Cyber Crime

Facts on Cyber Crime
by Edvain

Cyber crime video

Cyber crime in Online Games

Online game industry is rapidly developing nowadays. Online games like Second Life, World of Warcraft, Gaia Online, RuneScape and many other are very popular. Players can create characters, be anyone they want. But this anonymity can lead to different forms of cyber crimes.

Laura Rich outlines following types of danger in online games:


1) Phishing attempts
Phishers usually pretend to be administration of the game and send email to players asking for password. Sometimes they show up in the game and to pretend to be game company employees.

2) Avatar identity theft
Attackers will pose as the other gamers to gain account accessibility as well as in-game belongings and then they could resell those items.

3) Spamming
Through in game messages a lot of spam is being send. But games usually have spam filtering system.

4) Viruses and worms
Virus writers develop worms that can obtain information about players in online games and then they can gain access to information like bank accounts.

5) Fraud and theft
Some people try to sell in game currency and items for real money. But there is a great possibility that they actually don't have those items.

The Case of The Cyber Criminal (Game)

You think you know how to protect yourself from cyber crime? Try this.



Source

Julian Assange, hero or criminal ?

Who is Julian Assange? Born on 3rd July 1971 in Townsville, Queensland, is an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and most importantly, internet activist. He is the editor in chief of the well known Wikileaks, which serves as a website for worldwide news leak.

Assange and his Wikileaks team has published various scandalous materials such as the extrajudical killing in Kenya, Iraq war documents, Afghan war documents. There is also the infamous Baghdad Airstrike video, full version included below :




So, Assange, hero or criminal ? He has reached out to the world, explaining why WikiLeaks is essential :

The response to Assange's actions has been mixed, some claim the act of revealing the secrets to the world is merely "freedom of speech", while some say it is a pathetic excuse (source) and call Assange "someone who purposely solicits and then publishes stolen secrets is no more a journalist than the street thug who pushes stolen goods in a legitimate and valued entrepreneur".

At the end of the day, WikiLeaks still has truly brought to us a brand new insight into what us humans are capable of, and to think of Assange as a hero or zero, it is entirely up to you.

Malware

Cybercrime can involve actions that target computer networks or devices. This includes malware (malicious software). These software programs are designed to damage or access a computers system illegally. Malware includes worms, trojan horses, spyware and adware. In March 29 2010, Symantec Corporation named Shoaxing, China, as "the world capital of malware". Click here to view report. There are different types of malware for example,Worms fall under the category of infectious malware, concealment malware is usually associated with trojan horses and spyware is seen as data stealing malware.

Greyware is a less serious version of malware, software that is usually annoying, such as adware and joke programs. An example of adware:

The best way to prevent malicious software infecting your computer is to follow these simple steps!

1. Update your operating system regularly
2. Install anti-malware software on your computer such as Norton antivirus
3. Opening emails from unidentified recipients with formats such as .EXE, PDF & .XLS
4. Refrain from sending data over unsecured networks
5. Avoid entering personal/financial information in internet cafes to protect yourself from spyware and keyloggers

Using these steps and becoming aware of the risks are essential to keeping your computer safe!

Identity theft

According to Scamwatch, Identity theft is "a type of fraud which involves stealing money or gaining other benefits by pretending to be someone else". In plain English, it means that there is someone pretending to be the victim and conduct harmful activities.

There are six categories of identity theft:


1. Business/commercial identity theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)
2. Criminal identity theft (posing as another person when apprehended for a crime)
3. Financial identity theft (using another's identity to obtain credit, goods and services)
4. Identity cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life)
5. Medical identity theft (using another's identity to obtain medical care or drugs)
6. Child identity theft


I will not go into details about the types of identity theft for now, but YOU should be aware that it is vital to know how to protect yourself against it. A few things you could do right now to start protecting yourselves : 
1. Check your bank account regularly to notice any missing amount 
2. Shred all documents containing personal information when you do not need them anymore
3. Never send your personal details to someone you don't trust.
4. Log on directly to websites rather than clicking on links.

and many more, so start typing Identity Theft into Google and do your research !