Exids IT Solutions

I ran across this article after I saw this on the evening news

She is an honor student from a small town in Michigan. He calls himself Abdullah Psycho.

They found love on the Internet and it became an international incident — a spectacular example of what experts say is fast becoming a modern twist to an age-old problem of young girls, older men and bad decisions. Nationwide, Web enticement cases have quadrupled in recent months, according to a national group that tracks such incidents.

Katherine Lester, 16, is in hiding today after creating a global stir by leaving her mother’s home last week in the farming town of Gilford, population 833, and boarding a series of planes en route to Israel’s West Bank.

She wanted to meet a man with the ominous nickname, believed to be 25, whom she met on the popular Web site MySpace.com. Instead, FBI agents tracked her down Thursday during a layover in Amman, Jordan, and persuaded her to return to her bewildered family.

"Evidently, she’s in love with this man. That’s what she said," said family attorney Renee Wood, during a press conference Monday on the steps of the Tuscola County Courthouse in Michigan’s Thumb.

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A clip from dateline nbc to catch a predator.  This is an absolutley disturbing clip of a child predator being caught in the act – the worst part is that he brings his own child into it!

Thank You Break.com

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Parents once saw television as the big, bad wolf of media, but now the Internet bears bigger teeth for moms and dads concerned with their kids’ safety.

The World Wide Web is the No. 1 media concern for 85 percent of parents, compared to 13 percent who said the same of TV, according to a national poll recently released by Common Sense Media, a nonpartisan organization formed to improve the media lives of children and families.

Parents are fearful of the Internet but also see the softer side of this digital animal that’s taken over the information world.

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<div align="left">Battling perceptions that it’s an unsavory online hangout for sexual predators, social-networking giant MySpace.com has hired a former federal prosecutor to patrol the site and has launched a series of ads warning kids about the dangers of the Internet.

Fox Interactive Media (FIM), the parent company of Santa Monica-based MySpace.com, announced Tuesday the appointment of Internet safety expert and former Justice Department porn prosecutor Hemanshu Nigam, the company’s first chief security officer. Nigam, an advisor to the White House on cyberstalking, will oversee all safety, education and privacy programs and law enforcement affairs for the Web site, as well as the growing network of FIM properties. His appointment becomes effective May 1.

The announcement came just a day after News Corp., which owns FIM, began running public-service announcements by the Advertising Council — the nonprofit behind “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” and other campaigns — on MySpace, News Corp.’s other Web sites, and its television channels, including Fox Broadcasting, FX and Fox Sports Net. The spots caution children to “not believe the hype,” meaning don’t trust anyone who approaches them online, even if they think it could be someone they know.

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I came across this interesting article today that I think you should all read:

There’s much that remains murky about a Justice Department proposal to require Internet companies to retain records detailing their users’ online activities for up to two years. But anyone who uses the Internet — and that’s just about everyone in America — ought to be concerned.

The plan was pushed by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other government officials at a recent meeting with executives from AOL, Google, Microsoft and other Internet firms. It would require companies to keep data on searches, e-mail traffic and unspecified details about users’ Web habits for possible use in terrorism and child pornography investigations. It could apply to Internet firms large and small, as well as providers of Internet access, including private employers, hotels, libraries, universities and operators of wireless hotspots.

Any plan would presumably have to be approved by Congress. To date, the Justice Department has not put forward a concrete plan or draft legislation.

Making it easier for law enforcement to catch terrorists and pedophiles is a good thing. But the government’s proposal poses security risks that could outweigh benefits. And it raises serious concerns about privacy, cost and usefulness.

The proposal would require companies to store and make searchable terabytes upon terabytes of data at a cost that no one is able to forecast but that is certain to be huge. How many additional servers would a Yahoo or an AT&T have to keep? What about a mom-and-pop ISP? And who will pay for all of it?

What’s more, these large data troves are certain to become targets of hackers, identity thieves and unscrupulous insiders. As the raft of recent data breaches has shown, there are plenty of companies, organizations and government agencies that do a lousy job at securing data. Forcing them to keep more of it would put everyone at risk.

Perhaps worst of all, the proposal would create a Big Brotherish Internet where everyone’s activities are recorded for future review. Initially, only those investigating terror and child pornography cases would be able to access the data. If history is any guide, other types of crimes would eventually be added. Private litigants in divorce and other civil cases would demand access too. Before long, users could lose trust in the Internet and begin to curtail their online activities.

The government already has the authority to demand that Internet companies keep records on individuals in connection with specific investigations. And so far, law enforcement officials have not made the case why that authority is insufficient. Perhaps they should start there, before trapping all of cyberspace inside a giant net of suspicion.

The government didn’t invent the idea of data retention. Many Internet companies have been tracking and storing the activities of their users for years, giving rise to many of the same privacy concerns, security risks and consumer fears. The government’s data-retention proposal would merely exacerbate them.

To bolster privacy and public trust on the Internet, online firms should consider being much more forthcoming about what personal information they collect and store and how they use it. And as they lobby to deflect new government data-retention mandates, they should also lobby for stronger laws to protect the data they already hold.

The source of this article is: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/14759508.htm

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What goes around comes around.  Almost.  It seems that the FTC has decided enough is enough when it comes to nasty companies doing nasty things to peoples computers and blow the whistle.

