It is virtually impossible to operate a home computer that is connected to the internet without being aware of the dirty and damaging programs that can infect your computer that we call viruses.  The term "virus" has been associated with a lot of different malicious programs that are downloaded to a computer without permission of the owner to do bad things.  To understand how to deal with a virus, the first thing is to understand what they are and then to develop a plan to defend yourself against this continuous threat to any internet.

An internet virus is not a living thing.  It is essentially a small computer program that performs some secret operation that may harm your computer or compromise your online security in some way.  The variety of bad things that a computer virus might be designed to is pretty amazing.  Some typical types of evil computer programs that could infect your computer might be…

• Programs that do harm to your computer such as to erase your hard drive or slow down your computer so badly that you cannot use it online or for any of your local applications. 
• Programs that spy on your activity online, capturing your security access codes and then uploading them secretly to a criminal so he can execute an identity theft.  These kinds of programs are often called spybots.  They do not interrupt your online activity in any way because they want to stay hidden.
• Programs that pop up advertising on your computer as you work online or on a local application.  These forms of computer nuisances are sometimes called adbots.
• Programs that hijack your browser and change your home page.

The number and variety of bad things people seem to think up to set loose on the internet world is quite amazing.  It would be nice to think that someday these kinds of evil computer viruses would stop being a threat do us.  But they have been around in one form or another almost as long as the internet was around.  So it is up to us to learn how to defend ourselves from the attacks of a computer virus and then to learn how to get rid of the problem once we become "infected" by some ugly little online program that means to do bad things to our computers.

Prevention is Essential.

As it true of any potential crisis, the more you are prepared to prevent and respond to an attack of a computer virus, the better you will do avoiding serious problems in your internet life.  Part of prevention is understanding how computer viruses get into your computer the most often so you can avoid "infection".

Generally a computer virus "rides" into your computer along with something else you are downloading.  A common method for a virus to infect your computer is as an attachment to an email.  Once you click on the attachment, the virus downloads and then you are infected.  A virus can also be downloaded to your computer as part of a file that you download like a music clip or a video.  So the first step of prevention is to be very careful what you allow to download to your computer.  If you do not open any attachment you don’t trust, avoid downloading things from the internet that are suspicious and stay away from risky websites, you will vastly reduce the chances of becoming infected.

Along with these precautions, finding and installing a good virus protection software package is a must.  Beware because there are plenty of virus software tools out on the internet that are not trustworthy.  Some of them are actually viruses themselves disguised as virus protection software.  To be absolutely sure, invest in one of the most trusted names in internet security such as Norton or McAfee.  These programs will be able to help detect any virus software on your machine and get rid of it and then block the download of viruses in the future as well. 

But you should also become aware of how to spot virus activity when it occurs.  Learn how to inspect what programs may be running on your computer.  Many viruses will teach your computer to start them when you log on to your windows profile and reside in memory to do their dirty work. Also learn how to search for files on your hard drive.  If the problem came from something you downloaded, you should know how to find that file and delete it so the source of the virus is eliminated.

Be an Alert Internet User

Even if you take all of the precautions, anyone can get a computer virus.  Be on the alert to the signs of a virus if it strikes.  If your computer mysteriously slows down or it seems there is a lot going on with your hard drive even though you are not causing it, that could be a sign of a virus or some other form of malicious software.  If advertising starts popping up all the time no matter what website you are on or even at times when you are not active on the internet, that is a sign of a virus or advertising software residing on your computer.

The first step in finding out if you have some form of malicious or sneaky software such as a virus is to activate your virus protection program so it can look for the problem.  Often a good interent security software package will update your computer regular with information on new threats.  So let it do that so if you are dealing with a newly developed virus, it can get rid of it.

If your virus protection software spots the problem, it will give you instructions on what to do.  Often it will go through several steps to eliminate the problem and at the end of each step, you will have to let the software restart your computer.  Cooperate with the cycle so that the virus repair procedure is completed.  

