28. November 2007 by admin.

To: Local Media

From: Gibson County Sheriff’s Department

Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Re: MySpace & Cyber Crime.

Sheriff R. Allen Harmon announced today that the Gibson County Sheriff’s Department is launching the department’s MySpace profile page located on myspace.com and the department is also announcing the launch of its cyber crime page on its website.

MySpace has become the biggest social networking site on the internet today. The community and law enforcement are responsible for policing the internet and protecting our children online. The goal of the Gibson County Sheriff’s Dept. for creating a MySpace page is to be visible on the internet and deter online predators that may attempt to solicit our children. Law enforcement agencies nationwide are being encouraged to create a MySpace page. This will increase the presence of law enforcement online and also let children and adults alike add a law enforcement agency to their “friend’s list”. The thought process is that if a potential predator see’s that a child has a law enforcement agency as a friend and that help is only a mouse click away. Not only will it act as a deterrent, but it gives the child a way to report it to law enforcement. Kids Come First (www.kidscomefirstonline.org) is an organization that focuses on protecting children online. Kids Come First started the “Project LE Friends List” to verify law enforcement agencies that have a MySpace page. We are pleased to be verified and to participate in the Project LE Friend’s List. Only verified agencies are on this list. Parents should also beware that there are also MySpace pages that appear to be a law enforcement agency, but are not valid. You should always call that agency to verify or check the Project LE Friend’s List to see if that law enforcement agency maintains a MySpace page.

We are also pleased to announce that we have created a cyber crime page on our website for the community to utilize. We will be posting internet safety information and alerts on this page. Questions concerning MySpace or cyber crime can be directed to Deputy Sheriff Brad Garnett at garnett@gibsoncountysheriff.com

D.A.R.E. program- The curriculum for the fifth grade program is organized into 17 lessons. Each lesson is taught by Sheriff R. Allen Harmon and Deputy & School Resource Officer Jeff Hill. The lessons, presented once a week at each school, offer a variety of interactive, role-playing and cooperative learning activities designed to encourage students to solve problems of major importance in their lives. We have a fun interactive DARE site for kids located on our website at www.gibsoncountysheriff.com/darekids

MySpace- www.myspace.com/gibsoncountysheriff

GCSD Cyber Crime- http://cybercrime.gibsoncountysheriff.com

DARE for Kids- www.gibsoncountysheriff.com/darekids

Posted in General | No Comments »

25. November 2007 by admin.

Department of Justice Fraudulent Spam Email Variant

US-CERT is aware of reports of a variant of spam e-mail messages claiming to be from the Department of Justice (DOJ), previously reported in “Justice Depart Warns Public of Fraudulent Spam Email.” These messages contain a malicious attachment that supposedly contains information regarding complaints filed against the recipient’s company with the DOJ. The attachment launches malware on the user’s system when opened.

To help protect against this type of attack, US-CERT recommends that users never open attachments from unsolicited email messages. More information on how to safely utilize email attachments can be found in the US-CERT “Using Caution with Email Attachments” Cyber Security Tip.

Source: produced by US-CERT

Posted in General | No Comments »

19. November 2007 by admin.

Unlike other extreme cyberbullying cases I’ve written about, this one occurred in the US and ended in a teenager’s suicide. In this case, covered this week in a suburban newspaper in the St. Louis area, Megan Meier, 13, committed suicide allegedly because a 16-year-old boy had changed his mind and no longer wanted to be her friend. It was a cyberbullying case because the “relationship,” from beginning to end, was conducted entirely online. Adding to the tragedy, the “boy” never existed. As in the New Zealand cases, the “owner” of the social-networking profile around which the “relationship” developed was a fictional character.

What’s different about this case - and what makes it even more perplexing - is that the cyberbully, the creator of the fictional profile and relationship, was an adult. The mother of a teenage girl who had parted ways with Megan allegedly created a MySpace profile for “Josh.” The story she made up - because, she told the paper, she wanted to see what Megan would say about her daughter online - was that “Josh” was new in town, being home-schooled, came from a “broken home,” and had no phone number. Helped by her daughter and another teenage girl, the mother reportedly had this fictitious boy contact Megan through her MySpace profile and ask her to “friend” him. The girl, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and struggled with being overweight, reportedly was thrilled - for the six weeks last fall that the Josh profile’s creators led her on. She committed suicide on Oct. 16, 2006.

