Category Archives: Consumer Alerts

Malware: Dollar Equals Tilde Square Brackets

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Recently we encountered a very suspicious piece of code on some Joomla-powered webpages. The code looks as if garbled and without any special meaning, and starts like this: Upon closer observation, several strange things are to be noted. First, there are no alphanumerical symbols to be seen in any part of the code. Second, on […]

Be Cautious of Cupid: 4 Ways to Protect Yourself from Valentine’s Day Scams

Love is in the air, and while Cupid is sharpening his arrows for Valentine’s Day, scammers are sharpening their skills and using holiday-themed keywords to target unsuspecting users. Whether you’re looking for your soul mate or just trying to buy something special for your sweetheart, hackers see this as an opportunity for profit as you Read more…

Avast antivirus 2012 trial? No, just a scam

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I don’t know what kind of curiosity leads people to the dark corners of the internet, when they want to obtain a new version of antivirus software. It’s somehow irrational to find security software at insecure places. But…. it happens. As you can see, the file name is Avast_Antivirus_2012_Trial_Verion.exe – but it is definitely not […]

Shady Surfing: Online Ads 182x More Likely than Adult Websites to Infect Your PC

Wait…what! You heard it right: According to a recent security report, Internet users are 182 times more likely to get a virus from clicking on online ads than visiting an adult website. At first glance, this sounds extremely counterintuitive (and it is). In theory, wouldn’t your risk go up when visiting shady sites? Yes and Read more…

Love, Relationships, and #SextRegret: It’s Time to Take Back the Web

What would you do if someone threatened to post risqué photos of you on the Internet? According to a new McAfee survey, 68.7% of us have used a smartphone to send personal or intimate text messages, emails, or photos – a habit that could put your privacy (and even your job, relationships, or financial stability) Read more…

Anonymous Hacks Into U.S. Sentencing Commission Website in Response to Death of Aaron Swartz

Late Friday night, the hacktivist group Anonymous took control of the U.S. Sentencing Commission website in a new campaign called “Operation Last Resort.” The website was still experiencing downtime as of 11am PT this morning, and according to a ZDNet report, the website was re-hacked on Sunday afternoon and turned into a playable video game Read more…

Protecting Your Always-Connected Digital Life: McAfee and Intel at CES 2013

How many devices do you have connected to the Internet? When you count up all the computers, smartphones, tablets, and other Internet-connected devices in your home, the number can add up quickly. Our online lives have become second nature: We shop online, bank online, and network with friends, families, and coworkers through social networking sites. Read more…

Kick Off 2013 with Online Privacy in Mind

Back in August, a Forbes article pointed out 10 simple ways to protect your privacy. The full list included: Password protecting devices Putting a Google Alert on your name Signing out of email and social networks when done Being wary of giving out your personal information Encrypting your computer Turning on 2-Step authentication in Gmail Read more…

From Tourist Information to Malware in one easy step…

This week BBC News and others reported that Gibraltar is joining another well known destination, Monmouth UK, by tagging locations around the country with printed 2 dimensional bar codes (QR Codes) which can be scanned by your smartphone to link you to Wikipedia articles. As a regular traveler, tourist, and conveyor of useless information, to Read more…

Latest Yahoo Data Breach Restates Need for Basic Security

News broke today of a large data breach against Yahoo Voices, resulting in more than 400,000 username/password combinations being posted in clear text. The compromise involved a basic SQL-injection attack against an exposed Yahoo server (dbb1.ac.bf1.yahoo.com).  Similar to other recent events, the account data was reportedly stored in an unencrypted state. We see this type of attack Read more…