paranoia vs. real hack threats

Author
Post
Essentials Only Full Version
paulmpianist
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
  • Total Posts : 43
  • Joined: 2004/05/30 00:29:38
  • Location: Annandale Virginia
  • Status: offline
2012/03/29 00:19:26 (permalink)

paranoia vs. real hack threats

Hi.. I posted a question about putting a second hard drive into my computer. The reasons I wanted a seperate hard drive are partly so I can put the stuff I don't use often on it, and ... passwords and encrypted documents that I need to log into accounts and stuff. I'm getting more concerned that hackers can pick off my paypal password or my ebay password when I buy something if I have it anywhere that is near my internet connection. Of course its just a bit of paranoia until you check your account and find out you've been whacked. 
    I had a tech support guy come onto my computer from India or someplace mousing around on my desktop and then offering to clean the viruses off of my computer for  140 bucks and he even offered  to wait until I got my credit card out of my car.  That was nice of him.
  Well I declined.. I have a pretty good lineup of programs to scan for viruses, tracking cookies etc. But I want an absolutely dormant drive for my passwords, account numbers, and everything I don't want published to hackers.   That tech support guy came through a link on my McAfee software, when I went looking for help and he asked for my  permission  through LOGMEIN, but it made me aware that  they or someone else can come back without permission if they feel like it, and just hack away firewall and all and mouse around on my computer.
   Is this paranoia, or isn't that what hacking is all about? For some its a game and for some its a profession. 
So I disable my internet adapter more than I used to. It also cuts down on distractions. 
    I used to spend my time practicing. Now I spend so much time configuring and researching configuring.  I think a disconnect from internet might be a good idea. 
   having external hard drives and extra wires, usb and  power supplies... its so much more peripheral stuff... I think I would want it inside. I have the EZ gig adapter, but it is so wobbly it worries me. 
  thanks for any input on the security thing.

I hope to rise from the dead.. by the power of Jesus Christ.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI3_ykb-HtQ

#1

1 Reply Related Threads
    slartabartfast
    Max Output Level: -22.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 5289
    • Joined: 2005/10/30 01:38:34
    • Status: offline
    Re:paranoia vs. real hack threats 2012/03/29 01:04:38 (permalink)
    That tech support guy came through a link on my McAfee software, when I went looking for help and he asked for my permission through LOGMEIN, but it made me aware that

     
    Paranoia? No. The guy from India would worry the **** out of me. The easiest and most effective way to compromise a system is to convince a human being in control of the system that you should be allowed access.
     
    The problem with isolating your system from the internet to protect your passwords, is that the only real use you have for the passwords is to log onto internet sites.
     
    Strong encryption is probably the best defense for a hard drive. Strong and unique passwords are essential. Never use the same password twice. It is far too easy for someone who hacks your password from a site where it is stored, to track your online identity and see if you used the same password on another site. I have a pretty paranoid mindset, and limit my online shopping severely, but I have had two credit cards hacked from sites that did not even tell me that they had a copy stored. The only way I learned about it is when they reported to my bank that they had been hacked. In one case, it was an attack by an employee with a flash drive walking out the door with "secure" data. I never give permission to store a credit card. A password that you can remember is probably at risk from a dictionary attack. A password that you cannot remember is a temptation to write it down on a sticky on your monitor or store it in your web browser, where anyone who burgles your house/office or steals your laptop will have access to the key to online accounts etc.
     
    I use truecrypt  to encrypt sensitive stuff on my computer, and keypass (has a version that will run mobile from a flash drive) to generate and store my passwords. Not foolproof, but better than most of the alternatives. The only truly secure system is to make your computer inaccessible from any network and locked up in a heavily guarded vault or totally encrypted (not MS stuff except maybe bitblocker). But if you have that kind of a system it really is not much use to you in the real world.
     
     
    #2
    Jump to:
    © 2024 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1