Your virus protection software should also have the ability to set up a scheduler so it can routinely update its databases with the most recent virus activity that is going on in cyberspace and perform full scans of your computer to catch any new infections that may have snuck into your PC.  By being on the alert and taking the right kinds of precautions, you can avoid the majority of computer virus problems.  And while nobody is immune from online attacks such as viruses and other malicious software, by being prepared and having quality anti-virus tools always active in your system, you can fight back against people who would invade your computer and threaten your online safety at any time.

If you used Surveymonkey to create a poll and asked people what social networks like Facebook and Twitter are for, you would get a lot of answers.  Probably the most popular answers would be for fun, to share pictures and to keep up with friends and family.  Maybe a good sized group would say social networks great because they allow them to play Farmtown or some other Facebook game.  But the odds are you would get precisely zero people saying that they think social networks are great places for spies.

But apparently our federal government thinks the big social networks are wonderful places to do some spying.  But they are not just spying on evil doers from the dark world of international espionage.  There is now plenty of evidence that the groups that some very large government agents are spying on are American citizens like you and I.

Fortunately there are groups who are keeping an eye on the government such as the advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation who brought a lot of this clandestine activity to light.  If not for the Freedom of Information Act, the public would have no idea that Uncle Sam was lurking out there on their social networks gathering information that could potentially be used against them.  The particular departments that were "busted" would be the ones that we might call, "the usual suspects including the IRS, The Justice Department, The Department of Defense, Homeland Security and several others. 

What the EFF found out when they dug into just released government documents could send chills up your spine.  These agencies are foraging around all of the major social networks gathering information that could eventually used to mount a formal investigation into the lives of American citizens.  One of the documents that really spilled the beans on this domestic espionage was an IRS training document that not only instructed IRS agents to go after taxpayers using social networking sites, it teaches them how to do it.

The social networks that were primarily targeted take in a huge population of anyone active on the internet.  They include, of course, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter but the investigations also extended their snooping into Google Groups, YouTube and even Second Life. 

One aspect of what has been revealed about how these agencies go about their spying on our own citizens is that they do have some limitations and rules they have to live under.  For example, they are only allowed to gather information that is "out there" for pubic viewing.  They are also not allowed to deceive citizens that they are snooping on or represent themselves as a fake person such as to set up a false profile to "friend" suspects to get access to their profiles and pictures. 

That is some comfort just knowing that even though this kind of spying is being done without our permission, there are some restrictions that keep the government from really digging deep into your social networking sites.  So if you use some of the security tools that are available on the better social networking sites, you should be able to block the prying eyes of government agents from snooping around in your affairs.  But who knows if they will be that conscientious forever.

This kind of spying is right up the alley of an agency like the IRS.  Because people are so open and transparent on their Twitter or Facebook sites, an IRS agent could detect enough information to launch a formal investigation into a citizen just using clues that were spilled online. For example, they might be investigating someone who pays a small amount of taxes and they want to get deeper into his pockets. 

By watching posts and other information leaked on social networking sites, perhaps they will find that the suspect has been moonlighting as a bartender or a cab driver.  By getting paid in cash, that suspect would be able to avoid paying taxes.  A few off the cuff comments about how their little side business is going may be just enough for the IRS to open a formal investigation which gives them the power to get into all of your accounts and do an audit to find out if they can get their mitts on more of your money.

But dodging taxes is not the only thing the government could be lurking around to catch citizens doing.  Law enforcement agencies are taking a lot of interest in citizen's private lives.  A photo of you smoking something in a suspicious way or being in the room with people who were breaking the law like that could be enough to get a warrant and haul you in for some serious interrogation.  The wrong comments on your Twitter or Facebook posts that reflect your disapproval of the government might excite the secret service or Homeland Security to put a grab on you to find out just how close you are to becoming a terrorist. 

Now, law enforcement has used social networks to nab real criminals who had committed real crimes.  There was a case where a bad guy went on the run after a robbery and then posted pictures of himself on the beach in Florida.  That brought the feds down on him in a big way.  Most of us would not argue that in cases like that, this kind of investigation is a good thing.

