Apr 02

Spring Cleaning – Digital Style!

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Do you ever get bit by the cleaning bug every Spring? Do you ever get stung by all the junk piling up around your home and feel the compelling urge to round it all up and toss it? Is your garage so full you can’t park a bike let alone your car? Your computing device is feeling the same pain!

Does your computer run so slow you can have a shower in the time it takes to find a file you asked for? Might be time for some spring cleaning there too. An excellent tool to help with this task is Ccleaner by piriform.com. Be sure to go through the middle panel of checkboxes before actually running this tool however, or you might leave stuff you wanted to toss, and toss stuff you wanted to keep. If you’re unsure how to use this tool wisely, it might be worth your while to get a techsupport rep to walk through it for you.

Another place to look for bloat is in your add/remove/programs and features area of control panel. Programs can build up in this list. Programs you thought were cool a year ago, but never use. Or programs that installed versions beside themselves instead of upgrading existing installations. Spyware can be found here too occasionally, depending on surfing habits and how avid a person is to download shareware or freeware. Cleaning up this list can also clean up the harddrive, but don’t stop with this list. If you do remove programs from this list, you’ll also want to make a trip through c:\program files to delete any folders left over by the uninstaller routines.

These two tasks can clean up quite a bit of junk all by themselves! If you ended up removing over a gigabyte’s worth of data, then you may want to consider running Disk Defragmenter in your system tools folder under Accessories in your start menu. This will tidy up the harddrive so that programs generally run better.

Don’t get too carried away now. . .

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Software, Tips & Tricks
Feb 19

Your Connection’s Going Down!!!

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On March 8th that is, unless of course you’ve made sure you are not infected with DNSChanger! On March 8th, the FBI are taking down the DNS servers that they had to install in replacement of a number of rogue DNS servers that were being used by DNSChanger for criminal intent. Anyone infected with DNSChanger will lose Internet access on March 8th.

How do you tell if you’re infected? That’s the easy part for most Windows users. On your keyboard, click the Windows key(between alt and ctrl) and the R button at the same time. In the box that comes up, type in CMD and hit enter on your keyboard. A black and white DOS-like window will come up. Type in ipconfig /all and look at the lines for DNS servers. Compare them against the following list of 6 rogue server IP ranges:

IP 85.255.112.0 through 85.255.127.255, IP 67.210.0.0 through 67.210.15.255
IP 77.67.83.0 through 77.67.83.255, IP 93.188.160.0 through 93.188.167.255
IP 64.28.176.0 through 64.28.191.255, IP 213.109.64.0 through 213.109.79.255

If your IP address doesn’t match the first three sets of numbers in any of these IP addresses, you’re generally good to go. However if your DNS Server mentions a 192 number, then you have a router installed and need to check its DNS gateway information. DNSChanger can change your router’s DNS gateway info if you never changed the default login information. You’ll need to check your router’s manufacturer’s info to login and check this info. Once you find the DNS entry, compare it to the above list.

However if your DNS information matches one of the above IP ranges, its time to call in your favourite techsupport engineer and have your system scoured for malware!

You’ve been warned!

See this link for more information:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/250296/truth_about_the_march_8_internet_doomsday.html

 

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Internet, Security, Software
Jan 27

Delusions of Privacy

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We live in a world getting increasingly up in arms over the strangest perceptions of privacy I’ve ever seen! In the offline world, people get upset over cameras being put up in parks and intersections. Um. . . If you’re out for a stroll or driving somewhere, you are ALREADY being seen by anyone you pass! I’m not sure what’s so secret about being out in public. . .

In the online world the same irrationality is also present. People have this misconception that because they are sitting at home or in a cubicle and surfing the Internet, that what they do is private!!! It’s about as private as standing on a street corner downtown! If you wouldn’t share something on the street corner for all the world to see, then you certainly shouldn’t share it online for the entire world to see either.

