Identity theft, phishing and Scareware

Phishing scams and attacks have been the preferred medium for thieves and hackers to steal your personal information, then your cash. Any request for data, whether online or offline, should sound the alarm in your head: Identity theft alert!

Most people have heard about phishing scams, and are reasonably guarded against them. But criminals are very inventive and imaginative, and are constantly dreaming up new ways to deceive us and bilk us out of our hard earned money.

One method that has been around for a while called "scareware." It works well. Suddenly you get a pop-up on the screen, a warning that your PC has been suspected of being infected with a virus. The picture looks like the common dialog box we are used to seeing from Windows, so they are not very suspicious.

You see a link to a website where you can buy a program to remove the malware. However, if you buy and run the software, that will do the opposite. Now - the real virus and spyware are installed on your computer. This malware will scan your computer for credit card numbers, passwords and bank details. Worse, the hacker is in fact charging the credit card you used for the purchase. Trust us, we have seen this four times in the last week!

How did pop onto your computer first? You may have inadvertently dropped a phishing scam. Or, you may have been the victim of a drive-by download. You visit a site well-known and respected site that had been already attacked and compromised. Simply visiting caused a malicious program that downloads and installs on your computer, without any further action on your part.

Here are two other common avenues of attack: you click on an advertisement on Google or news site. The announcement had been placed by a hacker. This takes you to a malicious website that infects the PC. Or thieves determine what is popular and in the news these days. Then, create web sites that deal with these issues.

They are also distributed through optimization techniques, which receive their pages appear in the top 10 Google search results. This is called poisoning the results. Clicking one of these "false" results, you get a pop-up scareware malware or otherwise.

Twitter and other social networking sites have been attacked several times, using different combinations and variations of the above methods. A recent survey revealed that nearly half of Internet users who rely on their safety programs were being protected. But in fact, programs were not updated, so it hardly provides any protection at all. Identity theft alert!

Your antivirus software must be updated every day. Anti-spyware programs are updated once a week. A couple times a month, check Windows updates for your computer.

Before usingweb-searched useful tips, you must be careful how close that pop-up on the screen. If you click the pop-up menu itself or the small red X in the upper right, rather than close the dialog box, you can actually start downloading malicious software! So do the following:

Click the tab pop-up in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, and click Close. If this fails, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete. Find your browser in the list of running programs, and click End Task. Then turn off pop-up windows together on your browser.

So what should you do if, unfortunately, you fell into the trap and buy the software? Disconnect from the Internet. call your financial accounts and tell them your computer has been compromised, IMMEDIATELY! View your statements of credit cards closely over the coming months. Report any unauthorized charges at once. MOST importantly, get professional help. That FREE security software your provider gave you or that came with your computer can't be trusted. After all, where was it when you got the infection?

Get all software from trusted sources only. Never buy anything in response to a pop-up or spam. Keep all your programs and applications updated often, not just security software. Hackers love to use Adobe Reader or Flash, or media players to attack. I know that malware removal all day can be a long and tedious dillema.

But a relatively painless way to do this is to use the Managed Services Program to repel infections and the unlimited U.S.-based Phone and Remote Support is always available when a new infection is released into the wild and access your computer before anti-infection definitions are created. Remember, nothing is 100% effective, as 12 new infections are released every day..

Identity theft is a complicated and expensive. It may take a year of frustration and gnashing of teeth to get your life back on track. The good news is that the application of these guidelines, plus a little common sense should keep you secure. Happy (and safe!) Surfing.

Mini-Post About Apple's Boast:

Steve Jobs from Apple on the rise of the iPad and the fall of the PC

FYI... while the iPad creates a frenzy; like the iPhone - there are copycats. Asus and HP have their own versions, and unlike Apple, you don't have to go to the store to get apps to run on these platforms. You see, the iPad requires the user to download everything from Apple's iTunes Store, while the PC-platform versions allow apps to come from multiple sources. Most of the good ones won't come without a price tag, although once the open-source community grabs a hold of it, then lots of free apps will trickle on down the line. Also, a word of advice; just like when a new restaurant opens, you usually wait a while for everything to fall into place before trying it out. There will be updates, service packs and continuous new versions morphing out of every nook and cranny. remember the first touchscreen on a phone? The first eReader? No matter who you choose to go with, let the 1st-Gen work out the kinks before you plunk down all your bets on the first horse out of the gate! ~ Miles West, President, A Geek To Go!

A Geek To Go! Takes Caribbean By Storm!

Or rather, by full moon.

After much remote conversation between two companies in both St. John and St. Thomas, Miles West, Owner of A Geek To Go! L.L.C. established a footing with companies on both islands, offering his branded unlimited U.S.-based telephone and remote support for PC's. Apparently both businesses were hopping and had not seen any signs of the recession that affected the rest of us last (and current) year. The remote support service will greatly relieve these companies of repeat/return visits while providing first and second-tier support to subscribers using the Managed Services Program (M.S.P.) and will offer greater leverage over existing support options.

They drive on the wrong side of the road!

