Internet, Keep Safe Online, Phishing Scams, Safe Surfing, Scam, Security, Virus and Malware Descriptions

10 Ways to Stay Safe Online

November 15, 2013 Computers Made Simple Leave a comment

Today’s post could be titled ‘The Ten Commandments of Staying Safe Online’ but we didn’t want to confuse people who were googling for the real ten commandments. Staying safe online is based on common sense, there’s no rocket science about it. Use your head and you’ll be safe. If something happens, we’re always ready to help.

Photo of Safe Online — **Ten Safety Tips**

1. Don’t click on email attachments.

We dealt with attachments earlier this week, explaining what they are and how to avoid getting tricked by a malicious one. Even if the email is from someone you know, double check with them before opening anything that’s attached to an email.

2. Don’t click on links in the body of unknown or suspicious emails.

Credit card companies and banks DO NOT send emails with links in the body of the email, at least not the ones that we deal with. If you get regular mailings from companies who are sending you updates on merchandise or sales they are having, fine. If you don’t deal with the company that sent the email, don’t click on anything inside it. Even if the email is from a friend, be suspicious. Some friends send or forward all kinds of things, right? Laugh at this, chuckle at that, you know the type. What are you going to miss if you don’t click on the link? Nothing. We can’t think of any reason why you should click on a link anyway. It’s not worth the risk.

3. Use and maintain a good anti-virus program.

We told you about several free AV programs this week so make sure you’re protected. Lack of money is no excuse. If you’re go online without the protection of AV software, you’re pretty much begging for trouble.

4. Use Google Chrome.

Not only is Chrome fast, it also updates itself every time you start it and it has a built-in protection from malware sites. If you use Internet Explorer from Microsoft, well, you’re on your own there.

5. Don’t think the Macs are safe from viruses and malware.

They aren’t. Apple is just as big of a target as Microsoft. Thousands of people around the world are busy 100% of the time trying to find holes in Windows. iOS and all of the software that goes with them.

6. Don’t use torrents to download movies or software.

Not only is it illegal but it’s also dangerous. Unless your AV software is completely up-to-date, a virus attached to a file that you’ve downloaded can wreck your computer and/or your identity in seconds. Steer clear of torrents!

7. Only download software from trusted sites.

This applies to apps that you get for your mobile devices, too. The software that we mention here is almost always free and we provide direct links to the home page of the people who create the apps. Tucows, a site that’s been around for years, is safe while sourceforge, a site that’s also been around for years, isn’t safe. Sourceforge now adds other software during the installation process while Tucows doesn’t. The added software is usually some kind of toolbar or adware that changes your browser settings completely. If in doubt, ask us first.

8. Don’t share flash drives. If you do, make sure you scan the drive with your AV software before you transfer any files.

Flash drives are wonderfully handy, aren’t they? If you use them on your own computers, you’re probably quite safe. If you lend them out to your kids or friends, scan the drive before you use any of the files on it. If your children have used a drive on a computer at their school, double and triple check it with your AV software. You’ve been warned.

9. Don’t sign in to your email, Facebook or other social media account just because something asks you to do so.

If you type in ‘facebook.com’ and then sign in to your account, that’s one thing. Typing your email and password into a pop-up window is something else. There is a good chance that something has hijacked your browser if you get these kind of pop-ups. Don’t be tricked. Always enter the website address yourself. If you happen to accidentally sign in using a pop-up window, close the window, close your browser, open it again and type in the site url yourself. Sign in and immediately change your password.

10. Don’t upgrade your flash player from any website that tells you to.

That’s why we advise you to use Chrome. Chrome updates its flash component automatically, you cannot do it yourself. If you are on a video site, other than Youtube we mean, and something pops up to tell you that your ‘flash player’ is out of date, don’t believe it. Chrome can play any video from any site on the Internet. You do not need anything else on any site that we’ve seen yet. If you’re using Chrome, your flash player/software is always up to date.

There are many more tips and tricks for keeping safe online but if you remember these ten, you’re well on your way to smooth cruising on the Internet. For more tips and tricks, Like us on Facebook. Here’s the link:

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Thanks for reading!

Free AV Software, Keep Safe Online, Security, Virus and Malware Descriptions

Viruses, Malware and Worms, Oh My! – Part 4

November 14, 2013 Computers Made Simple Leave a comment

Part four in our virus and malware series will deal with free tools to protect your computer from all things nasty. These are our recommendations. If you have some of your own, please let us know in a comment.

