As kids we did similar things to annoy. Kids will be kids, but today is much different. Behavior such as this could have serious repercussions if somebody catches whoever is doing it in the act and then “teaches them a lesson.”

“Police in Rutherford County, North Carolina reported five women were being harassed by an unknown prowler called “The Knocker. The five women, all widows living in Rutherford County, said the knocks are sporadic and come at any given time of day or night, according to reports. They hear the knocks on their doors, walls, windows, sometimes for weeks at a time. No one has been arrested and local authorities are hesitant about the claims. A son of one of the women defended their claims, saying five women do not just make up stories together, reports stated. Police continue investigating the mysterious knocker.”

Whether knocks occur or not, there is enough technology available to determine and prevent it from continuing to happen. Further, a neighborhood watch program would help thwart any mischief. If it’s true, what is concerning is the “knocks” have been going on for weeks and nobody has caught the guy.

Home security tip number one, don’t provide an opportunity for a prankster or a bad guy to do this to you or someone you love. Install home security cameras to monitor the perimeter and deter the stupid knocker. If this was my mom being harassed knock-boy would already have been caught.

Now if this is more than just kids playing games, and is an adult who is obviously a bit screwy, he could also be peeping in windows, jiggling door knobs and thinking about his next move. A home security alarm is essential to alert the homeowner, neighbors, and law enforcement to a potential intruder.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Security on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

If you are a cave dwelling uni-bomber you may have missed the story about the family who is already involved in numerous civil judgments (litigious bugs me) suing their sons school for spying on him with the school issued laptop. Apparently, it’s not OK to spy on students who are issued a school laptop.

The school apparently installed laptop tracking software that is designed to find a stolen laptop. Laptop tracking is often IP and GPS based that provides location based detection when plugged into the Net. The trick to this particular laptop tracker was a peeping Tom technology called a RAT. AKA “Remote Access Trojans.”

RAT’s can capture every keystroke typed, take a snapshot of your screen and even take rolling video of your screen via a webcam. But what’s most damaging is full access to your files and if you use a password manager they have access to that as well.

RAT’s covertly monitor a PC generally without the user’s knowledge. RAT’s are a criminal hackers dream and are the key ingredient in spyware. Common RAT’s are the LANRev Trojan and “Backdoor Orifice”. This RAT allowed the school district full remote access to the student’s laptop, and at his home and in his bedroom. Creepola!.

Now the FBI is in the fray. According to the original complaint, the student was accused by his school’s assistant principal of “improper behavior in his home” and shown a photograph taken by his laptop as evidence. That kind of backdoor slap in the face for bad behavior certainly raises an eyebrow. For every action there is a reaction as they say.

Installing RAT’s can be done by full onsite access to the machine or opening an infected attachment, clicking links in a popup, installing a permissioned toolbar or any other software you think is clean. More ways include picking up a thumb-drive you find on the street or in a parking lot then plugging it in, and even buying off the shelf peripherals like a digital picture frame or extra hard drive that’s infected from the factory. The bad guys can also trick a person when playing a game as seen here in this YouTube video.

There are plenty of remote access programs that use legitimate back door technology that we consume every day. Examples include LogMeIn and GoToMyPC remote access. Your desktop has “remote desktop” which acts in a similar way. There are a dozen iPhone Apps that do the exact same thing.

Considerations:

An unprotected PC is the path of least resistance. Use anti-virus and anti-spyware. Run it automatically and often.

A PC not fully controlled by you is vulnerable. Use administrative access to lock down a PC preventing installation of anything.

Many people leave their PC on all day long. Consider shutting it down when not in use.

Unplug your webcam if you are freaked out by it. If it’s built into your laptop cover it up with tape. You may also be able to disable it on start-up and uninstall it and remove the drivers that make it work.

And invest in identity theft protection.

Protect your identity.

1. Get a credit freeze and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief.

2. Invest in anti-virus and keep it auto-updated and check out my spyware killer IDTheftSecurty HERE

3. With your iPhone get my book as an App or go to my website and get my FREE ebook on how to protect yourself from the bad guy.

4. Invest in Intelius identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk. (Disclosures)

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing Webcam Spying on The CW New York

During that one week

• 95 NFCC Member Agencies and BBBs hosted events
• 150 events were held nationwide
• Events were located in 41 states and Puerto Rico
• 500 tons of material were shredded
• Close to 20,000 consumers participated in workshops and shredding opportunities

“When we saw the level of commitment from the NFCC Members and the BBBs, we knew we were going to have a successful event, and we were right!  Knowing that 20,000 people were interested in becoming better equipped to protect themselves against identity theft only serves to underscore the ongoing need for this type of education.  We’re already looking forward to and planning next year’s events,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC.

“BBB has long been a partner of both consumers and small business owners in the fight against identity theft and National Protect Your Identity Week was a great opportunity for us to educate thousands of people across North America,” said Alison Southwick, spokesperson for the Council of Better Business Bureaus. “Preventing identity theft requires ongoing vigilance and BBBs will continue to provide trusted guidance for consumers and small business owners throughout the year.”

Support for the event came from a wide cross-section of national organizations. Coalition Members included the American Bankers Association Education Foundation, AFSA Education Foundation, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Credit Union National Association, Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Resource Center, Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy, Junior Achievement USA, National Council of LaRaza, National Crime Prevention Council, National Education Association Member Benefits, National Sheriff’s Association, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Association of Triads.  MSN Money was once again the national online media sponsor.

The NFCC and the CBBB encourage consumers to remain committed to protecting themselves against identity theft, particularly as the holidays approach.  Putting prevention tips in place is a much better option than spending time and money recovering from ID theft.

