Scams, Scams and more Scams Update!

I loved this so much I just had to share this with everyone.  This Canadian resident had a CRA scammer call her.  But the beautiful thing here is that she turn the tables on them and scammed the scammer.  Listen to the YouTube video.

Scam the Scammer!!

Scams, Scams and more Scams!!!!

I'm not sure about you but I have had just about enough of scams that our available for our enjoyment these days.  When the phone rings you never know if it's something legit or just another scam.  So what is a person to do?  Well let me try to help you be informed and hopefully protect you.

Phone Scams

Some days I feel like simply unplugging my phone, cancelling my number and sticking my tongue out to the world.  Seems that every day I get some sort of scam phone call.  Here are just a few to be cautious about .

Tech Scams!

Ever get that call from Microsoft letting you know that they have noticed your computer has major issues and they are here to help??  Another is when you go to a website and an audiable message notifies you of major problems and to call the toll free number on the screen.  This actually happened to someone yesterday.

The idea here with this type of call or notification is to convince you that you have issues so they can connect remotely.  Once connected they will show you, in a very convincing way, that you have major errors.  Then they try to convince you that they are here to help and want you to download a program, for a fee!!  I have seen the fees as low as $50 and as high as $300.  Once they have the program on your system, they have access to everything on your computer remotely.  While the programs runs finding all kinds of so called issues, in the background they are stealing data from your system, infecting your computer and turning off any protection programs you may have.  THEY GOT YOU!!!

So what should you do??  When they call just hang up.  Don't even talk to them.  If you engage them it just encourages them to keep calling.  The calls are annoying but really no way of getting them to stop.  If you let the call go to voicemail or hang up on them, eventually they will stop for a while.

CRA Scam!

This one is a real problem for a lot of people.   Here you get a phone call from either the police or CRA telling you that they have a warrant out for your arrest.  You owe money and need to.pay it.  This alone should send up red flags for you.  The CRA would never call you to inform you this way.  They would send you a letter in the mail.  Police will show up at your door.   But this would only happen if you had consistently ignored letters from the CRA.

They are very convincing and can cause you to be real concerned.  If you believe that this is real hang up and call the CRA office yourself with a phone number from the CRA website.   You will see that the call you received is a scam.

At the end of the day do not be fooled into things.  If you have a tech guy or company, call them about the call.  If you have a concern related to the CRA call them yourself. 

Always remember that the CRA, Banks or really any financial organization will call or email you.  Again if you are concerned call them yourself.   Ignore the call and emails.

Well I could keep going but I don't want to make this into a novel.  Just remember, be smart.  Question everything and keep your guard up.  You don't get much of anything for free as much as you would like to think so.

Windows 10 - Friend or Foe??

The new Windows 10 has now been out for one year and people have weighed in with comments like no ones business.  So what is Windows 10, a Friend or Foe??

Well let me start this off right now by saying that I think Windows 10 is an amazing operating system.  It has taken the best of both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and put them together with the addition of new features.  I have been using Windows 10 for two years now as I have been apart of the Windows 10 Insider Preview release since September 2014.  I have seen the operating system grow and mature into what it is today.  So then if it's all so great, why are people hesitating to move to it?

Windows 10 Security and Privacy

Over the past several months a lot of people have chimed in on the so called privacy issues with Windows 10.  "Microsoft is always watching what you are doing so don't got to Windows 10".  Well I am sorry to burst your bubble if this is the way you feel but everyone is doing the exact same thing.  Your Internet provider tracks your movements.  Google tracks everything you search for and where you go.  Microsoft is no different than anyone else.  It's just because it is Microsoft that causes people to make a fuss.

So if this is the case can anything be done so I can move to Windows 10 and not have to worry about my privacy?  The answer is Yes.  I will go through a few very simple steps that you can follow yourself to ensure that your operating system sending very little to nothing back to Microsoft on your computing habits.

Security and Privacy Lock down Step 1

I am assuming that you have already installed or purchased a computer with Windows 10.  During the setup phase, one of the things Microsoft wants you to do is log into Windows 10 with a Microsoft account.  New flash, "You don't have to".  When you get to that screen in the middle of the screen it will ask you create an account.  Below this you will see Skip this step.  Select that to move to the next screen and create a local username and password.  Some Windows 10 systems may be a little different but at the end of the day you keep declining the create account till you are allowed to create a local account.

