Web Threats Weekly

 Week of January 14, 2009

Web Threats Weekly helps organizations protect themselves and their customers from known online threats. If you have questions about how to protect your organization, please  contact Boonbox.

Online Security Tips From A Literary Source Make Good Reading

When you think about it, literary agencies are on the front lines when it comes to web threats. "We receive hundreds of documents a month from total strangers and hundreds of emails from naked Russian housewives wanting to refill inkjet cartridges in our home while we enjoy the funds that our six dead relatives left us in Nigerian banks," says Ashley Grayson, President of the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. But Grayson reports they've "never in ten years had a virus, trojan, or other malware in our computers."

Some secrets to their success in protecting their network and customers:

* Regular web code reviews to check for known vulnerabilities to hacker threats. "Ideally, anyone who is at all aware of the threat should be doing that," Grayson says.

* Never agree to install a program unless you are certain of the vendor. Even then, be cautious.

* Make sure your Firewall is on and set up properly. 

The publishing professional turned to metaphor to describe the need for organizations to take online security seriously right from the beginning of development of a site, before it goes live: "It's a lot cheaper to fill it up before you head out than run out of gas on the freeway."

Learn How To Protect Your Business Online at Vancouver Board of Trade Managers' Toolbox Presentation by PCIS President

PCIS would also like to invite you to the upcoming Vancouver Board of Trade Managers’ Toolbox session, Online Protection: How to secure your business and build consumer trust. It's happening on Tuesday, March 10. 

At this session, PCIS President Vaclav Vincalek will provide essential tips and practical steps you can take to protect your business and customers online. 

For more information or to register, visit the Vancouver Board of Trade website.

In this issue:

* Online Security Tips From A Literary Source Make Good Reading

* Learn How To Protect Your Business Online at Vancouver Board of Trade Managers' Toolbox Presentation by PCIS President

* Hacker Bait 

* Mythbusters Tip #8

* Spam-Alot

Web Threats Weekly is distributed by:

* Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd.

* Boonbox

* Boonbox IT security resources page

Resources Links

* Tech Dictionary: Discovery Network Assessment - DNA (Pacific Coast Informer Blog)

* Five Web Security Tips for Business (Computer Dealer News)

* Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions below

Hacker Bait

The latest Hacker Bait list contains news sites, business and government sites and web search portals around the world that have been found to have vulnerabilities that hackers and cyber criminals could exploit. 

Keep in mind that this is not a complete list of all vulnerable sites on the Internet, but only represents websites where vulnerabilities were found within the past 90 days.

These are only the latest additions to an ever-growing club of sites found to be insecure according to various public sources and online tools used in the web security industry.

If you would like more information on our data and why these sites are listed here, please contact Boonbox

Hacker Bait Sites With Vulnerabilities Discovered in Past 90 Days

Mythbusters Tip #8

“I use anti-virus and spyware on my business' computers, so my web applications are safe.”

Anti-virus and spyware are an essential element of any secure computer network. There are countless varieties of badware that can do anything from tracking your keystrokes as you write to taking over your computer and turning it into a zombie machine infecting other computers, so these solutions are must-have items, not optional extras. But anti-virus and spyware won't protect your organization from hackers.

You wouldn't use a hockey stick to go fishing. Keeping your systems safe and your website visitors secure requires using the right tools to do the job.

Spam-Alot

Spammers are linking to blogs, profiles and other pages on these trusted sites to give victims a false sense of security that the links can be followed safely. These sites may not have been hacked, but following the spam links to these sites and clicking on links shown there can result in harm to your computer.

If you would like more information on our data and why these sites are listed here, please contact Boonbox

Spam-Alot Websites Exploited Since Jan. 9, 2009

Boonbox and Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd.

Boonbox is a division of Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd., specializing in products for web security, network security, password management and data backup.

PCIS is a Vancouver-based company which provides strategic consulting, application development, technology solutions and managed services to companies and government organizations throughout North America.

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