ALERTS

Fradulent BEST BUY eMail

Fraudulent eMail

Nasty eMail purports to be from BEST BUY and informs you that your credit card has been charged for a renewal of an Anti-Spyware Subscription.

DO NOT FALL FOR IT!

This little PITA somehow made it through my filters and showed up in my INBOX this morning.   It uses the same e-mail address I use for Facebook.   So, I’d advise all of you with Facebook accounts and my Facebook friends to set your CURRENT Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware to do a full scan of your PCs.

As I wondered how this e-mail address could have been captured, I began to think of the online games I have played at Facebook.  I cannot help but wonder which one of those companies had a security leak.  Or, maybe it was the guy I cleaned out at the Texas HoldEm tables last night.  POOF!  His nearly $800K gone in a flash when he tried to bluff his way into a $200K pot by going all in when I was holding pocket Aces and there was a pair of 8s and a pair of 9s showing.  Oh well.  I’ve been on the other side of that unlucky position more often than I care to remember.

But, back to business:  If you see an eMail like this – just DELETE IT and run a full scan of your PCs just to be safe. ALWAYS review your Anti-Virus software on a weekly basis.  Don’t just assume it is working.  Open up your Anbti-Virus Software’s Control Panel and have a look at the date of you Anti-Virus files.  They should be within the last week.  Often, within the last day or two.

Find out how to read the logs that your Anti-Virus software produces and have a look at them weekly as well. See how many problems have been caught and fixed.

Dangers Lurk In Social Networking via Mobile

A new report just released by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) describes some of the things to consider if you access social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace from your mobile devices.
Quoting from the report synopsis posted online:

While many of the privacy issues originating from the web-based access to SNSs also apply to mobile social networks, there are also a number of unique risks and threats against mobile social networks. The report aims to provide a set of recommendations for raising the awareness of social networks users and in particular of social mobile users of the risks and the possible consequences related to their improper use.

I recommend all my clients and friends download and skim through this report. Get it by clicking the link below:

http://stevemaziarz.com/blog/snreport

Nasty Virus Trojan Horse Cure

Within the last couple weeks, I have taken no less than eight calls from friends and clients who have been infected with a nasty computer “bug” that severs their online connection and causes Windows to shut down.

Check Your Anti-Virus Software Now

All of them have had varying degrees of anti-virus protection, but it didn’t catch this nasty germ.  In a couple cases, it could have been because their subscription to the update service expired.  In one case, it was because their Anti-Virus protection was turned off.

Virtually every anti-virus software that I know of places a small icon in the lower right corner of your screen (in a typical Windows environment) next to the place where the time and date are displayed.  FIND YOURS.

1. Open up the Control Panel for your particular Anti-Virus solution.
   You can generally open up the control panel for your anti-virus solution by double-clicking that icon.
2. Make sure that it is Active and that your Anti-Virus definition files are up to date.
   Here’s what it looks like for my favorite tool, AVG:

AVG Anti-Virus Control Panel

If your Anti_Virus solution has expired, is horribly out of date,  or is turned off, go ahead and take the steps to fix it! If it’s off – turn it back on.  If it is out of date, perform a manual update (most have a button on the Control Panel to do so. Find yours).  If it has expired, you can renew it.  Or, if finances are tight,  see my other posts on FREE Anti-Virus solutions (do a search or just browse the Tech Tips Category).

In most cases, the most efficient cure for this particular infection was to:

1. Save the important files off to an external drive
   I use a proprietary method I have which eliminates the chance that an especially nasty bug will transfer over to the external hard drive.  This technique is available to members of my Priority Club.
2. Wipe the system clean
3. Re-install Windows

A Better Cure

After a LOT of searching and trial and error, one of my more persistent friends found a cure for this very nasty malady which worked for her and I wanted to pass it along to you.  It is at another online forum. Follow the link below and begin looking at Post #2.

What The Tech Forum Solution

Fraudulent VISA Card Transaction

DON’T FALL FOR THIS ONE!

I received the following e-mail today. I thought that with the holidays, some of you (as I almost did) would be tempted to immediately click on such an e-mail because you have likely been using your cards so much – especially for online shopping.

If you receive a similar e-mail – JUST DELETE IT.  If you are in any way concerned, please call your credit card company – they’ll be happy to let you know if your account has any suspect transactions.

If there is a phone number in the e-mail you receive *** DO NOT CALL THAT PHONE NUMBER *** CALL THE NUMBER ON THE BACK OF YOUR CARD ***

SUBJECT:  possible fraudulent transaction with your VISA card

Dear VISA card holder,

A recent review of your transaction history determined that your card was used at an ATM located in Latvia, but for security reasons the requested transaction was refused.Please carefully review electronic report for your VISA card at:

{WEB LINK WOULD BE HERE}

VISA Cards Support

Mess ID: 3WSHSP92QHHC94946QQR67VXX77CY30P4TMPWQ1QZF9QLYJ7548LR7PE6NLPUUMPSHN1GG

CDC Vaccination Profile SCAM

E-MAIL SCAM

If you happen to receive an e-mail urging you to set up a Vaccination Profile at the direction of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) immediately delete the e-mail.  It is a scam designed to get you to “cough up” [pun intended] enough personal information so that they can engage in identity theft or other such nonsense.

The e-mail attempts to look legitimate by tying in with the H1N1 craze sweeping the country and having a return e-mail address and other information that tries to make it look like it came from the CDC.   But it’s a sham. Don’t fall for it.