Information Highwaymen and Your Domain

You go to work every day at the store you own, and one morning, your key to the door doesn't work. You look in the window, and the display items have changed. A stranger is behind the counter. But when you call the police, they can't do anything because the company papers now indicate that the store belongs to the stranger.

The above scenario isn't likely to happen with a bricks-and-mortar store. Because of insecurities in the domain registration system, however, information highwaymen could take over your online business.

As with identity theft, domain thieves steal your identity -- the identity used to register and configure your domain name. After that, your website, your email, your online business, and possibly your reputation are theirs.

Domain names at risk of theft

While theft is a risk with all domain names, domains most at risk are more valuable ones. Domains with dot com extensions have a higher resale value than domains with other extensions, and domains with high traffic or valuable keywords are also more likely to be targets.

The motive behind domain hijacking is usually monetary, but it may be personal. If anyone wants to attack you, stealing your domain name is one way to do it.

How domain theft happens

When domain hijackers steal your domain, they gain access to the domain's Whois records. They can modify the domain's nameservers so that the domain points to a different server. They can also transfer the domain to a different registrar.

Either way, site visitors will find themselves at the website of the domain hijacker instead of at your site. All domain email will go to or through the other server instead of to you. All you'll have left is a website without public access because your domain isn't pointing to it any more.

How can this happen?

Domain hijacking methods
- Domain hijackers send forged faxes to the domain registrar, impersonating the registrants.
- Domain hijackers hack into the accounts of free email addresses listed in Whois records and use those addresses to obtain domain account information.
- Domain hijackers send out fraudulent email renewal notices, and registrants unknowingly transfer their domains to the thieves.

Registrar non-action

- The gaining registrar (the registrar that the domain is transferred to) doesn't obtain approval from the domain name registrant or administrative contact as required by ICANN Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy.
- The losing registrar (that the domain is transferred from) doesn't notify the registrant of the transfer during the five-day pending transfer period. During this period, the registrant can cancel or deny approval of the domain transfer --- if the registrar notifies the registrant of it.

Registrant carelessness
- The registrant forgets to update Whois details or to renew the account.
- Someone with access to the registrant's records steals the information.

Domain name disputes

If you discover that your domain has been hijacked, contact your registrar immediately. If your registrar is unable to resolve the situation, the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (TDRP) applies.

By going the above arbitration route, you don't have to argue your case in person. On the other hand, all you can get back in the process is your domain (and not necessarily that). For a lot more money, you can take your case to court, where you can seek compensation for damages in addition to the return of your domain. This process takes more time, however.

You may be able to proceed both ways – get your domain back via ICANN domain dispute resolution procedures and then go to court to collect damages. You can also appeal a domain arbitrator's decision in court.

How to protect your domain name

Protecting a domain name is similar to protecting a bricks-and-mortar store from burglary. With a combination of precautions in place, thieves will find it difficult or impossible to gain access.

Your domain account information
- List your name for the administrative contact, and use your full name.
- Create a complex password with letters (both upper case and lower case) and numbers. Don't use any real words or personal information in it. Make it long. Make it unique – don't use the same password for anything else. Change it periodically.
- Keep your domain login name, account number, and password in a place where only trusted people can access it.
- Use a valid contact email address that doesn't use the domain it's for. Be sure that this email account also has a complex password. If you're going to be offline for more than a few days, have someone else check the email for this account.
- Don't use a free email address such as a Hotmail or Yahoo address. Domain hijackers target domains with free email addresses in the Whois records. After they've cracked your email account password, the support you need to get your email account back will probably be slow, giving the hijackers plenty of time to take over your domain.
- Update your Whois record whenever the information in it changes.

Your domain account features
- Choose a domain registrar that sends registrants transfer pending notifications when a domain transfer is taking place.
- Consider protecting your Whois details with a registrar that offers a private domain name record. With this feature, your registrar's data appears with your Whois record rather than your data. The downside of using this feature is that your business may have less credibility because you're hiding who you are.
- Register your domain for a long time period, and set up calendar reminders to renew it before it expires.
- Set up your domain to be renewed automatically if your registrar offers this feature.
- Use the Registrar-lock mechanism if it's available through your registrar. When a domain is locked, it cannot be modified or transferred unless the registrant unlocks it or follows the domain transfer process.

