For many MySpace users, comments are a difficult part of the game.  Especially where younger people are concerned (middle school and high school users) commenting can sometimes get way out of hand.  Posting comments on MySpace is as easy as pie, and people post comments at every flip of a button.  This is good in the sense that MySpace profiles have a very fun and very communicative flavor; the downside is that these comments, once made, become part of the profile space.  If you find yourself in a comment war, going back and forth with insults, you might say some things that you regret.

In some instances, MySpace users post comments that they, three weeks later, upon seeing the comment after a long lapse of time, don’t like to think of as their own personal post.  Another possibility is that, as soon as you’ve posted the submit button and your comment is flying through cyberspace to every computer in the land, the gravity of the contents of your comment hits you.  For some people, the desire to delete a comment comes immediately, whereas for others the desire to delete old comments only comes with 20/20 hindsight.  Either way, fortunately, on MySpace, users have the option of deleted comments on their own profiles and they also have the option of deleting comments that they have made on other people’s profiles.  This last feature is not possible on all websites that allow commenting; in this way, MySpace is well-designed for its audience.

Of course, you can delete comments that other users have left on your own profile simply by clicking on the ‘delete comment’ button; however, there’s a common myth that it is not possible for users to delete comments that they have made on other user’s profiles.  This myth is a dangerous one because all human beings say things that they don’t mean and the opportunity to make it right is a good website feature.  Additionally, on the technical side of things, it frequently occurs that a user gets a MySpace error message while posting a comment.  In this event, one usually hits the back button and then hits post again, this time receiving a success message.  While only one successful post message was received, a closer look at the user’s profile will show that the comment was posted, not once but twice, even though it didn’t appear that way.

If this happens to you, don’t despair!  The fix is very simple although not widely known.  Rest assured, it involves no html encoding!  Simply go to the user’s profile and go to the comments section.  You’ll see your comment there, and look for the link that says display all comments.  Once you press this button, all of the comments to that user’s profile will pop up on a new screen.  You will no longer be on the profile of that friend, but on a page with all of the comments posted for that friend.  As long as you are properly logged in to MySpace, you should see an icon for deleting your comment(s).  Of course, there is no such icon on the comments left by others; only the person who is logged in can delete their own comments, not the comments left by others.  All you have to do is press delete and your duplicate comment or your comment that you regretted will disappear.  The helpfulness of this feature is obvious, although it leaves friends powerless to delete hurtful comments about their friends.  The only way to delete a comment is to be the maker, or the receiver of the comment.

Tags: MySpace Hints

Now, in addition to people who want to chat online, single people who wish to meet other single people, do-it-at-home matchmakers who want to match their friends up with other friends, families who wish to stay in contact; business people who want to network with other business people, classmates and students looking for potential study partners, and anyone looking for long-lost friends, musicians also have a home on MySpace.com.

Whether you are a musician looking to share your songs or a music lover looking for music or music videos, MySpace has your ticket—and the ticket of millions of people across the globe.  With over 100 million members, MySpace has become the fourth most popular English-language website and the third most popular website in the United States, surpassing even Google and ebay.  Nearly 250,000 new members join the social networking site every day.

The MySpace Music Page features a number of music links for both musicians and music lovers.  You need not be a member of MySpace to view the comedy content.  There is a Featured Artist section, which lists the hot artists based on genre.  Links to the featured musicians’ personal profile pages allows you to listen to their music and learn about the bands.  The MySpace Exclusives section keys users in to upcoming music events, tours, or releases.  A Featured Video section links to a new music video and artist profile page.  MySpace On Tour highlights upcoming tours, dates, and venues of featured artists.  The Pick of the Week, sponsored by Filter Magazine, reviews new releases and offers recommendations for music listeners.  MySpace also allows your to search and listen to top bands by searching via music genre.

MySpace has been a critical tool in the progression of many amateur bands.  Membership to MySpace is necessary if you are a musician wanted to post your music for others to listen to on your MySpace personal profile.  With its wide viewership, MySpace can offer musicians a significant amount of publicity.  A number of artists, like the English band Arctic Monkeys and pop artist Lily Allen, owe some of their success to the publicity generated by MySpace.

