Gmail And Yahoo! Mail Hacked - How To Protect Yourself

In front of a live audience at the Black Hat security convention, Robert Graham (CEO Errata Security) showed how it was possible to hack into popular email programs like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail without using any passwords. All he needed was an IP Address and username.

At the convention, Graham was able to hijack someone’s Gmail account during his unscripted demonstration.

The attack is actually quite simple. First Graham needs to be able to sniff data packets and in our case the open Wi-Fi network at the convention fulfilled that requirement. He then ran Ferret to copy all the cookies flying through the air. Finally, Graham cloned those cookies into his browser – in easy point-and-click fashion - with a home-grown tool called Hamster. -Source TG Daily

The attack is able to hijack sessions in just about any web application that uses cookies. He was able to successfully break into the big three: Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.

As Graham stated, “I see ten people’s cookies on my screen, I just need to click on the guy’s IP address and I’m in. Once you get someone’s Google account, you’d be surprised at the stuff you’d find."

How You Can Protect Yourself

What can you do to safeguard your email, especially in public Wi-Fi hotspots? Be sure to use a secure login (HTTPS instead of HTTP) every single time. This will send your credentials over an encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which will encrypt your login session and prevent your cookies from being cloned.

For Gmail: Use https://mail.google.com/mail/
For Yahoo!: Click the "Secure" link below the "Sign In" button.
For Hotmail: Click the "Sign in using enhanced security" link on the sign in form.

If you have any login pages (for any type of online account) bookmarked, be sure to check and see if they have secure login pages available. Then, update your bookmarks to those pages.

Spy Sweeper Sweeps Up the Competition...

Spy Sweeper Sweeps Up the Competition

This month's issue of PC World magazine names the 100 best products of the year. And it's really no surprise that the antispyware program Spy Sweeper made the list.

PC World: "Spy Sweeper catches more stuff than its competitors do, and it provides sound advice on which adware and spyware pieces to remove."

PC Magazine also rates it the top antispyware program. In their words it's, "Easily the best choice for protecting PCs from spyware."

So if you want the absolute best sypware protection for your computer (and who in their right mind doesn't!), then Spy Sweeper it is.

Top 5 Ways You Can Avoid Spyware...

Top 5 Ways You Can Avoid Spyware

Are you unintentionally exposing your PC or laptop to harmful spyware, without even knowing it? Actually, most people are. So how can you avoid a nasty spyware attack?

Here are the Top 5 Ways to Avoid Spyware, courtesy of Webroot Software, Inc., makers of the well-known Spy Sweeper, which is heralded by PC Magazine as, "Easily the best choice for protecting PCs from spyware."

As spyware grows more dangerous, they've identified the top five things you can easily do to prevent malicious spyware from infecting your computer.

And here they are:

Tip #5: Update Your Operating System Frequently

Install security updates for your operating system as soon as they become available. Many spyware programs target vulnerable PCs using outdated or un-patched operating systems. Trojan horses or other nasty programs can easily get onto your PC through holes in the operating system.

Close the door on these threats by keeping your operating system patched and up-to-date.

Tip #4: Use a Software Firewall

A computer without a firewall is easy prey for hackers, worms, remote access Trojans and other online threats. Think of your PC as a revolving door of constantly streaming communications – some desirable, other dangers. A firewall watches this activity and alerts you to suspicious traffic.

Use a firewall to keep your data safe and intruders out!

Tip #3: Practice Safe Surfing

When you're online, pay attention to the sites you're surfing. Keep in mind that the more suspect the site, like adult Web sites, the more likely it is to contain spyware that could infect your PC.

If you're browsing to these sites, don't say "Yes" to anything. These unscrupulous spyware writers frequently try to trick you into downloading infected files.

Avoiding "alternative" Web sites is an easy way to prevent spyware infections.

Tip #2: Just Say NO! to Freeware

Freeware programs are notorious for including nasty spyware programs that create pop-up ads and redirect your Internet browser home page to their search page.

Many users pay the painful price for installing freeware when the bundled spyware slows their system, corrupts their hard drive or bombards them pop-up ads.

Tip #1: Use an Anti-Spyware Program

Using Spy Sweeper is the easiest way to prevent spyware infections. Spy Sweeper detects, removes and blocks more vicious spies, like 'Elite Keylogger' and 'commonname' that other programs miss.

And if a new threat comes along that doesn't match Spy Sweeper's signature files, no problem. Spy Sweeper will build a defense on the fly and neutralize the threat before it can do damage to your PC.

It provides this 360 degree protection to make sure your personal information remains confidential, your PC keeps running, and your identity stays secure.

Get a free spyware scan of your computer... Free Spyware Scan

Related: Spy Sweeper Sweeps Up the Competition

4 Stars Rewarded to the Kerio Personal Firewall...

With all the dangers of spyware and hackers it's imperative that every connected computer have the protection of a software firewall.

But how do you know which one to use? Which one is best?

Unfortunately, a lot of people rely on their Windows Firewall, believing that they're fully protected. But guess what? They're not!. See, it blocks only incoming attacks. And that leaves you wide open to a slew of other nasty dangers.

So, which one do you use?

Well, PC Mag recently studied four of the leading firewalls, including the Windows Firewall. And as they said, "you're much better off with a third-party firewall that prevents any use of your network connection by unauthorized users."

And of the four that they tested, their pick as the best one was the Kerio Personal Firewall by Sunbelt Software...

-From PC Mag.com, "Kerio Personal Firewall 4 was the best in this roundup. Its users can choose moderate program control with no pop-ups, or unusually powerful protection after an initial spate of pop-ups."

Aside from what PC Mag had to say about it, the users at Download.com gave it a an extraordinarily high rating of 4.5 stars!

Bottom line, it's too dangerous these days to take any chances whatsoever. You absolutely need the best firewall protection around, the Kerio Personal Firewall from Sunbelt.

You can download a free trial of it below...



And to catch the full article about it on the PCMag.com website, click here!

On a personal note, I've used many, many different firewalls... Windows Firewall, ZoneAlarm, Norton's Personal Firewall, McAfee's Personal Firewall Plus, you name it. And like the folks at PC Mag, Sunbelt's Kerio Personal Firewall is my pick as well.

To your safe success!