Podcast: Inside Microsoft's Efforts to Fight Against Botnets | SecurityWeek.Com
Inside Microsoft's Efforts to Fight Against Botnets (27:30)
Date: November 15, 2013
By: Security Conversations
Description: In this edition of Security Conversations, Ryan Naraine is joined by Richard Boscovich , assistant general counsel in the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit to talk about the new Microsoft Cybercrime Center and the ongoing battle to stop the proliferation of botnets around the world.
Microsoft Opens High Tech Cybercrime Center
By Mike Lennon on November 14, 2013
Microsoft said Thursday that it has opened a new cybercrime center that combines the software giant's legal and technical expertise along with cutting-edge tools and technology and cross-industry expertise to combat cyber crime.
Located at Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington, the center houses technologies that enable teams to visualize and identify global cyberthreats developing in real time, including SitePrint, which allows the mapping of online organized crime networks; PhotoDNA, a leading anti-child-pornography technology; cyberforensics, a new investigative capability that detects global cybercrime, including online fraud and identity theft; and cyberthreat intelligence from Microsoft’s botnet takedown operations.
The Cybercrime Center also has a secure location for third-party partners, including from academia and law enforcement, allowing cybersecurity experts from around the world to work in the facility with Microsoft’s experts for an indefinite period of time.
“With nearly 100 attorneys, investigators, technical experts and forensic analysts based around the world, the Microsoft Cybercrime Center is well positioned to make it safer for people online worldwide," Microsoft said in a statement.
“In the fight against cybercrime the public sector significantly benefits from private sector expertise, such as provided by Microsoft," said Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation. “The security community needs to build on its coordinated responses to keep pace with today’s cybercriminals. The Microsoft Cybercrime Center will be an important hub in accomplishing that task more effectively and proactively."
Microsoft produced the video below which explains more about the new Cybercrime Center .
Posted on December 10th, 2013
From Prevention to Detection: A Paradigm Shift in Enterprise Network Security | SecurityWeek.Com
From Prevention to Detection: A Paradigm Shift in Enterprise Network Security
While the technology used by enterprises to protect against today’s advanced threats is quite complex, understanding the essence of what the technology does shouldn’t be complicated at all. Rather, it should be refreshingly simple and easy to grasp- both by CISOs, who are tasked with keeping their network safe, and CFOs, who hold the “purse strings" and need to justify the investment.
Fortunately, human beings have a method for explaining complicated things in a way that is “refreshingly simple" and “easy to grasp". Of course, I’m talking about a metaphor. And it’s through a metaphor that we can cut through the layers of confusion that continue to prevent many enterprises from understanding what their current network security solution can – and more importantly, cannot – do to keep them safe.
Our metaphor begins with a typical office in a typical city. To prevent criminals from breaking in and committing industrial espionage, the office has strong doors with secure locks. And on top of this, let’s add a security guard, and give him a list of known suspects. At a glance, this seems like a comprehensive security system, and one that should be capable of keeping would-be criminals at bay. Unfortunately, a closer look reveals that it’s hardly impenetrable.
We all know that skilled criminals can pick almost any lock, and that they’re adept at being unseen. So there goes our strong door and lock, along with our security guard and his list of known suspects useless. What’s more, if the criminal knows someone on the inside who is willing to unlock a window, hand over their keycard or passcode, or in some other way compromise the office’s security, then the question isn’t whether a break-in will occur, but when.
Frankly, this closer look at what seemed like a comprehensive security system is unsettling. But in my view, it’s not nearly as jarring as the fact that many enterprises are at this very moment exposing their network to glaring threats when, like our metaphorical office, they focus exclusively on perimeter security and ignore what goes on beyond their network and “behind the scenes".
In fact, enterprises that rely only on prevention-focused perimeter security tools -- which is typically comprised of anti-virus products, next generation firewalls, IPS and secure web gateways -- are actually positioning themselves to be the next victims of cyber criminals who “specialize" (for lack of a better word) in getting past perimeter security defenses, so they can deploy covert APTs and other advanced threats.
What’s more, such an attack can last weeks, months or even years before it’s spotted by an enterprise, and it’s often irate customers, concerned law enforcement officials, or terrified employees who sound the alarm bells.
So, while still being a critical piece of the overall puzzle, what can enterprises do when their perimeter security cannot prevent 100% of the advanced threats? Fortunately, this is where the bleak story brightens.
