MrinTech » Security

Important Security Tips for Online Banking

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:26:18 +0000

Now a days almost all Banks provide us with Online Banking (Net Banking) Facility. Net Banking can be very Useful in Paying various types of Bills Online, for Online Shopping etc.

A week ago one of my Friend’s Online Bank Account got Hacked (Accessed by some unknown person)! Her Bank Account was compromised because she entered her Confidential Bank Related Details to some Fraud Website! So, it’s very essential that you maintain security of your Net Banking Account.

Following are some very Important Security Tips for you, if you are also maintaining an Online Bank Account or are going to maintain in near future:

Be careful when responding to Emails:

You may get Emails which seems like they are coming from your Bank. The main purpose of such Emails is to seek Confidential Information. This activity is commonly known as Phishing. Through such messages, you may get directed to websites which appears to be genuine and will ask you to enter your Confidential Details – Simply Discard/Delete Such Emails.

Always Bear in Mind That:

Bank will never ask for any Confidential Information such as Passwords, Customer ID, Credit Card number, PIN, CVV, Date Of Birth and so on over an Email!
A Phishing Email will normally have a Tone of Urgency like Your account will be temporarily suspended and therefore please Login to keep your account active. Remember: No Bank will send such emails to its customers!
If you are doubtful about the credibility of an Email, NEVER click on any link in the email. This may trigger Malicious Code being installed on your PC.
Before you share any information on a website in response to an Email, always assure that the URL shown in the email matches the URL of the Bank’s Website. If it doesn’t, discard such Emails
Check for the Security Pad Lock Icon at the bottom right side of the Webpage in your Browser, when you are connected to your Net Banking Website.

Ensure your Personal Computer is protected:

Fraudsters send Genuine Looking Emails that contain Viruses and Trojans. These viruses/Trojans, install a malicious code on Computer without user knowledge and then they extract Confidential Information which can be used to access Bank Accounts!

Here are few Important Action Points that you should always remember:

Keep your PC updated with the latest Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware software. There are many great Free Security Tools available for your PC
Install a Personal Firewall on your PC to protect your account
Keep your Operating System updated with the latest security patches
Do not click on links or open attachments in Unknown or Unsolicited (SPAM) Emails
Do not to make purchases on Unknown Sites or Sites whose Credentials are doubtful

Never Transfer Funds OR Share your Bank Account details with Unknown /Non-Validated sources:

Many phishing fraudsters are located overseas. They need a Money Mule to route the money into their country of origin. This can be easy money, but is completely illegal. Such requests may come to you through Emails, Advertisements, Instant Messaging/SMS, even in NEWS Paper Advertisements and on Social Networking Sites like Orkut, Facebook etc.

Simply discard such Doubtful Messages if they are coming from some other country.

Additional Tips:

If your Bank provides you with a Virtual Keyboard on it’s Net Banking Login Page, than make use of it, especially for Typing Passwords.
Make sure your are using Strong Password which is uneasy to guess
Check if your Computer is Running any Harmful Processes – In case it’s behaving strangely
You can also try Browser Sandboxing and Browser Encryption – Only if you don’t have or don’t update your Security Softwares!

If ever, you feel any problem Contact your Bank Immediately. Remember maintaining your Bank Account Security is in your Hands only!

This Post: Important Security Tips for Online Banking was originally made on MrinTech

Can You Track a Mobile Number & It’s Location?

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:00:37 +0000

If you are thinking that you can easily get Name, Address Details, Location Details and other Private Information of any person just by entering his/her Mobile Number over various sites on the Internet, than you are absolutely WRONG!

It’s absolutely impossible for a common man to Trace/Track any Mobile Number and it’s current location.

Some months back I wrote a Post: Trace Mobile Number Location and Missed Calls by which you can get ONLY City and State Details of a particular Mobile Number. The various Web Services mentioned in this Post gives you City/State Information based on First 4/5 Digits of a Mobile Number. E.g.: +91-99815xxxxx – This series belongs to Madhya Pradesh, India

And Thanks to this post, I was getting atleast 4-5 Emails per week where the sender was asking to:

Track the Current Location of his/her Stolen/Lost Mobile Phone
Give Address Details of some other person

In each and every Email either the Mobile Number or IMEI Code was attached!

In this post I am going to clear some points Again:

For Stolen/Lost Mobile Phone

If your Mobile Phone is Lost/Stolen, than immediately Contact Customer Care Number of your Mobile Operator and ask them What to do in this case? They might ask you to lodge an FIR Complaint at the Nearest Police Station and ask for your Mobile Phone IMEI Number sooner or later. If you don’t know How to Find IMEI Number of your Mobile Number, than make use of THIS PAGE for detailed instructions.

Do follow the instructions what Customer Care representative gives you.

