Everlong

Rather strange.. but it fits my mood. (And I think I read it is David Letterman’s fave song..)

Hope everyone is having a pleasant enough day.

Update: Your MasterCard Suspended for Fraud? It’s a Scam.

“Scammers are calling unsuspecting consumers on the telephone to steal credit card numbers. If you get such a call, just hang up. Do not engage.” Read more..

Where’s the tech, Paul? A decent resource for online reputation management tips and advice can be found here.

Today’s quote: “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” ~ Jim Rohn

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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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.)

12 Scams of Christmas (and Yahoo, too)

Folks, as we approach the Holidays, please be aware, and remind your friends and family, that we are now in the peak scam, ripoff, fraud, and – of course! – phishing season. The vermin are happily and busily creating phony online stores, and filling our Inboxes, Faceboook, and Twitter with bait and lures of all types.

“Holiday shoppers can expect cybercriminals to be out in force this season,” said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance. “Shoppers should be alert to scams and other attempts to lure them to provide personal and financial information that could lead to data loss or the infection of an Internet connected device. We encourage everyone to STOP. THINK. CONNECT. and make sure they have taken security precautions, understand the consequences of actions and behavior and enjoy the benefits of holiday shopping online.”

McAfee has released a list of the most popular scams on the Internet during the holiday season. You can see them here: 12 Scams of Christmas

We should/can take steps to increase our safety, security and confidence online with these simple tips:

• Keep a Clean Machine: All the devices you use for shopping – including smartphones and tablets – should have up-to-date software including security software, operating systems and other key programs and apps.

• When in Doubt, Throw it Out: Links in email, tweets, posts, and online advertising are often the way cybercriminals compromise your computer. If it looks suspicious, even if you know the source, it’s best to delete it.

• Think Before you Act: Be wary of communications that offer amazing deals that sound too good to be true, implore you to act immediately – including indicating a problem with an order or payment—or ask you to view the website or an account via a provided link.

• Protect your Personal Information: Be alert to the kinds and amount of information being collected during transactions. Information requested should only be enough to complete the transaction. Only fill out required fields on checkout forms. Check the website’s privacy policy.

• Use Safe Payment Options: Credit cards are generally the safest option. They allow buyers to seek a credit from the issuer if the product isn’t delivered or isn’t what was ordered. Credit cards may limit the monetary amount you will be responsible if your account is compromised. Never send cash through the mail or use a money-wiring service.

• Make Sure the Site is Legitimate: This includes a closed padlock on your web browser’s address bar or a URL address that begins with shttp or https. Check reviews of sites you have never used before.

• Keep a Paper Trail: Save records of your online transactions, including the product description, price, online receipt, terms of the sale, and copies of any email exchange with the seller.

Yes, great deals can be found. I am not saying don’t shop online — but I am saying now is the time to double-up on your “paranoid common sense”. Nobody’s protecting you; there’s no “Internet police”. But there are *scumbuckets* intent (focused like a laser beam) on stealing from you. Thousands and thousands (and thousands!) of them.

This looks suspicious to me too

Um… But I don’t have an Am Ex Merchant Account…

There’s a whole stack of other depressing news, too. But I’ll spare you. I’ll just say – again – let’s be careful out there. Be well, at your earliest easement.

Update: I’m on my third day of Yahoo Mail uh, um, ‘technical difficulties’ (which they first called “routine maintenance”). I’m not alone. Yahoo forced to acknowledge Yahoo Mail problems in worst failure yet

“After a public UI and technical failure with its October redesign, Yahoo Mail miraculously gets worse as it goes. And then, Yahoo acknowledges delivery failures stretching back to November 25.” Read more..

Do you Yahoo? It’s a good (and valuable) read even if you don’t.

Today’s quote: “When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears.” ~ ?

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Outlook Verification Alerts – Dear New Outlook Account User

Maybe I should have titled today’s article “A Poisonous PDF”

Kind of strange, Hotmail, oops!, excuse me, Outlook.com, did not flag this email as spam..

You should know, by now (halfway through 2013), that scuzbucket sleazeball “hackers” send us emails trying to trick us into clicking links to dangerous websites, or download a virus, and further know that PDF format attachments can be “poisoned” to contain a virus.

So, you should be very leery of any email with a “paperclip” (an “attachment”). And if that email comes unexpectedly, doubly so. And if that email comes from a stranger, or claims to come from a business organization (such as Delta airlines, Pay Pal, Microsoft, or UPS, for example) delete it, unopened. Don;t even glance at it. (Since 2007, curiosity, when on the Web, kills the cat.)

Other “red flags” (besides the paperclip)

Even though this particular attack (and yes, this is an “attack” on me) purports to be from “Outlook Verification Alerts”, the Sender field is someone’s name (in my case, “Ingila Hollqvist”, though that is probably randomly generated). And their email address is (showing as) something other than “outlook.com” or “microsoft.com”.