No criminal charges have been filed, the Suburban Journals reports, and the parents “do not plan to file a civil lawsuit.” A police report has been filed, but local law enforcement told the paper there was no charge that fit the case. There was a brief FBI investigation, the Journals reports. It spoke of problems the FBI had accessing content on the family’s hard drive, but it didn’t mention whether the FBI contacted MySpace with a subpoena for evidence on its servers. The town’s working on making online harassment a crime, a “Class B misdemeanor,” the Journals reported separately, “punishable by 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.” At the state level, that would be a Class A misdemeanor, possibly leading to a year’s imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine, the Journals added. Missouri State Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-19th District, of O’Fallon (Mo.) said she would explore proposing state legislation but acknowledged that cyberbullying is a problem that goes well beyond town, state, and even national jurisdictions.

The case could eventually have national implications, starting at least with raising public awareness. The hundreds of individual responses posted below the article fill about 90% of the Web page, and the story apparently has caught national media attention - CNN was to interview Megan’s parents this week, the Journals said. SuburbanJournals.com added that local officials said they would call on the federal government to address cyberbullying.

-NetFamilyNews.org

Posted in Internet Safety, Kids, General | No Comments »

13. November 2007 by admin.

Indiana State Police Lt. Charles Cohen’s 16-year-old nephew “has seven MySpace pages, including one in which he and his buddies pretend to be Chuck Norris,” the Associated Press reports. That’s a great observation for parents to hear, echoed by many experts on Web 2.0 - that there are all kinds of blogs and social-networking profiles, from pure fiction to “reality TV” on the Web to hybrids of the two (the majority probably being in that in-between gray area). The content of Lieutenant Cohen’s talks to fellow law enforcement say something about how police work is changing, about social networkers’ use of privacy tools, and about how the Web increasingly mirrors offline life (here’s the main article. “Many police departments have computer crews that perform skillful forensic analysis on hard drives and specialize in nailing online predators.” Cohen’s talks are for everybody else - “beat cops, homicide detectives and other investigators” who are either in denial about needing to understand the Net or don’t realize what a tool it can be.

-NetFamilyNews.org

Posted in General | No Comments »

13. November 2007 by admin.

GCSD’s MySpace Page

Welcome! We are new to having a MySpace page, but not new to being on MySpace
Our goal is to educate and be visible in the MySpace community. We encourage parents to play an active role in monitoring their child’s MySpace. While parents need to be involved in their children’s “online diet”, looking over your child’s shoulder constantly is not the best way to implement parental control. Having a MySpace page of your own and being added to your child’s friend’s list and communicating with them through MySpace or other electronic means(i.e. e-mail, instant messenger, etc.) will help the communication between parent and child. It will also encourage your child to share information with you that they might encounter and being listed as “Mom” or “Dad” on your child’s friend list may deter a potential MySpace predator. This is also a goal for our MySpace page. We encourage people of our community to submit a friend request and have us added to your friend’s list. If a potential child predator sees a law enforcement agency listed as a friend this is just another deterrent in helping protect your child. Please visit our website at http://www.gibsoncountysheriff.com. Our new cyber crime blog is located at http://cybercrime.gibsoncountysheriff.com. Please visit and also feel free to participate! Be safe!!

Posted in General | No Comments »

10. November 2007 by admin.

Q:
As we all know, Christmas is right around the corner and I’m one who likes to start my shopping early. I’m planning on doing quite a bit of it online this year though and I was wondering if you could give me some safety tips. I haven’t done a lot of online shopping in the past, so I want to make sure I do it right. Thanks for any help you can give me! A:
You’re absolutely right, Christmas is only 45 days away! That hardly seems like any time at all and just like every other year, I’m sure it will be here before we know it. So, when I saw this question in my e-mail the other day, I thought today would be the perfect time to answer it. I mean, it is the weekend and I’m guessing a lot of you will be doing some shopping over the next couple of days. I know I am. My goal is to beat the rush this year!