Just like an office that wisely implements a motion detection alarm to identify actual break-ins, and trains its security guard to look for suspicious behaviors rather than just for specific individuals, enterprises can quickly, simply, and cost-effectively augment their perimeter security with technology that lets them:
· Identify compromised devices of both local and remote employees
· Detect the onslaught of completely new and unknown malware, along with new variants of known malware, that are engineered to evade signature-based security products
· Use Big Data Analytics to look into their corporate network traffic for signs of unauthorized or suspicious activity
· Automatically integrate detection results with their on-premises network devices through a secure API, so they can take swift, focused action before the damage to their systems and reputation occurs
Ultimately, it comes down to this: just as offices need to detect break-ins to keep criminals from committing industrial espionage, enterprises need to put more focus on detecting APTs and other advanced threats to keep adversaries from penetrating their network.
This shift of focus from prevention to detection is more than just a change of course. Given the ever-worsening cyber threat landscape, coupled with the enormous strategic and financial value of intellectual property, it’s a view more and more enterprises today understand that they must adopt.
Posted on December 10th, 2013
11 sure signs you've been hacked - Network World
11 sure signs you've been hacked
InfoWorld - In today's threatscape, antivirus software provides little piece of mind. In fact, antimalware scanners on the whole are horrifically inaccurate, especially with exploits less than 24 hours old. After all, malicious hackers and malware can change their tactics at will . Swap a few bytes around, and a previously recognized malware program becomes unrecognizable.
To combat this, many antimalware programs monitor program behaviors, often called heuristics, to catch previously unrecognized malware. Other programs use virtualized environments, system monitoring, network traffic detection, and all of the above at once in order to be more accurate. And still they fail us on a regular basis.
[ Verse yourself in the 7 sneak attacks used by today's most devious hackers , 14 dirty IT security consultant tricks , 9 popular IT security practices that just don't work , and 10 crazy security tricks that do . | Learn how to secure your systems with the Web Browser Deep Dive PDF special report and Security Central newsletter , both from InfoWorld. ]
Here are 11 sure signs you've been hacked and what to do in the event of compromise. Note that in all cases, the No. 1 recommendation is to completely restore your system to a known good state before proceeding. In the early days, this meant formatting the computer and restoring all programs and data. Today, depending on your operating system, it might simply mean clicking on a Restore button. Either way, a compromised computer can never be fully trusted again. The recovery steps listed in each category below are the recommendations to follow if you don't want to do a full restore -- but again, a full restore is always a better option, risk-wise.
Sure sign of system compromise No. 1: Fake antivirus messages
In slight decline these days, fake antivirus warning messages are among the surest signs that your system has been compromised. What most people don't realize is that by the time they see the fake antivirus warning, the damage has been done. Clicking No or Cancel to stop the fake virus scan is too little, too late. The malicious software has already made use of unpatched software, often the Java Runtime Environment or an Adobe product, to completely exploit your system.
Why does the malicious program bother with the "antivirus warning"? This is because the fake scan, which always finds tons of "viruses," is a lure to buy their product. Clicking on the provided link sends you to a professional-looking website, complete with glowing letters of recommendation. There, they ask you for your credit card number and billing information. You'd be surprised how many people get tricked into providing personal financial information. The bad guys gain complete control of your system and get your credit card or banking information. For bad guys, it's the Holy Grail of hacking.
What to do: As soon as you notice the fake antivirus warning message, power down your computer. (Note: This requires knowing what your legitimate antivirus program's warning looks like.) If you need to save anything and can do it, do so. But the sooner you power off your computer, the better. Boot up the computer system in Safe Mode, No Networking, and try to uninstall the newly installed software (oftentimes it can be uninstalled like a regular program). Either way, follow up by trying to restore your system to a state previous to the exploitation. If successful, test the computer in regular mode and make sure that the fake antivirus warnings are gone. Then follow up with a complete antivirus scan. Oftentimes, the scanner will find other sneak remnants left behind.
Posted on December 10th, 2013
How to Escape a Sinking Car: An Illustrated Guide
 | This post is brought to you by the T3 Tactical Auto Rescue Tool. It has everything you need to escape from a sinking car including a seatbelt cutter and window breaker. What’s this? |
Nearly 12% of the bridges in the United States have been deemed “structurally deficient" by the Federal Highway Administration. It’s scary to think that one might collapse while you’re driving over it, plunging your car into the water below. Becoming a victim of bridge collapse is hardly the only way to end up in a submerged vehicle, however. Many drivers simply skid out around a curve, go over a guard rail, and end up in a body of water. According to some studies, over 10,000 water immersion auto accidents happen each year.