And of course, there’s the Engrish.

*     *     *

Now I know that you would never open such an email attachment as this one here. But I guaranty some folks will.

Today’s quote: “Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.” ~ Hugh Prather

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

The Most Important News You Didn’t Read About

Folks, this started happening in 2009, and you won’t know it unless you read certain InfoSec (ultra Geeky) blogs – today. 

Wonder what else of National Security Threat Level Red they’re not telling us? (Can’t p.o. the Chinese, man. They own our money (cuz we by cheap plastic crap from the Dollar Store/Wal Mart/etc.).)

* Chinese Hackers Steal Info from top secret U.S military data

“QinetiQ, a UK-based defense contractor suffers humiliation as intelligence officials confirmed that China was able to steal the U.S. classified documents and pertinent technological information all this because of QinetiQ’s faulty decision-making. QinetiQ North America (QQ) a world leading defense technology and security company providing satellites, drones and software services to the U.S …” Read more..

And for a more detailed report: Hackers Turned Defense Contractor QinetiQ Into Intelligence Playground For three years, digital thieves linked to China stole intellectual property and defense information from the U.K.-based firm.

“For more than three years, hackers linked to China thoroughly compromised U.K.-based QinetiQ, a firm that bills itself as “a world leading defense technology and security company,” to steal intellectual property and sensitive defense information, according to reports of the incident.” Read more..

I put two up there ‘cuz this is.. kinda huge. (Make no mistake: these “hackers” are a unit in the PLA.)

Can’t say nothing ’bout that Internet-thingy that might shake consumer confidence, either. A handful of folks (like, 15 – two dozen) are making too much money.

So forget I mentioned it. But remember, not everyone in the “world wide” plays nice.

Related: The Cyber-Dam Breaks: Sensitive Army database of U.S. dams compromised; Chinese hackers suspected

“The compromise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams (NID) is raising new concerns that China is preparing to conduct a future cyber attack against the national electrical power grid, including the growing percentage of electricity produced by hydroelectric dams.” Read more..

Unrelated: Beware of fake Facebook security page phishing scam

“Trend Micro has spotted a malware sample, TSPY_MINOCDO.A, which targets Facebook users. The malware redirects users to a spoofed page of the social network and claims to be part of the site security check feature, even showing the tagline “Security checks help keep Facebook trustworthy and free of spam”. Users eager to log into Facebook may fall victim to this ruse.” Read more...

Can’t say I didn’t warn ‘ya.

Today’s quote: “When Mozart was composing at the end of the eighteenth century, the city of Vienna was so quiet that fire alarms could be given verbally, by a shouting watchman mounted on top of St. Stefan’s Cathedral. In twentieth-century society, the noise level is such that it keeps knocking our bodies out of tune and out of their natural rhythms. This ever-increasing assault of sound upon our ears, minds, and bodies adds to the stress load of civilized beings trying to live in a highly complex environment.” ~ Steven Halpern

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Alert: Automated Verizon Call Is A Fake

Folks, I almost fell for a scam telephone “phishing” phone call reporting to be from one of my cellular service providers. I think hope you are going to want to read my ‘confession’, and forward this warning to all your friends and family.

See, truth is, I did fall for it, but fortunately the trap did not close on me, and I did not give away my personal information, which (probably) would have been used in an “Identity theft”. (Or, they might have just glommed my credit card.) Me! Mr. B. Paranoid.

Here’s how it worked (and why I thought it was real):
I have been very busy helping people un-Windows 8 their new Windows 8 PC’s (bypassing the “Metro” UI, mainly) and so I found the message on my answering machine. It was a ‘recording’ woman’s voice. What I mean by that is it was an “automated” call. Anyone who has navigated a telephone “menu tree” (“para Espanol, pulse dos“) has heard this voice. “She” was, in a way, familiar. And “spoke” perfect robot-English.

The automated message identified me by name, said it was an “Important message regarding changes to my account status”, said I needed to call today, and provided me a 1-800 number to call and told me I would be asked to enter my cell phone number.

It pronounced my names correctly, and identified my Verizon phone number correctly. It repeated itself appropriately, and was – to put it simply – professional and exactly how I would expect an ‘alert’ call to sound. It sounded to me exactly the same as other legitimate calls I have received — such as our County’s “emergency alert system”, and my bank’s “unusual activity detected” calls.

But what really made me “bite” was, I knew that I had been “meaning to get to” paying my latest Verizon bill, but had put it off, then forgotten, in my busy-ness.. Had I delayed too long? Was this a pay-or-get-cut-off call? Could be.

So.. I called the 1-800 number to see what was up. And it rang once and disconnected. Thankfully!

I am not beating myself up too much, as I was juggling a lot of activity (aka “multitasking”), but at that disconnect, I did what I should have done first, I went to my computer and logged in to my Verizon “My account” and looked for any alerts, notices, or big red letters saying “PAY NOW OR GET CUT OFF”.. or anything that might explain that message on my voicemail. I did see a very mild “past due”, but nothing else.

