TECH ALERT: Secure your mobile!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

Ankit Fadia, DC / August 29, 2011.

With the advent of smartphones, there is a very thin line that separates mobile phones from traditional computers.

Nowadays, we use our mobile phones for a variety of entertainment and work — related purposes. Everything from taking pictures, listening to music, chatting with friends, social networking, emails, surfing websites, gaming, e-commerce and even banking is nowadays being done on smartphones.

It has become very common for users to download files and install apps on their phones from the Internet or from other mobile phones. Smartphones have indeed become smaller versions of laptops!

But, at the same time, they have also become vulnerable to attacks. So it’s important to take precautions and protect phones against various security threats.

Gone are the days when viruses and trojans could only infect your computer. In the last few years, there have been hundreds of incidents of mobile phones getting infected with such malware. So, just the way most people have antivirus softwares on their computers, it’s important to install an antivirus software on your cellphone as well.

Some of the popular antivirus solutions for your mobile phone includes McAfee, Kaspersky and AVG. However, my personal favourite antivirus for mobile phones is a tool called Lookout, which works on most popular smartphone platforms like Android, iPhone, Blackberry and others.

It is also advisable for mobile phone users to disable Bluetooth on their mobile phone whenever they are not using it. A lot of viruses, worms and Trojans spread through the mobile phone universe through Bluetooth.

But even if you have a good antivirus already installed on your phone and you have your Bluetooth switched off, you must be careful about where they download data, apps and files from. Do not download things from untrusted and potentially infected sources.

If you have any sensitive applications and data on your mobile phone, it is important to password protect them using this very cool application called App Lock. This ensures that if somebody steals or hacks into your mobile phone, they will be asked to enter a password before they can access any sensitive data on your phone.

Think of this as a secondary layer of protection against criminals! You can also encrypt any sensitive data you may have on your cellphone using tools like Truecrypt and BitLocker.

Finally, you should also enable the power “on” password on your mobile phone, since that protects you against the prying eyes of a snooping friend who might have got his/her hands on your phone when you are not looking.

Although there is nothing like 100 per cent security on your mobile phone, implementing these basic security tips and tricks will definitely help you be more secure!

Steps to secure your phone

* Install anti-virus apps like Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky or AVG

Rest at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/sci-tech/hitech/secure-your-mobile-906

                      

<script type="text/javascript">

  var _gaq = _gaq || [];

  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25443829-1']);

  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {

    var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;

    ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

    var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);

  })();

</script>

JUHU BEACH HEADACHE: Straying of M.V. Pavit has exposed gaps - Navy Chief!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

K.V. Prasad, The Hindu / MUMBAI, August 20, 2011.

Sailors onboard INS Satpura during its commissioning at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai on Saturday. Photo: Vivek Bendre - The Hindu.

Admiral Nirmal Verma commissions latest indigenous stealth frigate ‘INS Satpura' in Mumbai.

Admitting that the straying of merchant vessel Pavit into the Mumbai coast last month was an “aberration,” Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma on Saturday said the Navy had drawn lessons from it to fill in the gaps so that such incidents did not recur.

Having taken flak for the incident that saw the 1000-tonne abandoned vessel running aground on the Juhu beach, the Navy, he said, was re-tracing the path studying the tide and weather charts and juxtaposing it with patrolling duties mounted during those days. This would establish if the ghost ship slipped past the surveillance, including those mounted by international navies on an anti-piracy mission.

MAKING INGRESS TOUGH

“It was an aberration and lessons have been drawn, I do not see it happening again... there are gaps to be plugged and each step we take is to make ingress difficult,” Admiral Verma said at a press conference after commissioning the latest indigenously-built stealth frigate ‘INS Satpura,' at the Naval dockyard here. The ship is the second of the Rs. 8,000 crore Project-17 class with ‘INS Shivalik' commissioned earlier and ‘INS Sayhadri' expected to follow-suit.

---------------------------------------

IMPOUNDING M.V. NAFIS

While asserting that the Navy was tasked with the overall responsibility of coastal security since early 2009, Admiral Verma said the efficacy of the system that was being refined on a regular basis could be seen in seizing move. Nafis earlier this month. The merchant vessel too was drifting on the high seas and the Navy launched a marine commando operation to apprehend the crew with arms and ammunition. He said right now the Navy was tracking a suspicious vessel some 250 miles off Mumbai and trying to ascertain its identity.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RELYING ON HOTLINES

In the absence of the network, the Navy and other agencies were depending on hotlines, while 18 lakh fishermen were being trained to become the ‘eyes and ears' in providing timely information and also in effective use of mobile networks, the signals of which are available as far as 15 miles from the shores. Stating that the level of coordination among 15-odd different maritime agencies was much better than before the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, he said there were other suggestions, including appointment of a Maritime Security Adviser

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2376791.ece

MAFIA: High time government protected whistleblowers!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

expressbuzz.com / The New Indian Express / Last Updated : 17 Aug 2011 11:13:25 PM IST.