Finding yourself in a sinking vehicle can be a terrifying experience and panic can keep you from being able to escape. Memorize these easy-to-follow tips so you can stay calm and get out quickly and safely if this ever happens to you.
For more details on escaping a sinking car, check out this post.
Illustration by Ted Slampyak
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Posted on December 9th, 2013
How to Pull an All-Nighter: Tips from the Special Forces
The all-nighter. It’s kind of a rite of passage for college students, especially during finals. But even older adults sometimes need to pull one — finishing up a work project or driving through the night. Even I’ve pulled a good number of all-nighters these last six years, writing up a blog post for the next day. Given the fact that I’m my own boss and don’t technically have any set “deadlines," I don’t know if this makes me crazy, or dedicated, or maybe crazy dedicated. Probably just crazy.
Pulling an all-nighter isn’t the most healthy or desirable thing in the world (although it can actually produce feelings of euphoria), and doing so should be avoided whenever possible. But even the most organized student sometimes comes face-to-face with the fact that their paper is going to require more hours to complete than there are hours left in the day.
To get a unique perspective on the ins and outs of pulling a successful all-nighter, we asked a group of former Soldiers, Marines, and Special Forces veterans to share the methods that got them through combat and a host of night-ops. These men – who are all currently on staff at the BluCore Shooting Center in Denver, CO — served in the Navy SEALS, Green Berets, and the Army and Marine Infantries. (They’ve asked that we only use their first names for purposes of anonymity). For these vets, staying awake through the night was a matter of life and death, but their tips apply equally well to the civilian who needs to plow through a work or school project. In addition to their advice, we’ve provided tips from sleep experts and researchers.
All-Nighters: Avoid Them Whenever Possible
The first tip in pulling an all-nighter is actually to avoid doing it whenever you can! Depriving yourself of sleep has all sorts of deleterious effects on your body and mind, including:
- Decreases concentration. Sleep deprivation slows down the area of the brain responsible for concentration. Not good for focused study sessions.
- Hurts working and long-term memory. Your working memory is called upon for complex tasks where you have to pay attention to one thing while holding a bunch of other things at the forefront of your mind. Not only does sleep-deprivation impair this mental “scratchpad," it diminishes your long-term memory as well. It’s during sleep that our recent memories are transferred to the neocortex to be solidified and stored. So all those facts you memorized through the night might not even be there come test time in the morning.
- Weakens immune system. While pulling an all-nighter may help you get that term paper done, you do so at the risk of getting sick right before your American History final later in the week.
- Cortisol increases. Pulling an all-nighter will probably make you feel stressed and on edge. That’s because your body’s level of cortisol (a hormone released in reaction to stress) increases whenever you’re sleep deprived. Elevated stress levels are no bueno for Spanish exams.
- Testosterone decreases. As we discussed in our series on increasing testosterone, our bodies make nearly all the testosterone they need for the day while we’re sleeping. Add the increased cortisol levels (another testosterone killer) and you’ve got a recipe for feeling like less of a man. Keep in mind, testosterone isn’t just for building huge muscles. Men with optimal levels of T have sharper minds and are more confident than their low-T brethren, two things that come in handy for all sorts of tasks.
Due to these mind-melting effects, my suggestion for students is to not pull an all-nighter when you can avoid it, and when you can’t, try to reserve it for writing papers. If you’re cramming for an exam, you’re probably better off putting in several hours of intense study, and then getting some shut-eye — maybe you won’t cover as much material, but you’ll have a better chance of remembering what you did study. With a paper, sleep deprivation will still cause your writing to suffer, but there’s no getting around the fact that finishing it will require a certain number of hours — your paper won’t magically finish itself if you leave it half-done to hit the sack.
How to Pull an All-Nighter When You Must
Alright, so pulling an all-nighter isn’t an effective or sustainable study or work strategy. But sometimes our best-laid plans go awry and an all-nighter becomes necessary. When it does, here’s how to stay awake for the duration and get the most out of your round-the-clock push.
Get Some Sleep in the Tank
“Make sure you don’t get behind on sleep. When you know an all-nighter is coming, see if you can bank a few extra hours in advance. That makes the well deeper when you have to dip into sleep reserves. This really works." –Eric, former Navy SEAL
If you know in advance you’ll be pulling all-nighter, try to go to bed earlier and/or wake up later in the days leading up to it.
If you didn’t see your all-nighter coming, you can still fill up your sleep tank with what researchers call the “prophylactic nap." Taking a nap of any kind boosts your memory, creativity, mood, alertness, and cognitive performance, and preventive naps have been found to be more effective at staving off the negative effects of sleep deprivation than multiple doses of caffeine.
