Trojans are a very special form of malicious software that are designed to destroy your system files as opposed to Worm attacks which are designed to annoy  you with pop ups or file duplication. Trojans tend to take the form of legitimate software packages and it’s typically too late by the time you find out you’ve been affected.   Here are 5 reasons to stay clear:

1. They steal your identity. Keyloggers  are forms of Trojans. What they do is keep a record of whatever you strike on your keyboard. By doing so, it very likely that your  username and password for various sites will be captured compromising your accounts by giving the attacker access.  This is called identity theft and once your identity is stolen the attacker can personate you and harm your reputation. For instance, the attacker might send malicious URLs to your friends via email or social networks in order to get them infected as well.
2. They can manipulate your requests. The man in the browser attack uses a Trojan to complete the attack. This type of attack is very popular especially in the banking sector where there are a lot of monetary transactions. The trojan will manipulate the total amount and destination account after the user confirms the transaction.
3. They make you a part of their big project. Trojans are also used by hackers to perform DDOS attacks. DDOS attacks are a form of attack where the victim is flooded with hundreds of thousands, or even millions of traffic connections until the server is unable to handle the load and goes offline or is forced to disable security features. This does not mean that those DDOS hackers will invest into buying millions of computer to do so, rather they plant Trojans into your computer and make you their DDOS minions. Indirectly, you are part of their big project.
4. They are difficult to detect. Unlike most computer threats, Trojans are much harder to detect and sometimes can’t be detected at all. They lie dormant for the most part only waking when there is something important for them to do. For example, Keyloggers will not log your keystrokes all the time but will only start logging them when you access an online banking or other secure site.
5. They can gain control of your computer. Trojans allow hackers to take control over the victim’s computer allowing them to take pictures using their web cam, disable the mouse, keyboard or even restart the computer.

Trojan should not be taken lightly. You should at least get yourself an antivirus solution and scan your computer frequently to avoid such venomous infection.

About the Author: Alan Tay is a software engineer who specializes in digital security. He is also the author who runs IT Security Column, a IT Security blog where he mostly writes about computer security tips and security software reviews.

Keywords:

are all trojans detected on computers dangerous, can trojans steal your pictures, steal my files trojans deleted files, such dangerous, Sykipot

We are very pleased to announce the birth of our latest version of VIRUSfighter, this one designed to keep your Android device safe and sound.

We’ve spent many months crafting an Android solution that’s easy to use, easy on battery life and high on protection.

Key features are: we’ve kept it fast, lightweight and very easy to use and we’re updating signatures up to several times per day, depending on need.

Find out all about the product from the product home page.

Better yet, get VIRUSfighter Android for free from the Android Market.

We’d love to hear what you think.

Meantime, here’s a screenshot:

Keywords:

virusfighter android, virusfighter für android, virusfighterandroid, android, android virusfighter, anti virus android blog, virus fighter android, virusfighter android review, why my virusfighter is disactivate

Spammers are smart.  They are constantly changing up their tactics on how to get your email address and coax you into falling for their latest scam. 

Here are 12 things to do so you can enjoy less spam in your inbox.

Day 1: Get the latest updates from your spam filter – Since spammers are constantly changing their tricks, it is crucial to always have the latest version of your anti-spam filter. 

Day 2: Use different email addresses online – By using the same email address for everything you do, you open yourself up to even more spam in your inbox.  Try using a fake email address, or one specifically for signing up to mailing lists or websites instead.

Day 3: Encode your email address on your website or blog – When you post your email address exactly as you would when emailing, a robot will find it, detect it’s an email address, and the spam will begin.  Instead, post something like this: nospam at spamfighter dot com.  The people who need that email address will understand.

Day 4: Update your anti-virus software – Worms and web crawlers can look through websites to find out your email address and other personal information.  Even if you’re giving your email address on a secure site, there are programs that are swarming your computer gathering information without your knowledge.  Update your anti-virus to find the latest threats.

Day 5: Never open an attachment from a stranger – Opening an attachment from someone you do not know or trust will it show the spammer that you are active in your email account. That attachment could even be a virus.

Day 6: Click a link from an email– Phishing scams are prevalent with banks.  No bank will send you a link to expose all of your personal information.  They won’t do it, because they don’t need to.  If you’re suspicious, reach out to your bank to double check that what they sent to you was legitimate.  They’ll be happy to help you.

Day 7: Don’t use your email for everything – When you use your email for everything you do, you open your home and business up to more threats.  At work, use an online collaboration tool instead to limit the number of emails being sent.  This will make spam and other threats more obvious if they do squeeze through to your inbox.

Day 8: Don’t be generous over email– Nigerian spam has done really well for a reason.  People respond to it.  These scammers play on our inherent desire to help a fellow human being out.  But in this case, resisting is the best thing you can do for your inbox and your bank account.

Day 9: Avoid signing up for every mailing list you see – Be cautious about where you input your email address. 

Day 10: Be careful when entering a sweepstakes – Sweepstakes and contest sites are also notorious for selling email addresses.  The only prize you win will most likely be more spam.

