FBI Warns of Cyber Crime Affecting over 1 Million Computers

Please read below for understanding a little bit more on the steps required to help ensure you, your family and your staff are following safe computing practices and that any risk of being / becoming a victim are mitigated ASAP.

What is a BOT and how is my PC involved?
BOT is short for robot. BOTS are being used to control a victim’s computer and serve as a launching pad for damaging and illegal activities. BOTs are harmlessly downloaded to your PC. This BOT then grants access to the cyber thieves who use your PC as a vehicle for large scale attacks on companies or steal your personal information from your PC.

What can I do?
FBI officials advise - "Practicing strong computer-security habits, such as updating antivirus software, installing a firewall, using strong passwords, and employing good e-mail and Web-security practices, are as basic as putting locks on your doors and windows," according to James Finch, FBI Cyber Division.

At WEBGIO we host a Tips and Tricks article section where we recommend the following suggestions in alignment with the FBI –

Antivirus Software –

Step 1 - Ensure you have Anti Virus Software

Step 2 - Never Go Without. Never let your subscription run out. Antivirus software is like having a paid employee watch your PC activity 24/7 for viruses. Without it you are opening your PC and company up for costly damages.

Companies offering decent products that we have used are Symantec, McAfee, Norton, Microsoft Live Care or Grisoft AVG (Free).

Step 3 – Validate you have the latest updated Virus Definition File. This is the file from the Antivirus Company that keeps your computer aware and on alert for the latest threats. Usually this is done via an Update Button in the software.

Firewall – Microsoft XP and Vista have this built in. Make sure it is turned on.

Step 1 - Click Start

Step 2 - Click Settings and then Network Connections

Step 3 - Right Click Network Connection of Choice and Select Properties

Step 4 - Click Advanced Tab

Step 5 - Set Firewall Setting

Strong Passwords –

Tip 1 - Try a pass phrase rather than a password. Using a pass phrase buys you that time and safety. My short and sweet recommendation is to think of a sentence "I love Christmas”, capitalize a letter, remove the spaces, add in a number or significant date, even add a symbol and presto you are set "iLovexmas2007". It's that easy to bring your passwords up to a pass phrase for stronger security.

Good Email Habits –

Rule 1 - If you don’t know who it is from and it has an attachment that is unfamiliar. DELETE IT.

Rule 2 – If you get an email from someone you know and it has an EXE attachment. DELETE IT.

Rule 3 – If you get an email from a company and it requesting you to login and validate your username and password. DON’T use the link in the email. Go directly to the company website by opening a new browser and typing in the company url. Most companies will never contact you directly for this. This type of scam is known as phishing.

Rule 4 – Be smart and if in doubt contact CustomerCare@webgio.com

Web Security Practices -

Rule 1 – If it’s not work related then you should be going to the site on a company computer. Work is work and home is home. This keeps you from wandering to places you shouldn’t be.

Rule 2 - If you are at home do not download software to your PC you don’t need. Do a little research via Google about the software and ensure it is safe. Many folks get caught up in scams that a web site has an image that says your PC is infected or your memory is low and to download this software to free up memory or fix your PC. Don’t do it … your only downloading bad software that does exactly the opposite. This opens your PC up for a world of hurt and costly repairs.

Rule 3 – If you are shopping online and using a credit card make sure the website has a yellow lock in the bottom right corner of your browser when you are entering credit card information at check out. The yellow lock means that you have a 128 bit encrypted session between your PC and the Shopping website. Yellow Lock = Good. No Lock = Bad. The information being sent back and forth can’t be seen by anyone else in the world except you and shopping pc. Without the lock it is like you opening your front door to your home and yelling to your neighbors your credit card number. The only real difference is that on a PC you are yelling across the world vs. in your neighborhood.

Google 411

This tip comes to us from our friends at Google.

Just hot off the press is a new FREE service from any phone called GOOG-411. This service works just like the paid 411 service but connects you to the business for free.

It works like this –

1. Dial 1.800.GOOG-411

2. State the location and the business type (example Syracuse, NY and ice cream

3. You will be connected to the business for free

4. Done It's that simple ... so on your next outing or business trip and you are looking for that location you now have a free service at your fingertips.

Phishing Scam and Identify Theft at Airports

Recently a customer of mine became a victim to credit card fraud and identity theft by a new online threat called phishing.  Phishing as the name states is a scam to coerce victims into handing over personal information via the computer.  We thought this would be a great opportunity to share the story to help educate you and your staff.      

The scam took place 2 weeks ago when connecting to a paid wireless internet at the airport.  We all have enjoyed the benefits of wireless internet at one point or another and its freedom to work anywhere, any place, and at anytime.  This very freedom of wireless internet has become the launch pad for a scam called phishing. 