We've been there, done that... but in these islands it is particularly hilly and there are tight corners to navigate. Quite a lot of business humming along for such small areas, but logistics are key, so the M.S.P will become a welcomed asset. A Geek To Go! uses state-of-the-art managed services software and encryption to allow for remote support to and from any computer in the world.

Next stop? Puerto Rico in October 2010

Internet Safety for Kids - published by Sag Harbor Press

This is very good scope of the burgeoning issue that we face in ALL municipalities.

Many thanks to the SAG community for sharing this online post!

School officials and Sag Harbor parents say problems of cyber bullying, online chatting, and most recently “sexting,” have been brewing in the district for many years. Before this week, instances of risky online behavior were handled amongst the children, at home or in the guidance counselors office.

But tonight, Thursday, January 14, US Congressman Tim Bishop and Detective Rory Forrester with the Suffolk County Police Department will host an Internet safety program at Pierson High School at 7 p.m. Local parents hope to bring this issue to light and reach out to the whole community to raise awareness about children’s vulnerability on the Internet. Sag Harbor students in grades six through eight, will also attend a modified version of the program during the day.

“We want to help parents understand what is going on with our kids,” said elementary school assistant principal Donna Denon. The program, which is paid for through a grant secured by Congressman Bishop and presented at schools throughout Suffolk County, is sponsored at Pierson with the help of the Sag Harbor Parenting Center, The Sag Harbor Elementary PTA and the Pierson Parent Teacher Student Association. Of the children’s portion, Denon added, “According to Det. Forrester, research shows this age group is the most influenced. Their developmental age isn’t catching up. If we can target this middle school age group and raise awareness we will have better success in high school.”

According to parents and middle school guidance counselor Carl Brandl, jabs aren’t only reserved for the bathroom wall or the playground anymore. Verbal forms of cruelty have now gone viral. Parent Mary Anne Miller, whose daughter is a fifth-grader, said cyber bullying is present in the older elementary school grades and takes many shapes. Students use Facebook to write demeaning things about a fellow classmate, noted Miller. Brandl referenced a Facebook application called the “Truth Box” which can be added to a child’s profile. On the website, the application is advertised as a way to learn “what your friends really think about you” by allowing them to post anonymous comments.

“In the old days you would get bullied on the playground and then it was finished. Cyber bullying is never ending. It can go on for weeks or months. It is a continuous dialogue,” remarked Miller. “The children are hurting and disrespecting each other.”

Another arena of the Internet Det. Forrester finds particularly disconcerting is “sexting,” in which young adults send racy or sometime obscene texts, photographs or videos to one another. The prevalence of “sexting,” said Det. Forrester, spiked as smart phones with Internet access and cameras became ubiquitous.

While working on the Internet safety program, Det. Forrester learned of a 12-year-old girl from Mount Sinai who made a revealing video of herself. The video was eventually posted online by someone else and now when people type in this young girl’s nickname her homemade movie pops up in the search results. Det. Forrester noted that legislation hasn’t caught up to the advances in technology and how children are using these new mediums. Technically, by producing this video, the girl created child pornography which is a felony charge. If convicted she could become a registered sex offender. Det. Forrester added these videos and images are often intended for one recipient but with the click of one button the intended receiver can distribute the information throughout a whole school district and community.

“The laws need to be adjusted for what is going on. I know a lot of states are struggling with this,” said Det. Forrester, adding that some states have resorted to charging children as a way to curtail these practices.

Children may have the skill set to readily adapt with technology but Brandl argues developmentally they aren’t prepared to connect their actions online with any possible consequences. Brandl said he receives reports of cyber bullying nearly ever day and although he wouldn’t elaborate on instances of “sexting,” he said the Sag Harbor school district wasn’t immune to this problem.

“There really isn’t a whole lot of foresight with what they are doing today and how it will impact them 30 minutes, a month, or a year down the road. Their brains are still developing,” explained Brandl. “A major theme of my job is showing them that what they do right now will have an impact later.”

Brandl noted that children also find a greater comfort in saying cruel things online instead of face to face.

To help control this behavior, as part of the program, Det. Forrester will teach children to “think before they send. In addition, he will also school them on the ways to protect their online information by establishing and understanding privacy settings.

Because Internet companies’ incentives are to increase the number of subscribers, noted parent Chris Tice, who has worked in the Internet business, the onus is on parents to monitor their children’s online accessibility and activity.

“Parents can set the parameters for how their kids use these technologies. They can make sure there isn’t a computer in their room or put filters on any of their electronic media so the kids can’t accidentally go to the wrong site,” said Tice. “I think many parents hand their children computers and don’t install that kind of software.” In an elementary school survey Brandl helped complete five years ago, nearly 85 percent of students in fourth grade said they had computers their parents couldn’t monitor.

Det. Forrester suggests first and foremost that parents become involved in their children’s Internet and texting habits. He tells parents to know which sites their children are visiting, open a dialogue about the Internet with their youngsters, join Facebook and become a friend of their children’s and also take a close look at their phone bills.

“I think parents in general just want to understand more of what their kids are doing. It is kind of out of sight and out of view, right now,” added Denon.

