Watch out for fake virus alerts!

Posted in: Blog, Small Business Security Strategies, Social Media, Technology Quick Tips by Andrew Moon on July 14, 2011 | No Comments

Rogue security software, also known as “scareware,” is software that appears to be beneficial from a security perspective but provides limited or no security, generates erroneous or misleading alerts, or attempts to lure users into participating in fraudulent transactions.

How does rogue security software get on my computer?

Rogue security software designers create legitimate looking pop-up windows that advertise security update software. These windows might appear on your screen while you surf the web.

The “updates” or “alerts” in the pop-up windows call for you to take some sort of action, such as clicking to install the software, accept recommended updates, or remove unwanted viruses or spyware. When you click, the rogue security software downloads to your computer.

Rogue security software might also appear in the list of search results when you are searching for trustworthy antispyware software, so it is important to protect your computer.

What does rogue security software do?

Rogue security software might report a virus, even though your computer is actually clean. The software might also fail to report viruses when your computer is infected. Inversely, sometimes, when you download rogue security software, it will install a virus or other malicious software on your computer so that the software has something to detect.

Some rogue security software might also:

• Lure you into a fraudulent transaction (for example, upgrading to a non-existent paid version of a program).

• Use social engineering to steal your personal information.

• Install malware that can go undetected as it steals your data.

• Launch pop-up windows with false or misleading alerts.

• Slow your computer or corrupt files.

• Disable Windows updates or disable updates to legitimate antivirus software.

• Prevent you from visiting antivirus vendor websites.

Rogue security software might also attempt to spoof the Microsoft security update process. Here’s an example of rogue security software that’s disguised as a Microsoft alert but that doesn’t come from Microsoft.

Example of a warning from a rogue security program known as AntivirusXP.

For more information about this threat, including analysis, prevention and recovery, see the Trojan:Win32/Antivirusxp entry in the Microsoft Malware Protection Center encyclopedia.

Here is the legitimate Microsoft Windows Security Center:

Screenshot of legitimate Microsoft Windows Security Center.

To help protect yourself from rogue security software:

• Install a firewall and keep it turned on.

• Use automatic updating to keep your operating system and software up to date.

• Install antivirus and antispyware software such as Microsoft Security Essentials and keep it updated. For links to other antivirus programs that work with Microsoft, see Microsoft Help and Support List of Antivirus Vendors.

• If your antivirus software does not include antispyware software, you should install a separate antispyware program such asWindows Defender and keep it updated. (Windows Defender is available as a free download for Windows XP and is included in Windows Vista.)

• Use caution when you click links in email or on social networking websites.

• Use a standard user account instead of an administrator account.

• Familiarize yourself with common phishing scams.

If you think you might have rogue security software on your computer:

Scan your computer. Use your antivirus software or do a free scan with the Microsoft Safety Scanner. The safety scanner checks for and removes viruses, eliminates junk on your hard drive, and improves your PC’s performance.

Get help from Network Logix. If you have trouble removing the software yourself, you can contact us, and one of our competent technicians will be happy to assist you.

Check your accounts. If you think you might have entered sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or passwords into a pop-up window or at a rogue security software site, you should monitor your associated accounts.

How To Be Safe And Smart On Social Networking Sites

Posted in: Blog, Small Business Security Strategies, Social Media by Andrew Moon on May 31, 2011 | No Comments

Did you know*…

• More than 90,000 registered sex offenders were removed from one popular social networking site…and those were only the ones who used their real names.
• According to the Al Qaeda Handbook, terrorists search social networking sites for “government personnel, officers, important personalities and all matters related to them (residence, workplace, times of leaving and returning, children and places visited).
• Social networking sites have become a haven for identity thieves and con artists, and social networking viruses are on the rise.

Think about it: Facebook, Twitter and other social media web sites have become the world’s largest database of personal information, all served up intentionally by the user. It’s practically every scammer’s dream come true!

