A Quick Tip, A ‘Don’t Miss’, And A Mini-rant.
Let’s get started. An alert reader woke me up to this highly recommended limited-time deal (thank you).
It’s WinPatrol..What are you waiting for? GET IT!
Two Day Only 99 Cent Experimental Sale!
This is a lifetime license.
”As in the past, this will be a limited time only “experiment” starting at Noon EST on Monday, April 16th 2012 and will end Noon EST on Wednesday April 18th, 2012.”
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Quick tip: In doing some research for the purchase of a HDTV, I have found an excellent resource for those shopping for new audio/visual devices: complete with product reviews. This very respected place is Crutchfield, and to visit their shopper’s advice area, click here.
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Old Tech Paul is a pretty important guy, don’tcha know? Not only do I receive email from the United Nations and the FBI on a regular basis, I also have friends in other areas of the diplomatic corps..
Because the ISP’s routinely block most of the more obvious cases, most people have no idea what all this investment in “high tech” and the “world wide web” is being used for. Here is the current use of the 1’s and 0’s being pushed through our “infrastructure” right now.
Unfortunately, most of that spam is being sent from our own computers. (The one’s that have been infected and turned into “spambots”.. usually a fact unknown by their owners.) Fortunately, some people are finally taking “botnets” seriously.. maybe it’s too early to say, but some are arguing that progress is being made on this front. At least on a technical level, that may be true.. But what can we do to “fix” the humans that think sending this stuff (spam) is a good idea?
Today’s free link: a quite excellent resource page, Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls – A free guide to reducing unwanted or intrusive advertising
Today’s free download: Think it might be possible that you have been ‘botted’? One tool to help you find out is the free RUBotted from Trend Micro.. recently improved.
RUBotted monitors your computer for potential infection and suspicious activities associated with bots. Bots are malicious files that enable cybercriminals to secretly take control of your computer. Upon discovering a potential infection, RUBotted will identify and clean them with HouseCall.
Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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If You Have An Android Phone, Read This
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has posted an article that all smart phone owners should be aware of, and Android owners should read very carefully. It contains a list of apps that have been poisoned to “root” your phone and steal all your info.. and maybe do more than that. Worse (scarier), these apps are on the app Marketplace. And, I may have downloaded one.
Stolen apps that root Android, steal data and open backdoors available for download from Google Market
“To many of its fans, the openness and freedoms offered by the Android mobile operating systems is one of its main selling points. But that openness come with a price – it makes it easy for nefarious types to sneak malware into apps. And that’s exactly what they are doing.”
I am going to provide his list of infected apps, but just because you don’t see one you recognize as having installed doesn’t mean you should skip reading his article (click here to read it). It contains info we all should know.
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Toward the bottom of his article is a link to another of his articles, which describes what you need to know to keep your phone safer.
Again, this is important enough that I am asking you to read the article (click here to read it) and forward it to all your friends and family who own smart phones. Android, and Google’s app Marketplace are not the only targets of the cybercriminals. Apple’s store is no better off, and they do not vet their apps for malware.
Makes me glad I haven’t used my phone to check my balance…
Related: Study: Cybercrime cost firms $1 trillion globally (that would be in 2010..)
Data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage last year, according to a new study from McAfee.
Make no mistake: the Evil Doers are going after all Internet-connected devices.
It’s a brave new world.
How nice. Someone is trying to send me a free computer. I like free computers.
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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Layer 8
Folks, cleaning infected computers has me quite busy today, and it also caused me to decide to reiterate for you an important concept: each one of the machines on my workbench had up-to-date, for pay, antivirus and/or Internet Security Suite products installed.
Yet here they are — infected.
(Okay, now I’ll tell you about the title of this article. “Layer 8” is a play on the 7-layer OSI model of machine function. “Layer 8” translates to: “the human using the machine”.)
3 of the 4 machines (on my bench) were infected using the Trojan method – the User (unwittingly) downloaded and installed (willingly and on purpose) the infection. Please read Download Danger – the “Trojan” if you have not already.
The 4th machine was “drive-by” infected via unpatched (out-of-date) software. The User was in the habit of clicking “Remind me later” and never actually finding a convenient time to click “Install” when prompted by a pop-open. They visited a website that had been “poisoned” by a hacker and the hacker’s code attacked the unpatched vulnerability… no action on the User’s part was required.
The cure for this one is to realize that nothing you are doing on your PC is more important than applying the “a newer version”/”update”, as these releases are SECURITY fixes. (Yes.. I’m shouting.) To make sure you don’t have any unpatched/obsolete software on your system, click here, and then click on “Start scanner”.