Other domain security measures
- Set up a free Whois monitoring alert email service and add your domain to your monitoring list. You will receive email notifications whenever the expiration date, registrar, or status of a monitored domain changes. (Whois does not have data on all domain extensions.)
- Make sure that someone checks your website every few days, preferably daily.

5 Plug-in Cool in Firefox Browser

Jakarta - is one of the Firefox browser that most of the growth in users. For users of Firefox already know that besutan Mozilla browser has a lot of plug-in.

Plug-ins are additional tools that can be installed on the Mozilla Firefox browser to add a particular capability or facilities, or enhance the berinternet enhance the browser view.

There are thousands of plug-in available in Firefox that can be downloaded and installed free of charge. The following are the five plug-in Firefox which is quite useful and popular among internet users Techdream version. What is your favorite plug-in?

1. Autocopy
By using this plug-in, Firefox will automatically copy the text that has been blocked. We do not need to press Ctrl + C, so more sparingly time. Plug-in Autocopy This can be downloaded at: https: / / addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/383

2. Fire Uploader
With this plug-in, you can upload or download video, image files or documents from any site, including Flickr, Google Picasa Albums, Youtube, Facebook, Box.net. Interfacenya is very user friendly. Download plug-in innya: http://www.fireuploader.com/ # fupHome

3. GMail Manager
Plug-in is very useful to the owner GMail account. With this plug-in, you can set a different account from GMail Firefox and monitor whether there is a new e-mail or not. Some of the interesting features of this plug-in is:

* Automatically log in and open the inbox with just one click.
* Displaying the number of unread email in the inbox.
* List of 10 most recent messages.
* Issue alerts when a new incoming email.
* Customize the icon on the toolbar / statusbar.


Plug-in Manager GMail you can download at: https: / / addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1320

4. Foxmarks
Plug-in allows you to access the bookmarks on any computer as a plug-in will save a copy of your bookmarks on the server. Hence, you can access your bookmarks from any computer. Plug-in will be very useful for you who often use the computer that is different. To download, visit the following link: http://www.foxmarks.com/

5. IE Tab
There are several websites that can only be run on the browser Internet Explorer (IE). so you would not want to have to use IE. Firefox offers a plug-in called IE Tab. With this plug-in you can open a new tab which is the IE tab in Firefox browser, without having to open the IE window. Download IE Tab through this link: https: / / addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

Cracker Attack Twitter Obama

Washington - The cracker wage cyber attacks to break dozens of accounts belonging to popular figures in the popular blogging site Twitter micro.

Quoted detikINET from ComputerWorld, Tuesday (6/1/2009), the account so that victims of property including the United States elected president, Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears, and of television CNN Rick Sanchez.

"We found 33 accounts have been in the Twitter-hack," said the founder of Twitter, Biz Stone in a company blog. "We immediately closed the account and investigate this case. Barack and other victims have now returned to control each account,"

Account the hack is the cracker was used to send the messages pitched inconsequential. For example, as dilansir AFP, Obama used the account to invite people to follow a number of surveys berhadiah money.

According to Twitter, the account dibobol the internal support tool. Security issues such as this is not the first time overwrite Twitter. In fact, only a few moments earlier, also found cases of phishing so users can terkecoh with the bogus site Twitter.

However, some security experts praised the step Twitter in various anticipate security problems so that it does not bring more victims.

Build Your Own Computer or Buy?

Just look inside a computer case. At first glance, all those wires and components can look terrifyingly complex. And thinking about putting them all together by yourself may seem impossible.

Not to worry! Even though they are the products of advanced technology, the various pieces of a personal computer (PC) fit together with simple connections. If you can use a screwdriver and follow simple instructions, you can build your own PC.

Don't be intimidated by the task of connecting the computer components together. Many of the internal connections are molded so that it is impossible to fit them together the wrong way. If you have ever assembled a child's toy, you are more than capable of assembling a computer.


