Archive | July, 2008
I would recommend that absolutely everyone who ever connects a computer to the internet should have some level of security running.
The basics of a firewall and anti-virus program should be considered a minimum requirement of surfing the web these days in order to thwart those would part you from your money.
Unfortunately, the internet is awash with criminals who spend their time looking to steal money or even people’s entire lives.
THE FAKE ANTI-VIRUS SCAM
Scammer and identity thieves are, generally, highly organised individuals or units.
They are exceptionally good at identifying new opportunities and one area that they have been dabbling in recently is the anti-virus and anti-spyware market.
There are many such criminals who are now selling, or even giving away, software that would appear to offer essential protection to those who surf the net.
In reality, however, many of the programs do not function at all, or are designed to infect and spread the malicious codes they were supposed to protect against.
FAKE ANTI-VIRUS POP-UPS
Have you ever visited a website and then been greeted with one of those annoying pop-up boxes?
I’m pretty sure you have as they are still far too common.
One of the ones I see on a regular basis is the one that has the yellow or red triangle, along with a warning that my computer is infected with a virus, or is bogged down with spyware.
If you are not particularly web savvy then you could be forgiven for thinking that the pop-up is telling you the truth.
After all, they often claim to have just scanned your computer.
Your immediate reaction may be to buy the solution that the pop-up offers, or to close the window by clicking on the ‘X’ in the top right corner if you are wise to such scams.
Either way.. they’ve got you!
OOOPS!
If you buy the ’solution’ that is being offered then you may well be opening yourself up to a whole lot of trouble, as described a little later.
If you close the pop-up then expect to see more pop-up ads multiplying like rabbits, regardless of what you are doing on your computer.
Other unexpected consequences could include a computer that now constantly locks up and/or programs that fail to work.
Basically, closing the pop-up will have left you with a computer system that is much slower at best and completely compromised at worst.
WHO IS BEHIND THESE FAKE ANTI-VIRUS SCAMS?
Fake virus scams are typically run by 3 distinct types of cyber-criminals - the scammer, the hacker and the identity thief.
The scammer will be looking to trick unsuspecting web surfers into buying their anti-virus products, whether they work or not.
Often these products are fake and will cause a whole lot more problems than they cure.
The hacker may just be looking to gain entry into your system for various purposes which may include stealing data, setting your computer up as a ‘zombie’, or purely for some malicious fun.
The identity thief, as you may imagine, will be looking for personal data, either to steal your identity themselves or to sell on to others.
HOW DO THE FAKE ANTI-VIRUS SCAMS WORK?
Fake virus alerts are typically triggered by a trojan which has found it’s way onto your system.
Trojans are often installed without your knowledge when you open an email attachment, download torrents or other files from peer-2-peer networks, visit malicious websites or click on a pop-up advert.
It is also possible for hackers to access your computer remotely, or through internet messaging services.
Often, these fake anti-virus pop-ups will lead you to believe that your system has been infected with spyware or a virus, even though it hasn’t.
In some instances, malicious software will actually install viruses and spyware onto your system in the first place, most commonly after you have requested a free online scan.
HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY FAKE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS?
- Fake anti-virus software will often find more suspicious activity on your computer than those programs that are made by legitimate companies.
- The number of pop-ups you see will increase drastically, even when you are not connected to the internet.
- After installing the fake anti-virus program you may notice that your computer slows down drastically due to the amount of junk that has been installed onto your system.
- You may also find that your default homepage has been changed and now points to the scammer’s ‘official-looking’ site.
- Words on websites are now underlined and now hyperlink to undesirable locations, such as adult sites.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
1. I would always recommend using Firefox as your browser rather than Internet Explorer because as it would appear to be considerably more secure.
2. Keep your computer system secure by always having a firewall in place, working in conjunction with a good anti-virus program from a reputable vendor.
3. Never click on pop-up adverts. Ever.
4. Only open email attachments if you can verify the sender and trust them. Always scan email attachments with your anti-virus program if it doesn’t do so automatically as the messages are downloaded.
