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Richard Rossbauer's SECURITY
ALERT BLOG
(Archives Apr-May-June 2009)
Vital
Internet Security Alerts and
Information
for the everyday
Non-technical Computer user,
Internet
User and Web Surfer
who just wants
to be safe doing
basic stuff
without the hassle
of viruses, spyware, or worse.
I'm very
pleased that you're here today,
and that you're concerned about
your
computer security and family Internet Safety. I look forward to
your early
return to the Security Alert Blog.
Using the
Web Feed or book-marking this page will make it a lot easier to
visit
again.
June
29, 2009Avoiding Internet Sharks
and Scam Artists
In this period of economic turmoil, more and more people are
looking at adding to their income using the Internet. Although most of
these people are honest, some are simply predators preying on the the urgent need of
many.
They present themselves as providers with offers of money
making schemes - often with outrageous claims of easily attained
riches with little or no effort.
They are the ultimate "Scam Artists".
If you are one of the
many considering the Internet as a source for earning some extra
income, keep in mind the old caveats, "Buyer Beware", and "If it
sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
How do you check if an offer is legitimate or not?
There are Websites that outline
scams online. A simple Google search will turn up several top
Websites and it is always a good idea to check and see what is not
recommended.
Most online work at home jobs are
scams. There are more people who want to work at home
than there are jobs, so it doesn't make
(more HERE)
June
26, 2009
ID Theft on the Increase - Are You Prepared?
Have you heard the radio and TV commercial reporting that an
identity theft takes place every 3 seconds?
Exaggerated or not, it's still an alarming thought. However, there
is something we can all do to prepare ourselves to
minimize our chances of being one of the victims.
We can learn about and understand how the perpetrators operate, and
what steps to take if we do become victimized. Here are
links to resources on my websites that should be in your
library - they are all free.
► 5
Part course on Avoiding Identity Theft ....
CLICK HERE
June 22, 2009Here's how
I plan to protect my computer this summer,
what are your plans?
In the
recent issue of my "Security Alert NewsReporter",
there's an update on the current virus and Trojan Horse
threat activity and some advice on Rogue software which
is designed to fool us into believing our computers have
more viruses and worms than they may actually have.
There is also a lot of Free advice on protecting your computers,
advice in the form of a series of lessons and eCourses
that I hope you use.
This issue is different, however. There's an optional version to
the usual text email. You can read it
here (and I hope you will use the email link to give
me your opinion - the version you can read in your
browser, or the email text version)
Summer vacation time is soon here for us to enjoy - the
criminal element doesn't take vacations - they're using
all of their time to try to trap us - stealing whatever, and however they can.
June
3, 2009How to Protect your Computer when You Are
Online -
and Offline
Technological advances,
increasingly sophisticated software, faster
networks and online communication have brought many benefits for
everyday computer users. However, with these advances have come increased security risks. When cyber criminals harness this very
same
technology to further their evil ends, many previously unknown risks
lie in wait to trap the unprepared, often hidden among the social
networks.
The following should be a review for the more experienced computer
user, but some of these threats could be new to the lesser
experienced web surfers.
Here are some common threats and ways to
handle them:
Viruses - These malicious software codes cause undesirable effects
on our computers. A virus is designed to spread itself without the
knowledge of the computer user. A computer may become infected
through downloads from the internet using CD's, floppy disks, or
other
storage devices with infected programs, or from other computers on
the network. Another extremely common way viruses spread is
through infected email attachments.
Given the many modes of transmission, computer viruses
are clearly a threat online as well as offline. The old adage
"Prevention is better than the cure" is particularly true in the
case of computer viruses. You can save yourself a lot of virus
grief and many hours of misery by avoiding infection in the first
place.
May 8, 2009 Have you
been a victim of Internet Crime?
If you have,
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) accepts
online Internet crime complaints from either the person
who believes they were defrauded or from a third party
to the complainant. If you have been victimized, your can file a complaint at
their website.
In their recent Press Release (03/31/09) The Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3) announced their "IC3 2008
Annual Report on Internet Crime".
The Report states that complaints of online crime hit a record high
in 2008. IC3 received a total of 275,284 complaints, a
33.1% increase over the previous year.
The total dollar loss linked to online fraud was $265 million,
about $25 million more than in 2007.
The average individual loss amounted to $931.
