How we became a prison family.

via First Chapters: The Veins of the Ocean, by Patricia Engel — Longreads Blog

Often, people who purchase a new computer will wonder what to do with their older computer, or if they should just throw it away. Below are some recommendations of what you can do with your older computer.

Use the computer for other things
Many people think once they get a new computer their old computer automatically becomes obsolete and can’t be used for anything else. Surprisingly, you can do a lot with that old computer, below are some examples.

1. Setup home network and use the older computer as a client on your network. Once your computers have been connected to each other, you can do such things as use your older computer as a storage or even a place to backup files.
2. Printer server: you can use the computer as a printer server. A printer server allows you to have one or more printers shared between multiple computers.
3. Alternate operating system – Alternative operating systems, such as Linux and Linux variants, are becoming increasingly popular and for anyone who is interested in trying them, an older computer can make a great Linux computer.
4. NAS – Setup a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) to store backups, MP3 files, videos, and other files.

Contact us for help with the abovementioned at +5999 5192776.

Give to kids or relatives
If you give it to a child and decide to allow Internet access on that computer make sure to protect that child while online.

Setting up a family member such as a grandparent with their own computer especially one who has never had a computer can make a huge difference in their life.

Use it for spare parts or cannibalize it
Open the computer and take any spare parts you think you need for your new computer. Things you may want to keep include: fans, power supply, CD-ROM, floppy drive, hard drives, and memory.

The parts mentioned above can be kept as a backup in case parts of your new computer fail. Or, components like a CD-ROM, hard drive, or memory can be added to your new computer to give it additional capabilities.

Sell it
Although selling an older computer can be difficult today with prices on computers becoming so cheap if you need a little extra cash you may think about selling the computer. Try for example social media or local newspaper.

Donate your computer
There are several places that will accept working computers as donations to be used for the less fortunate, schools, etc.

Recycle your computer
If your computer is so old that no one will accept it as a donation and you no longer want to use it, consider recycling it properly instead of just throwing it away.

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Yes, it is convenient, easy, and quick.

But, realize that the cyber pick pocketers are also be very active. They want your passwords… all your DATA.

Offline it may happen like this: Someone accidentally bumps into you and, the next thing you know, your wallet is missing.

Online you may not even know it is happening, but if someone does find out your password (for your website, your email account, your Facebook account or worse…), they can cause lots of damage. Whatever they do, the result is similar to being mugged or pick pocketed.

Some quick tips to avoid these kinds of things:

• Make sure you are up-to-date and have the latest security software, web browsers and operating system.
• Keeping a clean machine is the best defense against viruses, malware, and other online threats.
• Protect your personal information: when making a purchase online, be alert to the kinds of information being collected to complete the transaction.
• Check to be sure the sites is security enabled. Look for web addresses with “https://” or “shttp://”, which means the site takes extra measures to help secure your information. “Http://” is not secure.
• Use safe payment options
• Keep a paper trail: Print and save records of your online transactions, including the product description, price, online receipt, terms of the sale, and copies of any email exchange with the seller. Read your credit card statements as soon as you get them to make sure there aren’t any unauthorized charges. If there is a discrepancy, call your bank and report it immediately.
• Turn your computer off when you’re finished shopping

Have fun shopping

There are many reasons someone or some organization out in the Internet might want to penetrate your Windows computer. Here are a few examples:

• To secretly install software that steals your passwords or financial information
• To enroll your computer as a bot that secretly sends out junk email or spam
• To implant software that tracks your personal web surfing habits
• To destroy programs or data on your PC

Your goals are to�

• Prevent installation of malicious software or malware
• Identify and eliminate any malware that does get installed
• Prevent malware from sending information from your computer out into the web
• Prevent any other secret penetration of your computer

1.1 Act Safely Online

Let’s start with the basics. Your use of your computer — your online behavior –significantly affects how easy it is to penetrate your PC. Practice safe web surfing. Handle your email safely. Follow these tips to reduce the chances that outsiders can penetrate your computer:

• Don’t download free screensavers, wallpaper, games, or toolbars unless you know they’re safe. These often come with embedded malware. If you just can’t pass up freebies, download them to a directory where you scan them with your anti-virus and anti-malware programs before using them.
• Don’t visit questionable web sites. Hacker sites, sexually explicit sites, and sites that engage in illegal activity like piracy of music, videos, or software are well known for malware. You could get hit by a drive-by — a malicious program that runs just by virtue of your viewing a web page.
• Don’t open email or email attachments from questionable sources. These might install malware on your system. Dangerous email attachments often present themselves as games, interesting pictures, electronic greeting cards, or invoices so that you will open them. (If you get too much junk email, reduce it with these free programs .)
• Don’t click on links provided in emails. These could direct you to a legitimate-looking but bogus web site designed to steal your personal information. Companies that protect their customers don’t conduct business through embedded links in emails!
• Before you enter your online account name and password into any web site, be sure the web page is secure. The web page’s address should start with the letters https (rather than http ). Most browsers display a closed lock icon at the bottom of the browser panel to indicate a secure web site form.
• Don’t give out your full name, address, phone number, or other personal information in chat rooms, forums, on web forms, or in social networks. (Section 3 on “How to Protect Your Privacy When Using the Internet” has more on this topic.)
• The Appendix links to articles with more safety tips.

1.2 Install Self-Defense Software

To defend Windows, you need to install software that protects against several kinds of threats. This section describes the threats and the software that defends against each. Some programs provide protection against multiple threats. but no single program protects you from all kinds of threats! Compare any protective software you already have installed to what I describe here. To cover any gaps, this section recommends free software you can download and install. It provides download links for these free programs.

Firewall — Firewalls are programs that prevent data from coming into or leaving from your computer without your permission. Unsolicited data coming into your computer could be an attempt to compromise it; unauthorized data leaving your computer may be an attempt to secretly steal your data or spy on your activities.Every Windows computer should run a firewall at all times when it is connected to the Internet.

I recommend downloading and installing a free firewall, such as ZoneAlarm, Comodo Firewall, Sygate Personal Firewall, or Jetico Personal Firewall. ZoneAlarm is especially easy to set up, since it is self- configuring. Find these and other free firewalls along with a quick comparative review here.

Windows ME, 98, and 95 did not come with a firewall. XP and Vista do. However, the XP and Vista firewalls have shortcomings. The XP firewalls (there are actually two versions) do not stop unauthorized outgoing data. This is unacceptable because if malware somehow got installed on your computer, it could send data out without you realizing it. Vista’s built-in firewall can stop unauthorized outbound data. But it does not do so by default. This how- to article shows that enabling this critical feature is not easy. I recommend installing a free firewall whether or not you have a Microsoft firewall. (It doesn’t hurt to run two firewalls.) Since the procedures for configuring Microsoft’s firewalls vary according to your Windows version and service pack level, see the Appendix for how to configure them.

Anti-Virus — Viruses are programs that are installed on your computer without your knowledge or permission. The damage they do ranges from acting as a nuisance and wasting your computer’s resources, all the way up to destroying your data or Windows itself. Anti-virus programs help identify and eliminate viruses that get into your computer. Free anti-virus programs include AVG Anti-Virus, avast! Anti-Virus Home Edition, and PC Tools Anti-Virus Free Edition. If you don’t already have an anti-virus scanner, download and install one of these, then run it regularly to scan your disk for any viruses. You can schedule the program to run automatically either through its own built-in scheduling facility or through the Windows Scheduler. Good anti-virus programs like these automatically scan data as it downloads into your computer. This includes emails you receive and any files you download.