5. If you are running Windows then leave your security setting on medium as an absolute minimum.
6. If you land on a website and see a warning from Google about it’s content then pay attention to it and leave.
7. Only buy anti-virus and anti-spyware products from reputable companies. Remember that the scam artists will often use names that make their sites or products appear to be from such vendors.
As internet users become more aware of some of the dangers and risks posed by the net, they are learning the importance of internet security.
However, there are cyber-criminals who will take advantage of these willing purchasers by offering poor or fake products.
If you follow the tips above you are much less likely to fall prey to their cons.
Many people get married for reasons other than love.
Marriages of convenience, or ‘marriage frauds’ are rapidly increasing.
So much so, that it may be fair to consider it as an organised crime.
Every year, a number of people are earning huge amounts of money, simply by pretending to be in love with someone else.
As love is such a subjective matter, marriage fraud is inherently difficult to prove, allowing many perpetrators of this crime to get away with it.
That’s why so many people will engage in a scam marriage - they may know that it is a federal offense, but they also know they can make a good deal of money at virtually no risk to their liberties.
SAYING ‘I DO’ TO IMMIGRATION
Probably the main reason for fraudulent marriages is immigration.
Many countries have controls in place that deter or prevent illegal foreigners from entering into the country, or taking employment, state benefits, etc.
Those who are married to existing citizens of a country, however, are typically exempt from any such constraints.
The majority of illegal immigrants are probably looking to enter certain countries in order to pursue a better life than they could ever hope for in their own nations.
Governments, however, are concerned with the issues of terrorism and social security fraud that these illegal immigrants can pose to their countries, not to mention the political effects that an immigration policy can lead to.
DETECTING MARRIAGE FRAUD
The level of manpower required to detect marriage fraud is huge.
Many such ‘married couples’ are extremely careful and take measures to ensure that they are not caught out, by sharing a house and bank accounts for some time, for example.
For this reason, it is next to impossible to secure convictions in such cases, unless one partner becomes careless.
Got email?
Get spammed!
Well over half of all the emails sent around the world are unsolicited, worthless and purely junk.
These commercially motivated nuisances are more commonly known as spam.
I don’t know about you but I receive more than my fair share of spam.
For instance, in my gmail account today I have found 3,214 messages flagged as spam - all received in the last 24 hours!
Email providers, such as Google in the case above, have made many advances which have helped control the problem of spam.
In fact, with my gmail account it is quite rare to see a spam email which hasn’t been correctly flagged.
Nonetheless, the sheer volume of email I receive means that some do undoubtedly sneak through.
Spam has reached such epidemic proportions that avoiding it completely is probably now a forlorn hope.
Realistically, controlling and therefore minimising spam is the best any computer user can now hope for.
Here are 4 ways you can minimise the volume of spam that you receive -
STAY IN CONTROL OF YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
As you may imagine, the more often you post your email address online, the more opportunities there are for spammers to harvest it.
Therefore, you should be extremely wary of where you use your main email account.
Where possible, avoid revealing your email address on message boards as these are a popular hunting ground for spammers.
If you need to submit an email address in order to sign up for an offer or newsletter, etc, then create a new, disposable, account that you can employ purely for this purpose.
Only give your main email address to those you know that you can trust with it, such as friends and family.
TICK OR NO TICK?
If you ever need to register for anything online then there is a fairly good chance that the process will incorporate check boxes, designed to find out whether you wish the site to remain in contact with you for a number of possible reasons.
In order to avoid this type of mail being sent you may need to either tick or untick one or more of the check boxes.
Be aware that most sites will be set up to include you in their mailing list by default so you will almost certainly need to perform some action to opt out.
As our world becomes more electronic, we are often asked to register in order to use certain websites that we need access to.
Such check boxes on online forms are responsible for a large proportion of the spam people are currently receiving.
MASK YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
There are some occasions when it will be necessary for you email address to be accessible from the internet.