People get upset over their IP address being seen. But that makes about as much sense as trying to put your phone number in the unlisted directory! You still hand it out to people who you want to hear from. Without your phone number, they can’t call you. Same with your street address. Its out there on a post or a wall so that people can find you! You want your mail delivered to the right address correct? And yet without your IP address, you can’t travel the Internet, or take part in secure member forums and other member-driven websites. I don’t see people draping black tarps over their street address, but I sure see it from some avenues of life online. Makes no sense to me. . .

Groups like Anonymous are only having a hey-day because enough people have had the above misconceptions for so long now, that hackers get a kick out of revealing information that users thought was private. Occasionally someone threatens to bring down Facebook and the same misconceptions occur. Just this week a friend of mine got all up in arms that Timeline revealed stuff they’d allowed to post as public knowledge. For whatever reason they had not locked down their profile using tools already in existence for the past several years, and suddenly freaked when Timeline showed them the error of their ways! Hello??? Many websites give you tools as to what will and won’t be public. Unfortunately, Google is taking its Google+ offering and making user data searchable in their search results to anyone who is logged into the service at the time! BIG mistake! Facebook got in trouble for doing that with Beacon a couple years ago. They know better. Timeline isn’t going to show anyone anything you had already made private. Trust me, I looked at my profile’s public view and all that shows are those things I remember deliberately making public!

The Internet is an online version of the downtown core. If you don’t want to be seen in public, stay home! If you wouldn’t share certain things on the street corner, don’t share them online!!! Sooner or later these glaring misconceptions have to shatter!!!

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Internet, Security
Jan 09

Small list of Safety Tips for the Mobile Surfer

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(sing song) “Everybody loves surfin’, surfin world wide web. . . “(nod to Surfin USA) and again,(to the tune of “its a small world after all, verse only”) “From a netbook small to a laptop tall, from an ipod Touch to a Nexus phone, just one thing is for sure, that they all let you surf. It’s the Internet for all”

How you surf on these and other mobile devices greatly depends on where you are and what you’re doing when you go online!

- For starters, its a good idea NOT to log into any secure sites while using an unprotected wifi connection at your local coffee bar.
- Secondly, assuming the connection is secured, always be sure to log out of your secure site before closing your session, no matter which mobile device you are using.
- Third, turn off your wifi antennae when finished, so that you aren’t tracked like the person in the last posting.
- Fourth, always ensure when on secure sites, that they are using HTTPS. This isn’t fool-proof, but it makes life harder for the casual cyber-snoop to eavesdrop on your banking or facebook information.

If you’re surfing at home, make sure your own wifi is protected behind a SSID, encryption mechanism, and network key! WEP is no longer the best wifi protection. Most wireless network cards can now talk to WPA(2)-Personal or Enterprise using either TKIP or AES encryption. Failure to lock this down could have disastrous affects on not just your surfing habits, but potentially the safety of your entire home network!

Key things to remember with mobile devices, is that
A) You’re out in public, don’t do anything that you don’t want others to know about!
B) Not everyone around you is what they seem. A cybercriminal may be eavesdropping on your connection as we speak.
C) There are steps you can take to stay safe. Just make good and sure you take them!
D) Do NOT leave your mobile device laying around in public or even semi-public places.

A few simple precautions, and you’re off to the races!

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Internet, Security, Tips & Tricks
Nov 14

Theft Play by Play! Did you get caught???

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He’s watching you. He’s tracking you! No he didn’t put anything on your laptop to enable tracking, although if you’d added him to your friends list on Facebook he might have convinced you to install such a tool. No, he has other tools up his sleeve and he’s tracked you to your favourite coffee shop.

Dang! Foiled! You carried your laptop to the counter to pick up your order! But all is not lost. Not yet at least. Now he’s tracked you to the grocery store, but this time you’re not so smart. Surely no one will find your laptop in the hidden compartment of your trunk now will they?

I’m sorry to inform you that while you were in the store shopping, your car was broken into and your laptop stolen. You see, this tracking was possible due to having left your laptop’s wifi antennae on the whole time you were out and about!

Ok so maybe you didn’t know you can turn that off and on. . . Find your manufacturer’s instructions for turning off your wireless transmitter when you’re on the road for next time k?

