Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976?Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Unless you are in this field of investigative journalism, especially covering extremely sensitive subjects and potentially dangerous subjects as well, you simply cannot understand the complexities and difficulties involved with this work that I face every day.
A leaked U.S. Army document prepared for the Department
of Defense contains shocking plans for “political activists” to be
pacified by “PSYOP officers” into developing an “appreciation of U.S.
policies” while detained in prison camps inside the United States.
The document, entitled FM 3-39.40 Internment and Resettlement Operations (PDF) was originally released on a restricted basis to the DoD in February 2010, but has now been leaked online.
The manual outlines policies for processing detainees
into internment camps both globally and inside the United States.
International agencies like the UN and the Red Cross are named as
partners in addition to domestic federal agencies including the
Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.
The document makes it clear that the policies apply
“within U.S. territory” and involve, “DOD support to U.S. civil
authorities for domestic emergencies, and for designated law enforcement
and other activities,” including “man-made disasters, accidents,
terrorist attacks and incidents in the U.S. and its territories.”
The manual states, “These operations may be performed as
domestic civil support operations,” and adds that “The authority to
approve resettlement such operations within U.S. territories,” would
require a “special exception” to The Posse Comitatus Act, which can be
obtained via “the President invoking his executive authority.” The
document also makes reference to identifying detainees using their
“social security number.”
Aside from enemy combatants and other classifications of
detainees, the manual includes the designation of “civilian internees,”
in other words citizens who are detained for, “security reasons, for
protection, or because he or she committed an offense against the
detaining power.”
Once the detainees have been processed into the
internment camp, the manual explains how they will be “indoctrinated,”
with a particular focus on targeting political dissidents, into
expressing support for U.S. policies.
The re-education process is the responsibility of the
“Psychological Operations Officer,” whose job it is to design “PSYOP
products that are designed to pacify and acclimate detainees or DCs to
accept U.S. I/R facility authority and regulations,” according to the
document.
The manual lists the following roles that are designated to the “PSYOP team”.
- Identifies malcontents, trained agitators, and
political leaders within the facility who may try to organize resistance
or create disturbances.
- Develops and executes indoctrination programs to reduce or remove antagonistic attitudes.
- Identifies political activists.
- Provides loudspeaker support (such as administrative announcements and facility instructions when necessary).
- Helps the military police commander control detainee and DC populations during emergencies.
- Plans and executes a PSYOP program that produces an understanding and appreciation of U.S. policies and actions.
Remember, this is not restricted to insurgents in Iraq
who are detained in prison camps – the manual makes it clear that the
policies also apply “within U.S. territory” under the auspices of the
DHS and FEMA. The document adds that, “Resettlement operations may
require large groups of civilians to be quartered temporarily (less than
6 months) or semipermanently (more than 6 months).”
The historical significance of states using internment
camps to re-educate detainees centers around the fact that it is almost
exclusively practiced by repressive and dictatorial regimes like the
former Soviet Union and Stalinist regimes like modern day North Korea.
We have exhaustively documented preparations for the
mass internment of citizens inside America, but this is the first time
that language concerning the re-education of detainees, in particular
political activists, has cropped up in our research.
In 2009, the National Guard posted a
number of job opportunities looking for “Internment/Resettlement
Specialists” to work in “civilian internee camps” within the United
States.
In December last year it was also revealed that
Halliburton subsidiary KBR is seeking sub-contractors to staff and
outfit “emergency environment” camps located in five regions of the
United States.
In 2006, KBR was contracted by Homeland Security to
build detention centers designed to deal with “an emergency influx of
immigrants into the U.S,” or the rapid development of unspecified “new
programs” that would require large numbers of people to be interned.
Rex 84,
short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was established under the pretext of
a “mass exodus” of illegal aliens crossing the Mexican/US border, the
same pretense used in the language of the KBR request for services.
During the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987, however, it was
revealed that the program was a secretive “scenario and drill”
developed by the federal government to suspend the Constitution, declare
martial law, assign military commanders to take over state and local
governments, and detain large numbers of American citizens determined by
the government to be “national security threats.”
We often become frustrated and/or discouraged when we try so hard and
still fall short. Our desire to overcome is often overtaken by the
ever-present law we find within us that takes us into captivity. Paul
writes of this in Romans 7:23: "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Though we battle to put this law of sin away for good, it just seems to pop up somewhere else.
In Luke 21:36, Jesus
tells us to, "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted
worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of Man." That He advises us to pray that God will count
us worthy suggests we will probably never actually succeed in overcoming
all the sin we see in ourselves—and even more, what we do not see.
