You have received an eCard.. WOT?
Have you installed the safer surfing WOT (Web Of Trust) toolbar yet? I install it on all my friend’s and family’s machines because its red – yellow – green “traffic signal” warning system is simple enough even for young children.
In this screenshot, it’s warning of a dangerous hyperlink embedded in a phishing email that’s attempting to get me to open what it says is an “eCard” (hoping I won’t look at the odd URL or “.zip” file type, as most people don’t). This screenshot shows a Hotmail account.
..and should you be so foolish as to ignore (or.. simply not notice) the red circle, and click on the link anyway, and try to go to the website..
A warning ‘curtain’ (overlay) intervenes. It tells you why the website has “earned” the very bad red rating. You must click “Go to site” to proceed to the website itself. [note: sample shown is not a download-able eCard, but a virus!]
These ratings are determined by you, me, and other Internet surfers… not some faceless giant corporation or government agency. It is “people driven”, and you get a vote. I urge you to check it out. Visit http://mywot.com today. Gain another layer of protection from online scams, “phraud”, “phishing”, and “rogue antivirus” programs .. like TotalProtect2009.
(See, Is that anti-spyware program really spyware?)
Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. 
post to jaanix.
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Security Alert — An Infection Has Been Detected!
Online crime is bigger than the global drugs trade¹. The Internet shadow economy is worth over $105 billion. No country, no person, no business and no government is immune from CyberCrime.
Currently there is an epidemic of fake anti-malware software on the Internet– which is collectively called “rogue anti-malware“ and/or “scareware”. Marketed under hundreds of different names, such as VirusRemover 2008 and Antivirus XP 2009, this type of rogue software scares people by giving false alarms, and then tries to deceive them into paying for removal of non-existing malware. [update: some of the newer ones are now encrypting your files, and requiring a ‘ransom’ for the key. Don’t pay. There is help online.]
This video shows what happens when a legitimate Website gets infected and redirected to one of these bogus anti-malware scams.
Yes, folks, legitimate websites are being ‘hacked’. (It’s called “poisoned”.)
The people behind this scourge use many different ways to try to entice you to click – realistic looking pop-up windows appear, offers of “free trials” arrive in e-mail, and “free scan” buttons on legit-looking ‘fight malware’ websites.. the means are quite varied!
As this video shows, the user is tricked into (scared into, really) providing their credit card # to clean infections that weren’t there before they clicked and aren’t really there now.
* The ‘false positives’ are not “cleaned” BUT, more adware and spyware is installed.
* A good percentage of my calls at Aplus Computer Aid are folks needing help with getting rid of these rogues. Because these clever programs use the latest techniques to combat removal, and it can be quite tough — if not impossible — to truly remove them.. without formatting your hard-drive.
* For more, please read Is that anti-spyware program really spyware?
* One Website dedicated to combating this epidemic is Spyware Warrior. It has a pretty good list of known rogues, and much more detailed information. Another excellent resource is Bleeping Computer.
* I have written several How-To’s on protecting yourself from malware, and how to clean your machines as well. Click here to see those titles.
¹ From a recent MessageLabs whitepaper. (This eye-opening report provides a disturbing look into the ‘dark’ world of cyber-crime. This link is the online version.. you need to scroll a bit..)
Today’s free download: WOT (Web Of Trust) is a free Internet security add-on for your browser. It will help keep you safer from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky Website. It’s easy and it’s free.
- Ratings for over 22 million websites
- Downloaded over 4 million times
- The WOT browser addon is light and updates automatically
- WOT rating icons appear beside search results in Google, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, Gmail, etc.
- Settings can be customized to better protect your family (new “Parental Control” setting blocks access to Web sites with a poor child safety rating and no rating at all)
- WOT Security Scorecard shows rating details and user comments
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Safer Surfing Tool
Have you installed the safer surfing WOT toolbar yet? I install it on all my friend’s and family’s machines (and offer to, to all my clients) because its red – yellow – green “traffic signal” warning system is simple enough for young children.
Here, it’s warning of a dangerous hyperlink embedded in a phishing email that’s attempting to steal my identity and banking login…
..and should you be so foolish as to ignore (or.. simply not notice) the red circle, and click on the link anyway, and try to go to the website..
A warning curtain intervenes. It tells you why the website has “earned” the very bad red rating. You must click “Go to site” to proceed to the website itself.
These ratings are determined by you, me, and other Internet surfers… not some faceless giant corporation or government agency. It is “people driven”, and you get a vote.
Check it out. Visit http://mywot.com today. Protect yourself from “phraud”, and “phishing”, and “rogue antivirus” programs .. like TotalProtect2009. (See Is that anti-spyware program really spyware? and Total Protect 2009/ TotalProtect2009 – 3 Removal Solutions)
Note: It now includes a Parental Control setting!
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
Internet Plague – Rogue Antivirus
Currently there is an epidemic of fake anti-malware software on the Internet– which is collectively called “rogue anti-malware” (aka “scareware”). ‘Marketed’ under hundreds of different names, such as VirusRemover 2008 and Antivirus XP 2009, this type of rogue software scares people by giving false alarms, and then tries to deceive them into paying for removal of non-existing malware.
Worst part is, they are designed to appear to be legitimate products.. professionally packaged/presented, with testemonials, etc.
The Internet’s “shadow economy” of cybercrime is worth over $105 billion. Online crime is bigger business than the global drugs trade¹. No country, no person, no business and no government is immune from CyberCrime.
This video (produced by the good folks at WOT) shows what happens when a legitimate site gets infected and redirected to one of these bogus anti-malware scams.
(Yes, folks, legitimate websites are being ‘hacked’, it’s known as “poisoning”.)
