Spam and Scam
The Return of Zeus
Jan 10th
Besides wielding thunderbolts, Zeus can steal your usernames and passwords. At least, the offspring of the Zeus malware can. “Gameover” is the name of the latest Zeus variant and is called so for good reason. When a computer is infected, it steals your bank account information. Once in the bank account, it is essentially game over.
Lets break Gameover down and see how it works. Infections are usually brought about through phishing scams. These are scams sent through email that try and trick the user into clicking on things that they shouldn’t be clicking on. The emails usually look like they More >
9/11: Heartless Hackers and Thieves
Sep 8th
As 9/11 approaches, we look back with a solemn demeanor and with pride in our hearts. America is resilient. For those that lost their lives on that dreadful day and those whose lives were forever changed, we offer our gratitude and our condolences. It is because of the people of America that we are strong.
As America reflects on the events of the past, do not be lured in by heartless hackers and thieves. These malicious individuals are preparing to release malware attacks by taking advantage of your curiosity and your giving heart.
They are targeting social networking sites as well as More >
Major Events Will Spur an Increase in Spam
May 4th
The death of Osama bin Laden is no exception. A major part of the bin Laden spam is coming from emails that look like Facebook updates from friends.
The email looks like it comes from friends and urges the user to cut and paste a string of malicious text in order to access a video of bin Laden’s killing. If a user follows the directions, they are actually granting full access of their accounts to the hackers.
The hackers then use the compromised accounts to further propagate the virus by sending it to the users’ friends.
Other hacker campaigns that exploit bin Laden’s More >
A Friendly Reminder
Jan 5th
Lately, I have been getting an increased number of spam email from “Hotmail” or “Windows Live Services” asking me to confirm my account or it will be deleted or suspended. These emails are intended to trick the user into filling out a form with their usernames and passwords in order to keep the account active.
The problem here is that Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and any other legitimate email service you can think of will NEVER ask for that information. So stay safe out there and don’t give usernames or passwords to anyone. Below is a copy of one of the emails More >
Holiday Shopping Tips
Dec 9th
The holidays are here and shoppers are out (and in) in full force. It seems as the years go by, online shopping is becoming the ideal way to get your loved ones, and yourself, gifts for the holidays. Cyber-Monday is growing every year with deals getting better than those offered on black Friday. Retailers are offering deals online that you just can’t get in the stores.
I still go out on black Friday, but it is more of a nostalgic thing. I like to watch people go crazy and reminisce about the good old days when shoppers would trample each other More >
"Sexiest Video" Attack Hits Facebook Users
May 18th
The new attack comes in the form of a post from a friend saying: "This is without doubt the sexiest video ever!". The post also has a thumbnail showing a girl riding an exercise bike in a short skirt.
By clicking on the post to see it, you are sent to a site that explains you do not have the appropriate software to view the video. If you happen to install the “correct software”, you are actually installing adware on your computer. This adware will display annoying advertisements on your computer.
What You Need To Do:
- Do not click on any video with More >
New Threat Poses as Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor
May 10th
A new threat has been discovered that is spreading rapidly though email. The email includes a message that asks the user to test their computer to see if it will be able to run Windows 7.
The email contains a .zip file which has the “Windows Upgrade Advisor” inside. If you run the program what you will actually get is a Trojan that steals passwords from your computer as well as other important information.
The Trojan will also open a backdoor to allow the download of other malicious software.
What You Need to Do:
- Do not open emails from people or organizations you do More >
Important message from the IRS!
Feb 5th
Last week I opened up my email to find a message from the IRS about my taxes this year. I was very pleased with what they had to say. They told me that because of some recent changes to President Obama’s policies, I needed to fill out the proper form to receive extra tax benefits before I file this year.
They quoted a very nice amount of money I could get back. Then they had a link for me to click on that required me to fill in some very confidential information.
In this economy, it would be easy for any one More >
How Do We Lose $9.3 billion?
Feb 2nd
By falling for the “419″ scams. I wrote in a previous post about how trusting adults are on the internet. Now I have some numbers to share with you on the subject. According to Ultrascan, a Dutch company, $9.3 billion was lost due to “419″ scams that originated from 152 countries (the majority of the scams came from Nigeria). You might think that the numbers may be declining because people are becoming more aware of scams, but this is not so. Sadly, the numbers increased from 2008 meaning we are not learning from our mistakes. In 2008 the loss stood More >