A number of other musicians, however, have found issue with MySpace’s terms of agreement.  Up until June 2006, the fine print within the MySpace’s user agreement states: “You hereby grant to MySpace.com a non-exclusive, fully-paid and royalty-free, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense through unlimited levels of sublicensees) to use, copy, modify, adapt, translate, publicly perform, publicly display, store, reproduce, transmit, and distribute such Content on and through the Services”.  As this agreement is essentially made between the artist and Rupert Murdoch’s media giant News Corporation, many musicians, including songwriter Billy Bragg, were rightly concerned.  Bragg actually pulled his songs from the website in protest.  In repsonse to the concern raised by musicians, MySpace changed their user agreement to assure artists that the company does not claim any ownership of the text, files, photos, video, sounds, musical works, or any other materials posted to MySpace.  Hopefully, this amendment will reassure artists as to the safety of their material on MySpace so that thousands of users can continue to enjoy it.

If you are a musician looking to share your music with others, connect with other musicians, or be discovered by an audience that could top 100 million people, MySpace Music is the place for you.  If you are a music lover looking to discover up and coming artists, find upcoming music events in your neighborhood, or connect with the musicians who make some of your favorite tunes, MySpace music is also the place for you.

Tags: MySpace Music

One of the most popular websites in the world could become your new social planner.  Known as a social networking website where friends meet, MySpace.com has upwards of 100 million members with roughly 200,000 new members joining daily. Just imagine the social possibilities with all these people! The company, which is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is owned by the News Corporation (also the owner of the Fox Network).

In addition to being one the top places in cyberspace to chat online, hook up with single people, match your friends up with other friends, stay in contact with your long-distance family members, network with like-minded business people, find potential study partners, or look for long-lost friends, you can also find the coolest hangouts in your MySpace backyard.  The Events Section of MySpace provides an arena for MySpace users to post various events throughout the United States.  You could even arrange to meet some of your new or long lost friends at these MySpace-advertised events!

You can reach the Events Section of MySpace via the company’s homepage.  Simply find the Events link along the top toolbar.  A MySpace membership isn’t necessary in order to view the Events calendar.  Once there, you will find a listing of the MySpace Featured Events.  Today, the featured events include Turkeylicious, a MySpace-sponsored event to be held at the Elysium Lounge in Detroit, Michigan, and an after-Thanksgiving Megaevent, Family Affair 2006, to be held in Los Angeles, California.  For each featured event, you can view the related profile page, including the organizer’s email information and event address.  There is also a place to leave comments about the event, although this feature doesn’t appear to be taken very seriously based on the comments left for Turkeylicious and Family Affair 2006.  You can also view MySpace members who plan on attending the event.

The MySpace Events Section also allows you to search for events based on location or date.  You can also hunt for events based on event type—MySpace categorizes events into such groups as Arts and Culture, Band Shows, Clubs and DJs, Models and Fashion, MySpace Parties, Sports and Recreation, and Politics and Activism.  A listing of upcoming events also runs on the bottom of the Events Section page.

The MySpace Events Section also features a spot for you to keep track of your events—either those you are attending or those you are hosting.  You can maintain a calendar, view your event invites, post an event, and create a new event.  Use of these features does require you to become a member of MySpace, however, which is a free service.

It is important for you to be aware of the risks involved when meeting strangers (even those who have become friends) in person who you’ve met virtually.  So far, seven men have been arrested in conjunction with a rape and robbery that took place when a woman planned a meeting with the men she had met on the MySpace website.  While it may sound like a great idea to plan a meeting at an event advertised on MySpace, be sure to take adequate precautions.  If possible, attend all events with another trusted person in a safe location.  Many of the events listed advertise drinking, strippers, and an excess of female company.  Make sure you are aware of the type of event you are attending.