Allow me to repeat:
I have written many articles regarding the epidemic that is “cybercrime”, and done my best to keep my readers informed about current scams, hacker techniques (like “social engineering” and “phishing“), as well as malware (Spyware, Trojans, worms, viruses, keyloggers, etc.) and provided you with advice and How-To’s for staying safer online.
(i.e., I have told you that malware has evolved into military-grade instruments.)
One item I have mentioned several times is the use of a free “online virus scanner” to help detect and remove malware that has managed to sneak past your current defenses (and don’t kid yourself, there are plenty of types that are capable of this trick). There are many such scanners out there, and some of them are fakes designed to trick you into thinking you’re infected — I suggest you avoid those!
Internet Security writer Bill Mullins published what I think is the perfect summary and analysis of the “good” online virus scanners, and their uses. I highly recommend you visit Think You’re Infected? Find Out – Run An Online Scanner From Your Browser and learn about these very important (free) tools.
Related: To read my other articles on malware, and how to deal with it, click here.
If you would like to hire me to clean your infection, click here.
Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. 
post to jaanix.
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Deja Vu All Over Again.. Skype Says It Found A Trojan…
Folks, criminals are once again using Skype to send phishing “chats” in an attempt to defraud you, and get you to click poisoned links. So, I am re-posting this article. It is the exact same ruse I first warned of in early 2008, but (again) the name has changed.
This criminal attack will reappear every so often (roughly every 90 days) with a slightly different name and URL… It is a classic scareware attack. They just send it to all the Skype users whose name starts with A.. then to the B’s.. etc.
Chat Message Scares Reader Into Installing Malware
Yesterday a Skype chat window opened on my machine, and presented me with a dire warning from someone named “Software Update”, “Registry Scan Online®”, “OnlineUpdate.org”, Today’s flavor (I think it was “OnlineRegistry®”..). It said that “WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION” and, it provided me with a solution. 
(Click on image to see large version)
Please, folks, tell me you have spotted this for what it is. Please tell me that you knew –instantly– that this is a cybercrime attempt; that it is Phraud-ulent.
Please tell me that you know what will happen if the link provided in this message is clicked; and, please, please, please tell me you would never click the link.
Just in case you aren’t sure:
* “Software Update”, “Registry Scan Online ®”, Today’s flavor, doesn’t exist.
* “http://www.onlinemonitor.info”, “http://www.registryscan.com”, Today’s flavor, is not registered in ARIN (the registry of Internet addresses).
* clicking the link will allow scripts to run, and/or take you to a poisoned Website which will install malware on your machine, or/and it may take you to a site that will sell you a rogue anti-spyware program
(please read my article, Is that antispyware program really spyware).
* Microsoft DOES NOT alert you via Instant Messaging. No legitimate company does. Period. Ever!
This is a classic example of a hacker’s attempt to get you to click their link.
All of this so they can rip you off. It’s these cyber-criminal’s full time job.
Please point your less-savvy friends and family to this article and educate them to the dangers of spam (unsolicited) messages and tell them– NEVER CLICK THE LINK. (Yes, I am shouting. 2010 is days away, and I still have to say this everyday.. Sigh.)
[Note: while this article directly references the (VoIP client) Skype, you may see this type of thing in other Instant Messaging/Chat programs, and social networking communications.]
[addenda: Peter Parkes (Skype Blogger) wrote and asked me to remind my readers to, quote, “Please report users who send these messages to abuse@skype.net – that will help us to block them where appropriate.”]
Today’s free downloads(s): I have assembled on my Website a collection of links to the best free anti-malware programs to help you prevent infection.. and clean up if you’ve been infected. To see them, click here.
Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.
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Poisoned E-mail From Amazon
Transaction Notice Has Virus Attachment
Cybercriminals have started using an old trick with a new twist — sending spam e-mails purporting to be from a real company regarding a “recent transaction” (or shipment). The e-mail has an attachment claiming to be a summary, receipt, or ‘required’ form.
Of course, the attachment is a virus, and “opening” it infects your computer.
(Many security experts would have told you this method was obsolete and no longer being used..)
In this most recent wave of spam attack, the company being spoofed is Amazon.com. It reads:
Your transaction has been processed by WorldPay, on behalf of Amazon Inc.
The invoice file is attached to this message.
This is not a tax receipt.
We processed your payment.
Amazon Inc has received your order,
and will inform you about delivery.
Sincerely,
Amazon Team
This confirmation only indicates that your transaction has been processed successfully.