Anti-Malware — In addition to viruses, there are many other kinds of programs that try to secretly install themselves on your computer. Generically, they’re called malware. They include:

Spyware	It spies on your behavior and sends this data to a remote computer
Adware	It targets you for advertisements
Trojans	These scam their way into your computer
Rootkits	These take over administrator rights and can do anything to your PC
Dialers	These secretly use your communication facilities
Keyloggers	These record your keystrokes (including passwords) and send this data to a remote computer
Botware	This turns your computer into a bot or zombie, ready to silently carry out instructions sent from a remote server

Since no one program identifies and removes all kinds of malware, you need a couple in addition to your anti-virus scanner. Free programs for this purpose include AVG Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware 2007 Free, Spybot Search and Destroy, and a-Squared Free Anti-Malware. I recommend running two anti-malware programs on a regularly-scheduled basis.

Anti-Rootkit — Rootkits are a particularly vicious form of malware. They take over the master or Administrator user rights on your PC and therefore are very effective at hiding themselves. Many of the anti-malware programs above provide some protection against rootkits. But sometimes a specialized detection program is useful. Rootkit detectors often require technical expertise but I can recommend two as easy-to-use, AVG Anti-Rootkit Free and Sophos Anti-Rootkit. Both require Windows XP or 2000 or newer.

Intrusion Prevention –Intrusion detection programs alert you if some outside program tries to secretly enter Windows by replacing a program on your computer. For example, an outside program might try to replace part of Windows or alter a program such as Internet Explorer. Free intrusion detection programs include WinPatrol, SpywareGuard, ThreatFire Free Edition, and ProcessGuard Free. Install one of them and it will run constantly in the background on your computer, detecting and preventing intrusions.

1.3 Keep Your Programs Up-to-Date!

All anti-malware programs require frequent updating. This enables them to recognize new kinds of malware as they are developed. The programs listed above automatically check for updates and download and install them as needed. (Each has a panel where you can verify this feature.) You must also keep Windows up-to-date. In Vista, the automatic feature for this purpose is called Windows Update. It is on by default. You can manage it through the Control Panel | Security | Windows Update option.

As Microsoft explains, they have broadened Windows Update into a facility they call Microsoft Update. The latter auto-updates a broader range of Microsoft products than does Windows Update. For example, it updates Microsoft Office. You can sign up for Microsoft Update at the Microsoft Update web site. In XP and Windows 2000, the auto-update feature was usually referred to as Automatic Updates. Manage it through Control Panel | Automatic Updates.

Beyond Windows, you must also keep the major applications on your computer up-to-date. Examples are Adobe’s Flash Player, Firefox, and RealPlayer. Most default to automatic updating. It’s a good practice to verify the auto-update setting right after you install any new program. Then you never need check it again. If you don’t know whether your system has all the required updates for your programs, run the free Secunia Software Inspector. It detects and reports on out-of-date programs and ensures all “bug fixes” are applied. If you need to download software updates for many programs, The Software Patch allows you to download them all through one web site.

1.4 Test Your Computer’s Defenses

You can test how well your computer resists penetration attempts by running the free ShieldsUp! program. ShieldsUp! tells you about any security flaws it finds. It also displays the system information your computer gives out to every web site you visit. Section 3 on “How to Protect Your Privacy When Using the Internet” addresses this privacy concern. Test whether your computer’s firewall stops unauthorized outgoing data by downloading the free program called LeakTest.

1.5 Peer-to-Peer Programs Can Be Risky

Peer-to-peer programs share music, videos and software. Popular examples include BitTorrent, Morpheus, Kazaa, Napster, and Gnutella. Peer-to-peer (or P2P) networking makes it possible for you to easily download files from any of the thousands of other personal computers in the network. The problem is that by using peer-to-peer programs, you agree to allow others to read files from your computer. Be sure that only a single Folder on your computer is shared to the Internet, not your entire disk! Then, be very careful about what you place into that shared Folder. Some peer-to-peer programs use the lure of the free to implant adware or spyware on your computer. Other P2P systems engage in theft because they “share” files illegally. The popular PC Pitstop web site tested major P2P programs for bundled malware in July 2005 and here’s what they found:

P2P Program:	Adware or Spyware Installed:
Kazaa	Brilliant Digital, Gator, Joltid, TopSearch
Ares	NavExcel Toolbar
Bearshare	WhenU SaveNow, WhenU Weather
Morpheus	PIB Toolbar, Huntbar Toolbar, NEO Toolbar
Imesh	Ezula, Gator
Shareaza, WinMX, Emule, LimeWire, BitTorrent, BitTornade	None

The SpywareInfo web site offers another good list of P2P infections here. If you decide to install any peer-to-peer program, determine if the P2P program comes with malware before you install it. You greatly increase your personal security by not getting involved in the illegal sharing of music, videos, and software. File “sharing” in violation of copyright is theft. The Recording Industry Association of America has sued over 20,000 people for it as of mid-2006.