The people behind this scourge use many different ways to try to entice you to click– realistic looking pop-up windows appear, offers of “free trials” arrive in e-mail, and “free scan” buttons on legit-looking ‘fight malware’ websites.. the means are quite varied! There’s even some that put a red shield icon in your System Tray (down by the clock) and mimic a Security Center alert.
As this video shows, the user is tricked into (scared into, really) providing their credit card # to clean infections that weren’t there before they clicked and aren’t really there now.
* The ‘false positives’ are not “cleaned” BUT, more adware and spyware is installed.
* A good percentage of my calls at Aplus Computer Aid are folks needing help with getting rid of these rogues. Because these clever programs use the latest techniques to combat removal, and it can be quite tough — if not impossible — to truly remove them.. without formatting your hard-drive.
* For more, please read Is that anti-spyware program really spyware? and Bill Mullins’ How Fake/Rogue Software Affects Real People
* One Website dedicated to combating this epidemic is Spyware Warrior. It has a pretty good list of known rogues, and much more detailed information. Another excellent resource is Bleeping Computer.
* I have written several How-To’s on protecting yourself from malware, and how to clean your machines as well. Click here to see those titles.
¹ From the new MessageLabs whitepaper. (This eye-opening report provides a disturbing look into the ‘dark’ world of cyber-crime. This link is the online version.. you need to scroll a bit..)
Today’s free download: WOT is a free Internet security add-on for your web browser. It will help keep you safer from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky Website. It’s easy and it’s free.
- So easy a child can use it
- Ratings for over 20 million websites
- Downloaded 3 million times
- The WOT browser addon is light and updates automatically
- WOT rating icons appear beside search results in Google, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, and webmail – Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!
- Settings can be customized to better protect your family
- WOT Security Scorecard shows rating details and user comments
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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Two Quick Announcements
* Regular readers will know that I frequently mention (and recommend) the Web Of Trust (WOT) web browser extension (a toolbar for IE, and a plug-in for Firefox) as a free, simple to use and understand, dangerous website alerting tool.
After installation, WOT examines URL’s (website addresses) and inserts a green, yellow, or red symbol next to them, to rate their danger level. It integrates into your search results, as well as Gmail, Y
ahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.
Today I received a notice from them that I had been part of a small group awarded special recognition for helping to spread word of this free security enhancer.. which has now been downloaded over 3 million times.
You’re quite welcome, folks at WOT. The Internet is a dangerous place (even the “safe and sane” sites get hacked) and I very much appreciate what you do.
Kind of a nice way to start my day..
For more on the award, click here. And to download this great plug-in, click here.
* And, regular readers will also recognize the name Bill Mullins. He is a highly regarded Internet Security blogger and the author of Tech Thoughts (The first website posted to my Blogroll). I often mention his articles.. and I highly recommend him to you.
Some while ago, I had the honor and privilege of being Mr. Mullins’ first Guest Author. I am pleased to announce that he now has devoted a newly created page on his site just for Guest Writers. This is a great opportunity for those of you who write tech-oriented articles, and would like to gain the exposure of appearing on a popular site.
Although there is currently only a few submissions, I expect this to develop into a wonderful “reading room” rather quickly.
http://billmullins.wordpress.com/guest-writers/
[note: no, I don’t know how to go about making your submission. I believe you’ll find his contact info on his About page.]
Part 3 is coming soon.. just have to figure it out and write it..
Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
Webmail Link Protection | Survey Results
One of the greatest dangers on the Internet today is links sent in e-mail — called “embedded links”. A click on a link sent by a cyber-criminal can infect your machine, direct you to a bogus website which infects your machine and/or asks you to enter your private information (ID Theft) in a scheme known as “phishing”.
It is reported that cyber-criminals duped 9 million Americans last year (we’re so trusting and.. naive.).
I have advised my readers, never click the link. But .. people still do. So, I advise enabling a phishing filter. Currently, it is my humble opinion that the free tool from Web Of Trust (WOT) is the simplest to understand and easiest to use.
Today, the good folks at WOT alerted me that they are now integrated with Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail– better protection for us. Here’s a short video showing how it works.
And if video is not your thing, Fellow blogger Bill Mullins has an excellent write up on the new WOT, here.
Change of subject dept: (aka Survey Results!)
Earlier this week I posted a six question survey. I regret to confess that there were “trick” questions in there where more than one answer was ‘right’… and nobody (I don’t think) picked it up.
For just one example, I asked “What does 11101 equate to?” and the answers 29, eleven thousand one hundred and one, and Zip code were ‘correct’. (Albany, NY.) Yes. All three answers.
This being a “tech” site, I’m glad to report that 29 was by far and away the most popular answer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_numeral_system)
I also asked two questions about Microsoft Word, and I must say the answers I got fit pretty well with my preconceived notions and inherent prejudices.
Only one person though Office 2007 brought “much needed improvements”; the majority said Word was required for work/school (and they would stick w/Word 2003); and that in today’s day and age, Word is largely irrelevant.. I think it is the younger set that is picking up on this fact, and the older you are, the more likely you were to reply “must have”. I could be wrong, of course. But I think it is the way we were ‘trained’. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloatware)
I won’t go through the reader responses line for line, but I will say that the general tone showed much more tech-savvy than it would have ten years ago. And it was clear that (my readers, anyway) people are spending a lot of time online.. and making an effort to stay “hip” (to use some California lingo).
That makes sense. Broadband and mobile devices have made the Internet pretty much available to everyone, everywhere, any time. And so I would like to remind you that the Internet is a dangerous place, and not some well-policed Disneyland.
Be alert. Be wary. Be protected. And get WOT.
(Hey, pretty good how I tied that together, eh?)
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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