Home Computers are Becoming a Prime Target for Computer Thieves

By Erin Peterson

According to the latest Internet Security Report from the Symantec Corp, cyber-thieves and hackers are getting better at what they do and are targeting personal information. "The attacks are more aggressive than ever and they’re more criminal than ever," states Dave Cole, director of Symantec Security Response. Symantec Corp is the maker of Norton security software products.

The report finds that hackers are beginning to work together to organize their skills and create "global, cooperative networks" for their criminal activity. Cole refers to these groups as "fraud communities" and says that a "surprisingly professional" underground economy exists to traffic all of the stolen information that is up for sale.

As with any market, information is traded as a commodity. Some brokers even try to draw buyers by offering promotions like volume discounts. The report states that a stolen debit or credit card number can go for $1 to $6 and a full identity, including Social Security number, birth date, and bank information can sell for $14 to $18. Thus, the more information a thief steals the more money he or she can make.

Symantec’s report claims that home computers are now a top target since more and more people are storing sensitive information on their PC but use minimal security measures. Statistics show that 93 percent of attacks during the second half of 2006 were directed at home computers.

From you home computer, hackers can access your account numbers and passwords as well as online access logins for sites like eBay and PayPal. They can also get into your email contact list and sell the addresses of your family and friends to spammers.

Identity thieves can use two methods to steal your information – spyware or malware and phishing scams. Spyware is software that you unknowingly download onto your computer. It can often be attached to other software that you do choose to install. Spyware programs then browse your computer files, including Internet history and cookie files, to gain personal information. Phishing scams typically come to your email disguised as a real email. For instance, you may receive an email that appears to be from eBay asking you to confirm or update your credit card information by replying to the message.

Symantec’s new study reports that attacks from the United States top the origination list with 31 percent. China is next with 10 percent and Germany third with 7 percent of attacks coming from each country. However, this does not mean that the US has the greatest number of hackers. It is possible that many of the machines performing these activities are being controlled by people in other countries. The report speculates that this is possible because the US has a high number of computers connected to the Internet.

So what should you do to protect your computer and your information? Symantec reminds you to have good security software that you keep current with any manufacturer’s automatic updates. On top of that, Cole reminds users to be "street smart" with their computer activity. To avoid spyware or malware, never download unknown software and read through all information on software that you do plan to download. Do not share files with unknown people and never open attachments you weren’t expecting.

Phishing scams can easily be avoided by remembering to never give out any personal information via email. It is best to assume that emails requesting information are not real. If you are in doubt, contact the company’s customer service department first to verify the request.