Holiday Scams

As usual, the malware folks are at it again.  Here's a link to an article about scams being perpetrated in the name of Verizon and Amazon.

Merry Christmas to you and yours....
Tom

Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

File hosting companies installing malware

I've been warning customers for years to be careful about the source of applications/programs that you're downloading. Hackers are fond of tricking you by labeling their malware to look like what you're trying to download.

Now, the heretofore safe download sites, have been caught doing just what I've suspected all along - installing malware along with the application you thought you were getting - specifically, CNET's download.com website.

This issue is not limited to CNET. Almost all of the "corporate" file hosting sites (and even some manufacturer sites) want you to install their "download manager" in order to get the file/driver you need. Be careful!

While on the topic...hackers have found an unpatched vulnerability in the Adobe Reader - AGAIN - and are exploiting it in the wild.

We're now doing training classes at Battle Ground Computers on Saturday afternoons. If you'd like to receive email announcements of upcoming classes, please call (666-7647) and ask to be added to our training announcement list. This Saturday's class will be about internet basics - get your questions answered about how the internet works.
Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

Training Clases

It's been awhile since I've posted...no excuses.

Lots of folks have asked me about training classes and I've drug my feet for months. Now it's time to step up to the plate...

If you're reading this post, your email address has been added to the list and you'll receive announcements as I send them out. Please be assured, I'm not using any outside company or website to manage my mailing list. I use a group in my Battle Ground Computers Gmail account. Emails will be sent as blind copies (BCC:) so as to minimize exposure of your email address.

If you know of someone that would be interested in our training announcements and/or classes, the easiest way to get on the list is to send me an email to "battlegroundcomputers@gmail.com".

Through 12/31 we a running a 10% coupon on Google Places. Click here to get your coupon.

Happy Holidays,
Tom

Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

Training Classes from Tom Cross, owner Battle Ground Computers

With all the new technology and features of the internet and Windows 7, many of my customers have become "overloaded" when trying to deal with all the changes. Many have asked if I would ever do training and I've decided it's time to do just that.

To get started, I need to know what you want to learn. I've created a short questionnaire that will help me get started. As I have more details, I will email you with curriculum and schedules. Please fill out the questionnaire and forward this post to your friends/family that might be interested.


Thanks for your support,
Tom

Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

eBank Fraud Continues - Digital Gangsters Won't Stop

My apologies for the lack of timeliness on this article...

Many of you have heard me spout off about hacker's motivation. It's simple - THEY CAN ROB BANKS without a note, gun or mask.

Now (4/4/11) comes a study that supports my allegations. Please read the complete article as it is most alarming...

"Fifty-six percent of businesses experienced fraud in the past 12 months, according to the study. Of those that experienced fraud, 61 percent were victimized more than once. Seventy-five percent of the victims experienced online account takeover and/or online fraud. These figures are nearly the same as last year's, the researchers say."

Yet, everyone is acting like a deer in the headlights when it comes to doing something about it. Yes, you can take steps to prevent hackers from taking over your computer but that is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic - it's only a matter of time before they succeed.

Until the banking industry makes changes to the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) that governs business bank accounts (personal accounts are not near as susceptible) giving customers more protection, this "industry" will continue to flourish.

It's time for small-medium size businesses (SMBs) to make it clear to their banks that they will not tolerate lack of controls on wire transfers made remotely (from a PC logged into the account). This is a no-brainer - it's just a software program that makes it happen and it CAN be controlled by the same software.

But, apparently, we have a banking industry that thinks this is someone else's problem. After all, they have implemented all the security they are required to by their industry. So what's the problem? Well, the security practices/procedures agreed upon by the industry is NOT STOPPING THE HACKERS!!


From the Soapbox, thanks for listening....Tom
Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

What is Linux? (video)

Lately, we're seeing more aggressive malware that continues to find ways to hack Windows. Used in every business, Windows vulnerabilities are used to infiltrate our largest organizations - government, infrastructure, banking, etc.

With each successful hack, criminal hacking of Windows becomes more lucrative increasing the effort to hack your operating system (Windows).

Solution....don't use Windows; use Linux. It's an operating system that has been around for years and is used to power the internet. It's also available  as a desktop operating system and, though not totally immune to hackers, is essentially virus-free.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Linux, this little video answers the question, "What is Linux?"

Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email

Commercial email provider hacked

Last week, commercial email provider, Epsilon, was hacked and email addresses from many retail stores and banks were stolen.

Read more from Brian Krebs.

Be especially vigilant for emails coming from these businesses. Security researchers are warning that these email addresses will be used for spear-phishing attacks in the next weeks/months.

Tom

Tweet
Battle Ground Computers
Malware Removal Guide
If your friends/family would like to receive these posts, please forward this email to them with instructions to signup from this link:
Subscribe to Tom's Battle Ground Computers blog posts via email