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Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 3/26/2008 9:19 PM UTC

  Invisus Is The Rudder - Become A "Responsible Cybercitizen"... Don't Be Complacent
  

  It all began for James Harrison and Jeff Nichols about eight years ago when they were pummeled by hackers at least 350 times over a period of a few days. It was this event that brought about awareness that if this was happening to them it was probably happening to others. The rest is history.
  
  Invisus (Latin derivative for "invisible") and the Invisus service was launched for the protection of families and small business owners. According to James, "you can't have good security unless you have good care". He considers Invisus the "Universal Help Desk" for a common issue. The idea is to keep your computer invisible to the Internet.
  
  We've heard it before but, When asked what it meant to be a "Responsible Cybercitizen" it is ultimately that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. We're all citizens in a virtual world and by not being part of the problem and being part of the solution you are participating in being a responsible cybercitizen.
  
  If you lack ongoing good security, not just off-the-shelf out of the box technology, chances are your computer will become one of millions of "zombie" computers and a "zombie soldier" in their army of organized cybercriminals. A responsible cybercitizen is not a onetime fix of loading computer security software. If you're not willing to police yourself and leaving it to others (unless the others are experts in security service like Invisus), you are being irresponsible and allowing organized crime to use your computer to cause harm to others.
  
  Today, it's important to have a one-stop resource. If not, you as an Internet citizen will be constantly leap-frogging just to keep up with the problem. The bad guys are depending on the fact that you can't personally keep pace, nor want to, so you'll do little or nothing. And if you do throw on some off-the-shelf software thinking you are protecting yourself it's only a false sense of security and the bad guys are depending on it.
  
  If you're thinking the government will provide a way to protect you, that's not going to happen. According to Jeff the FBI in Utah won't take on a case unless it's over a half million dollars and the Attorney General won't take notice unless it's $250,000 or more. The Internet is a global community and law enforcement can't keep-up. Cybercrime is now more profitable than drug-trafficking in the U.S. and estimated to be $105 billion a year.
  
  Hackers are more sophisticated not less sophisticated. Consumers need a better way and not do it alone any longer. If you're looking for a hassle-free computing experience, Invisus provides the ongoing security care and also raises your status to a "Responsible Cybercitizen". Remember Jeff's story about the lady that called in upset that her computer had been infected with an email from Germany. "Do you know anyone in Germany" Jeff asked. "No", she replied. "Do you speak German" Jeff asked. "No" she replied. Jeff asked her, "Then why did you open it"? "Because someone sent it to me" she replied. So, as a responsible cybercitizen, you still need to learn and understand the simple things of what not to do to avoid becoming a victim.
  
  According to Jami, if he could wave a magic wand and change one thing, it would be peoples complacency with protecting their children and their families. Complacency is a killer; it is our nemesis to becoming responsible cybercitizens. Jami's likens our computers without proper security to a sailing ship being tossed by the seas without a rudder. Our PCs are large sails that catches everything out there and at the mercy of those who will do us harm. It's not pleasant the things can happen to you and your family if you become a victim.
  
  The solution to complacency is doing something about it, taking action and getting off our rear-ends and become "Responsible Cybercitizens".
  • Tags:
  • Invisus
  • James Harrison
  • Jeff Nichols
  • Responsible Cybercit
  • Internet Security
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