While the complaints consisted of a variety of fraud types, non-delivery
of merchandise and/or payment ranked number one (32.9%).
Internet auction fraud was the second most reported
offense (25.5%) followed by
(read
more)
April 25, 2009
Free report on
"Avoiding Current Security Threats"
There are still some unresolved issues with the
Conficker worm.
As of this writing, the worm, which started spreading to
millions of
computers last year, appears to be turning its infected
hosts into servers for e-mail spam, security experts
recently reported.
Apparently, the payload has been made more of a threat
by adding a second virus, called Waledac which
adds infected computers to botnets which send out e-mail
spam.
And yet a third virus carried by Conficker prompts
infected PC owners to purchase a fake (rogue software)
anti-virus program called
Spyware Protect 2009 for $49.95. (Don't
fall for it!)
But you can take steps to avoid these security threats,
and I have outlined them in a new report you can have
for
Free.
This report is an update and a bit of an overview of the
information published in my newsletters, blog and
websites.
It covers the basics of what to look for and
how to prepare your computer to avoid the next high risk
threat. It's a quick download (PDF file) which you
can obtain by going to the registration page and leaving
your email address so that the download instructions can
be sent to your email inbox.
Get Free Report here and share this web address with
your friends so the emails you get from them are clean
and free of malware.
April 18, 2009More and More
Rogue Software -
Seems like they're Everywhere
If you
aren't careful, you can be duped unto
buying antivirus software that is actually a fake -
designed to steal your money and often load your system
with malicious code that continues to pop-up false
alerts of virus infections.
How can you tell which ones are fake? It isn't
easy because the purveyors of these criminal ploys are
extremely talented and clever. The stuff they are
promoting - like Antivirus'09 - is so well
presented that even some more experienced web surfers
have been trapped.
So that you don't get trapped with this one, take
a look at the pictures of it at the
Sunbelt Software Company's Blog.
These images will help you recognize it - and avoid it.
...Richard
The first place I saw this was on Paul Myers
TalkBizNews newsletter. It's an easy and simple
method that could identify the presence of the Conficker
worm on your PC
Here's how it works - Go to this page for the "Conficker
Eye Chart"
There are 6 images at the top of the page. If you can
see all 6 images, you are probably not infected
with the worm.
If it looks like your machine is infected,
disconnect it from the Internet immediately. Go to
another system that's not infected, and get Microsoft's
Malicious Software Removal Tool.
April 2, 2009 So the Conficker worms
didn't execute on April 1st -
so What?
Doesn't mean it doesn't exist - it does - and still
presents a potential problem. But your computer is safe
if ...
...if it is up to date with all the Microsoft patches
If your computer is not infected, you really do not have a problem
- it has to be infected for a "disaster" to happen.
However, to protect against it becoming infected, make sure you
have an
up-to-date
anti-virus program installed,
anti-spywaresoftware, and your Microsoft
Security patches are current.
If you aren't sure that your Microsoft Security patches are up to
date,
you can download the latest at the
Microsoft
Update Web site
And of course you have a firewall program - right? If not, get a
FREE
top of the line one here -
"Sunbelt Personal Firewall"
Be prepared for "when ever"
the Conficker owners do instruct it to perform some nefarious
deed.
... Richard
Don't
hesitate to express
your views and opinions on my Security Alert Blog and Cyber
Security Alert postings (easily done by clicking on
the highlighted 'COMMENT' |
at each post. Watch for postings on fraud alerts,
virus alerts, worm alerts, Internet Security alerts, security scams,
parental controls, online predators, net security, and more. Be sure to visit our
Firewalls-and-Virus Protection website for even more help
Evergreen
Update your Emergency Virus Protection program
If
you don't have your Virus Protection program yet, here's an
Emergency Step you should take, Right Now!
McAfee offers a FREE Virus Scanning program named STINGER.
It has grown in size a little over the past few years and no longer fits on a single floppy Disk.
But so many of the newer PCs, including lap tops don't have a "A" floppy
drive anyway, you should burn it to a CD or memory stick for an offline back up tool.
You can use it as we do, to check
any of your PC computers for viruses, without being on line.
It is an 'After the Fact' application, which means that it does not scan
incoming email files, attachments or downloads, but it does scan whatever
you have already received online.
It currently checks, and repairs over 200 recent viruses. It's FREE
to download fromMcAfee
STINGER
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