IT Security Ask the Experts: Top Queries for December, 2009

Find out what IT security issues plagued readers last month.

Michael Goodwin on January 4, 2010

This Site was designed to be a clearing house for technical IT security queries. However, readers continue to submit a broad range of fascinating questions exploring the interface between technology, morality, security, ethics and sexuality - let alone employment opportunities within the IT security field, and requests for secret hacking tools. (Sorry, we do not give those out.)

Here are our top five queries for December, 2009:

Ex-husband stole her screen name: Della had her own screen name on her husband's AOL account. When the wedding broke up, her soon-to-be-ex-hubby told her that he was going to take away her screen name. That was two years ago, and by now Della has her own AOL account. However, when she tries so as to add that old screen name to her current account, AOL won't let her because, it says it's already taken. How can Della discover if her ex still has her name on his account? One among our experts makes a superbly reasonable suggestion: Why doesn't Della just call her ex and ask him? If it's too painful for her to talk to him, she will always ask a pal to name for her. Be at liberty so as to add your individual advice for Della here.

No social networking at work: Like many employers in recent times, Norm's company recently set a policy for accessing social networking sites. Besides what you'd normally expect (employees are prohibited from spending work time on Facebook and disclosing sensitive information there), it also forbids discussing conduct that's against company policy, together with drugs, inappropriate sexual behavior etc. The troubling part is that nowhere inside the five-page policy does it say anything about “when you access your Facebook, email, or blog from work.” Apparently the corporate is reserving the correct to watch its associates' use of social media sites, tweets and emails from home. Norm desires to know if that is legal. One in every of our experts notes that while many companies forbid spending time on social networking sites while at work, he doesn't believe that employers have the proper to regulate your activities on social sites while you are at home. However, another expert points out that employees were fired for making disparaging Internet remarks about their company, or boasting of sexual conquests or advertising alcohol- or drug-related behavior which may cause the company's image to be tarnished. Apparently, this issue is more complicated than it kind of feels. Be at liberty to complicate it further by adding your comments here.

Norton 360 firewall blocks network access: Melissa recently installed Norton 360. The recent A-V recommended that she turn off her Windows Firewall, since presumably Norton 360's built-in firewall works better. Melissa followed orders. The sole trouble is that now nobody at the network can see her machine - or in the event that they can see it they can not transfer files to and from it as they may when she was running the Windows firewall. Melissa assumes there is a technique to tell the 360 firewall to permit network file transfers, but she can't find an option menu to make that request - and thus far nobody have been capable of help her re-enable network file transfers. Are you able to? If that is so, click here.

Email from my very own ID: ITSecurity.com appear to get this question, or one greatly love it, as a minimum twice per week. Mini is panicked because she's getting spam COMING FROM HER OWN EMAIL ADDRESS! She figures that this implies her computer have been hacked, and all manner of disaster is ready to erupt. Listen up people: This isn't a large deal. And while there isn't much you are able to do to forestall spammers from sending you junk messages apparently coming out of your own email address, it's very common, and never particularly dangerous. Just delete the spam, or let your spam filter handle it, and do not be disturbed. Read all about it here.

Should I update older Norton AV?: This just in: John is running an older edition of Norton Systemworks that includes a perfectly good antivirus component. However, each year when his subscription comes due, Symantec tries to speak him into upgrading to a brand new product instead of simply renewing his subscription so he can get virus def updates for the old product. He's heard that newer versions of Systemworks don't also have an antivirus anymore and he'd ought to buy a separate AV â€" doubling his cost. Still, he wonders if he's missing out on important new capabilities. Are the most recent versions of Norton AV a lot better than the only in his trusty Systemworks bundle? This came in exactly as we were filing this monthly update, and to date no person has answered. You probably have any thoughts, you are able to post them here.

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That's right, we get countless duplicate queries asking methods to remove Defender Pro, methods to stop someone from hacking into your Facebook account, why all those spam messages appear to come out of your own email address or how to define out in case your husband is calling at porn. Sometimes, if any such duplicate queries raises a brand new point, or is unusually funny, or awful, or cute, we post it. Mostly we do not, since it's no fun for our readers (let alone our Experts) to read an analogous questions again and again. Therefore, before you post a brand new query in this site, please do a search to ensure it hasn't been asked (and answered) before. This can get you the data you wish faster, and save us the effort of answering (or not answering) a similar questions again and again.

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And an extra thing. Please be advised that we neither manufacture, sell, nor support Defender Pro. It is not our app, honest. We're an IT Security site. Now that we've got that straight, please be advised that we're not posting new queries or complaints about Defender Pro. However, that hasn't stopped a full of life (and short-tempered) conversation in regards to the Dreaded Anti-Virus Application that's been happening for years in various discussion threads attached to old queries about Defender Pro in this site. In case you are having problems installing, uninstalling, or operating Defender Pro-or in the event you simply enjoy reading messages wherein contributors vie for the nastiest things to claim about this product-we propose you search this site to read previously-posted answers. You're, in fact, welcome to post new replies to those old queries while you like. Good luck!