Monday, February 4, 2008

Your Computer can be used in Domestic Abuse

Hey this is article that I found today on a internet secutity web site "The Register" that I visit like to get the lastest news. I think you will find it interesting. Also please advise the victims that you deal with to watch their activity on the net.


Spyware another weapon for domestic abuse
Remote controlling spouses
By John LeydenMore by this author
Published Thursday 31st January 2008 14:37 GMT

Spyware is becoming a tool of domestic abuse, according to security researchers.
Privacy-invading software packages are most commonly associated with surreptitiously snooping on victims to find out the passwords they use for online banking sites or bombarding them with invasive pop-up ads. But spyware can also be used as a tool to monitor and control their spouses by abusive partners, McAfee researcher Anna Stepanov warns.
"With so much of our lives dependent on computers and other technologies such as cell phones, the use of spyware is ideal for abusers, who often feel the need to control all aspects of a victim’s existence," she writes. "Monitoring a victim’s online, cell phone, or general computing activity is of more value than ever in controlling or hurting a victim."
Safe computing has joined finding safe housing as a list of requirements for people fleeing abusive relationships. "There is a strong movement within the [US-based] National Network to End Domestic Violence to educate victims and the general public about safe computing," Stepanov adds. "Many security companies have made sizable monetary donations to this organization to assist in education and to provide aid for securing networks within shelters for victims of domestic violence."
The changing uses of spyware and its continuing evolution are dealt with in a white paper by Stepanov titled Spyware: A Morphing Campaign.
Commercial products such as FlexiSPY, which records information about an individual's mobile phone calls and SMS messages before sending them to a remote server, have already generated controversy over the last couple of years. Packages such as FlexiSPY and Mobile Spy, another similar product, are marketed as a means for parents to keep watch on their child's phone, or enables employers to enforce an acceptable use policy on their staff. The legality of both products has been questioned.
A mobile phone is an obvious target for snoopers, but email inboxes are also a tempting target for control-freaks looking to keep tabs on their partners. Stepanov's research shows that cybercrime in its traditional sense is not the only motive for planting spyware. ®

Friday, February 1, 2008

Helpful Websites

There are numberous websites that have information for Victim's and Victim Coordinator's. There is one that has a lot of information the National Crime Victims' Rights Week which is on April 13–19, 2008. This site is http://www.ovc.gov/ncvrw/welcome.html#resources. It has link to the 2008 NCVRW Resource Guide http://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw2008/welcome.html.

Also there has been an addition the VINELink webage. A registered Victim can now update and delete there registration online. After selecting Arkansas from the VINELink, look at the left side of the screen and click on Registered Users click here to update registrations. We hope this will help keep a victims registration current.