MySpace is a panacea for virtual socialites, offering options for meeting new friends, chatting with like-minded folks, and finding events to attend.  If you want to know what’s going on in your own MySpace backyard, the Events Section on MySpace is the place to be.

Tags: MySpace Event

MySpace has many great features, but what it all comes down to are your friends.  This is important not only in the sense of simply having the friends, but it is from your friends that absolutely everything on your MySpace page comes.  Your pictures become ten times more interesting once someone has left a comment on them and your bulletin board gets filled up with things you actually want to read if your friends are actual friends.  The key to having a good experience on MySpace is in having and choosing the right friends.  This does not mean that it’s a popularity contest, and that the more; the better is a fast rule. On the contrary, it’s about having the right friends, not about having the most friends.

For example, how many users still keep Tom in their friends’ list even though they’ve never even exchanged a single word with the guy?  He’s a name and a face in the friends’ list, and the more the better, right?  Wrong.  It’s about having friends that you want to be kept aware of their life happenings.  It’s about having friends who will post nice comments about you (or at least comments that are not so nice but that are meant in good, clean fun).  It’s about choosing friends that you have something to say and that are likely to have something to say back to you.  On the other hand, choosing the friends for your friends’ list doesn’t have to be limited to the small circle of people that you were friends with in high school.  Beyond that, there are friends that you knew in college and friends that you now work with.  In addition, there are people who work in the same field as you do, but in another region with whom you can network, exchange ideas and strategies.  MySpace is personal, but its limits lie far beyond the personal realm.

You will not be happy with your friends’ list if you simply add every name that you recognize from your high school.  The result of this kind of friends adding is that you have a large number of friends, only some of which you are actually interested in staying friends with.  Choose the friends who are actual friends, or at least the friends that you used to be very close to and still would be close to today if circumstances were different.  What this means is that you shouldn’t add somebody if you’re not willing to spend three hours with them on a Friday night, catching up.

Along with adding old friends, you can search for people with whom you can network.  This can be done through a general search or through the networking function of the profile.  It can also be done through searching for groups in the field that you are looking for and then checking out the forums of those groups.  Perhaps there are not forum topics that you want to post in, but maybe some of the members who have posted in the forum are people with whom you would like to network or exchange ideas.  The bottom line is that there are many ways to network with people on MySpace whether your motivation for networking is to have a virtual version of your closest friends close by you or if your motivation is to gain professional work contacts.  Either way, think twice before you click ‘Add’ because adding a friend and then deleting them a few weeks later isn’t such a nice way to go.   A lot is permissible on MySpace, but it is not ‘anything goes’–fortunately, at least not yet.

Tags: MySpace Tips on Friend Requests

History is making history on the World Wide Web. With a click of the mouse, lifelong historians and those who just caught the history bug are taking to the Internet in record numbers to explore its nearly limitless access to times gone by. Today, with our country engaged in war and Americans everywhere expressing their heartfelt appreciation of our armed services, it’s no surprise that military history sites are reporting unprecedented Web traffic.

An F/A-18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

A new online television network at www.NAVYTV.org is capturing its share of cyber-surfing history buffs with its vast collection of vintage and contemporary footage — available 24 hours a day. Co-sponsored by the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., NAVY TV is organized like a traditional broadcast network with channels and episodes. The site also provides an interactive forum for the larger Navy community of active duty, veterans, civilian workers and families.

“There’s no doubt that our Navy film library is a key draw,” explains Jim Franco, CEO of EFX Media, co-sponsor of NAVY TV. “Our footage is extensive and increasing daily. For military history enthusiasts, we’re a one-stop treasure trove of top quality, classic Navy films such as ‘Operation Sunshine,’ a 1958 story about the USS Nautilus narrated by broadcast legend Edward R. Murrow.”

Rear Adm. Richard A. Buchanan, USN (Ret.), President and CEO of the Navy Memorial, invites all of the site’s visitors to register for e-mail alerts that herald important events in Navy history. “On June 4th,” he notes, “we reminded people about the landmark Battle of Midway, a turning point in World War II that marked the first Japanese naval defeat since 1592. When people clicked on the link we sent, they could watch an Academy Award-winning collection of footage that captured all the drama and heroism of that epic fight.”

Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6) TBD-1 aircraft prepared for launch on USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway, June 1942.

Visitors regularly comment on the site’s historical selections. After watching “The Battle of Midway,” one user wrote, “People who love history will enjoy this video. It’s a long way from Jules Verne!”

Another popular page is “U.S. Navy Today,” featuring video shorts on ships, naval aviation, submarines, the medical community, special warfare and even the Navy Band. Straight from the fleet, these clips are created by the Navy and posted daily.

Since the site was launched last November, viewers have been posting comments, greetings and even their own videos. They use the site to tell their own Navy stories, find fellow shipmates and share memories.

For information about NAVY TV and to submit your own video, visit www.NAVYTV.org or call the United States Navy Memorial at (202) 737-2300.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: cyber-surfing, Edward R. Murrow, history, internet, NAVY TV, Operation Sunshine, The Battle of Midway, USS Nautilus, web surfing, World War II

When it comes to customizing your MySpace profile, you can go with the default layout or you can choose to use pre-made MySpace layouts, which are available at a number of different websites. Knowing exactly how to place the pre-made MySpace layouts can be tricky and very frustrating so let us make an effort to simplify it.

First you need to begin by visiting the MySpace login page and from there logging in to your profile. Once you have gotten yourself logged in, go ahead and click on the button labeled “Home.” By now you should be looking at your MySpace Profile and it should provide you with a number of different options such as Edit Profile, Safe Mode, Upload/ Change Photos, Account Settings, Edit Comments, Manage Calendar, Manage Blog Manage Address Book and under your photo it should read view My: Profile l Blog. What you will need to do is click on the first option, the link for “Edit Profile.” It should easily be displayed in the upper left side of the profile page.

Once you have reached the “Edit Profile” page, you will be broken to a set of tabs running horizontal across the page, which can only be referred to as the MySpace dashboard. These tabs will say things such as Interests & Personality, Background & Lifestyle, School, Companies, Networking, Home and Basic Info. The one you need to click on for pre-made MySpace layouts is Interests & Personality. This should automatically come up for you.

You are getting closer to completion so be glad that you made it to this step. In the Interests & Personality section of the profile you will need to scroll down the length of the page until you come to a section that is labeled “About Me.” You should find this section easily under the space marked Headline. Underneath the “About Me” spot, click on Edit.

Now you have come to the stage where you can position your pre-made MySpace layouts to your satisfaction. The Edit button should take you to the section set aside for editing the “About Me” area. It is here that you will want to place the code for the pre-made MySpace layouts of your choice. Copy and paste the code from the layout and carefully put it in the box labeled “About Me.” You may have to do this once or twice, as it can sometimes be confusing for individuals who are not accustomed to working with pre-made layouts.

Once the code for the pre-made layout is placed where it should be (in the “About Me” box) now it is time to preview your handiwork by clicking on the button marked “Preview”.  The preview will show you what your finished product will look like. This is, it goes without saying, what other people will see as well. Make sure that this is what you want. Read everything over to check for any mistakes and then double check your work. If there is a problem then click Edit and redo whatever is wrong. However if you like what you see then click on Submit and what you see in front of you will be what you get.

After this stage in the game you will then be taken back to the dashboard for your MySpace profile and from there you can click on the link for View Profile and get an up close and personal look at what other people visiting your profile will be in for. Hopefully you will be happy with your pre-made MySpace layout because it is too late to change it now. The website About.com has many pre-made MySpace layouts to choose from so if you are stumped as to where to find one then start your search there.

Tags: MySpace Pre-Made Layouts

A self-portrait is a portrait or picture of yourself that you create to interest other people in coming to visit your website at MySpace and hopefully it will draw them in enough that they will be interested in meeting you online or getting to know you even better. MySpace allows anyone older than 14 years of age to create a profile page and from there, others can learn about you and contact you if they so wish to.  The website MySpace features a spot on the profile pages of every individual who registers as a member that is titled “Self-Portrait Day Q & A.” This is where a series of questions is asked and then answered by the members. The questions can range from serious to silly. For example sample questions to be found at the self-portrait section include, “How did you discover the Internet?”, “What first caught your eye about MySpace?”, “What is your favorite kind of sandwich?”  and “What can you be found doing on weekends?”

