The Internet

The Net Lords

December 20, 2014 — Leave a comment

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We really do not know, who are the seven richest or popular people in the world, but we certainly know that seven people have the destiny of the entire World Wide Web in their hands, or better to say the keys. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has introduced a legendary procedure.

Every three months we have the new DNS codes for the seven guardians to take care of. These Internet keys are the most valuable things in the cyber world. They come from the seven different countries and they are responsible for the renewal and safekeeping of these master keys in the top secret environment.

As you might have guessed there was more than one attempt from numerous governments to change this procedure. However, there are quite a few busy little stubborn cyber bees in the ICANN, who are not willing to allow for any government to control the Internet. Better experts, than governments.

For the time being our cyber destiny is in good expert hands. We sure hope that will not change in the near or far future. With these seven keys you can demand seven billion wishes. We can only wish all the luck in the world to these seven cyber dwarfs. The last thing we need is an evil witch to spoil all the fun. Right?

Simple, Simpler, Safe

December 14, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Sometimes you just cannot see the forest for the trees, can you? We are so worried about our endangered privacy on the Internet, and yet we do not do much about it to protect us. At the same time, we are looking for the miraculous solutions, which are expensive and complex by default. So, what is wrong with this picture?

Well, there are so many nice apps, which are more or less efficient, when it comes to the protection of your privacy. They are ready and waiting to be discovered and used, as well. You do not need a list of recommended apps. You do not need to read endless reviews. Just do it. Just install and try them for yourself.

On the other hand, our reckless behavior is the worst enemy our online privacy can possibly have. Right? Do we have to mention user names and passwords, which are totally identical. Or, passwords which include only one word with no numbers or capital letters, such as the password itself?

Let us do something for a change. Something simple and thoughtful at the same time. How hard could it be? We have the most powerful weapons against the espionage and data theft our world has ever seen – our brain and time. Yet, we tend to use and waste them for so many other useless things.

Block & Report

December 13, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Twitter has taken care of things very seriously. What does it mean? With more than 500 million tweets on a daily basis, it is more than reasonable to expect that some of them will be disturbing or unacceptable in their nature. This is a true logistic nightmare to get rid of them promptly and accurately.

This is why Twitter has decided to include some additional options, which will improve the work of the intern neighborhood online watches. From now on, you will be able to block the inappropriate content or accounts more easily. We should also mention the improved report function. Is this enough?

Well, when you have hundreds of millions of users, you cannot never be sure and safe enough. Yet, by empowering users to do something about it, you are improving your chances as a service provider. On the other hand, we sure hope this will not turn into some kind of Twitter account wars. Right?

Let us see, how it will work in the future. Although, we do not like a formulation, which includes something like improving your customer’s experience, in this case we have no other choice than to comply. So, what are you waiting for? Find your most annoying little cyber bird and block it. Or, even better, report it.

China-Cyber-Town

November 19, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The trouble for the Chinese government in controlling the Internet is that there are so many users in China. The Chinese busy little cyber bees come in such unimaginable numbers and communicate with such a speed that is literally impossible to control it effectively. This makes us ask the following question?

What if, when even the legendary Great Firewall of China is not enough? Well, you hire an entire cyber army to keep an eye on your national Internet. Yet, according to some very serious rumors Chinese government wants more control. So, what they are going to do about it? You should be prepared for this one.

We should never underestimate the true power of China. In the matter of hours, the Chinese government can shut down the entire national cyber network and launch the new one made entirely in China. The completely independent national Internet is not a secret, but no one thinks it is possible to introduce it on such a large scale.

We shall wait and see how it can be possible to control almost one billion online users. We sure hope that some other countries will not get funny ideas from this most probable scenario in China. The Internet was supposed to be all about freedom. Right? Can you control the World Wide Web?

Dial F For Murder

November 17, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Can you believe that there is such a thing as a Facebook murder? This is not a game. Pay close attention. We are not talking about a situation when someone kills his own profile or remove a person from a friend’s list. Oh no, real murders with a link in the virtual world are our primary concern here.

For the UK police Facebook is a serious and respectable partner in crime against the crime itself. For what is worth, top crime experts are making the profiles of the most dangerous potential murders on Facebook. You do not have to be a police expert to figure out yourself that all comes down to the proper prevention.

On the other side, we do not want you to get a wrong impression that Facebook is to blame for some of these unwanted things. The people with bad intentions will always find a way to materialize their malicious desires. In this sense, the criminals are no different than the ordinary users on Facebook.

There is an important moral of this story. Do not leave an open door for the trouble on Facebook. The last thing we need is to turn ourselves into an easy prey for the Facebook predators. Who knows, you may stumble across a cyber troll, or even worse a truly dangerous man with an innocent profile.

