Internet Security – Page 5 – Anti-virus Software, Spyware Protection & Firewall

Jon June 10, 2010

Stop Attracting Viruses and Malware.

Keeping your computer virus-free shouldn’t be difficult, but it is. There’s so much to do and see on the Internet that it’s easy to get complacent about Internet security and open yourself up to computer viruses and malware. And nobody wants that.

But the good news is that you can avoid the hassle of viruses, malware, etc. by changing some bad habits. Take the tips we’ve come up with to heart and you’ll be on the road to keeping your PC free from the threat of viruses and malware.

Stop checking out those sites:
You know which ones I’m talking about. The ones you don’t want Grandma seeing in your browser history (as if granny looks at that anyhow). I’m not going to name any names, but if there’s anyone who has access to your computer who’s visiting those sites on a regular basis, limiting access to those sites will go a long way in keeping your PC virus-free. Those sites are usually full of malware, drive-by downloads, and popups galore; a virtual malware minefield.
Stop opening those attachments:
If you’re not expecting a picture or a PDF, be wary of any that find their way to your email inbox. Hackers love to slip their viruses and malware into email attachments because they know they’re going to get clicked. And if they’re clicked, they’re getting their bad stuff installed. Scrutinize every email attachment and don’t click on it, download it, or even preview it until you’re sure it’s from a reliable source.
Stop sharing passwords:
Err on the side of caution and treat your passwords like they’re your Social Security number. (And why would you give that out to just anybody?) Keep your passwords as safe as you would your Social Security number and you’ll instantly decrease the chances of anyone else getting onto your computer or accounts and accidentally putting spyware or other nastiness on your machine.
Stop surfing without protection:
There’s a reason that the Internet security industry is around: Because anti-virus and anti-malware products help keep (or get) your computer clear of infections. Using a computer without some kind of protection is just a bad idea. Download StopSign Internet Security software to keep safe.

If you can keep those tips in mind and make them your new habits, you’ll be well ahead of the pack when it comes to keeping your computer virus and malware-free.

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/labyrinthx/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

If you're looking for great anti-virus software that won't break the bank, try StopSign. You don't pay extra for tech support for difficult malware, and our web protection software just works. Download & install StopSign to find out why our members choose us over the other options.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: antivirus, Internet Security, malware

Jon May 26, 2010

The Most Dangerous Threat to Your (Internet) Security.

There’s a threat lurking on your computer right now. A presence so fraught with security holes that to expose it to any malicious element on the Internet would likely result in things such as identity theft, spyware, hacked accounts, and worse. What’s this problem? The problem, my friend, is you.

“Only amateurs attack machines; professionals target people.” Bruce Schneier (computer security expert)

So you’re a danger to yourself and others around you when it comes to Internet security… don’t feel bad. We’re all guilty of it. As humans, we’re notoriously good at being bad: we forget to pick up the milk even though our significant other reminded us, we skip a meal and eat way too much later that night, and we certainly get complacent when it comes to Internet security. And that last thing, that’s what we’re talking about. You can deal with your SO and your doctor on those first two. 🙂

We’ve talked about social engineering before, which is an easy way for hackers and phishers to get information out of you. Instead of breaking into your computer they attempt to break into you, using emails, instant messages, and in some cases even phones or talking to you in real life (both of which are much more rare, but still possible). Once they have gained your trust they begin to break down walls and get at what they really want: your sensitive information. Passwords, account numbers, access codes… anything they can get their hands on that might prove valuable.

In order to stop these people from breaking into your life, you have to train yourself to jog your brain out of complacency when it comes to Internet security. Three of the easiest ways to lock out the bad guys are:

Strong passwords:
Maybe we’re sounding like a broken record here, but a good password is one of the easiest, and best, deterrents to attacks ranging from account privacy to identity theft. Build yourself a better password.
Trust but verify:
We’re not suggesting that you live your Internet life in a bubble, just use the same precautions you’d use in the real world. Use some of the tips we wrote in our blog post “5 Simple Tips to Staying Secure Online” and that should cover your bases.
Lock down accounts:
Your privacy is one of your most important assets online. For every service you use, from your bank to Facebook, make sure that you understand how their security and privacy policies affect you and lock down information such as your physical address and home phone number so that only people you want contacting you can do so.

