Wireless Safety

Wireless technology is now built into just about every gadget we’re likely to own – from mobile phones, PDA’s and laptops through to iPods, cameras and book readers. It is a functionality which is less a feature than a consumer requirement.
Always being connected especially when you’re on the move, can seem like a wonderful thing. You can surf the internet, write and pick up emails, download important files – everything you can do in the office or at home – wherever and whenever you wish. But all this comes at a price. The price is the security of your data.

Wireless communications offer a window of opportunity for the data thief

Mobile phones, PDA’s and laptops now come with two wireless technologies as standard: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Many people forget to turn this functionality off on their mobile and laptops when they are not in use. Mobile phones in particular are often switched on permanently because users don’t think to check. As a result their presence is advertised to other wireless users 300 feet away or more. Since the signals are always seeking connections they are easily discovered and unless properly secured, can be hacked in a matter of minutes.

Securing mobile Wi-Fi- computers

There is one very simple wireless security solution; turn if off if you are not using it. With most laptops, all it takes is a flick of a switch. Wi-Fi signals travel further then Bluetooth signals and this should be borne in mind especially in heavily populated areas.

One of the main risks with mobile Wi-Fi is that it can be configured to automatically connect to available networks. This puts your computer at risk as it may hop on to any free hotspot without notifying the user. All the potential hacker then needs is some free software, readily available on the internet, to steal passwords, contacts and other personal or confidential data.

Wi-Fi on the move- phones

The main security risk with mobile phones is Bluetooth.
Bluetooth transmissions work up to about 30 feet or more. Again in a public place this can advertise your presence and the fact that your device can be connected to and either hacked or hijacked.

Hijacking is a favourite ploy of many fraudsters. They can steal a mobile number silently and with great simplicity then use it to dial premium numbers for services which would be difficult to explain to a person’s spouse or partner. The resulting bill can be an equal embarrassment, with no way of proving to the service provider that it wasn’t the subscriber making the calls. The best way of staying secure is to switch Bluetooth off by going into the phone settings and disabling it.

Wi-Fi at home

Home wireless networks have a range of around 300ft indoors and 300ft or more outdoors, depending on a number of factors, including the strength of the transmitter and the number and type of obstructions in the way of the signal.
‘War driving’ is a common tactic used by fraudsters who drive around residential areas to identify and exploit weak home wireless networks for their own gain.
An easy way of making a wireless network more secure is to place the transmitter near the centre of the home, away from windows .Modern wireless networks come with certain security features built in eg. Firewall; The ability to encrypt traffic. These features should be enabled at set up.

How to protect yourself:

Always

• Disable automatic connection on your computer to Wi-Fi networks.
• Turn Wi-Fi off on your computer when it’s not in use
• Turn the Bluetooth signal to ‘undiscoverable’ on your mobile phone when it is not in use.
• Set a Bluetooth pass code on your mobile phone and change it frequently
• Enable security features built into your wireless networks such as firewalls and encryption
• Change the administrator name and password on your home wireless network
• Change the default SSID (Secure Set Identifier) name at set up and disable broadcast.
  
  Never
• Use the default settings on your wireless devices – the defaults are well known to hackers
• Choose an obvious profile for your mobile phone
• Pair your mobile phone with any Bluetooth enables devise that you do not recognise
• Use default pass code settings, names or passwords on your mobile phone or wireless networks
• Do not leave your home wireless networks turned on if you go away for any length of time.

Adapted from Fraud Facts, Wireless safety; Fraud Advisory Panel

It's booker beware in the holiday lets market

This article was written by Sandra O'Connell and was published in The Irish Times Saturday 14th August 2010.

SANDRA O'CONNELL

Go Niche: THINK THERE’S nothing worse on holiday than bad weather? Try turning up and finding the villa you just forked out a fortune for doesn’t exist. Or exists but whose owners know nothing about your booking.

It’s a problem private investigator Annie Murphy of Bluemoon Investigations says is on the rise. She was recently engaged to unravel a particularly well-organised scam offering non-existent holiday lets in upmarket Puerto Banus (pictured).

“It was very professional. A number of properties were advertised through classified ads and on letting websites over a period of time. The guy on the end of the phone sounded very plausible. He said he was a quantity surveyor, and directed people to his own business website, which looked the part,” says Murphy.

