1-8XX Pop-Up Alert Scam

If you are seeing a random “Call Toll Free Support 1-8xx” pop-up (or similar to the pictures below) and asking you to call a 1-8xx phone number to fix your computer, then your system maybe infected with adware - a potentially malicious program and/or an injected pop-up scam alert.

1-8xx is a malicious website which is used by cyber criminals to promote their remote support services. The 1-8xx bogus pop-up ad will state that you computer is infected and that you need to call their paid support service to remove the infection. This is a bogus claim, and an attempt to make you pay $300 or higher as well as get your credit card number for their “services”.

Other common symptoms include:

• Advertising banners are injected with the web pages that you are visiting.
• Random web page text is turned into hyperlinks.
• Browser popups appear which recommend fake updates or other software.
• Other unwanted adware programs might get installed without the user’s knowledge.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this program that is causing the 1-8xx redirect. Be very careful what you agree to install.

Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

The 1-800 pop-ups are caused by an ad-supported extension for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, which is distributed through various monetization platforms during installation. The malicious browser extensions is typically added when you install another free software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this adware program.

When an adware extension is installed on your computer, whenever you will open a new tab within Internet Explorer, MS Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, etc. an ad from 1-8xx will pop-up. These are injected and must be REMOVED. They will not just go away.

-Source malwaretips.com

Recent Ransomware Attack!

3 things you can do to proactively protect your computer from Ransomware and other attacks, infections, etc. http://ow.ly/bxg530bX5Hc

Beware Of Online Scamming

No wonder consumers are projected to spend as much as $117 billion online this holiday season in November and December alone, or about $12 billion more than last year, according to a forecast by the National Retail Federation. Indeed, e-commerce is growing faster than retail sales overall.

Unfortunately, that's something scam artists and cybercriminals know all too well.

Online fraud is a big and ever-changing reality. Internet merchants have seen the volume of successful fraud attempts rise, along with the cost of fraud, as a share of annual sales, according to the 2016 LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud Study. Retailers' costs related to fraud rose 9 percent year-over-year as of February for online sales, and 12 percent for sales from mobile devices, the study found. Cellphones pose their own set of fraud and security concerns.

Retailers are fighting back with added layers of security, but scammers still find new ways to breach systems. Credit card issuers are on the verge of eliminating card counterfeiting with the new "chip and pin" technology, but that protects only in-store purchases, says Tricia Lines Hill, senior vice president of business development and marketing for First Atlantic Commerce, which helps merchants and banks protect against fraud. Meanwhile, hackers are rushing to cash in on stolen data from magnetic strip cards.

"It's hard to know who you're dealing with on the other end of an online transaction," says Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Consumer Federation of America. "You have to be aware there are people out there whose intentions are to take your money and give you nothing in return."

Online shopping isn't going away. But neither are scammers. So whether shopping by computer or smartphone, here are nine steps to protect your money and privacy.

Check out unfamiliar sellers or websites

There's a level of comfort with big brands' online channels. But when it comes to unfamiliar merchants, search the web to make sure that sites are legitimate and reliable. Look for reviews for sites that rate products and services, including consumerreports.org or consumeraffairs.com, and for gripe sites such as ripoffreport.com.

See also: Keep wi-fi hackers out

While problems crop up at even the best of sites, there's a distinction between mistakes and true scams. Start with a Google search, suggests Hemanshu Nigam, a Los Angeles-based cyber security expert and CEO of SSP Blue, which helps companies with cybersecurity. See what others are saying. Scams will be called out quickly.

Also, watch out for pop-up ads, which often lead to fake websites designed to steal credit card data, says Lines Hill. Most legitimate businesses today won't use them.

Make sure websites are secure

Even savvy shoppers can easily overlook the URL address. Sites that start with “https://” are secure, while sites beginning with “http://” are not, and hackers can intercept personal and payment information. Do not buy anything from an “http://” website, Nigam says. Another sign that a site is secure: a closed padlock or an unbroken key icon in the address bar or at the bottom of your browser window.

Do business with merchants that comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Those that follow the guidelines will clearly describe goods and services; state terms and conditions of refund, return and delivery policies; and explain handling of cardholders’ information. Merchants should display a physical address, email or phone number.

“If the merchant is not taking the time to have this information on the site and do everything that’s required of them, that means they’re probably not doing much to protect your data either,” Lines Hill says.

