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Answer
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Name
Tinker
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Profession
Question
Assalamu'alaikum.
Can I know whether any PC infected with virus, worms and the like could be used to hack other PC's and used it for internet connections by the viurses thereby putting the blame on the infected PC?
Is this a possibility? If so, what type of viruses can do that?
Thank You.
Answer
There are a variety of viruses, and more properly "worms", that can do that. The most recent example of a widespread worm that was doing exactly that was Sobig.F. Many viruses will look on your system for something that looks like an e-mail address book and then send e-mails to other recipients using those addresses. This often causes you to get e-mails from an ISP saying a message you sent to someoene was infected. In reality you never sent the message.
The other problem is that sometimes your machine can literally be taken over and used to send millions of e-mails. This is most common with "always on" connections, such as with DSL or cable modems.
Name
Webfreak
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Profession
Question
Hello. I wanted to know if it is possible for someone to have access to my email account without me realizing it. I’ve also never understood how Monika Lewinski’s emails were made public. How can someone gain access to private emails? If those emails are deleted from a person’s inbox, do they still exist somewhere out there?
Answer
Let's take this one step at a time. The short answer is e-mail is not private. It is quite easy to access it if you know how or have the inclination to do so. Bill Gtaes found this out when Miscrosoft e-mail was subpoenaed.
By the way, e-mail has less legal protection than non e-mail. Servers almost always have copies of your e-mail. An e-mail you sent to me right now, will likely be on the server for your ISP, leave a copy on at least one router and leave a copy on my ISP, as well as my machine, so deleting them from your in-box only deletes then from your in-box. When I was young, my mother would tell me never to do anything I didn't want in the local newspaper. I advise people not to put anything in an e-mail message they don't want made public.
Name
Mariam
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Profession
Question
Salaam and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I had a question regarding the conversations we have on the various messengers available on the Internet. Is it possible for anyone to observe such conversations without being directly involved in them? At work, is it possible that my boss is reading these conversations without our knowing it, for example?
Answer
Hi -- I'm glad to be here.
Chat messages are not private and can be monitored. You no doubt signed a computer policy agreement that gave your boss (and the company) the right to monitor your internet activity. Your boss would have to make arrangements with an IT specialist to do so, but it's not very difficult. If you have a proxy server he could simply copy the contents of all the traffic. There are some encryption software, but they usually are forbidden in the work place.
Name
Muslim
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Profession
Question
What does it mean when a message window appears saying that I am about to leave a secure internet connection, and that I will be possible for others to view the information that I send?
Also how can there be a third party viewing data sent or received? And how can that be dangerous?
I also would like you to kindly explain what to do with the internet properties to increase safety when surfing the net.
Thank you.
Answer
Secure internet connections are created using Secure Socket Layer (SSL), an encryption algorithm that is typically used for e-commerce. These pages start https (hyper text transport protocol secure), not http (hyper text transport protocol). All it means is that you are leaving that type of page and going back to a normal one. I always thought the "warning message" was a little silly and melodramatic, but they didn't ask me!
People viewing your data are accessing the packets sent. It can be bad because that can be your Visa card number or the PIN to your bank account -- or your grades.
Using Intenet explorer the easiest way is to click Tools > Internet Options> Security and pick a setting you like.
Name
Hasan
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Profession
Question
I am interested in securing my identity from quacks as I browse sites, post articles on newsgroups, or send Emails to public discussion forums.
What do you suggest?
Answer
Do you mean your real identity or your e-mail address? No one can find out more about you than you associate with that e-mail address. For example, if you don't put a name, no one knows it. How do you secure yourself from spam? Highly unlikely as spammers use a variety of tricks to gather up e-mail addresses. The minute you expose it to the net, you get bombed.
I have a couple of e-mail addresses that aren't my normal addresses. At least it keeps spam out of my personal accounts.
Name
philipa
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Profession
student
Question
I have heard that the internet allows people to get very personal details about urself which u never submitted or wrote about in emails...I dont know if youve watched the movie..'the net' where online stalking can become a reality..... How much credibility do these theories have????
Answer
The net contains public information someone chose to put. Also you can use the net to access public databases of information. For example, you could check some county databases for divorce records or jail records. But obviously the database has to be accessible from the net. I have reasons to check on my name fairly frequently (I'm a writer and despite it being unusual have never really found anything I couldn't find with a few minutes effort. But if your name is in a phonebook, it's accessible from the net.