Security and Privacy Lock down Step 2

Once you are in Windows click your start button and select PC Settings.  Once the box opens select System and then along the left column select Notifications & actions.  Under the Notifications option on the right you will see all the settings on by default.  Click each option to turn them all off.  Once done click the back arrow at the top left of the screen.

Security and Privacy Lock down Step 3

Now back on the settings page click Privacy.  Under the left column under Privacy click on each option and make sure that everything on the right side of the screen is turned off.  If you have no option to turn something off, move to the next item in the column.  When you reach Feedback & Diagnostics, change automatically to never and then in the next box select Basic.  Once you have turned off all the features you are done.  Close the box.

Security and Privacy Lock down Step 4

Now we need to download a small program that will help you even more with items behind the scenes.  Click the following link to navigate to the download page.  Spybot Anti-Beacon (Installer)

Once on the screen on the right you will see the current version Download 1.5.0.35 .  Click that link and download the program.  Once downloaded run the install and then run the program.  Once the program is running select the Optional tab.  Here click Apply to every option down the list.  Then click the Protection tab and click the Immunize button at the bottom.  Then click Close.

Final Thoughts

You are done.  You are now protected from items being monitored and transferred to Microsoft without your knowledge.  You should run through Steps 2-4 on a regular basis, especially after a large Windows update.  Microsoft has a tendency to turn features back on again with updates.  Doing this will help you protect your Privacy and allow you to enjoy Windows 10.

Pokemon Go Security Alert!!!

Well here we go again.  Another threat from a potentially fun game that gets people moving and out in the fresh air.

If you have thought about installing Pokeman GO on your phone with all the excitement regarding this game, don't!!  What they don't tell you is by installing the app you provide the makers full access to your entire Google account.  This includes contacts, photos, emails, etc.  Also the industry is seeing a few fake versions as well that once loaded infect your phone with a backdrop program.  This gives the hacker access to your phone and eventually your computer.

So as much as you may think this is a great game.  I highly recommend staying away from it for now.

Want to read the full article, you can find it here

New Ransomware Warning

What is Ransomware?

You may or may not be familiar with Ransomware by now.  If you are not let me explain what this is.  I would argue that this form of infection is one of the nastiest threats to user data and computer out on the Internet today.  In basic terms once this Ransomware installs on your computer, it encrypts all your data from Microsoft Office data, pictures and videos just to name a few.  Your computer until recently worked without any issues.  But when you went to open a Word document or Excel spreadsheet for example, you will not be able to.  The file will be encrypted and useless.  The only way to unlock these encrypted files would be to pay a ransom to the hackers and if you are in luck they would send you the un-encryption file.  Personal costs could range from $100-$600 but in business those costs could be in the thousands. 

Recent versions of this Ransomware virus take it one step further.  The nastiest in this area, if it couldn't get any worse, not only encrypts your data but encrypts your Master Boot Record making your computer totally useless until you have paid the ransom.

If you are angry at this as am I,  you have to ask yourself, so the question is now what??  Well you may not protect your system totally from getting infected but I can sure help you with details in protecting yourself as well as protecting your computer and data from this type of hit.  Let's get started.

Protect my data

The easiest and best way to protect your system from this type of threat is to make sure you backup your data.  Don't just backup once but backup at least once a day.  How do I do this?  I recommend backing up your data locally and remotely.  Local backups I would recommend doing once a week to an external hard drive.  Never leave your external hard drive plugged into your system.  Run the backup and the remove the drive.  If your drive is connected when your system gets hit with a Ransomware virus, it can and will infect your backup as well.  Off-site backups I recommend doing daily with a proper subscription to a service.  Dropbox, Onedrive or Sync will not work here.  You need a subscription to a service like Carbonite or iDrive.  Once you have your subscription you install the program, mark your data folders for backup and then schedule it for once a day, normally overnight or sometime during the day.  I recommend iDrive as you can backup multiple computers to one account where Carbonite only allows one computer per Personal account.

