Lowell Deeds

We don’t want you to become paranoid about using the Internet, just to realize that there are thousands of bad people out their trying to steal your sensitive information and your money. Today’s New York Times has a front page story about Keylogging, the latest method hackers use to capture your personal data. Using a variety of methods, hackers plant a tiny file on your computer that records and then transmits back to the hacker the sequence of keys you press on your keyboard in relation to the image that’s displayed on your screen. The more sophisticated versions of the keystroke program sit on your computer waiting for some trigger (a box that says “SSN” or “Credit Card Number” for example) and then they spring to life, recording your social security number or credit card number. Keylogging files are planted on your computer when you visit innocent appearing websites or by a variety of other means. Worst of all, the bad guys are changing their technology so quickly that anti-virus software has a hard time keeping up with it. The article also contains a link to a section of the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute website devoted to “Securing Your Web Browser” which is well worth a visit. So should we all unplug from the Internet? Given the way our society has evolved, that’s not a realistic option. Still, everyone should exercise common sense and take some time to learn and practice reasonable security habits.