But when you have to be looking over your shoulder now even when having fun interacting with friends and family on Facebook or Twitter, that is too close to that "Big Brother" society we all want to avoid.  These documents reveal that our government is trading dangerously close to violating the privacy rights of citizens.  We can be thankful there are watchdog groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation keeping an eye on Uncle Sam to let us know what they are up to.  It is important that just as the government is finding new ways all the time to watch the citizens, we need to watch them just as much.

Google is the kind of online "place" that keeps us guessing all the time.  Of course, we have seen how Google changes its "look" based on the next big holiday, the Olympics or other events.  But on top of that, how Google works can change from time to time.  One peculiar thing that you would have to witness for yourself to accept is that Google works differently depending on who is using it.  But its true because if one person does a search that is identical to someone else on different sides of the country, it is possible they will get completely different results.

This quirk of Google is not a flaw in how it works or something spooky in cyberspace.  Google has a method to it's madness.  At a conference devoted to the topic of search engine marketing, a Google executive by the name of Bryan Horling revealed that out of every five searches you do using Google, one of them will be customized to you based on a number of factors including your physical location in the country and other little tidbits of information that Google can figure out about you.

In a way this makes sense.  After all, if you do a search on where to find the best snow tires, you don't want search results of tire retailers in Mexico if you live in London.  In this way, the customization of searches by Google benefits the individual because you get search results that fit your needs.  And they benefit online retailers because if the internet can direct customers to local merchants, they make money and stay in business.  So, on the surface this is a win-win situation that we should all be thanking Google for.

But location based customization of your Google search results is not the end of it.  Mr. Horling also revealed that Google is using other factors to customize your searches including your online history and your contact lists that Google can access so it knows more about your internet activity.  Then based on where you search and other preferences you express, Google has the ability to guide your search activates to what it thinks you would like to know about.  This is a bit more than location based customization and in a way, it’s a little bit disturbing.

Horling confirmed that there isn't anyone who is using Google who will not be handled in a customized way. But his statement of policy was that the changes would be small and unnoticeable to the user.  Of course, when you hear that, it is easy to think, "Sure now they are small."  But what lies ahead if this is a successful experiment in shaping how we use the internet based on information that we thought was private?

Google knows how to tap every resource of information they can get to.  For those who are members of the Google network, they have a mountain of data on you to use including your contacts and the subject and content of your emails and chats within the Google system.  Remember that Google pioneered crawlers that can work through a website and figure out what is important there.  So that same technology can be used to "craw" through every internet session you have conducted to find out a lot of detail about who you are, who you know and what you like.

If you have Google Buzz, the Google equivalent of Facebook, they have yet another layer of detail that can be analyzed about you.   For example, Google Buzz is really targeted at mobile users because it uses GPS technology to literally keep your social network up to date on precisely where you are on a moment by moment basis.  Now, imagine if they could use this to guide you to a retailer that you are near by for a need or want that Google figured out that you want.  Suddenly a search engine begins to take on a "twilight zone" like dimension because the helpful machine that you used not only has started to know too much, it has also learned how to use that information to control you rather than you controlling the machine.

But even if you are not part of the Google network or do not use Google Buzz, the search engine can access information to create a fairly detailed and customized online experience for you.  Your web history and the cookies that are on your computer reflect where you have been online.  And where you "surf" online can be used to construct a profile of you and what you like and how you spend your time.

Using that information, Google will change  how it presents search results to you so that the searches you do fit your personality, likes and dislikes.  Moreover, every aspect of what you like online fits some kind of economic model.  So Google can use this privileged information to guide you to online merchants who can take advantage of this "inside information" to sell their goods and services to you.  The retailer feels they have a better chance of making the sale because they already know a lot about you based on the spying Google is doing. 

Its as though you drove up to a store in a town you have never visited, and as soon as you walked in, the store sales people know your name and what you are there for so they can load up your basket for you rather than letting you have some freedom of choice about it.  Yes, that is an exaggeration of where this type of manipulation is today. But it may not be an exaggeration of where it might be going next.

