We all hate Spam. Not the processed meat in a can, the email messages that we did not want to receive. Whether they appear as advertisements for products we do not want or emails for services we have no interest in, everyone has received spam at some point. Sometimes, though, spam emails can be far more dangerous than annoying ads – they can contain phishing links that appear to come from a legitimate source.
Every new computer comes with at least a free trial of one of the many popular security scan programs. People recognize that security scan programs are important and tend to not take the time to fully read something that appears to be one of them, but which is in fact a scam, because they are afraid of getting a computer virus. By not reading everything that pops up on the screen, many people unknowingly infect their computers with malware and viruses. Many scams pretend to be legitimate security programs by telling you that you are unprotected or have a virus already, in order to gain access to your computer.
When browsing products on Amazon and you see a product has a five star rating that means it is a great product, right? Unfortunately, you cannot trust that rating as much as you might have thought. At least one Amazon retailer has been paying people to post rave reviews for its products on the site.
Though this highly misleading practice violates Amazon’s stated policies, VIP Deals paid its customers to give the product good reviews. The company is now suffering the consequences – Amazon took down the product page on which people posted the offending reviews and then removed all other VIP Deals products from the website.
When shopping online, many customers place a high importance on peer reviews because they cannot physically see or handle the item they are purchasing. Good reviews are essential for retailers to sell their product amid the multitude of similar products available online. Therefore, some retailers like VIP Deals are resorting to posting anonymous reviews or selling reviews in order to obtain customers.
If you have had M&M’s lately, you might be contributing to a growing problem without even knowing about it. M&M’s has a current promotion on many of its wrappers advertising the chance to win free movie tickets. This is very exciting; in addition to getting some candy, you have the chance to get into a movie for free! How cool is that? Your response might be a little different after you pull back the curtain and look at what MARS/M&M’s is actually doing (and they are not the only ones!).
When you go on the Internet to enter the code found on your wrapper of M&M’s, the site requests your birthdate and state. This is a very odd redundancy as the M&M’s website requires you to provide your birthdate just to access the site (it reconfigures for different age groups, which is admittedly pretty cool). After you have added your date of birth and state or territory, you may enter your game code. When you enter your game code, you are compelled to provide your e-mail address before the site will tell you what you have won.
And lo! The vast majority of winners who win anything from M&M’s.com have to enter their address . . . so M&M’s may mail you your movie coupon. This may seem like a very exciting process that has you eager to go to the movie, as well as eat more candy (you could win again!).
But what has really happened? In the space of about one minute, you have provided the MARS/M&M’s Corporation with your name, address, e-mail address and birthdate. You have given the company everything they need to put you on a mailing list!
Virtually every company with an online presence now gets their data directly from their customers in this fashion. Why pay for a mailing list from a competitor when you can simply have your customers furnish their contact information under the guise of winning something? The bottom of the receipts for Taco Bell and Wal-Mart promise the chance of money each month when you call and inform the company about the service you received. Some users online have reported spikes in e-mails from companies like Wal-Mart following filling out those surveys!
It used to be that businesses kept customers in the dark about how their names ended up on mailing lists. With the rise of Internet contests and surveys that require you to give your contact information, the process is being redressed poorly. But kudos to the big companies! They have realized they do not need data miners; they just need to offer the possibility of getting something more with your seventy-five cent candy!
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
According to the IFPI Digital Music Report from 2011, the music industry is a 15.8 billion dollar industry. In 2010, legal digital music downloads generated $4.6 billion. That number, which represents 29% of the music industry, has a vast number of analysts reaching very different conclusions. The report, which notes that the music industry suffered a 31% loss between 2004 and 2010, is enough to give audiophiles pause.
Digital music in the form of digital downloads – audio files traditionally found online – have been on the market for over fifteen years. However, the music industry started more carefully tracking the market share of digital downloads in 2004, following the collapse of Napster. The influence of digital music in the marketplace has only increased; since 2004 the value of the digital music market increased 1000%!