Technology is growing so rapidly and has become such a common resource in society, officials say parents need to address these critical issues instead of ignoring them. Parents and educators hope the benefits provided by the Internet to young minds will be tempered with increased awareness surrounding its dangers as well.

Pre-registration for the Internet safety program is required. Please contact Mrs. Cohen at 725-5301 for more information.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bookmark & Share:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

This post was written by:

Marissa Maier - who has written 308 posts on The Sag Harbor Express.

Contact the author

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off-topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Terms of Service

Opinions

• Express Editorials
• Letters To The Editor
• Our Town
• Point Of View
• Suffolk Close-up

Blogs

• It’s Germane
• Sag Hampton
• Sag Harbor Days

More posts in this category

• This Category's RSS Feed

Pictures of the Week - See all photos

A Geek To Go! Bio Published by the Charleston, SC Post & Courier

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jan/07/computer-business-inspired-geeks-calif-workplace/

Computer business inspired by 'geeks' in Calif. workplace

By Edward Fennell

The Post and Courier

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Miles West says he can get the bugs out of your computer and keep them away, but does that make him a geek?

West, 41, owns AGeekToGo Internet-security and data-recovery service, which he founded five years ago and operates out of his James Island home.

His Weimaraner, Blue, is always by his side in his home office and sometimes accompanies the business owner on house calls.

Photo by Edward Fennell

The Post and Courier

Miles West created AGeekToGo! computer Internet-security and data-recovery service and safeguards about 50 clients' home computers from Internet worms, viruses and malware.

But before launching a career in the subject dearest to him — computers — West held jobs in the film industry in Los Angeles, at an Internet startup service in Santa Barbara and even a Charleston-area coffee shop.

"After 11 years out in crazy L.A., I got burned out," said West, adding that he missed Southern living, so he returned to the Lowcountry. After a succession of odd jobs, he knew what he wanted to do.

"I always liked anything to do with the computer," he said.

Hailing from Murrells Inlet, West graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach and earned a media arts degree in 1992 at the University of South Carolina. He headed to California for work when the Internet field was a fledgling enterprise.

While with a firm helping customers to get online, West "hung out with the real geeks — the guys that looked like they were from 'Revenge of the Nerds' with the pocket protectors and the tape on their glasses," he said.

"These guys could not get a date, and I did OK with the dating scene. I told them, 'If you'll teach me your computer skills, I'll tell you what girls like to hear,' " he said.

West said his computer knowledge grew by gigabytes, but he's not sure if the information exchange benefited the computer guys.

"I don't know how much they learned, but they haven't called back," he added.

West put out some fliers advertising tech support for computer owners, and while he was well-versed in PCs (personal computers), the first call he got was from the owner of the rival home computer, the Mac.

He said he told the caller "sure" he could help, though he knew nothing about the Mac, and then rushed out and bought "Mac for Dummies."

He said he made good money with computer services but decided to head back to South Carolina. In between some odd jobs, he was hired to shoot video at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

West said the knowledge and dedication to their tasks that he saw in the guys he once worked with inspired the AGeekToGo name he chose for his new firm. But West is confident he's not really a geek himself.

From the beginning, West's computer business faced considerable competition. Local electronics stores field their own teams of experts that help residential and business customers set up and maintain their computers. West said he decided to carve out a niche for himself by focusing on Internet security.

"I knew I had to diversify. My motto is: If you keep on doing the same thing, you're going to get the same results," he said.

West said many computer users are finding that viruses and trojan malware are getting tougher to block and remove. Youths who do a lot of downloading inadvertently let in these computer infections, which, he said, are persistent at finding ways around or through the common household computer protection programs.

West said he developed plans for keeping his customers' PCs free of data destroying and operating-system-crippling infections. "I've worked with a lot of good security programs and bundled them together," he said.

West said the protection program he devised "runs automatically and independently," but should a bug slip by, he makes house calls.

West said he has about 50 clients now, about 90 percent of them residential.

"I do work with some businesses, but my niche is the residential market," he said.

For information, see ageektogo.net.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 937-5560.

A Geek To Go! Partners with Trend Micro for Broader Array of Managed Services Program (M.S.P.)

The contract for A Geek to Go has been approved.

North American Distribution Channel Support 500 E Border St, 7th Floor, Arlington, TX 76010 Office: 888-762-8736

Exciting news! We are developing a new line of our Managed Services Programs (M.S.P.'s) for both home and commercial users. Stay tuned for further details by week's end!

A Geek To Go Managed Services Program sets milestone in the Recession Years

People are finally waking up and realizing that Managed Services are truly the way to go! No longer having to worry about updating your security, running scans and horrible support, referrals are driving mad interest to our M.S.P. program. While built primarily on a business-based model, we have tweaked it to support residential users as well, coupled with Mozy, the leader for online remote backups. Since most customers wince when their drives fail, because they have never backed up their data, they choose the Mozy way which offers unlimited automated remote storage to their servers in Utah. We can recover just about anything, but a managed computer with remote backup is the way to go!

Thanks to T. West of Georgetown for becoming our 50th MSP customer since we started last spring!