Google says they do not plan any massive changes to how the search engine works because of the coming of personalization.  No doubt, this technology needs some time to be refined and for Google to understand what it can do.  Google is so omnipresent on the internet that few of us will give up using it just because it seems that not only are you looking at Google, they are looking at you back.  But just knowing that Google is getting to that point of profiling you based on your daily online thoughts can get a little spooky.  I guess it is something we will have to get used to.

How Your Web Browsing Habits Impact Your Computer's Security

No matter if you're a home user, running a small business, or adminning for a 10,000-head corporation, web browsing will be the weak spot in your computer system's defense. Because the number one path of infection for malware continues to be the web browser. These tips will help make you a safer surfer:

Pay attention to slow-downs. - The number one sign that your machine is infected is that it runs slower than normal. That's because malware, no matter how clever, cannot hide the fact that it's sucking down 20M RAM to send spam through an open relay. Gradually lagging performance as your machine ages and you install more stuff is one thing; a sudden, overnight drain is another and should ring a bell.

When in doubt, do without. - The fewer installed programs you have, the fewer places infected programs have to hide and the more they will stick out when they do show up. It's tempting to install plug-ins and desktop toys, but keep it down to things you're actually going to use. It's tough to sort out which program is causing your browser to crash when you have ten toolbars, a bank of email smilies, an animated cursor, and a Bonzi Buddy dancing around.

Always look at the Status Bar. - That's the bar at the bottom of the web browser window, and when you hover your mouse over a link on a webpage, the destination of that link will show up there on the left. This helps you find out where you're going before you click. The hyperlink on the page might say it goes to Yahoo.com, while the address bar will show that it actually goes to http://ru.www2.yahoo.com. Where there might be a cybersquatter distributing malware.

Do not ignore critical updates of your software. - Being sure it comes from the software's vendor, of course. These updates happen because modern software teams run proactive testing on their product even after release, looking for new vulnerabilities before malware authors discover them. Why don't they do all that testing before release, you ask? They do, but new technologies and methods are going to pop up all the time, regardless of when you release your program.

Never install a media update from a site not related to your software. - So only install WMV format upgrades from Microsoft, only install Mac software from the Apple store, only install Firefox extensions from the Mozilla site, and so on. Flash player comes from Adobe.com, and Java comes from Java.com by Sun Microsystems. One of the oldest tricks is a site which gives you a pop-up asking you to update some player or plug-in to view a media file when it's actually installing malware. Here's a screenshot of one caught in the wild.

Never install a "security update" from a site you don't know. - Exactly like the last trick, malware authors have gotten very good at imitating a Windows system update. Same logo, same icons, same jargon... but coming from a MySpace page.

An Introduction to Network Monitoring

There's a difference between an intrusion detection system monitor and a network monitor. While an intrusion detection system is responsible for protecting the system from outside threats, a network monitor just watches for internal failure conditions, such as overloaded servers, crashed servers, faulty network connections, and other problems.

In a typical use case scenario, network monitoring software might periodically send an HTTP request to determine the status of a webserver, or it might generate a test packet through SMTP and retrieve the result through POP3 to check the status of an email server. This is done to check response time, uptime, consistency, and reliability. There are many more protocols that can be monitored in this way, including HTTP, HTTPS, SNMP, FTP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, DNS, SSH, TELNET, SSL, TCP, SIP, and UDP.

In case a response cannot be retrieved, a document is missing, the server times-out, or a connection cannot be established, the network monitoring software may take any of a number of courses of action. This may include bringing up a backup server, sending massages via pager to the sysadmin, and so on. The whole process is summed up in the term "network tomography," which deals with the study of a network's vital signs using information derived from its end-point data.

All of which, of course, relates to the prime duty of any network manager: to keep the system up and running. Users typically aren't aware that there *is* a network manager until they can't get something through the network, and then everybody calls the office at once. A good sysadmin can anticipate where problems will arise and have solutions in line ahead of them.