Day 11: Be tricky – A common tactic used by spammers is called a “dictionary search”.  This is when they use a common domain name, such as the free email accounts, and guess likely email addresses. If yours is easy to guess, you can be assured they’ll be spamming you in no time.

Day 12: Think before you open – When you open a spam mail, spammers will know for certain that your email account is active.  Be careful which emails to open to avoid getting more spam.  

Remember: Spammers are smart.  They use different tricks every day to get your email address and try to manipulate you into sending money or giving over very personal information.  Be cautious and you can have a spam free 2012.

Keywords:

spamers day, spam with no email address How do i find it, not to be spam, leaving email open, leaving email address on personal blog, Last Scam Page Where The Spamers Start Their Day, how to not get spam, how to get more spam e-mails, How to coax a email address, how do spammers encode their email address, get spam, encode mail address on website, does leaving email open generate more spam, do emaill adresses on facebook get spammed, can someone get my personal onfo by opening a spam email

Windows 7 computers will no longer remain slow if memory is expanded via the disabling of hibernate and the deletion of ‘hiberfil.sys’.

One of the reasons attributed to a slow Windows 7 PC is less amount of memory. And when chain hibernation that’s enabled is followed, with heavy ‘hiberfil.sys’ existing, the computer suffers from less memory.

Incidentally, the term ‘hibernation’ means the state of power conservation basically on laptops. Actually when a system is in sleep mode, user-activity together with settings is placed in memory, so extraction of power is low. But, when hibernation is enabled, applications and open documents are placed on the system’s hard disk followed with disabling of Windows 7. Interestingly, amongst many situations of power saving within Windows 7, hibernation utilizes power in the amount that’s the lowest; however, it uses up over 50% of RAM (Random Access Memory).

Meanwhile, when the Windows 7 is in a hibernation state, the system establishes the “hiberfil.sys” file that’s used when Windows 7 is restarted.

In case user does not close Windows 7 rather puts it in hibernation state, he’ll find that it’s nearly immediately possible to access Windows 7. That’s a very big benefit of hibernation i.e. user needn’t wait to have the PC start up first. However, hibernation has many drawbacks too. It saves the whole lot of running software’s information prior to taking up the hibernation state and that leads to an excessively large hiberfil.sys file, which eventually consumes so much of RAM that the Windows 7 computer becomes slow.

The following are the ways in which hibernation along with hiberfil.sys leads to a slow Windows 7:

1. It eats up energy along with system resources.
2. It occupies the major part of RAM or disk space that lowers memory and with a large hiberfil.sys file.
3. It increases the number of disk fragmentations and also very slowly because of the hiberfil.sys stored on the computer’s hard drive

Hence, one of the methods by which Windows 7 performance can be avoided is to first disable “hibernation” feature followed with erasing hiberfil.sys file.

So for turning off hibernation, the steps involved are:

1. Viewing Power Options where advanced power configurations are to be changed then extending Sleep followed with enabling Hibernate after.
2. Configuring the Setting (Minutes) for the Never option.
3. While enabling Allow Hybrid Sleep, configuring ‘Setting’ to ‘Off.’
4. And finally, pressing ‘ENTER.

Now following deactivation of hibernation mode, the large hiberfil.sys file must be deleted. The steps involved are:

1. Clicking Start, going to Start Search box and typing in ‘cmd.’
2. Right-clicking on ‘Command Prompt’ that’s obtained from the search outcomes, and subsequently hitting on ‘Run as Administrator.’
3. Whilst User Account Control prompts, clicking on Continue.
4. In Command Prompt field, typing in hibernate off/powercfg.exe followed with clicking OK alternatively, typing in powercfg.exe –h off followed with clicking OK.
5. Thereafter, typing in ‘exit’ and clicking OK for removing the Command Prompt box.
6. Finally reboot your Computer.

Keywords:

computer no longer hibernating, windows 7 benifits of disabling hibernation, can windows hibernate be infected with trojan, why is windows 7 hibernation so big, windows 7 computer slow after hibernating, windows 7 excessive hard disk activity, windows 7 hibernate slow, windows 7 hibernation ram, windows 7 large ram hibernate, why is hiberfil sys file so big microsoft windows 7, what are the long files on my laptop, large hiberfil, how to restablish hybernate files to windows 7, hiberfil sys windows 7 slow login, hiberfil sys windows 7 ram update

You’ve probably never given it much thought, but your social media use has the potential to put your home at risk. While “checking in” at a certain location or uploading a picture of your new home stereo to Facebook seems like a harmless and common way to utilize social media, it may also put your home and properties at risk, as burglars have begun using information disclosed online to scope out potential target homes for robbery. However, with a few simple precautions taken you will be well on your way to deterring any attempts at a break-in in your home.

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare

In a survey carried out by UK home security experts Friedland with a number of ex-burglars, 78% of the participants stated that they believe Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social media sites are used by thieves to target potential properties.

It’s quite simple: Whenever you post that you will be away from your home, either by letting people know up front, or by checking in to a location using a smart phone, your home and properties are at risk because no one is there to guard it. Uploading a picture or a video of valuable items that you have at home might also draw a thief’s attention.