Trendnet Housecall

Housecall is an excellent free online virus scan. Sometimes your own anti-virus can be compromised or shut down completely by malware. Head to the site linked above and Housecall will check your computer for free. Download and install a small app then let it run. Once the verdict comes through, you can choose to get rid of anything that Housecall finds. Full instructions are on the site.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft puts out a free package of security products that will watch over your computer as you work, updating itself when it needs to do so. MSE is part of Windows 8 but you have to download it and install it yourself if you’re using other versions of Windows. Click the link above and get it. We use it on several of our computers and recommend it highly.

AVG Free

On some of our other machines, we use AVG Free AntiVirus. AVG is fast when it scans and protects any computer it’s on, even Macs. You have to update it every year, as in a whole new version, but that’s a good thing. AVG has pay versions too but that’s up to you. We like free.

Malware Bytes

If your problem isn’t from a virus, and it probably isn’t, check out Malware Bytes. The term malware is all-inclusive, including adware, cookies, viruses and many other things that can slow your computer down. If you’ve installed a bit of software and things keep popping up on your screen when you’re surfing, chances are that Malware Bytes will get rid of it. These bad things almost always come with helper apps, things such as toolbars that pretend to speed up your searching or assist you with downloads. No worries. Malware Bytes will find them. Malware Bytes doesn’t work in the background, you have to initiate a scan whenever you think you should. We’d advise that you do this about once a week, maybe once every two weeks but, again, that’s up to you.

That’s a quick rundown on some free bits and pieces that can keep your computer safe from harm. Windows already has a built-in firewall but, unless you are running Windows 8, you must always install anti-virus software.

TIP: You don’t need to pay for this protection. New computers come with trial versions of Norton or McAfee AV products. Here at Computers Made Simple, we delete those products right off the bat. Why? First, they really slow your computer down and, second, they don’t work any better than the free AV software.

Thanks for reading!

Keep Safe Online, Security, Virus and Malware Descriptions

Viruses, Malware and Worms, Oh My! – Part 3

November 13, 2013 Computers Made Simple Leave a comment

If you’re confused about what virus, malware, adware, and Trojans, etc. are, here are some definitions for you:

Photo of Trojans Virus and Worms — **The big three.**

1. Virus

This is an all -encompassing term but, fortunately, it’s a type of malware that we don’t see to often these days. A virus in a computer performs pretty much the same as it does in a human; it takes over completely, preventing other systems from working. A bad virus in either host can sometimes destroy that host completely. Many viruses were written to simply show the awesome skill of the person who wrote the script. Read that with heavy sarcasm. Some script kiddies , as they are sometimes called, don’t even write their own stuff. They copy scripts from more knowledgeable coders and claim them as their own, often signing their names somewhere in the virus code. These days, this type of individual would rather leave their work unseen and unnoticed by the users that they try to infect, in order to extract as much information as possible from them. A virus seeks to attach itself to as many files as it can on the host computer. This is the activity that your AV software should pick up. It’s the speed of the replication that makes them so very dangerous.

2. Malware

Anything that does damage, extracts private information or uses someone’s computer for purposes unknown to that user could be termed malware. There are many different kinds but, basically, things that do bad stuff to computers are designated as malware.

3. Adware

Adware is not nearly as bad as malware but it is aggravating and frustrating all the same. Most adware is installed with those seemingly helpful toolbars which many companies install with their software. Adware wants you to use a certain page for your homepage, a specific search engine, etc. Adware pretends to help you but, in reality, it only helps the company that installed it on your computer. One of the main problems with adware is that it frequently is missed by your anti-virus software. It’s not really harming your computer and it doesn’t act like malware so your AV program will likely not even notice that it’s running or pick it up on a scan. There are specific programs that seek out and destroy adware and we’ll get into these in a future post.

4. Trojan

These are things that pretend to be other things, just as the original Trojan Horse pretended to be a gift way back in history. The computer user expects a file to be a certain thing, let’s say a Word document or PDF, but that file is actually the installer for a piece of malware. The unwitting computer user won’t know what’s going on behind the scenes when they click on the infected file. While everything may seem normal and the software may do exactly what the user expects it to do, it has also infected the computer with any one of dozens of kinds of malware. It’s not only hackers that do this. Governments use Trojans to manipulate computers and machinery in countries that may be a threat to them. If you’ve ever heard the term ‘backdoor’ in discussions of malware, this is what a Trojan seeks to install on the host computer. Once the backdoor is up and running, the infected computer can be manipulated without its owner knowing about it.