Shehla Masood has joined the long list of whistleblowers who have had to pay with their lives for targeting the corrupt. She was shot dead by unknown assailants in Bhopal apparently because of her energetic investigation of tiger poachers. Although she had complained to the authorities about the threats she was receiving after she began inquiries into the death of a tigress in the Bandhavgarh National Park, no protection was provided. Yet, there was undoubtedly a need for the authorities to be alert about the danger she faced because, in addition to her pursuit of poachers, she was engaged in exposing illegal diamond mining in the state.

Full Story at,

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/editorials/High-time-government-protected-whistleblowers/305079.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Delhi put under tight security ahead of I-Day celebrations!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 14, 2011.

Secutrity men at the historic Red Fort during full dress rehearsal of the 65th Independence Day function in New Delhi on Saturday. The Union Home Ministry has already issued a country-wide alert asking states to tighten security at sensitive locations and installations to thwart any attempt of terror strike - PTI.

On the eve of Independence Day celebrations, an elaborate ground-to-air security apparatus has been put in place in the capital to pre-empt any terror strike.

Thousands of Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in and around the city, especially near the Red Fort from where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unfurl the tricolour and address the nation.

The Union Home Ministry has already issued a country-wide alert asking states to tighten security at sensitive locations and installations to thwart any attempt of terror strike.

“We have deployed personnel in abundance. We are not taking any chance,” a senior police official said.

Around 40 CCTVs will be installed in and around the Red Fort to ensure incident-free celebrations while sharpshooters of the NSG will be deployed on the high-rises near the 17th century Mughal monument.

Security agencies are constantly reviewing arrangements at the Red Fort and have zeroed in on the ‘safe houses’ where the Prime Minister and other leaders should be taken to in case of a terrorist strike.

According to a senior police official, the localities around Red Fort have been sanitised and informers have been deployed to keep a check on any movement of anti-national elements. Specialised units like Quick Reaction Teams, SWAT and Vajra are being deployed, the official said.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2356169.ece?homepage=true

Casey Anthony told to return to Florida for probation!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

By Barbara Liston, ORLANDO, Fla, reuters.com  / Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:16pm EDT.

(Reuters) - A Florida judge on Friday ordered Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted of murdering her toddler, to report for probation by August 26 on a 2010 check fraud conviction.

Judge Belvin Perry rejected claims by Anthony's lawyers that she had already served her probation while in jail awaiting trial on a charge of murder connected to the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.

The 25-year-old mother dropped out of sight in July after she left jail with no restrictions on her freedom after being acquitted of murder in nationally televised trial.

In his order, Perry took note of a widely reported celebrity poll in which Anthony overwhelmingly was found to be the most hated American, and authorized Florida corrections officials to keep Anthony's home address a secret.

"This Court is very mindful that it is a high probability that there are many that would like to see physical harm visited upon the Defendant," Perry wrote.

The judge who had accepted Anthony's guilty pleas in the 2010 check fraud case, Stan Strickland, had stated in open court at the time that Anthony was to serve a year of probation after her release from jail.

His intent that probation begin after her release, however, was not written into the final order. Strickland filed a clarified version on August 1, following her July 17 release. Anthony's lawyers responded with an emergency motion to quash that order.

Full Story at,

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/12/us-crime-anthony-idUSTRE77B5K320110812

Mayawati allocates Rs.50 crore for her security, home!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

August 9, 2011 / IANS, Lucknow / DC.

Amount earmarked for purchase of 20 bullet proof Ambassador cars and 10 jammer vehicles.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's supplementary budget has an allocation of more than Rs.50 crore essentially for her personal security and comfort.

This came to light in the state assembly here when a supplementary budget of Rs.10, 879 crore was tabled on Tuesday. Barely four months back, the assembly had passed the state's annual budget of Rs.1.65 lakh crore for the financial year 2011-2012.

As per the provisions, a total sum of Rs.26 crore has been allocated towards enhancement of her personal security. The amount has been earmarked for purchase of 20 bullet proof Ambassador cars and 10 jammer vehicles.

Significantly, another Rs.23 crore is sought for a bungalow built for her post-chief ministerial days at a whopping cost of about Rs.54 crore.

In keeping with the Uttar Pradesh government's tradition of allotment of a place of residence to all former chief ministers, the bungalow was allotted to Mayawati during her first stint.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/mayawati-allocates-rs50-crore-her-security-home-617

Parliamentary panel pulls up DoT for delay in resolving BlackBerry issue!

For LEED / IGBC Certifications, Consultancy, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 7, 2011.

Parliamentary Committee on Telecom is unhappy with BlackBerry makers solution of data encryption - AP.

Making it clear that no compromise can be made with regard to nation’s security, a Parliamentary panel has expressed discontent over several extensions given by the DoT to Canadian firm offering BlackBerry services in highly encrypted format without a satisfactory solution.

“The committee expresses unhappiness over the way the extension after extension are being given to resolve such an important issue related to security of the country,” the panel on information technology said in its latest report.

Security agencies have expressed concern on highly encrypted communication made through BlackBerry phones and have demanded Research-In-Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry phones, to provide them data in readable format.

“The committee has been apprised that out of the various services provided by BlackBerry, the BlackBerry Messenger and BlackBerry Enterprise Solution services cannot be intercepted in readable format, even if the encrypted message is made available by the service providers,” the report said.

The Government gave three extensions to RIM, with the last date being March 31, 2011.

Before the end of its last extension, RIM highlighted number of other highly encrypted services being provided in the country by its competitors and sought to make it an industry issue.

Thereafter, the government formed a committee to come up with mechanism to deal with encryption issues for providing data access to security agencies which is mandatory under Indian Telegraph Act.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article2333465.ece

Juhu Beach Headache: Ghost ship sinks India's coastal defences claims!

For LEED Consultancy, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships,

www.greentekindika.com

Vinaya Deshpande, Meena Menon & Praveen Swami, The Hindu / MUMBAI, August 3, 2011.

Children play near m.v. Pavit, a Panama-flagged vessel that ran aground on the Juhu beach - AP.

m.v. Pavit drifted undetected for over 100 hours to Mumbai's shores

India's post-26/11 coastal defences have been brutally exposed by Pavit, a 1,000-tonne Panama-flagged merchant vessel, which ran aground on Mumbai's Juhu shore on Sunday, undetected by the new, three-tier security ring on which at least Rs. 700 million has been spent.

The ship, which was abandoned by its crew last month and reported sunk, drifted for more than a hundred hours through India's maritime territory before being detected late on Sunday afternoon.

The Navy, responsible for security beyond 12 nautical miles; the Coast Guard, which patrols the zone between 5 and 12 nautical miles; and the newly created maritime police, all failed to detect it.

There was no official word, though, on who was responsible for the failure — the second in recent weeks of an abandoned ship being washed up here.

In October 2010, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said India had made “significant progress” in improving its coastal defences since 26/11. In particular, he pointed to the setting up of control rooms to coordinate patrolling by the Navy, the Coast Guard and the maritime police.

Alarmed by a series of pirate attacks on maritime traffic off India's shores, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in January this year that coastal security was on the government's “immediate agenda.”

Satish Agnihotri, Director-General of Shipping, said inquiries were needed to establish “for nearly 100 hours when the ship was in Indian waters why the detection did not happen.” He refused comment, though, on who might have been responsible, saying it would not “be appropriate on my part to talk about the sister agencies.”

Long-standing fears

Long-standing fears that terrorists could exploit gaps in India's coastal defences were underlined on 26/11, when a 10-man Lashkar-e-Taiba assault team sailed undetected into the city on a hijacked fishing boat. Experts have since warned that terrorists could also load ships with explosives, or even biological and chemical weapons.

-----------------------------------------

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2317195.ece

FESTIVE SEASON: Security in Mumbai to be beefed up!

For LEED Consultancy, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships,

www.greentekindika.com

Staff Reporter, The Hindu /  MUMBAI, August 2, 2011.

In view of the upcoming season of festivals and the recent blasts that rocked the city, the Mumbai Police have declared a slew of measures for the security of South Mumbai, which has always been on the terrorists' target list. “We will be involving the people in the security of the city. This will have a force multiplier effect. The people can become the eyes and ears of the police,” Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Nawal Bajaj said in a press conference here on Monday.

The measures include mapping the area meticulously, random combing of susceptible areas, rolling out street plays, advertising campaigns for spreading awareness among others.

“The sheer volume of people makes any standard techniques of control or monitoring redundant in the area. Nearly three million people come to South Mumbai everyday for work,” Mr Bajaj said.

He said that the police have been regularly carrying out safety audits of places. “But we do not have any legal tools to ensure compliance with it. We will certify public places which adhere to these standards. This will work as positive reinforcement,” he said.

He also said that the police have suggested a string of measures to the local municipal body for betterment of security. “We have suggested that they should install plastic dustbins, should clear illegal hawkers from time to time, should clear garbage three times a day,” he said.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2314292.ece

RICHEST TEMPLE: Security upped after goon’s Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple visit!

For LEED Consultancy, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships,

www.greentekindika.com

July 31, 2011 / DC, Thiruvananthapuam.

(File photo) Devotees walk up the stairs leading to the 16th century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram - AP.

With the visit of a notorious goonda to Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple here the other day triggering a controversy, the security agencies have now decided to impose restrictions at entry point meant for temple officials.

The security officials are trying to ensure that regular devotees are not allowed to use the entry point meant for temple authorities.

The decision comes in the wake of goonda Om Prakash, who is an accused in the Paul Muthoot murder case and several criminal cases, walking into the temple using the entry point meant for temple officials.

“This person is a devotee who has been visiting the temple regularly over last many years,” the Additional Director General of Police, Venugopal K. Nair, who is charge of temple’s security told Deccan Chronicle.

“Apparently he has friendly relations with some temple officials and seems to have utilised one of them to go inside the temple.”

He said the temple officials facilitated Omprakash’s entry from the gate which was normally used by temple staff to carry materials associated with the rituals.

Sources say even though the goonda entered the premises in the presence of the cops, they did not interfere as Omprakash was accompanied by temple officials.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/south/security-upped-after-goon%E2%80%99s-sree-padmanabha-swamy-temple-visit-358