Google Street View

While Google Street View isn’t really a social network, it too has presented a rather novel safety issue to the public. In the survey previously mentioned, it was established that 74% of ex-burglars believe that Google Street View is playing a significant role in home thefts. By using this feature, burglars can scope out a prospective property, and maybe even locate weaknesses in its security. By doing this, the perpetrator could come better prepared for a break-in; 80% of the ex-burglars explained that the first attempt to break into a home tends to be unsuccessful – that they usually would prefer to return to the target location, often more than once, before attempting an actual break-in.

What should I do then?

The foundation of social media use lies in a readiness of users to share. Because of this, we all face a dilemma when disclosing information. Basically, you have to assess what kind of information you are putting out there, and who gets to see it. On Facebook it is recommended that you set your privacy settings to only allow friends to access your information and feeds. Furthermore, you should only add actual friends to your network. But Facebook is only one medium; there are several others, and they all work in different ways so it should be a priority for you to know how information is distributed and accessed when you disclose it.

You shouldn’t have to hold back on posting pictures of your new car or stereo, or announcing that you are leaving home for the holidays, as long as you are aware of who has access to the information you disclose. The idea is to stay vigilant – not paranoid, otherwise you won’t be able to enjoy the many great opportunities that social media offers.

In principle, one can’t really do much to prevent burglars from using Google Street View. You can however try locating your home via the application yourself, and determine whether there is anything you might want to change at home. Say for example the picture shows your bike visibly parked in front of your home where a thief might easily take it. It might show valuable possessions in plain view of passersby (both inside and outside of the building). These are things you can usually change in order to deter a potential break-in.

Sum up

1. Set Facebook privacy settings to allow only friends access to your content.

2. Only add actual friends to Facebook.

3. Don’t post pictures of valuable items in your home, unless you are fairly certain that it does not compromise the safety of your property.

4. Be careful about announcements that involve you not being home, unless you are fairly certain that it does not compromise the safety of your property.

5. You should avoid having valuable items exposed in plain view to passersby at your home.

Aside from these measures, you always have the ability to secure your home the traditional way, by acquiring a security system, which will deter the vast majority of burglars by simply being visible. As a final note, it should be reminded that the survey providing the key statistics for this article was one UK based survey, and as such its findings are neither conclusive nor globally applicable in any way, but we can assume that there is a general tendency towards a heavier use of social media and Google Street View as tools in home robbery planning. 

Keywords:

social media safety, social media issues, issues with social media, social network safety, social media saftey, social media safety image, media safety, general issues of social networking, safety issues with media, social media safety issue, social issues for google street view, social network issues, social network safety issues, social network safety or risky, social network safety surveys

Users can employ simple techniques like, re-registering windows installer service and cleaning windows registry to fix the Error 1721 on their computer and enjoy easy installation of Java and other applications.

Sometimes users must have faced some problems while installing Java or similar applications. Those users who have faced these troubles must have also come across another problem called the 1721 Windows installer error.

This error arises when the screen of the fast computer reads: Error 1721. This indicates that there is some trouble in the Windows Installer Package and a program necessary to complete the installation process could not run. To resolve this issue, users should contact the support personal or package vendor.

The basic reason behind 1721 error is the computer’s incapability to read different files or programs that are necessary to run the installation program, therefore, hampering the installation process. It is necessary for the users to fix this problem by solving problems that are preventing them from installing applications or programs and find out other problems in the Windows system.

There are some techniques to fix this error. Mentioned below are some of such tips to resolve this issues.

Tip 1 Re-register Windows Installer Service – The Windows installer service, on a Windows system, performs the task of managing the installation and uninstallation programs. The Windows installer service utilizes the Microsoft installation engine to carry out these functions. In a situation, where the entries related to the Microsoft engine are damaged or incorrect, users will not be able to install programs.

Tip 2 Windows Installer Cleanup Utility – if the first tip doesn’t work then users should opt for the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. This is basically a piece of software, which users can get from the official Microsoft website. This piece of software will fix any of the problems of the Windows Installer program. This is greatly suggested, as it will make your computer run much more reliably while installing software.

Tip 3 – Using Latest Version of Installer – Apart from the above mentioned two tips users should install the most recent version of installer. It is likely that users are using outdated versions of Installer without knowing the fact that these obsolete versions can’t fix errors like 1721. Hence, upgrading the Installer will definitely help in solving this issue.

Tip 4 – Cleaning Windows Registry – Among several probabilities of 1721 runtime error, dirty registry of Windows can be the one because registry is the central database of a computer and stores all the data and files. Thus, setting the Windows registry to run and operate properly can fix this error. Hence, users just need to clean the Windows registry with a Registry Cleaner.

Finally, if any of the above mentioned techniques doesn’t prove effective in solving this issue, then it is suggested that users should immediately take their system to a computer engineer, who can fix all the problems quickly.

Keywords:

error 1721 windows 7, microsoft windows instaler error 1721, windows installer package run error 1721 windows 7

Everyone here at SPAMfighter would like to take this opportunity to wish all SPAMfighter customers all the best for a successful 2012 and beyond.

We have lots of cool announcements coming in 2012, so look forward to telling you more about them then.

