Archive for July, 2008
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
This is Not Music to Our Ears
There are two iPods in my family, and we get our music from Apple’s iTunes Store. I have resisted the call of free music from those Peer to Peer (P2P) networks, partly out of concern for viruses and other malware. Sure enough, security company McAfee recently reported that up to half a million [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Featured by Syd Tash
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
A Couple More Online Scams for You
Here’s one more in a seemingly endless supply of IRS phishing scams. You get an email, supposedly from the Internal Revenue Service. It asks you to click on a link to an IRS site so you can fill out a form to get a tax refund. Of course it is a phishing [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Alerts by Syd Tash
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
That DNS Flaw
Hackers have recently released software code that could be used to exploit that serious flaw in the Domain Name System (DNS). The DNS is used to route traffic on the Internet, making sure it gets to the right computer.
Using this bug, a hacker could launch a phishing attack that is nearly impossible to detect. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts by Syd Tash
Monday, July 28th, 2008
Install Windows XP SP3 Now
Ever since that Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released by Microsoft a couple of months ago, I have been advising you not to install it just yet, but to wait until all the bugs and problems were worked out.
Those problems have indeed been largely resolved, and you might as well go ahead and install [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Updates by Syd Tash
Sunday, July 27th, 2008
Man Gets Four Years for Piracy and ID Theft
A 23-year-old man in Oregon got himself four years in prison for selling illegal copies of software on eBay. Along the way, he was also convicted of ID theft for using some 40 eBay and PayPal accounts to make the sales.
J.J. Mondello reaped more than $400,000 from his unlawful activities, but had to pay [...]
No Comments » - Posted in News by Syd Tash
Saturday, July 26th, 2008
Those Nigerian Email Scams
You have no doubt heard of those Nigerian email scams promising you millions in commissions. All you have to do is open a bank account, and help with the transfer of the cash. And pay some fees and taxes. And bribes. And more fees… etc. etc.
I’m sure you have gotten plenty [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts by Syd Tash
Friday, July 25th, 2008
System Restore and Your Restore Points
I have often repeated that you must keep your antivirus program up to date (as well as all your other security programs of course). But what if your antivirus software finds a virus or other malware?
The program will delete or quarantine the nasty stuff, or present you with options to fix the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Fixes by Syd Tash
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
Banking Sites Are Vulnerable Says Study
Way back in 2006, the University of Michigan conducted a study of 214 banking sites. A few details of the study have just been released, with the full findings to come on Friday, July 25.
The study found that more than 75% of the sites had design flaws that could allow login credentials [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts by Syd Tash
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
More Free Music Dangers
I have written before about the dangers of free music on the Web. Downloading music from those peer-to-peer networks exposes your computer to possible attack and infection.
We have two iPods in my family, and we get our music from the Apple iTunes Store. (Yes, I pay $1 per song.)
The other day, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts by Syd Tash
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Searching The Web
It can be argued that the two main functions of the Internet for most people are email and finding information. The first is fairly straightforward; you sign up for an email account with your ISP or with a Web-based client such as Yahoo, Hotmail (Windows Live) or Gmail. The second can make you [...]