Instead, His words indicate that as long as we remain humble, continue
to try to grow, improve, and overcome, our effort and faith in God's grace, given through the sacrifice of Christ for each of us, will cause us to be "counted worthy" to be saved.
Accounted for Righteousness
In Romans 4:13-16, 19-25, the apostle Paul uses a great deal of ink to explain to us just how we are counted worthy by God:
For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to
Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void
and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath;
for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of
faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be
sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to
those who are of the faith of Abraham. . . . And not being weak in
faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was
about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not
waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in
faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had
promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to
him for righteousness." Now it was not written for his sake alone that
it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who
believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was
delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our
justification.
God did not give the promises to Abraham
and his seed because of the patriarch's own righteousness but because
of his faith. Abraham's faith in God's grace was the determining factor
in righteousness being "accounted" to him and his seed subsequently.
Although he was obedient to God, Abraham's works in overcoming were not
perfect enough to "tip the scales" in his favor, but He trusted God to
deliver what He had promised.
In the same vein, we must also believe even when it seems there is no hope.
Like Abraham, we must be strong in faith, not overemphasizing the
obvious physical evidence that surrounds us, but trusting in God's
promise, "being fully convinced that what God had promised He was also
able to perform" (verse 21). Paul ends this discussion with
encouragement that, just as this "formula" worked for Abraham, it will
work equally for us. We will be counted worthy if we believe God, which
includes doing what He says.
Not Just the Tribulation
Being "counted worthy to escape all these things" may not be referring
only to the period during the Tribulation. It can also refer to our
escaping all the trials and tribulations of our daily lives. In a
general sense, this instruction from our Savior applies anytime crises
and troubles spring up and attempt to distract us from seeking first the
Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).
In Mark's version of the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus says, "And when you
hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things
must happen, but the end is not yet" (Mark 13:7). Clearly, He means that wars and other hostilities will occur repeatedly through the ages until His return.
Notice Psalm 91:5-7:
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that
flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the
destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your
side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near
you.
This has the same tone as the passages in
Mark 13 and Luke 21. They all have both general and specific
applications. The psalmist gives the reasons why we do not need to fear
all the disasters that occur around us: "Because you have made the Lord,
who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil
shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling" (Psalm 91:9-10). We must believe this just as Abraham believed God would give him a son, and it was counted to him as righteousness.
Heavenly Signs?
The section in which Luke 21:36 occurs begins with verse 25, when Christ introduces the signs that will presage His second coming:
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and
on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the
waves roaring." We have traditionally understood this verse to refer to
the heavenly signs of the sixth seal of Revelation 6:12-17.
However, is this not already happening, at least in less spectacular
ways? Are there not already problems with the sun because of the ozone
layer dissipating? Is there not more concern about wearing sunblock
because of the damaging rays of the sun? This has only become a concern
in recent years. When we were young, we never heard anyone telling us to
stay out of the sun, wear a hat and long sleeves and glob on the
sunscreen.
Certainly, there is plenty of distress among the
nations on the earth, even while we live through some of the most
prosperous times ever seen. Some fear nuclear war between India and
Pakistan. Others are concerned about immigration, ethnic cleansing,
piracy, water rights, food allocation, diseases like AIDS, and global
climate change. The mood among many nations is one of almost frantic and
perplexed worry about their survival.
Jesus says in the next
verse, ". . . men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of
those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:26).
The distress stems from their "fear and the expectation" of those
things which are coming. Obviously, this fear and expectation happens
before the disasters come. The stresses involved in impending disasters
can easily cause us to lose focus on overcoming, growing and leading
faithful lives.
It is because of the signs we see around us that
we know the end is near. That we are living in the end time is
something we have been aware of and discussed for years. Lately, it
seems many of us have let down because we feel the "master is delaying
his coming" (Matthew 24:48). Jesus supplies encouragement on this score too.
He says in Luke 21:28,
"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption draws near." When we begin to see the signs of
the end occurring, we are to look up—take our eyes and thoughts off the
distractions that keep us from committing ourselves to seeking the
Kingdom of God. Looking up refers to taking our eyes off earthly things
and setting our eyes on heavenly things.
To lift up our heads
means to raise our focal point and information input to a higher level.
In other words, we are to lift our minds and thoughts above what we see
around us that can distract us. Paul echoes this in Colossians 3:1-2:
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind
on things above, not on things on the earth." Our Savior says this is
the best way to be prepared for our redemption.