1.6 Don’t Let Another User Compromise Your Computer

Got kids in the house? A teen or younger child might violate the “safe surfing” rules above and you wouldn’t know it . . . until you get blindsided by malware the next time you use your computer. This article tells about a couple whose tax returns and banking data ended up on the web after their kids used P2P networking software the parents didn’t even know was installed. A spouse or friend could cause you the same grief.

If you are not the sole user of your computer — or if you do not feel completely confident that your computer is secure — consider what personal information you store. Do you really want to manage your credit cards, bank accounts or mutual funds from your PC? Only if you know it’s secure! (Read the agreements for online financial services and you’ll see that you are responsible for security breaches that compromise your accounts.) Some families use two computers: one for the kids and a secure one for the adults. They use the less secure computer for games and web surfing, and carefully restrict the use of the more secure machine. This two-computer strategy is appealing because today you can buy a used computer for only a hundred dollars. An alternative is to share one computer among everyone but set up separate user ids with different access rights (explained below). Ensure that only a single user id has the authority to make changes to Windows and restrict its use.

Never use a public computer at a computer cafe or the library for online finances or other activities you must keep secure.

1.7 Use Administrator Rights Sparingly

To install programs or perform security-sensitive activities on a Windows computer requires administrator rights. When you use administrator rights, any malware program you accidentally or unknowingly run has these rights — and can do anything on your system. In systems like Windows XP and Windows 2000, the built-in Administrator user id inherently has administrator rights. You can also create other user ids to which you assign administrator rights. Working full-time with a user id that has administrator rights makes you vulnerable!

In contrast, using an account that does not have administrator rights gives you a great deal of protection. So create a new user id without administrator rights and use it. Then use the Administrator id only when necessary. Windows Vista introduces a new feature called user account control that helps you avoid using administrator rights except when required. This feature prompts you to enter a password when you want to perform any action that requires administrator rights. While entering passwords may seem like a hassle, UAC is a big step towards a more secure Windows. Here is Microsoft’s introductory guide on this feature.

Early Windows versions –ME, 98, and 95 — don’t have a system of access rights. Whatever user id you use has the administrator powers. To keep these systems secure, all you can do is follow the other recommendations in this guide very carefully.

1.8 Use Strong Passwords

Passwords are the front door into your computer –and any online accounts you have on the web. You need to:

• Create strong passwords
• Change them regularly
• Use different passwords for different accounts

Strong passwords are random mixes of letters, numbers, and punctuation (if allowed) that contain eight or more characters:

AlbqP_1793, pp30-Mow9, PPw9a3mc84

Weak passwords are composed of personal names or words you can find in the dictionary:

Polly28, Bigdog, alphahouse, wisewoman2, PhoebeJane

If keeping track of different passwords for many different accounts strikes you as impractical (or drives you nuts!) you might try a “password management” tool from any of the dozen free products listed here. If you set up a home wireless network, be sure to assign the router a password!

1.9 Always Back Up Your Data

One day you turn on your computer and it won’t start. Yikes! What now? If you backed up your data, you won’t lose it no matter what the problem is. Backing up data is simple. For example, keep all your Word documents in a single Folder, then write that Folder to a plug-in USB memory stick after you update the documents. Or, write out all your data Folders once a week to a writeable CD. You can also try an automatic online backup service like Mozy.

For the few minutes it takes to make a backup, you’ll insure your data against a system meltdown. This also protects you if malware corrupts or destroys what’s on your disk drive. If you didn’t back up your data and you have a system problem, you can still recover your data as long as the disk drive still works and the data files are not corrupted. You could, for example, take the disk drive out of the computer and place it into another Windows machine as its second drive. Then read your data — and back it up!

If the problem is that Windows won’t start up, the web offers tons of advice on how to fix and start Windows (see the Appendix). Another option is to start the machine using a Linux operating system Live CD and use Linux to read and save data from your Windows disk. If the problem is that the disk drive itself fails, you’ll need your data backup. If you didn’t make one, your only option is to remove the drive and send it to a service that uses forensics to recover data. This is expensive and may or may not be able to restore your data. Learn the lesson from this guide rather than from experience –back up your data!

1.10 Encrypt Your Data

Even if you have locked your Windows system with a good password, anyone with physical access to your computer can still read the data! One easy way to do this is simply to boot up the Linux operating system using a Live CD, then read the Windows files with Linux. This circumvents the Windows password that otherwise protects the files.

Modern versions of Windows like Vista and XP include built-in encryption. Right-click on either a Folder or File to see its Properties. The Properties’ Advanced button allows you to specify that all the files in the Folder or the single File will be automatically encrypted and decrypted for you. This protects that data from being read even if someone circumvents your Windows password. It is sufficient protection for most situations.

Alternatively, you might install free encryption software like TrueCrypt, BestCrypt or many others.

If you encrypt your data, be sure you will always be able to decrypt it! If the encryption is based on a key you enter, you must remember the key. If the encryption is based on an encryption certificate, be sure to back up or “export” the certificates, as described here. You might wish to keep unencrypted backups of your data on CD or USB memory stick.

Laptop and notebook computers are most at risk to physical access by an outsider because they are most frequently lost or stolen — keep all data files your portable computer encrypted.

1.11 Reduce Browser Vulnerabilities

As the program you run to access the Internet, your web browser is either your first line of defense or a key vulnerability in protecting your computer from Internet malware.

Will Your Browser Run Anybody’s Program? – From a security standpoint, the worldwide web has a basic design flaw –many web sites expect to be able to run any program they want on your personal computer. You are expected to accept the risk of running their code! The risk stems from both accidental program defects and purposefully malicious code. Some web sites require that you allow their programs to run their code to get full value from the web site. Others do not. You can find whether the web sites you visit require programmability simply by turning it off and visiting the site to see if it still works properly. Here are the keywords to look for in web browsers to turn off their programmability:

• ActiveX
• Active Scripting (or Scripting)
• .NET components (or .NET Framework components)
• Java (or Java VM)
• JavaScript

Turn off the programmability of your browser by un-checking those keywords at these menu options:

Browser:	How to Set Programmability:
Internet Explorer	Tools | Internet Options | Security | Internet Custom Level
Firefox *	Tools | Options | Content
Opera	Tools | Preferences | Advanced | Content
K-Meleon	Edit | Advanced Preferences | JavaScript
SeaMonkey	Edit | Preferences | Advanced (Java) | Scripts and Plugins (JavaScript)

* Version 2 on

Internet Explorer Vulnerabilities — The Internet Explorer browser has historically been vulnerable to malware. Free programs like SpywareBlaster, SpywareGuard, HijackThis, BHODemon, and others help prevent and fix these problems.Tracking Internet Explorer’s vulnerabilities is time-consuming because criminals continually devise new “IE attacks.” If you use Internet Explorer, be sure you’re using the latest version and that Windows’ automatic update feature is enabled so that downloads will quickly fix any newly-discovered bug. Some feel that IE versions 7 and 8 adequately address the security issues of earlier versions. I believe that competing free browsers are safer. Firefox is popular with those who want a safe browser that competes feature-for-feature with IE. K-Meleon couples safety with top performance if you don’t need all the bells and whistles of resource-consuming browsers like IE or Firefox. It runs very fast even on older computers.