In the case of businesses which rely on computing technology, including software, communications, telemetry, and all manner of online e-commerce, network monitoring is crucial to the process. So a network monitoring server has to be the most stable piece of equipment onsite. Frequently several redundant instances of network monitoring software will be deployed, to ensure that all data about the system's status is accurate and available to the minute.

An interruption in network function can wreck all kinds of havoc. Payments or orders can be lost, Internet customers can be turned away, data can be lost, and in the case of mission-critical hardware such as that used by aircraft navigation systems and hospitals, actual lives can be at stake as well. So this isn't a field for the slack and carefree - you want sysadmins who are vigilant. And of course, you want network monitors to be running at top performance and uptime.

Concepts of Network Security

The first thing to understand about network security is that it's all about preventing unauthorized users from accessing a network. This is different from information security, which protects against things like automated malware such as viruses. The second thing to understand is that securing your network has to take into account that intrusions can either be in the digital space, or the "human space." Your best methods for protecting your network will still fail if Hal, the friendly night janitor, lets somebody into the building without swiping their card, or Gladys the receptionist writes down her password on a Post-It stuck to her monitor in full view of the visitor's lobby!

There are four basic rules of thumb to network security:

1. If a door doesn't need to be open, close it.

2. If someone doesn't need to know something, don't share it with them.

3. Redundant measures are a good thing.

4. There is no such thing as a perfectly secure network!

Methods of access control come in levels. For instance, simply requiring a username and password would be a level-one control. Adding the requirement to have a physical object is a level-two control; for instance, to make a debit-card purchase you need both the plastic card to swipe and a PIN number to punch in. Adding a third level might be something in the biometric range - for example, voice-recognition, fingerprint-scanning, retinal scanning, and so on.

Further access control may include:

* Encryption. This is standard in most digital security now. For wireless devices, you should seek out the strongest encryption protocol available for a device.

* Firewalls. These are software systems which control access to a network, only allowing a "whitelist" of devices or ports which are authorized.

* Secured software. A system administrator should be keeping all software systems up to date with the latest patches. Anti-intrusion software is an essential part of this department. One should also be proactive; scan industry news for daily exploits discovered and what can be done to protect against them.

* Network analyzers. These "network sniffers" monitor and log the traffic on the network, raising a red flag at any unusual accesses or traffic patterns.

* Security services. These might be security guards who assist in controlling physical access to a site. They might check badges, assign passes, scan property being carried in and out of the facility, and otherwise control access.

* Education of employees or other users of a network.

Security in technology platforms continues to be a matter of grave concern. The birth of new gadgets ensures that many devices, as they get adapted into society, will be just that many more gizmos to play with for purposes both good and bad. It's partly instructive and partly amusing to take a look at how security technology is treated in the film industry.

Hollywood's grasp of computers is notoriously bad; it's about as poorly researched as anything else in movies. It is almost painful for a tech professional to watch a movie whenever "hacking" comes up.

For reference, we'll establish the hideous pile of garbage that was the 1995 "movie" "Hackers" as the low end of the spectrum when it comes to realistic portrayal of computing security in film. As for the high end - we're gratified to say that there are some excellent choices - how about the 2001 film "Hannibal"? It shows mobile phones, Internet searches, and even tazers being used in a realistic way.

Ocean's Eleven (2001) - camera replacement

In the remake, technology was updated from the 1960 original. While the whole story, being about a casino robbery, involves security circumvention throughout, the most prominent plot device involves over-riding the casino's security cameras with a link to a system playing a prerecorded tape. The guards see nothing going on onscreen until the robbers choose to switch it over to show them.

How realistic is this? - It's theoretically possible, but you're gambling on the camera having a plug outside the wall it's mounted on which will fit your connector, then an unobtrusive device to connect it to which will stream the prerecorded video from another location. It would be much simpler to simply have the monitors play a tape from a VCR.

