Web Security Tips

Li-Chiou Chen & Mary Long

Pace University

September 1st, 2010

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the support of the Verizon Foundation in partnership with Pace University through its Thinkfinity Initiative.

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What do you do online?

Browsing sites Blogging Social networking Email Online shopping Online banking Managing photos Managing calendars …….

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Common Threats Intrusion

Accessing a computer without permission Malware

Programs that are designed to harm your computer Spyware

Software that sends information from your computer to a third party without your consent

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Common Threats (2)

Site Hijacking Misrepresenting a web site by stealing and

manipulating its content

Phishing Using fake Web sites to trick you into giving away

personal information

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DoD video on Phishing

http://iase.disa.mil/eta/phishing/Phishing/launchPage.htm

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How to determine if a web site is legitimate

Make sure that the web address is correct Google it or type it yourself Do not click on links in emails

Use HTTPS encryption for sensitive information Verify the site using the security padlock Use browser security features

Firefox has more default security settings than IE Pay attention to browser warnings

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Look at web address to determine if it is a legitimate site

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“https” refers to the content is encrypted www.citicards.com is the domain name (or site name)

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Examples of fake web addresses

http://www.citicards.com.chilli.net

http://129.20.1.2/www.citicards.com/

http://paybill.center.net/citicards/

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Examine the security padlock to verify the site

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Alternative ways of showing the security Padlock

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You need to double click the padlock to verify it

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This verifies that www.citicards.com is owned by Citigroup Inc.

VeriSign, Inc. verifies this information

This indicates that the content is encrypted

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User login only authenticate usersIt cannot tell users if the site is legitimate or not

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References

My Secure Cyber Space https://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/

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