It was only when people began arriving in Spain and found the properties didn’t exist that the scam became apparent.

By that stage the money had been transferred and the guy on the end of the phone line had stopped answering.

“Turns out his very professional website was made up of material lifted wholesale from two other quantity surveyor websites, including pictures of personnel,” says Murphy.

“The phone was an unregistered pay-as-you-go phone and the people behind the scam couldn’t be tracked down.”

Her advice is to be vigilant. “Avoid booking through classified adverts or from online adverts unless you already know someone who has booked that accommodation before with no problems and only ever make credit or debit card payments through secure websites,” says Murphy.

“If in doubt at all, do not make the booking or hand over any payment and, if a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is.”

www.bluemooninvestigations.ie

I spy with my little watch

This article was published in the Independent Saturday July 31 2010

Be afraid. Be very afraid. They are watching you. Your phone could be bugged, your computer tracking your every key stroke and that harmless air freshener on the windowsill fitted with video recording equipment designed to catch you red-handed.
Forget international intrigue, James Bond, or the CIA. The new front line of hi-tech espionage is your office desk. And the spies are all around you.
So if you thought this summer's slippery and cerebral blockbuster, Inception, about the covert world of corporate espionage, was Hollywood fantasy, think again.
Just ask the Michigan couple who this week were accused of stealing more than $40m worth of trade secrets from their former employer, General Motors, and selling them to a Chinese car-maker.
Shashan Du (51) and her husband Yu Qin (49) were under covert investigation since 2006 and this week were charged with secretly downloading highly confidential insider information and selling it to the highest bidder. It is the latest in a growing number of high-profile cases of industrial espionage to hit the headlines.
"We are finding more businesses coming to us," says Annie Murphy of Bluemoon Investigations based in Dun Laoghaire. "Many suspect a particular individual is leaking information to a rival organisation or fear a competitor is trying to steal commercially sensitive information."
In fact, many managers have become so paranoid about the growing threat they do regular 'bug sweeps' of their premises. "Industrial espionage offers huge gains for the person carrying it out," says Murphy.
"We have found employees who want to steal information because they are about to start working for a competitor and others who simply want to try and sell the information. You would be surprised at how often this type of thing is happening."
This new army of mercenaries is equipped with hi-tech gadgets that would make even Mr Bond quiver with delight.
A quick visit to The Spy Shop (www.spyshop.ie) will reveal an Aladdin's Cave of sneaky snooping devices to help any wannabe spy or PI.
Technology, such as Spy Pen Cameras and Deleted Text Message Readers, has flooded onto the market to meet the growing demand.
"The equipment is just getting better and better," says Shane Doran of The Spy Shop. "And it's quite affordable now."
Some of the top sellers include the Covert Car Tracker, the Tissue Box Video Camera and Recorder and the Spy Watch with inbuilt video camera and recording equipment.
"The big change now is for recording systems," says Doran.
"In the past you would have had to have a camera, a power supply and then link it all up to a recorder. But now they all come in one and can be placed in most everyday devices and operated remotely."
One such device is the GSM Infinity Mains adaptor. It not only looks like a normal plug adaptor, but works like one. However, it secretly contains a hidden listening device that allows the owner to snoop from afar on conversations within a room by simply dialling the number of the SIM card located inside the device.
Bluemoon Investigations recently used similar hi-tech wizardry when contacted by a managing director concerned about the amount of fuel seemingly evaporating into thin air.
"It was a manufacturing company with a fairly large transport fleet where large volumes of diesel were unaccounted for," recalls Murphy. "However nothing was showing up on the closed-circuit cameras."
Bluemoon installed hi-tech recording devices around the premises and deployed undercover agents to infiltrate the very heart of the organisation.
"Following surveillance, our hidden cameras captured an employee selling the diesel to friends and local tradesman," reveals Murphy.
However, this didn't explain why there was no evidence on the company's own security cameras.
"One of our covert cameras recorded the company's security guard tampering with company's CCTV recording and removing the evidence. It also recorded him receiving his ill-gotten gains from the other employee for helping to cover up the theft."
Some companies have become so fearful of espionage they are turning the tables and giving employees they no longer trust phones with Bond-like capabilities.
The Spy Store (www.spystore.ie) sells the Nokia Spy Phone (€179.99), which, once switched to spy mode, becomes the ultimate snooping tool. You can leave the phone unattended and then dial into it to listen in on what is being said. The Nokia E51 Spy Phone (€549.99) is even sneakier. It not only allows you dial in and snoop, but to receive copies of every text message sent from the phone.
Although every self-respecting spy should be aware of Trojans bearing gifts, anyone looking to get their hands on such legally available products could find using them opens a dangerous legal minefield.
"You have to be careful you are not breaking any laws," says Murphy. "If an employee is using a computer to download sensitive information, there is software available that can detect and record their actions. Obviously if the company owns that equipment then they would be entitled to put software on the machine to see if any unauthorised activity is taking place. But you have to be careful you are not breaching anybody's human rights."
So if you are an employee with light fingers, a manager looking to sell company secrets or even a husband playing away from home, just be careful you don't get caught dangling in a web of technology.
Right now you're every move could be tracked and every word recorded. So wherever you find yourself just remember what the spider said to the fly -- "Will you walk into my parlour? 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy."
Irish Independent

