Wireless hijackers

Although this article was written for the UK market - it applies to anyone, anywhere, we are all vulnerable to hijackers.

UK households at risk of broadband hijackers
Rob Barnes, Head of Broadband and Mobile Phones

Internet access at home is now mainstream with the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that more than two-thirds of British households are now online. An increasing number have wireless connections, but the majority of these are not secure, leaving consumers vulnerable to fraud.

Recent research from moneysupermarket.com found that only 15% of those with wireless broadband have a protected router. With all major providers now providing a wireless router with their packages, wireless broadband is becoming increasingly popular leaving Brits open to ‘piggybacking’.

Piggybacking is where broadband users connect to someone else’s wireless router to gain access to the internet for free, with the potential to steal bank details, identity information or even downloading illegal content through the owner’s connection.

According to our research more than five million adults (11%) have used someone else’s wireless internet connection without permission in the past 12 months.  The results also show people are doing little to protect themselves, with one in seven failing to put a password on their connection.

It’s not just security risks people face as 37% of broadband deals impose a download cap, which could mean additional charges if the limit is exceeded. Of those who admit to piggybacking nearly half say they check emails and do some browsing and an unrelenting 12% hijack someone else’s wireless connection everyday, downloading films and music regularly.

What are the consequences?

If you’re not careful, you could unwittingly find a huge bill landing on your doorstep for going over the download cap imposed by the broadband provider. More and more providers offer routers with broadband packages and the range of the signal is increasing. People need to be aware just how important protection is and the best way to do it.

People are learning to be safe online but those using wireless can undo all that by leaving their network unprotected. An unsecured internet connection is just the same as leaving your front door open.

So how can you beat the broadband pirates?

* Password protect your wireless internet connection with non-dictionary words and numbers
* Check that your router uses WPA rather than WEP encryption
* Know your download limit and what that translates to (i.e. 5 music albums)
* Make sure you have appropriate security software and firewall
* If you have children, consider using parental controls as well as password protection for the router.

You can never be too careful.

Zo Nicholas

Internet Problems

If you have been wondering why the intenet has been such a pain this week with so many sites being up and down  its been due to a long known security flaw.  A flaw that compromises the entire internet’s adressing system.

The DNS flaw has now been fixed and a multi vendor patch sent out to all internet users.

.

As issued by PandaSecurity.com

Game lovers everywhere

‘World of Authentication

The creation of malicious code aimed at stealing passwords for online games is on the rise, especially those aimed at World of Warcraft and Lineage players. Most of these games offer certain functions, objects and even money can that can only be obtained as users advance through the different levels. As a result, some less skilled users are willing to pay for items they have been unable to obtain through playing the game.

Fully aware of this, cyber-crooks are creating malware strains to steal passwords for these games in order to sell avatars, objects, etc. to the highest bidder.

This situation has led video game companies to react. Last week, Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind such popular games as World of Warcraft, LineageWarcraft, Diablo and StarCraft announced the launch of an authenticator for World of Warcraft players at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational.

“It’s good to see that video game companies have started to care about users’ security, as the situation is becoming really dangerous”, explains Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs.

Play safe!

Zo Nicholas

Stop the Junk mail

Fed up with all the trash mail that comes in your mailbox? aren’t we all.
One man, Rob Clymo, has put his foot down, enough  is enough. Read Rob’s article below:

The last few days of my humble existence have been dominated in equal measure by outstandingly tedious spam messages and infuriating websites. It started at home on Saturday when I got a random web-style newsletter from a squash ‘organisation’.
 
“Clymo,” it said, “You have received this email because you subscribed to it.” Erm, no I didn’t. And it’s Mr Clymo to you. Besides, I’ve never played a game in my life so they’re not likely to sell me a racket, balls or any other kind of squash paraphernalia anytime soon, thank you very much.
 
Infected websites
According to research by Sophos, the biggest threat for most computer users today comes from the web and email. Hardly a revelation, until you hear the scary statistics. “One new malware-infected webpage is discovered every five seconds,” reveals Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant with the anti-spam specialists.
 
“There are over 15,000 new infected web pages uncovered every day, and 79% of those are legitimate websites that have been hacked.”
 
“What that means to users is that if you visit a website, you may become infected by a piece of malware designed to steal your identity simply by browsing to the site. This doesn’t just happen if you visit a pornographic or gambling website – it can happen when you visit any kind of website. A recent example is the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) website which was found to be carrying infected web pages during the Wimbledon tournament.”
 
Sea of spam
The spam continues back at work on Monday, this time from a nightclub that keeps trying to get me to go to their bangin’ house nights. Not interested. I told them as much and got this shirty email saying ‘Well, go to the ‘Unsubscribe’ link and remove yourself’. Excuse me, I didn’t sign up in the first place.
 
If it’s not spam, it’s something else. On Tuesday I’m sent an automated email telling me a flight I’ve booked has been rescheduled. The good news is that I’m still going from Southampton to Aberdeen. The bad news is that it’s via Belfast, is about two hours earlier and the journey time has gone from around one hour to nearly six. My options? There aren’t any. No other flights on that day so I’m stuck with it and all for the bargain basement fare of £153.
 
By Wednesday I try to pay the electricity bill online. The website doesn’t recognise me, even though I’ve registered before. Three attempts to log in but no joy. I try the automated phone payment system and the digitised voice at the other end is obviously having an off day and refuses to understand me. After half an hour I give up.
 
Lost identity
On Thursday I have to carry out a chore on a government website, and I fear the worst. I go through six steps and then, out of the blue, it asks for an ID number. I try a couple from my original registration emails. They don’t work. I email them. They don’t reply. I phone them. “I can’t hear you caller,” says the distant voice at the other end. “If you can hear me, please replace the handset and try again.” I do and get cut off. I phone back and, after a lengthy wait, a guy says he can resend the ID I need via email.
 
“But they usually end up in the trash,” he tuts.
 
“You sound like you’ve said that before?” I add wearily.
 
Breaking up
On Friday the phone goes and it’s a salesman from my gas company. He gives me the spiel on this boiler scheme they have on offer. “One of your colleagues said all this to me last Friday,” I tell him. She kept on cutting out so I ended up putting the phone down.
 
This guy is even more persistent. “Well, we are your energy supplier. You must have put your number into our website (I didn’t). So do you have cover at the moment? Who is it with?” This time I pretend the line is breaking up and say “Hello” repeatedly into the handset until he hangs up. It’s the oldest trick in the book, mate.
 
Hefty fines
In between all this, my inbox continues to fill with all manner of spam. Laws on email marketing came into force back in December 2003, with fines for wrongdoing supposedly hefty. But this doesn’t seem to bother Moses H. Slingback and all the other madly monikered legions who keep trying to sell me Viagra from far-flung corners of the globe. And that’s a big part of the problem. As most of the spam we receive comes from outside of the UK, our slowly evolving laws can’t touch it.
 
“Spam is a worldwide problem which knows no national boundaries, and computer crime authorities are working hard at tracking down the worst offenders,” says Graham Cluley.
 
“However, legislation alone is not going to be the answer to the spam problem. The fundamental reason why spam exists is because it works – in a nutshell, it makes money for the spammers.
 
“11% of people admit to having bought goods advertised via spam. If you buy goods marketed via spam then you are simply encouraging the spammers to send more junk email. If no-one purchased the products, then the spammers would largely disappear.”
 
So what am I to do? Well, I’m going to try some new and improved software and let you know what it’s like in a couple of weeks or so. Watch this space… 
Source: Rob Clymo: Columnist - Tech & Gadgets 
Wednesday, 02 July 2008 

Grab your FREE TRIAL of.. 

SpamBully 4 for Outlook and Outlook Express

End your spam nightmare and make email enjoyable again by keeping your Inbox free of annoying spam. 

The intelligent spam filter for Outlook and Outlook Express analyzes email so effectively that in many cases it is more accurate than filtering by hand.

And……..it’s Easy to use!

Zo Nicholas

Making life easy….anytime, anywhere…

Anyone who works on a computer day-in and day-out, for any extensive period of time, dreams of the day when a product will be developed that will end the tyranny of our endless tapping at the keyboard.  Wouldn’t it be swell if we could simply speak and the computer recorded and typed what we said?  Oh, yeah, it also has to be affordable for the average consumer. 

That day, my friend, has come courtesy of Nuance and Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Preferred software.  This unique software has won over 140 major awards worldwide for accuracy and ease of use.  This accurate, affordable, and easy-to-use speech recognition program enables small/home office, business, and educational users to create and edit documents, reports, spreadsheets, and email all by voice.

With this software, you can accurately turn your voice into text.  You can dictate continuously and naturally at up to 160 words per minute.  The software is fully integrated with Microsoft Word, Excel, Internet Explorer and Corel WordPerfect.  It can be used with virtually any Windows-based application. 

Other product features include:
• A comprehensive vocabulary of over 250,000 standard and business terms, with the ability to add new words easily. 
• The ability to insert text and graphics with a spoken word or phrase.
• The capacity to dictate into any L&H certified handheld recorded while you are on the road.
• Text-to-speech technology that allows your documents and emails to be read back to you in a human sounding voice.
• Searching the Web, accessing information, and navigating web pages by speaking URLS and links.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 9 boasts a speech to text conversion accuracy rating of 99%.  The standard version is available for just under $100 while the preferred version retails for approximately $200.  You’ll be faster, and have more fun, as you create letters, reports, and e-mails all by speaking. Just talk, and you can surf the web, open and close applications, even control your mouse and the entire desktop!

Harness the power of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, and improve the way we perform work on our computer. 

Zo Nicholas

Fed up with SPAM!

Me too, and its getting worse!

Try the Spam Filter for Outlook and Express, Windows Mail and Servers.
SPAMfighter is Europe’s leading spam filter developer, providing spam protection across the globe for 5.092.577 home and business users on PC’s and Servers.

If you need a spam filter for your home/office PC or server, you have come to the right place.

Download and try SPAMfighter Pro free for 30 days.

After the free 30 day trial of SPAMfighter PRO, private users will have the option to continue using SPAMfighter PRO for £17 or be automatically downgraded to the free SPAMfighter Standard.

Business users can continue to use SPAMfighter Pro after paying £17.

SPAMfighter Standard is a free tool for Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail that automatically and efficiently filters spam and phishing fraud.

When a new e-mail arrives, it is automatically tested by SPAMfighter. If it’s spam, it will be instantly moved to your SPAMfighter folder. If you receive a spam mail that is not detected, click on a single button, and the spam mail is removed from the rest of the 5.092.577 SPAMfighters in 222 countries/areas in seconds.

Zo Nicholas

FREE Trial

XoftSpy is a great little program that will keep your computer running
free from nasties - not like some of those antispyware tools out there that cause more problems - and come packed with viruses, trojans and worms. This is a clean product - fully supported and updated regularily.

All-in-One Solution*

Remove Spyware, Adware
Stop Pop-ups
Kill Trojans, Worms, Viruses
Clean Registry & Program Errors
Remove harmful registry keys and files
Speed-Up your computer
Destroy harmful hijackers
Helps prevent identity theft
Clean & Optimize your PC

XoftSpySE detects Spyware, Adware, and other Parasites:  
Download the Free XoftSpySE Scanner

Speed up your computer

Secret Formula

Did you know that most of the ‘computer speed up’ software out there focus only on ONE problem area?

Products like “PC Doctor” and “Registry Fixer” are decent products…*but* they leave a lot of your computer’s speed potential unused.

They fix only one of the possible problem areas like Windows registry.

Pc Secret Formula covers every vital area so your computer is literally forced to perform at maximum speed.

Go to the Secret Formula try out the Pc Secret Formula system while it’s still available at the introductory price.

Zo Nicholas 

Speed up your pc 

For Windows XP

You may have noticed the nifty graphics effects you see in
Windows XP such as sliding or fading windows and shadows
under icons.  If you’re willing to trade this for increased
performance, you can speed your computer up by following
these instructions:

1.Right click on “My Computer”, click “Properties”
2.Click the “Advanced” tab
3.Click the “Settings” button in the “Performance” section
4.Click the box next to “Adjust for best performance” to
turn them all off, or
5.Turn off as many as you want.  The fewer checked boxes,
the faster your computer!
6.Click OK, then OK to save and exit.

Source: PCSecretFormula

Zo Nicholas

How to turn your slow computer into lightning fast machine.

Are you pulling your hair out waiting for your sluggish PC
to load a website?  That WAS  me!

Does it feel like life is slowly passing you by… while the progress bar inches across your computer screen just to open a program?

And watching a simple movie clip - forget it.

It’d be faster to wait ’til the DVD makes it to the video store!

Here’s something most people don’t know…

Every keystroke and every click…in fact everything you do on your PC is being tracked and stored right this minute…slowing your PC to a crawl and leaving your vital and personal information up for grabs.

Most people only find this out the hard way… after their computer slows to a crawl. Or worse, after their personal information has been compromised.

My friend Kris Mainieri, used to be a computer hacker. Now, before you get too nervous, he wasn’t one of those guys who went around stealing people’s credit card numbers and stuff.  It was more of a game his friends and him would play… they would try to see how secure they could make their systems knowing the other guy was trying to hack in.

It taught him a lot about how vulnerable the average PC is. Imagine a mall parking lot at Christmas and every car is unlocked.

That’s pretty much what the cyber universe looks like to a hacker. Now, there’s a simple formula that shows you exactly what to do step by step!

If you’ve ever wondered why your computer seems to run so much slower than it used to…
         
If you’ve ever heard of frustrated people losing all their data because of an unexpected crash, infection or other disaster…

Or, if you’ve ever worried about having to fork over hundreds of dollars for upgrades or a visit from your local computer geek…

You can kiss all the worries, wondering and frustration goodbye…forever!

The Only Easy to Follow Click By Click Formula You’ll Find that Helps Ordinary People with NO Technical Skills Optimize Their PCs Like a Pro Is… I’ve done it and boy am I pleased that I did!

Kris Mainieri’s
PC SECRET FORMULA

You can download the FREE report - “Secrets That Most People Will Never Know About Computers…”

Zo

P.S. Speed Up Your Machine and Secure Yourself Too…