Avoid buying online over public Wi-Fi

Catching up on news on the web or reading e-books can help pass time at the airport, but don’t do any online shopping while you’re there. The same goes for restaurants or any setting with public Wi-Fi, where hackers might lurk and steal data. You should never enter your credit card data over a network that might not be secure. And in any online arena, never, ever give out the PIN number that goes with the new chip credit cards.

Set up a separate email account for shopping
Managing email sometimes seems like a full-time occupation. But there’s an argument to be made for using a separate account for online purchases while reserving regular email for everything else, Nigam says. All your shopping emails will stay organized in one account. And if hackers breach an online retailer’s system and steal email information, you’ll have shielded the rest of your email.

Strengthen passwords

Your birth date or your grandchild’s name might be an easy password to remember. But it also may be easy for hackers to figure out and gain access to all your information. Don’t use the same password on every bank and credit card account, says Monica Eaton-Cardone, chief operating officer of Chargebacks911, a dispute mitigation company.

A strong password typically has eight digits and a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers or other characters. Set electronic reminders to change your passwords about once a month.

Don’t click on email links

Clickbait is everywhere on the internet. Don’t fall for it when it comes in an email asking you to update your account information or password. Consumers should be wary of any unsolicited email encouraging them to shop somewhere, especially from unfamiliar senders, Lines Hill says.

Even if the email comes from a merchant you think you know, it may be a counterfeit version and part of a scam. When in doubt, don’t click. Call the company instead.

Choose credit, not debit

Pay in a way that offers the most protection. With credit cards, you have broader rights for disputing charges than with debit cards.

Avoid options such as Western Union and Money Gram, which are meant to send money to family and friends, not to pay legitimate businesses, Grant says. 

And sites that ask you to buy a prepaid gift card and provide the card number are likely fraudulent. Scammers will try to access prepaid card numbers online because payment is almost instant. It’s like putting cash in an envelope and sending it to a stranger.

Install antivirus software

Protect your laptop and desktop computers from viruses. If you don’t want to buy software like Kaspersky Internet Security, but free versions are available, such as Avast Free Antivirus 2016, AVG AntiVirus Free or Microsoft Windows Defender. Set it up to update automatically, Nigam says. Note: We don't recommend the free software. It is not as good as the paid commercial software.

Protect your mobile phone

Smartphones can be a particular target. When you buy a new one, choose an option in the settings to lock your data — which does not happen by default. And before you trade in the phone, switch it to factory reset to erase all your information. Kaspersky also offers security software for your phone as well.

-Source Lorraine Mirabella with AARP

Forced Windows 10 Upgrade

Windows 10 has been with us for a little over eight months now, which means there are only about four months remaining to get a free upgrade from an older Windows operating system. As the clock counts down, Microsoft has begun to auto-schedule PCs to upgrade to Windows 10 with or without consent from end users.

When Microsoft created Windows 10, it tied in numerous monitoring and data collection tools. The operating system is capable of gathering your search history, web usage, Windows Store usage, details of what applications you use, voice recordings, emails, geographic information and just about anything else that is on your PC. This information is gathered in part for improving Windows-based services, but it is also used for market research and advertising purposes.

Because each user on Windows 10 increases the amount of advertising information available to Microsoft, which in turn enables Microsoft to earn more revenue from selling this data, it is not surprising that Microsoft wants everyone to use its new OS. This lead to Microsoft offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade to both Windows 7 and Windows 8, as users of either OS were unlikely to want to pay for a new OS on an already relatively new PC.

Still, there were numerous users that opted to stick with their older Windows OSes, but they were still subject to  annoying pop-ups trying to get you to move to Windows 10. Even after you close the pop-up, it returns after a few short hours, relentlessly probing you to upgrade.

Now, as we near the end of the free upgrade period, Microsoft’s malware-like upgrade system is becoming even more intrusive by autoscheduling upgrades to Windows 10. I noticed that the Windows 10 upgrade reminder pop-up on a Windows 7 PC was no longer asking me to upgrade; instead, it’s now informing me that it has already scheduled an update for May 17.

There are options to cancel the scheduled upgrade or to change the upgrade date, so the system isn’t exactly forcing you to upgrade if you catch it soon enough. The problem is that some users won’t see it in time to stop it; they’ll wake up one morning to use their PC and find it is stuck attempting to upgrade to Windows 10 or hogging bandwidth while Windows 10 downloads.