"Holiday Let" Down

Be on your guard when booking a holiday let or you could become the victim of organised fraudsters, is the warning issued today by Bluemoon Investigations.

Private Investigator Annie Murphy of Bluemoon Investigation explains how she has seen an increase recently in the number of holidays maker who arrive at their holiday destination to find the apartment they had booked, simply does not exist or if it does, that they do not have a legitimate booking.

Fraudsters will advertise property at attractive rates for holiday rental in the classified section of national and regional newspaper as well as online. The fraudster will often advise anyone who responds to the adverts that he is a member of a respected profession, with his own successful business; this is intended to instil confidence in potential victims. There is often a fake website set up specifically for this scam and victims are given the website address. At face value the websites appears to be a genuine business but really just comprises of information lifted from genuine websites in the same sector.

It is only when the victims arrive at their holiday destination which may be many weeks or months after they made the payment to the fraudster, that they realise this is just a scam. They are then in the unenviable position of having to secure accommodation, if they are actually able to do this, at such short notice, it more often than not results in having to pay a huge premium.
“Just this week we became aware of a family who fell foul of one of these trickers and paid €500 for a week’s accommodation in Puerto Banus for their teenage daughter, who flew out there earlier this week” explains Annie.” Fortunately she already had friends in the area with whom she could stay with, others however will not be as lucky”.

“You can protect yourselves from these tricksters by always booking accommodation through a reputable outlet or through recommendation from families and friends” Annie advises “Avoid booking through classified adverts or from online adverts unless you already know someone who has booked that accommodation before with no problems and only ever make credit or debit card payments through secure websites. If in doubt at all do not make the booking or hand over any payment and if a deal seems too good to be true then it probably is”.

Can Your Marriage Survive an Affair? Seven Questions to Ask Yourself

It depends on what you mean by 'an affair' - can your marriage survive? If cheating were only limited to a spontaneous and discreet scratching of an itch, if you could just bottle the whole experience and leave it where you never need to see it again, then YES. Only problem is that the itch often becomes a 'rash'!

A generation ago, roles were clearly defined: men were the providers and women were the home-makers and child-rearers. Financial and social dependency and lack of opportunity predisposed us to fidelity. Today, we are independent and fully 'out there' (and don't forget our partners are working with fully out-there women too). There is NOTHING inevitable about fidelity. It becomes a decision we have to make over and over in life. It is important to remember that our emotions are not driven by logic and that it takes bravery and lots of hard work for a marriage to survive an affair.

Here are seven important questions, the answers of which will determine the likelihood of a marriage surviving an affair:

1. Is the one who cheated making excuses for what happened?

2. Does the one who cheated understand the hurt they've caused?

3. Is this an isolated event or a pattern? Is there a pattern of flirting/setting up situations which could lead somewhere?

4. Does "I'm sorry", mean "Sorry I did it", or 'Sorry I got caught"?

5. If they can't understand why it's such a bum thing to have done, you can't begin to rebuild trust. Are they willing to start again and start clean? This means cutting off all contact with that person.

6. Is cheating 'normal' for the one who messed around - something close friends and family have a history of?

7. If your relationship survives this, and it happens again, will you survive a second round of hurt? If not, think very hard about whether to make the effort.