Reducing the amount of information publicly available about you and keeping up with a few easy Internet security tips will go a long way to keeping you safe… from yourself. 🙂

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/johntolson/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: identity theft, internet fraud, Internet Security, online scams, passwords, phishing, social engineering

Jon May 20, 2010

Verified by Visa Scam: How to Spot the Fake.

Update: Learn about Visa’s (rumored) replacement for Verified by Visa, V.me.

Keep on the lookout for a scam regarding the Verified by Visa (VbV) program; a legitimate security layer set up to provide increased protection for your data for online purchases. Internet scam artists are sending out spam linking to fake versions of the program that do nothing to protect you.

The Verified by Visa program is part of the 3-D Secure protocol (developed by Visa), with similar programs adopted by Mastercard (SecureCode) and JCB (J/Secure). These programs provide an additional authentication step (i.e. a password request) for your online purchases through participating Internet retailers. This added step is set up to help ensure your identity at the time of purchase. Here’s the official word from Visa:

In addition to our other ways of preventing, detecting, and resolving fraud, we offer Verified by Visa, a free, simple-to-use service that confirms your identity with an extra password when you make an online transaction.

Phishers are casting their lines and looking for new victims. The bait they’re using is usually an email that looks like the real deal, but ultimately leads to a scam website that tries to get you to submit your credit card number and other information under the guise of the Verified by Visa program. Luckily we’ve got three suggestions for you to protect yourself from getting caught by this scam:

Scrutinize your email:
Most Verified by Visa phishing attempts start with an official-looking email that requests you to join. However, Visa isn’t sending out emails to customers in order to get them to sign up. The usual way you’d get the Verified by Visa sign up option is through a participating retailer as you begin the checkout process on their website. If you receive one of these emails, call your Visa provider and ask them to verify if the email is legit. Chances are it’s not.
Watch where you’re surfing:
If you do happen to click on the link from your email, be careful. Phishers and other scam artists are great at copying real websites and making their VbV scam version look legitimate. Check the URL, or web address, that you’re on to make sure you’re on the real site. See our blog post entitled “How to Spot a Fake Website” for more information.
Go to the source:
If you’re interested in signing up for the Verified by Visa program or learning more about it, visit the official Verified by Visa FAQ.

As always, be wary of emails in your inbox asking you to sign up for anything or giving you a link to click on to enter any of your information.

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/respres/ / CC BY 2.0

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: identity theft, Internet Security, online scams, phishing, vbv, verified by visa

Jon May 7, 2010

What’s a “botnet”?

botnet (bot·net) noun A collection of software robots that’s normally associated with malicious software. Botnets are notorious for being platforms for spam distribution.

The term botnet can refer to any group of software “robots” and normally consists of a collection of compromised (“zombie”) computers running the botnet software. In most cases the PCs running the botnet software are turned into zombie computers unknowingly, usually through drive-by downloads (software that is downloaded and automatically installed through exploited browser vulnerabilities, or by software worms, Trojan horses, or other malware). Botnets are usually controlled remotely by a botmaster using a central command-and-control interface on his or her computer.

A really good botnet can be installed on a user’s machine and never arouse any suspicion to the user through normal means of detection such as computer performance slowdowns, increased bandwidth usage, pop-ups, etc. It’s possible that a PC can be the unknowing accomplice to a number of blackhat operations, including:

Spam:
By utilizing it’s network of zombie computers, a botnet can be a powerful spam distribution platform. Millions of spam emails are sent out by botnets every day.
DDoS:
With enough infected computers, issuing a Distributed Denial of Service Attack (flooding a website with enough bogus traffic to bring it down) can easily be done with a botnet.
Spreading malware:
A zombie PC in a botnet can also be set up to not only self-propagate onto other unsuspecting computers, but it can also be a delivery system for other forms of malware, too. (viruses, spyware, Trojans, etc.)
Information collection:
Sometimes the only job of the zombies in a botnet is to collect information about the human host: what they click on, who they email, their passwords, etc.