A MySpace profile contains two basic sections, which include an “About Me” section and a “Who I’d Like to Meet” section. These are the two main sections of a self-portrait or profile for a member. There is also the “Details” section and the “Interests” section. How much information you choose to share with other members and online visitors is up to each member’s discretion. It is important to note that if members choose not to give any information in the “Interests” or “Details” sections of their profiles that these sections will not even show up in the profile that is displayed online.

A blog is also a part of an online MySpace profile and this contains areas for three items, which include emotion, content, and media. It is possible to add music to your MySpace page as well as images if you so desire to do so.  Members are able to choose an image that will work as their “default image” which serves as the main image that will show up on the main page of the profile as well as the search page. The default image will also show up next to the user’s name whenever there are comments or messages left by other individuals.

MySpace is constantly evolving and finding new and better ways to serve its members. There is now an option to upload videos to a profile page and this can be done by way of the MySpace video service. This video service takes place with the use of a standalone flash player and nothing more.

Making new friends and connecting with old friends is an important aspect of the online community at MySpace and therefore a self-portrait at the site would not be complete with a space for friends. The “user’s friend space” keeps a tally of how many friends the person has acquired at the site. There is a “Top Friends” spot for the friends who are of the highest priority and the site provides a link to the MySpace web pages for all of the friends listed. When it first began MySpace only allowed a total of eight people to be listed in the “Top Friends” section but this has now been changed. Currently a member can choose how many friends they wish to list in their “Top Friends” section. It can be any of a quantity of 4,8,12,16,20 or the highest is 24 at a time.

When answering questions at the self-portrait section of your profile it is important to look at how you wish to be viewed by others. Answer questions honestly and be careful about using too many abbreviations, slang or tasteless language. You may think you are being cute or funny but everyone who reads your words might not see it that way. Remain positive, seek to be unique and creative and be as interesting as you can possibly be.

Tags: Self-Portrait Deal at MySpace

In our busy, technology-driven world, it seems that folks are always on the lookout for ways to connect with others.  Many—over 100 million, in fact—have turned to MySpace, a social networking website where people all over the world can chat with their friends, meet their friends’ friends, network with like-minded business people, and share news with long-distance family members.  Now, not only can you experience such connectedness by logging onto your profile on MySpace.com, you can also stay connected far from your personal computer by using your cell phone to connect with MySpace.  A unique collaboration between the social networking website, MySpace, and Helio, a new mobile brand, can keep you in constant contact with your friends.

MySpace is a free web-based service that is open to anyone with access to the Internet.  The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which is also the owner of the Fox television network.  MySpace earns all of its revenue through advertising.  The networking website has become chic with the younger generations as well as with musicians, filmmakers, and comedians looking for a place to test their latest art.

Helio, a joint venture between Internet provider Earthlink and South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom Company (owner of the South Korean counterpart of MySpace, called Cyworld), is a new mobile brand that was created and designed to meet the needs of today’s tech-savvy young people.  Their goals include delivering cutting edge, exclusive services and devices and top-notch customer service. Helio is a mobile virtual network provider, meaning that it doesn’t have its own cellular network.  Instead, it purchases access to Sprint Nextel Corporation’s and Verison Wireless’ high-speed networks.  One of its first products is the Hero, a mini-entertainment system that retails for $200.  It’s got a 2-inch screen for watching television, playing video games, and connecting with friends via MySpace.  It also doubles as a cell phone.  Helio’s other products, are the Kickflip and the Drift. The Drift includes a GPS system and Bluetooth technology, whereas the currently sold out Kickflip is a tiny swivel device touted as a “personal party.”  According to MySpace founder, Tom Anderson, Helio is “the first and only mobile service specifically built for mobile MySpace access.”

