My PC Therapist

02/13/2015

There were over 1,500 data breaches compromising nearly 1 billion data records in 2014, according to a report from the security firm Gemalto. The report, which was first spotted by The Wall Street...

02/08/2015

It seems like a good thing to do: look up you Social Security Number on Google to see if it is out there on some hacker site with your SSN listed, letting the

09/18/2013

If you're using Internet Explorer, you should check this out. The Fix It solution is very easy - just follow the links. http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-reports-ie-zero-day-attacks-7000020791/?s_cid=e589&ttag=e589

All versions of Internet Explorer are vulnerable to remote code ex*****on through a memory corruption bug. Attacks are currently being conducted with exploits that work on IE8 and IE9.

08/16/2013

These guys are getting better and better. After all I've said about checking this stuff before you click, I actually got caught myself.

Careful!

07/04/2013

Mal-ware is not just annoying. It's plain dangerous. Once you've become infected, all of your personal data is no longer personal. That includes your address book, personal finances, browsing history - you name it. If you think you may have a problem, PLEASE get in touch. Some stuff is easy to remove.

06/21/2013

Some of you are wondering what actually happens if you fall for the FedEx email trick I warned you about the other day. Well, lots of bad stuff. First, if you fell for the trick, you installed Trojan.Smoaler (it has lots of different names given by the anti virus companies). It makes a few registry modifications so that the malware will run at startup. It wouldn't be any fun if all you had to do is reboot. Once running it connects to remote servers and installs several malicious programs in the infected system. The downloaded malware will be adware, keyloggers and fake security products. Adware is annoying. Keyloggers send all of you keystrokes to the bad guys - so they have your ID and password when you log into your bank. The fake security products are VERY annoying because the take away control of your machine and try to get you to pay to have it released - ransom-ware. In this case, I can't understand putting a keylogger on your system and then installing ransom-ware which won't let you log into your bank. Sort of self defeating.

06/17/2013

I'm often asked how malware gets into my customer's machine in the first place. That's the question that I dread because the right answer is: "Because you're freakin' stupid!" and I have to, of course, try to sweeten that up. The most common delivery of malware (initially) is done by tricking the user into downloading and executing a bad program. How many of you have gotten mail from the IRS or your bank asking you to download something? DON'T DO IT!

06/09/2013

Privacy concerns? I know that you've been reading about the government's access to Verizon records and their "right" to snoop through internet activity. For those concerned (I'm not but maybe you are), you should know about Tor (https://www.torproject.org), a secure network with a secure browser that makes it virtually impossible for anybody to track your browsing activity. It runs a little slower because it's making network connections all over the world but it may be something you can use.

Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysisLearn more about Tor »

04/01/2013

Revolutionary! https://mail.google.com/mail/help/promos/tap/

(Let's remember what day this is)

02/12/2013

Nice that Microsoft is so concerned for our safety. NOT MICROSOFT. Hover over any of the links and the domain behind the link is microsoftemail.com. NOT MICROSOFT. That's how you introduce malware into your system. Please be careful. Always check the links.

01/25/2013

This is well worth the time: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50572646/ #50572646. I actually wrote a program like this but it was for MY laptop in case it ever got stolen. It's just way too easy to tricked into installing stuff on your PC. The e-card did it this time.

Video on TODAY.com: Authorities are saying criminals can now hack into your we**am remotely, using it to watch your most intimate moments without you ever knowing. NBC’s Jeff Rossen investigates how you can protect yourself and your family.

12/06/2012

Ahhh! 3 disks successfully recovered. I love days like that!