Signs Out Early
Jesus then gives us the Parable of the Fig Tree to help us understand how signs work. Interestingly, He says, "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees" (Luke 21:29). He does not limit the parable to just the fig tree. We know from our own experience that signs of summer or harvest are evident in many trees long before it occurs. One can see buds on a tree months before the fruit is ripe.
"When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that
summer is now near" (verse 30). When the trees are budding refers to the
time when God begins to put the pieces of the end-time puzzle into
place. Sometimes it takes several years or decades to bring forces and
nations into line with His prophetic Word.
"So you, likewise,
when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is
near" (verse 31). This means us now because we see these things
happening now! Like a farmer who knows that harvest is near, we have to
get prepared for it.
"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation
will by no means pass away till all things are fulfilled" (verse 32).
Jesus emphatically says that an entire generation will live through the
times of preparation for the return of Christ. A generation of people
can live three score and ten or more, not just three and a half years.
If this generation is the one born when the truth began to be re-proclaimed to the world through Herbert Armstrong, "this generation" is in its final years.
He then advises us, "Take heed to yourselves" (verse 34). His
instruction has narrowed to focus on each of us as individuals, not
necessarily collectively as "the church." The church is composed of
individuals, just as a body is composed of individually unique parts
with different functions (I Corinthians 12:12-27). Each part must perform as God intends so that the whole church will be healthy.
We must take heed "lest [our] hearts be weighed down with carousing,
drunkenness, and the cares of this life, that the day come on [us]
unexpectedly" (Luke 21:34).
Here, He specifically tells us not to allow ourselves to become
distracted by the world and its cares and concerns that we miss the
signs of the approaching end. "For it will come as a snare on all those
who dwell on the face of the whole earth" (verse 35). Evidently, the majority of mankind will be so distracted and miss the signs. If we work hard at coming out of this world (John 2:15), we will not follow their example.
He concludes, "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted
worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of Man." If we watch and pray
always and do our best to live according to the way of God in every
aspect of our lives—if we believe in God's promises to us of salvation
and escape, we may be "counted worthy" to be spared the sore trials of
the last days. This also suggests that if we watch, we will see the
signs and not be caught off guard and snared.
Reaping What We Sow
We can avoid the trials and tribulations that are forthcoming to some
degree or even completely if we commit to seeking first the Kingdom of
God and the attitudes and attributes that make up God's righteousness.
It is by seeking His righteousness—seeking to live right according to
His Word, law and example—that we may, by faith in the grace of God
through Christ Jesus, be accounted worthy of escaping all these things.
God will not do the changing and growing for us. He is watching to see
what we are going to do in the various situations and trials in which we
find ourselves. He promises, though, to give us what help we need: "Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
We will reap whatever we sow (Galatians 6:7),
so we need to sow righteousness to reap salvation. Paul says in the
next two verses, "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap
corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
God's promises
to us are sure if we believe as Abraham did, and this certainly includes
His promise of escape if we are counted worthy. Christ assures us, "If
you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23).
WASHINGTON (AP) —
U.S. naval forces are moving closer to Syria as President Barack Obama
considers military options for responding to the alleged use of chemical
weapons by the Assad government. The president emphasized that a quick
intervention in the Syrian civil war was problematic, given the
international considerations that should precede a military strike.
The
White House said the president would meet Saturday with his national
security team to consider possible next steps by the United States.
Officials say once the facts are clear, Obama will make a decision about
how to proceed.
Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel declined to discuss any specific force movements
while saying that Obama had asked the Pentagon to prepare military
options for Syria. U.S. defense officials told The Associated Press that
the Navy had sent a fourth warship armed with ballistic missiles into
the eastern Mediterranean Sea but without immediate orders for any
missile launch into Syria.
U.S. Navy ships are capable of a
variety of military action, including launching Tomahawk cruise
missiles, as they did against Libya in 2011 as part of an international
action that led to the overthrow of the Libyan government.
CNN
– A military jury has convicted Army Maj. Nidal Hasan of 13 counts of
murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in a November 5, 2009, shooting
rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, making it possible for the death penalty
to be considered as a possible punishment.
Let’s hope he gets the death penalty so we don’t have to pay for him to live on the public dole in prison.
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TOKYO (AP) -- Deep beneath Fukushima's
crippled nuclear power station a massive underground reservoir of
contaminated water that began spilling from the plant's reactors after
the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has been creeping slowly toward the sea.
Now, 2 1/2 years later, experts fear it is about to reach the Pacific
and greatly worsen what is fast becoming a new crisis at Fukushima: the
inability to contain vast quantities of radioactive water.