Sneakers (1992) - keypad kick

Sneakers is another recommendation for realistic technology in film - there really are companies who specialize in testing security, for instance. The "Hacker's Jargon File" of Internet fame calls them "tiger teams"! Anyway, at one point Robert Redford is confronted by a numeric keypad on a door he needs to break into, and asks his support team how to get past it. Listening on what looks like a headset device, he nods thoughtfully and listens for several minutes, then simply raises his foot and kicks the door in!

How realistic is this? - 100%, as long as you have a strong foot and a weak door. The lesson here is never trust security just because your lock is "hack-proof" - there's always the structural weaknesses!

Independence Day (1996) - viral upload

Perhaps Jeff Goldblum's most famous "geek" scene, he uses his Apple Powerbook to make a virus which is to be uploaded to the alien's flying saucer's computer system, thus disabling it.

How realistic is this? - OK, we know the movie is an action fantasy not to be taken seriously. But even theoretically allowing for if there was a flying saucer you needed to infect with malware, this is laughable. You have an alien computer system which nobody's ever even seen before, and you're going to port software from Earth technology and have it work on the first try? Sure, that makes a lot of sense, in the world of Windows viruses that can't infect Apple and Linux computers, games that need a specific version of Windows to run, and documents you can't even open because they were written on a version of MS Office five years older than your current version.

Minority Report (2002) - eyeball swap

In perhaps one of the most cringe-inducing plot devices involving computer security, the iris scanners are subverted twice, first by Tom Cruise getting eye surgery to replace his eyes so scanners can't recognize him, and later the removed eyes - in a plastic baggie, no less! - are shown to a scanner on a door to gain access. Yuck!

How realistic is this? - Well, we have biometric security devices, including iris scanners, in use today. Certainly, replacing your eyeballs would stop your being recognized this way. The question of whether two-day-old removed eyeballs would pass the scanner test is a little trickier. Do we have a forensic scientist who's familiar with iris scans in the house who can answer this? We do know that an iris scanner can be fooled by presenting a high-quality photograph of a face, so it could work.

Superman 3 (1983) - bank hacker

Richard Pryor rigs the bank's computer to take all the rounded-off half-cents in the accounting system and dump them into a dummy account to steal them so they won't be missed. All of which accumulated together amounts to millions of dollars. He gets caught anyway.

How realistic is this? - It's been done in real life! The security world calls this "salami slicing", which covers any method of accumulating many small amounts into one big heist. However, it's such an obvious loophole and a famous trick that people get caught doing that, too. Recent examples include one man scamming an online brokerage firm in 2008, four men in Los Angeles, United States, who were rigging petrol pump chips to swipe an extra penny from every sale in 1998, and four executives of a rental-car franchise in Florida, United States, in 1993 who were scraping their customer's accounts. Look for this loophole in your accounting system; somebody could be skimming those loose pennies right now!

The smartphone set has so far been smugly confident that they're staying ahead of malware. But desktop and laptop users know what's coming: there is no such thing as a completely secure computing system, and smartphones are no exception. Already, a few smartphone viruses have been spotted in the wild; they use SMS and Bluetooth to propagate, sending themselves to other devices automatically. They're still very rare, but could be a sign of things to come.

The fact that users increasingly use smartphones to store anything and everything, including their emails, business contacts, and personal data, makes for an attractive target for malware hackers that will only increase in interest in the future. So, just for the mobile device users, here's a handy clip 'n' save list for knowing your malware. Forewarned is forearmed!

First, let's break malware down into three main categories: viruses, worms, and trojans. What are they and what's the difference?

- Virus A computer virus is malware which uses another innocent program to spread itself. An example would be unknowingly uploading an infected video game to BitTorrent, which is then downloaded by hundreds of users who will get the virus on their own machines if they run it. Once installed, the virus will then look for other programs to infect.

- Worm A computer worm is malware which spreads itself without the use of another program. An example would be the worms which spread themselves through email, automatically sending themselves to every address listed in the infected user's address book. Recent examples would be the Storm worm of 2007, the Nyxem worm of 2006, and the Zotob worm of 2005.