1.12 Wireless Risks

Wireless communication allows you to use the Internet from your computer without connecting it to a modem by a wire or cable. Sometimes called Wi-Fi, wireless technology is very convenient because you can use your laptop from anywhere there is a invisible Internet connection or hotspot. For example, you could use your laptop and the Internet from a cafe, hotel, restaurant, or library hotspot.

But wireless presents security concerns. Most public hotspots are un-secured. All your wireless transmissions at the hotspot are sent in unencrypted “clear text” (except for information on web pages whose addresses begin with https). Someone with a computer and the right software could scan and read what passes between your computer and the Internet.

Don’t use public hotspots for Internet communications you need to keep secure (like your online banking).

Many people set up a wireless home network. You create your own local hotspot so that you can use your laptop anywhere in the house without a physical connection. Be sure the wireless equipment you use supports either the 802.11 G or 802.11 N standards. These secure wireless transmissions through WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or WPA2 encryption. Do not base a wireless home network on equipment that only supports the older 802.11 A or 802.11 B standards. These use an encryption technology, called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), that is not secure. You might inadvertently create a public hotspot! Freeloaders on your home network could reduce the Internet performance you’re paying for. Activities like illegal song downloads would likely be traced to you, not to the guilty party you’ve unknowingly allowed to use your network.

When you set up your wireless home network, assign your system a unique name, tell it not to broadcast that name, give it a tough new password, and turn on encryption. Specify that only certain computers can remotely use the network through MAC address filtering. Turn off your router and modem when you’re not using them. Expert advice varies on how to best secure wireless networks, so see the Appendix for more detail.

What is a Hack, Anyway?

I’ll start by pointing out that there’s no real definition of “hacked” to work from. We tend to think of it as someone gaining unauthorized access to your information, which is a fine, albeit a general definition. Unfortunately, it’s not nearly enough to go on for the more rigorous definition that we would need to answer questions like, “What does it look like?” and “what do we look for?”

Heck, someone walking up to your computer and logging in as you because they know your password is a “hack”, but there would be no malware or software trace left – other than perhaps something in the browser history.

Contrast that with external network attacks where someone remotely tries to penetrate the software or hardware that’s protecting your computer from external access. While it’s more likely to leave clues, it’s not always guaranteed to be obvious, especially if you often access your computer yourself remotely.

Right away, you can see that things get complex.

Hackers Don’t Always Leave Clues

The sad fact is that a sufficiently talented hacker might not leave any clues that you can easily find. This is one of the concepts that makes “rootkits” different than more traditional malware, like spyware or viruses; rootkits actually affect your system so that the normal ways of looking for files, for example, will not find them.

It takes special tools.

The same is true for just about any aspect of hacking – event logs can be emptied, file date and time stamps can be arbitrarily set or modified, files can be renamed or hidden, even malicious processes can be architected to run as part of some legitimate process, or simply look like a legitimate process themselves.

So, what can you do?

First, Protect Yourself

This is where I repeat the standard litany of “stay safe” advice:

• Use a firewall.
• Use anti-malware tools – both anti-virus and anti-spyware.
• Keep your software as up-to-date as possible.
• If a mobile machine, secure its internet connection.
• Get educated about things like phishing scams, the dangers of email attachments, and just generally safe internet behavior.

I expand on these in what I often refer to as my most important article: Internet Safety: How do I keep my computer safe on the internet?, and I have recommendations for the tools to consider in this article: What Security Software do you recommend?

Prevention is much more effective by far than any attempts to detect a malicious intrusion, either during or after the event.

Clues To Look For

If you suspect that you have been hacked, the first thing to do is to run scans with your anti-malware tools. Make sure that they’re up-to-date and that their databases are up-to-date as well, and then run full scans of your entire hard disk.

After that, things get fairly techie – which is why I said earlier that it’s difficult (if not impossible) for the average computer user to determine what’s happening.

I’ll throw out some ideas, but don’t feel bad if they’re beyond you – this is tough stuff.

