on 16/7/02 01:12, Philip Stortz at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > then there's the password security problem, some are easy to guess, some > people use software to automatically keep track of all their user names > and passwords for various sites. if this data base is broken into the > spy can then impersonate you on websites and order things in your name, > either on your open account, or on your credit card which some > e-business sites insist on keeping track of for you, to make it easier > for you to buy, but it means that once someone has your password and > user name they immediately have access to your credit card info. > depending on the site they might just be able to use it with the one > vendor, or if the vendor is careless the full credit card info may be > available to them which they can then use anywhere. > > the problem is it's easy to know, in most cases, if your house has been > broken into and someone has stolen or used your computer (especially if > you're home). it can be very, very difficult to know that someone has > broken into your system from some remote location, possibly in another > country or on another continent. even if you do detect it, someone > hiding behind a keyboard can be very difficult to track down and arrest > or stop, particularly when it becomes an international problem. and if > you do detect an intrusion, it's difficult to be sure you know the full > extent of the incursion.
This presumes that you actually use your computer for purchases. I've given out my credit card *once* and that was through e-mail and I used four e-mails to send out various portions of the information. (mail order from the US to Canada is usually too expensive because of customs bull****). The only things that are stored in the Apple's keychain DB are my @mac.com e-mail accounts and the local network drive (all of which don't rank high on my list of things to be concerned about). If someone really wanted to they could break into my real e-mail addresses but even then they won't be able to do much since our local mail server won't accept traffic from outside our own domain (and, anyone stupid enough to "hack" from within the university would promptly get fired/expelled... the beauties of firewalls and fixed IPs (though, there are unused IPs that can be used... that's usually how I get new computers up and running right away (instead of waiting a week or two for the powers that be to get off their ass)). Safe computing demands that you keep your most important things in your head, and away from the computer in a form that wouldn't make much sense to other people. Damn, I really need to stop procrastinating. Eric. -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