Even with the convenient access to music that digital music affords its listeners and the lower production cost digital music offers producers, the music industry has seen widespread revenue losses. Most in the music industry want to attribute the loss of revenue to pirated digital downloads. Trends of pirating of digital music vary with every country, but some areas with less stringent intellectual property protections contribute more to the loss of revenue from pirating. In the UK, 76% of music obtained online in 2010 was obtained illegally. Industry experts estimate that digital music sales would be 131% greater if all piracy ended.
But the industry analysts may be making too many stretches in blaming digital music piracy for the industry’s woes. The Digital Music Report attributes the 12% drop in global Top 50 concert revenues to pirating. That connection may be a false one. There is no evidence to suggest that those who pirate music either were attending concerts before they became music pirates or are less inclined to attend concerts once they begin pirating. A much more likely factor contributing to lower concert attendance is the global financial crisis which has left many without the disposable income to spend on attending concerts.
Moreover, the report acknowledges that at 30% of their revenues, the music industry invests more heavily than any other entertainment sector in marketing and A&R (artists and repertoire, which is essentially talent scouting and artist development). The report and analysts are quick to blame music piracy as the overwhelming cause of 31% drop in the value of the music industry since 2004. Again, this is a simplistic view. In that same time frame, pop music has all but died, replaced by rap, hip-hop and R&B on most Top 40 stations. It is just as likely that the A&R sector of the music industry radically misjudged what music customers would pay for as it is that the piracy of digital music has precipitated the loss of revenues.
New services like Google Music continue to bolster the legal propagation of digital music downloads; there is no corresponding A&R avenue to so vigorously promote new, quality artists.
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
If you’ve ever been in a small pizzeria or a local family diner that has just recently started accepting credit cards, you might have seen a little gadget that’s attached to the checkout computer—a small credit card reader. With the advances in network services, it has become very easy to attach a credit card reader to almost any computer with an Internet connection. In fact, if you’d like to swipe away your credit cards at home, then by all means, go for it. SmartSwipe is a small, very cool personal credit card reader that can be used to read credit cards at home or in the office.
SmartSwipe isn’t just a cool way of playing shop at home. Sure, you can swipe away your credit cards when shopping online to get a more commercial feel for your transactions, but there’s more to this credit card reader than fun. SmartSwipe adds an entire new dimension of security to your online financial activities that involve using credit cards. No matter how secure you think your Internet connection is, and regardless of how advanced your anti-virus software is, when you enter your credit card information, you still face some Internet security risks. SmartSwipe reduces (or maybe even eliminates) these risks by encrypting your credit card data before it reaches the information field. This way, if a hacker is trying to monitor your keystrokes or remotely observe your screen, he or she will not be able to see the information you enter.
Under normal circumstances, when you use a credit card to make an online purchase, the website you’re using scrambles (encrypts) your data to prevent hackers from seeing it in its raw form. However, if your device is infected with spyware, for example, that program will have access to the data before it is encrypted. SmartSwipe encrypts the data in its external hardware so that by the time it reaches your computer, it’s protected.
The safe credit card reader is an essential tool for people who regularly enter their credit card information online, whether it’s for online shopping or other financial transactions. As Identity theft problems increase, it’s essential for users to safeguard their private information.
The device is easy to use and connects to your computer via a USB port. Additionally, it is compatible with all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB.
SmartSwipe doesn’t come with hidden fees, according to its manufacturer, and using it is completely free after you have purchased the product. The device also helps protect you from accidentally buying the same product twice as it only accepts one purchase per transaction.
To investigate how well the card reader actually works, CBS affiliate, KUTV, independently put it to the test. The show’s producers attempted to get access to a volunteer’s credit information as she completed two transactions, one with SmartSwipe and one without it. Sure enough, when she used SmartSwipe, the (friendly) hacker wasn’t able to see any of her information. On the other hand, when she didn’t use the device, all her data was visible.
