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Phone tapping, email interception in India

admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 11:49:33 +0000

In the last few years, phone tapping and email interception has become rampant.

This article on email interception and phone tapping in India explains how it is done.

It appears that many times this facility is misused to harass people or get information on business rivals. A month ago , emails sent to 2 of my email addresses disappeared. I contacted the ISP , who gave me complaint numbers , but are unable to give a logical explanation for the same even after a month.

I hope there will be greater transparency in the system in future.

Linux and shell commands

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:24:36 +0000

Based on my experience, hackers will usually replace / add one or more file to your website directories. Shell commands can be used to conveniently remove all the unwanted files from multiple directories.

find $HOME/public_html -name hackersfile.* | xargs rm -f

Replace hackersfile.* with the name of files added by hacker. They will add their version of both index.php and index.html. Most Cpanel webhosting allows SSH access.

More information on Linux/Shell commands/ syntax to be used available at
http://books.secs.ac.in/ShellProgIn24h/bkindexf.htm
http://www.mediacollege.com/linux/command/

Beneath the gloss and hype

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:51:29 +0000

Beneath the gloss and hype of press releases in the mainstream media, is the real culture of a company – whether the company is really the law abiding corporate citizen it claims it is.
Only when you deal with the company either as a customer, vendor or an employee, do you know what you are up against.

Asian Food Worker has some interesting insights into the culture of intimidation and harassment of certain companies.

Missing emails

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:36:12 +0000

Last week I received confirmation that some mail sent to me never reached my in box ( in fact mails from that sender have not been reaching me for this month). I am trying to trace the problem, and these articles provide some information.

http://askbobrankin.com/missing_emails.html

http://luxsci.com/blog/wheres-the-email-the-case-of-missing-or-disappearing-messages.html

$4 million fraud at Wipro

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:49:38 +0000

Hacking / fraud at Wipro
Most large companies dealing with physical products have a lot of internal controls and systems in place, every action is usually cross checked by people from at least 2 other departments. Things change in the IT and internet industry quickly, so it may be difficult for them to put proper systems in place, but it is also important to ensure that the people they hire are reliable and understand their personal value system. A person may be smart, but if he does not follow the rules, it can be a nightmare for the employer and others who deal with him.

In this case the password was stolen and money transferred out, but no complaint was filed with the cybercrime cell. I wonder how many similar crimes are hushed up?

Look poor, keep a low profile

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:31:28 +0000

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article102659.ece

Victorian police chief Simon Overland has advised Indian students in Australia to keep a low profile and “try to look as poor as you can”

There are several advantages of looking poor

Fewer people are jealous, so less attacks
You don’t attract gold diggers , the kind who will after becoming “friends” say - we have an outstanding credit card bill, can you pay it off.
People let their guard down and show their true character – after all very few bother to be nice to a poor person.
People think you are stupid, so they lie to you and foolishly try to cheat you.
People underestimate you, so do not prepare well when they attack you professionally or in business.
Looking poor is low maintenance, a less expensive lifestyle option

Dangers of mobile banking

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:09:51 +0000

Many internet “experts” talk about mobile internet and banking, but the security of these systems is suspect.

Rs 86000 stolen from ICICI bank account through mobile banking.
From:http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=12_12_2009_001_029&mode=1

Mobile phones are not secure, I have received strange SMSes from JustDial and DNA , better to be low tech and safe.

Related : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/LATEST-NEWS/Rs-500cr-land-row-Builder-hacks-into-partners-email/articleshow/5260031.cms

Couriers and cheque books

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:44 +0000

You can never be too careful. When you receive a cheque book, you should always ensure that the cheque leaves are in place.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Woman-swindled-of-Rs-25-lakh/articleshow/5262344.cms

Some couriers will deliver a courier to some other address and then claim it has been delivered to you. You should be alert and register a complaint as soon as you realise some thing is wrong.