Internet Security

Post by **overhung** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:33 pm

Well, it's finally happened. Some criminal got a hold of my credit card via the internet. I buy a lot of stuff off the interenet and pay my bills online, so it was bound to happen. They charged up several hundred dollars on my card and my bank said that someone probably intercepted a transaction, or some bastard at one of the places I've used my card did the deed. The bank traced it to some place in Boston. They called the place and some "foreign" sounding guy answered and said that he was me. So, man be careful in the future. Maybe one of you geeks can provide some more information about making online purchases, etc.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:37 pm

Man that sucks. Do you make sure to check that you are on secure web sites before entering your credit card info? I always do that. I also only use my credit card on trusted sites - such as Amazon, REI, national chains which have websites, etc. So far so good... Finally, I use a credit card which covers me 100% for unauthorized on-line purchases, no deductible, and it's the only one I use. And I use it a LOT.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:41 pm

oh and another thought, a firewall is essential these days IMO. Especially if you have broadband.

Post by **Alan Evil** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:55 pm

Always look for "https:" instead of "http:" at the beginning of secure web addresses. Also run Windows Update often to make sure all your security stuff is up to date, unless you use Mac or Linux in which case you're bound to say something smart assed about this.

Somebody faked my Discover card once but they didn't have the confirmation number on the back.

Also watch out for e-mails about your eBay and Paypal accounts. There was a slew of those things recently.

Post by **Spray Lord** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:26 pm

I had a similar problem. One of the prostitutes here in town accepted credit cards. Well, I trusted him completely (he wasn't foreign sounding or anything) but one day it turned out that he had been using my credit card number frequently to order ass-cream, pasties, and tacos and long underwear and some other stuff.

Anyway, I don't know anything about using credit cards online but I sure don't use mine when I'm paying for prostitutes anymore, especially male ones. I would probably trust female prostitutes with my credit card number though. Don't ask me why, just a hunch.

As for you overhung, I hope that you weren't responsible for the charges. My credit card company didn't believe that the ass-cream wasn't mine, even when I explained that the prostitute had been living at my house and that was why the stuff had been sent to my address and they ended up making me pay. Anyway, good luck with that.

Post by **GWG** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:36 pm

I spoke with my credit card company and they recommended getting a secondary card with a limit set at what you anticipate you would need. Use this card exclusively for the internet. This way, if the number is taken, they're limited in what they can do with it. They also mentioned that I would not be responsible for unauthorized charges against my card. Not all companies have this and it would be worth checking it out to see if your's does.

GWG

Post by **tomdarch** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:41 pm

Some credit card companies offer a system where they issue you a special one-time-use alternate number for your account. You use it once for the purchase and after that the number stops working, which would help with overhung's situation. It sounds like it just takes a few steps to log into your credit card company's site and fill out a form to get the special number issued.

Another way to check that you are logged into a secure site is that a little 'padlock' icon should appear in the margin of your browser. What this means is that the communications between your browser and the online store's server are encrypted (a.k.a. scrambled). Normally, like with this site, all the information that is sent between your computer and Ray's server is 'in the open'. Someone can 'listen in' on the network traffic and reconstruct everything, a bit like listening to someone's cordless phone conversation with a scanner. Be careful - because the secure system is a bit expensive to operate, a lot of sites don't use it. Don't give your credit card number on those sites. Complete your order over the phone.

In reality, a good chunk of credit card fraud happens because an employee at a company is in on the scam. Yuck.

I would like to make a smart-assed comment about Windows, but when it comes to security updates, you have to keep Macs and Linux boxes up to date also. That said, everyone but Bill Gates agrees that Windows is full of serious security problems and that Mac OS X and Linux are (in most, but not all) ways more secure. Right now (estimates vary) hundreds of thousands to millions of Windows computers have been 'cracked' by bad guys which gives them access to use the computer how ever they want. Ususally, the computer's owner never notices this. The bad guys use those machines to do things like sending spam, attack other computers, distribute child porn, and just have a bunch of computers available to 'cover their tracks' from detection and law enforcement. (They can also monitor what's being done on the computer and see when personal info like credit card numbers are typed in) I'd like to sound more impartial, but it's just much, much easier to do this to a Windows machine than to a normal Mac OS X or Linux based computer.

Firewalls help, but they are only as good as their configuration. Talking about the normal firewalls you can buy at CompUSA, if a port is open and the service using that port is flawed, as many are in Windows, then the firewall can't do anything to stop the badness.

While we're at it: DON'T OPEN E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS THAT YOU AREN'T EXPECTING! Too many people help viruses to spread by doing the following: "Gosh, I wonder why my Aunt Bessie is sending me a message in broken English with an attached file called naked_brittany.exe? I guess I'll just open it up and find out!" Grrrrrrr!!!!!

Hmm. I wonder if I rambling a bit?

Post by **MiaRock** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:46 pm

no offense, but i have never finished reading any of your posts

although i do have a short attention span, must comefrom growing up in the suburbs

Post by **Wes** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:50 pm

One time use numbers are the way to go. No other way is nearly as safe.

Wes

Post by **Alan Evil** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 8:55 pm

How many "e-mail returned" e-mails have you guys gotten lately? I've gotten three or more a day for the last few days. I'm guessing they're all variants of the My Doom virus since they're not related to anything I've sent from my machine. I've deleted them permanently without looking.