What are you doing? Well well well. . . You signed up for one of those services that let you learn the whereabouts of your own devices! Very cool! Your choices are typically to lock down the laptop, wipe out its data, or initiate a report the police can use to retrieve your stolen laptop for you! Well done!

Did the service also back up all your files? It did? *high five!

You’re good to go. Here’s hoping that action report will get your laptop back in one piece.

You can find some of these services by googling, or searching pcworld.com for information on securing your laptop and its contents in the cloud.

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Hardware, Internet, Security, Software
Sep 16

Getting Smart about Smartphone Safety!

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Summer happened and this author missed 3 postings!!! While I was dealing with other projects, one theme kept cropping up in the news regarding security and safety of today’s mobile devices – the issue of malware!

As already described, malware is a threat, whether its spyware, trojans, worms, phishing attacks, or viruses spread by USB sticks. It wasn’t so much the idea of malware that caught my attention as where that malware is striking. Laptops, netbooks and desktop computers are natural assumptions because they run a major OS such as Windows, Mac OS or Linux(and yes there is malware out there for Linux). But the age of the smartphone has brought along with it, the age of phone-based malware.

When I first heard about phone-based malware a couple years ago, it wasn’t that proliferant and not much of a threat. But smartphones now run actual operating systems of their own, and those OS’s are getting attacked, particularly the Android OS! Android is known for being a major competitor to iPhone’s iOS, and for good reason. But unlike Apple’s app store vetting process, Android app stores are easier to join and trojan writers have been having an hey-day!

Antivirus companies are realizing they need antimalware software for the smartphone. One such company is Sophos. They have an app that ties in with their enterprise level product that keeps all devices in a workplace safe. Other companies are bundling in AV products with their remote safety programs that include remotely wiping a stolen phone, locating a stolen phone, and restoring data to a new phone. Not all offerings work well on all smartphones, but now more than ever, its imperative that smartphones be protected equally as much as desktops and laptops, if not more so due to their small size and ease of getting lost.

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Internet, Security, Software
Aug 09

We take a break from our usual programming to bring you the following:

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Threats and pranks exist side by side in the world whether offline or online. Some pranks have been harmless, others have defaced websites claiming someone has died. Then there is your personal information on the Internet. How do all these things fit together?

Take Facebook for example. When was the last time you visited your account and privacy settings? In light of recent threats against facebook, you will want to revisit these areas of your account and be sure you are not sharing anything you wouldn’t want made public. Your account settings also has an area where you can download the entire contents of your personal profile, including notes, pictures, videos, etc. It is well worth doing this every few months or so. Monthly is a good idea if you are making constant additions or changes to the content on your profile.

Facebook has created many privacy tools that let you decide who gets to see what, from everyone to no one, but what would people see if your account was suddenly hacked and spilled on the Internet? Would you be comfortable with the exposure? Would it damage your reputation, destroy your job, or throw relationships into disarray?

Facebook has been given credible threat timed for November 5th. This could be a hoax, or it could be the real deal. We won’t know until November 5th actually gets here. Whether this is a real threat or not, it is well worth the impetus to go through your account settings and your privacy settings, and then even to go through your content itself! All the privacy settings facebook can offer won’t protect you if your account gets dumped on the Internet by a hacker.

Speaking of hackers, protect yourself against the vast majority of them by ensuring your password is not easily guessed, is longer than 7 characters, and is a mix of alpha-numeric-symbols. Replacing alpha characters with numbers and symbols is a great way to increase the difficulty in hacking into your personal account! Consider yourself warned! Better that this threat be found out a hoax and your data safe, than to discover its real and your life negatively impacted because of it.

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Internet, Security
Jul 25

Staying Safe in a Mobile World – Introduction

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So we’ve spent the past several months talking about safety and security from the vantage point of someone sitting behind a desk, active online via their stationary desktop computer. But what about those who are on the road, or those who use smartphones? What about the person who doesn’t own a desktop computer and only has a laptop, tablet, or smartphone?