The story we are about to tell may sound far fetched, but let me be clear the threat is real.  By being educated you can safely surf the internet using wireless connections without fear of falling victim to this scam.   

In airports, stores or coffee shops wireless internet has become main stream for allowing people to gain access to the internet.   Major brand name company’s we all are familiar with are battling over this market and the paying customers.  This creates the perfect playground for con artists and in enters the bad guys (phishers) who can quickly setup shop to get your personal information quickly and easily.  Let me explain.

Anyone can mimic an Airport Wifi website by doing a File > Save As of the company web page, change a few pieces of html code and presto … the phisher has built a fake site (the bait) that looks like the real site.

The next step is for the phishers to go “phishing”, they use a $100 Linksys Wireless Router purchased at any technology store or another option is configure their laptop, both which aim to look like a hotspot (the bait) to broadcast a signal (cast a line) for users to connect to the fake “hot spot” (the bait).  The hotspot may say “[Airport Name Here] West Terminal Wireless Internet Access” or “[Airport Name Here] East Terminal Internet Access” and people go to the “hot spot” because guess what, the signal is stronger than the valid wireless offered by the real company (the bait looks really good to the customer).

So now that the bait is in on the hook and their line is cast, the scam begins.  When you (the customer) connect to the wireless access point (the bait), it requests your information for a 1 day paid subscription for access.  The web page looks just like the real company site “Internet Access” for the airport or another hosting company.  We won’t use a specific name of a provider but you get the point.

To gain access for a small fee you enter your credit card information just like you would order products online and add other personal information requested to complete the transaction.   What you don’t realize is that part of the trick is that the page you enter the information on isn’t really validating your credit card information.  As we stated earlier, it is fake and it is only capturing information as you type; which allows the identity thieves to use as they please to make purchases of their choice.

You hit submit on the page to complete your transaction.  The page pretends to process your information and then grants you access to the internet.  Sometimes the fake page may even pretend to validate your information by using built in error handling on the text boxes, asking you to validate that your information is correct, just like on the real sites.  This is another trick to have you validate your information twice.  So now you have just tugged on the phishing line twice by validating your information and they know they have a real catch on the line. 

Now the scam is completed, they have your information and presto the fake page redirects you to an “Access Granted Page” and you begin to surf the internet.  In summary, you think you have gained access to a valid wireless hotspot except you have really only been fooled into signing up for a fake site while a thief coerces you into gaining your personal information.

This scam is a growing concern for many “paid” wireless hot spots, because the ability to fool customers is pretty easy.  More and more locations are offering FREE wireless to prevent customers from being scammed and as businesses do this the threat will lesson.

We are happy to announce through investigative work with their bank, who trends spending habits of its customers, anomalies are flagged in the financial records and customers are notified quickly.  Today this customer is 100% free from responsibility of the damages and free from implications that if not caught earlier could have destroyed credit scores and the ability to absorb the damages.
So how can you prevent this?

Our friends at www.computerworld.com recommended the following tips -

   1.  When accessing your accounts at hot spots, enter passwords only into Web sites that include a Secure Sockets Layer key (SSL) at the bottom right of the Web browser.  This will look like a yellow lock and creates an encrypted session between your computer and the real hot spot.  This prevents people near by from “sniffing” your data through the air in the radio signals.  In computer terms this would be like you sitting in a crowded room and yelling out your personal information without it being encrypted.  Not good.

   2.  Avoid hot spots where it's difficult to tell who is connected, such as at hotels and airport clubs. Hot spots should only be used for Web surfing and not for making online purchases or any other transactions where account numbers or passwords are needed.

   3.  Turn off or remove their wireless cards from their computers when they aren't accessing a hot spot to prevent others from accessing their machines.

   4.  Don’t use unsecured applications such as e-mail or instant messaging while at hot spots.

   5.  Personal firewall and security software should also be continuously updated with patches.

For more tips, tricks and help contact our team at CustomerCare@webgio.com.

7 Steps to Avoid Computer Viruses

Use these 7 steps to minimize the risk and protect your computer for a safer online experience.

1. Email Attachments - Be careful to only open attachments from those you know.

2. Email Attachments - Be careful to only open attachment types that you know and that they are from the people you know in step one.

3. Antivirus Software - Never go without. Never let your subscription run out. Companies offering decent products that we have used are Symantec, McAfee, Norton, Microsoft Live Care or Grisoft AVG (Free).

4. Microsoft Update and Office Update - Use it. Use it often. Note that you can set your computer to run this on a frequency of your choice automatically.