- Trojan A computer trojan is a deliberately malicious program which disguises itself as a useful program. An example would be a freely-downloadable email enhancer which adds smilies to your email, but in the background harvests your address book contacts and sends them spam. Toolbars for web browsers are the most common form of trojan. Another common form is a virus-scanner.

These are the three basic categories, which describes the three methods by which malware spreads. But all malware has what we call a payload. Just like an airplane which might be carrying paratroopers, missiles, or bombs, malware may carry any kind of payload which will be the whole point of its existence. These constitute a whole weapons arsenal:

-Backdoor - These install a hidden account and password, or a hidden work-around to the root password on the system.

-Botnet - A "bot" is the slang for a computer which has been compromised into being controlled by the attacker. The attacker - called a "botherder" - then organizes the botted computers into a botnet, which they can then use to carry out other attacks. Most of the spam you get comes from bots.

 -Data Miner - This ransacks your computer for data such as your name, address, and credit card number, which it then sends back to the attacker. A common method of identity theft and fraudulent charges.

-DDoS - Stands for "Distributed Denial-of-Service" attack. A DDoS uses many computers, such as a botnet,
to disable a server or target system by overwhelming it with traffic.

-Key Loggers - A silent program which sits on the target system and records keystrokes. Such as when you type in your password.

 -Hijacker - This takes over settings on your system, replacing them with other settings for a malicious purpose. Examples would be setting your browser's home page to a spam site, or associating all documents with a trojan as the default program to open when you click them.

-Rootkit - The ultimate backdoor. Writes to the boot sector of your computing device, effectively making itself the operating system, and then starting the usual operating system itself.

-Time bomb - Will wait until a specified date, then do something malicious like deleting the whole hard drive.

Hideous, aren't they? There's probably more out there that we haven't even discovered yet; there's certainly some more we haven't covered, since for brevity we're sticking to the most common forms.

The good news is, the arms race between malware and security is so far going in favor of the security sector. Antivirus software makers have had decades of experience in hunting out malware, while malware attackers are still learning their way around the mobile platform. To keep yourself safe, use system security software and follow standard computer security practices. There's really not too much to it. The common myth is that malware attackers are these stealthy, smart "hackers" with elite skills; the reality is that 99% of malware attackers are dumb as a box of rocks, but they get by by exploiting those users who are clueless and naive.

The word "hacker" is perhaps the most badly-abused term in history. From its origins in the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) programming groups of the 1960s, where it originally meant "good programmer", it has been seized by the media and turned into a word meaning "cybercriminal".

Then the distinction had to be made between the first and second meaning, and they borrowed a metaphor from bad cowboy movies and called them "white-hat hackers" and "black-hat hackers". Then people had to start calling themselves "gray-hat hackers", which seems to mean they're security professionals who maintain a knowledge of how to break systems in order to know how to protect them... How can we go on?

Anyway, we're stuck with that word. So for the purposes of this article, assume "hacker" to mean the good, smart, innovative user of technology kind of hacker.

This recent post at LinuxInsider asserts that with our current global economic crisis, we need hackers in our society. While we agree with the basic thrust of the statement, it is important to point out an entirely different reason altogether: hackers are the innovators. They solve problems where no solution existed before. They invent new things, and hence make new value out of nothing, adding to the economy instead of subtracting from it with dodgy financial dealings. Hackers found companies like Dell, Google, and Apple. You get the gist of it, right?

So. The thing with the creative, innovative kind of hacking is, it isn't done without tools. For hacking software, it isn't something you can accomplish with a web browser, an office suite, and some games. You need design tools, a lot of knowledge, and most importantly, a keyboard! In fact, a keyboard, plus a command line, a very plain editor, a compiler, and very little else. So far, mobile devices (excluding anything larger than a notebook) just aren't breeding a thriving market in programming. The common knowledge goes, you design on the big machine, run it on the small machine. That's why programs like the Microsoft Device Emulator exist.

