Safe and Secure

Hertz is offering Hertz #1 Club and #1 Club Gold members 3 free months subscription to “Clear”, the TSAs Registered Traveler Program which allows expedited security screening for regular pre-screened travelers using biometric identification. The program is currently being operated on a pilot basis at the Orlando airport.

PRESS RELEASE Travel Clear With Hertz
The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Registered Traveler Program is supported by the National Business Travel Association. With more than 6 million frequent business travelers potentially eligible for the registered traveler program, Clear provides enrolled members with rapid processing through new airport screening procedures and improves the security screening process at airports by helping the TSA align screeners and resources with potential risks. Clear allows approved travelers to have expedited access through airport security.

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) is the first airport in the country to participate in a privately run pilot program of the TSA’s Registered Traveler Program. The program is operated with the approval and cooperation of the TSA and GOAA.

A string of burglaries and auto thefts in Brookfield, Illinois almost all involved unlocked doors and all the auto thefts were of cars with the keys left inside. The police issued a release reminding residents to follow basic common sense security rules.

Berwyn man faces Brookfield burglary, car theft charges

Police noted that in nearly every garage burglary reported during the past month, entry was gained through either open or unlocked doors. Likewise, all four vehicles stolen had keys left inside of them.

In a press release from the department, Brookfield police reminded “residents to secure their property when it is not in use. Every garage should be closed and locked. Vehicles should be locked and all valuables (especially keys) should be out of sight in the trunk or brought into your home.

“Residents suffered a large monetary loss from the tools and vehicles taken, which might [have been] avoided by following basic home security rules.”

The knee jerk reaction of many child safety advocates to gun accidents involving children is to advocate removing guns from the home. This article in the Missoulian points out that while that may be a great idea in a city where 911 brings the police in minutes, in rural areas it just isn’t feasible. Given the recent events in New Orleans where the police were at best irrelevant and at worst looting themselves, it probably isn’t even good advice in the city. Solution: Teach your kids gun safety and responsible gun use. Then not only will they be responsible and safe today, but when the time comes for them to be responsible for the safety and security of their own family they’ll be prepared. And isn’t preparing kids for the time when they are on their own what good parenting is all about?
Missoulian: Guns should be the least of kids’ worries - Monday, Sept. 12, 2005

One of the legitimate and most compelling reasons to keep a gun is for personal and family protection. An unloaded gun is worse than useless in any situation that calls for firepower. Would-be rapists and murderers won’t always wait for you to retrieve your weapon from the locked safe or rummage through your purse for the key to the trigger lock. Protection is no trivial reason for keeping a loaded gun handy, nor one to approach casually. You must balance the manageable but undeniable risk of gun ownership with any sense of security and actual protection you might provide with it. Used responsibly and skillfully, a gun can be a decided asset; otherwise, it’s a liability.

For many people, especially those with ungoverned or ungovernable children, the balance at least tilts toward secure lockup. But many, many Montana families reside with a high degree of safety, even with loaded, unlocked guns in the house, mainly because the parents properly school their children. Their kids don’t play with the guns for the same reason they don’t play with gasoline and matches.

A British survey found most homeowners believe their homes are safe, but don’t take basic safety precautions like always locking doors and windows when leaving the house. One-in-six British homeowners have no idea how many people have keys to their home. The survey figures may be of interest mostly in Britain, but the basic safety and security measures work anywhere.

Top 10 home security lapses revealed - UK News Headlines - Life Style Extra

1. more than three-quarters (76 per cent) don’t have a burglar alarm or have one but don’t always turn it on before they go out.
2. Six-in-10 (59 per cent) don’t always ask a tradesman for identification.
3. Almost half 48 (per cent) don’t bother leaving a light on when away from home.
4. Over four-in-10 (46 per cent) don’t always check that appliances are switched off every time they leave the house.
5. Just over a third (37 per cent) would not bother to have the locks changed if they lost their keys.
6. 27 per cent leave spare keys outside their house e.g. under a mat.
7. Over a quarter (27 per cent) do not possess a smoke alarm and those that do, don’t check it regularly.
8. Almost a quarter (23 per cent) smoke in their home or allow others to.
9. Nearly one-in-five (18 per cent) say they don’t always lock all their doors and windows when they go out.
10. One-in-six (14 per cent) have no idea how many people have keys to their home.

