1 day ago
Twitter users hit by spam messages
Users of Twitter have reported that they are receiving spam messages from their followers. In the messages, users are being directed to a funny blog, a website with their picture on it or to a page where they can win an iPhone. According to Sophos, if users click-through they will get to a phishing site that is disguised as the Twitter login page, where spammers will attempt to steal their username and password. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone alerted followers to the danger as his team worked on the problem, and later advised members who may feel ‘weirded out' by the incident to change their passwords and exercise caution when they reach web pages which ask them to log in to Twitter. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said: “It would be bad enough to hand your Twitter username and password over to a criminal, as they could pose as you online and spread malware and spam to your friends and followers. However, as so many internet users foolishly use the same username and password for every website they access, the potential for abuse is even greater.
2 days ago
The Savvy Networker 10 Must-Do's for Online Networkers
(01-04) 04:00 PST 01/04/09 -- When my 81-year-old dad sent me a LinkedIn invitation, I knew some milestone had been passed. It's an online-networking world, and working people who aren't already on the bandwagon need to catch up, fast. Here are 10 tips to help you get your online networking activities going without ruffling any feathers: 1. Get a new "one" You'll need a ONE — an online networking e-mail account — just for use in discussion groups and social networking sites. If you don't get an account just for this purpose, you may find your "regular" home e-mail address (or, worse, your work address!) beset by spam messages and bacn (social networking spam). Get a new address at Yahoo! or another free-e-mail site today, and use it for all of your online networking adventures. 2. Find your group Yahoo! Groups is the epicenter of group online discussion, with 10 million groups covering every topic from search engine optimization to moms working from home. Search for a group that suits your taste and then join it, taking care to read the group's membership guidelines before you plunge into the conversation.
3 days ago
2009: The year ahead in security
Like most of the technology industry, IT security is unlikely to see a major new trend next year, but rather a continuation of many of the themes and vulnerabilities reported in 2008. It is clear that spam, despite recent triumphs by law enforcers, will continue to grow and become more malicious. Businesses and home users will also have to be on their guard against increasingly stealthy and sophisticated malware designed to steal their details. And web vulnerabilities will be the most highly exploited as criminals go for the path of least resistance, so web site owners will need to be on guard as hacks of legitimate sites increase. The continuing financial crisis is also likely to affect the security landscape in increasingly dangerous ways.
3 days ago
Lurking online, a Web rife with ‘evil purposes’
It can be an e-mail from the widow of a recently deceased Nigerian prince asking for your help in disposing of $5 million. It can be a message from your bank stating that it needs some personal information so that it can update your account. Or it can be a seller on eBay who’s offering supposedly authentic Tiffany & Co. jewelry at unbelievable prices. These are prime examples of the online fraud that seemingly lurks behind every unexpected e-mail and many Web sites and that experts say has grown more prevalent in recent years. “Whenever you have a new technology, at some point there are going to be people who are going to employ that technology for evil purposes,” said Jeffrey J. McConnell, a Canisius College computer scientist.
4 days ago
How to secure your Vista PC in 10 easy steps
December 31, 2008 (PC World) While Windows Vista may be Microsoft Corp.'s most secure operating system ever, it's far from completely secure. In its fresh-from-the-box configuration, Vista still leaves a chance for your personal data to leak out to the Web through Windows Firewall or for some nefarious bot to tweak your browser settings without your knowledge. But by making a few judicious changes using the security tools within Windows Vista -- and in some cases by adding a few pieces of free software -- you can lock down your operating system like a pro. 1. Use Windows Security Center as a starting point For a quick overview of your security settings, the Windows Security Center is where you'll find the status of your system firewall, auto update, malware protection and other security settings. Click Start, Control Panel, Security Center, or you can simply click the shield icon in the task tray. If you see any red or yellow, you are not fully protected. For example, if you have not yet installed an antivirus product on your machine, or if your current antivirus product is out of date, the malware section of the Security Center should be yellow. Windows does not offer a built-in antivirus utility, so you'll want to install your own. For free antivirus, I recommend AVG Anti-Virus 8.