However, we're seeing a change of the tide. It was only recently that mobile phones weren't able to run a game more sophisticated than Tetris, but look at them now. And of course, we only recently saw the rise of the UMPC platform. PDAs, GPS receivers, digital cameras, and mobile phones have all come together to converge into the smartphone, such as the brightly innovative HTC Touch Pro.

It would also at first appear that desktop machines have another advantage for hackers: you can change out the parts. Really, with you and a screwdriver, how would you give your smartphone more memory? On a desktop PC, that takes a minute. But the fact is, hackers are a playful, and thus persistent lot. Modded mobile devices abound, as sites like Boing Boing, Lifehacker, and MakerFaire.com show.

Finally, more and more software is entering the mobile scene. From the PC platform, we have the same three horses entering the mobile race; Microsoft with Windows Mobile, Apple with the iPhone, and now Google is bringing in Android, with Linux flowing in its veins. The gang's all here! Let the competition begin!

So in the end, we must come to the conclusion that the mobile platform will develop into the same thriving culture that the desktop once was. And this is a good thing, and also a point of inspiration for any bright, young entrepreneurs out there. The mobile platform, thus far, has not found its own Steve Wozniac, Bill Gates, or even Richard Stallman. It just has the hand-me-down companies from the desktop era of a generation ago.

Are you the next hacker entrepreneur from the Pocket PC culture? Where is our demoscene? That's an important Petri dish for evolving the next generation of tech wizards. When a platform gets its own demoscene, you know that's where the next exciting industry will happen.

We all love gadgets, and we hope you love them to. But when we look at the news lately, perhaps we're seeing that some people love them a little too well? Here's a round-up of recent stories in the news from all over the world of crimes involving cell phones. Would you people out there please behave yourselves?

Mobile Phone Virus Programmer in Custody

In Valencia, Spain, the suspected programmer behind a virus attack on mobile phones has been arrested. This was after a seven-month investigation, so it seems like they'd have to have something. A senior technology consultant for Sophos, an IT security company, explains that while mobile viruses aren't nearly as common as on desktop computer systems, they are a problem none-the-less.

Saudi Phone Snatcher Caught

This is becoming a common form of theft, especially for travelers. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, undercover police caught a thief with several cell phones on his person. Apparently, he was just doing the old snatch and run number. GSM World, amongst many others, has talked about the growing problem, and what to do about it.

Movie Pirate Busted

Here in Oz, a Sydney resident was the subject of a home raid, after he sold copies of the Simpsons movie online. It turns out he used a mobile phone's camera to record the film right in the theater, thus bypassing every DRM anti-piracy scheme known. He's 21. You can't help but wonder if his reaction when he saw the police bash his door down was "D'oh!"

Phone Caller Arrested On Plane

Oh, come on, we thought this was a myth! In Dallas, United States, a man was arrested for disorderly conduct when he got off his plane flight. Not only did he refuse to hang up when asked, but he retorted with profanity as well. Even though the notion that mobile phones interfere with plane equipment in some undefined way, we can still appreciate that hanging up in flight is just plain good, civil manners. After all, it's their plane.

Arrested Teen Uses Twitter To Alert Friends

In Egypt, TechCrunch broke the story of a UC Berkeley teen who used Twitter to alert his friends when he was arrested for photographing a protest. He was subsequently held for a day and released without incident. This is mainly notable for the history books; the first time Twitter on a mobile device is used to summon friends from inside jail.

Kidnapper Who Used Mobile Phone To Demand Ransom Arrested

In Kyodo, Japan, a man was arrested on suspicion of taking a 16-year-old girl hostage and demanding ransom from her family, using her phone to do so. The girl actually got the phone back and used it to call for help, then the police showed up. A very short kidnapping.

So, to wrap up: Don't make viruses, steal phones, pirate movies, disturb air traffic, or kidnap people while using a mobile phone. But if you manage to get arrested anyway, you can throw out a tweet to your back-up. And can the rest of our gadget geeks stay out of trouble now?