On-site PC services, Chicago north and northwest
I’ve seen a lot of these lately, affecting both clients and family members. Fake antivirus programs pop up and issue dire warnings, then trick you into clicking on them to repair your “infected” computer. That, of course, is when the real damage occurs.
I could ramble on regarding the details, but instead I’ll just refer you to this excellent article by Herb Weisbaum on msnbc.com.
I received an interesting e-mail message today.
ADOBE PDF READER SOFTWARE UPGRADE NOTIFICATION
This is to remind that a new version of Adobe Acrobat Reader with enhanced features for viewing, creating, editing, printing and internet-sharing PDF documents has been released.
To upgrade your application:
+ Go to : [link removed]
+ Download and upgrade your application.Copyright 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Attn: Change of Address/Privacy
343 Preston Street
Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4
Canada.
I got suspicious because Adobe does not refer to its software as “Adobe PDF Reader” – it’s called “Adobe Reader.” Sure enough, a little checking on the web, and snopes.com confirms it’s a phishing e-mail that’s been in circulation since late last year.
Time to remind everyone to never click on links in e-mail messages unless you are absolutely sure that the sender is legitimate, and even then you should think twice.
Remember, be alert! America needs more lerts!*
* No extra charge for dumb joke.
Security software vendor McAfee has created a ten-question quiz to see how well you can spot a phony website. If you’ve been reading my tips here, I expect you to do very well. Let’s find out.
The quiz has some excellent examples of common phishing scams, and it’s a very good primer on how the bad guys operate.
Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 have built-in phishing filters. These provide an additional level of protection by checking any site you visit against a list of known malicious web pages.
Depending on which browser you use, make sure the phishing filter is enabled:
Internet Explorer 7: IE 7 asks you during installation if you would like to enable the phishing filter. To double-check, click the Tools menu, then Internet Options, and then the Security tab. With the Internet zone selected, click the “Custom Level” button and scroll down through the settings until you find “Use Phishing Filter.” Make sure it’s set to “Enable.”
Firefox 2: Click the Tools menu, then Options. Click once on “Security” on the top menu bar to highlight it. Then make sure the “Tell me if the site I’m visiting is a suspected forgery” option is checked. Under that, select “Check using a downloaded list of suspected sites.”
Phishing filters are, of course, not a substitute for paying attention, but they can certainly help. Use them to back up your newly-heightened awareness after taking the quiz.
Oh, in case you’re wondering, I got a perfect score on the quiz. Why else would you take my advice?
UPDATE 9/16/07: McAfee has taken down the phishing quiz site referenced above. However, Internet security vendor SonicWALL has an even tougher quiz on their site. Here’s a link.