India - second-largest wireless market in the world [FM82632-68]

Mobile telephony has grown rapidly in India, especially during the last three years, with India becoming the second-largest wireless market in the world, says a World Bank study.

The number of wireless subscribers in the country has reached 250 million, making India the second-largest wireless market in the world, says the study, The Role of Mobile Phones in Sustainable Rural Poverty Reduction.

Authored by Asheeta Bhavnani, Rowena Won-Wai Chiu, Subramaniam Janakiram and Peter Silarszky, the study says India is now second only to China, with tele-density already surpassing the 25 percent mark.

Currently, China is adding about six to seven million new subscribers per month, India about eight to nine million and the U.S. about two to three million, it notes.

"The private sector is also active in India and there are a number of telecommunication companies providing mobile telephone services who have to compete for market share and meet consumer expectations," according to the study released recently.

It argues that mobile telephony has a positive impact on economic welfare by generating GDP; job generation (both in the mobile industry and the wider economy); productivity increases; and taxation revenue with mobile operators usually being a sizeable contributor.

What's your value as a cyber mafia.

Are you really a cyber crime specialist or cyber mafia? Then what is your cost there?
You may be worth of $0.25 for your official name, $2 for cell number, $150 to $500 for credit card number and $50 to $400 for bank customer ID and PIN.

You could be worth $1,000 on an average. But when you enter in corporate world and deal with corporate information, your value could run into thousands of dollars.

Gone are the days when fun and fame were the sole aim of cyber hijackers, making fast buck is the key motive of today’s cyber crackers.

These nerds can outsmart cracker king Kevin David Mitnick. The tech savvyness attached to the profession makes it proliferate in terms of value and volume, said a leading cyber expert.

A case of a Chandigarh bank executive Mr. Vasudeva can realize you the reality and power of cyber crime and their mafias.

He logged on to a social networking site, a couple of months ago. “Soon, I started receiving mails from unknown sources asking about my health and home loan details. I thought someone who knows us well was playing a prank, until a tech-savvy friend realised my computer was hijacked and turned into a BOT (a hijacked computer), a captive.

In this case, when Vasudeva logged on a virus called as malware/spyware download itself automatically in the system and started sending the files to the outsider even passwords too from where it came.

Over 10,000 computers are converted into BOTs a day and are linked into large networks of such computers, called BOTnets.

On an average, around 400 BOTs are created a day in India, says a recent study. The country has over 40 command-and-control servers having 38,465 distinct BOTs.

Among the cities, Mumbai reported a share of 33 per cent, followed by Delhi at 25 per cent, Chennai 17 per cent and Bangalore 13 per cent.

Cyber criminals sell stolen information be it credit cards, credit verification values, bank accounts on the underground economy servers. The buyer is then required to pay cash.

Unwilling to risk exposure, buyers use cashiers agents who convert the stolen information into true currency in the form of e-gold (wherein the process is instantaneous and the payments are final, ensuring no charge-backs) or through money transfers.

Looking for a job? Try Facebook Now

Internet jobs site CareerBuilder.com is teaming up with Facebook to help clients run job recruiting campaigns within the online social network, the two companies said.

If you are keen to work on Social Media site Facebook, then carry on with Facebook.
As job site CareerBuilder.com is tying up with Facebook to help clients run job recruiting campaigns within complete online social media network.

Beautifully created and designed ads will promote CareerBuilder and employers' sections within Facebook, with the goal of attracting potential hires who may be hard with general media like newspapers and other classified ads.

Facebook, a well known social media site was founded in Silicon Valley in 2004. However this site was for Harvard University students but spread quickly to other colleges as well as at work places too.

Targeted ads will appear on the side of Facebook and on its user’s pages among their network of friends. Clicking on these ads will take users to CareerBuilder.com

According to Richard Castellini who is Vice President of CarrerBuilder, CarrerBuilder is spending a lot of money to promote on the Facebook and its network, and then they’ll have the ability to resell certain units to continue that promotion for their clients.

Facebook and CarrerBuilder refused to specify the value of this non-exclusive deal, which initially will focus on US market. CareerBuilder is owned by newspaper publishers McClatchy Co, Gannett Co Inc and Tribune Co.

Using the site (http://www.facebook.com/careerbuilder), advertisers will be better able to target their search for job candidates, Castellini said.
For example, an engineering firm may be able to target college seniors who are about to earn degrees in engineering or a hospital recruiter might find Facebook users who are nurses.

Facebook declined to comment on whether it was considering a similar deal with Monster.com also.

”The only relationship we have in place with only Career Builder,” said Mike Murphy,
Vice president of media sales of Facebook. User’s privacy will be on priority.
“We are not inserting anything in anyone’s profile. We are just having them run advertising using Facebook ads to prospective employee and have them choose to participate or not,” Murphy said.


Facebook is the web’s fifth most-trafficked site with 67 million active users worldwide. In USA, 85 percent of college student attending four year colleges, have been registered.
Microsoft Corp, an investor in Facebook provides advertising networks for Facebook.

Your Credit Card - Beware, before you swipe it.

What is the worst thing to do with your credit card? Use it to withdraw cash from the ATM, says a financial expert.

