Remove Judgements from Your Credit Reports to Incr

The Advancement of the Keylogger

2009-11-06T08:22:27+01:00

A keylogger is a program that runs in your computer’s background secretly recording all your keystrokes. Once your keystrokes are logged, they are hidden away for later retrieval by the attacker. The attacker then carefully reviews the information in hopes of finding passwords or other information that would prove useful to them. For example, a keylogger can easily obtain confidential emails and reveal them to any interested outside party willing to pay for the information.

Keyloggers can be either software or hardware based. Software-based keyloggers are easy to distribute and infect, but at the same time are more easily detectable. Hardware-based keyloggers are more complex and harder to detect. For all that you know, your keyboard could have a keylogger chip attached and anything being typed is recorded into a flash memory sitting inside your keyboard. Keyloggers have become one of the most powerful applications used for gathering information in a world where encrypted traffic is becoming more and more common.

As keyloggers become more advanced, the ability to detect them becomes more difficult. They can violate a user’s privacy for months, or even years, without being noticed. During that time frame, a keylogger can collect a lot of information about the user it is monitoring. A keylogger can potential obtain not only passwords and log-in names, but credit card numbers, bank account details, contacts, interests, web browsing habits, and much more. All this collected information can be used to steal user’s personal documents, money, or even their identity.

A keylogger might be as simple as an .exe and a .dll that is placed in a computer and activated upon boot up via an entry in the registry. Or, the more sophisticated keyloggers, such as the Perfect Keylogger or ProBot Activity Monitor have developed a full line of nasty abilities including:

• Undetectable in the process list and invisible in operation
• A kernel keylogger driver that captures keystrokes even when the user is logged off
• A remote deployment wizard
• The ability to create text snapshots of active applications
• The ability to capture http post data (including log-ins/passwords)
• The ability to timestamp record workstation usage
• HTML and text log file export
• Automatic e-mail log file delivery

All keyloggers are not used for illegal purposes. A variety of other uses have surfaced. Keyloggers have been used to monitor web sites visited as a means of parental control over children. They have been actively used to prevent child pornography and avoid children coming in contact with dangerous elements on the web. Additionally, in December, 2001, a federal court ruled that the FBI did not need a special wiretap order to place a keystroke logging device on a suspect’s computer. The judge allowed the FBI to keep details of its key logging device secret (citing national security concerns). The defendant in the case, Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., indicted for gambling and loan-sharking, used encryption to protect a file on his computer. The FBI used the keystroke logging device to capture Scarfo’s password and gain access to the needed file.

Comments

Trojan Horse….Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?

2009-10-30T04:51:06+01:00

We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer. If you think you your computer is infected with a Trojan Horse you should scan with a top antivirus such as .

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

1. Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.
2. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.
3. Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.
4. Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.

Comments

How to Remove Judgements from Your Credit Reports

2008-09-20T04:07:49+02:00

What is a judgment? Typically A judgment occurs when a debt collector or a credit sues you for repayment on an un-secured debt. A judgment gives the creditor or collection agency the legal right to try and recover payment for a period of up to 20 years. After this 20 year period is up the plaintiff can file a renewal.

Although a judgment can sound scary, all a judgment really is the legal right for someone to collect money. Usually, a judge will review the legal binding contract you signed with the lender whether it is a cell phone contract, a medical bill or a credit card. The judge will decide if the creditor is legally entitled to repayment. The debt will have to be within your states statute of limitations for a judgment to be granted. If it is outside of the statute, it simply means that the debt is too old to collect on.

Judgments will stay on your credit report for up to 7 years. It is important to understand that even if you should happen to pay your judgment it will still stay on your credit report as a negative item. It will only be changed to show as "satisfied judgment" which is still a negative mark on your credit.

Contrary to popular belief you do not have to wait for the judgment on your credit report to run its course before it can be removed from your credit report. I have found that the best legal way to remove a judgment would be to dispute it on your credit report. You do this by writing a letter to the credit bureaus disputing the accuracy of the reporting on your credit report. The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) states that the information on your credit report must be reported correctly or it must be removed.

A common tactic that the credit bureaus often use is to simply ignore your dispute letter or respond erroneously. It’s not just as simple as dropping a letter in the mail box anymore. The reason for this is; in an effort for the credit bureaus to keep their costs down, it is often cheaper for them to ignore your request instead of actually doing the investigation! That is why I suggest you hire a professional credit repair company that is familiar with these stall tactics that the credit bureaus use.

I have used Lexington Law Firm in the past with much success. They seem to understand the credit repair process better than anyone else. They have helped to legally remove judgements, bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, garnishments and numerous collections in general from their clients credit reports.

Comments