Dangers of Geotagging and Location Aware Services

Every new and wonderful technology feature brings along its share of undesired effects bundled with the effervescent benefits. Geotagging or Geo Tagging is one such feature. To explain Geotagging in simple terms, it is nothing but including geographical information(location data) as tag within a file. These files can be of any type but mostly picture files are geotagged.

Why has geotagging suddenly become so prominent?
Smartphones and cameras with  GPS (Global Positioning System) feature is the norm now-a-days. By default the GPS location data is embedded into all the pictures taken by these devices. In addition you have location aware applications and games and location based social networking sites/platforms. Facebook uses "Update Status" for location update. Foursquare is a game wherein in your location is the integral part of the gaming strategy. There are software available which can add location data to picture and other files if this was not done inherently.

What can be bad about Geotagging and location data?
If you indiscriminately share geotagged pictures, SMSs and other files and update your current location in applications like Facebook then you are revealing too much of your whereabouts to the public at large. You can become a victim of cyberstalking. Burglars can target your house when you tweet that your are away somewhere in the woods enjoying a sunday picnic. In fact your are giving away information about your pattern of movements, place of residence and other such details for free and putting yourself and your family at risk. Kids who share photos and tweet on twitter a lot without giving a thought about the broadcasted location information may land up as victims of serious crimes.

It is important that all of us are aware of the dangers of this feature and know how to adopt the countermeasures. The most important countermeasure is to avoid oversharing. The default configurations which automatically include location data or tags need to be disabled or changed. The specific tips are listed on the SECURITY TIPS page.

Interesting links on the topic :
 http://icanstalku.com  
 http://www.geotagsecurity.com  

Information Security Quotes

Usually it is very difficult to spread security awareness amongst normal users or general public using technical jargon.  As many others already know, I have also realised that simple Sayings or Quotes in simple language aptly convey the required message and come to your rescue. I have created a separate page to list such Information Security quotes. I will update and increase the list subsequently.

Wireless or WiFi Security

Wireless or WiFi security from a normal users point of view is as important as anything else. With WiFi enabled mobiles, gaming devices the environment becomes much more dangerous. I have listed some useful tips on my "Tips and Tricks" page.

What is a "Good and strong" password and other questions.

1. What is a good password?

There is a vast difference between a "good and strong" password and a "complex" password. 'Ab%98@#k*t5z' is a very complex and strong password but is a bad password because it is very hard to remember. However, 'Blacck>Mang0s' is a strong as well as a good password because you can easily remember it. It is strong because it is of sufficient length and is a combination of lower case, upper case, special character and numerals. Passphrase or related characters like above would be good.The other requirement is that of sufficient length, 10 or more characters.

2. Can  a Antivirus product detect all malware in existence?

This is simply not possible techinally, whatsoever the vendors may claim. However, some poducts may be better at any given time. The detection rate of even the best product may be not more than 85%.


3. Which is best anti-virus?

For commercial software go by the existing market reputation. But, be careful, a recently reported news mentions about an emerging antivirus product which induced malware and subsequently cleaned them to generate a good scan report. If you are using freeware then check for the reputation or popularity. Download these from a trusted source.


4. Is  an Antivirus still required if a firewall is used and vice versa?

Both have a different but comlimentary fuction. You require both to safeguard your computer. If a malware is able to breach your firewall then at least the Antivirus would have a chance to detect it.


5. What if the AV has not detected the malware and someone is remotely controlling or using my computer?

If your are a normal user then nothing much can be done except to attempt manually cleaning the offending software. The best option would be to go back to a previous checkpoint, or reinstall the OS after you have taken a backup. Before such a step, take a chance with the free tools i have listed on the right side of this post. Experienced users can use the tools mentioned in my prevoius post.


6. Enabling all the Browser security features has blocked my critical banking and email site?

There is no absolute '0' or '1' answer to this question. Depending on a users requirements and his web browsing habits he may have to customise the settings slowly over a period of few days. Disabling java may have led to your bank account page being rendered useless. You need to figure out this and enable java specifically for this site.

Android Smart - Phones Security

Android devices have become so ubiquitous that not acknowledging them would be a sin. These smartphones are nothing but mini computers or rather super computers of a previous era. It would be beneficial if users are aware about the security features available on these phones. I have listed some important security tips, in brief, on the Tips and Tricks page. They are also listed below. Hope they are of help to all.

1. Activate lock screen(‘Settings’ > ‘Location & security’). A pattern style is recommended.
2. Use a good data enryption app.
3. Donot store passwords as passwords in the phone.
4. Deactivate bluetooth when not required.
5. Deactivate WiFi when not required.
6. Deactivate GPS when not required. Do not update GPS location unnecessarily.
7. Turn off bluetooth discovery mode when not required(Settings > Wireless and networks > Bluetooth settings > Discoverable).
8. Install only trusted apps.
9. Ensure that the Browser does not store usernames and passwords.
10. Be careful when using wifi-hotspots.
11. De-activate geo-location feature.
12. Update(Settings > About phone > System updates) and upgrade wherever possible.
13. Use apps like 'Where’s my Droid' to Remote locate the phone in case it is lost.
14. Backup and sync important data(Settings > Privacy > Back up my data).
15. Install a good antivirus app.
15. Customize screenlock screen to display alternate contact information.
16. Consider using a 'Remote Wipe' app for contigencies
17. You can use 'Famigo Sandbox' to provide a safe environment for kids on your phone.
18. Use VPN (Settings > Wireless and networks > VPN settings).
19. Pay attention to tell-tale signs of SPAM.

More Free Security Tools for Adventuorous Windows Users

I have listed some free and safe Windows tools or software to ensure safety of your computer, Internet surfing  and in general Information security, in my previous post. In this post i would list out some tools for people who are not averse to slight advanced approach.

1.  The first of these is the "msconfig" tool bundled with the Windows operating system. Just type msconfig in the run box and you see a window opening. Take sometime to familiarize yourself before making any changes.



2. Netstat is another wonderful command line tool for network statistics.Use these tool to investigate network connections, listening services, exe files associated with the running programs and many more.




3.   Systinternal Tools.  Check them out on live.sysinternals.com

4. 'nbtstat' in command prompt
5. 'net' commands in command promt
6. Windows TaskManager
7. Use regedit.exe to play around. Warning: some amount of familarlisation is required before you modify entries.
8. Use 'Windows Firewall with Advanced Security'. Run the command wf.msc to configure the Firewall.
9. Additional resources can be found on the following links

• http://www.sans.org/security-resources/sec560/windows_command_line_sheet_v1.pdf
• http://www.sans.org/security-resources/winsacheatsheet.pdf
• http://www.sans.org/score/checklists/ID_Windows.pdf
• http://blog.securitymonks.com/2009/08/15/whats-in-your-folder-security-cheat-sheets/
• http://packetlife.net/library/cheat-sheets/
• http://www.sans.org/security-training/course_sums/1482.pdf