Ecommerce Diary

is the most popular application of 3rd party certification programme in Malaysia. It was established in 1999 as a licensed Certification Authority (CA) in Malaysia under the Digital Signature Act 1997 and operating within the Multimedia Super Corridor. It provides security solution and trusted services to help companies build a secure network and application infrastructure for their electronic transactions and communications over the network. Security is the basic concern of entering into the new Internet economy. The ever-changing paradigm of e-commerce needs a well-mandated safety infrastructure. The vision of Trustgate.com is clear: “To enable organizations to conduct their business securely over the Internet, as much as what they have been enjoying in the physical world.”

MSC Trustgate.com has a lot of products and services. For example:

MyTrust for Mobile Signature
With MyTrust, you can turns a SIM card into a Mobile Digital Identity for secure mobile banking and other financial services. Mobile digital signature provides non-repudiation on transactions under the Digital Signature Act, 1997. It runs on Wireless PKI platform and Mobile Operator infrastructure. PKI-enabled SIM cards are preloaded with MyTrust application and a digital certificate from a licensed Certification Authority. Users are able to digitally sign any transaction with ease and convenience via their mobile phone.

Managed Security Services
Security plays an important role for distributed, heterogeneous and mission critical applications. Valuable business resources that are accessible over the network need to be protected against misuse to ensure the business runs smoothly.

Secure Transaction with Digital ID
To ensure your confidential information remains private in transit, you need to use Digital ID to sign & encrypt your transactions. Digital ID from MSC Trustgate.com is governed by the Digital Signature Act 1997. Without a legitimate Digital ID in your electronic transaction, your contract is not admissible in court in the case of dispute.

When a computer connects to a network and begins communicating with others, it is taking a risk. Internet security involves the protection of a computer's internet account and files from intrusion of an unknown user. Basic security measures involve protection by well selected passwords, change of file permissions and back up of computer's data.

Nowadays, threats are becoming more and more sophisticated as recipients of threats are better educated on what to look for. Users are more cautious and this has lead to a rise in more cunning ways to harvest personal information without users’ apparent involvement. Therefore, our data has become unsafe on the internet so it makes the internet users full of fear when surfing the net.

These are the threats that affect the online security:

Computer Virus
A virus is a self-replicating/self-reproducing program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. Viruses are one of several types of malicious software or malware. When a virus infects your computer it can wipe out data, significantly affect computer operation, and use your Internet connection to spread. For example, Computer worm Conficker infects anywhere from 9 to 15 million Microsoft server systems running everything from Windows 2000 to the Windows 7 Beta in November 2008. The French Navy, UK Ministry of Defence (including Royal Navy warships and submarines), Sheffield Hospital network, German Bundeswehr and Norwegian Police were all affected.

Hacking
Computer hacking involves some degree of violation of the privacy of others, or damage to computer-based property such as files, web pages or software. The impact of computer hacking varies from being invasive and annoying to illegal. In January 2008, Project Chanology Anon attacks Scientology website servers around the world and private documents are stolen from Scientology computers and distributed over the Internet.

Hijacking
Online, hijacking refers to the act of obtaining an individual’s personal account information and using it for malicious purposes. An example would be a fraudster getting a hold on someone’s personal credit card information and going on a spending spree. There are many types of hijacking in internet like DNS hijacking, domain hijacking, IP hijacking and page hijacking.

Identify theft
Identity theft occurs when a criminal uses another person's personal information to take on that person's identity. Identity theft is much more than misuse of a Social Security number – it can also include credit card and mail fraud. In the online world, electronic commerce information can be intercepted as a result of vulnerabilities in computer security. Besides that, identity theft can also be undertaken on a large scale, as in the case of a company or even a city.

Spyware
Spyware is a form of malicious software designed to interrupt or take partial control of a computer's operation without the consent of that computer’s user. Spyware has come to refer more generally to software that threatens the computer's operation and information for the benefit of a third party.
There are many examples of spyware, which are CoolWeb search, Zango, Zlob Trojan and Movieland. Zlub Trojan downloads itself to a computer via an ActiveX codec and reports information back to Control Server.

Phishing
Phishing is a form of identity theft whereby scammers send an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate company with whom the recipient conducts business (such as a bank or payment processing service). Recipients of such e-mails who click through may then unwittingly submit their personal information to the fraudulent site.

At year 2009, there are some top online security threats that everyone can have a look.
Top Online Security Threats for 2009

The following methods can help you to protect your information:



1) Anti-virus software

Anti-virus software can help to prevent and reduce risk of computer viruses that can compromise your security. Always make sure that you have the latest version of anti-virus software as malwares and virus keep changing to avoid being detect. Keep software updated can increase chance to detect malware or spam. Most popular software are Norton, Kaspersky and Bitdefender. It is also possible to obtain a free anti-virus protection. You may look for them in Google with a search for 'free anti-virus'.

2) Keep operating system updated

From time to time, vulnerabilities are discovered in programs running on your computer. Malware and hackers always take advantage of flaws of system software to infiltrate and install onto system. To overcome this weaknesses, publishers will release a 'patch'. It is important to keep operating system updated to safeguard your data. Microsoft windows user can update operating system in the website.

3) Safe and updated web browser

Web browser always the target of hacker and malware authors. It is because its flaws would allow access to user's computer. Update your web browser or switch to another safer browser can help to secure your computer. Well known web browser are Internet explorer and Firefox.

4) Use secured websites

Always make sure that web page you visits offers encryption of your personal data. You can check the web page url. Normally, the web page addresses are begin with the letters "http". However, if there is secure protection, the address displayed should begin with "https" - note the "s" at the end. You may also check for the lock icon. The lock symbol at the corner of web page means it use encryption.


Microsoft Internet Explorer displays the lock icon in the lower right corner of the window.


Mozilla Firefox displays the lock icon in the lower left corner.


5) Download original software

Do not download software program from unknown sources. It may contain hidden programs or viruses that may compromise your computer. To be safe, you have to search for the computer who made the software and download from their website. It is safer and you can get the latest updates of the software.

References:

Basic online security guide
Online security