Costliness aside, the SmartSwipe looks elegant, connects to your computer easily, and, most importantly, adds a priceless level of security to your online financial transactions, and really, can you put a price tag on that?
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
A new Facebook app has been circulating the web just in time for Halloween, and it’s offering a spooky reminder of how susceptible our Internet security is these days.
The app is among the most sophisticated to appear on Facebook. A blue lollipop with a razor inside it greets users. “Connect to Facebook” reads the button beneath it. Next comes the usual permission request that asks users to grant access to their private information, in other words, to put Internet security aside. A few seconds later, a video begins to play. The scene opens to a dark, musty looking corridor with creepy music playing in the background. A dirty, sweaty man sits behind an ancient computer. He logs into Facebook, but what shows up on the screen is not his account. It’s yours.
For the next minute or so, he clicks through your photos and reads your actual wall posts as he appears to be tormented by some kind of rage, anger, or jealousy. Before long, he types in your location, pulls up an online map, and heads to his car. He’s coming for you.
The scariest part of the video is that the crazed man out to get you doesn’t hack into a network service in order to breach your Internet security. Nor is he even part of your immediate network. He has access to your information because it’s all public. Even when you think you’re protecting your Internet security by adjusting your privacy settings, “Take This Lollipop” is an example of how we frequently opt out of maintaining high Internet security to allow apps Facebook access. Every time we allow an app access to our information, we are essentially signing a waiver to allow our Internet security to be breached.
To generate the video, users need to access it from an external website that connects to Facebook. This shows that Internet security problems extend past internal Facebook apps, especially since we now regularly link Facebook to external websites. We also access it through a variety of network services. In fact, threats to Internet security don’t even need advanced network services anymore. Even a creepy stalker in a basement that shows no evidence of a sophisticated network service can access your private information.
As Wi-Fi and 4G become standard in so many devices, accessing Facebook has become a right, not a privilege. We now expect to find Facebook embedded into smartphones and tablets. The increased reliance on Facebook for even the most basic communication brings with it a heightened threat to our Internet security.
The name of the app is in itself a message against the dangers of careless Internet security practices. Allowing Facebook apps to access your account may not be a primary threat to your network services the way virus are, but it is still a major threat to your personal and Internet security.
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com
Zero-day virus attacks get the credit for a hacker group’s entry to websites for PBS and Sony, raising concern about computer security. The average user can remain safe against attacks easily using the anti-virus protection software that already exists.
A new Internet security attack spread through email Thursday, though it came in somewhat old packaging.
The attack, dubbed “Here you have” after the subject line of the phishing attack emails, was reminiscent of attacks from 2000 and 2001. Those attacks, the ILoveYou and Anna Kournikova worms, were the last significant mass email attacks, until now. The Kournikova worm even used the same “Here you have” subject line. Read more »
Users of Apple’s iTunes store have been victimized yet again, but not because of Apple.
A series of ongoing phishing scams have tricked users of Apple’s online service into revealing login information. In turn, this has allowed hackers to bypass the Internet security of those users with ease.
Once logged into the account, hackers have rung up hundreds or even thousands of dollars in charges.
Most of the attacks have happened with accounts linked to PayPal. In many cases, hackers have used the stolen funds to purchase iTunes gift codes – online gift cards – which they can then resell on the Internet for a profit.
Unlike many Internet security attacks which originate with a security breach on the part of the vendor, this attack seems to be largely caused by trusting users being victimized by phishing emails.
These sorts of fraudulent emails are sent to users, often requesting that they verify login information. Because the emails appear to be legitimate, many users click on the links within them or enter their private account information.
Once hackers posses that info, they simply log in. The account, and everything linked to it, is easy pickings.
To protect yourself and your iTunes and PayPal accounts, follow these simple Internet security tips:
For more information on protecting yourself, read Rescuecom’s 5 Tips to Detect Phishing.
About RESCUECOM:
RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.
For More Information, Contact:
David Milman, CEO
315-882-1100
david@rescuecom.com