When it comes to naps, longer is usually better, but in the short-term, a 180-minute nap (which gives you two cycles that include all the valuable stages of sleep) has been found to be no more effective in increasing cognitive performance than a 90-minute nap (just one full cycle). According to nap expert Dr. Sara C. Mednick, an hour and a half is the preventive nap sweet spot because “it will take you through a full cycle of sleep and bring you out in REM or Stage 2 Sleep, allowing you to avoid sleep inertia" (the grogginess you experience when waking up from a deep slumber). Mednick recommends taking your nap between 1-3 pm or 1-3 am, as these are “’perfect nap’ zones, where nap cycles will be ideally balanced between REM and SWS" (Slow Wave Sleep).
Keep in mind that the effects of a prophylactic nap have an expiration date — they only last 8-10 hours.
For more on what these sleep terms mean, the amazing benefits of napping, and how to optimize your naps for different situations, check out this post.
The All-Nighter Classic: Caffeine
“Caffeine works best when you are not already abusing it. If you drink only a couple cups a day you don’t need to worry. If you drink a LOT of coffee throughout the day, don’t expect the coffee at night to work quite as well." -Eric
All of the SPEC-OPS guys we talked to unsurprisingly recommended consuming some sort of caffeine throughout the night. The trick, according to all of them, is to lay off the caffeine the day before and the day leading up to your all-nighter. Your body and mind build up a tolerance to caffeine, so if you’ve been ceaselessly pounding back the coffee all week long, it won’t have as strong of an effect during your round-the-clock vigil.
Eric also recommended mixing some sort of fat into your coffee, like grass-fed butter (which contains more healthy Omega-3 fatty acids than the grain-fed variety) or coconut oil. He says it “helps prolong the caffeine buzz." When you add some sort of fat to your coffee, you’re adding in medium-chain triglycerides, or MCT. MCT may provide an extra shot of lasting energy. This coffee + butter concoction can also satisfy your hunger for a few hours without having to eat anything else.
Besides coffee, there are of course a wide variety of energy shots and drinks available. Whichever you choose, go sugar-free to avoid a crash. Hunter, a former Marine infantryman, recommended Rip Its — “a sort of energy drink that was ALL over, over there!"
I’ve used Military Energy Gum (formerly Stay Alert Gum) with success. Designed by Wrigley for the U.S. military, each piece of gum contains 100 mg of caffeine (for comparison, a 12 oz Starbucks coffee is about 260 mg), and through oral absorption it gets into your system faster than pills or liquids. It starts working right away and keeps you going through the long night.
No matter what caffeine-delivery system you choose, employ it discriminately. Instead of ingesting one big dose less often, which will lead to energy crashes, take smaller doses more frequently. Shoot for about 100-150 milligrams every 2-3 hours.
Not Surgeon General Approved: Nicotine
“Is it healthy? No. But neither is pulling an all-nighter. Nicotine has been used by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines for DECADES. It keeps you busy and keeps you awake, to a degree. But, as with coffee, if you are used to dipping a can a day, then that late night dip won’t have much of an effect on you. If you are only an occasional ‘dipper’ and have a dip or two during the night to finish a project by a deadline, it can really help." –Jeff, former Green Beret
The dip tip came up a lot from the Spec-Ops guys we talked to and I’m passing it along simply because it’s interesting. If you’re staying awake to potentially dodge a bullet, than nicotine might be the lesser of two evils. But if the only danger you’re facing is getting a C in Calculus, then I’d personally avoid the dip and cigarettes. Sleep experts and doctors would agree.
Eat Light and Lay Off the Carbs
“A large, carb-heavy meal leads to a crash. Sometimes, even eating at all leads to a crash. You need to fuel for combat operations, so missing meals isn’t a great option. But, pulling an all-nighter to finish a project at work or to drive through the night really doesn’t require any ‘fuel.’" -Eric
Sleep experts concur with this advice. When staying up all night, avoid carbs and focus on eating protein and fats (nuts, beef jerky, etc.). Keeps you full and provides sustained energy without the crash.
Get Moving
“Work out, walking or even working while standing. There is a proven physiological response that follows a workout. Just don’t work out too hard right before your all-nighter as this could make you tired." –Jeff
“If I was on some type of outdoor guard duty — TCP, gate guard, fire guard, or motor pool guard — I would walk around. If I couldn’t walk around I did push-ups, sit-ups, squats or some other quick exercise. The ability to keep the blood flowing was the easiest way to stay awake for long periods of time." –Rob, former Army Infantry
I’ve found physical activity to be one of the most effective ways of getting through an all-nighter. I typically try to take breaks every 30 minutes to get up and walk. And I alternate sitting with using a standing desk.