The looming crisis is potentially far greater than the discovery
earlier this week of a leak from a tank used to store contaminated water
used to cool the reactor cores. That 300-ton (80,000 gallon) leak is
the fifth and most serious since the disaster of March 2011, when three
of the plant's reactors melted down after a huge earthquake and tsunami
knocked out the plant's power and cooling functions.
But experts believe the underground seepage from the reactor and
turbine building area is much bigger and possibly more radioactive,
confronting the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with an
invisible, chronic problem and few viable solutions. Many also believe
it is another example of how TEPCO has repeatedly failed to acknowledge
problems that it could almost certainly have foreseen -- and taken
action to mitigate before they got out of control.
It remains unclear what the impact of the contamination on the
environment will be because the radioactivity will be diluted as it
spreads further into the sea. Most fishing in the area is already
banned, but fishermen in nearby Iwaki City were hoping to resume test
catches next month following favorable sampling results. Those plans
have been scrapped after news of the latest tank leak.
"Nobody knows when this is going to end," said Masakazu Yabuki, a
veteran fisherman in Iwaki, just south of the plant where scientists say
contaminants are carried by the current. "We've suspected (leaks into
the ocean) from the beginning ... TEPCO is making it very difficult for
us to trust them."
To keep the melted nuclear fuel from overheating, TEPCO has rigged a
makeshift system of pipes and hoses to funnel water into the broken
reactors. The radioactive water is then treated and stored in the
aboveground tanks that have now developed leaks. But far more leaks into
the reactor basements during the cooling process -- then through cracks
into the surrounding earth and groundwater.
Scientists, pointing to stubbornly high radioactive cesium levels in
bottom-dwelling fish since the disaster, had for some time suspected the
plant was leaking radioactive water into the ocean. TEPCO repeatedly
denied that until last month, when it acknowledged contaminated water
has been leaking into the ocean from early in the crisis. Even so, the
company insists the seepage is coming from part of a network of
maintenance tunnels, called trenches, near the coast, rather than
underground water coming from the reactor area.
"So far, we don't have convincing data that confirm a leak from the
turbine buildings. But we are open to consider any possible path of
contamination," said TEPCO spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi.
The turbine buildings at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant are about 150
meters (500 feet) from the ocean. According to a Japan Atomic Energy
Agency document, the contaminated underground water is spreading toward
the sea at a rate of about 4 meters (13 feet) a month.
At that rate, "the water from that area is just about to reach the
coast," if it hasn't already, said Atsunao Marui, an underground water
expert at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology who is on a government committee studying the contaminated
water problem. "We must contain the problem as quickly as possible."
TEPCO, nationalized and burdened with the astronomical cleanup costs,
has been criticized for repeatedly lagging in attempts to tackle
leakage problems. As a precautionary step, it has created chemical
blockades in the ground along the coast to stop any possible leaks, but
experts question their effectiveness. After a nearly two-year delay,
construction of an offshore steel wall designed to contain contaminated
water has begun.
The utility has also proposed building frozen walls -- upside down
comb-shaped sticks that refrigerate surrounding soil -- into the ground
around the reactor areas, but that still has to be tested and won't be
ready until 2015 if proved successful.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month announced the government
would intervene and provide funding for key projects to deal with the
contaminated water problem.
"This is a race against the clock," said Toyoshi Fuketa, a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Compounding TEPCO's problems is the new leak discovered this week.
Most of the 300 tons is believed to have seeped into the ground, but
some may have escaped into the sea through a rainwater gutter, said
Zengo Aizawa, the company's executive vice president.
That, too, may be a harbinger of more problems ahead.
Some 1,000 steel tanks built across the plant complex contain nearly
300,000 tons (300 million liters, 80 million gallons) of partially
treated contaminated water. About 350 of them have rubber seams intended
to last for only five years. Company spokesman Masayuki Ono said it
plans to build additional tanks with welded seams that are more
watertight, but will have to rely on rubber seams in the meantime.
Shinji Kinjo, a regulatory official in charge of the Fukushima
disaster, said the rubber-seam tanks are mostly built in a rush when the
contaminated water problem started, and often lacked adequate quality
tests and require close attention.
Workers have already spotted two more questionable tanks during inspection Thursday.
"It's like a haunted house, one thing happening after another," said
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka, referring to the
spate of problems at the plant. "But we must take any steps that would
reduce risks to avoid a fatal accident."
Leaks of highly contaminated water from the aboveground tanks aggravate the groundwater problem.