5. Worms

Probably the most famous computer worm is known as the ‘Stuxnet’ worm, designed expressly to infect Iran’s nuclear engineering projects. A worm is a virus but isn’t quite as bent on destruction as a simple virus is. Worms can do many things but their aim is to sit unnoticed, all the while feeding information out to the installer and, in some cases, preventing devices from performing as they should. If one country wants to eliminate a perceived threat, let’s say from a missile installation, it is possible to have those missiles misfire or go off-course through the use of a computer worm. If you’re familiar with the TV series Battlestar Gallactica from about ten years ago, you’ll remember that the Gallactica, which was not networked, was the only spaceship which was not infected with the virus that destroyed the defence capabilities of every other networked military ship. Worms work their way from computer to computer though networks, often through updates. Some worms are designed specifically to target certain types of mechanical systems.

Those are the basics. In our next few posts, we’ll show you how to immunize you and your family from these threats. While dangers do not lurk in every corner of the Internet, there are enough of them out there to make knowing this stuff very important. Tell your friends!

Thanks for reading!

Dangers of Attachments, Email, Hotmail, Keep Safe Online, Security

Viruses, Malware and Worms, Oh My! – Part 2

November 13, 2013 Computers Made Simple Leave a comment

Although we don’t get nearly as many as we used to, some very dangerous emails still make their way into our inbox. Which ones are those? Emails with attachments, that’s what we’re writing about today. We’ll give you a few tips on how to stay safe and protect yourself from these malicious emails.

1. What’s an ‘attachment’?

Most of the time, an email is just words that someone has typed, no different than a text message. Some emails looks much like a webpage, specifically those from companies that you’ve chosen to deal with or receive ads from. Nothing much to worry about there, right? Complications arise when someone attaches a file to an email. Let’s say you’re sending a resume to a company that’s hiring. You could copy and paste your CV into the body of the email or you could attach the whole file to the email. The format for this file may vary, from PDF to .doc to .docx, etc., but the full file is sent with the email. At the other end, the person who opens that email has to download the file and open it on their computer. (Some online email providers allow documents to be opened with their email program but not all do this.) Hopefully, you’ll see where this is going. What if that attachment isn’t a simple Word document?

2. How do I know if an email has an attachment with it?

If you use Outlook/Hotmail, it will look like this:

Photo of Email Attachment — **The icon of a paper clip means these emails have attachments.**

3. What are the dangers of email attachments?

Some types of files, zips for instance, contain executable files within them. An executable file is one that actually does something, as opposed to a photo that you simply look at. Some other types of files, pdfs for example, can have an executable file hidden inside them. You are not able to send unzipped executable files any more, most email providers, if not all, have chosen to eliminate ‘exe’ files as attachments. This doesn’t mean that you’re safe, just that you have to be more careful.

If you somehow get an .exe file and click on it, you could be allowing a virus to take control of your computer or installing a key-logging program which will remember everything you type then send that data to an identity theft gang; any number of bad things, in other words. That’s why attachments can be dangerous.

4. How do I know if an attachment is safe?

Here are some simple rules to follow when faced with an email that has an attachment:

A. Do you know the sender?

B. If you know the sender, is the attachment described in the email? “I’m attaching a copy of my latest resume. Could you check it over for me?”, something like that.

C. If you know the sender, does the subject line of the email look like something they would say? “Hey! Look at this hot pic I just took!” is an example of something you shouldn’t open, let alone download the attachment.

D. Are you expecting an email with an attachment from someone you know or a company you deal with. Is the company you contacted sending you the manual for something you bought? Is a government agency sending you a new tax form? Did you request something from this person or company?

You’ll have to answer these questions yourself but A. is a definite NO, right? C is very popular now, specially on social media sites but often in emails. Basically, you have to use your head. If you delete an email that has an attachment, don’t worry about it. The rule here is to protect your computer and your identity first. If the attachment was legitimate, that person or company can always send it again.

TIP : Outlook/hotmail has a cool feature that locks attachments and pictures in emails from persons or companies that are not on your contact list or who you haven’t certified as being safe. Here’s what this looks like:

Photo of Outlook protection — **This is why we suggest that you use an online email client.**

Don’t know the sender? They’re not on your contact list? Outlook protects you from the hidden dangers in these emails. You have two choices besides deleting these. If you know the person or company, click ‘Wait, it’s safe!’. If you’re uncertain, click ‘I’m not sure. Let me check’. If you choose this one, Outlook shows you a bit more of the email but still keeps some things locked down. In the photo above, there are two attachments and we know for sure that these are malware/viruses or other nasty things. Besides, we’ve never heard of the sender. We’d have to go way out of our way to get infected by this email but, unfortunately, people do this every day. Now you know the dangers.

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have questions or suggestions about this or anything else ‘techish’. Like us on Facebook so you can keep up with our posts and tech tips: Computers Made Simple on Facebook

Email, Hotmail, Keep Safe Online, Phishing Scams, Security

Viruses, Malware and Worms, Oh My! – Part 1

November 11, 2013 Computers Made Simple Leave a comment

All this week we’re posting tips on ‘safe computing’; how to keep safe online. While we write about PCs mostly, these tips will apply to Macs too, most of them anyway. If you use an Apple computer (a Mac), don’t assume that you’re safe from these exploits. You’ll need to stay on your toes no what what type of computer you use.