If you want to switch to Windows 10, now may be the best time to do so, as the free upgrade official expires July 29. It is possible, though, that in its drive to lure users onto Windows 10, Microsoft may continue to offer Windows 10 as a free upgrade. There has also been some talk that Microsoft may consider offering the Windows operating system as a service, where the OS would be free for anyone to use and the company would make all of its cash from advertising. Microsoft has not officially announced that it will do either, however, so for now you should proceed with the expectation that the free upgrade is available only for a short amount of time.

If you wish to stay with your older OS, however, you should check your Windows 10 update pop-up daily to ensure that it does not force you to upgrade without your knowledge.

Hopefully after July 29, Microsoft will deactivate this overbearing upgrade system, but until then, watchfulness and diligence is the only way to be sure your system does not upgrade to Windows 10 without your knowledge.

-Source Tomshardware.com

Live Global Hacking Attack Map

If you don't think you need REALLY GOOD Security Software*, think again. We are constantly trying to get hacked 24/7/365. Check out this LIVE view at map.norsecorp.com.

*We stock this here for only $49 for 1-year of protection:

Java Trojan Exploit

A cross-platform remote access Trojan that’s being openly sold as a service to all types of attackers, from opportunistic cybercriminals to cyberespionage groups, has been used to attack more than 400,000 systems over the past three years.

The RAT (Remote Access Tool/Trojan), which depending on the variant is known as Adwind, AlienSpy, Frutas, Unrecom, Sockrat, jRat or JSocket, is evidence of how successful the malware-as-a-service model can be for malware creators.

Adwind is written in Java, so it can run on any OS that has a Java runtime installed including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Android. The Trojan has been continuously developed since at least 2012 and is being sold out in the open via a public website.
Like most Trojans, Adwind can be used to remotely control infected computers; to steal files, key strokes and saved passwords; to record audio and video through the computer’s webcam and microphone and more. Because it has a modular architecture, users can also install plug-ins that extend its functionality.

The Adwind author, who researchers from Kaspersky Lab believe to be a Spanish-speaking individual, is selling access to the RAT on a subscription-based model, with prices ranging from $25 for 15 days to $300 a year. The buyers get technical support, obfuscation services to evade antivirus detection, virtual private network accounts and free scans with multiple antivirus engines to ensure that their sample is not detected when deployed.

Kaspersky Lab estimates that since 2013, attackers have attempted to infect over 440,000 systems with various versions of Adwind. Between August and January alone, attackers used the RAT in around 200 spear-phishing campaigns that have reached over 68,000 users.
The latest incarnation of Adwind was launched in June 2015 under the name JSocket and is still being sold.

“In 2015, Russia was the most attacked country, with UAE and Turkey again near the top, along with the USA, Turkey and Germany,” the Kaspersky researchers said in a blog post.
They estimated that by the end of 2015 there were around 1,800 Adwind/JSocket users, putting the developer’s annual revenue at over $200,000. The large number of users makes it hard to build an attacker profile. The RAT could be used by anyone from low-level scammers to cyberspies and private individuals looking to monitor their partners or spouses.

In December, researchers working with the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs documented the activities of a group of attackers that targeted politicians, journalists and public figures from several South American countries. An earlier version of Adwind, called AlienSpy, was listed as one of the malware tools used by the group.
Kaspersky Lab itself started a detailed investigation into Adwind after a financial institution in Singapore received the RAT via rogue emails that were purporting to come from a major Malaysian bank. This was part of a targeted attack that the company believes was launched by a suspect of Nigerian origin who focuses on financial institutions.

“Despite several attempts to take down and stop the Adwind developers from distributing the malware, Adwind has survived for years and has been through rebranding and operational expansion that ranged from the provision of additional plugins for the malware to its own obfuscation tool and a even a warranty for FUD (fully undetected malware) to customers,” the Kaspersky researchers said in a research paper.

Since Adwind is written in Java, it is distributed as a JAR (Java Archive) file and needs the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to run. One possible method to prevent its installation is to change the default application for handling JAR files to something like Notepad. This will prevent the code’s execution and will just result in a notepad window with gibberish text in it.
Of course, if JRE is not needed by other applications installed on a computer or by websites visited by its users, then it should be removed. Unfortunately that’s not possible in most business environments, as Java is still a major programming language for business applications.