A Japanese man convicted of creating a fake version of the Yahoo website and using it to steal account information from Yahoo users was given a suspended sentence. With attacks coming from parts of the world that may not even bother to prosecute online fraud, as well as countries like Japan that give a slap on the wrist, consumers can’t rely on government to protect their personal information. It’s up to you to know who you are dealing with online, to be properly cautious and to protect your computer and your information.

RED HERRING | Phisher Gets Slapped on Wrist

A Japanese man convicted of creating a fraudulent website to steal personal information was given a 22-month suspended sentence earlier this week, alarming security analysts who said Thursday the penalty is too soft and sets a bad precedent in the fight against scammers.

In Japan’s first case against phishing, Kazuma Yabuno, 42, was recently convicted of creating a website that tried to mimic Yahoo Japan by replacing the ‘h’ in the Yahoo with ‘f’ creating the name ‘Yafoo!’ The trick site’s name closely resembled the original and has the same pronunciation in Japanese.

Through the spoofed site, Mr. Yabuno proceeded to obtain account names and passwords of Yahoo members and gained illegal access to their email accounts.

Symantec, the makers of Norton Internet Security and other computer security products, has released their latest Internet Security Threat Report, Volume VIII for September 2005. The report finds that attacks have moved away from “hacking” on large corporate networks to targeting “clients,” or individual computers, for purposes of fraud, theft and identity theft.

Symantec Enterprise Solutions

Attackers are moving away from large, multipurpose attacks on network perimeters and towards smaller, more focused attacks on client-side targets. The new threat landscape will likely be dominated by emerging threats such as bot networks, customizable modular malicious code, and targeted attacks on Web applications and Web browsers. Unlike traditional attack activity, many current threats are motivated by profit. They often attempt to perpetrate criminal acts, such as identity theft, extortion, and fraud.

Preventing Child Abduction: Child Safety Program Teaches Kids How

Every 40 seconds a child becomes missing or abducted, but parents can help their children prevent that from happening.

The Vanished Children’s Alliance reports that high statistic, meaning thousands of children disappear every day throughout the United States. Many of those abductions can be prevented, according to Dwight Trower, who has been teaching children and parents for 10 years.

Now parents can do something about it. “The Child Safety Program” is designed to help parents talk to their kids about dangers and how to avoide them. The program which was previously taught at schools and through community groups is now available to parents on DVD and CD from the company’s website, childsafetyinformation.com.

A new computer virus, technically a “worm”, has popped up that pretends to be Google. The worm spreads itself through “peer to peer” filesharing networks.

Financial Mirror
P2Load.A spreads via P2P networks, or to be more precise, the P2P programs Shareaza and Imesh. It does this by copying itself to the shared directory of these programs as an executable file called Knights of the Old Republic 2, referring to a computer game related to the Star Wars saga. When it is run, it displays an error message informing the user that a file does not exist and offering to download it. If this happens, the computer has been infected and the worm makes two main modifications: it modifies the start page, showing advertising; and spoofs the identity of the Internet browser Google.

With the spate of natural disasters, all eyes have been on homeowners insurance. How much is enough? How much is too much? It’s recommended to review policy limits annually. When was your last review?

When you do your review, a few other tips to bear in mind:

Check what is and isn’t included. Earthquake insurance is almost always a separate rider and flood insurance always requires a separate policy from the National Flood Insurance program.

Check the coverage amount: You may be able to save money if you have been overinsuring. “One of the biggest misconceptions about homeowners insurance is that it should be based on a house’s market value. Really, it’s all about replacement costs - the materials your house is made of and the labor that went into it.”

Consider recent improvements: Whether you’re insuring for replacement cost or market value, the numbers need to be based on the current state of your home - not your home before the 1500 foot addition with the new bathroom.

Baby Parenting: The top ten worries of new parents at Pregnancy & Baby number 2 worry, “Will I be able to protect my baby from harm?”

2. Will I be able to protect my baby from harm?
The world can suddenly feel like a very scary place when you’re entrusted with the task of caring for a newborn. Tracy Janevic, a 31-year-old first-time mother from Ann Arbor, Michigan, remembers being almost paralysed with concern about her baby’s safety.

From car seats to childproofing cabinets, new parents know better than anyone how important it is to keep our homes, our cars, our schools and playgrounds safe and secure.