Here is another verified threat. It is a complicated story that involves FBI intervention, but that intervention stops on July 9. Tech2 gives a good short summary:
http://tech2.in.com/news/web-services/fbis-cutting-off-internet-to-dns-changer-infected-users-on-july-9/301012
Digital Trends provides a good explanation of the problem:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/fbi-web-will-go-dark-for-350000-infected-internet-users-starting-july-9/
PCWorld also has a good article along with a "How to Tell you Have a Problem" section and a "What to do if You have a Problem" section:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255137/protect_yourself_from_dnschanger.html
What is the bottom line? Follow this link to see if you have a problem. http://www.dns-ok.us/ If you do have the problem, the PCWorld article should help you find a solution.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
SpinRite Hard Drive Recovery
Another Leo Laporte recommendation is SpinRite. This tool will attempt to recover a hard drive by reading every sector and marking those which are bad. In the process, if it can move data to good sectors, there is a chance that the hard drive might be salvageable and also a chance that the data might be recovered.
http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm
http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm
EaseUS Data Recovery
I heard about this on Leo LaPorte's podcast. If you have access to forensic tools, this might not impress you, but for everyone else, this might be a good resource for recovering data on a hard drive after it has been deleted.
http://easeus.com/
http://easeus.com/
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Current Technology Scams
Please be mindful of technology scams. They can cause harm to you or your computer equipment. See below for current scams . . .
Microsoft Support Scam
From what I can tell, this scam was being used two years ago and has had a recent resurgence. Below is an article reported this week on KKTV.com, a southern Colorado news station:
Norma Charles recently got an alarming phone call from a man she said had a heavy accent.
"I'm always a little bit wary. You hear about this all the time, and I said 'I’m not sure I trust you or not,'" Charles said.
From the start she said she knew something was wrong. The man on the other end told her he was from Microsoft, and said that her computer might crash any minute.
"He said ‘oh I’ll show you how bad it is,’" Charles said.
The scammer directed her to a website (teamviewer.com) and from there, Charles said he just took over, controlling her mouse from his end of the phone.
He told her he could fix the problem, but it would cost her more than $300. It was at that point Charles had enough and hung up.
"I knew it, I knew it (was a scam) right away. I just kept telling him I didn't trust him (he said) ‘oh but you can I’m Microsoft,’" Charles recalled.
Because of Charles’ limited mobility, she relies heavily on her computer to shop and get necessities. Although she didn't completely fall for this scam, she just wants everyone to be careful when getting calls like these.
We contacted Microsoft about this incident and here's what they told us:
“This is a known scam. Criminal organizations are using Microsoft's name to try to gain your trust. I can categorically confirm that neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls to help solve your computer problems. If you receive an unsolicited phone call that purports to be from Microsoft and requests that you send personal information, hang up the phone.”
If you have already fallen victim to a scam, and feel that your computer's security may already be compromised, Microsoft provides a free security scanner that you can use to help identify and remove malicious software. We've linked below and to our homepage, just click on “Find It.”
Smart Phone Scam
I received this text message on my smart phone recently, and it stated the following:
Dear Walmart shopper, Congratulations you have just won a $1000 Walmart Gift Card. Click here to claim your gift. www-VIPwmart-com STOP2end
The part of the message close to the end was an actual link, and I'm sure it lead to malware for smart phones. The message was received this morning by several staff members.
Microsoft Support Scam
From what I can tell, this scam was being used two years ago and has had a recent resurgence. Below is an article reported this week on KKTV.com, a southern Colorado news station:
Norma Charles recently got an alarming phone call from a man she said had a heavy accent.
"I'm always a little bit wary. You hear about this all the time, and I said 'I’m not sure I trust you or not,'" Charles said.
From the start she said she knew something was wrong. The man on the other end told her he was from Microsoft, and said that her computer might crash any minute.
"He said ‘oh I’ll show you how bad it is,’" Charles said.
The scammer directed her to a website (teamviewer.com) and from there, Charles said he just took over, controlling her mouse from his end of the phone.
He told her he could fix the problem, but it would cost her more than $300. It was at that point Charles had enough and hung up.
"I knew it, I knew it (was a scam) right away. I just kept telling him I didn't trust him (he said) ‘oh but you can I’m Microsoft,’" Charles recalled.
Because of Charles’ limited mobility, she relies heavily on her computer to shop and get necessities. Although she didn't completely fall for this scam, she just wants everyone to be careful when getting calls like these.
We contacted Microsoft about this incident and here's what they told us:
“This is a known scam. Criminal organizations are using Microsoft's name to try to gain your trust. I can categorically confirm that neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls to help solve your computer problems. If you receive an unsolicited phone call that purports to be from Microsoft and requests that you send personal information, hang up the phone.”
If you have already fallen victim to a scam, and feel that your computer's security may already be compromised, Microsoft provides a free security scanner that you can use to help identify and remove malicious software. We've linked below and to our homepage, just click on “Find It.”
Smart Phone Scam
I received this text message on my smart phone recently, and it stated the following:
Dear Walmart shopper, Congratulations you have just won a $1000 Walmart Gift Card. Click here to claim your gift. www-VIPwmart-com STOP2end
The part of the message close to the end was an actual link, and I'm sure it lead to malware for smart phones. The message was received this morning by several staff members.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Android Tethering Option
It looks as if Gingerbread breaks PDAnet. Here's another option:
http://androidflip.com/how-to-use-android-phone-as-modem-without-rooting/
http://androidflip.com/how-to-use-android-phone-as-modem-without-rooting/
A New Car Rating Site
This looks good - a car rating site that incorporates opinions from a number of respected sites. I first heard about it on Leo Laport's Tech Guy podcast, and I think this site might be one of the next big things.
www.totalcarscore.com
www.totalcarscore.com
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Best DVD Burning Software
I can't tell you the number of times I have wanted to quickly burn a DVD and I discovered that the computer had no DVD burning software or the software wouldn't work. After a quick look, I found this site post that lists and comments on free DVD burning software:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-cd-dvd-burning-software.htm
I tried the first product listed - ImgBurn, and it worked well for my quick need. One word of caution: pay close attention to the screens. The download site is full of distracting links that take you to products you aren't looking for - probably ones that require payment. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
(The first mirror didn't work for me. I used Mirror 7.)
**I used the above-link today (12/06/2014). Be careful! When installing the software, it will attempt to also install a toolbar and another program. When you see the radio button options toward the end of the process, choose the negative option. In fact, the toolbar options are normal installation and custom installation. You will have to choose custom and then uncheck both subsequent options.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-cd-dvd-burning-software.htm
I tried the first product listed - ImgBurn, and it worked well for my quick need. One word of caution: pay close attention to the screens. The download site is full of distracting links that take you to products you aren't looking for - probably ones that require payment. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
(The first mirror didn't work for me. I used Mirror 7.)
**I used the above-link today (12/06/2014). Be careful! When installing the software, it will attempt to also install a toolbar and another program. When you see the radio button options toward the end of the process, choose the negative option. In fact, the toolbar options are normal installation and custom installation. You will have to choose custom and then uncheck both subsequent options.
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