Phishing: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [alerts@cdcmailsystem.gov]
Posted on December 2, 2009
Filed Under ID Theft, Online Security News, Phishing | Leave a Comment
Did you get an email from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [alerts@cdcmailsystem.gov], then DO NOT respond or click any links.
This is a fake message trying to get you to give up personal information that will be used for illegal purposes.
I have received several of these the last few days with slightly different wordings, title and sender information. In any regard you can be sure that CDC or other government organizations will not email you about information like this. An easy way to see where the link goes in messages like this is to hold your mouse over the image. As you can see on the image of the email I have enclosed here it goes to a website on Isle of Man.
Until next time – Stay Safe!
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
Ikee Worm on Ipone
Posted on November 10, 2009
Filed Under Cell Phone, Malware, Worms | Leave a Comment
Hacked Iphones can be infected with the Ikee worm. The code that’s build like a worm only affects “jailbreaked” iphones.
To be affected the user also has to activated login via ssh and still use the original password. So for experienced users it’s not very difficult to protect yourself.
Ikee exchanges the background image of the phone and looks for more phones to infect but no other damage has been reported.
The creator of the worm, a 21 year old Australian says it was supposed to be a joke and the intention was never for the worm to spread.
Change your passwords, people…
Until next time 
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
Software Piracy Equals Worms
Posted on November 3, 2009
Filed Under Online Security News, Worms, cybercrime | 1 Comment
In a Online Safety Study that was published by Microsoft yesterday show that worms are the biggest security threat on the Internet. The study refers to the worm Conficker that infected over five million computers the first six months 2009.
In the Microsoft study the company also found that countries with high numbers of pirate copying of software also get hit harder by security problems.
“There is a direct connection between pirate copying and the number of infected computers” says Jeff Williams on Microsoft Malware Protection Center.
Pirate copying in China is about four times bigger than in the US.
Until next time 
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
PDF Security Patch Tuesday
Posted on October 14, 2009
Filed Under Online Security News, PC Security | Leave a Comment
Today being the second Tuesday of the month, means it’s “Microsoft Patch Tuesday”.
According to Microsoft, there will be thirteen updates / fixes in total and 8 of them critical. You may have heard about vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat which puts PDF files at risk.
Patches are scheduled for today for Adobe products so make sure you get them. If you have your PC set for automatic updates, they will be installed by themselves.
If you have not, in many cases you will see a yellow shield in the bottom right task tray. You should click on that shield and install the updates. If you do not see the shield, make sure to go to the windows update site and let Microsoft update your computer.
Hotmail Passwords Phishing
Posted on October 6, 2009
Filed Under ID Theft, Phishing, cybercrime | Leave a Comment
Microsoft has confirmed that thousands of hotmail passwords has leaked on the internet.
Microsoft claim that the company hasn’t been hacked, but the information was retrieved by the hackers by phishing. It is rumored that over 10,000 accounts has been hacked. Hotmail has over 400 million registered accounts.
If you own a hotmail account you should head over there urgently and change your login information.
Conficker attacks Hospital Devices
Posted on September 8, 2009
Filed Under Malware, Online Security News, Trojans, Worms | Leave a Comment
Hello Friends,
Have you had of the latest Conficker’s massive infestation?
The damaging and popular downadup worm – Conficker – has been reported to have done its malicious attacks in hospital operations. It’s finally made its way into Hospital medical devices and its wrecking havoc.
The organizer of the Conficker Working Group and Senior Vice President for Neustar, Rodney Joffe, told a Congress that almost 300 medical devices under one manufacturer were infected with the worm, said CBS news.
Most of the infected devices were those that were connected to local area networks (LANs).Hospital operations have been affected and it has become a very serious problem that must be kept a close eye on.
Medical devices have been compromised due to the connection to an un-patched version of Microsoft’s Operating System. The patch which carries the protection from such worms and virus attack was released late last year but because of the 90-day notice regulation of U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it had not been installed.
It has come to light that not only hospitals have been affected and are vulnerable from Conficker, other industries too have been hit hard, so there’s no complete assurance of safety unless you are well protected with the right antivirus.
Conficker manifests and self copies itself on machines, targeting those that are run in Microsoft Windows and do not have the patch installed.
Conficker-proof your machines and prevent it from being attacked, make sure to install the latest windows updates which can be found on the microsoft website and most important of all update your security solutions.
The top conficker-proof security software for your business in the market today include Bitdefender Enterprise Solution, Counterspy Enterprise and Ad-Aware Enterprise.