For getting Name, Address and other Confidential Details of some other Person

This is NOT possible under any case!

No Mobile Operator gives such details to any Internet Website/Common Man as it’s a complete breach of Privacy. Only Government Officials/Agencies can extract such information from Telecom Operators if a particular Number is being used for Illegal Activities, Threatening, SMS Scam, Special Cases etc.

So Remember, try not to disclose your/other person’s IMEI Number as well as Mobile Number over Publicly accessible Websites, Blogs, Forums, Email etc.

Also Read: Grievance Redress Website from Government of India

This Post: Can You Track a Mobile Number & It’s Location? was originally made on MrinTech

List of Purposes/Purpose Codes for PayPal in India

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:09:12 +0000

We all know that from now onwards we have to Enter/Select Purpose Code/a Purpose before we can withdraw money from PayPal here in India.

The Good NEWS is that we don’t have to Apply for IEC Code (as assumed earlier). This post features List of Purposes as well as various Purpose Codes, which we have to use if we want to withdraw money from our PayPal Account!

Recently PayPal Resumed Local Bank Withdrawals in India, but now everytime while withdrawing money from our PayPal Account to any Indian Bank Account, we all have to select a Purpose before we can put a withdrawal request.

List of Purposes to be Used with PayPal

As shown in the following list, we have to select Any One Purpose before we Submit our Withdrawal Request to PayPal:

Make sure that the information provided by you is complete and correct, otherwise the Amount will return back to your PayPal Account deducting Bank Charges (if any) and PayPal Fees (Login Required to view this Link)

While withdrawing Money, PayPal allows you to Select your Purpose from the Drop Down Menu, but following is a list of all Purpose Codes which is useful for us all (as taken from New Bank Withdrawal Instructions for Customers of PayPal in India):

If your Purpose/Purpose Code don’t appear in the lists above, you have to Contact PayPal for further information.

Visit New Bank Withdrawal Instructions for Customers of PayPal in India for more information on this or Contact PayPal

This Post: List of Purposes/Purpose Codes for PayPal in India was originally made on MrinTech

Login Securely into Twitter using HTTPS

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:32:02 +0000

Twitter is a widely preferred Social Networking and Microblogging Service which enables people to send and receive messages. These messages are known as Tweets which are Text Based and each Tweet can be 140 Characters Long.

There are numerous cases where user’s/celebrity’s Twitter Account got Hacked and one of the best way to protect your Twitter Account is to Login Securely into it everytime!

The default login page of Twitter doesn’t support HTTPS Connection and there might be a possibility where your Username and Password are traveling through the World Wide Web in an Unencrypted Format! The default login URL for Twitter looks like: http://twitter.com/login

Now in order to make this Login Page Secure, just replace http:// with https:// : https://twitter.com/login – Better Bookmark this Link!

Now with above secure login URL, the Username and Password transmitted over the Internet will be in Encrypted Format. Currently Twitter make use of AES-256 Bit High Grade Encryption verified by Equifax Secure Ltd.

Besides using HTTPS Connection, it’s also recommended that you use a Strong Password for your Twitter Account. Also it’s suggested that you read: How to Protect your Important Web and Net Banking Accounts? – A very basic yet an Important Article!

Also See: Post to Twitter for Free via SMS in India, Synchronize Yahoo! Messenger & Twitter and Backup Twitter Account

This Post: Login Securely into Twitter using HTTPS was originally made on MrinTech

Getting an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) in India

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:03:55 +0000

Update: There’s No Need to Apply for IEC Code in order to Withdraw Money from PayPal! Though we all need to enter Purpose Code while withdrawing Money. For Full List of Purpose Code refer THIS Article or Browse through RBI’s List of Purpose Codes.

PayPal Payments were first halted by Reserve Bank of India and now PayPal is going to restore Bank Withdrawal Services in India soon

Now for withdrawing Money from PayPal to any Indian Bank Account, we all need an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) from Director General of Foreign Trade , Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.

Importer Exporter Code is generally required by Manufacturers and Companies who trade internationally. But now, even a Normal User will require an IE Code, if he/she wants to withdraw money from PayPal to his/her Bank Account (or Credit Card)!

How to Get an Importer Exporter Code (IEC)?

Importer Exporter Code is unique 10 digit code issued by DGFT – Director General of Foreign Trade , Ministry of Commerce, Government of India to Indian Companies and Manufacturers who trade internationally. Following is a Sample Image of IEC (Click to Enlarge):

For downloading Application Form for IEC, head over to Official Site of DGFT or Download it using THIS LINK. Alternatively you can also apply for IEC at various DGFT Regional Offices.

Backup your Online Accounts using Backupify!

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:39:01 +0000

If you have got your accounts over Twitter, Facebook, GMail, Google Docs, Flickr, Photobucket, Delicious etc.