We’re going to spend some time going over how mobile computing can be made just as safe and secure as the desktop environment.

There are challenges the mobile computing universe has that the desktop has never had to deal with, or dealt with very little. But these challenges are generally capable of being dealt with in some fashion. Some of the ways the mobile user can stay safe are identical to the desktop user. Many pieces of advice are the same. But with the challenges mobility presents, these same pieces of advice are that much more important with some unique ways of being addressed.

There are also ways of thinking and behaving on the part of the user that are different as well. This difference is largely due to the change in form factor and how that form factor interacts with the user and networks.

They say education is half the battle. So if you use a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone, or know someone who does, the next number of articles will be for YOU! The trick will be not just to learn about these things, but to put them into practice.

So here’s to the next few months. . . Are you along for the ride?

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Internet, Security, Software
Jun 14

How do you spot a fake?

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Healthy choices while surfing the Internet requires learning what to watch for of course. Email handling, social networking, instant messaging, and spotting fakes, are extremely important!

How do you spot a fake?

A new malware infection trying to hit people who use the Firefox browser, tries to pretend that you are looking at a Windows Update page. However the watchful Windows user will be aware that you can’t get to the Windows Update page without using either Internet Explorer, or the internal update feature found in Windows 7.

Similarly, if you are visiting a website and suddenly a window comes up claiming you have a ton of infections, no matter how official the window may look, immediately close your browser and toss your browser’s temporary files and cookies. . . (don’t worry, tossing a browser’s cookies won’t make a mess all over your keyboard). The only window that should EVER come up telling you about infections is the antivirus program that YOU installed!

It bears repeating while we’re talking about choices, to always scan any file you download for potential malware, BEFORE you open it! This way if you accidentally download a trojan, you’ll catch it before it catches you!

Phishing emails can be harder to spot. But if you use Opera Mail, you’ll be alerted any time a URL is NOT going to the apparently promoted location on the web.

Lastly, if you come across a claim on the Internet that sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Don’t click on it or respond to it in any way! Ignore it and carry on with your desired activity.

This bring us to the end of this series on Staying Safe in a Connected World. No doubt new threats and new ways of presenting them will appear in the future, but these articles are a good jump off point to helping you stay safe as you enjoy the wonderful world wide web and all it has to offer!

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Internet, Security, Tips & Tricks
May 18

First There was Email, Now There is Social Networking. . .

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We’re talking about wise choices while surfing the Internet!

It used to be that avoiding the things discussed last time, was all a person needed to stay safe. Then instant messaging came along(think AOL, MSN, YahooIM, ICQ, Skype, Jabber, GoogleTalk, etc) followed quickly and sometimes concurrently, with the rise of social networking. It doesn’t matter what IM you’re using, or what social network you’ve joined, the need to make more choices is now presented!

Social networking is now a very lucrative way of infecting PC’s, installing backdoors, and stealing ID’s. The same naivety surrounding email explodes in the social space because people WANT to trust their friends! In past millenia this want was ok, even desirable, and got very few people into trouble. But in the information age, in the age of cyber-crooks, hackers, and other felony, the landscape has changed.

Some people join multiple networks, letting a crook discover that in one network, a certain friend is not present, so they fake a profile of said person to join your friends list. Other people friend anyone who asks or shares a common belief, without having ever met them before. In both cases, credibility is not established, a person’s nuances in communication and presentation are not observed, and hackers are benefitting!

Then there is what people or hacked accounts of people, are sharing with others! Images, videos, pdf files, music files, and links to websites are often not what they seem anymore. It is imperative to be skeptical about overly hyped info no matter where you find it! If it doesn’t match how a person normally communicates or their values, etc, then they either made the mistake of clicking a bad link, spamming it to their entire list as a result, or a hacker got their account and used it to send spam. Either way, its important to truly know your friends idiosyncrasies so you can spot when a link is really from them! Don’t blindly click something because a friend claims to have shared it with you. Always verify!

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Internet, Security, Tips & Tricks
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