So, is your marriage in trouble? You are not alone - thousands of people worldwide, are experiencing the same problems. Start saving your marriage right now and go to the link below and give your marriage the best possible chance of long term success.http://www.save-mymarriage.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Schooling

Polygraph Tests

Polygraph tests, commonly known as “lie detector” tests are becoming increasingly more popular in Ireland, but what is a polygraph test and in what circumstances are you likely to require one?


Polygraph Tests

The polygraph, which is in effect a medical instrument works by tracing changes in a person's physiological conditioning – changes in the autonomic nervous system- during questioning. These changes are recorded directly on to the polygraph charts so that they can be reviewed.
A polygraph examination usually takes between two and three hours from beginning to end, and consists of three different phases; pre-test interview, collection of charts, and analysis of charts.

The first part, the pre test interview, usually takes the longest time to complete. During this stage the examiner will explain how the polygraph works. He will then discuss the specific issue and develop and review all the questions to be asked on the polygraph test.

The subject is then attached to the polygraph. The set of questions, which was developed during the pre-test interview, will be asked three or four times. During this stage only the examiner and subject will be present.

Once the examiner has collected the charts he will review and analyse the results before giving a decision as to the subject's truthfulness or deception


How accurate are Polygraph Tests?

It is estimated that when carried out by a person who has been properly trained using a validated technique, the results are between 95% and 95% accurate. Polygraph test are an established fool proof way of establishing whether a person is being deceptive.


Is it possible to “beat” the polygraph?

If a person engages in behaviors in order to distort the polygraph tracings, it becomes evident to a trained examiner
Beating the polygraph," says Dr Louis Rovner, a noted scientist and polygraph expert in Los Angeles, California "is impossible for just about everybody." The polygraph is a scientific instrument which records physiological changes in our bodies. Polygraph examiners are trained to look for subtle abnormalities in these changes as a person answers a series of questions. The changes, he says, are involuntary reactions that occur in our bodies when we are not being truthful. "In order to beat the test," he says, "a person must use his central nervous system to override the involuntary activity of the autonomic nervous system, and he must do it on cue, every 25 seconds or so." Given the anxiety of a typical polygraph subject, it is extremely unlikely that anyone could successfully fool a competent polygraph examiner.


In what circumstances are Polygraph tests used?

There are a wide range of scenario’s where polygraph tests have been used. Annie Murphy of Bluemoon Investigations comments that Bluemoon clients have requested polygraph tests relating to marital infidelity, fraud, theft, pre-employment screening, family disputes, domestic abuse and truth verification.
Polygraphs can also be used where accusations of sexual abuse have been made. In fact the U.K Probation services in nine areas are taking part in a three year trial of polygraph session on sex offenders. Paedophiles and rapists are having to take lie-detector tests in a bid to stop them re-offending. They must take regular tests as a condition of their release from prison and could be sent back to custody if they refuse as a breach of parole.


Evidence

In most European jurisdictions, polygraphs are not generally used by police forces. However, in any lawsuit, an involved party can order a psychologist to write an opinion based on polygraph results to substantiate the credibility of its claims. The court weighs the opinion like any other opinion the party has ordered. In most cases, polygraph tests are voluntarily taken by a defendant in order to substantiate his or her claims.

If you would like to arrange a Polygraph Test please contact Annie Murphy at Bluemoon Investigations.

Protect Your Password

Identity theft and theft of personal information is on the increase and hackers are becoming more technically advanced all the time. That's why it is more important than ever that computer users create theft proof passwords to avoid identity theft.

Two of the most common ways passwords can be stolen is through thieves skimming information on social networking sites as well as bots trolling sites and automatically trying the most commonly used passwords first.

Imperva were able to compile the following list of the most common and worst used passwords,

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. facebook, or twitter
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
11. Nicole
12. Daniel
13. babygirl
14. monkey
15. Jessica
16. Lovely
17. Michael
18. Ashley
19. 654321
20. Qwerty


Tips for Creating Safe Passwords

• Regularly change your passwords - ideally several times a year
• Use different passwords for every site you use
• Keep your passwords random
• Mix up numbers, letters, and capitalization
• Don't use actual words, make a password from a sentence for example: I love my wife and two children - ilmwa2c
• Do not use letter or numerical sequences for example: abc123
• Don't use the name of the service in your password for example: facebook123