Cynergise - Social Media Consultancy by Chandesh Parekh » Online Security

Keep your WordPress site secure

Chandesh Parekh — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:34:08 +0000

More and more websites are using WordPress as their back-end Content Management System due to its ease of use and excellent built-in search-engine-optimization.

However, as with all software, WordPress does have bugs that are exploited to wreak havoc on your site.

This blog article talks about upgrading your WordPress installation to ensure the latest security patches have been applied and of the latest WordPress vulnerability.

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Facebook apps stealing data and spamming

Chandesh Parekh — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:51:38 +0000

ZDnet.com reports on some Facebook apps that steal login details and spam victims’ friends lists. Some of the Facebook apps mentioned in the report are:

Stream
Posts
Your Photos
Birthday Invitations

As always, when using social networking sites watch out what apps you use and ask yourself if you absolutely have to use every app that comes your way!

Read the story here

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What information does Google collect about you, the browser?

Chandesh Parekh — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:46:53 +0000

Danny Dover has written an amazing article over at SEOmoz about the information Google tracks and collects about every user to its many service web sites e.g. from GMail, Google Desktop, Google Docs, Postini, YouTube, FeedBurner etc.

Most Internet users are aware of the usual information collected but here Danny Dover has put together an exhaustive list from how Google collects information to what it does with it;
If you’re incolved in Search Engine Optimization or even responsible for your organisations information security this is a post well worth reading.

Check it out here…

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Byron Review – UK Government to Review Internet Risk to Kids

Chandesh Parekh — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:07:18 +0000

Young kids today face a completely different world to that experienced by their parents. In fact, even only a short time as 10 years ago kids weren’t exposed to the kind of media they now have easy access to.

Always-on access to the Internet has brought many risks to children and these are now to be assessed under the Byron Review here in the U.K. Dr Tyra Byron, a clinical psychologist, will head the review process that will also look at other media including video games.

To learn more visit The Byron Review site and get involved in the Call for Evidence by clicking here (closing date 30th Nov 2007).

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Planning your party using a social network? Watch Out!!

Chandesh Parekh — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:04:15 +0000

As the new university and college year has kicked off, many are kegging up for the ‘freshers’ parties. Planning parties using social networks like Facebook and MySpace is becoming popular due to the sheer ease with which it’s possible to get invites out. But there is a dark side to this…

Considering the ‘open-ness’ of such networks, gatecrashing with the motive to steal is becoming widespread. Laptops, mobiles, iPods, Blackberrys, PSPs and other popular electronic wares make for easy picking whilst the owner is busy looking down into a bottle or passed out on a sofa.

It’s reported that a party organised on MySpace earlier this year cost an extra $40,000 as various items went missing the morning after.

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Can Social Networking Bridge the ‘Digital Divide’?

Two Tricks For Eliminating Spam

Sol Shah — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:00:29 +0000

Spam can hit our inboxes throughout the day, creating annoying distractions that force us to have to scan it and delete it, where time could be better spent elsewhere.

According to statistics reported on page 6 of Singapore’s TODAY paper on August 13, 2007:

6 trillion business email messages were sent worldwide last year
49 minutes is spent on email each day by the average worker
4 hours is spent on email each day by the senior management worker
80 percent of email sent is actually spam
62 percent of workers check their business email at home or on holiday
10 points is the fall in IQ experienced by workers distracted by email (more than twice that found in cannabis studies)

You’ve checked out the stats, so would it be worth exploring how you could get a handle on your email? Here are two tricks that we have already started to use to help guard us from spam and spammer attacks:

(1) Turn Your Email Address Into An Image: When you need to display your email address on your website, you can protect it from being added to a bulk email list by displaying that email address as an image. Use Safe Mail that turns it into an image that looks like text, or check out Email Cover that turns your email address into a CAPTCHA image. These are both free services, and something that we’ll be using on ALL of our websites that display our email addresses.

(2) Use A Spam Blocker: If your email address is already trapped on bulk email lists, there are cool services that you can subscribe to that block out ALL emails that aren’t by known senders. All those messages by unknown sources that fall into your spam folder can be checked occasionally in case a genuine email arrives there, so don’t worry – new contacts can still reach you. This saves you tonnes of time by keeping your attention on those emails that consistently deserve your attention. The spam blocking service we use and highly recommend is Spam Arrest.

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