Make Yourself Uncomfortable
Jeff recommends pinching your thigh: “A little bit of stimulation to the pain receptors!" Matt, a former Air Force mechanic and Army infantryman, prefers to pinch his eyebrow.
Besides pinching, another way you can give yourself a dose of discomfort is to use cold water. When you’re feeling drowsy, go to the bathroom and splash some on your face. If you really need a pick-me-up, you can even take a cold shower. Try turning down the thermostat too – keeping your car or study area chilly will help you stay alert.
Misery Loves Company
“It can also be very helpful to have some company. In the military, you could find yourself in a situation that required you to be ‘on-watch’ while others were sleeping. Often, this would happen after a strenuous day’s work. If you did the watch alone, it could get boring. This could lead to sleep if you were not careful. Sometimes staying awake with someone else really helps." -Eric
Having someone else around to occasionally chat and joke with can do wonders in waking up your brain. They can also keep you accountable about not dozing off.
Over-the-Counter “Speed"
“We were once given some form of legal/militarized ‘speed’ but it was only used in testing. They gave it to us on base (while in Iraq I believe) and then monitored our vitals throughout the evening. We never were actually issued it for an op. I know the Air Force has been giving this to pilots on long flights for a long time (or used to). The funniest part about being on the ‘legal speed’ — EVERYONE had a PR (personal record) of one form or another while working out that night!" -Eric
File this one was under the “really interesting if not (yet) practical for the civilian" category.
The drug Eric is referring to was most likely something called Modafinil (also known as Provigil). Militaries around the world have been experimenting with it as a way to extend soldiers’ ability to function without sleep. Modafinil was originally developed to treat narcolepsy, but researchers have found that it allows normal folks to go without sleep and not suffer any of the detrimental effects. In fact, many Modafinil users feel it gives them an almost superhuman focus. And unlike other stimulants like caffeine, nicotine, or amphetamines, Modafinil is less addictive, doesn’t interrupt normal sleeping patterns, and doesn’t cause jitters or post-use crashes. For the reasons above, the U.S. Air Force has been giving Modafinil to their flight crews on overnight missions.
There’s a small but growing group of high-achieving civilians (Wall Street bankers, entrepreneurs, athletes) who are turning to Modafinil to give themselves a mental edge and to help them power through their busy schedules.
Modafinil is available by prescription only, so if you wanted to try it, you’d have to talk to your doctor. But because it’s primarily used to treat narcolepsy or to help those who work irregular hours, he or she will probably be leery about writing you a script just so you can sarge through a night of studying.
While the research doesn’t show any short-term detrimental side effects from using the drug, there’s very little research on its effects long-term. Scientists also aren’t exactly sure how Modafinil works. They just know that it does. For those reasons, researchers don’t recommend Modafinil for off-prescription use. But if you’re like me, and find the subject of cognitive enhancing drugs — so-called nootropics — quite fascinating, you’ll want to keep a close eye on the coming research.
Recovering from an All-Nighter and Paying Back Your Sleep Debt
When you accumulate a sleep debt – the deficit created when you sleep fewer hours than your body needs – you get hit with the myriad of negative effects mentioned above. Fortunately, paying back your sleep debt can erase these harmful consequences.
Staying Alert the Day After
Eric said that he and his fellow Navy SEALs would have periods where they’d work every night, and then sleep during the day; he admires the infantrymen “who didn’t have the luxury of sleeping all day like a lot of us SEALs did!"
You won’t always have the luxury of going right into recovery mode after you’ve been up all night either, as in times when you finish a final in the morning, but still have another one slotted for the afternoon. So let’s first talk about how to make it through the day after your all-nighter. In addition to continuing the tips mentioned above – consuming caffeine wisely, keeping moving, avoiding carbs – try these tactics as well:
- Nap strategically. Even a very short mid-day nap will take some of the edge off your sleep deprivation. But you have to do it strategically. When you’re tired, you’ll enter more quickly into deep, REM sleep once you nod off. If you awaken from this stage you’ll suffer from sleep inertia and feel even more tired than before. So limit your naps to just 20 minutes or less. Consider making it a “caffeine nap" too. You down a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage and then immediately hunker down for a 15-20 minute nap. The caffeine clears your body of adenosine, a chemical which makes you sleepy. It takes a while for the caffeine to circulate through your system, so it doesn’t affect the quality of the nap. Instead, it works in tandem with the refreshment you would feel upon awakening from a normal power nap – making it easier to get up and get going.