In your monthly credit card statement, there is a mention of cash limit. That is the extent to which one could withdraw cash using a credit card. But the googly is the interest rates. It’s actually a very expensive proposition to withdraw cash as the interest rates on such withdrawals fall in the range of 40 per cent on an annual basis.

Usually, the credit card company mentions the interest rate as a percentage per month which typically varies from 2.7-2.85 per cent per month. And since this interest is compounded monthly, the effective annual rate of interest tends to be anywhere from 38 to 40 per cent per annum.

Essentially, credit card companies charge the same interest rates for cash withdrawals made through credit cards and for rolling over credit card balances. But if one pays the entire amount on due date, one gets around 30-45 days of interest free credit.

But what is important to know is that the rule doesn’t apply in case of cash withdrawals; the credit card company levies the interest rate the moment you withdraw the cash.

Cash withdrawals can also attract an additional withdrawal fee. This charge falls in the range of 3-3.5 per cent of the withdrawn amount. That will be added along with the interest rate to your bill. Therefore, unless you have emergency needs, do not withdraw cash on your credit card. The better option though is to go for a personal loan.

RL Prasad, general manager and head of cards and personal loans at Standard Chartered Bank, says “You should look at this option as the last resort. If it’s a planned expenditure and you don’t have sufficient liquidity then a personal loan is be a viable option.

7 tips to safer online banking

Banking has never been easier. Type in one simple web address and you have access to your bank for almost anything, from viewing the latest balance to transferring money to your friend to paying for that online purchase.

However, this convenience has its set of risks too. The stepping of financial institutions into the virtual realm has lead to a new breed of financial criminals. Criminals, who largely thrive on the innocuousness of netizens and technology loopholes.

Here are some simple tips to prevent you from falling into the trap of these cyber criminals. Remember, a simple ignorance or oversight can make a huge dent in your hard-earned savings.

1.

Always check the URL of your bank's web site


Fraudsters can lure you to enter your user ID and password at a fake web site that resembles your bank. If you see anything other than the bank's genuine URL, it has to be fake.

Never enter your user ID or password or such sensitive information without ascertaining that you are on the right web site. Always type the Web address of your bank into the browser address space. Never click on the link in the email.


2.

Regularly check for security updates for your OS (operating system).

Most security updates are aimed at reducing risks to your computer, these may be data-related or otherwise. Make sure that your operating system and browser have the latest security patches installed. And, always install these only from trusted web sites.

Install a personal firewall to prevent hackers from gaining unauthorized access to your computer, especially if you connect to the Internet through a cable or a DSL modem.

3.

Change your online banking password at regular intervals.

Also, avoid easy-to-guess passwords, like first names, birthdays, kid's or spouse's name and telephone numbers. Try to have an alpha-numeric password, one that combines alphabets and numbers.

If you have several bank accounts, never use the same online banking password for all. Never select the option on browser that stores or retains user name and password. As it can easily be cracked by cyber criminals.

Also, never paste your password, always type it in. This little amount of `finger exercise' will go a long way in safety.

4.

Banking website address should be SSL protected.

Some banks have enhanced security features in Internet banking. For example, if the money that you want to transfer online to another account exceeds a particular sum, you may have to enter a specific password. Several banks require password to validate high-value transactions.

Make sure that the banking website address starts with https (SSL protected) which ensures encryption protected communications.


5.

Always log out when you exit the online banking portal.

Most banks have a 'last logged in' panel on their web sites. If your bank has it, check the panel whenever you log in. If you notice irregularities (like you are logging in after two days, but the panel says you logged in that morning!), report the matter immediately to your bank and change your password right away.

Always log out when you exit the online banking portal. Close the browser to ensure that your secure session is terminated. Never exit simply by closing the browser.


6.

Avoid accessing your bank online at cyber cafes.

Don't leave the PC unattended after keying in information while transacting on the web site. Avoid accessing your bank online at cyber cafes or on a share or public computer.

Also, avoid locations that offer online connections through wireless networks (Wi-Fi), where privacy and security are minimal.


7.

Avoid filling out forms in email messages that seem spam.

Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information, like account or credit card numbers. Never, in response to any email, provide your online banking user ID, passwords, credit and debit card numbers.

No bank's representative will ever ask for your user ID/ credit or debit card number/ password in any form. If they do, change the bank!

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Hi Guys, if u liked these tips on cyber crime then do some comments so that I can provide some more tips and information cyber crime.

Automated wild malware troubles Yahoo and Microsoft IM

Messenger applications of Yahoo and Microsoft are facing new attack from malware which can infect the PC and user will not be able to know about this.

This malware download itself and infect user's PC and generally it infects contacts list made in both messenger application of Yahoo and MSN

If a user does not open any file, this malware can infect the PC in that condition also. However other malwares are delivered normally through attachments and infect the PC but this one is different from others.

As a reader of ZDNet Asia sister site ZDNet.com.au has said that his PC was affected by this malware afternoon and this malware installed itself in windows registry.

Whenever a user visit any website, ads that are going to be displayed will be replaced by other party and those ads will be shown instead of of original ads.

Also, when the user tried to boot up his PC after removing this malware, the machine shuts down. And there was a blue screen after this.

According to user this malware is not detected by McAfee and also bypasses spybot search and destroy.

However no representative of Yahoo or Microsoft was not available for comment at the time of publication.