Here’s yet another scam to be aware of. This has been going on for a while but it appears there’s been a recent spike in incidents.
One of our clients was recently tricked by a scam like this:
Someone calls your phone, probably from a blocked number, and they probably have an Indian accent, according to the reports we have heard so far. It’s important to remember it won’t always be so obvious, though. Some of these people can be very convincing. It’s their job to trick you.
Next, he/she will tell you they are from Microsoft and they are calling about some errors on your computer.
We have heard that the scammer will act very concerned, demanding, and even threatening about these supposed problems with your computer. They will try to create urgency and panic to get you to act without thinking.
Viruses are more sophisticated and causing more damage than ever. Most viruses people are downloading today can’t be removed. The only way to “fix” them is to restore your computer from a back-up that was taken before you caught the virus. Without a good back-up, these viruses are essentially death sentences.
There is no antivirus program that can prevent this new class of targeted attack, because when you agree to download a file or enter your information, you are bypassing the antivirus all together. So once again, we stress, the only way to protect yourself is to learn how to recognize a scam when you see it.
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Last week I replaced my Droid with an iPhone 4s. Yes, I know the iPhone 5 is coming out in a few months. Because I have never used an Apple device before, I viewed the relatively inexpensive older iPhone as less of a commitment. Plus, I really needed a new phone. My original Droid Incredible was over 2 years old and it’s age was becoming apparent. Here are some of the headaches I was experiencing
- ‘Out of Memory’ Pop-ups: Every time I did anything, I needed to click through an “Out of Memory” pop-up. You can clear this alert, but when you really don’t have much memory, they come back quickly.
- Camera Sucked: My phone is my only camera. The Incredible was nearly incapable of taking a picture that wasn’t blurred, and I was getting sick of my photos being as foggy as my memories.
- My Microphone Stopped Working: Voice to text was an important feature to me. That stopped working about 6 months ago.
- Bluetooth Was Shaky: My car has hands free calling capabilities. When my droid was linked to my car, I would answer a call on my phone, and a minute into the call, the Bluetooth would start working and switch over to my car speakers. Couldn’t get this to work right to save my life.
I had an upgrade available, so I went to Best Buy after work to check out the new phones. The new Samsungs, which I was also considering, were $299. The iPhone 4 was $99, and the iPhone 4s was $199. These were basically the three phones I was considering.
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A recent front-page story in the Washington Post brought to light a fast-growing trend in today’s digital world: Online Identity Management. So what exactly is your “Online Identity”, and how can you “Manage” it?
According to the Washington Post, Sue Scheff, a consultant to parents of troubled teens, was getting slandered online after one of her clients turned on her, calling her “a con and a fraud,” and accusing her of taking kickbacks and destroying people’s lives. Negative comments were being posted on online bulletin boards, forums, and threatening videos were posted up on YouTube for the world to see.
Her business was suffering from all the negative messages being pumped through the interwebs, so Scheff sued for defamation. She won an $11.3 million verdict, but never collected a dime from the penniless defendant. She ended up paying tens of thousands of dollars out of her own pocket to a PR firm to try and minimize the damage to her reputation.
ATTN: There’s An Un-Removable New Virus Infecting Fully Protected Computers & Servers.
This is a screen shot of a new “Ransom Virus”. Click on it for a larger image. It tries to scare you by saying there is child porn on your server. It encrypts all your files, threatens to send them to the FBI, and demands thousands of dollars to unencrypt them.
We first saw this virus on a client’s terminal server that was fully patched and up-to-date. So how did they get a virus?
A user had their weak password hacked. Once a hacker has a password to any computer on the network, they can get into the server, disable the antivirus, and install whatever malicious files he wants to without tripping any alarms.
The virus completely locked up their server by encrypting all the files. The pop up message offers the “password” to unlock the files for your credit card number. These are criminals. Do not send them your credit card info.
At “The Edge”, we are constantly trying to help our remote team members feel more connected. We have two different types of remote users: People who work from home, and those that work at satellite offices.
Working from home is a benefit many of our employees enjoy. They save on gas, spend more time with their families, and increase focus by avoiding the daily office distractions. For example, our bookkeeper Linda Goodson only comes into the office about once a week. To keep connected with users like Linda, we use a number of handy tools:
