Building a better modern martial art? The evolving state of the fight.
by Bob Hubbard

In ancient days armies met on battlefields, and warriors fought in one on one tests of skill, ability and luck. Today, modern warfare of often done from a distance, using computers, and one on one fights are uncommon, and a sign that someone screwed up. The battlefield arts of yesterday evolve into the street defense arts of today, seeking to protect you not against a charging calvary horde, but a mugger seeking easy money in a dark alley way. Modern defensive arts have evolved from their ancient fore bearers to offer a solution to that challenge.

But not all fights are on the street, or even in the "real world".

Today, we face more than just the old fashioned mugger or rapist. Today we face the ideas of "identity theft", and "Cyber Crime". Criminals today have entered the online world, and seek to harm you through the use of digital weapons. In a world where physical ability is meaningless, what can you do to protect yourself?

Physical world arts come in various ways, some simple, some complex. One factor that has always been component for truly excelling at the warrior arts was to profess brains, as well as brawn. Today, it is no different. Developing your mind and expanding your ability to think on your feet is as important today as it way a thousand years ago, perhaps more.

But more schools of defense don't teach the art of intellectual warfare. They leave that to the local education system, an institution that often finds itself underfunded and understaffed to give the completeness of training that we need today.

So, what can you do to enhance your defensive training and protect yourself more thoroughly?

Learn.

Read.

Think.

Learn how to recognize threats to your personal privacy, and actions that put your identity at risk.
Be careful who you give out personal information to, especially tax id numbers (social security numbers in the US), and make sure your children know not to tell strangers their address or phone number, or even their last names.

Read articles that will keep you informed of what the laws are, and what the agencies that hold your information are doing with it, and what they can do with it by law.

Think for yourself, and don't let others do it for you. You need to research the rules and regulations and means to protect yourself in a world that is as much 'cyber' as 'real' today. Use pins and passwords that aren't obvious, and don't write them on sticky notes by the computer. Don't leave tax information, pay stubs, legal documents, leases, or bills lying around. Invest in a shredder, a good one, and use it to shred confidential documents before disposal. Take inventory of your wallet and note numbers, and contact information so that if it is lost or stolen you ca quickly stop the risk to your bank and credit cards.

Today, cyber crime is rising, and our governments are thinking more and more about cyber warfare.

As a complete martial artist, shouldn't you be prepared for it too?

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Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts sites MartialTalk.com (http://martialtalk.com/) and KenpoTalk.com (http://kenpotalk.com/). He is president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists as well as a professional photographer. More of Bob's articles can be found at rustaz.net (http://rustaz.net/). Please contact Bob if you would like him to review your martial arts product.

Copyright ©2007 Bob Hubbard - Copies of this article are free to distribute, provided all text is retained intact.

Building a better modern martial art? The evolving state of the fight.
by Bob Hubbard

Today, cyber crime is rising, and our governments are thinking more and more about cyber warfare.

As a complete martial artist, shouldn't you be prepared for it too?

===


Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts sites MartialTalk.com (http://martialtalk.com/) and KenpoTalk.com (http://kenpotalk.com/). He is president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists as well as a professional photographer. More of Bob's articles can be found at rustaz.net (http://rustaz.net/). Please contact Bob if you would like him to review your martial arts product.

Copyright ©2007 Bob Hubbard - Copies of this article are free to distribute, provided all text is retained intact.

As an old timer (didn't get a home computer till in my 40s), I didn't grow up with this technology. Your article shows me I need to get better--if I'm going to continue to call myself a warrior.

Good, short, hard-hitting piece, Bob. :asian:

Perhaps this is of topic what can i study to better understand how someone could hack my computer or id on one these website so i could develop a better protection against my name an email being found out?

That being said i have not used my real name as it looks like you used you real name that was as far i got in the web warrior defense.

What a friend said if you are on at the same time as somone else it is viable to ting or ping there web address an possible find holes to personal info on them.

For some tips, follow the link at the end and read some of my other articles. They'll give you more information.

You're name alone, is useless to someone, they need to tie it to other information, for it to be useful. If you have a fairly common name, listing a city isn't that risky either. (There are at least 8 other Bob Hubbards in my county alone. ;) )

Tying your name to a phone number -and- a street address? somewhat riskier. (Note, we don't ask you for a mailing address at sign up, just the city).

Where you run into real risk is giving out your social security number. People do it all the time. It's on the form, they fill it in. But, does the person asking for it have the legal right? (See the article on personal information in the Self Defense forum for more).

What your friend described was the cyber "checking your doors and windows" that corrupt hackers do to try and gain access to your computer. Old warriors rode into battle with a shield. It, along with their sword were their front line of defense. They had shields, so should you. Your shield though, is electronic, a fire wall as it's called. You stop the bad guys by using a properly configured fire wall, which -everyone- should have, even dial up folks. Windows XP has one built in thats a quick configure, and Zone Alarm is great. Just be sure to read what the options do. Each hole you open is one more for them to gain entry through. The other 2 parts are anti-virus and anti-spyware. (See my articles for more info and links to free reliable solutions).

That being said i have not used my real name as it looks like you used you real name that was as far i got in the web warrior defense.
Hopefully you're not referring to your profile information here, as that's a violation of forum policy.

Hopefully you're not referring to your profile information here, as that's a violation of forum policy.
Just a note on this, our use of information is covered in our privacy policy (link (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=315)). While we ask for them for our internal use, we unlike alot of other sites do allow you to use an anonymous handle, and don't require 'signing' (adding your name to the signature).

It's also vitally important for parents and those who instruct/care for children to know how to use MySpace and similar social networking sites. From "cyberbanging" to coordinate drug dealing and more... it's on the web. And too many parents are clueless about what their kids are doing in chats and on-line.

It's also vitally important for parents and those who instruct/care for children to know how to use MySpace and similar social networking sites. From "cyberbanging" to coordinate drug dealing and more... it's on the web. And too many parents are clueless about what their kids are doing in chats and on-line.
That is worth repeating!

:asian:

Well worded article Bob, and some intelligent comments by others also.

i never owned a comp till I was well over 50 and my skills are infinitely small but even I have seen propaganda and things that made me wonder what the youth of today was reading and things on the net
reading and things on the net

Name can mean a lot, if you are willing to poke around a little.

I showed this to someone on there daughter. Off just a name and city I could find pictures, a blog, friends, personal info, friends, pictures of friends, home address, phone number, family member names, and pretty much narrow down a school as well. All within about 10 mins.

If someone is determined enough, you're ability to remain annonymous on the internet is not as easy as you think it is.

Some things to think about:

It is very easy to get a persons IP address. That tells you who provides there internet, and very often can narrow things down to a city.

If you use something other then your real name, do you use the same name on other sites? Then I will likely be able to find it. Do you have a standard phrase or quote you sign things with on all forums, I'll probably be able to find it.

Across all of the sites you have used the name, how much have you mentioned about yourself? First name? Hobbies? (ex martial arts, specific style, or even specific club?), age? gender? Occupation? School you went too? Names of friends?

If you post enough stuff, someone that is determined will be able to find you.

Once you know enough about a person careful phishing trips and social engineering tricks can usually get more. And the more you get the more you will likely be able to get.

Annonymity on the net is a illusion, someone dedicated enough will be able to find you if you put tnough stuff out there.