The tech-savvy market that Helio is targeting seems to be responding well.  In addition to rave reviews about the Hero device itself, many are thrilled with the services offered with it.  Helio’s all-in-one membership plan provides users with 1,000 anywhere minutes per month for $85, 1500 minutes per month for $100, and 2500 minutes for $135 per month.  The Helio Hero gives users a number of options to connect with MySpace, thereby optimizing handheld MySpace encounters.  First, you can access your Mailbox to read and write MySpace mail from your Helio device.  Second, you can use the Bulletin feature to send messages to all of your friends anywhere, anytime.  Third, use your Helio device to read and write blogs on the go.  Fourth, your Helio screen has been optimized to allow you to view photos from your friends’ personal profiles.  Not only that, you can post photos to your personal profile so your friends can see your life as it happens.  Finally, you can use the Profile feature to view MySpace profiles and add new friends to your profile as you meet them—all on your Helio device.

MySpace already plays host to over 100 million people—and upwards of 200,000 new folks join daily.  As MySpace continues to grow in popularity, new means, like Helio, for using your cell phone to connect with MySpace are sure to enter the marketplace.

Tags: Helio

Computer Crime is Here to Stay; So Are Jobs to Combat It

What do a recent global crackdown on Internet child pornography and the arrest of Dennis Rader, the infamous “BTK” serial killer have in common with the Sept. 11 attacks on America? All are high profile crimes investigated not only by conventional police investigators, but by those specially trained in computer forensics, a new area of crime fighting.

Computer forensics is a branch of forensic science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage mediums. Experts in this field investigate data storage devices such as hard drives, USB drives, CD-ROMS, floppy disks, etc., identifying, preserving and analyzing documentary and other digital evidence.

While most of the attention given to people working in this field comes from the work they do with police to help solve high profile crimes, that is not the only role they play. Individual companies are hiring forensic computer experts to perform such roles as determining the root cause of a hacker attack, collecting evidence legally admissible in court, and protecting corporate assets and reputations from crimes such as white-collar fraud.

Andrew Hildebrand, CPA, CVA, JD and dean of business programs at DeVry University in Fort Washington, Penn., offers this example of just how important a computer forensics expert’s role is in a corporate investigation of financial crime. “First a CPA would be contacted by an attorney to work on proving financial fraud. The CPA would need to have financial records and data, some of which may be in electronic format,” he says.

“Many times in these types of fraud cases, the suspect has attempted to cover-up the crime by deleting various documents, such as MS Word memos and MS Excel spreadsheets,” Hildebrand adds. “Once the accountants have some idea of what they are looking for, we can work with the computer forensics professional to recover the deleted material. During every step from seizure of the computer through to court testimony, the computer forensics professional will use their expertise to ensure that the data is recovered and the laws of evidence are respected.”

Realizing the growing need for trained professionals with this area of expertise, schools such as DeVry University, one of the country’s largest, publicly held, degree-granting higher education systems in the U.S., have developed special degree programs to train the experts of tomorrow. DeVry University offers an accelerated bachelor’s degree program in Computer Information Systems with a specialized track in computer forensics that can be completed in three years. As they are pursuing their degree, students learn how to follow the trail of computer clues that are left behind when someone commits a crime of technology. They also learn how to document evidence and how to coordinate with law enforcement to track the movements of the bad guys.

“Students will be prepared for jobs such as security auditor, security specialist, security administrator, security analyst, Web security manager, security director, digital forensic investigator, privacy officer and compliance officer,” says Rajin Koonjbearry, an instructor at DeVry University in Dallas. “These jobs are in high demand and will continue to grow because of new and changing regulatory requirements.”

Among the career avenues available for students graduating with a specialization in computer forensics:

* Law Enforcement. Police departments and sheriff’s offices nationwide are looking for computer forensics professionals to help them investigate computer-related crimes.

* Corporate. Those with a computer forensics background can help companies protect their computer systems from outside attacks.