9 Smart Tips To Stay Safe
Protecting yourself requires some awareness of how cyber criminals use the system against you. Here are a few things you need to know:

1. Keep your firewall’s security and anti-virus software up-to-date.
2. Never log in from public hotspots. Social networking sites generally do not have secure logins available (that’s the https with the lock icon in the search bar). That means your username and password can be swiped at any time. Log in only from trusted wireless networks.
3. Use strong passwords that contain a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers.
4. Remember the golden rule: If you wouldn’t do it or say it on a public street, don’t post it online.
5. Be wary of all links and files. Hackers often post links in comments to try and trick you into downloading an “update,” “security patch” or “game.”
6. Keep an eye on what your friends post about you. Many people have been fired or lost an important client because of online pictures and content.
7. Be careful who you ‘friend.’ Yeah, it feels great to have hundreds (or thousands!) of friends, but the reality is, you really know only a fraction of those people.
8. Be wary of all add-ons. Many of the games and plug-ins are written by third-party companies, not the social network itself.
9. Do a search on yourself. You might be surprised at just how much information comes up! If it’s more than you feel comfortable with, restrict your profile online.

Twitter @ Five: Continuing to be a Powerful Social Marketing Tool

Posted in: Blog, Social Media by Andrew Moon on April 26, 2011 | No Comments

Five years is a relatively short time to grow from a virtually unknown website to what is now one of the most effective social networking platforms on the web today. And businesses will be better off taking advantage of all that Twitter can offer internet marketing campaigns.

Social networking and “microblogging” site Twitter turned five years old recently, a testament to how effective this kind of approach to social networking is. And in those five short years, the number of users has ballooned to up to 200 million, sending around 140 million tweets a day around the world – and the number continues to grow.

March 21, 2006 marked the day Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent the first ever tweet that read, “just setting up my twttr.” Since then, people have used the service to broadcast all sorts of things, provided they stay within the 140-character limit – from what they ate that day to updates about news and current affairs.

Much more relevant to businesses, though, is how Twitter has become an integral part of internet and social media marketing. Twitter offers a plethora of advantages that enable businesses to share information on the web much faster than traditional means.

And it’s not only for small businesses. Big organizations such as ESPN (@espn, 1,098,906 followers), and Amazon (@amazondeals, 204,838 folowers) use Twitter’s wide reach and large audience to update about promotions, events, and other information.

Twitter enables businesses to get in touch with audiences and gain feedback almost instantly. It’s a win-win deal – clients get to say what they want in a short, brief 140-character tweet, and businesses can respond and make the necessary improvements very efficiently. Twitter also helps direct more traffic and visitors to websites and gives the impression of a hands-on, responsive service (provided website updates are timely and relevant). The platform on which Twitter operates makes for a fast-paced exchange of information that, with the right marketing strategies, can be very advantageous for businesses.

If you want to know more about how to harness this very effective medium to beef up your internet marketing efforts, give us a call and we’ll be happy to sit down with you and create strategies that meet your needs.

What To Do When Someone Posts Negative (Untrue!) Comments About Your Company Online

Posted in: Blog, Small Business Management Strategies, Small Business Web Strategies, Social Media by Andrew Moon on January 11, 2011 | No Comments

The popularity of user review sites such as Yelp, CitySearch or Google Local Search can be an excellent way for businesses to get some positive PR. But what do you do when a user posts a NEGATIVE comment about you or your business that isn’t true?

Unfortunately, people love gossip, especially when it’s negative. And since users will often take the word of an anonymous poster over the word of the company being discussed, it’s important to keep a close eye on negative comments posted about your company online and address them.

(Side Tip: We recommend setting up a Google Alert with your company name to monitor this.)

The best way to deal with a negative comment or complaint is head on; ignoring it is akin to an admission of guilt and will leave visitors assuming the worse. However, your rebuttal shouldn’t be nasty or vindictive. Instead, politely address the complaint by giving your side of the story and/or correcting erroneous information.

For example, if a user posts that the customer service stinks at your company, you could reply back that providing top-level service is very important to your company and that you are willing to make good on the problem. You might even offer the person to contact you for a refund, a do- over or other solution to the problem. That way you appear to be a transparent organization that cares about customer feedback.

Another approach would be to ask your happy customers to counter the comment with their own positive comments. Often that will bolster your image and push the negative comment down the line. If the information is an outright lie, be polite but firm. Point out that you don’t have any record of the transaction (or other facts surrounding the situation) but would be eager to investigate this further if the user would contact you. In some cases of outright slander or unfounded vicious attacks, you might be able to contact the web site and ask for the post to be removed. Just remember this: it isn’t slander if it’s true or if it’s the opinion of a legitimate customer who is expressing their opinion about your product or service.

If a diplomatic approach doesn’t work (and provided the comment is harmful enough) you may want to take legal action to get the post removed. Many social media web sites are becoming more sensitive to this issue and are willing to take down content that is defamatory, slanderous or abusive in nature.