Once you have your data backed up recovering from a Ransomware hit is easy.  Remove the virus from your system, delete the corrupted data on your system and restore.  Of course it is more involved then this but for the sake of this blog, I won't go into great details.

Protect your computer

The latest Ransomware to hit the Internet is called Satana Ransomware and Petya Ransomware.  Both not only encrypt your data files but also restart your computer and encrypt your whole computer, making it useless till you have paid.  So I have to ask, is your frustration level getting high yet?  If you get hit with this version the only option is to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows and all your programs.  What a pain in the butt!!  Well I have a solution for you.

The best way to combat this type of attack is to have a current or recent image of your entire hard drive.  For this you will need an external hard drive and an imaging software program.  You can use the same external hard drive you are using for your local backups of data.  Just save the image into a Image folder and you are done.  This imaging does not need to be done all the time.  A lot here depends on how often you install new programs.  So if you are not a big program installer then I would say once or twice a month will do just fine.  If you are a big program user and are always installing and uninstalling programs, then your imaging will need to be more often.

So what software should I use?  I recommend subscribing to Acronis True Image Cloud.  This is a great product that will not only allow you to backup locally but also to your Acronis Cloud account.  Check out this video for more details.  You can also purchases Acronis True Image 2016, a downloadable program for local backup only.  Anyone of these products will offer you a current image of your computer to recover from in the event your entire system becomes unusable.

How to protect against getting infected

First thing to remember is that you can get this and other Malware and Virus from either an email attachment, link or website.  Never ever just click on a link in an email.  It is way too easy to have a link look like it's taking you to a certain website and redirect you to a malicious location.  Here is a safe example.  Click here to get to CNN, http://www.cnn.com .  

Never just click ad open an attachment, especially if you were not expecting anything.  Even if it comes from a friend, co-worker or relative.  It's too easy these days to make an email look like it's coming from someone you know.  

Never click on ad's on a website, especially those for great deals, banks, travel, etc.  This is a perfect spot for hackers to put malicious links and data.

So the question you must have is, now what do I do?  Sounds like I should be paranoid.  Well yes in a way you should be paranoid to a point.  If someone sends you an email, pick up the phone and ask them what they sent you.  Always better to confirm then to be sorry.  If you get onto a website by accident because you typed in the web address wrong and a warning comes up telling you that your system is infected and you should call this number, DON'T.  Close your browser and start again.  If your computer acts strange, run a complete scan of your system with your Anti-virus and Malware programs.

What protection should I install

I highly recommend you have a good PAID anti-virus program, at least two good Malware protection programs and an Anti- Ransomware program.  Here are a few samples.

Virus protection

You don't need to have the big security suite from any company as it usually is way too much.

ESET NOD32 Anti-virus

Kaspersky Anti-virus

Bitdefender Anti-virus Plus 2016

Malware Protection

Malwarebytes Premium

Zemana Anti-Malware

Hitman Pro

Final Thought

At the end of the day, you need to remember these few things.  

• Always use PAID products.  A yearly subscription is cheap compared to the risk of loosing data and time trying to recover.
• Never just click on a link, or the next button when installing something.  Always ready the screen and don't be in such a hurry.  Slowing down may just save you from a hit.
• Banks, Government will never email your data with a request for info.
• Never click a link.  Go to the actual website the link is talking about and search for what they are trying to see you.  Be safe then sorry.
• No such thing as FREE or a really great deal.  Always call the company and ask if it sounds too good to be true.  If you want something for FREE ask a friend or relative to take you out for dinner.  Other than that forget it.
• Lastly just be smart.  Look at the website.  A messing or cluttered website is something to just stay away from.  Ask someone about a website if you are not sure.  Never just click on a link in an email or open an attachment.  Be smart and ask questions.

Good luck!!

Welcome

Hello everyone.

Welcome to my very first Blog post.  I first want to thank my family for encouraging me to start a Blog.  Whenever we all get together they always ask, "So what's new in the tech World?" and boy do I have lots to tell them.  So with the encouragement from family I have decided to start a blog.  I will be posting threats and technical items of interest in the hopes that people can learn and be informed.

So let's start.