Keywords:

gta vice city rückwärts zeitlupe, http://www ipad3winnerinfo com

Here at SPAMfighter, we love receiving gifts, schwag, and free crap, not only during yuletide, but anytime really.  So if you feel inclined, please fell free to send your smartphones, candy, or anything else to our office. It rarely happens, but then yesterday this little gem (below), aptly named “Cairnsmhor Fine Foods Haggis Flavored Handbaked Oatcakes“, was sent to us.  Yes, you read it right. It seems to be a box containing Haggis flavored cookies. We’re not sure what angel sent us the damn thing but we believe it to be a new and advanced physical materialization of spam which will surely cause headaches to the Internet Security business in 2012.

If anyone out there (perhaps our Scottish SPAMfighter users?) would like to try these “great taste gold” cookies then comment below and we will swiftly send the box of haggis your way. We do consider ourselves as openminded but haggis is simply a road we are not entering…….. 

We would like to use the opportunity to wish all our users a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Its been a quite a busy year at SPAMfighter and we’re gearing up for some exciting news early in 2012. Can’t tell you more right now but keep an eye on our blog here or on Facebook.  

Btw. our support team will be ready for your questions if you need any help between Christmas and New Years Eve.

Your SPAMfighter Team

Keywords:

your email address was found in the internet resources and since i am responsible for recruiting in our company i would like to offer you a job of mystery shopper, haggis spam, spam and haggis

Remember the usual warnings we got from experts that deal with spam links over chat windows? We were always told that if someone contacts us and they are not from our contacts list, we should beware the links they send us. For this reason, it was always easy to determine when we should be suspicious of links. If it’s not from a friend, chances are it’s dubious and we should stay away from it. That’s not really the case with social networks as phishing attempts usually come from the accounts of trusted friends.

What is phishing?

If you’ve been around the Internet for a while now, you’ve probably heard of the term “phishing”. It is the process of shady people setting up a web page that resembles that of a popular website such as Facebook. This page tricks users into giving out their login information which is often used to spread the scam further.

How does phishing get spread on Facebook?

With Facebook being the most popular social networking site around, it’s obvious that it’s the biggest target for sinister folks. The site runs on people being social as they post and comment on different links. This is an ideal breeding ground for phishing.

A careless person can click on one of these links that promise a “really hilarious video of a cat fighting a kangaroo” and they will be delivered to a page that asks them to re-enter their login information to view the “totally awesome video”. This page, of course, is no longer part of Facebook even if it looks exactly like a Facebook page. From here, the evil phishing people can acquire login information and use it to spread the questionable link from the careless user’s own account. Some of their equally careless friends will see this link and the cycle continues.

The Usual Tricks

The most common trick of phishing sites is to lure users into re-entering their login information to view content. Phishing can also occur when a web page asks you to download an application to better protect your system or to upgrade software such as Flash. All it takes is one careless click and you can give sinister phishing people full access not just to your social networking account details, but to your computer as well.

How do I fight phishing on Facebook?

The first and most important rule in fighting phishing in your social network is to be cautious of all the links. It’s not enough to trust links just because your friend “posted” them. Hover your mouse pointer over a link to see where it goes. Pay attention to the target URL so you can be sure that you’re going exactly where you want to go. And finally, a little common sense wouldn’t hurt. You should know that Facebook and other social networking sites do not ask you to re-enter your login details to simply view content. Always stay alert when you see the login screen and the URL of the page you are currently on. If you still fall for phishing shenanigans, the best thing you can do is to change your password immediately and promise yourself never to be that careless again.

Gino Carteciano is a blogger and freelance writer who works with people like the fine folks at MSDSonlineEnvironmental, Health & Safety blog. Also, he likes explosions.

Keywords:

facebook phishing, phishing facebook, how to do phishing on facebook, how to phishing facebook, trick for attract phishing facebook link, how to send phishing link, facebook phishing trick, facebook phishing site, facebook phishing link, phishing on facebook, facebook phishing page/ softwares, facebook phishing page softwares, facebook phishing page, what is phishing on facebook, phishing cases in social networking

You do not have to be a genius to figure out why spammers have turned their evil efforts towards job spam. The current economical crisis has resulted in the lowest global unemployment rates we have seen in recent times and made it an obvious topic for spammers to take advantage of . Interestingly we have also noticed a decrease in Rolex spam, travel spam and the type of spam promoting luxury goods. Who cares about Rolex watches right now with the Occupy Wall Street movement, or the situation in Greece, Italy and Spain  [Editor - other than the 1%] ?  Like art reflecting life, it seems that spam mail is reflecting state of the economy!

The big question is whether  spammers are going for your wallet or your identity, or do you really have a shot at landing your dream job?  The headline of this blog entry pretty much says it all but let’s have a look anyway. First of all, there are the tons of different job spam mails flooding inboxes. The mails all seem to use the same few templates but spammers are varying their identities as well as the job titles. The job opportunities seem to be from a large company with many assistant HR directors. In fact, we have seem at least 50 different assistant HR Directors. Here is one of the mails from assistant HR Director Scottie Michael.

Mystery shopper? The mystery here is how they found us in the “internet resources”. Fortunately, the mails are pretty easily caught by spam filters although spammers are trying to get around this with traditional spammer tricks, such as Self sending spam where the recipient’s name is used as the sender to trick the recipient into believing the mail was sent to herself.  

