CompuClever Blog

Privacy – Don’t Give It Away

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Synopsis:  We have founded a nation established on individual freedoms and rights.  Our right to privacy is fundamental.  But what about data that we make available in some manner such as with social media services like Facebook or Twitter?  Are we entering into a fuzzy area when we submit and share our content?  What is at risk when we open ourselves to digital communications?  We’re going to take a look at these questions and attempt some solutions for keeping our digital information from being used in ways we do not intend.  In part, we have to take responsibility for making good choices with data that is available to others and can be used for unethical or malicious purpose.

Privacy:

We begin with answering the question: What is privacy?  David Banisar of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Simon Davies of Privacy International authored a report on privacy.  They begin with:

Privacy is a fundamental human right recognized in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International (Covenant) on Civil and Political Rights and in many other international and regional treaties.  Privacy underpins human dignity and other key values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights issues of the modern age.
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Digital Security – What can you do?

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Synopsis:  If we are living in and exposed to a digital universe, and if this “universe” can be accessible through surveillance and by other parties, the real question is not “Are You Ready?” but “What Can You Do?” We take a look here at the first step – being informed. Edward Snowden has recently become an informant and has effectively unveiled mass government surveillance programs that have taken place without public consent or knowledge. The intent of this article is to avoid political comment and instead shine light on digital communication and what this means in terms of maintaining our privacy – what this means in terms of keeping our private information secure.

Trends

In a report by IDC[1], this current decade is declared as the “Digital Universe Decade” and asks: “Are You Ready?”  In this decade:

…the amount of digital information created and replicated in the world will grow to an almost inconceivable 35 trillion gigabytes as all major forms of media – voice, TV, radio, print – complete the journey from analog to digital. At the same time, the influx of consumer technologies into the workplace will create stresses and strains on the organizations [and individuals] that must manage, store, protect, and dispose of all this electronic content.
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Secure Computing Practices

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Synopsis:  This blog article focuses on the privacy and personal security functionality of PC Clean Maestro– the removal of personal and private files.  There are numerous examples of cybercrime and online hacking which exemplify damages that can be lost in terms of financial wealth, private data, and personal information that can be used against your will.  In this article we will offer some examples of how you can prevent falling into malicious traps.  For more detail of cybercrime examples refer to our newsletter.  While encryption and firewall techniques are available, experts agree that there are always vulnerable points of entry.  We emphasize eliminating the risk by removal of data where possible.

Introducing – PC Clean Maestro:

The CompuClever application PC Clean Maestro has more than one major function.  It is used to remove junk files, to uninstall programs, and for removal of data for purposes of security and retaining PC privacy. Removing private data that is sensitive or can be stolen is done in the same manner as removing junk files with minor differences.  We will outline the procedure here in step-by-step fashion.  Before we begin, let’s start with a best practice tip.

Best Practices: 1. BackUp Data

As we stated in our previous article… backup your data!  Continue reading...

Privacy and Security – Touchless Cyber Crime

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Synopsis: Our goal in presenting the following information is not to scare our reader base but to inform. With knowledge of real and potential PC crimes and threats you can take steps to guard yourself. Brace yourself for the real world as we take a look at some of the trends in cybercrime and security breaches. After that we introduce the privacy and security features available with PC Clean Maestro.

Cybercrime has been a growing concern since the onset of the first computer virus. The very first PC threats were more about status and cyber geeks flexing their brain muscle as they penetrate computer defenses and proliferate in typical virus fashion. These days there is much more to lose. Personal information and finances can be stolen with the use of more sophisticated and stealthy technology. One recent hot topics in this field is “skimming wallets” – theft which involves just walking past someone and picking up there credit card information. We will look at this and other forms of cybercrime and speak to how to guard yourself from PC cyber attacks.

Trends and Threats:

Researchers and security professional are in agreement: breaches of PC security are on the rise.  This is not only at an individual level but even with institutions and businesses that have considerable expertise and finances directed specifically at cybercrime prevention.

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Java – The Hacked

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Synopsis: We explore in this article a contentious subject – Java. There are those that are very insistent that the benefits of Java do not outweigh the fact that this very popular technology and widely-used tool is a target for hackers and virus makers and they are exploiting it. However, it is because of the widespread use of Java on devices and web pages that makes it a target for hackers. As a result security flaws have been exploited and patches are created in an attempt to keep up with security. First, this article will describe what Java is and where it is used. Some examples of recent security exploits are provided, and then we will offer some solutions and recommendations.

Java Explained

In simple terms, Java is a programming language that is used to create software programs.  In other words, it’s the underlying technology for business applications, games, PC utility tools, and more.  As of 2012 it has been used for client-to-server web applications by over 10 million users.  One reason for its popularity is that it is a simplified language that was designed to eliminate common programming errors.  It was also designed for programmers to “write once, run anywhere” – that is, the code needs only to be written once to be able to run on computers with different operating platforms.  Continue reading...