Microsoft License Scam?
Folks, a reader wrote and asked me about a phone call they received. The (female) caller claimed to be from Microsoft, and warned the reader that their “Windows license had expired”…
This is a scam. Don’t fall for it. Hang up. And, please, warn your friends and family. As this ‘thread’ says, Microsoft would not call you unsolicited. Nor would they know if any errors existed on your computer.
The article has good information on scams and what you can do. Again, click here to read more.
And thank you Dear Reader for bringing this to my attention.
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Today’s quote: “I don’t believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” ~ Ken Venturi
Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
While I was away…
Let’s take a look at some of the recent headlines in Tech. (In no particular order..)
* FCC privacy rules can’t stop ‘gold rush’ in personal data
“The flourishing ‘surveillance capitalism’ that profits from selling consumers’ personal data will be little affected by the new rules.” Read More..
* Malvertising Campaign Hits Top Websites to Spread Ransomware
“Hackers are always in search for an elite method to create loopholes in the cyberspace to implement the dark rules in the form of vulnerability exploitation. Top Trustworthy sites such as The New York Times, BBC, MSN, AOL and many more are on the verge of losing their face value as a …” Read more..
* Warning — Hackers can Silently Install Malware to Non-Jailbroken iOS Devices
“Hard time for mobile phone users! Just recently, two severe vulnerabilities in Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and Stagefright were spotted on the Android platform, affecting more than a Billion and Millions of devices respectively. And now: Hackers have discovered a new way to install malicious apps ..” Read more..
* Apple users, beware: First live ransomware targeting Macs …
“Security researchers have discovered what they believe to be the first-ever ransomware attack targeted at Apple users that actually made it out …” Read more..
* Android Trojan infiltrates mobile firmware, Trend Micro apps
“An Android Trojan which displays unwanted ads and installs nuisance software on mobile devices has been discovered in the firmware of smartphones and in popular Android applications, according to researchers.” Read more..
[ “firmware” is chip-level coding, which comes into play when you first power up, but before the operating system (and therefore, any ‘anti-virus’) launches. ]
* The 18 scariest computer viruses of all time (slideshow)
And, there’s also Apple vs the F.B.I., and other delightful stories… But.. none of them are happy.
Today’s quote: “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
From Romania, With Love
Unfortunately the ‘real deal’ is: something like 98% of you will think that clicking the link would take you to Costco…
not knowing that if you ‘hover’ your cursor over the hyperlink (the blue, click-on-’em words) and look at the lower left corner of your web browser (aka “Internet Explorer”, “Firefox”, “Chrome”) the actual destination web address (aka “URL”) is displayed — in this case, a very strange looking name, followed by “.ro” (not “costco.com“, the real Costco website) — which stands for “Romania” (no, I don’t expect you to know that, but these days there’s Google..).
Which I guarantee is set up to attack your computer should you be so *naive* as to click the link. Because you were curious who was ordering from Costco in your name, maybe.. And badda-bing, badda-boom, you got viruses, and now some ‘hacker’ is ordering big screen TV’s and snow tires with your money.
This email is just one sample of the common “phishing attack”. Please, please, please, please! I know you’ve heard the term before, but do you KNOW what that means? I mean… backwards-and-forwards?
That’s not from Costco. There was no order. Your email was picked at random. Someone is is simply casting a net, “phishing” for the gullible and unaware. (But don’t feel bad, top-level CEO’s fall for these emails too.)
Short version: never, repeat, never, open unsolicited emails. No matter how they might tickle your curiosity bone.
The Internet is chock-a-block-filled with vile, evil people, on their worst behavior. You need to be on guard, and always wear protection.
(If you think you are immune, because you use a Mac, or Linux, you are just plain wrong.)
Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)
10 top security threats of 2014
Folks, this really is a ‘must read’, even if you are not a techy.
* 10 top security threats of 2014 (so far)
“One email spiked with innocuous-looking malware to a vendor cost Target an estimated 40 million credit cards and 70 million user accounts at the crest of 2014, beginning a year which made our own employees, coworkers, friends and family one of the biggest security threats of the year…
Non-technical people were 2014’s favorite targets for malicious hackers, from data dealing crime rings to targeted corporate espionage attacks...
F-Secure’s Mobile Threat Report Q1 2014 was a bucket of cold water in terms of just how pervasive attacks on typical users are, and how they can spread through apps into businesses.” Read more (please) …
I hadn’t heard the term “the snappening”.. had you? (And I would move her #4 to #1.)
Today’s quote: “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” ~ Jim Rohn
Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)
SB 153 + Fun Video
Folks, here’s another pretty picture for your Sunday.
Click on image to see more by this artist (reco’d)
untitled, by Craig Deakin, courtesy of Flickr Commons.
Sunday Ugly:
Please understand – even if you are a parent, and even if you are worried about bad people in your neighborhood, you must resist your curiosity and remember to NEVER OPEN UNSOLICITED EMAIL. Period. End of story.
This is a classic “phishing” attack (yes, attack). You simply must be rather paranoid when you’re on the Internet — because they are trying to get you (and/or your computer). The psychology behind this one is pretty obvious.. and sadly, thousands will open it.
Friday Fun Video (kinda late)
* * *
Today’s quote: “Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.” ~ John Perry Barlow
Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)
Expidited Delivery Problem
Take a look at the image below, and tell me how many ‘red flags’ you can spot.
… she seems kind of proud of herself …
Yes, folks. Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean we’ve left Threat Level Red cybercrime season.
Please be on the alert, and THINK before you click. On the Internet, curiosity CAN hurt you (yes, shouting). [note: when you “open”, or ‘download’, you’re bypassing your antivirus/firewall. So you better be sure it’s safe.]
Today’s quote: “We have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money.” ~ Davy Crockett
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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