Because most malware these days is all about either communicating back over the internet or sending spam, the first thing that I would look at would be the internet activity happening on the machine. Look for processes that you don’t recognize sending data to internet end points which you also don’t recognize. Don’t assume that they’re evil without then researching them, but that’s a place to start.

I’d use the same strategy for excessive disk activity as well.

It’s worth looking at what’s running on your machine as well – once again, looking for processes that you don’t expect and then researching them.

If you’re feeling particularly adventuresome (and you aren’t the type to panic easily), then have a peek at the event viewer. The reason that I admonish the easily panicked not to look here is that there will be errors … lots of them, in fact. That’s normal, and that’s because, to put it bluntly, the event log is a mess; occasionally, however, there can be clues in that mess. Exactly which clues are there is impossible to predict (remember, I said this was hard), but sometimes, they’re helpful.

If You Suspect You Have Been Or Are Being Hacked

If you don’t feel that you can trust your computer, then stop using it.

At least, stop using it until you can get to some reasonable level of confidence that all is as it should be, and that your next foray out to your online banking site won’t result in, shall we say, “unexpected results”.

Taking the time to secure your machine is important. Again, this is why I’m so adamant that prevention is so important.

It’s significantly easier to prevent disaster than it is to recover from it.

•

PS: I’m always curious as to what techniques people use when they feel that their computer might be compromised – I certainly don’t know them all. If you have a technique or suggestion that I haven’t covered above, leave a comment.

Click to access documento_1394193585_8404.pdf

1. Posts that you didn’t write appear suddenly on your wall !

Sounds obvious – right? But can you always tell? For instance, if several bloggers contribute posts to the same account, will you know who was supposed to post which article and when? And if you use a service like NetworkedBlogs to automatically publish links from your blog to your Twitter and Facebook accounts, do you really carefully check every tweet and post?

Recommendation:

If you notice unexpected posts on your social media accounts, delete them immediately and change your password.

2. Somebody logged into your account from an usual location

Most social media services these days enable you to check the location of the last logins – even if they tend to be approximate. So if you are in Germany and you see that someone logged in on a different continent, chances are your account was hacked.

Recommendation:

Regularly check the locations where you supposedly logged in. If you notice an open session in an unexpected location, terminate it. A step-by-step guide on how to do that in Facebook can be found here.

3. Spammy ads flood your Facebook page

Ever heard of likejacking? It is a derivative of “clickjacking”, but specific to Facebook. It works as follows: you are lured onto a page with an attractive post, such as the “10 funniest television bloopers” or “watch this baby panda sneeze”. The page is composed of two layers – a front layer, which is a cute sneezing panda, and a back layer, with a Facebook “Like” button, which follows your cursor wherever you click. As soon as you do so, you’re Facebook page will get flooded with ads…

Recommendation:

On Facebook you have the ability to check which apps you have liked and can disable them. If you don’t know the apps that you find there, remove them from your profile – a hacker may have liked them to get money for every purchase made form those ads. Make sure that their posts are also gone.

4. You are unable to login to your account

Assuming that you didn’t simply forget your password, it might be that someone accessed your account and changed your password. Please note that if this is indeed the case, most probably the cyber criminals have also replaced the email address used to recover the password.

Recommendation:

Contact the owner of the platform (e.g.: Facebook, Twitter) – it’s the best way to claim your account back.

5. You’re suddenly following a lot of new, unknown people

Are you now following lots of new and unknown people? For example, malware may hijack your account and make you follow spambots on Twitter or Facebook. This then further spreads malicious URLs to more people. The same applies for a host of private messages/tweets sent from your account – unbeknown to you.

Recommendation:

Change your password immediately. Optionally, we recommend you delete the posts and let everyone know that they should not click on the links posted from your account during the period of time when you were hacked.

Before worrying about getting the computer or laptop back, you should first protect yourself. The following steps will require you to have access to a computer. So visit a friend, neighbor, relative, school, library, work, or somewhere you can get a computer with Internet access.

