Am I secure visiting a web site?

It is normal, knowing the threats that exist in Computer systems and on the Internet, that we could be scared of surfing the web. It is valid to be scared of web sites and to doubt about their security and their countermeasures. Any web site or web page can be a target for people to  attack or can have an unintentional threat within it. What are we supposed to do? Do not use the Internet?

How to protect?

When people know they are in danger, what do they tend to do? Yes, people tend to protect their selves. How can we protect in these cases? There are a lot of countermeasures we can implement or follow. These may not eradicate the problem, but will definitely lessen the threats and make you feel safe.

MALicious + softWARE = MALWARE

A malicious software, more commonly known as a malware, is a program or file that is able to harm a computer. Viruses, worms, spyware, etc. are all part of the malware. Malware are designated for many different functions like stealing, erasing, encrypting, and so on and so forth.

Long story short about unintentional threats

So far I have been writing about a lot of issues with the Internet and computer’s security. And there are a lot more of issues. All these issues are called intentional threats, but there also exist unintentional threats? WTF? How come there are unintentional threats? What do you mean?

Today we learn cryptography

I have talked about a lot of ways of protecting systems and information. Protect through security policies, authentication, unique passwords, the CIA, etc. But there is still more. There is a way of transmitting data so that only those for whom the data is intended can read it. This method or tool for protecting information in information security and computer systems is called cryptography.

Access for everyone. Well, for everyone authenticated.

Have you ever been asked to enter your credentials when trying to access a website or some sort of information? Maybe to access your school’s webpage, your work’s site or a social network? Yes, by credentials I may be referring to username and password or any combination of things to authenticate yourself. Of course, this is called authentication.

Live long and read the security policy

Companies should have an idea on how to protect their physical and information technology assets. They, usually, state these measurements in a document, commonly known as a security policy. And what do we find in that document? Well, as easy as it is, we find security policies.

When talking more in depth about information security, a security policy sates the rules, laws and/or practices for computer network access. And it regulates how organizations will manage, protect, and distribute their sensitive information. It may also lay the framework of the security of the company. Therefore, security policies are important in companies.

What hat colors mean.

Has anyone tell you that the way you dress talks about your self and your personality? This is a common thing. You can know facts about people just by the way they dress. Another common thing is the matching or mismatching clothes colors on purpose or use certain color because they make you look better. This is, somehow, the case of hackers.

As I wrote on my last blog post, hackers are not always bad. People around the world have created this direct connection between hacking and harming. Hackers are normal people like you and me. These people are characterized for breaking cyber security of ensuring it, either in good or bad ways. Again, what makes them different is:

Should cyber security be ethically illegal?

Ok, let’s be honest, there is a really thin line between being good and bad in any sense. For example, think of politicians or CEOs, they have a lot of power and they can choose between doing good and bad things. And, well, of course, I think we can all agree that power corrupts people, or at least makes it easier for people to corrupt.

This also happens in cyber security. You might be asking with whom in cyber security. In cyber security, there are people called hackers. People think hackers are always bad people. Let’s make something clear, hackers are not always bad. In fact, there exists different types of hackers, which I will talk about on my next blog post.

So, what makes good hackers good, and bad hackers bad? One simple word:

Tour del horror [ES]

El día de ayer me encontré haciendo un ensayo acerca de una problemática en Jalisco. Era una tarea, pero quisiera compartirlo, ya que es una realidad de nuestro país México.

El tour del horror fue una experiencia interesante e impactante, para mí. Estoy muy consciente que lo que es “la realidad” es muy diferente para cada individuo, ya que depende en su contexto y experiencias. De la misma manera, sé que existen problemas en el país y que hay comunidades marginada o que viven en situaciones críticas. Lo que me impactó fue el ver esos problemas; no solo entender que existen, si no experimentarlas y verlas tangibles. Me sucedió como se dice en muchos lugares, “ver para creer”.

El problema principal, en mi opinión, es la despreocupación del gobierno por el pueblo, su gente; y la preocupación por quedar bien con empresas extranjeras y generar dinero. No les importa el costo (hablando de las personas y su calidad de vida), mientras que ellos generen ganancias, al igual que las empresas.