Step 1 - Right Click MyComputer and Select Properties
Step 2 - Click Automatic Udates Tab

5. Firewall - Microsoft XP and Vista have this built in. Make sure it is turned on.

Step 1 - Click Start
Step 2 - Click Settings and then Network Connections
Step 3 - Right Click Network Connection of Choice and Select Properties
Step 4 - Click Advanced Tab
Step 5 - Set Firewall Setting

6. Router - If you have multiple computers or just one ... routers serve as a great barrier between your computer and the internet. We recommend Linksys routers based on experience but we are not limited and will work with many of the competitors.

7. Email Address - Get two accounts if you find yourself signing up for crazy things online - One for sign ups and one for communicating with friends and business.  This helps cut down on spam by consciously knowing which companies you are giving your email address out to and makes it easy to change out / close your email account. Good free email accounts are GMAIL (2GB), HOTMAIL (2GB) , YAHOO (1GB) and AOL (2GB).

For assistance with configuring or setting up any of the above steps please contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com.

Technology Purchase Assistance - Why We Offer the Service

Recently we configured a desktop system for a customer. Out of curiosity, we started an online chat with the sales rep and they offered to spec the machine for me (Doing this all the time via the web without a rep we wanted to see what they would suggest).

While they were busy customizing the system (from input we gave them) we started specking out what we deemed the best machine based on the customer needs. The race was on. We started down the list of components and peripherals adding, upgrading or removing options on the web as we arrived at the ideal customized system.

We completed the new system first and patiently waited for the rep to finish as we read over the list of items defining the custom machine. Surprisingly we get the quote from the rep, $300 more than what we put together. Ok, let's see where the price difference is.  We pulled up the reps list for a comparison. We have a better/faster processor that they chose, have a 17 inch monitor, the rep choose a 15 inch, we continued on and realized we choose a better system than the company rep, and did it for significantly less money.

What came next really shocked me and turned me off at the same time. The rep aggressively pushed me into a sale to finalize the order right then and there.   We repeatedly declined.

This is one great example of why we at WEBGIO offer Technology Purchase Assistance to our valued customers. We serve as the technology liaison between our customers and sales reps to ensure when it comes to customizing a new computer system for you and your specific needs we will get only what you need, we'll be sure it is the lowest price, and we will never push the sale.

For more information on Technology Purchase Assistance contact us at CustomerCare@webgio.com.

Earth Day - Looking To Do Something For The Environment And Save Your Company Money

In business we are always looking for ways to cut costs, but often we don't have the opportunity to shave the bottom line and help the environment.  Here are a few tips to help your business get green in more ways than one.

1. Turn off Computers at Night

Savings - 1 PC = $80 / year

 

2. Printing on both sides of Paper
Savings  - 1 Ream = $5 / year

 

3. Turn off copiers at Night

Savings - 1 Copier = $891 / year

 

4. Replace lighting fixture bulbs
Savings - 1 Fixture = $15 / year

 

For more information on how you can recieve tax credits and other great incentives for your business visit Energy Star.

Tax Time - How is your Accounting Software Holding Up?

Tax season is upon us and most of us have filed for our businesses.   Do you like getting a fresh start?  Capitalize on lessons learned from 2006? Or just simplify a process? 

 

The newly released Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 is a great addition to your suite of tools.  After using Quickbooks Pro for years and paying for costly upgrades I finally made the switch to Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007.  There are multiple versions of this application but the FREE version as with all Microsoft software are labeled "Express Editions".

 

Check out a live video demo here to see if this tool can serve your business and cut costs!

 

Some of the perks to migrating to the new software

• Import functionality from Quickbooks and Microsoft Money
• Integration with all Microsoft Office products for exporting capabilities for further analysis and invoicing.
• There's even an accounting export wizard to ship information off to your accountant!
• The Pay Pal integration makes accepting online payments easy!

So get organized, focus on your business not the technology and ultimately save time!  All for FREE. 

Movies, Music and Photos 101

Looking to capture a period in time, a special moment or just create a personalized visual masterpiece?  Below are 3 free tools we've been using to create eye catching movies and photo slide shows for family and friends for the past few years.

Movies - Windows Movie Maker (FREE)

Photos - Windows Photo Story (FREE)

Music - Audacity (FREE) -  Mix your music with this software and import it into the movie or photos software for that customized touch.

* The only thing that isn't free is a codec if you are doing DVD output which can be purchased for 19.99.  If your putting this on a computer CD then you are just fine without it.  I've never purchased the codec to date.

For assistance with any of the products listed above email us at CustomerCare@webgio.com.