Exids IT Solutions

Hehehe… here’s a creative list of computer virus names if they were named after someone famous…

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One problem with spyware is that it can be very hard to tell when you have been infected.   It can also be extremely difficult to remove.  A few tell tale signs you may have been infected with spyware are:

• Your homepage has changed
• You have MANY pop-ups, sometimes even when you aren’t doing anything
• You have weird search bars in your web browser
• Your system seems very sluggish
• Your internet connection seems slow
• You have weird icons on your desktop

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It never fails to amaze me – in this email the individual claims to be one of the Accounts Directors to Mikhail khodorkovsky, the richest man in Russia.  He uses a technique to build credibility by linking to news articles about Mikhail khodorkovsky’s arrest on high profile legitimate news sites like the BBC.

This is a fairly stale scam, where they promise you money if you help them get some of the assets out through a government loophole – the catch is that you usually need to put some of you money up at some point.

I’ve posted the scam email below if you want to read more…

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Identity Theft Protection Information

It’s a sad day when you are scammed purchasing identity theft protection information – at least for some people.

It’s important that you understand that finding information on how to protect yourself from being a victim of identity theft is not going to happen overnight.  There’s a ton of new scams being dreamt up every minute – unfortunately someone has to falls victim to the new devious plot before anyone recognizes and educates the public about the scam.

I could seethe on for hours about how there just doesn’t seem to be enough Identity theft Protection information available to the public, but I won’t.  Instead, I’m going to show you a few simple things you can do to protect yourself.

Identity Theft Protection Information Tips

Let’s talk about the 5 obvious things you need to know about preventing identity theft.

1. You decide who to give your information to.  You NEVER have to give out personally identifiable information to ANYONE. 
2. ALWAYS question why someone wants your personal information.  NEVER hand it over without knowing why or how it is going to be used.
3. If you believe someone is impersonating an authority figure to get personal information, IT IS ok to withhold information – you WON’T get in trouble.  If they have the authority to get your personal information, they will prove it to you with legitimate sources
4. Learn about Phishing.  This is one of the easiest ways for criminals to ruin you financially.
5. SECURE your PC.  You’re literally asking to be a victim if your PC isn’t secure.

Identity theft is a growing concern for many people, and so is the lack of information.  Hopefully you will find these 5 tips useful – print them out and put them on your fridge – they may save you one day.

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I stumbled across this article the other day while I was surfing around the internet and thought it would be something of interest to some of you.

It was written in January 2005 but claims that online auction fraud is one of the most reported frauds.  It gives a few tips on avoiding auction fraud, and I thought it complimented this article on how to avoid ebay and paypal fraud quite nicely.

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This scam email is an example of lottery fraud…

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Here’s yet another example bank scam email…

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I’ve seen a lot of these emails floating around lately so I thought I would post a sample of what a scam email looks like.  There are several things that stand out that catch your eye right away.  The most noticeable components are:

1. The @yahoo.com domain email address.  No professional will use and @yahoo.com address if they are requesting information on behalf of a bank – no bank would request personal info by email anyways!
2. A crap-load of spelling and grammar errors (even worse than my spelllingg!)
3. Asking to re-confirm information that they make no reference to anywhere previous in the email.  If you are going to re-confirm something, shouldn’t you see what you are being asked to re-confirm first?

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Credit card fraud is as easy as filling out a fraudulent looking application

In addition to my post yesterday about was driving, I thought it would be fun to post some of the more ridiculous things I have seen that related to stealing credit cards and identities. 

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think identity theft and fraud is a laughing matter, but when you can’t even trust a major credit card company the only other choice is to cry.

Apparently this guy from cockeyed.com went through with an experiment called “The Torn-Up Credit Card Application” The results are both laughable and terrifying.

I received this email from a co-worker, and then checked out the site:

“This guy received an unsolicited pre-approved credit card application in the mail, and put it through its paces:

1.  He tore it up into little pieces
2.  He re-taped up all the pieces
3.  He completed the form with some exceptions
 3a. He filled in a different mailing address (Parents)
 3b. He used his cell phone number
4.  He mailed it in
5.  Weeks later his father called to inform him his $5000 limit Credit Card had arrived.

This could have been anyone going through his garbage and tapping the application back together.

http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/creditcard/application.shtml

This alone is reason enough to SHRED all applications you receive in the mail, and ANYTHING sensitive that you want to get rid of.”

You may also want to check out this news article on ABC’s website written last June.   http://abcnews.go.com/Business/FinancialSecurity/story?id=793760&page=1

Take what you will from this, but I’m buying a new propane torch for my paper shredding from now on!

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“War driving”… Making the transition from “online CyberCrime” to “onsite CyberCrime”

I’ve been ranting for some time now about how the world of online security has taken a dramatic turn for the worse, but what about other means of stealing identities and information?

I was reading this article today and started thinking about how much easier it is for cyber crooks to get away with different types of crimes with the advent of wireless networks.  The article describes how a child porn hacker used a group of students wireless internet connection for downloading child porn.

These types of incidents are bad for everyone – individuals and businesses.  War Driving has become wildly popular amongst hackers these days – so popular that websites on war driving have begun springing up all over the place.  WarDriving.com provides resources on how to secure your wireless networks, and how hackers can exploit wireless networks.

As more and more people go wireless, war driving is bound to become another major security threat – Especially since recent research shows that over 50% of all wireless networks being used by consumers are vulnerable to hackers and thieves. 

Many people simply don’t understand how wireless works and make the assumption that their network is secure immediately after it has been installed.  For more information on how to keep your wireless network secure, please visit http://www.getwirelesssecure.org/

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