Than you can backup all these accounts using Backupify – An awesome Online Backup Service!

Backupify is Giving Away Free Backupify Accounts to all those who sign up before 15 February 2010 – Grab your Free Backupify Account Now!

Here are some top reasons: Why you must backup your Online Accounts?:

Your Facebook account gets hacked, or they lose your data
Your Photobucket password is compromised
Your Twitter account is hacked
Gmail has a mass email deletion or the Service goes down
You lose 4,400 Flickr photos that you don’t have backed up elsewhere or your Flickr Account is permanently deleted!
More…

But with Backupify, you can backup all these accounts automatically. All you need is to Register for Backupify >> Enter your Login Credentials for each Account you want to Backup >> It’s all Done. See How Backupify Works?

Following is the complete list of services that Backupify Support:

Backupify regularly notifies you via Email about the Backup Status for every individual Online Account. Even you can also opt for:

Daily Email Digest
Weekly Email Digest
Email As soon as a Backup Happens

The service uses Amazon S3 Web Services to keep your data safe. This also makes Backupify cost effective. You can see Backupify FAQ Page and Backupify Blog for information.

Really a very useful Online Backup Service!

Also See: Grab files from One Server to Another using ADrive! and Free Online Storage Services

This Post: Backup your Online Accounts using Backupify! was originally made on MrinTech

Download Free SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:19:18 +0000

Viruses and Internet Threats are growing day by day and only a Good Security Software can help you in protecting your Computer Data and Privacy Online.

Sometimes when you are infected with a Trojan/Virus/Spyware, the malicious program may prevent your Computer from opening various Security Software Websites and Online Scanners!

Under such cases SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner comes very handy. SuperAntiSpyware Products are considered to be the Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Removers

Just download the Portable Scanner using some other Computer and Run the Scanner in the infected computer. See Downloading Instructions

Also, The scanner is saved under a random filename, so that malware infections won’t block the scanner.

Of Course! A very useful and handy utility.

Also See: How to check if your PC is running any Threat Processes?

This Post: Download Free SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner was originally made on MrinTech

New Mobile SMS SCAM on Rise in India!

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:01:42 +0000

Lately I am receiving Fake/SPAM Messages (SMS) on my Mobile Number almost Everyday! Following is a Screenshot of one of those SPAM Messages:

If you are also receiving such messages, than it’s recommended that you DON’T follow the instructions given in such messages and Never Ever disclose your Personal Information like Phone Number, Credit Card Number, Bank Account Details etc., to the contact information given in such SPAM Messages.

These messages are actually Fake SMS Marketing Practices and the main intention of such messages is to extract Personal/Bank Account Information from people who falls in the trap.

Also there’s NO number associated with such SPAM SMS. You can see TA-ROYAL in the Number Field in the screenshot above. Only your Mobile Operator may give you sender’s details.

Why we are receiving such SPAM/Fake Messages?

Since SMS Marketing is on rise in almost every country, following are the possibilities because of which you are receiving SPAM/Fake SMS on your Mobile Number:

Publicly Accessible Mobile Phone Numbers: As we all know, Leaving your Email Address on Public Forums, Twitter, Blogs etc. gives direct invitation to SPAM Bots. Similarly giving out your Mobile Phone Number over Job Search Sites, Web Resume/CV, Public Forums, Blog Comments etc. give direct access to Mobile Number Harvesters, just like Email Address Harvesters!
Organizations/Company selling Mobile Phone Numbers: This can be a rare case, but there is a possibility that your Private Bank, Insurance Company etc. is selling Personal Contact Information to culprits to make money.
Organizations/Company Database Hacked: This can be another possibility, where Database of a certain Organization/Company containing Contact Information of all it’s Customers is hacked!

There can be even more possibilities, where your Mobile Number is going in the hands of culprits.

Prevention:

Register your Mobile Number in National Do Not Disturb/Call Registry of India. You can find a complete list of Bank & Credit Card Companies, Mobile & Telecom Companies and Life & General Insurance Company here – Remember, as soon as you register your Number in the DND/DNC Registry of a Particular Company/Organization, this will STOP all Promotional/Advertisement/Offer Messages (SMS) and Calls to your Number within the next 45 Days.
The above step may not help in Stopping Fake/SPAM SMS completely. The best way is to completely IGNORE such messages, if you are receiving them or receive them in near future. Neither there’s a need to call the Numbers nor there’s a need to Contact in the Email Address, listed in such SPAM Messages.

Remember: No Person/Organization in this whole world is going to give thousands of Bucks to anyone for FREE! Also Feel Free to share your Views/Comments in the Comments Area below.

This Post: New Mobile SMS SCAM on Rise in India! was originally made on MrinTech