About NFCC
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation’s largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC Members annually help more than three million consumers through close to 850 community-based offices nationwide. For free and affordable confidential advice through a reputable NFCC Member, call (800) 388-2227, (en Español (800) 682-9832) or visit www.nfcc.org.

About BBB
BBB, the leader in advancing marketplace trust, is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Businesses that earn BBB accreditation contractually agree and adhere to the organization’s high standards of ethical business behavior. BBB provides objective advice, free business BBB Reliability ReportsTM and charity BBB Wise Giving ReportsTM, and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust. To further promote trust, BBB offers complaint and dispute resolution support for consumers and businesses when there is a difference in viewpoints. The organization is also a recognized leader in developing and administering self-regulation programs for the business community, and, with respect to the advertising industry, does that through a joint venture in conjunction with National Advertising Review Council partners. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 124 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than four million local and national businesses and charities. Please visit www.bbb.org for more information about BBB.

The identity theft Web sites of www.ProtectYourIDNow.org and www.cuidesuidentidad.org will remain live as resource tools for consumers to use throughout the year. The Web sites include identity theft prevention tips, videos, an interactive quiz to assess your risk of identity theft, and resources for victims. Nationally known identity theft expert and blogger, Robert Siciliano, will continue blogging periodically, allowing consumers to remain up to date on the most recent news related to ID theft.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which sponsors Protect Your Identity Week, has compiled a number of identity theft myths. To support their efforts, the Santa Fe Group Vendor Council Awareness and Education Subcommittee has helped to clarify some common misinformation with regards to this increasingly common crime. We’ve already discussed a few of these myths, and will continue to do so throughout this week.

Myth #5: Checking your credit report periodically or using a credit monitoring service is all you need to do to protect yourself from identity theft.

There are many useful and effective credit monitoring services available. However, no monitoring service is 100% effective, and many do little to protect your identity. If you want to be vigilant about identity theft, you should check your credit report periodically, but you should also keep accurate financial records, review your bank and credit card statements frequently for unauthorized charges, and follow the FTC’s tips for minimizing your risk.

You can obtain one free credit report per year from each of the three credit bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com. Many consumer groups suggest that you stagger your free reports throughout the year, rather than ordering all three at once.

The FTC offers facts for consumers regarding identity theft protection services, which take additional steps beyond the level of protection offered by credit monitoring services.

The FDIC offers tips for safe Internet banking.

Myth #6: My personal contact information (mailing address, telephone number, email address, etc.) is not valuable to an identity thief.

Any information that could be used by a thief to impersonate you should be protected. For example, many people use their email address as a user ID for online accounts. Consider making your information available on a need-to-know basis only. Often, businesses ask for personal information they really don’t need, and will simply omit information you’re not willing to give.

The U.S. Department of Justice answers the question, “What should I do to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft?”

Myth #7: Shredding my mail and other personal documents will keep me safe.

Shredding documents that contain personal information before you throw them away is a great way to protect yourself from “dumpster diving,” which occurs when thieves search the trash for personal information. But relying on your shredder alone to protect you is like locking one window while leaving the rest of your house wide open. Think defensively: secure your personal information in your home, your car, and at work, and always use safe online security practices.

Get Safe Online offers tips on safe social networking.

The FTC answers the question, “How do thieves steal an identity?”

Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses data theft on Fox News.

Invest in Intelius identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.

Robert Siciliano “Disclosures” Identity Theft Speaker discussing data theft on Fox News

Identity theft isn’t going away any time soon and therefore we are here to provide a comprehensive resource to help educate, inform and hopefully empower you to prevent this crime from happening under your watch. Like any problem that we may face in life, we do our best to find a speedy and efficient solution. However identity theft is one of those problems that acts like a 10 headed monster that we keep chopping the head off but it keeps growing a new head, a new leg and a new arm.

Because we are a persistent and resilient people, and we never never never give up, we will prevail. The solution requires a coordinated effort between every single citizen, company and government official to see the big picture and to do what’s right and put the necessary systems in place that prevent the bad guy from doing his job. The solutions are near. Some of them are already in place. It’s just a matter of everyone getting on the same page and coming to an agreement.

Understand there has always been, IS, and will always be a criminal element looking to take from those who have. The bad guy (and gal) persistently looks for their next victim all day, every day. Your job is to become informed and know what it means to become a tougher target. And in the meantime those who are responsible on a higher level to protect us, and our critical infrastructures, methods of commerce, and ways in which we identify ourselves will continue to work on the big stuff. But they need you to be aware and alert and actively participate in the process. We are all in this together.

The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security are hiring thousands of computer experts to protect our networks. But the weakest link in the chain is not the government, but the citizens. Government has lots of work to do, but moms and pops are the most vulnerable. Enterprise networks have become hardened, while small business and the lowly consumer know enough about information security to get hacked. Awareness is key. You are either part of the problem or the solution.

Read this and every possible blog, article and report you have access to so you can stay on top of what is new and ahead of what is next in technology and the security necessary to keep it safe. Build your IT security vocabulary. Become an expert in identity theft and information security. Be the go-to-person in your home or organization who has all the answers to the problem.

Please check us out daily and plug us into your RSS feeds. Please add us to your favorites menu. Please feel free to submit questions and let us know what we are doing right and where we need to improve. It is an honor to be able to serve you.

Thanks to a number of national organizations are also putting their weight behind this initiative, joining the NFCC and CBBB as Supporting PYIW Coalition Members. This Coalition includes: the American Bankers Association Education Foundation, AFSA Education Foundation, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Credit Union National Association, Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Resource Center, Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy, Junior Achievement USA, National Council of LaRaza, National Crime Prevention Council, National Education Association Member Benefits, National Sheriff’s Association, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Association of Triads. MSN Money is once again the national online media sponsor.

Robert Siciliano

CEO IDTheftSecurity.com

Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com

http://twitter.com/RobertSiciliano