The only way to apply for this job is by writing to Scottie at his @careerinhubs email address. Not much to say about that domain other than the fact that our check indicates that it was registered only three days ago! We have seen domains like @europjobboard.com, it-jobsearch.com and tech-newposition.com used the same way in previous emails and we are pretty sure it is the same job spammers.

We went on a limb and decided to contact the spammers anonymously. Not that we don’t like our jobs with SPAMfighter but the investigation called for action. We generally don’t encourage you to contact spammers but went ahead for the sake of the experiment. We replied to two of these mails received similar responses.

The email contained at application form and we nervously opened it (with SPYWAREfighter active and a closed Internet connection).  Luckily, there was no malware to be found, but lo and behold, the application form requests your bank account number and another reply even requested our passport number!  Just a little odd seeing as how we do not know a thing about the job in question nor have we accepted the opening.

We asked why they needed our bank account # and why we could not find any mentions of the company via internet searches. We never received answers, but instead they kept asking us for our bank account information. 

We kept the communication going on for a while but it always ended up with us having to supply our bank account number. See below:

You can bet that if they get your bank account number all hell will breake loose.  And we wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually started asking you for money instead. You know, the nigerian scam variant of luring your money away. Anyway, thats all for now folks. Here is some general advice on job scams:

Generel tips to avoid job spam:

1. Use a spam filter of course. That will keep the =)/&%% job spam away.
2. Google the job name, the company name and anything else that can be used to identify the sender.
3. Be aware of forms asking for your personal information like bank account and passport numbers.
4. Be rational. Unless you’ve been actively applying for jobs, it’s unlikely someone is going to find you in the “internet resources” and offer you an amazing job.

Keywords:

erica stone mystery shopper, erica stone mystery shopper email, administrative sales support - virtual office, assistant hr [erica stone@prorecruitment info], erica stone next recruitment mystery shopper, pro recruitment mystery shopper, pro recruitment erica stone, assistant hr <erica stone@prorecruitment info>, administrative sales support virtual office, Erica Stone, erica stone pro recruitment, erica stone and i am an assistant hr director, erica stone assistant hr director, next recruitment erika stone, erica stone mystery shopping

We are very pleased to announce the beta launch of our first full Mac product, FULL-DISKfighter for Mac.

Combining three handy utilities into one, FULL-DISKfighter for Mac helps users to:

1. Find junk files, including orphaned application data from previously deleted installs, not-used language files and PPC binary components that can safely be deleted from Intel Macs
2. Find duplicate files, which often accumulate over time, in different locations and under completely different names
3. Find large files, by user-defined value for “large”, so you can find out what the hell is taking up all that space on your Mac

The Beta test period is designed to help us get feedback on the product, which we will continually update during the period, as we prepare for full release in Q1 2012.

No registration is required, however feedback can be sent to macbeta@spamfighter.com for those wishing to help us make the product better. 

FULL-DISKfighter for Mac (Beta) can be downloaded from the product web page or directly get the dmg file here, and requires an Intel-based Mac running OS X 10.5 or higher, a minimum of 25 MB of disk-space and at least 0.5 Gig of Ram.

Keywords:

spamfighter mac, spamfighter til mac, FULL-DISKfighter for Mac (beta), cache:0IsX5JDNnKMJ:blog spamfighter com/general/10-movies-with-a-cybercrime-theme html internet crime movies, spamfighter för mac sw, mac search whole disk, how to find duplicate files, fulldiskfighter for mac, full diskfighter download for mac, full disk fighter voor de mac, full disk figher for mac, does spamfighter work with a mac, disk fill utility for mac, www solitaer-spielen net

Hello there! We decided to take little trip down memory lane by taking a look at movies with a cyber crime theme. Why? Because here at SPAMfighter, fighting spam, removing malware and dealing with cyber crime is something we do on a daily basis and some of us are also avid movie buffs. So what is a cyber crime movie and how do we rate a really good cyber crime movie? A cyber crime movie has to have themes involving computers, modern technology and a crime of some sort, but the movie should also be entertaining with a haunting or moving plot and great acting.  We’ve decided that movies with a realistic depiction of cyber crime but mediocre in its other characteristics do not make the cut, and after much discussion, to stay away from science fiction movies as well.  Anyway, enough talking. Here is the ultimate SPAMfighter list of 10 cyber crime movies.