Stalking on the net? Well I like a good story too and I'm a bit incredulous about that. Now if I had access to credit card purchase databases I could do a decent job of tracking where and when you went places. But those are VERY VERY secure.
Name
H. Moneer
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Profession
Question
Salam Alikom Wa Rahmat Allah,
I would really like to know how does my email inbox get filled with spam and junk mail? I never use my email account in other sites, and I always request to be removed from the senders’ mailing list, but it still keeps on coming, where do they get my email address from?
I also have a related question. How can a virus use my email to send itself to my entire mailing list with me sending anything, and how come my computer was infected in the first place although I didn’t open any attachment or download any thing????
Jazakom Allah Khier.
Answer
Hello. Good question.
There was a bit of a scandal awhile ago when it was discovered that a spamming organization had been hacking hotmail's user account and getting the complete list of active e-mails, but that would only account for a few of them. Spammers also send bulk mails, meaning they will send an e-mail to every possible combination of numbers and letters for an address. There is also a belief that some viruses that harvest e-mail addresses may have been launched by spammers. If a friend's mailbox is exposed by a virus, then spammers have it thanks to your friend not keeping his e-mail secure. I should also point out that when you ask to be removed from a sender's site, well that's like advertising that this is a live e-mail address and once one of those people have it they all have it.
Name
Webfreak
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Profession
Question
Do emails remain on the servers forever?
Answer
Hmm -- forever is a long time -- but I can find e-mails from 1987 still floating around from old bulletin boards. And we computer people tend to make back-ups of all our servers very frequently, so I would say for all practical purposes, yes.
Name
Jawaria
- Pakistan
Profession
student
Question
My friend who is a young IT scholar prevents me to install any anti-virus, as he thinks they are the most troubling in generating virus. Do you think anti-virus companies send viruses to run their business as fast as it could be?
Answer
Heavens no! However anti-virus companies do have labs that try to develop viruses and use them to test their anti-virus software.
You should always have anti-virus software on a computer and it should always be updated. But in the final analysis, YOU are the first line of defense against viruses.
Always treat suspicious e-mails as dangerous. Never open attachments you don't understand why you are getting, and always, always assume it has a virus until proven otherwise.
Name
danny
- Egypt
Profession
pharmacist
Question
As Salam Alikom,
Can you kindly explain what is a firewall? Is it supposed to protect my computer from viruses and hackers? Is it any good? And why does it stop me from downloading stuff from the internet?
Thank you
Answer
Simply putting a firewall protects your network (or computer) from the outside world by creating a barrier between you and the internet. It is an excellent thing, especially now that many companies are using ports, a part of the connection, to monitor your computer in terms of where you go. It is also how infected computers send out e-mail without using your e-mail program. I think anyone who does not have even a basic firewall should have their computer taken away. I would have to see how your system and firewall is configured to answer the question of what and why it is blocking downloads.
Name
Habeba
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Profession
Question
As Salam Alikom.
I like to shop online all the time, I think it’s faster and more convenient. But just how safe is it? I heard that some sites may not be secure enough and other sites sell your information to other sites. How can I make sure that my credit card data will not be used somewhere else without me knowing about it?
Answer
Curiously, online shopping is very secure provided the site uses secure socket layer (SSL). If you're not sure, look at the address of the PAGE that is asking for your information. It should start https://iwannshop.com
NOTE the "https" is different than "http". If the address has only http DO NOT put your credit card info there. SSL has been proven to be secure against a number of attacks. And if you want to know why every page is not SSL encrypted -- simple: the overhead to do so is enormous and the server would slowdown so much as to make the connections very slow.
Name
Adam
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Profession
Question
As Salam Alikom.
I’m not new to the internet. But there is something I never really understood. That is “cookies” . What are they, and how can they be used by sites or individuals to access my PC? Is it better to remove them occasionally? Is there any risk of losing online registration information or data in doing so?
Answer
Cookies are extremely misunderstood. It would take several hundred words to explain them -- but, simply put, they put information on YOUR computer that is accessed by a server over the internet -- such as online registration. They might also include information on where you looked last on THAT server -- which explains why you get advertisements for stuff that interests you or might interest you.
They are harmless and any "personal information" is retained on the client computer. I would probably turn them off if I were using someone else's or a public computer simply because I don't want people using my auto registration info.