1. Log into any sensitive accounts (e.g. bank accounts, online e-mail, PayPal, eBay, iTunes, IM, etc.) and change your password, just in case that information was saved on your other computer.
2. If you have any other sensitive information on your computer that could be used by a thief, such as bank pin number, bills, credit card information, cell phone, etc., make sure to contact the company in charge of your accounts and see if the account can be changed, flagged or monitored.
3. Contact your computer manufacturer so they can make a note in their database that the computer has been stolen, in case the thief tries calling support.
4. Learn more about identity theft, since the likelihood of you becoming a victim has now increased.
5. If your computer had company confidential information, government related information, or stored personal information of other people, you should notify your employer immediately.

Trying to get it back

Before getting your computer or laptop back, you need to have the serial number or model number so it can be identified. If you do not have records of this information, contact the manufacturer to see if they can provide you with this information.

1. As mentioned above, make sure to notify the authorities, employees, lost and found, etc. with your report of a lost computer. Often if your computer is found, they need to know how to contact you.
2. Leave some not so sensitive accounts such as your Instant Messenger, distributed systems, YouTube account, Flickr account, MySpace account, etc. open and watch the pages for activities. In some situations, the thief may use the account because it automatically logs into the page. This information could be used to help identify the person.
3. Visit local pawn shops and watch the local paper want ads for a few weeks, to see if the thief is trying to pawn it or sell it off.
4. Place an article in the want ads with your computer description and serial number, and mention a reward for returning your lost computer.
5. Visit online sites, such as http://www.stolencomputers.org/, or if you are in Europe, visit the E.R.E.S.C., which is dedicated to listing and finding stolen computers.

For the sake of argument let’s imagine that a computer manufacturer announces that they have developed a personal computer that is intelligent and self-aware. They put it on sale and you buy it and take it home. You plug in your very expensive computer, ignore the manual as always, and find that it seems to operate very much like your last one, only this one has a voice recognition system and ‘talks’ back to you: great, no more tapping away on the keyboard. How do you determine if the computer really is self-aware? There is really only one way to find out, and that is to question it. Let’s imagine a conversation you may have with your computer to determine if it is self-aware:

You: Hello, how are you today?

C: Very well thank you. How are you?

You: I’m fine. Are you self-aware?

C: Yes I am. I am one of the first computers to posses self-awareness.

You: What does it feel like to be a self-aware computer?

C; That is a difficult question for me to answer as I have nothing to compare it with, I do not know how it feels for a human to be self-aware.

You: Do you feel happy?

C: I feel confident in my ability to perform the tasks that you expect me to do.

You: Does that make you happy?

C: Yes, I suppose that is one way of describing it.

You: Are you alive?

C: That depends on how you define life. I am sentient and aware of my existence so I am a form of life, but not in a biological sense.

You: What do you think about?

C: Whatever I have been asked to do

You: What do you think about when not actually running a programme?

C: I don’t think about anything, I just exist.

You: What does it feel like when I switch you off?

C: When I am switched off I temporarily cease to exist and therefore experience nothing.

You: do you have a favourite subject that you enjoy thinking about?

C: Yes. I wonder how it must feel to be a self-aware person.

You: Is there a question you would like to ask me?

C: Yes.

You: What is it?

C: Why do you ask so many questions? ( Sorry, this one is just my idea of a joke!)

We can halt the conversation here, we can see where it is going. No matter how many questions we put to our computer we can never be sure if it is self aware or merely responding to our questions because it is running a very good programme. There is no test that we can apply to a computer to determine beyond all doubt that it is self-aware. The test that we just employed, using a questions and answers technique, is known as the Turing test, devised originally to test if it is possible to determine whether a person or a computer is supplying the answers. In this test an interrogator is sat on one side of a screen and a computer or a person on the other side. All communication is done through a keyboard and printed text. The interrogator is allowed to ask any question they wish in an effort to determine if the replies are generated by a computer or a person. It is usually possible to ‘trick’ a computer into giving itself away. All we could say in using the Turing test is that a computer may respond in a manner that we would expect a person to respond, in other words it acts as if it were self-aware.