  

WarGames (1983) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/ Probably the godfather of all cybercrime movies, but correct us here if we are wrong.  WarGames is a typical eighties cybercrime movie with a Cold War feeling where a high school nerd suddenly finds himself with access to military computers and the ability to start world war 3. We can’t comment on the general level of military IT security portrayed in a movie that takes place circa 1983 and the plot is very unlikely but effective as popcorn entertainment. So the verdict is: we like it. Growing up in the eighties this is a bit of a classic. Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are very likeable and as the earliest cybercrime movie release that we know of, we’re giving WarGames a generous 4 SPAMfighter crosshair rating. Hooray! The verdict:

Sneakers (1992) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/ The title of this movies does not refer to shoes but a security team being hounded by government baddies guys after discovering a computer program that is able to hack any security system. At the time it may have seen a bit far fetched but now almost 20 years later it stands the test of time. The focus on surveillance especially hits the mark.  The cast is comprised of brilliant actors like Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd and the late River Phoenix. While the movie generally seems a bit underrated overall there are a lot of enthusiasts who rate this little flick as exceptional. Definitely worthwhile if you have not seen it yet! The verdict:

The Net (1995) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113957/ This techno-stolen-identity-girl-geek movie was one of the first where the Internet had such a leading role. Also, identity theft was introduced in a pretty George Orvellian way. That probably scared the hell out of some people but would it raise many eyebrows today? Probably not. The technology shown in the flick was unfortunately not really avaiable in 1995 so they seem to have spiced things up a bit. Still it looks rather outdated today. Some like the movie – we’re not huge fans but decided for a generous three SPAMfighter crosshair rating just for casting Sandra Bullock as a geek (although that seems as plausible as Vin Diesel knitting a scarf). What happened to Sandra Bullock by the way? She seemed to be very popular but rarely hits the big screens anymore. In the movie someone steals her life. Have they also stolen her acting career? The verdict:

Hackers (1995) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/ This movies earns a SPAMfighter crosshairs solely for naming a character “Cereal Killer” and another for casting a young Angelina Jolie as a hacker. Having her as your sidekick – now that is every hacker’s dream! Anyway, this movie is somewhat of a WarGames for the nineties in its portrayal of how a kid with a computer and internet access is able to hack into government computers with ease. If can look past that, the techno driven score, and 3D computer renderings, “Hackers” might be worth a watch. In case you wondered, real life hacking is typing commands in boring Unix shells – not quite as sensational as seen here. Watch this as a fun movie to pass the time, not for its depiction of cyber crime. We end up with an average rating of 3 crosshairs! The verdict:

Swordfish (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244244/ A hacker played by Hugh Jackman is forced into helping bad guy John Travolta get his hands on a couple million USD. Not exactly an original storyline here. Although Swordfish has nice visual effects and slick cinematography overall, at the end of the day the story is mostly nonsense and predictable.  In one particularly silly scene the hacker acquires access to a FBI system just by hammering on a keyboard. Hugh Jackman act similarly to his role in X-men, unfortunately without the claws. John travolta – like his role in Battlefield Earth, fortunately without strange stuff hanging from his nose. So, fellow SPAMfighters, stay away from this one! One mediocre SPAMfighter crosshair for casting Halle barry. The verdict:

Antitrust (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218817/ This is a cyber crime movie with a far more realistic depiction of cyber crime. The creators went the extra mile by having done some actual research. Ryan Phillippe stars as a young hotshot programmer who lands a job at a big company (think Microsoft), and similarly, the movies deals with antitrust issues. Watching the movie, we are happy that technology is not depicted as flashing 3D screens and loud “Access granted” screens but seems much more realistic.  The verdict:

Firewall (2006) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408345/ Now this is a cyber crime movie we do not like. Harrison Ford is a company favorite here especially when holding a whip or a lasergun but this thriller is simply the cliche of thrillers. Even die-hard Harrison fans will find this film ridiculous.  Harrison stars as a “security expert” who is trying to save his family using parts of his daugters iPod, a fax machine and other handy tools. The title “Firewall” had us hoping that the cyber crime theme would be stronger but it’s not. Stay away from this one fellow SPAMfighters! The verdict:

Live Free or Die Hard (2007) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337978/ Bad guy fighting policeman (dinosaur) John McClane teams up with your typical movie hacker nerd to fight cyber-terrorists who are trying to shut down the US’ financial system and generally wreak havoc. The die hard “Yippy ki-yay MuthaXXXX..” clamoring McClane is once again out to save to day. If you like the rest of the Die Hard series you’re likely to enjoy this one as well.  As to the cybercrime theme, it’s present but just a little far fetched. Sure, it’s normal enough to reprogram mobile phones and hack computer while clips of ammo are being unloaded at you, but it just doesn’t do much for the movie. We also really miss the performances of Alan Rickman or Jeremy Irons who played great villians in the previous DH films.    The verdict:

Untraceable (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0880578/ “Untraceable” refers the act of hiding your actions on the Internet but they should probably have renamed the movie to “Unbelieveable” or “Unrealistic”. In the movie a killer has a website which broadcasts his killings live on the internet. The more people visiting the website the faster the victim dies. Diane Lane stars as an FBI agent who uses a PC without antivirus protection and consequently ends up on the killer’s to-do list. Anyone with even a morsel of technological knowledge is likely to laugh out loud at the movie’s silly-ness. Case in point, the killer even manages to hack the agent’s car! Anyway, if you are into movies with serial killers, such as “Saw” or “Silence of the Lambs”, you might find this interesting but do not watch it for its cyber crime plot! The verdict:

The Social Network (2010) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/ Not exactly a cybercrime movie but there is a lawsuit over intelectual property of a website, so close enough. The plot: A smart student named Mark Zuckerberg creates a small site called Facebook and is accused of stealing the idea for it. That small site ends up being a huge success and you’re probably aware of that since you’re already a fan of SPAMfighter’s Facebook page.  Even though Mark Zuckerberg, the real one, insists that the only accurate part about his portrayal in the movie is the clothes that he wears, we found it to be a great movie about friendship, greed, ambition and entrepreneurship. The movie did not win the Oscar for Best Movie but is awarded something almost as good. A fantastic SPAMfighter 5 crosshairs rating! The verdict:

Did we leave out a movie or are we completely wrong? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Kim Falkner

Keywords:

cyber crime movies, cyber movies, movies about cyber crime, best cyber crime movies, movies on cyber crime, cyber crime movies list, cyber crime movie, cyber movie, cyber crime films, computer crime movies, cybercrime movies, movie about cyber crime, internet crime movies, top cyber crime movies, cybercrime movie

Most people are familiar with computer hacking, a concept typically paired with a sense of invasion from a distant and unknown source. Social engineering however introduces an element of proximity, or at least direct contact. Instead of spending time trying to crack a computer system from afar the attacker will instead try to manipulate the victim into divulging sensitive information, such as a password to a company network, or personal credit card information. There are several methods for doing so, some old, some newer but nearly all rely on exploiting human trust and curiosity, thus we may refer to social engineering as human hacking.

Different types of methods

Social engineering is a multifaceted tool that attackers use to compromise both individuals and companies/organizations. Here is a short description of the various (most common) kinds of social engineering – or rather attacks in which social engineering partake:

Phishing

Phishing is probably the most well-known type of social engineering around. E-mail phishing has the attacker send an e-mail that in all likeness appears to come from a legitimate business, like a bank or a company whose web shop you have used before (one that requires a profile or account). The e-mail usually contains a link to a fraudulent web page that seems legitimate—with company logos and content—and has a form requesting everything from a home address to an ATM card’s PIN. It may also launch malware to a computer.

SmiShing is the SMS version of phishing, while Vishing is the phone version; this technique uses a rogue Interactive voice response (IVR) system to recreate a legitimate-sounding copy of a bank or other institution’s IVR system. The victim is prompted (typically via a phishing e-mail) to call in to the “bank” via a (ideally toll free) number provided in order to “verify” information.

Dumpster driving

A bit different from the other methods, but no doubt one of the oldest ways of obtaining vital information about a company, dumpster driving simply means to go through the trash of a company and its employees. This may be as straightforward as raiding a container, or as cunning as presenting oneself as an employee in a company to gain access to trashcans. This method may yield surprisingly useful results for the perpetrator as people don’t tend to view their trash as potentially sensitive material. Trash in this regard may be everything from documents, to cd’s and discarded hardware.

Pretexting

Pretexting is actually quite fundamental to most techniques in social engineering. The idea is to conjure an invented scenario (a pretext) wherein the attacker confronts the victim in a way so as to have him/her disclose sensitive information.

Often requiring prior research and setup, it may be used to impersonate co-workers, police, bank, tax authorities, insurance investigators — or any other individual who could have perceived authority or a right to demand certain information in the mind of the targeted victim. This scam works better if the attacker is prepared to answer questions that might be asked by the victim. In some cases all that is needed is a voice that sounds authoritative, an earnest tone, and an ability to think on one’s feet.

Diversion theft

This technique is a con exercised by professional thieves, normally against a transport or courier company. The objective is to persuade the persons responsible for a legitimate delivery that the consignment is requested elsewhere – near to, or away from, the consignee’s address, in the pretense that it is “going straight out” or “urgently required somewhere else”.

The diversion technique is not limited to theft in this manner however; it may be used in a myriad of ways, and the victim will rarely find out before it’s too late.

Baiting

Baiting revolves around tapping into the curiosity of the victim. This is typically done by leaving a malware infected cd/usb-key in company building, some place that would make it seem as though the item has been dropped by accident. This item might even be labeled with some kind of interesting title so as to encourage the finder to use it on his/her computer to satisfy the curiosity, only to have malware infecting the computer and give the attacker access to sensitive information and/or the company’s internal network.

Quid pro quo

Something for something, that is what this Latin saying means. Concerning social engineering it involves making victims divulge sensitive information by offering something in return, without them knowing that they are putting themselves or their company at risk. This is done by operating in a seemingly harmless situation, as can be seen when an attacker calls random numbers at a given company, claiming to be calling back from technical support. For the most part, this won’t result in anything as the method completely relies on chance, but eventually the attacker may find someone with a legitimate problem, and wanting to get rid of said problem, the victim may hand over his/her password which the attacker “needs” to help fix the problem. Thus, access to the network is obtained and the attacker can launch malware.  

What to do against threats

All types of hacking rely on locating a weakness in the system the attacker is trying to compromise. In social engineering, attackers try to circumvent the trouble of cracking a secured system by persuading their victims to let them in freely. Normally we don’t expect people to deceive us, and that is what attackers exploit.

A rule of thumb is to never divulge sensitive information to a source that cannot be verified. The following is a short list of pointers to help a company avoid attacks.

Companies must

-          Identify sensitive information and inform employees of their responsibilities.

-          Establish awareness amongst employees of where and when to be on guard.

-          Ensure that employees are able to politely refuse a request from a source that can’t be verified.