Name
NN
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Profession
Question
Salam...is there any way of getting back the email messages that were deleted by the company (hotmail) and not by the owner of the email account?
Answer
Not that I am aware of. If someone had the resources, it is in theory possible to hunt them down and find a copy somewhere, but as a practical issue for a private individual, no.
Name
Hamza
- Finland
Profession
Question
How can I protect my computer from viruses that come to my computer from the program Kazaa?
Answer
Go Finland! My favorite country in Europe.
The simplest way is to install an anti-virus program and have it set on auto-scan. They are quite effective as long as they are kept up to date -- which means no longer than once a week. Which reminds me -- Kazaa as a P2P (peer to peer) network is an excellent example of how viruses move across the net.
Name
Noora
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Profession
Question
Can viruses be sent to my computer through msn messenger?
Answer
Not in the message but as a file and then only if you open the file.
Name
Mona
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Profession
Question
I work with a company that provides internet and my computer is connected to the server by cable. How secure is my internet connection and can who is operating the server read my emails, chats and check sites I have visited?
Answer
Hi, Mona. Your company will have a policy in place that specifies that your access to the internet is not guaranteed privacy and they probably had you sign it. So yes, they can read your e-mail, see where you visit and record your chats. This is for their protection -- what if you used the internet to send critical company documents? Also under law, a company is responsible for what you put in your e-mails. Also, 50% of all cyber theft occurs within a company and they have to be able to protect their information assets. What would happen if you sent out the latest price list? When I was young, my mother would tell me never to do anything I didn't want in the local newspaper. I advise people not to put anything in an e-mail message they don't want made public.
Name
Afrah
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Profession
Question
What are temporary internet files. These are usually found when going thru explorer.
Answer
Hi Afrah - pretty name -- bet you are a beautiful bride.
Temporary Internet Files are placed on your computer to speed up the process of browsing. When you visit a site, the pages are placed in the folder from the server. When you return to the site, your browser rebuids the page using the elements from the temporary files that haven't changed (like a banner or graphic) and updating the pieces that have. Deleting them does nothing bad. In fact, soemtimes when you have problems with a browser we advise people to delete them since a file may have become corrupted.
Name
Jargon
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Profession
Student
Question
What is your favorite antivirus software, and why.
P.S. Wouldn't you recommend GNU/Linux to more people now since it has become quite easy for a newbie to use.
Answer
All operating systems have advantages and disadvanatges. I like GNU/Linux, but because they represent such a small part of the computer world, its fairly difficult to find compatible software. Windows is universal, but has its own set of problems, as you know. I always advise poeple to choose based on what they will use, not on what their freinds use.
Name
ahmad
- United Arab Emirates
Profession
student
Question
Dear sir,
What do you think of programs such as napster, for example, that allow users to access each others machines and download files from them are these sites monitered and secure??
Thanks a lot.
Answer
Go Emirates. Best Airlines in the world...best shopping as well....
Napster and Kazaa and the like are ok if you are comfortable with the idea of pirating other people's software -- which of course is a form of theft. They are a known source of viruses, but mostly because of the sheer number of files available.
Name
bothina
- Egypt
Profession
Scientific Editor
Question
Salam,
Thank you sir for giving us such an opportunity.
I always wondered what benifits do hackers gain from designing and launching viruses, where do they learn that, where do they get the needed equipment.
Something has to pay back I guess.
Should we be scared that hackers, or should I call them pirates, can break into govermental sites and mess them up?
Answer
Thank you. Its nice to be here. Hackers basically are like little kids and get a thrill from proving they can do something like write a virus. An example: only about 1000 viruses are "wild" -- i.e. have seen circulation. The rest of the 50K known viruses were sent to antivirus software companies to show off what the hacker could do.
China, we know, offers scholarships to hackers who can break into non-Chinese sites. There is a whole class of hackers called script kiddies -- I could teach you to be one in about three hours -- who use ready-made software from hacker sites in the internet (no, I'm not telling you where they are).
"Where do they get the needed equipment?" No equipment needed; just computer code, a computer and a connection to the internet.
I don't think the average person should be "scared" of them. Most are pretty dumb and easily deflected. The black hat hackers often find themselves in jail. But its like this -- they can mess up information, which is why it is important that you, your company and your government always secure that information the best you can and always have a backup on hand (and I tell people to make a copy of the backup and move it to another building).