For instance, if you own your own web site then it may be essential that your visitors have a way of contacting you.
Ideally, you should use a ‘contact form’ which allows messages to be sent to you without the sender ever knowing your address.
(Spammers still try sending me junk through mine but at least it’s only a handful each day).
If you are not able to utilise a contact form then you will need to be more creative.
You could display an image with your email address on as this will be readable by humans but not by the bots which trawl the web looking for new spam targets.
Alternatively, you could mask your address by typing it thus : me AT mysite DOT com
Anyone with even a simple knowledge of the web should be able to work out how to convert that into your true email address.
ALWAYS READ PRIVACY POLICIES
How many of you have registered for a service online without reading the privacy policy?
I know I have.
Whilst most of these privacy policies probably state that any information you submit will be kept personal, there are always some that don’t.
Obviously, in such cases, you probably wouldn’t want to be signing up to that service under the circumstances.
So ALWAYS read the privacy policy dummy!
Inventive hackers are always on the look-out for new points of entry into their victim’s computer systems.
One of their latest efforts centres around a malware-infected email that claims World War III has begun following a US invasion of Iran.
Inboxes around the world have been receiving emails with subject lines such as ‘Third World War has begun’, ‘US Army crossed Iran’s borders’ and ‘20000 US Soldiers in Iran’.
These emails would appear to contain links to a malicious web page which would appear to display a video player showing a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion.
The text on the page is as follows -
‘Just now US Army’s Delta Force and US Air Force have invaded Iran. Approximately 20000 soldiers crossed the border into Iran and broke down the Iran’s Army resistance. The video made by US soldier was made today morning. Click on the video to see the first minutes of the beginning of World War III. God save us.’
If anyone should visit the web page and then click on the ‘video player’ they it is likely that they will be infected with the Troj/Tibs-UO Trojan in addition to a malicious piece of JavaScript, hidden on the website as Mal/ObfJS-AY.
Indian’s normally have a soft spot for dogs - one man married one - but this story is somewhat different -
This strange story sounds like it really ought to be a bizarre hoax, even though it is in fact quite true.
In India last week a dog named Chhotu was summoned to a court for allegedly breaching the peace.
The naughty canine had to employ a defence lawyer after neighbours reported that he was continually biting them.
CANINE BURGLAR DETERRENT
According to the dog’s owner, Rajkumari Devi, all of those neighbours that were allegedly bitten were actually burglars who were after her land deeds.
Rajkumari therefore maintains that Chhotu was merely protecting the family home.
This apparent waste of police and justice system resources comes at a time when the Indian police department have been accumulating some bad press over their handling of multiple bomb blasts across the country.
A police informant let slip that terrorists were seen as being too dangerous and, besides, police officers quite enjoyed running around the countryside with a squeaky plastic toy and a large net in an attempt to catch the errant dog.
A prominent member of Biharian law enforcement, who now wishes to remain anonymous, commented that Chhotu was their number one priority as he has been ‘a very bad dog’.
PRIOR CONVICTIONS
Police attempts at questioning Chhotu after his arrest were largely unsuccessful, despite their use of a revolutionary technique involving a rubber chicken and a bone.
Thus far, Chhotu’s only comment has been confirmation of his name - ‘Arf, arf, woof, woof’.
In addition to the alleged assaults, Chhotu is also being interrogated in relation to some unsolved crimes held on file.
These include 5 instances of defocation in a public place and 3 of indecent exposure in a communal play area.
Prosecutors are hopeful that Chhotu will cough up to the lesser crimes as part of a plea bargain.
Despite the prosecution’s optimism, Chhotu’s defence lawyer remains hopeful of an acquittal for his client, despite the dog having been previously sentenced to death for prior misdemeanours.
Should that sentence be handed out again, Chhotu will not be put to sleep by lethal injection as India still employs the electric chair in his jurisdiction.
A more serious account of this story can be found at the BBC.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
2 Comments