"Any contamination in the groundwater would eventually flow into the
ocean. That is very difficult to stop even with barriers," said Ken
Buesseler, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
in Massachusetts. He found that radioactive cesium levels in most fish
caught off the Fukushima coast hadn't declined in the year following the
March 2011 disaster, suggesting that the contaminated water from the
reactor-turbine areas is already leaking into the sea.
But TEPCO hasn't provided the details he and other scientists need to further assess the situation.
‘Worst-case scenario’ at Fukushima
The Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority said the cascading series
of radioactive water leaks from the Fukushima plant is approaching a
worst case scenario.
[Tepco] warned there may be hundreds more tanks like [the one leaking] on the site of the 2011 meltdown.
“We cannot waste even a minute,” [Chairman of the Japan Nuclear
Regulation Authority Shunichi Tanaka] said. “This is what we have been
fearing.” [...]
Atsunao Marui, director of research at Japan’s National Institute of
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said the situation is likely
to get worse.
“It’s important to think of the worst-case scenario,” he said.
What information appears in event logs (Event Viewer)?
You must be logged on as an administrator to perform
these steps. If you aren't logged on as an administrator, you can
change only settings that apply to your user account, and some event
logs might not be accessible.
Event logs are special files that record
significant events on your computer, such as when a user logs on to the
computer or when a
program encounters an error. Whenever these types of events occur, Windows
records the event in an event log that you can read by using Event
Viewer. Advanced users might find the details in event logs helpful when
troubleshooting problems with Windows and other programs.
Event Viewer tracks information in several different logs. Windows Logs include:
Application (program) events. Events are classified as error, warning, or information,
depending on the severity of the event. An error is a significant
problem, such as loss of data. A warning is an event that isn't
necessarily significant, but might indicate a possible future problem.
An information event describes the successful operation of a program,
driver, or service.
Security-related events. These events are called audits and are described as successful or failed depending on the event, such as whether a user trying to log on to Windows was successful.
Setup events. Computers that are configured as domain controllers will have additional logs displayed here.
System events. System events are logged by Windows and Windows system services, and are classified as error, warning, or information.
Forwarded events. These events are forwarded to this log by other computers.
Applications and Services Logs vary. They include
separate logs about the programs that run on your computer, as well as
more detailed logs that pertain to specific Windows services.
Open Event Viewer by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Event Viewer.
If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Click an event log in the left pane.
Double-click an event to view the details of the event.
Note
For detailed information about event logs, click the Help menu, and then click Help Topics.
Event Viewer is a tool that displays detailed
information about significant events (for example, programs that don't
start as expected or updates that are downloaded automatically) on your
computer. Event Viewer can be helpful when troubleshooting problems and
errors with Windows and other programs. For more information about Event Viewer, see What information appears in event logs (Event Viewer)?
Open Event Viewer by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Event Viewer.
If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Important notice for users of Windows XP: To continue receiving security updates for
Windows, make sure that you're running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3).
The support for Windows XP with Service Pack 3 ends April 8, 2014. If
you’re running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) after support ends,
to ensure that you will receive all important security updates for
Windows, you need to upgrade to a later version, such as Windows 8.
System TipThis
article applies to a different version of Windows than the one you are
using. Content in this article may not be relevant to you. Visit the Windows 7 Solution Center
This article was previously published under Q308427
In Windows XP, an event is any significant occurrence in the system or
in a program that requires users to be notified, or an entry added to a
log. The Event Log Service records application, security, and system
events in Event Viewer. With the event logs in Event Viewer, you can
obtain information about your hardware, software, and system components,
and monitor security events on a local or remote computer. Event logs
can help you identify and diagnose the source of current system
problems, or help you predict potential system problems.
Event Log Types
A Windows XP-based computer records events in the following three logs:
Application log
The application log contains events logged by programs. For example, a
database program may record a file error in the application log. Events
that are written to the application log are determined by the developers
of the software program.
Security log
The security log records events such as valid and invalid logon
attempts, as well as events related to resource use, such as the
creating, opening, or deleting of files. For example, when logon
auditing is enabled, an event is recorded in the security log each time a
user attempts to log on to the computer. You must be logged on as
Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group in order to
turn on, use, and specify which events are recorded in the security log.
System log
The system log contains events logged by Windows XP system
components. For example, if a driver fails to load during startup, an
event is recorded in the system log. Windows XP predetermines the
events that are logged by system components.
How to View Event Logs
To open Event Viewer, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, click Event Viewer.
The Application, Security, and System logs are displayed in the Event Viewer window.
How to View Event Details
To view the details of an event, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then click the log that contains the event that you want to view.
In the details pane, double-click the event that you want to view.
