two week period.  The problem was, it wasn’t you who bought these things.  You immediately call the credit card companies and cancel the two cards.  You then call to cancel your other credit cards and bank card.

At this point, you try to figure out how someone was able to get hold of your Internet Identity.  Then it dawns on you that while you were at your local hotspot, you made purchases using those two credit cards and there must have been someone in the hotspot that hacked into your accounts.  These hotspots are open to the public and anyone with the right software can intercept your data stream and grab your log-ins, passwords and credit card information.  You need to protect yourself from these public WiFi locations.

You should start by downloading our Internet Privacy Guide so you have a better understanding of how your Internet Identity can be compromised.  Once you have a better understanding, you may want to take advantage of our FREE trial to see how easy the product is to use and understand how it works.  You will have multiple servers to choose from, and your Internet data stream is always encrypted so no hackers can capture your identity.

Protect Your Internet Identity!

Are you aware that every single time you log on to the internet, you are leaving behind electronic footprints? Just as a hunter tracks his prey, a new breed of criminal, the cyber-criminal, uses these footprints to lead him right to you.

The next time you are in your favorite “watering hole”, using their free WiFi connection, think about this: the person sitting in the next booth, intently working on his laptop, may not be what he appears to be. What he could be so focused on is gathering your personal information.

You may not even be safe in the comfort of your own home. When you use a wireless router, anyone near your home or apartment could tap into your connection. If you didn’t take the time to set the router to encrypt your data, the result is the same: your personal information is in jeopardy.

When you used a public hotspot, any information you enter onto your computer is unencrypted. This means that if someone can get access into your connection, that person can see everything you do.

Every day, we use the internet for a wide range of reasons. Sometimes, we’ll sign up to post on a certain site, or to get an on line newsletter. We do this so often that we don’t even give it a second thought. We enter our names and choose a password, but, if your connection isn’t secure, all of the information you input is fair game. The person sitting in the next booth, or in the next house or apartment, could be watching and waiting for you to give him what he needs to steal your identity.

Since most of us are signed up to so many sites, a majority of people will use the same password for everything. The cyber-criminal already has your e-mail address and the password from the new site you signed up for. Once he has this, he can try that password to get into your e-mail account. How much information can someone gather from your e-mails?

From your e-mail account, he can try that same password to get to your social networking account. Now, he not only has your full name, but he also knows where you live. He also sees your status post on when you are going to be leaving for vacation. He also can see the pictures of your family and friends that you’ve been posting.

Now you know what can happen, but what can you do to prevent it? The best way to end the threat of being victimized by cyber-criminals is to use a proxy server. When using a proxy server, your IP address is hidden, so it can’t be used to find your approximate location. You also have the added protection of all your information being encrypted. This means that even if someone could hack into your data stream, any information that person could gather would be useless because it couldn’t be read.

Don’t allow yourself to become prey. Use a proxy server so cyber-crooks can’t make your life theirs.

Hindi maipagkakailang lalong nagiging tanyag ang pag gamit ng mga mobile devices. Sa kabila nito, lalo din namang nadadagdagan ang bilang ng mga cyber crimes. Sa ngayon, ang internet ay accessible o bukas halos sa lahat, gamit ang smartphones at iba pang digital devices. Ito ang isa sa malalaking dahilan upang ang mga maykapangyarihan ay maghanap ng makabagong paraan upang labanan ang ganitong uri ng mga krimen. Hindi na umuubra ang mga nakagawiang paraan; kailangan ang maparaang pagharap dito, gamit din ang teknolohiyang gamit ng mga cyber criminals.

Sa state ng California sa United States of America, itinatag ang bagong eCrime Unit upang manghuli at maglitis ng mga internet crooks. Ang team na ito ay binuo ng isang state attorney general at kinabibilangan ng dalawampung abogado at imbestigador. Bihasa sila sa mga makabagong paraan upang matunton at matukoy ang mga maysala. Kabilang sa mga tinututukan ng team na ito ay mga email scams, piracy, child pornography, online fraud, at marami pang iba. Kawawa lamang ang mga taong nabiktima at patuloy na nabibiktima mapa-offline man o mapa-online.

Naipakulong na ng team ang isang lalaking nahatulan ng guilty sa kasong hacking ng mga email at Facebook accounts. Marami nang nabiktima ang lalaking ito na ang karaniwang modus ay pasukin ang account ng ibang user. Pagkatapos ay maghahanap siya ng mga kontrobersiyal na larawan ng may-ari ng account. Tatakutin niya ito na ikakalat sa internet ang mga larawan kapag hindi sinunod ang gusto niya.

Ang internet ay napakahalaga sa ekonomiya, sa mga tao, at sa mga negosyo. Dahil dito, hindi na kailangang maghanap ng biktima ang mga cyber criminals. Napakaraming maaaring maging biktima ng pagnanakaw ng mga impormasyon. Ang taong 2012 ay nakikinikinitang magiging taon ng matinding pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Naranasan noong isang taon ang napakaraming mga scams at inaasahang marami pang darating ngayong taon.

Ito naman ang dahilan ng pagpapaigting ng kampanya laban sa ecrime. Ang bagong eCrime Unit ay naglalayong makagawa ng isang bagong trend ng pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Sinabi ng attorney general mula California na gusto nilang manguna sa makabagong paraan sa paghahanap at paglilitis ng mga maysala. Gamit ang internet technology na siya ring gamit ng mga criminal, mapatutunayang ang batas ay mangingibabaw sa lahat ng oras.

For every increase in the number of shoppers who visit retail stores, there is a corresponding increase in incidents of identity theft and fraud. It seems that it is connected with the use of credit cards, checks and identification documents. Shoppers have been warned to be extra careful when using these personal information-containing cards and documents. Thieves are out there waiting for the right opportunity to steal personal information or to commit fraud. The holiday season encourages them to heighten their operations because shoppers seem to be more energized than observant.

In the United States, at least two regions have reported a large increase in identity crimes, most of which are data breaches. The cost of information that is stolen from companies costs more than $150 billion in the national picture. This was reported by LifeLock Consumer Education that spanned the years from 2005 to 2010. The theory is that this is a result of technology that criminals take advantage of, plus human error on the part of consumers.

Internet privacy protection efforts are being improved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and this time it will be brought to a new level. Without stifling innovation on the internet, consumers can receive more protection. The set of proposals by the FTC includes innovative functions such as “do not track” and several others.

For a long time, consumers’ online activities have been tracked by the use of “cookies”. Websites send cookies to the consumer’s computer, and this makes it easy for data miners to easily discover their choices of online activities. With enough information gathered, companies can target specific products and services to online consumers. It is difficult for consumers to protect themselves because most of them do not know how to turn off cookies. They need to make an extra effort in finding out the browser’s privacy settings so that they can opt out of cookies. Now, this one is not easy even for the experienced user.

It is true that some consumers might benefit from data mining. This is especially true for those who make online purchases because discounts and other offers may be available if they wish to buy the same item again. However, most consumers find targeted advertisements annoying and threatening to their privacy. That is why authorities are continually finding ways to protect consumers from these kinds of unsolicited ads.