Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Protecting a PC From Spam and Spoofs

I keep getting e-mail from someone I know, but the messages do not seem to be from him — they are all junk advertisements. Does my friend have a computer virus, and can I catch it on my PC by opening these messages?

Your friend’s computer may be infected with malicious software that is using his address book to spread itself. It is also possible that someone else has gained control of your friend’s account, or that the real sender is forging (spoofing) his address in hopes that the message will get by spam filters.

You can keep your computer safer by not clicking on any included Web links or opening any file attachments that may be included in the messages. An up-to-date security program — one that includes antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall protections — can catch many forms of malware.

If you do not have a commercial security suite, About.com has a list of free basic antivirus programs. Free versions of anti-spyware programs like Malwarebytes and Spybot Search & Destroy are also available.

You should contact your friend with the suspect e-mail account and let him know about the situation. He should also check his machine with anti-malware software for viruses and things like Trojan horse programs. (Trojan horse malware can do things like record password keystrokes or even turn the computer into a remote-control machine for someone else.) After scanning the computer, he should also change his passwords for e-mail and other services, especially if malware or unfamiliar messages in the e-mail account’s out-box were discovered.

It can be harder to deal with messages that are merely forging your friend’s return address in the sender field. (Looking at the full message header to see the originating e-mail address can reveal a spoof; the steps for displaying headers in several mail programs are here). If spoofing is the cause, there is not much you can do, but the PC World site has an article on minimizing exposure to e-mail spoofing.

Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Protecting Your Mail Account

How can I keep my e-mail account from getting hacked?

E-mail security is an ongoing issue, but there are basic precautions you can take to help keep your account safer from intruders, viruses and other malicious scenarios. To start, make sure your computer’s operating system, security software and e-mail/Web browser program have all the latest updates and security patches installed.

Skipping simple or easy-to-remember passwords in favor of more complex creations made up of letters, numbers and symbols can help thwart those trying to guess your password. Microsoft’s site has a guide to creating strong passwords and a program that evaluates password strength.

If your e-mail provider offers it, take advantage of “two-step authentication,” which adds an extra layer of security to your e-mail account, usually by requiring you to enter a code sent to your mobile phone whenever you sign into the account on a different computer. The major mail providers all offer such verification services, including Google’s Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Microsoft’s Outlook.com.

Time-honored safety practices, like ignoring messages asking for personal information and not clicking links in messages (unless you know the sender and the link is obviously to an entertainment or news site) are also advised. You should also avoid entering your e-mail name and password on public computers or networks.

If someone does get control of your account and you need to verify your identity with your e-mail provider, be prepared to supply plenty of information. In addition to correctly answering the security questions you may have set up when you created the account, you might have to list things like the subjects of recent messages, the e-mail addresses of regular correspondents and other details that only you personally would know.

Gadgetwise Blog: Q.& A.: Protecting Your Twitter Account

How does a Twitter password get hacked?

Twitter, like other sites and accounts that require typed passwords, is vulnerable to a number of traditional ploys. These include malicious software collecting personal information on the computer, vulnerable third-party Twitter apps, and using the machine on an insecure network.

Clicking on links and inadvertently entering your Twitter name and password on a phishing site can also result in a compromised account. Twitter has a help guide for those who think their accounts may have been hacked, as well as general security information.

Media Decoder Blog: YouTube Offers a Way to Blur Faces, Protecting Identities in Videos

To help protect dissidents using video to tell their stories in countries with repressive government regimes, YouTube made available a new tool on Wednesday allowing people to obscure faces within videos uploaded onto its platform.

Protecting the identity of activists using social media has become a growing concern among human rights groups as authoritarian governments in some countries, including Syria, have been turning to citizen-generated videos of protests and other user-generated content on social media sites to identify and jail dissidents.

“Visual anonymity in video allows people to share personal footage more widely and to speak out when they otherwise may not,” Amanda Conway, a YouTube policy associate, wrote in a statement about the new tool. She pointed out that “human rights footage, in particular, opens up new risks to the people posting videos and to those filmed.”

Sam Gregory, program director for Witness.org, the leading human rights video advocacy and training organization, praised the move. Witness.org recently began collaborating with YouTube on a new human rights channel.

Mr. Gregory has been trying to raise awareness among dissidents and operators of social media sites about the importance of anonymity for activists when speaking out can put them at risk of retaliation.

In recent years, Mr. Gregory said, government officials in places like Myanmar, Iran and Syria have used videos of protests to identify dissidents. “There have been clear attempts to use citizen-shot footage to target people and punish them for speaking out against the regime,” Mr. Gregory said.

But Mr. Gregory said the tool would help more people than the activists involved in protests. He said that it would also protect the identity of people who want to use video to speak out about subjects like sexual assault and abuse.

YouTube said that the technology could be used for happier situations, too. Its statement points out that it could be used before sharing “the winning point in your 8-year-old’s basketball game” so that the child’s face would not be broadcast to the world.

Media Decoder Blog: YouTube Offers a Way to Blur Faces, Protecting Identities in Videos

To help protect dissidents using video to tell their stories in countries with repressive government regimes, YouTube made available a new tool on Wednesday allowing people to obscure faces within videos uploaded onto its platform.

Protecting the identity of activists using social media has become a growing concern among human rights groups as authoritarian governments in some countries, including Syria, have been turning to citizen-generated videos of protests and other user-generated content on social media sites to identify and jail dissidents.

“Visual anonymity in video allows people to share personal footage more widely and to speak out when they otherwise may not,” Amanda Conway, a YouTube policy associate, wrote in a statement about the new tool. She pointed out that “human rights footage, in particular, opens up new risks to the people posting videos and to those filmed.”

Sam Gregory, program director for Witness.org, the leading human rights video advocacy and training organization, praised the move. Witness.org recently began collaborating with YouTube on a new human rights channel.

Mr. Gregory has been trying to raise awareness among dissidents and operators of social media sites about the importance of anonymity for activists when speaking out can put them at risk of retaliation.

In recent years, Mr. Gregory said, government officials in places like Myanmar, Iran and Syria have used videos of protests to identify dissidents. “There have been clear attempts to use citizen-shot footage to target people and punish them for speaking out against the regime,” Mr. Gregory said.

But Mr. Gregory said the tool would help more people than the activists involved in protests. He said that it would also protect the identity of people who want to use video to speak out about subjects like sexual assault and abuse.

YouTube said that the technology could be used for happier situations, too. Its statement points out that it could be used before sharing “the winning point in your 8-year-old’s basketball game” so that the child’s face would not be broadcast to the world.