The Event Properties dialog box containing header information and a description of the event is displayed.
To copy the details of the event, click the Copy button,
then open a new document in the program in which you want to paste the
event (for example, Microsoft Word), and then click Paste on the Edit menu.
To view the description of the previous or next event, click the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW.
How to Interpret an Event
Each log entry is classified by type, and contains header information, and a description of the event.
Event Header
The event header contains the following information about the event:
Date
The date the event occurred.
Time
The time the event occurred.
User
The user name of the user that was logged on when the event occurred.
Computer
The name of the computer where the event occurred.
Event ID
An event number that identifies the event type. The Event ID can
be used by product support representatives to help understand what
occurred in the system.
Source
The source of the event. This can be the name of a program, a system component, or an individual component of a large program.
Type
The type of event. This can be one of the following five types: Error, Warning, Information, Success Audit, or Failure Audit.
Category
A classification of the event by the event source. This is primarily used in the security log.
Event Types
The description of each event that is logged depends on the type of
event. Each event in a log can be classified into one of the following
types:
Information
An event that describes the successful operation of a task, such
as an application, driver, or service. For example, an Information
event is logged when a network driver loads successfully.
Warning
An event that is not necessarily significant, however, may
indicate the possible occurrence of a future problem. For example, a
Warning message is logged when disk space starts to run low.
Error
An event that describes a significant problem, such as the
failure of a critical task. Error events may involve data loss or loss
of functionality. For example, an Error event is logged if a service
fails to load during startup.
Success Audit (Security log)
An event that describes the successful completion of an audited
security event. For example, a Success Audit event is logged when a
user logs on to the computer.
Failure Audit (Security log)
An event that describes an audited security event that did not
complete successfully. For example, a Failure Audit may be logged when a
user cannot access a network drive.
How to Find Events in a Log
The default view of event logs is to list all its entries. If you want
to find a specific event, or view a subset of events, you can either
search the log, or you can apply a filter to the log data.
How to Search for a Specific Log Event
To search for a specific log event, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then click the log that contains the event that you want to view.
On the View menu, click Find.
Specify the options for the event that you want to view in the Find dialog box, and then click Find Next.
The event that matches your search criteria is highlighted in the details pane. Click Find Next to locate the next occurrence of an event as defined by your search criteria.
How to Filter Log Events
To filter log events, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then click the log that contains the event that you want to view.
On the View menu, click Filter.
Click the Filter tab (if it is not already selected).
Specify the filter options that you want, and then click OK.
Only events that match your filter criteria are displayed in the details pane.
To return the view to display all log entries, click Filter on the View menu, and then click Restore Defaults.
How to Manage Log Contents
By default, the initial maximum of size of a log is set to 512 KB, and
when this size is reached, new events overwrite older events as needed.
Depending on your requirements, you can change these settings, or clear
a log of its contents.
How to Set Log Size and Overwrite Options
To specify log size and overwrite options, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then right-click the log in which you want to set size and overwrite options.
Under Log size, type the size that you want in the Maximum log size box.
Under When maximum log size is reached, click the overwrite option that you want.
If you want to clear the log contents, click Clear Log.
Click OK.
How to Archive a Log
If you want to save your log data, you can archive event logs in any of the following formats:
Log-file format (.evt)
Text-file format (.txt)
Comma-delimited text-file format (.csv)
To archive a log, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, then click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management. Or, open the MMC containing the Event Viewer snap-in.
In the console tree, expand Event Viewer, and then right-click the log in which you want to archive, and then click Save Log File As.
Specify a file name and location where you want to save the file. In the Save as type box, click the format that you want, and then click Save.
The log file is saved in the format that you specified.
For additional information about how to use Event Viewer, see Event
Viewer Help. (In the Event Viewer snap-in or in the Computer Management
window, on the Action menu, click Help).
Email account theft is rampant. If it happens to you,
there are several steps that you need to take not only to recover your
account, but to prevent it from being easily hacked again.
It seems like not a day goes by where I don’t get a question
from someone that boils down to their email account having been hacked.
Someone, somewhere has gained access to their account and has started
using it to send spam. Sometimes passwords are changed, sometimes not.
Sometimes traces are left, sometimes not. Sometimes everything in the
account is erased, both contacts and saved email, and sometimes not.
But the one thing that all of these events share is that suddenly
several people, usually those on your contact list, start getting email
from “you” that you didn’t send at all.
Your email account has been hacked.
Here’s what you need to do next…
•
1. Recover Your Account
Login to your email account via your provider’s website.