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/peyri/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: botnet, Internet Security, malware, trojan, worm

Jon April 13, 2010

Census Scams Strike at Citizens.

If you live in the United States, you’ve probably already heard that the 2010 US Census is making its way across the country. What you may not know, however, is that with the Census comes a legion of fraudsters trying to pull a fast one on folks like you and I.

We’d like to remind everyone that the 2010 US Census will only arrive in a physical mail box, and not your email inbox or anywhere online! Scammers are already hard at work sending phishing emails and setting up fake web sites, trying to get people to reveal personal and/or financial information for the Census. Do not respond to these US Census scam emails and web sites! They’ll only lead to scams, phishing, and worse.

The US Census Bureau has a Fraudulent Activity and Scams web page that gives more information on how they’ll contact you:

The Census Bureau does NOT conduct the 2010 Census via the Internet
The Census Bureau does not send emails about participating in the 2010 Census
The Census Bureau never:
- Asks for your full social security number
- Asks for money or a donation
- Sends requests on behalf of a political party
- Requests PIN codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

For more details on official US Census policy, visit the US Census web site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/ / CC BY 2.0

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: census, identity theft, Internet Security, phishing

Jon March 3, 2010

Making Facebook Safer for You and Yours.

With over 400 million active members at the time of this post’s release, half of which log in at least once per day, Facebook is at the top of the web site food chain. With numbers like that, chances are that if you’re reading this post you’re also a Facebook member, and if you are, there have been a lot of changes in the last few months with regard to Facebook account settings that you may not have updated recently.

You may have updated a few settings when you first set up your Facebook account, but it’s a good time to review what your current settings are and make any changes necessary. We’d like to show you 3 things you can change, update, or do to make your Facebook profile safer and help ensure that only the information you want people to see can be seen.

Account Settings:
It all starts with a good password. Since Facebook allows you to store a lot of personally-identifiable information, it’s even more important to ensure that the password you use to access Facebook is strong, unique, and known only by you. If you’re not sure how to create a strong password, check out our blog articles “12 Tips for Making a Good Password” and “Bionic Passwords: Better, Stronger, and Faster“.

To change your Facebook password, click on Account > Account Settings > Password. You should then be prompted to type in your old password (as a safety precaution) and your new password.
Privacy Settings:
The Facebook privacy settings page has 5 different sections that you can modify, each of which we’ll discuss separately below. For specific details on each section see the actual page itself.
- Profile Information:
  This section allows you to determine who can see information like your birthday, photos, posts, comments, and information of that nature.
- Contact Information:
  This section allows you to determine who can see information like your cell phone, home address, website URL, and IM screen names.
- Applications and Websites:
  If you allow Facebook applications to access your account (including games such as Mafia Wars and 3rd party tools like Twitter), this section allows you to determine what, if any, information those applications can access. You can also select what information your friends can share about you, too.
- Search:
  This section has 2 very important settings: who can see your search results, and whether or not your Facebook page can be accessed by search engines.
- Block List:
  Have a virtual stalker on Facebook, or just really tired of someone? You can add them to your Block List and not have to deal with them any more (for the most part).
Watch what information you publish:
Think twice before publishing anything that is personally identifiable to Facebook or any other web site. Phone numbers, addresses, work locations, and schools you or family members are attending are all examples of things that you might want to keep under wraps. And if you do publish them to your Facebook friends, be sure to double-check all of your Facebook settings (noted above) to make sure that only the people you want seeing them can have access to them.

Please be especially careful with releasing any information regarding your home address online. Making your home address public isn’t something a lot of people do, but new tools, games, and features on many new phones, web services, etc. allow you to post geolocation data like GPS coordinates, and those can be just as dangerous to make public as your address. Read our blog post “Stranger Danger: Geolocation Features and Internet Safety” for more information.

For more information, check out the official Facebook safety page at http://www.facebook.com/safety/.

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/88526923@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: facebook, Internet Safety, Internet Security, phishing, privacy, social networks

Stop Attracting Viruses and Malware.

Verified by Visa Scam: How to Spot the Fake.

What’s a “botnet”?

Census Scams Strike at Citizens.

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