Now I was quite intrigued! So I called the Verizon customer service number posted on the website (1-800-922-0204) and spoke with a young man who asked me several questions.. then asked me to play the message to him.
And he told me, “that’s not us. That’s a scam.”

How did he know? “Our robot voice is different, and that’s not one of our telephone numbers.”

Like I would know those two things.

So.. “in conclusion”.. I am abashed and embarrassed. This call had the earmarks of a phish, but I let those things .. not raise red flags. But this was undoubtedly the most professionally done phishing scam I have witnessed. A truly “pro con” (job). And, I guess I learned that I am not quite as “paranoid” (alert and wary) on the telephone as I am when online, and surfing the web.
And maybe I ought to quit trying to do three things at once, and pay more attention to one thing at a time.. But I feel stupid none the less.

Today, it was Verizon. Who knows what company they’ll impersonate next. I’ll never ‘trust’ another robot voice again!

So be aware. And be wary. They are trying to get us.

Dang. I feel dumb. Go ahead and laugh at me if you want. But I feel darn lucky too. What would I have given away if the call had gone through? What does untangling one’s self from Identity Theft cost these days? Don’t find out.. and don’t let your friends and family find out. Tell them about me, this call, and my dumb move. Let them laugh at me too.. and maybe raise their ‘paranoia’ as a consequence, and avoid scams like this.

I cannot print how I would punish the perps behind this one, if I could get my hands on them, but I can tell you I’d do it on TV.

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

“Hello, Microsoft calling. You have infected files on your machine.”

Savvy folks know about the “Microsoft” scam phone calls. The scam has been around for years and years now. But recent conversations – and today’s Windows Secrets newsletter – tell me that this fraud scam is still alive and well, and snaring “average computer users”.

Please read – and forward to your less-savvy friends and neighbors..!! There’s no reason this scam should still be working, except ignorance. Which we can cure! Don’t let this rip-off victimize one more soul.
(And this is a good read even if you are aware of this scam. Learn how the con artist works their trade.)

See Security alert: Bogus tech-support phone calls
By Fred Langa. on February 27, 2013

“Hello. This is Microsoft Tech Support. Your PC has notified us that it has an infection.”

The call is a scam — an extremely prevalent one. Here’s how it works and what you need to know to stay out of the trap.” Read more..

Note: If you receive (or have already received) a scam-related phone call, the FTC requests you dial (toll-free) 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit the Complaint Assistant site.

If you’re on the receiving end of an attempted scam via the Web (rather than by phone), file a complaint on the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s free website.

(I have a cure for this disease.. but I can’t print it.)

Today’s quote: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” ~ Henry Ford

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Hillary Sent Me An Email…

Folks, today, Hillary Rodham sent me an email. And I think you should see it.

RE: Your fund in ATM card

It seems Mrs. Clinton wants to let me know something important regarding my ATM card..

And the FDIC sent me a poor-grammar email as well.. Of all people.

You’d have to be Too Dumb To Live to open those. Right? I mean.. the planet is ruled by Darwin’s Law. (The slow and the stupid are food.)

Today’s Pop Quiz: What could that paperclip (attachment) be?

They were nice enough to send it.. maybe I should take a look.

Today’s free sleeping pill: Folks, you don’t need a sleep aid. Just read this: The 7 Coolest Features Of The Apple iPhone 5

“As always, Apple’s new iPhone is truly boss. Here’s a look at seven of its most impressive features.” Read more..

“Truly boss”? What measure was he using? Please! The iPhone may have been first, and changed the game, but, seriously, not your best choice. (Unless, maybe, all your other devices are Apple too.) Wonder why those 7 things less than thrill me..?

(Maybe because what’s “new” to Apple is at least 2 years old to everybody else? Or maybe it’s the “cool features” that force you to buy all new peripherals/add ons? “Actually Works On AT&T + Verizon” — um.. wasn’t it supposed to from version 1? Whoever coined “Apple’s reality distortion field” is/was right.)

So.. today’s the big day!!!

Do you have your iPhone 5 yet?

Today’s news:

* End User Security Awareness Gap Remains Wide, Experts Say
“Enterprise-driven security education programs continue to fall short of the mark.”

* Old Operating Systems Die Harder
“Aging OSes like XP still getting hit big-time with old exploits, new data shows.”

Um.. maybe I should have labeled that “today’s headlines stating the obvious”..

Today’s Geekspeak Translation: “End User” = you and me (aka “the people sitting at their PC’s”)

Breaking news: It must really, really, be important to some folks how many “likes” they have..

CNET is giving away a big prize: Win the ultimate home theater

Click on image to see how to enter.. (Facebook)

Facebook & Twitter..
Yippee yahoo.

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.