Fend Off A Facebook Hack Attack

A colleague recently wrote on her blog about her own father’s experience getting hacked on Facebook – and it serves as yet another useful reminder of why and how we can take measures to keep our online identities secure.

It appears in this situation that the hacker found his victim’s profile on Facebook, submitted a lost password request, and then answered the security questions with information that was easily found on Google. After taking over his Facebook account, the hacker repeated the process to gain access to the victim’s Gmail account and started emailing all of his contacts asking for money.

If this sounds vaguely reminiscent of something that was in the news a few years ago, it’s because a very similar technique was used by a college student to access Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account. One password reset request later, and Sarah Palin’s emails were all over the Internet.

The take-home here is simple: make sure that your security questions don’t ask about details that are available with a little digging (mother’s maiden name, city of birth, high school mascot). Go for more obscure ones like your first pet’s name or the name of the best man at your wedding (as long as you didn’t blog about your wedding!).  Also, take a good look at the privacy settings on all of your social networking profiles and don’t divulge more information than you have to. That will minimize the amount of damage a hacker can do if they do gain access to your profile.

Don’t assume that a social networking company is as worried about your privacy as you are. The Google Buzz debacle -- in which Google effectively used people’s personal email accounts as a platform for public social networking – illustrates that, for many social marketers, they’re more concerned about building a large and open network than they are about protecting the personal information of individuals. That means it’s up to you to stay on top of things and adjust the necessary settings when, for example, Facebook revises its privacy policy.

And remember that the more you share about yourself online, the more ammunition you’re giving potential identity thieves. That doesn’t mean you should shut down all your social networking profiles because someday somebody might hack into your Facebook account. It does mean that you should be careful about what details you share, where you share them, and with whom.

Five Nice Features of Windows 7

Windows Vista never quite caught on the way that Microsoft had hoped. The User Account Control (UAC) feature, which was supposed to enhance security by prompting users before allowing many programs to open, instead proved such an annoyance that users simply shut it off – leaving them more vulnerable than when they started. The “simplified” User Interface (UI), with its ribbons and tabs, mystified die-hard devotees of the old drop-down menu system. And the System Tray’s myriad of unused applets that acted, as one reviewer put it, “like belligerent squatters,” only added to the frustration (http://www.pcworld.com/article/172602/windows_7_review.html).

The Windows 7 OS, in contrast, has had a much more favorable public reception. Here are a few key changes that have reviewers cheering:

1. Faster feel -  Users find that applications in Windows 7 open more quickly, and they don’t spend as much time waiting for processes to complete.

2. Libraries - It’s much easier to find documents in Windows 7. The new Libraries function in Windows Explorer lets you create a virtual location that can aggregate content from several locations at once. You can put network folders, SharePoint documents, and regular folders in your Documents Library, giving you quick access even to documents that are tucked away under several organizational layers.

3. Easy switching between Wi-Fi networks - Just click on the Wi-Fi adapter in your system tray to bring up a menu of available wireless networks, select the one you want to connect to, and you’re done.

4. User Account Control (UAC) without annoyances - You can now tweak UAC so that it’s actually helpful. Instead of just an on/off, where your choice is to be forever pestered by repetitive prompts or leave yourself open to the perils of the Internet, you can adjust the level of security you want. Two intermediate levels now exist between the “Always notify” and “Never notify” settings.

5. A simpler System Tray - The big problem with the System Tray in Vista was that software installers could just dump applets in there without your approval. This led to cluttered System Trays and flurries of word balloons every time you accidentally moused over the area. In Windows 7, applets (except for the clock) don’t go directly into the System Tray; they land in a holding pen and have to be dragged to the System Tray. And they can’t float word balloons unless you permit them.

Alert: Quickbooks Scam

We have had a report of an email scam that has been circulating, asking users to download an Intuit certificate that will verify your identity. This email has the Intuit logo/trademark attached and at first glance seems to be legitimate.

This is NOT legitimate.

If you click on the download link provided in the body of the email, it will take you to a webpage where you are prompted to download the “certificate”. This is actually a virus that will install on your system and cause a chain of infections that will render the machine useless.

Please advise all QuickBooks users NOT to download this so called certificate, and have them report any suspicious emails/alerts they may receive.

If you have any questions or concerns please call us at 212-923-CMIT

Below is a portion of the actual scam email:

Valued Customer. 

In order to access Intuit after 1 of March 2010, you shall get a valid Digital Certificate installed on your PC.

Creating and installing your Intuit digital certificate it is a quick and automated process.

Knowing with whom you are communicating, it is a basic principle to the security on internet operations. only encrypt is not enough, as it provides no proof of the identity of the sender of the encrypted information. Without special safeguards, you risk being impersonated online. Digital certificates provide an electronic means for Intuit to verify your identity. Used in conjunction with encryption, digital certificates provide a more complete security solution, assuring the identity of all parties involved in a transaction.

The Intuit server has its own digital certificate to assure you that you are actually calling with Intuit and not with an swindler.

To generate your own Digital Certificate, you need to download Digital Certificate generation tool. For security reasons, download is available only once. Please download Digital Certificate generation tool direct to your Microsoft Windows PC. It is important to note that: Your Intuit digital certificate is not valid after of one year. You will be prompted to enter an automatic renewal process 30 days prior to certificate expiration.

System requirements :

• Mozilla FireFox 2.0 and above
• Internet Explorer 6.x, 7.x, 8.x
• Windows XP, Vista, 2000, 2003, Seven
  

ATTENTION: You will not be able to use our service without update from 1 of March 2010

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