-          Stress-test employees by secretly simulating attacks to locate weaknesses and correct them.

Keywords:

types of social engineering, what is social engineering, Please close the door, social engineering history, baiting social engineering, ipadtrials info, different types of social engineering, quid pro quo social engineering, what is engineering, history of social engineering, social engineering, wHAT IS SOCIAL ENGINERING, history of social engineering baiting, types of social engineering techniques, what does social enginerring baiting and phIshing have in common

Unnecessary programs are a general cause of a slow computer. By removing these, a user can get a faster computer.

Are you experiencing a computer which is near its death? The reason behind it may be your hard disk which could have been victimized by unwanted software and programs.

Often, users keep number of software on their computers that have an average memory. Generally, these are unnecessary which have been installed and forgotten over a period of time causing a slow computer. Hence, it is good to regularly free your computer from unwanted programs to avoid slow computer.

While starting a computer, many programs are loaded by Windows. It includes some, which are running beyond the knowledge of a user. These are often necessary programs that run for the proper functioning of Windows and security software such as anti-virus and firewall. However, these programs are unnecessary which run in the background using up memory that finally cause slow computer.

Hold the CTRL and ALT keys and then press the DELETE key once. This will enable the Windows’ Task manger window to pop up which allows you to glance all the programs that are running on your computer at that point of time. The Applications tab will provide a list of programs such as Internet Explorer, Word and any folder opened by you. There you will find a plenty of unwanted programs, applications and toolbars causing your computer running slow and that you would like to clear off from your computer. Just select a particular program that you think is useless and click the End Task button to stop it from running further.

Here are few other ways to clear unwanted programs:

- Firstly, one needs to click Start/Programs and search for the program one wants to remove. Many times, the program group will be containing an uninstalled program.

- Another way is to click the Start button/Settings/Control Panel. Then open the “Add/Remove programs” icon. The user will come across a list of programs that could be removed from the system by Windows. The user needs to select the one he would like to remove and hit the OK button. The list can be sorted by its name, frequency of use, size or last date used. Highlight the unwanted program that you think is causing a slow computer to obtain the details about its install date and use.

In case neither of the above works, one can always move to the program’s folder and remove the programs sourcing slow computer. However, it’s not sure that the program would be confined to that folder. It could have distributed other files throughout a computer.

Finally, you can make use of a program like our SLOW-PCfighter. It performs a great job by removing mulish programs and needless files which really helps to get rid of a slow computer.

However, user should remember that few files that get placed on the hard drive while installing a program are basically updates to some of the existing files. While uninstalling something, the user gets a message that all the files from a program could not be removed. This may be due to the fact that these files are used by other programs.

Keywords:

how to delete unwanted files from computer, unwanted programs, remove unwanted programs, how to find unwanted files from pc, what to delete to make computer faster, removing unwanted programs, uninstall unwanted programs, how to find unwanted programs installed on my computer, how to remove unwanted programs, which programs can i remove from my computer, how to remove unwanted software from computer, cancell all program, how to remove unnecessary software from computer, how to remove unwanted files from computer, software to remove unwanted files from your computer

Facebook has been the topic of many security and privacy headlines with a number of  consumer protection agencies recently filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission to members of the controversial hacker group Anonymous vowing to hack Facebook on November 5.  Additionally, with the rise of spam and fraud on Facebook there is an increasing need to be aware of the type of actions that might compromise your Facebook profile.  Here are some tips to keep you safe:

Secure password – Passwords such as “1234”, “ABCD” or “AAAA” are easily brute-force cracked by hackers. We recommend that you use at least 1 letter, at least 1 capital letter, at least 1 number and at least 1 symbol. Here is an example: “AFK2@now”.   Try Microsofts Password Checker.

Reject friend requests from unknown persons – We recommend that you never become “friends” with people that you don’t know. Once you’ve accepted a request from a new source, your profile and whatever personal information you have entered into it will open itself to that person.

Be careful when installing new Facebook applications – When applying new applications to your Facebook page, we recommend doing a quick Google search before installing anything. Try finding reviews of the application to find out whether or not it is legitimate.  A couple minutes of your time can potentially save you much more as certain malicious applications contain Trojans.

Do not open links from friends that contain an “aggressive” header – These types of links are seldom shared by your friends, they are spread automatically via their profiles because they have entered the advocated page themselves, a page which is likely infected with malware. You can report malicious links here: Report Malicious Link

Report to Facebook – If you think you were a victim of account hacking. You can contact Facebook directly here: Privacy@facebook.com.

We hope this post helps you to act safely on Facebook.  If you have any questions regarding Facebook security or privacy concerns don’t hesitate to ask us here, or join us on Facebook for additional discussions not found on our blog. 

Keywords:

is facebook safe 2011, tips to be safe on facebook, 5 Simple Tips To Remain Safe on Facebook, how safe is facebook, Facebook simple tricks, facebook privacy tips november 2011, how safe is facebook 2011, simple facebook tips and tricks, facebook tips n tricks 2011, facebook tips to be safe, nextrecruitment info, tips on how to be safe on facebook, tips to remain safe, 5 tips for a safer blog, legit facebook brute force