Don’t wait until its too late you have been warned!
Until Next Time
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
BitDefender 2010 Released
Posted on August 20, 2009
Filed Under Online Security News, Online Security Software, PC Security | 2 Comments
Hello There!
The world’s leading company in providing the best security solution Bitdefender has recently released BitDefender 2010.
Proudly answering to to their millions of consumers’ demand – Maximum Protection, Usability at Maximum Speed !
The latest version offers maximum protection for home (see new parental reporting system below) or business and secures your PC from the new and fast-evolving internet security threats such as viruses, rootkits, spam and more, gaining a step ahead of the competition.
Whats really new in Bitdefender 2010 you may ask?
1. Active Virus Control NEW!
- Programs running on your computer are monitored 24/7 and any malware-like actions are noted. If enough malicious behaviors are detected the program that ran them is declared harmful and blocked before it can causes damage to your computer.
2. Usage Profiles NEW!
- New user profiles feature that allows you to choose the profile that best suits your needs – Typical, Parent or Gamer. (first in the industry!)
3. Parental Reporting System (Available in Internet Security and Total Security 2010 only) NEW!
- Allows you to view what websites your children visit.
- The monitoring is made more effective as you can receive email alerts concerning each childs activity on the internet.
- You can Set Specific time intervals for your children to use internet or specific applications.
4. Intrusion Detection NEW!
- Bitdefender 2010 will detect and block any attempt to change critical system files or registry entries on your PC.
- Warns you about attacks performed by code injection.
5. Faster Scanning Time Reduced by Half NEW!
- Bitdefender 2010 now avoids scanning files that are know to be safe. Thus enhancing speed and reducing System load. Now achieving scan in half the time of the previous version.
6. Improved In-Product Technical Support
- You can now get answers to the most common support questions or contact technical support directly from the product using its new self-service module.
This is what we have all been waiting for a Security program that provides what we really need without slowing us down!
Check out more on BitDefender 2010 here
Everybody is up for it, don’t miss out and get yourself, your PC, your home or business and your life the superior protection in the land – Purchase or Upgrade to BitDefender 2010 now!
Until Next Time
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
Beware of Rogue Anti-Malware Products
Posted on August 7, 2009
Filed Under Online Security News | 1 Comment
Hello There!
You must be scratching your head thinking what does “Rogue Anti-Malware” mean?? “Rogue/Suspect” means that these products are of unknown, questionable, or dubious value as anti-spyware protection. So Beware!
Have you heard of CoreGuard Antivirus 2009? How about Malware Catcher 2009 and Fast Antivirus 2009? If yes, then I tell you beware!
Just when you thought you have the best anti-malware software installed, think again! They may sound legitimate, look legitimate, act legitimate but they’re not. You never know, but you might have already fallen into this trap.
Certified and Legitimate Anti-Malware/Antivirus Software
If you have no time to do the tiresome research and just need to get protected fast and secure here is a list of certified and legitimate antivirus software.
Any ordinary computer owner who sees a pop up window on his PC screen that says, “YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED!”, will typically end up buying the anti-malware product by following the step-by-step guide on how to get that recommended product that promises to protect your computer from e-threats which can cost from $50.00 or more!
The only way to make sure you don’t fall prey to this kind of scams is to do your research and make sure you purchase a well known antivirus software.
The “Rogue/Suspect” Anti-spyware Blog of Sunbelt Software, leading provider of Windows Security Software such as VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware, CounterSpy, Sunbelt Personal Firewall and more, gives us details about these rogue anti-malware products and those products that have been busted like the Spyware XP Guard, System Security 2009, Virus Remover Professional and many more.
To help you get started we have provided you a list of some of the top legitimate antivirus companies which we have already checked out and confirmed that they are sure give you full protection on your computer without being suspect!
Here is the list of just some of the top legitimate anti-virus companies:
So most importantly, before you invest on an anti-malware do your research and purchase your anti-malware/antivirus with confidence!
Until Next Time Stay Secure!
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
Are you UnSecured ?
Posted on July 30, 2009
Filed Under ID Theft, Malware, Online Security Software, cybercrime | Leave a Comment
Hello Friend,
This is very important even if you are busy take a few minutes to browse through this article and find out if you are unsecured. If you are unsecured its time to take action because all signs read DANGER and you definitely don’t want to be a Victim!
