Online Anonymity

Protecting one's identity online has always been an important part for browsing the web safely and sharing information. With the use of firewalls, filters, etc one protects one self from people or malicious software. In addition, with he use of encrypting techniques one can also share information in a more secure way. With the recent news of Wikileaks the issue of Online Anonimity and freedom of information has become more popular among people who want to share information without revealing their identities for security reasons.

The Tor Network, created by the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange is a software that allows a person to share information safely and anonimoualy without revelaing one's identity or location. It works with web browsers, instant messagins clients and other TCP applications. The main use is to support the free flow of information that is being hidden by any type of government or business of any proportion. 

Source
Tor Website

Wireless Networking Precautions

In the internet, wireless network security is very important to protect your information form being accessed by other people. There are many ways to stay protected in a wireless network thorough the use of internet filters and software that encrypts the data transmitted to and from a server through the router or any device that sends a wireless signal.

 

Some precautions one must take when using a wireless network is use the internet browser on incognito mode, or private mode to prevent any information from being stored in the computer. While browsing the internet make sure to log out of any site you accessed and never store any log-in information.On top of that, make sure to delete all history, including cookies, etc from the tools menu of the browser at the end of each session. Always try to make sure that you use an encrypted wireless network.

Source

About.com - Wireless Network security

Strong Passwords (how to create and use them)

 A password is an arrangement of characters used for authentication, to prove or gain access to information. It  form of code that enable a person to allow only people who know the password to access certain data. Although they are used to secure information accessibility, the main disadvantage is that they can be stolen, forgotten, or broken.

The only way to make sure your information is safe is to create a strong password. While there are many software that can help manage and create passwords, to create a strong passwords one must do the following:

• Don't use legible words or words from the dictionary in any language
• Use more than 8 characters
• Include numbers and combinations of upper and lower case characters
• Don't use any relevant date such as SSN, DoB, et
• Use a random password generator (recommended)
• Don't write the password on a piece of paper or save it in the computer, try to memorize it instead.

Source

Wikipedia - Passwords

Internet Parental Control Software

 It's a type of web filtering that uses a software to block online content that a parent classifies as mature, objectionable, or unacceptable to be seen by children for moral, religious, or any other reason. Their purpose is to prevent the child to access information or to download media that the parent classifies s unsuitable. It also serves as management tool for assigning online curfews.

The same disadvantages intenet filters of either overblocking or undeblocking applies. While it's most effective on small children, it's almost useless with older children and adolescents because of the many ways to bypass the sofware capabilities. one of the most used methods is by using proxy sites.

Source

Wikipedia - Internet Parental Control Software

Internet Filters

Also known as content-control software, or web filtering software. An internet filter is the term used for a software that is used to control the amount of online content a person is allowed to access. This is used from personal computers to larger scales, libraries, universities and governments.

There are many types of web filtering which include Client-side filters, content-limited ISP's, server-side filters, and search-engine filters. The advantages and disadvantages of using filtering software is that they usually either overblock or underblock content.

Source

Wikipedia - Internet Filters

Digital Image Steganography

Steganography is the art of concealing messages into something innocuous in such a way that it is extremely difficult for someone to suspect, let alone find, a hidden message. The etymology of the word “steganography” comes from the Greek language and is translated as steganos-, or “covered”, and –graphie, or “writing”. So it literally means “concealed writing”.In the last few decades, Physical Stenography has led to Digital Stenography which in turn has given rise to Digital Image Stenography. 

In Digital Image Steganography an image can be hidden in another image making it practically invisible and can only be accesed with a key to the image. The is a method for sending secret documents and hiding private information. 

Source

GFI - Talk Tech to Me - The Threats of Steganography

Computer Forensics

Also known as Computer Forensic Science is a branch of Digital Forensic Science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media. The goal of computer forensics is to examine digital media in a forensically sound manner with the aim of identifying, preserving, recovering, analyzing and presenting facts and opinions about the information. Although it is most often associated with the investigation of a wide variety of computer crime, computer forensics may also be used in civil proceedings. The discipline involves similar techniques and principles to data recovery, but with additional guidelines and practices designed to create a legal audit trail.

 

Computers forensics has been used as evidence in criminal law since the mid 1980's. Some notable cases include, the BTK Killer, Joseph E. Duncan III, and Sharon Lopatka. The process of investigation are preformed on static data rather than live systems. Three common techniques are:

1. Cross-Drive Analysis
2. Live Analysis
3. Deleted Files

While there is commercial and open source software available to the public, a thorough investigation requires time and manual review of the material. There are Computer Forensics certification programs available for those who want to do this professionally.

Sources
Wikipedia - Computer Forensics