-Source PC World 2016

Stronger Passwords

Would you tell me your password? Probably not, but there might be a good chance I could guess it. In SplashData’s list of the the worst passwords of 2015, culled from data from various breaches and hacks, "123456" and "password" continued to top the list. 

You’ll also probably be surprised at how easy it is for cyber miscreants to crack passwords. No wonder we all want an alternative badly. For now, though, there are two things you can do: Make your crummiest passwords at least somewhat better, and check out some of the password alternatives starting to come online. 

Think in phrases, not words

The first principle of better passwords is to avoid simple words and numerical pairings. Even Edward Snowden pointed this out when interviewed by John Oliver last year.

You need to think in phrases rather than pass-words, and forget about simple words found in the dictionary. For example Oliver’s “admiralalonzoghostpenis420YOLO” is silly, but the person that came up with it could easily remember it, and it’s harder to guess than something like “admiral1”. Obviously, I don’t recommend using either of those now; just think of them as inspiration for the future.

You should also aim to have much more than eight characters in your password and never have any reference, however vague, to yourself. Sorry, but your mother’s maiden name just isn’t going to cut it anymore.

We’re all guilty of reusing the same passwords. With more sites and social media than ever before, it’s easy to become a little complacent, even accidentally. If there's absolutely one password you shouldn’t reuse, however, it’s your email’s. Once compromised, it could be used to wreak havoc.

Finally, and I know this hurts, you need to change passwords regularly. Just as you should change your login details if a site’s been hacked, you really need to keep changing passwords so your data is never a sitting duck. 

Ideally, someone or something would do all this for you, and that’s where password managers come in. “Today the best option for users is a password manager that can create and remember complex passwords so you don’t have to. Most rely on a master password to verify you and secure all of your logins,” Mark Hocking, VP and GM at Intel Security’s True Key told me.

However, like any software, password managers aren’t perfect. Trend Micro’s antivirus program comes with a built-in password manager. Recently a Google security researcher discovered that it could accept remote code that could be used to steal the passwords stored in the software. LastPass, another popular password manager, fell prey to a phishing attack that could spoof users into divulging their main passcode for accessing their stored passwords.

The future: Multifactor authentication, biometrics

Two-factor authentication has become standard advice among many of the security pros I spoke with. This involves a two-step process for logging in, usually using another device like your phone synced to your online account. It will, in theory, ensure it's really you who's accessing the account.

Biometric logins are slowly becoming more common too, and it could usher in a new level of verification. Apple’s Touch ID and Samsung’s fingerprint scanners got an early start. Microsoft features facial recognition technology in Windows 10 with Windows Hello, which Dropbox has added it to its login options.

Banks and payments companies have also dipped into biometrics. JPMorgan has integrated TouchID into its iPhone app, while MasterCard has trialed a “pay by selfie” feature to verify online purchases. Intel’s latest version of Authenticate requires fingerprint verification and, in some cases, detection via Bluetooth that your smartphone is physically present.

It’s not your fault

It’s not the consumers’ fault that they’re struggling to secure their digital lives, said Marc Boroditsky, president of authentication start-up Authy. Rather, he lays the responsibility on apps, websites, and companies that have failed to develop and foster real, and secure, alternatives.

“Apps and services are already responsible for every other area of a user’s online experience. Why should user authentication be different?” he explained. “We need to stop blaming the user for creating a weak password when the site itself could have adopted stronger security that would make a cracked password practically useless to an attacker.”

Meanwhile, do just a few things to make your crummiest passwords a little better. You'll grumble now but thank me later. 

-Source PC World 2016

Technically, we can do it all!

To all amateurs or DIY's out there

Getting Hacked is scary!

Windows 10 still has issues, so watch out for this forced upgrade\update.

Are you 100% sure your computer is fully protected? If so, 17.6 million people in the US alone thought so as well

 

 

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Cracked Screens

We have been fixing cracked laptop screens for over 17+ years. With the mobile device industry really taking off over the last few years, we started also fixing cracked and damaged mobile devices like iPhones, iPads and other Tablets. Eventually, we will also be replacing cracked Apple Watch screens as well.

12 Great iOS 9 Features

Apple forgot to mention these features http://ow.ly/ONAY6