4 days ago
Spyware programs on work computers tell all
WEST PALM BEACH, FL (WFLX) - Recent studies show the average person surfs the net at work for one to two hours for personal reasons and not for work duties. We're talking about personal sites - like keeping in touch with friends on Facebook, shopping on eBay, or watching videos on YouTube. According to the Palm Beach Post, 13 West Palm Beach city employees find themselves out of work Tuesday morning - not for surfing the net, but for what they were looking at. West Palm Beach spokesman Peter Robbins says three people were fired and 10 resigned after their investigation. A lot of companies use Spyware programs. These programs can tell employers everything you do online down to what key you hit and when you hit it. According to the Post, the inappropriate material found on city computers ranged from sexual content to religious slurs, and that was in violation of city policy.
4 days ago
Top 10 Spam Stories of 2008
Well, it's a yearly tradition in the western hemisphere that at the end of the year, we compose a top 10 list of the 10 most . Since it is now 2009, I thought that I would create my own list of the top 10 spam stories of 2008. Now, not all of these will be universally applicable to everyone, they are the top 10 stories as seen by me: * * * 1. Backscatter makes the news. Backscatter spam is a scourge on the internet, and it made big headlines this year, so much so that even the USA Today covered it. Even bigger coverage? I blogged about it in an 18-part series. Take that, USA Today! 2. Spammers get huge fines, sentenced to prison. Dubbed the original Spam King, Sanford Wallace finally had a big corporation come after him—Newscorp. In May of 2008, he was hit with a $230 million dollar fine for spamming MySpace. He should have held out a few more months and then asked the government for a bailout. On a similar note, Seattle Spammer Robert Soloway was convicted on three charges and faces up to 27 years in prison. I considered going down to the court house and watching the sentencing; I never got around to it. Probably a good thing I couldn't engage in a little schadenfreude.
4 days ago
Phishing attacks get personal
You know to watch for phishing attacks, which use e-mail messages purporting to be from legitimate businesses to trick you into divulging private information. You're cautious and use a good spam filter, but phishing messages still get through. And these messages are more dangerous than ever. According to Cisco, almost 200 billion spam messages are sent daily. They have one thing in common: They want your money. Most computer users can spot phishing messages. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have become more sophisticated, too. Targeted phishing attacks account for 0.4% of spam. That may seem minor, but it's 800 million messages a day. For example, you receive a message purportedly from your Internet service provider. It greets you by name and says your billing information is outdated. It says you must click a link to update your information. If you comply, your information will be stolen. This is the type of targeted attack you will see more of in 2009.
6 days ago
2009 security predictions: Deja vu all over again
The security industry is fueled largely by FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt.) So it's not unusual for most forecasts in the industry to be full of grim prognostications of imminent chaos and calamities. By that measure, the predictions contained in several recent security forecasts for 2009 will probably be somewhat of a relief for security managers. Most of the security vendors' forecasts predict dramatic spikes in volumes of spam, phishing, botnet activity and malware targeted at companies. The reports also highlight sharp increases in attacks directed against Web and mobile applications. But the concerns largely deal with issues that security managers are already familiar with and there are few, if any, really nasty new threats in store around the corner, according to the forecasts. Like with years past, forecasts are colored by the vendor's specific view of their places in the market. For example, Verisign, a provider of Internet infrastructure services, predicted increased attacks against critical targets including SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition ) systems, which deliver power. Desktop security software vendor Sophos , meanwhile, warned about dramatic increases in malicious e-mail attachments, and huge spikes in spam volume. And Web application security product vendors predicted an increase in Web attacks.
1 week ago
Mac users need malware protection
Oneof the main reasons Windows users switch to the Macintosh is to escape the constant onslaught of malware. Viruses, Trojans and spyware are a constant threat to the Windows ecosystem. Apple touts the Mac as being a haven from malware, and certainly in the past that’s been the case. But the past is no guarantee of what will happen in the future. The Mac’s market share is growing rapidly — from 2 percent just a few years ago to around 10 percent now — and the bad guys are starting to notice. Although relatively few now, there are an increasing number of threats taking aim at Mac users. Add to that the fact that fleeing Windows users are bringing their bad habits with them. As I’ve written before, these folks may feel they can now compute with impunity, because they’re on what they’ve been told is a safe platform. That attitude is a security disaster waiting to happen. That’s because most of the Mac malware now out there are Trojans — programs that masquerade as something else and require users to take action to install them onto Macs. Note that this is the same technique that many PC spyware programs use, and this kind of social engineering is frighteningly effective. Computer users who ignore common sense when surfing are eventually going to get burned, no matter what OS is on their hard drives.