And if you’re anything like the person who asked today’s question, you’ll be doing it from the comfort of your computer chair. Yes, online shopping is a quick and easy way to get what you need for the holidays, but in doing that, you’re also taking a security risk. Don’t get me wrong, most companies have top notch security for their Web sites, but there are still some things you need to look out for. Don’t stress though! I’m here to help. Below, you will find the top five tips for safe online shopping. Read through them and then put them to practice. Here we go!

1.) Know Who You’re Dealing With - The first thing you need to be aware of is the merchant you are buying from. There are a lot of companies out there today that run completely off of their Web site, which means you probably won’t be as familiar with them as a store you could visit at the mall. In that case, you should take some time to learn about them and the reputation they hold. You can do that by searching them out on the Internet. Use a search engine to see if you can find any reviews about them from other consumers and try to find an information page on them. If previous shoppers really like or dislike a company, chances are, you’ll be able to find some comments about them somewhere on the Web. If you take the time to do this before you order from a new business, you’ll be much better off in the end.

2.) Protect Your Privacy - When you’re shopping online, you have to think about yourself first and that means doing whatever it takes to protect your privacy. Before you do any ordering, you should be aware of what information the merchant is asking of you, how it will be used and if they have any intention of sharing it with others. The best way to do all of that is to check out the company’s Web site. If they’re a legit site, they should have a Privacy Policy posted there. You should take the time to read through that and make sure you’re comfortable with everything they say. It’s a good idea to look for seals from privacy enforcement organizations, such as TRUSTe and BBBOnLine, as well. If you’re asked to enter in such things as your social security number or bank account information, do not do it! Those things are red flags and they are not needed to make an online purchase. If you pay close attention to what you’re doing, you will be just fine.

3.) Know All the Details - When you’re shopping online, you should always check out the complete details of your purchase. For example, make sure you know all about delivery dates, shipping and handling costs, warranties, return policies, etc. It’s also a good idea to get a company’s contact information before you finalize your order. They should have a telephone number or e-mail address on their Web site that you can keep on hand in case you have any questions or problems once you receive your items.

4.) Use a Credit Card - I know that may not sound like the safest thing to do, but it really is a good way to keep yourself safe. If you do business with a liable credit card company, they will protect you if anything happens while you’re making online purchases. Most credit card companies provide liability agreements, so if your card information is stolen, they will be able to put a hold on your card and issue you a brand new number. That way, whoever has your number is stopped from being able to use it. So, if you suspect any suspicious activity after you make an online purchase, call your credit card company right away and they’ll be able to handle everything for you. Also, when credit card companies see unusual activity on your card, they will inform you about it.

When you’re using your credit card online, make sure you look for the yellow padlock at the bottom of your Web browser or for the “https” in the URL. Those are two signs that a site is secure and that your credit card information will transmit safely. (You can read here for more on that). You should also always use strong passwords when you’re logging in to certain Web sites and make sure you don’t share them with anyone.

5.) Keep It On Record - The last thing you should always do is keep good records of your purchases. Make sure you either print out the receipt for your transactions or save it somewhere on your computer. Most companies send confirmation e-mails, so it’s a good idea to save that and print it out as well. In doing that, you will be able to keep better track of your total price, shipping and handling fees and shipping dates.

There you have it! Now, I know I mostly talked about online companies in this article, but these five tips go for every store you shop with online. It goes for all the “big box” stores, the department stores, grocery stores and so on. No matter where you’re doing your shopping, you need to be aware of your surroundings and make sure your number one priority is keeping yourself safe. Online shopping is even better when you’re smart about it. I now release you to start your Christmas shopping and I hope you find some great deals this weekend! : )

~ Erin

Author: Erin with WorldStart.com

Posted in Internet Safety | No Comments »

7. November 2007 by admin.

added November 6, 2007 at 03:51 pm | updated November 7, 2007 at 01:03 pm

Apple has released QuickTime 7.3 to address multiple vulnerabilities in QuickTime. The impacts of these vulnerabilities include arbitrary code execution and denial of service.

More information about these vulnerabilities can be found in the following:

• Technical Cyber Security Alert TA-07-310A
• Apple Article 306896

US-CERT encourages users to apply the appropriate updates as soon as possible.

Source: produced by US-CERT

Posted in General | No Comments »