- Stay hydrated. Keeping your system flushed with water will make you feel much better.
- Stay under the lights. Work in the brightest light possible; dim light will make you drowsy. What’s even better is exposing yourself to blue light. Mark’s Daily Apple recently had a great post on how blue light has been proven to “improve our cognitive abilities, including memory, alertness, reaction time, and executive function." Definitely benefits you’ll need after (or during) an all-nighter!
You’re going to feel your absolute worst about 24 hours after your usual wake-up time. But your body may naturally give you a second-wind around 10 am and again between 6-7 pm, so if you have anything particularly difficult to tackle that day, try to save it for those windows.
Avoid driving the day after an all-nighter; driving sleep deprived is just as bad as driving drunk. And just like being drunk, you usually don’t realize how truly impaired you are.
The Road to Recovery
Once you’re able to knock off for the day, it’s time to start recovering from your all-nighter and recouping your sleep debt so you can get back to being your sharp, healthy, energetic self as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, a one-to-one repayment is not necessary. That is, if you skipped your usual 8 hours of sleep, you don’t need to sleep 16 hours the next night in order to erase your sleep debt. When you’re sleep deprived, a reflex kicks in that allows you to sleep longer and more deeply in order to accelerate the recovery process.
There’s no strict calculator for how much extra sleep you’ll need to make up your deficit, so the best thing to do is to simply let your body tell you what it needs. Go to bed whenever you feel tired (but stay up until at least 9 pm so you don’t awake in the middle of the night), and then allow yourself to wake up naturally – don’t set your alarm clock. Keep this up until you’re back to feeling well-rested. College students often have the luxury of this approach, but if you have more of a regular schedule to keep, the best way to recover is to tack on an extra 1-2 hours of sleep each night until you feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again.
The most important thing is to return to a regular sleep schedule as soon as possible. One all-nighter won’t kill you, but chronic sleep deprivation can lead to serious health problems like obesity, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Bottom line: use the all-nighter only when necessary and don’t make it a habit!
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A big thank you to BluCore Shooting Center for rounding up these tips for us from their experienced, veteran staff. BluCore was founded by two Navy SEALs and features a shooting range and training courses. Check out their online store and if you’re in the Denver area, go pay them a visit!
Related posts:
- Unleash the Power of the Nap
- Fitness for New Fathers: How to Avoid Being a Fat Dad
- Never Let the Sun Catch You Sleeping: Why and How to Become an Early Riser
- Welcome to The Art of Manliness Redesign
- Do More Than One Stinking Pull-Up
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Posted on December 9th, 2013
Create a "Frugal Filter" to Make Better Buying Decisions
Saving money on the little, every day stuff can be difficult. While some tackle this problem by budgeting for everything, an alternative option is to have a mental "frugal filter" that you run all purchases through.P
As finance blog Wise Bread suggests, this tactic can allow you to know fairly quickly whether or not you should spend money on a particular item. Does it pass your criteria? If so, go for it! If not, hold off for a while. Wise Bread shares their own criteria, but you can adjust as necessary for your own needs:P
For me, the Frugal Filter process sounds something like this:
P
- Do I really need it?P
- Do I already have something that might suffice?P
- If I really do need it, is there a way to get it cheaply (thrift store, yard sale) or even for free (Freecycle, borrowing from a friend)?P
- If it's not available the cheap/free way, how else can I bring the price down? P
If you're not the kind to budget for every purchase you make (and, realistically, even with a zero sum budget , it's hard to account for everything), the frugal filter is an excellent backup measure.P
Want to Cut Costs? Get Yourself a Frugal Filter (or Two) | Wise BreadP
Photo by Oxfordian .P
Posted on December 6th, 2013
Facebook users warned of leaked Snapchat photos phishing threat
http://grahamcluley.com/2013/12/facebook-users-warned-leaked-snapchat-photos-phishing-threat/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=facebook-users-warned-leaked-snapchat-photos-phishing-threat
Facebook pages claiming to link to leaked photos distributed via the Snapchat smartphone app can be attempting to steal your passwords. Be on your guard, and warn your friends to be more careful about what they "Like".
IT Security
via Graham Cluley http://grahamcluley.com
December 03, 2013 at 05:36AM
Posted on December 3rd, 2013