CyberCoyote - January 29, 2009

NEWS and NOTES
Identity Theft

Today, Jennifer Valedez, an identity theft prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, gave us some things to think about in avoiding fraud and identity theft. Her data indicates that Arizona is still the wild west, but the outlaws are urbanized. For example, Arizona ranks 1st or 2nd among the states in fraud, identity theft, mail theft, and meth addiction. Also, people over 65 are prime targets. It's a good thing I don't get out much anymore. :-)

There's no way I could tell you in a few paragraphs how to be safe online, on the phone, at your door, and on the street. So I'll give you a few links, and leave it to you to figure out what to do to protect yourself, and what to do if you are a victim.

CYBER SECURITY
Poor housekeeping seal of disapproval

Java and Adobe Flash are widely used by browsers to render website content. Both have inflicted sloppy housekeeping on unsuspecting Web surfers for years. Sun and Adobe are making things better, but you probably need to clean up the messes that earlier versions of Java and Flash have left behind on your computer.

Java is an operating system [Windows] extension, and Flash is a browser extension called a plug-in. Both have been updated many times to plug security holes. But both have left old, vulnerable versions behind on countless computers. It doesn't take much ingenuity for cyber-crooks to bypass the latest version and take advantage of the old one(s).

Java:

The Java picture is complicated by the fact that not just Sun, but Microsoft (and Apple) also produce versions of Java. In addition, Sun uses muddled nomenclature to identify Java products. I'll try to straighten out some of the details for you. BTW, Javascript has nothing at all to do with Java.

First, what you want for your browser is "Java Runtime Environment (JRE)", not some software development package (just stick with Java.com and stay away from Java.net for your Java needs). The second source of confusion is that JRE 1.6.11 and Java version 6 update 11 are two names for the same thing. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

There are four or more ways to check to see if you have the latest version of Java. If you have a recent version, you can use the Java control panel [Start > Control Panel > Java] to check for updates. You can also use the Java.com version detector or the Java Tester site to determine the version that you have installed.

It's important to remove all old versions of Java. You may be able to do that with "Add or Remove programs but not always. [Sun's instructions] "JavaRa is a small, simple program that checks for the latest version of Java, and that can be used to uninstall any old versions of Java.

Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player was previously known as Macromedia Flash. There are separate Flash plug-ins for Firefox (Flash Player) and Internet Explorer (Flash Player ActiveX). Here's the links you'll need to clean up Flash:

10 Ways Firefox Makes the Web a Safer Place

Descriptions of 10 Firefox extensions that will improve your security online. (NoScript is powerful, but intrusive; WOT is simple and very effective; Flashblock is nice, but I think AdBlock Plus is a better alternative; and CookieCuller lets you keep the good one and toss your bad cookies). {sorry}

DOWNLOADS
Software for First-time Computer Users

Don't be put off by the title. Get some free software tools that will help you do important stuff. You're bound to uncover a program or two that you didn't know you needed. ;-)

ODDS and ENDS
The Sardine Solution

This is how they do it in Japan.

Condition 1 Weather

For those who miss the four seasons, here's a taste of winter.

That's all, folks.