The accused is Sanford Wallace, the owner of the company Smartbot.net.  He has been fingered for creating malicious software that is designed to exploit a flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser…  the same browser that 85% of internet users utilize.

The grounds of such a suit are that Mr. Wallace and his firm has been “installing” this software without user’s permission.  In fact, once a user has unknowingly been infected, the CDROM tray opens and a message on your screen appears that says:

“FINAL WARNING!! If your cd-rom drive’s open . . .You DESPERATELY NEED to rid your system of spyware pop-ups IMMEDIATELY! Download Spy Wiper NOW!”

Ironically (and fortunately for Mr. Wallace), his company is the sole beneficiary of the proceeds made from any purchases of Spy Wiper.  A pretty good business model when you consider that the only thing they need to get rich if for you to visit a website designed to infect you!

This type of tactic is not uncommon, in fact, it’s common place.  Since the advent of affiliate marketing, anti-spyware software companies have been happy to give up a portion of their profits to anyone who refers someone to buy them.  If you are a programmer, you have great incentive to create spyware that holds a user for ransom – ransom that will be paid in full when you buy the software recommended to remove the spyware.  Luckily, the software you recommend to remove the spyware happens to be the same software you make a chunk of money off.

The U.S. District Court judge that ordered the re-payments should take a long and hard look at this growing epidemic, and consider a more bold punishment.  A slap on the wrist is all Wallace has suffered.  The millions in profits he’s being forced to give up was never really his in the first place.  It’s like taking the loot back from a bank robbery and telling the robbers not to do it again.

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I received an email from someone today claiming that I will receive a $20.00 credit to my Chase Manhattan Bank account for taking a quick 5 question survey.

Obviously this is a scam.  First of all, the type of scam being used is a Phishing scam.  There is a link in the email that I am asked to click on to be taken to the chase bank web site.  Now, at first glance when you look at the link, it appears to take you to the chase bank website, however, upon further inspection it becomes clear that the website you will be taken to is actually http://www.compexbrno.cz/~mp3/update/chase-rewarding/clients-asp/cgi/index.html.

I took a screen shot to show you this.  If you place your mouse over the hyperlink, a box opens revealing where the link really points to.

If you don’t know what phishing is, and would like to learn more about it, watch this video on how to detect a phishing scam.

This is the email I received

Dear Valued Customer,

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

You have been chosen by the Chase Manhattan Bank online department to take part in our quick and easy 5 question survey. In return we will credit $20 to your account – Just for your time!

Helping us better understand how our customers feel benefits everyone. With the information collected we can decide to direct a number of changes to improve and expand our online service.
The information you provide us is all non-sensitive and anonymous – No part of it is handed down to any third party groups.
It will be stored in our secure database for maximum of 3 days while we process the results of this nationwide survey.

We kindly ask you to spare two minutes of your time in taking part with this unique offer!

To Continue click on the link below:

http://www.chase.com/?CustomerID=8972347&SecureID=xjskid893oe99280-2oeujdywhhhekwod0pqlwoe0

Many Thanks and Kind Regards – Chase Manhattan Bank Customer Department

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So what does it take to beat a scammer at their own game?  Many people quiver with excitement when they hear about an opportunity to stab back at people whose only purpose is to get rich off of other man kind’s misery.

Well, let me tell you, I started writing this article on how to catch a scammer, and about part way through I felt dirty.  So I stopped, and instead thought you would find more interesting in learning about ways you deal with a situation when you think you are being scammed.  Here are a few tips:

1. If possible use a public computer terminal if the matter is serious (so they cannot track your IP address)
2. Use a public email address like a hotmail or yahoo account for all correspondence.
3. Never give away personal information.  Particularly information related to anything financial, your identity, or your location of where you live.
4. Always ask for confirmation of your emails when they are sent off.  Doing this covers your tracks and can be used later down the road against them.

These are a few of many tips that can server you well if you are dealing with someone you believe may be scamming you.  If you have any questions or comments, please post the below for everyone to see.

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With so many types of spyware floating around on the internet, it’s virtually impossible to own one anti-spyware program that can remove everything.  This would require software companies to spend hundreds of thousands of man hours, and more importantly, they would need to be able to analyze every infected computer on the internet which is near impossible.

So what do you do when you come across spyware, and you cannot remove the infection?  Or what if Norton Antivirus keep warning you of an infection and you just can’t make it go away?  There’s only one real solution and it involves a human – you need to remove it manually!

So what the hell does that mean?  REMOVE A VIRUS MANUALLY?

It means that you either need a geek to rip out the viruses and spyware using advanced techniques an utilities, or learn how to yourself.  If you are a tech, you immediately must pick up a copy of PCsecuritySecrets.  There’s a section dedicated to advanced removal techniques – and not using automated software.

PCsecuritySecrets walks you through a proven, 100% guaranteed fix for manually removing ANY variant of Malware, Spyware, Virus or Trojan.  You can even kill a root kit!

If you are an average computer user, you can still make use of the techniques; it requires a little time a due diligence in learning the material.  The information presented is very simple and straight forward.  It avoid technical jargon that can put you off of reading it and succeeding at eradicating the malware.

Don’t waste any more time!  Check it out here.

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