Advantages Of Building Your Own

You are probably asking yourself why anyone would bother to build a PC. After all, you can buy a cheap computer in almost any retail store.

If cost is your only consideration, you probably are better off buying one of those cheap machines. But if you have any special requirements for software or hardware, you’ll benefit from the total control over the type and quality of components you get from building your own PC.

You can save some money, too. Although you probably can't match the price of the cheapest preassembled PC, once you begin adding on the inevitable customized hardware, the costs go up anyway. Suddenly building your own computer starts looking cheaper. And don't forget--those super-cheap PCs are bare-boned systems. Unless you need a computer only for basic word processing and e-mail, you will probably have to upgrade anyway.

Building your own PC can be a great learning experience. You will gain a better understanding of how the various components work together, knowledge that can be useful for troubleshooting. If your computer ever breaks down, you may be able to pinpoint the problem and fix it yourself, saving money on expensive repair bills.

You are virtually guaranteed to get the best computer when you build your own system. Big retailers often use cheaper OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) components to cut down on costs. Components like these can compromise the performance of a computer system. Although you can buy OEM components yourself, the trade-off in reliability and stability is usually not worth it. Brand name components are just a bit more expensive, but are well worth the cost.

Disadvantages

The major disadvantage in building your own PC is that you don't get a system-wide warranty. For example, if a malfunctioning motherboard fries your memory chips, you may not be able to get compensation for the damaged memory. If something like this happens with a store-bought system you could probably get the whole computer repaired under the warranty.

However, if you buy all your components at the same time from the same retailer, you are more likely to be compensated for this kind of situation.

Time is, of course, a factor. But it is educational time. And if you enjoy tinkering at all, it counts as fun time as well.


The Bottom Line

Building your own PC has a lot to offer. You'll be assured of getting the best components available, which translates to the best and most reliable computer for your money. You will learn about computer components and how to choose parts with the best performance. When it comes to servicing your computer, you may be able to solve and fix the problem yourself.

Oh, and one final advantage. The bragging rights of telling your friends that you built your own computer. Priceless!

Finding friends and family on the Internet

Your search for long-lost friends and family members on the Internet can be as easy as your friend or family member wants it to be for you. The more effort they put into remaining invisible, the harder and longer it will take you to find them. The more visible or transparent he or she is on the Internet, the easier it will be to find him or her.

Simple Googling will go the trick
If your friend or family member has a website or uses the Internet to write blog entries or has an online photo album, you can usually find them using conventional search engines – for example, www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, www.aol.com, www.dogpile.com, etc. As long as they have their names on their websites, blogs or photo albums, the search engines will pick them up and produce the list of links for you to browse through.

However, you can only use this method to find long-lost friends and family members if they have an online presence. If they don’t, you’re probably not going to find them using search engines. Without websites, information or blogs, your friend or family member is as invisible to the search engine as they are to you.

Finding people through their business
If you know the name of the company that your family or friend works in, what you can do is to trace the company’s information or website. And once you find the telephone number or email of the company, give them a ring or send them an email. Usually the HR department may be able to lend you a helping hand. However, it all depends on the level of security that the company adopts. If they prefer to keep the identity and information of their staff private and confidential, there really is nothing else you can do except to personally visit the company’s office.

Tracing by location through directories
One of the most popular and convenient ways of finding family and friends online is by using online directories and tracing the telephone numbers or addresses of the family or friend.

Searching for family or friend through their email address
What happens if the family or friend is no longer using his or her email address and you don’t have the address? What you can do is to make a search using the email address and type it into searches like www.infospaceinc.com. InfoSpace lets you find family and friends by narrowing the search down by specifying the location and telephone number of that person too.

Finding family and friends by digging underground
If your friend or family member wants to stay hidden, there’s still one last thing you can do before you give up. Try using an online detective to find your family and friend! It sounds sneaky and illegal, but it’s actually a legitimate way of finding friends and family. What these online detectives will do is to search through the web, public records, property registration records, arrest records, bankruptcy files, birth registration, childcare and nanny screening records, judgments, court files, unlisted phone numbers and address, and lots more!

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.biz-source.net on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.