Email – Threats in your Inbox:

We all get large amounts of spam email every week. Normally any junk email easy to spot. Some types of phishing emails are a little bit harder to pick out. Here’s an example of a phishing email in one of our junk folders:

Photo of Phishing Email 1 — **We don’t have a Discover card but if we did, we just might open this.**

Out of the millions of people who receive an email like this, a certain percentage would almost certainly have a Discover card, right? Let’s see what the email is all about:

Photo of Phishing Email 2 — **Oh no! ‘Irregular activity’ on our non-existent Discover card.**

Whether these emails mention Discover cards or bank accounts or airline tickets, there is one simple way to check if they are phishing emails. Aside from the fact that your credit card would call you on the phone to report ‘irregular activity’ on your card or account, don’t you think they would know your name? Any emails from these kinds of institutions, and they don’t send out many at all, would always have your name in the subject line as well as in the body of the email.

We get a notice once a month about our account statement being ready, complete with our name in the subject and our name in the salutation of the email. We also get emails from PayPal about different specials they are running and, again, our name is right up front in the subject line.

Obvious Clues:

Aside from the name issue, this email has a couple of other clues that it’s a fake. At the top, you’ll see that it purports to be from ‘discover@email.discover.com, which is probably a legitimate address. If that’s the case, why would the link in the body of the email lead to ‘cicfif (dot) cn’? That .cn is the top level domain for China, in case you didn’t know. When did Discover start using a domain in China for their security office?

Besides that, as we mentioned before, credit card companies don’t email their customers when there is a problem. Speed is of the essence in these situations. The companies don’t want to interfere with their customers activities but they do want to minimize any fraudulent use of the credit card in question. There’s nothing faster than a phone call to settle these issues. An email would never be used.

Phishing. What the heck is it?

Any unofficial (fake) email or website that asks you to fill in your personal information is said to be phishing for that information. While a virus is bad and malware can really slow down your computer, phishing can hit you right in the purse or wallet. If someone gains access to your bank account or credit card details, they can clean you out in a matter of minutes. Depending on which bank or credit card company you are with, you may or may not be liable for these losses. It’s always a good idea to check out the fine print before something like this happens.

How to Protect Yourself:

1. We strongly suggest that you use an online email account, as opposed to one that is with your ISP (Internet Service Provider). We use outlook.com (formerly hotmail), gmail and yahoo for our various accounts. Why is this important? Primarily because none of the emails from your online accounts are actually stored on your computer. Since you have almost unlimited storage space with these companies, as opposed to the limits set by your ISP, you don’t have to download the emails to read them. As a matter of fact, outlook doesn’t even let you download your inbox. Dangerous or phishing emails never reach your computer, they stay on the online servers.

All of these online email companies have very strong anti-virus/malware filters in place, far stronger than what your ISP probably uses. Before an email gets into your inbox, it must pass through very strict screens. If you have set up your account correctly, most junk emails will end up in your junk folder. You will not be able to click on any links contained in them until you certify that they are safe.

2. Don’t click on any link in email that is not from someone you know or a company that you do business with and has mentioned you by name in the email. Even if the email is from a friend, we’d suggest not clicking on it until you can verify that they actually sent you something. If their email account has been compromised, whatever form of malware that did it will now be accessing your contact list and sending out emails as soon as you click on the link.

3. Since email links can be faked, think about alternative ways to access your credit card or bank account online. Type the address into your browser yourself if you feel the email might be legitimate. Here’s how a link in an email can be faked, in case you didn’t know. Click on this link (it is totally safe, believe us): www.freestuffforyou.com What? No free stuff? Not today, just free information.

4. Here’s a trick for you, one that might keep you safe in the future. Your browser has a cool feature in it that you probably never use. Hover over any link that you see, no matter if it’s in an email or on a website. Don’t click on it, just hover over it with your cursor (mouse). Down on the lower left, right at the bottom of your screen, you’ll see where the link really leads. Try it with our fake link just above this.

That’s it for today, just some simple tips on keeping out of trouble with email scams and phishing. These are things that you actually have to try to get stung with. Your actions in these situations control whether you get into trouble or not. Later on this week, we’ll deal with things that are out of your control. Stick around. Better yet, like us on Facebook and keep up with our tips, tricks and posts: Computers Made Simple on Facebook

Thanks for reading!

a little bit of hi-tech, a little bit of common sense and a lot of fun