Never Use Copy Paste and IE6

I used to think taxi cabs or restaurants that use old fashion carbon paper receipts for credit card transactions were the biggest source of credit card debt and fraud.

I was told thieves would go to the dumpster and rummage through the garbage looking for these receipts. The impression on the carbon paper would give the credit card number, and expiration date. This is one reason why they started using the 3 digit CVS code on the back of credit cards.

         

 

However, recently my friend had a virus that sent out a SPAM email to everyone on his Gmail address book!

That got me thinking... unlike Yahoo or Hotmail, Gmail uses JavaScript to store your address book, and the virus exploited that vulnerability.

Sure, you think sending out a harmless email for a penny stock, Viagra, or MLM offer is no big deal. People will recognize it and simply delete it.

Then I thought about other JavaScript and ASP programming exploits?

I know a lot of people keep a special file on their computer with all their passwords or credit card info.

 

These same people use the copy and paste command (CTRL-C and CTRL-V) to enter repetitive strings of text, including credit cards.

Sounds harmless?

The just for fun, type in notepad or WordPad some garbage text, highlight it, then copy it (using right click... copy, simply the keyboard shortcut of CTRL-C).

Or just select the sample text below, and copy it to your clipboard:

My Credit Card number is 1234567890123

This only works in older versions of IE. Newer versions if IE will warn you (hopefully).

Shocking?

There was a movement recently when some popular Norway websites showed banners to Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) browser users advising them to upgrade their web browser to the latest version. They also suggest seeking other alternative browsers and now the campaign is spreading across the world!

There are several good browsers to choose from. My preference is Firefox, with all your favorite extensions. As well, there is Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, the fast Opera or simply upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 or even try the latest IE8 Beta.

Here's how to protect your data in Windows Clipboard and Internet Explorer:

• Open Internet Explorer.
• Go to the menu, Tools > Internet Options > Security.
• Under the Security tab, click the Custom Level button.
• In the Security Settings window, find the message that is "Allow Paste Operations via Script". Under this message, select Disable and then click OK.
• In the Security Settings window, find the message that is "Programmatic clipboard access". Under this message, select Disable and then click OK.

I hope the above message will shed some light on credit card fraud!

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Posted in: Browser,Communication,Computer Tips,Connectivity,Hacking,Information Technologies,Input-Output,Internet,Security,Software,Windows