* Private Organizations. Any private organization with its own network needs computer forensics professionals to maintain surveillance on their systems.

* Software Programmers. The advice that the computer forensics degree holder can provide a software company about the stability of their programs is always welcomed.

“We are responding to the changing IT industry in order to ensure DeVry University graduates are prepared to excel in emerging industry areas,” says Eddie Wachter, Ph.D., dean of academic affairs at DeVry University Central Florida. “Professionals who know how to protect companies and consumers from cyber crime will be in great demand in our increasingly networked world, and the new specialized options give our students the edge in this evolving industry.”

To learn more about DeVry University’s Computer Information Systems (CIS) degree program, log on to www.DeVry.edu.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: CIS, compliance officer, computer crime, computer forensics, DeVry, digital forensic investigator, forensic science, privacy officer, security administrator, security analyst, security auditor, security director, security specialist, Web security manager

Most people have come to understand that it is important to choose a complex password and to change their passwords often in order to protect their privacy and information. But security professionals now believe that passwords simply don’t work anymore.

There are too many ways for passwords to be compromised for people to trust this thin layer of protection. The Internet is now filled with technologies specifically designed to capture your password. “Phishing” sites that mimic familiar sites and keystroke loggers that track the information you type are now part of the landscape of the Internet.

People are becoming more aware that it’s not good enough to simply be very careful with the passwords that are used for important accounts or Web sites. Most people use the same or very similar passwords across many Web sites and therefore, when a password is captured, it can be used to access many things.

A recent survey found that 70 percent of IT professionals thought passwords were not secure. These same people admitted that one in five companies had already had a security breach that allowed private information to get into the wrong hands. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission claims that consumers lost more than $5 billion to identity theft in 2007 and businesses lost far more.

“Consumers need to become more aware of the danger of relying exclusively on passwords to protect their personal information; and Web sites need to provide simple and inexpensive ways for consumers to protect themselves,” says Evan Conway, chief identity officer of Positive Networks, a company that specializes in working with companies and Web sites to ensure that privacy and information is protected.

One approach, he explains, to having a more secure site is a concept called two-factor authentication. The idea is that prior to allowing someone access to an account, a Web site or application checks two separate things for identity verification.

“Not only does the consumer need to have the password, but must also have an additional method to prove their identity,” says Conway. Sites that use Positive Networks’ PhoneFactor (www.phonefactor.com) technology, will instantly ring either the customer’s mobile or landline phone when someone signs onto an application or Web site. The password is verified just like normal and then the user must answer an instant automatic phone call to gain access. It only takes seconds and generally comes at no cost to the consumer. In additional to preventing unauthorized access, it proactively notifies a consumer if there is a fraudulent attempt to gain access being made.

Other approaches require consumers to carry a special physical “token” with them that provides a constantly changing additional password to verify. While generally quite secure, this approach can be expensive and requires consumers to carry an extra device. Biometric technologies such as fingerprint readers and retinal scans are no longer science fiction and have been implemented in some cases. While adding appropriate security, they also bring a high cost and require additional devices to be available to make the verification.

While the risk of a breach is expensive for consumers and companies, bad publicity is also driving companies to make these improvements. Stories develop almost daily regarding issues of identity theft and privacy loss caused by failures of businesses to protect their customers. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 29, 2008, that a series of national medical organizations, including health plans and medical facilities, had privacy breaches. Beyond the cost issues associated with these breaches, the loss of trust can provide additional challenges and legal issues for these types of organizations.

What is clear is that it will take a combined effort to protect your identity and privacy. Technology providers continue to offer solutions that are much easier for consumers and businesses. Businesses and Web sites must implement solutions and actively promote them to their users.

In the end, consumers must protect themselves by choosing to do business with organizations that offer solutions that adequately protect their privacy. It is becoming increasingly clear that passwords no longer offer a protection that can be trusted by consumers.

To learn more about the PhoneFactor service offered by Positive Networks, visit www.phonefactor.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: passwords, Phishing, scams, security, U.S. Federal Trade Commission