If you don’t have time to read through the top 3 software providing total security and peace of mind include;
Bitdefender Total Securite $67.00, Steganos Privacy Suite $67.00, Steganos Internet Anonym $97.00.
You may find them a little pricey but when you get an attack I can bet you will be spending alot more to get the problem sorted or purchase a new Computer! If you have spent so much money buying that top range computer or growing your business make sure you are Secured!
Consequences of being UnSecured
1. Your Identity Could be Stolen
If you have signed up to lots of sites you are most likely to use one password for all of them so it’s easy to remember. If the hackers get into one account then you are in great danger as they could try to access all your other accounts using the same password.
Identity thieves can do a lot of things with your account and here are a few: Use your identity to access your Bank Accounts , Access important/confidential information from Social Networking Sites, Delete your Accounts, For Emails – spamming your contacts, send your contacts emails containing adwares
Things that could leave you open to Attack
- Leaving the login page’s “Remember my password“ checked.
- Forgetting to logout (especially if you’re in a cyber cafe)
- Website Spoofed/Phished – you have normally entered your username and password into a website whose design is adopted to the website you should be in, like Yahoo! These fake websites can even have the same URL as the target website.
- Accessing a computer with Keylogger installed on it
2. Your Computer Could Crash
This is the aftermath of having so many viruses, spyware and adware inside your system. These viruses and spywares are often times than not, from programs downloaded or from storage gadgets inserted to your computer.
Adwares like spywares install themselves. They typically display advertisements once you go online. And this slows down your computer.
If you have a lot of important personal and work files you would be out of your wits knowing that you have lost months and maybe years work!
3. Denial of Service (DoS) Attack
This is the most unfortunate thing that can happen to any organization with operations running through Internet.
Denial of Service (DoS) Attack is the pursuit of making a computer deprived of doing its usual tasks and its services unavailable to its users. Where most of the victims of this attack are those sites such as banks, credit card payment gateways, etc.
Hacking can be considered as a culprit of such consequence. Stay secured with Steganos Internet Anonym.
4. Loss of Business leading to Bankruptcy
Apart from Internet thieves out there, who are masters of working their way into your computer network through whatever means they can think of, having bad data back-up habits can contribute to the failure of a business. Bitdefender Total Security has a very good online backup facility.
With data as the core of any business, a simple backup could save your business from breaking down.
5. Public humiliation
We’ve all heard of scandals which spreads like fungus. Some celebrities even ordinary people have been a victim of this. With their personal, confidential and most personal photos and videos of them exposed on the Internet without them knowing is a total turn down. If you run a business that could be victim to this we recommend Steganos Privacy Suite.
Okay don’t say we didn’t warn you the ball is in your court.
Until Next Time
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
Gumblar – Latest e-Threat of the month
Posted on July 9, 2009
Filed Under Malware, Online Security News, PC Security, Trojans, Worms | 1 Comment
Hello Friend,
There’s a new malware on the web that is wrecking havoc in every way possible.
This drive-by-download exploit is called, Gumblar.
The latest manner of attack known from Gumblar is when doing searches on Google, it redirects Google search results to malicious sites where it loads more malware on the PC by means of drive-by-download attack that infects via PDF and Adobe Flash. Not only does it install more malwares in the PC, it also steals login details and FTP credentials thus compromising those sites owned and operated by the victim.
Since Gumblar is quite a pervasive virus its victims fall for it without knowing, Cisco came up with tips for websites and enterprises on dealing with the problem.
Tips on dealing with Gumblar Virus from Cisco
1. Ensure you have Security for your Servers
Make sure security protection is implemented for web servers and web applications. Bitdefender have a very good mail and file server security solution.
2. Be Aware of Pop-ups
Alert users and visitors to pay attention to pop-ups that leads to a questionnaire site.
3. Gateway Security
Organizations should install gateway security that is capable of drilling down into every Internet access request. Bitdefender Total Security 2009 is recommended.
5. Firewalls that can be analyzed
Make sure perimeters are secured with firewalls that can be analyzed.
Gumblar has outruled Conficker this month, either way, we don’t want any viruses for our systems.
We encourage you to do timely software updates and and use up-to-date security solutions not only to be Gumblar free but completely virus-free and Safe!
If your security program is out of date you can read more about the latest and up-to date security software available in the market today.
Until Next Time
Peter – Your Online Security Guide
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Online threats are increasingly affecting work and leisure, stealing productivity and causing damage. This website is an attempt to help increase the protection and disarm any potential threats.
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