Web Camera – Real Trouble

November 12, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Do you put something over your web camera? Do not be shy. You are among your friends. According to the findings of the Kaspersky Lab one in five persons does it on a regular basis. On the other hand, in China, one in two people does not forget to disable his or her web camera in such a way. Why?

Well, it is quite simple. No one likes to be watched. We all appreciate our privacy. Especially when we sit in front our computers in the comfort of our homes. Some of us do not like to wear too much clothes in such situations. Some of us have tons of notes next to their computers. Is this enough for you?

However, you should be fully aware that there is no absolute protection in this matter. Although, your web camera may be neutralized, its microphone still works and records with no troubles. In addition, your pictures or videos you make with a web camera can be intercepted, as well.

Here is a simpler solution. Buy yourself a laptop or tablet with no web camera. How about the guys, who are disabling their smartphone cameras? Our privacy related fears and paranoia makes us to apply primitive and inefficient safety measures. Someone is watching you while you read this post.

Chloe’s Law

November 2, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Does it really have to be this way? Do we really have to suffer from something malicious in its nature, before we finally act in order to protect the future victims? Unfortunately, the cyber world follows the footsteps of the real world, it should not have. We had to see Chloe’s suffering in the cyber world, first.

And then, to do something about it in the real one. Now, you will think twice before you make any threats on Twitter or Facebook, or anywhere else on the Internet. Instead of six months you are very likely to spend up to two years for these cyber crimes in the UK. Even if no harm is to follow eventually.

Is this fair? If you are asking yourself this kind of a question, then Chloe a famous UK model who faced rape threats on Twitter can help you with that. The days when you could publish all kinds of things that come across your mind online are long gone. Every threat hurts, whether it is a real or cyber one in its nature.

We sure hope that one day we will be able to witness the namless laws, which will have nothing more than a series of simple meaningless letters and numbers. The day when we see that there are no names associated with the new laws will be the day when no victims will be required for their birth.

Identica Problematica

October 22, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The stupidest thing you can possibly do on the Internet is to use the same user names and passwords for the different online platforms and services. Then how come we keep repeating it all over again, with the self-destructive stubbornness? We are either too lazy or unforgivingly ignorant about the cyber security.

Finally, someone has decided to do something about it. What exactly and how efficiently? Well, the Facebook has decided to turn the first page. If it turns out that you are using your Facebook account user name and password for some other web service, you will get a fair warning to change them accordingly.

How the Facebook knows all of that? You should relax. If Facebook knows it, then you can rest assured more than one hacker knows it, as well. It is always better to change them all before any real damage is being done. On the other side, do not worry about your privacy. Facebook works for you, in this case.

Do we have to repeat it all? User name and password twins on the Internet are not a smart choice. Do not be lazy and at least create different passwords, if you do not have enough patience to play with the different user name combinations. Our hats off to the Facebook for this thoughtful move.

Internet Trolls And Prison Walls

October 21, 2014 — Leave a comment

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Is there such a thing as the Internet Troll? Apparently there is. If you are an Internet troll and you are happen to be somewhere in the UK, you can easily spend some time in prison. To be a little bit more precise, instead of six months, now you are facing two years of jail time. Why? What for? Confused?

Cyber trolls are all about the virtual violence, which produces suffering and pain in the real life. We guess you do not need additional explanation, do you? The Internet trolls are all around us. We just do not call them these names or we are not fully aware it is a punishable crime. Is this a good idea?

On the one side, the new technologies ask for the new appropriate laws. On the other side, we sure hope that this new regulation will not take the wrong turn and pay an unpleasant visit to our privacy. That would be the worst case scenario in this situation. What can we do to avoid it in the first place?

That is the tricky part. Honestly, not much. What if your government thinks you are the Internet troll from its point of view, because of your political activism? This is a nice initiative, which has to be kept under a strict control. Or, otherwise we can all become trolls and orcs. They do not allow Warcraft in prison, do they?

Dr. Offline And Mr. Online

October 20, 2014 — Leave a comment

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The immortal story about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde just got itself an additional chapter. This phenomenon has become so much obvious that we cannot ignore it. Not any more. It seems that some people go through a complete transformation once they get online. Why? What is happening with them?

It turns out that the Internet and especially the social networks bring the worst in some of us. In addition, some people cannot recognize themselves once they evaluate their previous online behavior. Now you see that the analogy with the Dr Jekyll and Mr Story story is definitely not an exaggeration.

From the cyber security point of view, this can cause so many serious problems. The cyber villains are your friendly neighbors in the real life. There is no way you can guess what they have done, said or suggested in their online mode. It is just like you are chasing two completely different guys, one good and one evil twin.

So, why should we worry about what someone does in the cyper space? Well, it is only a matter of time before someone gets confused about the real and cyber life. Who will prevail? The good offline or the bad online person? What if the online mode of behavior becomes the dominant offline mode?