If you can, consider yourself very lucky and proceed to step 2 right away.
If you can’t login even though you know that you’re using the correct password, then it’s likely that the hacker has already changed your password.
Is it on my PC or not?
When faced with this situation, most people immediately believe that
some form of malware has entered their computer and is responsible for
email being sent out from their account. That is rarely the case.
In the vast majority of these situations, your computer was never involved.
The problem is not on your PC. The problem is simply that someone
else knows your account password and is logging into your account
online.
They could very well be on the other side of the planet from you and your PC (and often, they are).
Yes, it’s possible that a key-logger on your PC was used to sniff
your password. Yes, it’s possible that your PC was used in a non-secure
way at an open WiFi hotspots. So, yes, absolutely, scan it for malware
and use it safely, but don’t think for a moment that once you’re malware
free, you’ve resolved the problem. You have not.
You need to follow the steps outlined to the left to regain access to
your online account and protect your online account from further
compromise.
You’ll use your PC, but your PC is not the problem.
Use the “I forgot my password” or other account recovery options
offered by your email service. Typically, your provider will send
password reset instructions to an alternate email address that you do
have access to or perhaps have you answer the “secret questions” that
you set up when you created the account.
If the recovery methods don’t work – perhaps because the hacker has
also altered all of the recovery information that might be used (changed
the alternate email address or answers to the secret questions) or
perhaps because you don’t recall the answers, didn’t maintain the
alternate account, or didn’t set up any recovery information in the
first place – then you may be out of luck.
If recovery options don’t work for whatever reason, your only
recourse is to use the customer service options provided by that email
service. For free email accounts, there are usually no
phone numbers or email addresses. Your options are usually limited to
self-service recovery forms, knowledge base articles, and official
discussion forums where service representatives may (or may not)
participate. For paid accounts, there are typically additional customer
service options that are more likely to be able to help. Important: If you cannot recover access to your account, then it is now someone else’s account.
It is now the hacker’s account. Unless you’ve backed up, everything in
it is gone forever and you can skip the next two items. You’ll need to
set up a new account from scratch.
2. Change Your Password
One you regain access to your account, or if you never lost it, you should immediately change your password.
As always, make sure that it’s a good password: easy to remember,
difficult to guess, and long. In fact, the longer the better, but make
sure your new password is at least 10 characters or more and ideally 12
or more, if the service supports it.
But don’t stop here. Changing your password is not enough.
3. Change Your Recovery Information
While the hacker had access to your account, they may elect to leave
your password alone. That way, chances are you won’t notice that the
account has been hacked for a while longer.
But whether they changed your password or not, they may very well have gone in and changed the recovery information.
The reason is simple: when you finally do get around to changing your
password, the hacker can follow the “I forgot my password” steps and
reset the password out from underneath you using the recovery
information that he collected or set.
Thus, you need to check all of it and change much of it … and right away.
Change the answers to your secret questions. The answers that you
choose don’t have to match the questions (you might say your mother’s
maiden name is “Microsoft”, for example). All that matters is that the
answers that you give match the answers that you set here if you ever
need to recover your account.
Check your alternate email address or addresses associated with your
account and remove any that you don’t recognize or are no longer
accessible to you. The hacker could have added his own. Make sure that
all alternate email addresses are accounts that belong to you and that
you have access to.
Check any mobile or other phone numbers associated with the account.
The hacker could have set their own. Remove any that you don’t recognize
and make sure that if a phone number is provided, it’s yours and no one
else’s.
These are the major items, but some email services have additional
information that they can use for account recovery. Take the time now to
research what that information might be and if it’s something that
could have been altered while the hacker had access to your account.
Overlooking information that could be used for account recovery could
allow the hacker to easily hack back in; make sure that you take the
time to carefully check and reset as appropriate.
4. Check Related Accounts
This is perhaps the scariest and most time consuming.
Fortunately it’s not common, but the risks are high so understanding this is important.
While the hacker has access to your account, they have access to your
email, including both what is in your account now – past email – as
well as what arrives in the future.
Let’s say that the hacker sees that you have a notification email
from your Facebook account. The hacker now knows that you have a
Facebook account and what email address you use for it. The hacker can
then go to Facebook, enter your email address, and then request a
password reset.
A password reset that’s sent to your email account … that the hacker has access to.
As a result, the hacker can now hack your Facebook account by virtue of hacking your email account.
In fact, the hacker can now gain access to any account that has this hacked email associated with it.
Like, perhaps your bank. Or Paypal.
Let me say that again: because the hacker has access to your email account, he can request a password reset be sent to it from any other account for which you use this email address. In doing so, the hacker can hack and gain access to those accounts.