It does not indicate that your order has been accepted.
It is the responsibility of Amazon Inc to confirm that
your order has been accepted, and to deliver any goods or services you have ordered.
Remember folks, your clicking bypasses your security, so resist your curiousness. Never click the links in unexpected/unsolicited email. Best yet, don’t even open them.
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Our Modern Nightmare – Zombie Attack
It’s like we woke up inside a horror movie– we are under attack by zombies.
Yes. It’s true. Real life is imitating art (if you’re willing to call Night of the Living Dead “art”). We really are under attack by zombies– only our zombies aren’t trying to eat our flesh, they are trying to sell us bootleg Ph@rmacuticals and cheap V1@gra, fake Rolex watches, and steal our identities. [note in the photo how the zombie is reaching for the wallet?]
In real life, our zombies can’t claw at us directly and they don’t have teeth. Our zombies are computers. Our computers. And they attack via e-mail and the Internet. Like the zombies in Night, they spread the zombie disease by infection. Differently, our zombies aren’t mindless; they’re controlled by villains (aka “cyber-criminals”).
Yes. Your computer may be a zombie, and odds are you wouldn’t know.
If it isn’t a zombie (yet), it is constantly under the attack of infection via the Internet. An unprotected computer, connected to the Internet, will be infected within 8 minutes (12 seconds in a recent test).
90 to 95% of all Internet traffic traveling the wires is zombie-generated junk e-mail that’s either a fraud attempt or (and?) loaded with malware– the “attack”.
How did this happen? Well, part of it is the Tech Industry’s fault (see, How the Tech Industry is Failing You), either unintentionally, or through lack of foresight, or through willful negligence and the rush to market. Security either wasn’t considered, or it was too expensive.
Nobody predicted the nerdy hackers evolving into the organized, well-financed, Mafia-style criminal gangs of today.
And they put too-powerful, fully-capable machines into the hands of the unwashed masses– us.
The rest of it is our fault.
* We let our antivirus expire and, every day, close the warning.
* We think we’ve just won the British Lottery.
* We still run Windows 98 because we’re “comfortable with it”.
* We cannot resist ‘free’ pornography.
* We cannot be bothered with those REALLY ANNOYING little windows that pop open at the worst times and tell us that a “newer version is available.”
* When someone tries to tell us about our machines, they start using big words in a funny language and we ‘tune out’.
* We believe that everything computer-related should be free, so we download cracked (aka “pirated”) software, bootleg music and video, and we don’t care who or where it comes from.
I could go on and on and on (and on, believe me!).
Yes.. we are our own worst enemies. But, you don’t have to be a part of the problem. And you don’t have to learn a big word-filled foreign language (aka “Geek speak”) to avoid the zombie attack.
Today’s free link: I have put together a list of proactive steps every computer user should know.. a checklist. In it you will find links to free, safe, and effective methods for protecting your computer, and keeping it safe. Please look over, Top 10 Things You Should Do To Your Computer. And then do us all a favor, pass the list on to your friends who have computers.
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Dangerous Links, Phishing, and WOT
A recent article of mine has proven very popular. It discussed the recent epidemic of “rogue” antivirus and anti-spyware programs that is plaguing the Internet these days — such as Virus Response Lab 2009, Antivirus XP, and — literally — hundreds of others.
These programs are really the tools used by cyber-criminals to infect your machine with malware… not clean it up, as you’re led to believe. (The article link [above] has a video demonstrating a rogue program.) As a bonus, you’re asked to provide your credit card number to buy the “full” (or, “Pro”) version.
What do you think criminals do with those cc#’s????
Regular readers are aware that I frequently post ‘alerts’ to the latest scams arriving via e-mail. Spam.
Here the latest, a classic phish:
from: AccountRobot_donotreply@e-gold.com
Subject: Notification of e-gold account update
What I’d like you to notice is the red circle next to the hyperlink .
That is the WOT (Web Of Trust) toolbar’s (now automatically integrated into Gmail, because I’m viewing it in a browser) website rating.
I’m no rocket scientist.. but I am pretty sure red means “bad”.. and/or, “stop”.
This website rating — with its easy to understand color code — tool can really save you a lot of pain and loss from phishing and poisoned websites; because the criminals are going to tremendous efforts to make their scams look legit (and to poison truly legit sites).
I’ll say it again– the Internet today is a very insecure and dangerous place!
There are many anti-phishing tools and plug-ins and filters to choose from (some are built into your browser, if you enable them) but if you want a quick, clean, easy to understand warning tool– give the WOT toolbar a try.
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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• 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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