Predators, Exploitation, Privacy, & Technology
 

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/sextortionist/

I thought this article was so scary and sad, yet very necessary. I wonder, how do you think a person should go about protecting themselves from things like this, considering how powerful weapons a personal computer can be, without resorting to paranoia and fear? It's something I really wonder, because it seems like the way technology is inundating our lives, things like this will continue even if we don't do something, yet who has time to go to the great lengths it takes to prevent being a possible victim? Even though my webcam is on my laptop so would do nothing if turned on, and often we turn our computers completely off while not in use, what about the possibility with smart phones, especially with the microphone part? And what on earth can you do about personal files on your computer? I tend to delete a lot of personal things both on my computer and the internet history, but I'm sure there's still stuff people could use if they chose to target me.

Where do you think the line is, how far should we go to worry about exploitations of technology that invade privacy in a way never before possible?

I watched an episode of criminal minds once where the perp watched his victims through their webcams. For a while, I would only sit in front of my computer if I had taped a piece of cardboard over the webcam lens and disabled the microphone. >>

After reading the story it isn't a bad guy found out loads of information about me and controlled my computer, its a my computer got infected and the bad guy used my own computer against me story

A little bit of education goes a long way towards feeling your computer and data is safe, learn about computers and the internet, how "hackers", viruses and other malware can get into your computer and what you can do to stop them

Did you know, that installing a clean copy of windows xp (without service packs), on a computer with a direct internet connection, by the time its config is finished and its booted for its first time it will already be infected with a virus? Antivirus software couldn't help because you haven't had chance to install it yet. Microsoft fixed that, and most computers don't connect like that anymore, so you're pretty much safe now.

There's loads of things you can do to stay safe on line (and a whole internet full of information telling you how) and if the people in that story had followed them, they wouldn't have lost control of their computers. Not to say they were the only ones to blame, if the malware that let their computers be taken over didn't exist none of it would have happened.

Blocking cameras, shutting off microphones or pulling all the plugs when you're not using it is all going too far really. No one can use your computer without your permission. You either give access to it willingly (call tech support and they run a remote session taking control [its always funny when the person at the other end is like "oh wow its like magic" when I wiggle their mouse] with your verbal permission, or you let someone sit at it) or you give access by negligence or ignorance (your computer is on the internet without up to date anti malware protection, your passwords are too weak or you don't have any kind of firewall) its like leaving the keys in the front door and not setting the alarm, its an invite for bad people to come along and mess with your stuff.

Basically on my long winded sounding rather harsh way, I'm saying you can easy look after your data and life online and on your computer without going to extreme measures of paranoia. And as long as no one has access to it that shouldn't then its perfectly safe.

Or maybe I'm just over confident as the only viruses my computers ever had were detected when I intentionally downloaded them, and I know pretty much everything that's running on my computer (anything I don't recognise I find out what it is - then keep or remove).

^Oh, I know all that. I was juts showing how easy it is to jump on the paranoia band wagon.

And in the episode, the killer actually maintained the connection formed when the victim contacted tech support... *shift eyes*

ahh the power of tv computers :) I bet the connection was still working while the tech rebooted the computer

thinking of paranoia I've just remembered, when I used to use messenger and video chat sometimes too, I started getting undressed where I knew the camera couldn't see even when it wasn't connected. oops :blush: