PC Tools Predicts New Breeds of Social Media Cyber Scams

PC Tools, the company which brings you PC Tools Firewall Plus (free), ThreatFire (free), and of course a complete line of award-winning commercial grade security offerings, is issuing this consumer alert advising the rollout of new social media sites and features, are leading to a fresh crop of online scams and threats.

PC Tools Top Three Social Network Threat Predictions

Email alerts for “tagged” photos where YOU might appear online.

Social networks are developing increased intelligence for facial recognition to assist with tagging photos. When you’re tagged in a photo or at a location in your photo album, you can often expect an email or notification letting you know where to view it online. Watch out!

Cybercriminals may be using this as a tactic to get you to click on malicious links asking for information – possibly even prompting you to click on a link leading to a fake login and password entry form posing as your social network.

Online robots or “bots” on social networking sites will be more sophisticated

We believe within the next few months that social media “bots” will become more advanced, effectively creating human-looking profiles and personalities. Cybercriminals rely on bots because they are the fastest and most cost-effective way to spread malware, spyware and scams through social network sites.

Through these bots, criminals can auto-create bogus personalities on social networks, which can in turn link to fake companies that sell phony products – all to trick users into buying merchandise that isn’t real or spreading news that doesn’t actually exist.

An increase in fake invites to join “new” or “exclusive” social networks or social groups

New social networks are popping up every day, some of which are “invite only” making them more appealing. Cybercriminals could use this appeal as a method to lure users into clicking on fake invites for exclusive networks. Upon clicking on these invites, users could be asked to provide personal details such as name, login, password or birthdates which should not be released.

“If you’re looking to join the hottest new social network, be careful where you click – your personal life may be at risk,” said Mike Chen, Product Marketing Manager at PC Tools. “Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the buzz surrounding these new social networks and features by tricking unsuspecting users to divulge personal information or download malware.”

Chen added that today’s malware looks legitimate, but what may seem like a harmless email or link can actually result in a person’s stolen identity or credit card data theft. And according to Pew Research, 46% of internet users agree that “most people can be trusted” – a prime reason why cybercriminals are so successful at duping consumers.

About PC Tools:

With offices located in Australia, Ireland, United States, United Kingdom and the Ukraine. PC Tools is a fast-growing brand with dedicated Research and Development teams that ensure PC Tools maintains a competitive edge. With registered customers in over 180 countries and millions of downloads to date, PC Tools’ products continue to win awards and gain recommendations from respected reviewers and independent testing labs around the world.

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Free HAMSTER High End Video Converter – Works With Over 200 Devices

Popular guest writer Rick Robinette, has done it again. Rick has a knack for finding the best in Freeware, and this time, he has found a terrific free video converter; HAMSTER.

Here’s Rick’s review:

In today’s world of technology we are presented with numerous devices that allow us to watch video (such as iPod, iPad, iPhone, PS3, PSP, Blackberry, xBox, Zune, Apple TV, iRiver, etc.).

The gap we face is that a video (such as a movie) may play OK on one device, but not another. In order to bridge this gap you must have available to you a good video converter that can make the necessary audio and video configuration changes (i.e. resolution, bitrate, framerate, compression, etc.), on the fly, to match the required specifications of the device.

Often, as part of the purchase of the device, you are given software to assist with video conversions; however, learning that software or even getting future upgrades is a problem.

The solution to all of these problems is in a NEW software video converter called HAMSTER.

I just started using HAMSTER and I must say it is one of the best, easy to use, video converters I have experienced. The components that I like the most is that it is nice looking in appearance, provides a step-by-step, 1-2-3 interface that is very easy to understand; AND MOST IMPORTANTLY you can specifically pick your device during the conversion process. I do not know of too many video converters that let you do that.

As a matter of fact it provides the ability to select from over 200 devices. For example, I have a Blackberry. I can take a full size movie, put it through the HAMSTER process, select Blackberry from the list and HAMSTER will do the work to make it work on my Blackberry.

It’s FREE! Full version is free for everybody!

Features:

Converts any video to iPod, iPad, iPhone, PS3, PSP, Blackberry, xBox, Zune, Apple TV, iRiver, etc. More than 200+ devices

Converts to AVI, MPG, WMV, MPEG, FLV, HD, DVD, M2TS and others! Integrated video player!

Easy-to-use! Drag-n-Drop! It does not require special knowledge. There is Wizard for beginners.

Changes codec/System type/De-interlaces your video file

Converts many video files in batches

Adjusts audio video bitrate, frame rate

Integrates into Windows!

Supports 40 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Japan, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, etc.)

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP

Download at: HamsterSoft

This is a guest post by Rick Robinette, who brings a background as a security/police officer professional, and as an information technology specialist to the Blogging world.

Why not pay a visit to Rick’s site at What’s On My PC. Like me, you’re sure to become a frequent visitor.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Free CheckDrive – Detect And Fix Hard Drive Errors

Popular guest writer Rick Robinette, who is always on the hunt for the best in Freeware, has just come across CheckDrive, a great little Hard Drive error checking utility.

Here’s Rick’s review:

Looking for and writing content for a blog is a job, especially when you are on the run; however, in my email this morning a company called  Abelssoft, dropped me a line about a new FREE hard disk utility called CheckDrive 2011, that saved the day and possibly my hard disks.

From my early testing of this utility, it is like using chkdsk (checkdisk), with a very nice GUI (graphical user interface). As with chkdsk, if errors are found on any of your drives, repairing those errors can take some time.

Failure to identify and repair errors on your hard disks  (in the file system), can result in data corruption; thus, the importance of an utility such as CheckDrive.

As always, maintain backups of your data prior to running any maintenance utility. This is the type of utility I usually run on a monthly basis to check the integrity of my disks.

If you are not familiar with chkdsk (checkdisk):

Chkdsk (Checkdisk) is a command on computers running DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows operating systems, that displays the file system integrity status of hard disks and floppy disk, and can fix logical file system errors. It is similar to the fsck command in Unix.

On computers running NT-based versions of Windows, CHKDSK can also check the disk surface for physical errors or bad sectors, a task previously done by SCANDISK. This version of CHKDSK can also handle some physical errors and recover data that is still readable. – Wikipedia

CheckDrive offers you an easy way to check your hard drives for errors. CheckDrive may detect and fix hard drive errors that might appear on system crashes or when switching off your PC without a proper Windows shutdown.

If you’ve ever had a system crash, then CheckDrive is for you. CheckDrive is completely free! Download it today to check your system for hard drive errors.

CheckDrive – Features:

Check Hard Disks for Errors – CheckDrive offers you an easy way of checking your PCs hard drives for errors. Those errors can be fixed immediately if you like.

Shows Drive Information – CheckDrive shows info about your drives and determines if your hard drive needs to be cleaned or defragmented.

Detects current fragmentation of your hard drives.

Shows the amount of garbage on your disks.

System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7 (all – 32 and 64 bit).

Download at: Developer’s site (Abelssoft)

This is a guest post by Rick Robinette, who brings a background as a security/police officer professional, and as an information technology specialist to the Blogging world.

Why not pay a visit to Rick’s site at What’s On My PC. Like me, you’re sure to become a frequent visitor.

If you found this article useful, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Gmail Service Center and PayPal Spam Scams Are Back!

The old “Due to the congestion in all Gmail users and removal of all unused Gmail Accounts” scam, is making a reappearance. This scam has been around for years, and every so often it makes its way back.

This occasional reappearance tells me one thing – this scam pays off for the cyber-criminals who are behind it. Since new users are continuously signing on to the Internet, they are essentially a new crop of potential victims.

To an inexperienced user, this could look like an official email, and the enclosed link makes it simple to get this problem solved with just a mouse click. What could be easier than that?

If you receive an email that is supposedly from “Gmail Service Centers”, and it addresses you in any way other than your name (Dear Valued Member, for example), it’s a scam. Google is not likely to forget your name, right?

At one and the same time, the following email purportedly from PayPal, is making the rounds once again. Similar to the Gmail scam it opens with a generic salutation – in this case,  “Dear PayPal Member”.

PayPal is familiar with this type of scam, and has issued the following warning:

“PayPal will never send an email with the greeting “Dear PayPal User” or “Dear PayPal Member.” Real PayPal emails will address you by your first and last name or the business name associated with your PayPal account. If you believe you have received a fraudulent email, please forward the entire email—including the header information – to spoof@paypal.com”.

Be kind to your friends, relatives, and associates who are new computer users and let them know about this type of scam. In that way, it raises the level of security for all of us.

Advise them to:

Consider every email, telephone call, or text message requesting confirmation of personal and financial information as a scam.

Not open emails that come from un-trusted sources.

Not run files received via email, without making sure of their origin.

Not click links in emails. If they come from a known source, to type them on the browser’s address bar. If they come from an un-trusted source, to simply ignore them, as they could redirect to a web site designed to download malware.

Keep their computer protected by installing a security solution and keeping it up-to-date.

Report suspicious e-mails as Spam.

To see how cyber criminals target new users, and new email accounts read “Email Spammers Are Smarter Than You Think”, on this site.

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

Gmail Customer Care is Gonna Close You Account – Not!

The old “we’re going to close your email account” scam is making a reappearance. This scam has been around for years, and every so often it makes its way back.

This occasional reappearance tells me one thing – this scam pays off for the cyber criminals who are behind it. Since new users are continuously signing on to the Internet, they are essentially a new crop of potential victims.

What could be better for scammers than this; a natural market for fraudulent emails – new, and unaware users. Staying safe on the Internet is definitely one area where experience counts.

According to a recent email, sent to my relatively new Gmail account, my G mail account (these guys can’t spell – it’s Gmail not G mail), will be deleted within 24 hours unless I verify my user name, password, date of birth, and country information.

To an inexperienced user, this could look like an official email, and the enclosed link makes it simple to get this problem solved with just a mouse click. What could be easier than that?

Clicking on the link would have redirected me to a spoof page, comparable to the original site, and I would then have begun the process whereby the scammers would have stripped me of all the confidential information I was willing to provide.

If you have received the following email recently, I trust you recognized it for what it is, and after reporting it as Spam, you simply deleted it.

If your email account is not relatively new, it’s unlikely you received this email but reading it can still be instructive. BTW, all of the spelling mistakes are the spammers.

“This Email is from G mail customer care and we are sending it to every G mail accounts owner for safety. We are having congestion due to the anonymous registration of G mail accounts so we are shutting down some G mail accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. We are sending this email to you so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account. If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name, password, date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account.

Due to the congestion in all G mail users and removal of all unused G mail Accounts. G mail would be shutting down all unused Accounts, you will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Lo gin Information below after clicking the reply button or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

* User name: …

* Password: ……

* Date of Birth: …….

* Country Or Territory: …..

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receivinga this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Thank you for using G mail !”

Be kind to your friends, relatives, and associates who are new computer users and let them know about this type of scam. In that way, it raises the level of security for all of us.

Advise them to:

Consider every email, telephone call, or text message requesting confirmation of personal and financial information as a scam.

Not open emails that come from un-trusted sources.

Not run files received via email, without making sure of their origin.

Not click links in emails. If they come from a known source, to type them on the browser’s address bar. If they come from an un-trusted source, to simply ignore them, as they could redirect to a web site designed to download malware.

Keep their computer protected by installing a security solution and keeping it up-to-date.

Report suspicious e-mails as Spam.

To see how cyber criminals target new users, and new email accounts read “Email Spammers Are Smarter Than You Think”, on this site.

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

RadarSync PC Updater – Free Driver Update Software

The information in this article is now outdated (November 1, 2009). It’s now free to try – Download of new drivers is only upon subscriptions. $29.95 to buy.

Just a few days ago I reviewed DriverMax, a free driver backup/download utility, which several readers later pointed out had been crippled by the developer in the latest release. The program now allows only 2 driver downloads per 24 hour period. Limiting functionality in such a way is a counter productive move, in my view.

Contrast that developer decision with the decision of RadarSync Ltd., who did the reverse in releasing their paid update, backup, and download software, PC Updater, as freeware. As I said, “different strokes for different folks”.

I don’t normally recommend software until I have had an opportunity to thoroughly test it, including trying to break it, but in this case, based on the experience of one of my readers , Don N., I’ll make a one time exception.

Let me offer you this quote from Don N.

“Bill, I just installed RadarSync2009 (updated) and it works GREAT! Simple installation with no crappola … couldn’t believe how many outdated drivers I had!

It also allowed me to connect directly to each site for the updates, and also those sites that I had relevant programs. Updates were done without the usual site by site hassles and the installations completed without a hitch”.

That sounds like a pretty good recommendation to me. Thank you Don.

From the developer:

Updates both software and device drivers.

RadarSync`s award-winning software helps you update, backup, download and discover tons of software.

Find and download the latest updates for your computer drivers and applications. Create software Packs to backup your software.

Browse the software playlists of over 2 million community members to discover tons of new, free software.

RadarSync downloads and installs your updates, Packs, and the new software you discover in one easy click – anytime, from any computer!

Protect your PC from security threats – Avoid common computer problems – Easily restore your computer from your backup Packs.

Displays both up-to-date and out of date items – Notifies user when crucial applications are missing – Revised Help files and on screen help.

System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Vista 64 bit

Download at: RadarSync

A Tech’s First Impression of Windows 7 – Part 2 – Transferring Your User Account To Windows 7

This is a guest post by Paul Eckstrom, a technology wizard and the owner of Aplus Computer Aid in Menlo Park, California.

Why not pay a visit to his Blog Tech–for Everyone.

In Part1 of this series, A Tech’s First Impression of Windows 7, I described the install process for Microsoft’s new operating system, and today I will proceed to the next step of setting up a new computer.. transferring all your stuff from the old machine, and ‘tweaking’ things to just your liking.

Last year I wrote wrote about the fastest, easiest, user state migration I had ever had — New PC? Migrate Your User Account The Easy Way — and described a Microsoft download that allowed me to not only transfer settings and preferences (aka ‘tweaks’) and my files (.doc, .jpg, mp3, etc.), but my installed programs as well. (Which to me was about the neatest thing since sliced bread?)

[Note: Microsoft has since removed the utility, Windows Easy Transfer Companion, referenced in the link/article above. Apparently, it doesn’t work on Vista SP1, and/or XP SP3.]

Should’a caught this sooner, but…

For the purposes of this article (and, simulating what the typical user will do with a new computer and/or OS), I took an older machine running XP that had been one of my “daily usage” machines before being relegated to testbed duty and re-attached it to my home network (LAN).

Easy Files and Settings Transfer: On my Windows 7 machine, I typed “File an” into the search area of my Start menu, and Windows Easy Transfer showed up in the results immediately. A click launched the Easy Transfer Wizard, and I was asked if *I was on the new machine or the old?

New

How did I want to make the transfer? – Over the network. (the other choices were CD/DVD, or an external HD.)

Does the old machine have Windows Easy Transfer? – Um.. probably not, so, No.

It offered to provide the program if I would plug in a thumb drive, so.. I did.

It said “Finished” and told me to go plug the thumb drive into the old machine and let it “autoplay”, so.. I did.

The old machine (slow!) did its thing and presented me with a code, 123-456, and told me to go to the Windows 7 machine and enter the code, so.. I did.

Bingo, I was connected, and the Windows Easy Transfer tool started to scan the XP machine for “transferable items”.

When the scan finished, I was provided with a result, and there were some default items already checked off — pictures, music, and documents. No surprise there, but I was very pleased to see the “Programs” folder.. could it be?

So.. I drilled down into the “Customize” section and selected the applications I wanted to try to transfer to the new machine (though, I could’ve just done the whole folder). That will save time.. and hunting down install CDs!

I clicked the “Save” button”..

And presto. Seven minutes later my “user state” was now on my new machine. And so I have a new “easy champion”, and I confess.. I’m impressed.

Well, I ran long. Tweaking the Desktop, and “Superbar”, and other personalization’s will have to wait for the next article.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.

A Tech’s First Impression of Windows 7

This is a guest post by Paul Eckstrom, a technology wizard and the owner of Aplus Computer Aid in Menlo Park, California.

Why not pay a visit to his Blog Tech–for Everyone.

Part 1 of a series

Yesterday I downloaded the official Microsoft beta release of its new operating system – called Windows 7. (Technically, for those of you interested in this sort of thing, it is “Build 7000″.) I opted to install the 32-bit version, as I think this will remain the “standard” and most common.

I installed a “clean install”, though I could have “upgraded” an existing Vista install (I recommend ‘clean install’ as a Rule Of Thumb).

Microsoft is calling Windows 7 a whole new OS, and are expecting it to replace replace Vista.. in the same way that Vista is replacing Windows XP. I can tell you that it is not a whole new operating system. I can also tell you that it does not give us the new file system (WinFS) that was originally promised as one of the “three pillars of Vista”.

The install itself:

My “clean” install on a freshly formatted volume took just over half an hour, and involved at least two automated reboots. (It may have been three.. but I got up and walked away for a few minutes. I have performed countless Windows installs – literally – and watching one more isn’t my idea of a “good time”.)

Once I clicked “go”, I only had to answer three screens– my time/location, a computer name/user name/passwords (recommended), and did I want to set up a sharing network “HomeGroup“? That last, because it’s new and still unfamiliar, I chose “Not now. Ask me again later.”

My experience matched that of other reviewers: it was by far the fastest, smoothest, easiest Windows installation I’ve ever had. That this is a beta release makes this fact all the more remarkable.

Plus number one:

No device driver issues: I installed Windows 7 on a recent-vintage machine (it came with Vista Home Premium) and I had to install zero, zip, nada, device drivers — and this is a beta! Every device worked out of the gate, so clearly Vista device drivers work well on Windows 7.

Microsoft claims Windows 7 is the most ‘backwards compatible’ OS yet (I guess, maybe they learned from Vista’s release?) and I believe them. A beta.. and no device driver installs??? Amazing.
As a test, I connected to a rather ancient HP DeskJet 970Cse printer over my LAN. Windows 7 found the printer and installed it it with one “Yes” click.

Plus number two:

Once installed: As a Vista user, the change in Vista 7’s GUI (graphical user “interface”) was not that startling to me.. in fact, aside from the desktop and QuickLaunch icons being larger.. and a change to the System Tray/”Notification Area”.. it is Vista. The QuickLaunch now has (even more) shades of Macintosh OS X’s “Dock”.
Yes, it looks more “modern” (and makes XP look absolutely archaic), but is very, very Vista.

One nice change.. I noticed rather quickly that 7 has a Desktop slideshow feature (found because the default – plain, with a Chinese fighting fish in the center – was quite drab after Vista’s spectacular nature images), and your Desktop can alternate images very much like your screensaver can in older versions of Windows (see Show off your photos with a screensaver slideshow).

The Start button, menus, icons, etc. are (basically) all the same. With the exception of the new networking and media sharing features, this is a zero learning curve change for Vista users, and a very modest one for XP users. If you use Windows, you can use 7, and you won’t have to take a night class or read a For Dummies book to do it.

Plus number three:

Speaking of the Start button..
In Windows 7, Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Contacts are part of Windows Live Essentials.

Windows 7 removes InkBall and adds online versions of Spades, Backgammon and Checkers.

It comes with IE 8.

Programs and applets – like Paint – have been updated, enhanced, and now sport the Microsoft “Ribbon”.. which was introduced in Office 2007.

Well, I have only been using Windows 7 for a few hours.. and I will be writing more in this series.. so I’ll stop here for now. So far, I have installed both Call of Duty 5 and the original Call of Duty (patched to 1.4) and played a few rounds of each. Yup. They’re a tad faster than on Vista.

Plus number four…

Part 2 — Transferring Your User Account To Windows 7

Today’s free download: So.. you want to download the Windows 7 beta too? Click here.

Today’s free link: Mark Russinovich: Inside Windows 7 How has Windows evolved, as a general purpose operating system and at the lowest levels, in Windows 7? Who better to talk to than Technical Fellow and Windows Kernel guru Mark Russinovich? Here, Mark enlightens us on the new kernel constructs in Windows 7.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.

Update Freeware/Open Source Apps Automatically – FreewareUpdater

I’m a strong advocate of open source and freeware software applications, and have been since I began computing in the early 1980’s. In fact, 65 out of a total of 86 applications on my home machine are either open source, or freeware applications. So, just over 75% of the applications I use fairly frequently I’ve downloaded and installed at no cost to me.

I have no way of knowing if these statistics are high, or relatively normal, for an advanced user; without question they’re certainly not on the low side.

I do know that trying to keep open source and freeware applications updated with the latest version can often be a hassle. This is particularly true if, like me, the majority of your installed software is open source, or freeware applications.

To reduce the drudgery involved in manually updating to the latest software version you can subscribe to an Internet service that will help do the job for you, such as Freeware Updates. Alternatively, to retain more control over the update process, you can download and install a tiny application FreewareUpdater that will allow you to conveniently manage and update, the open source and freeware applications on your computer.

Simply download and install FreewareUpdater to your computer, and then update the application list using the application’s intuitive and user friendly interface. From now on the application will keep track of any updates to the software on this list.

When any of the listed applications are updated, or a new release is issued, the list will be automatically updated. Installing the update, or new release, is as easy as double clicking on the software in the list and FreewareUpdater will download and install it on your system.

Quick facts:

• Collects data on freeware/open source software online
• Automatic update of application list
• Installs new applications directly from FreewareUpdater
• Advises you on both installed, and non installed, applications

System Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Microsoft .NET Framework

Download at: Download.com

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Repair Computer/Optimize System Performance – Free Evonsoft Computer Repair

System utilities that perform multiple tasks such as a cleaning the Registry, removing junk files, resolving privacy issues, and removing Spyware, can be intimidating to new or casual computer users. Generally, this type of user is often unfamiliar with both the technology itself, and the technical terms involved in using this type of application.

But Evonsoft Computer Repair, a one click advanced system utility for Windows that allows the user to safely remove spyware, clean the registry, sweep for privacy issues, and clean junk files with a single mouse click, has been designed with this category of user in mind.

While it’s true that more advanced users want/need much more control than a one click system utility provides, this sort of utility can be the ideal solution for a new user.

According to the developers, with one click Evonsoft Computer Repair will scan your computer and present a list of the errors found by the application. You will then have the option of cleaning each item individually, or allowing the application to repair the errors automatically.

In my own testing, I found that the application was extremely fast and that it worked as advertised. I did find however, that the lack of a clear explanation left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. I suspect that more advanced users might also feel the same way.

On the other hand, this lack of explanation might be the very feature that the new user will find most appealing about this application. Most new computer users, in my experience, don’t really want to know the details; they just want the job done.

If you’re a new, or casual computer user, this free application should meet your needs effectively.

Quick Facts:

• Scans and removes spyware and adware
• Cleans your System and should boost performance
• Repairs your PC and keeps it tuned
• Very easy to use
• Free – no adware, spyware, or viruses

System Requirements: Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and 2003 Server.

Download at: Download.com

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