What you need to do: check your other accounts for password resets that you did not initiate and any other suspicious activity.
If there’s any doubt, consider also proactively changing the
passwords on those accounts as well. (There’s a strong argument also
for checking or changing the recovery information for these accounts
just as you checked for your email account, for all the same reasons.)
5. Let Your Contacts Know
Some may disagree with me, but I recommend letting your contacts know
that your account was hacked. Either from the account once you’ve
recovered it or from your new email account.
In particular, inform all of the contacts in the address book that’s
kept with that account online. That’s the address book that the hacker
would have had access to.
I believe it’s important to notify your contacts so that they know
not to pay attention to email sent while the account was hacked.
Occasionally, hackers will actually try to impersonate you to extort
money from your contacts. The sooner that you let them know that the
account was hacked, the sooner, they’ll know any such request – or even
the more traditional spam that might have come from your account – is
bogus.
6. Start Backing Up
One of the common reactions to my recommending you let your contacts
know is: “But my contacts are gone! The hacker erased them all and all
of my email as well!”
Yes. That happens sometimes. It’s often part of a hacker not wanting
to leave a trail – they delete everything in the account: everything
they’ve done along with everything you’ve done.
If you’re like most people, you’ve not been backing up your online
email. All I can suggest at this point is to see if your email service
will restore it for you. In general, they will not. Because the
deletion was not their doing, but rather the doing of someone logged
into the account, they may simply claim it’s your responsibility.
Hard as it is to hear, they’re right.
Start backing up your email now. Start backing up your contacts now.
For email, that can be anything from setting up a PC to periodically
download the email via POP3 or IMAP to setting up an automatic forward
of all incoming email to a different email account, if your provider
supports that. For contacts, it could be setting up a remote contact
utility (relatively rare, I’m afraid) to also mirror your contacts on
your PC or periodically exporting your contacts and downloading them
that way.
7. Learn From the Experience
Aside
from “I should have been backing up,” one of the most important lessons
to learn from the experience is to consider all of the ways that your
account could have been hacked, and then take appropriate steps to
protect yourself from a repeat occurrence in the future.
Use long passwords that can’t be guessed and don’t share them with anyone.
Don’t click on links in email that are not 100% certain of. Many phishing attempts lead you to to bogus
sites that ask you to login and then steal your password when you try.
Consider multi-factor authentication
where simply knowing the password is not enough to gain access. Most
services do not support this, but for those that do (Gmail, for
example), it’s worth considering.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to identify exactly how your
password was compromised (it’s not common), then absolutely take
measures so that it never happens again.
8. If You’re Not Sure, Get Help
If the seven steps above seem too daunting or confusing, then
definitely get help. Find someone who can help you get out of the
situation by working through the steps above.
While you’re at it, find someone who can help you set up a more
secure system for your email and can advise you on the steps that you
need to take to prevent this from happening again.
And then follow those steps.
The reality is that you and I are ultimately responsible for our own
security. That means taking the time to learn and to set things up
securely.
Yes, additional security can be seen as an inconvenience. In my
opinion, dealing with a hacked email account is significantly more
inconvenient and occasionally downright dangerous. It’s worth the
trouble to do things right.
If that’s still too much … well … expect your account to get hacked again.
9. Share This Article
As I said, email account theft is rampant.
Share this article with friends and family – statistically, you or
they will encounter someone who’s account has been hacked and who will
need this information.
A stand-alone PDF of this article is available for offline viewing: right click here
and “Save Target As…” (or equivalent) to save a copy on your PC. Feel
free to share this document with others. (Adobe Reader, FoxIt Reader, or
equivalent PDF reading application required to view the document.)
Read more:
Is changing my password enough? Changing your password is a common response to security breaches. Unfortunately, it may not be enough to recover.
How do I choose a good password? Password
security has never been more important. With occasional security
breaches at service providers, and rampant email account theft you need
to do everything you can to make sure you’re choosing and using secure
passwords.
How do I use an open WiFi hotspot safely?Open
WiFi hotspots at coffee shops, airports and other public places are
opportunities for hackers to steal information. I’ll review how to stay
safe.
Is this “Account updates!!!!!” email legitimate? ”Account
updates!!!!!” is a recent and frequent attempt at phishing. I’ll break
down why it’s so obviously bogus, to show things to look for elsewhere.
Is Windows Live Hotmail about to close my account? People
continue to fall for what more experienced users would say are
laughably bogus phishing attempts. I’ll analyze why one common attempt
is so bad.