• 7 Tips

    From Roger Nelson@1:3828/7 to All on Tue Jul 25 04:43:10 2017
    Hello All!

    7 tips to stay cyber safe this summer

    Posted: July 21, 2017 by Wendy Zamora

    You've probably already seen the back-to-school ads on TV and rolled your eyes a little bit. We're with you: There's still plenty of summer left. That's why we want to remind you about some of the cybersecurity pitfalls you might encounter during the remainder of the summer season.

    Whether you're home with the kids or heading out on vacation, here are some ways you can tighten up your security profile and avoid spending the rest of the summer reclaiming your identity or filing credit card insurance claims.

    1. Monitor your children's Internet habits during summer break.

    Without homework and extracurricular activities for young students, summer days
    and nights are often spent lounging around on a tablet, cell phone, or laptop, browsing the Internet for funny cat videos or swapping faces on social media platforms. Parents may already enforce safe surfing habits during the school year, but with a more lax schedule may come a more lax attitude.

    Be sure to set limits for Internet usage, whether that's hours spent, sites visited, or apps and video games allowed. It's also important to discuss online
    predatory behaviors, from cyberbullying to sexual exploitation (with an age-appropriate audience). Don't just send your kids off to a room to Internet with abandon. Give them the skills (or possibly the parental controls) to navigate the online world safely.

    2. Beware of fraudulent hotel booking sites.

    Planning a trip to cap off an incredible summer? Make sure you're using reputable booking sites for travel. A 2015 study by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found that about 15 million hotel bookings are impacted by rogue travel scams each year. Fraudulent websites or call centers often pretend
    to have an affiliation with certain hotels, when in fact they have none. This can result in being charged for hidden fees, losing rewards points, incorrect accommodations, fake reservations, and more.

    The safest way to avoid being scammed is to book directly through a hotel's website. Use third-party sites as resources to see available options. If you do
    want to consider a third-party site, call up the hotel directly to inquire if they are, in fact, affiliated. In addition, be wary of sites that urge you to book one of the last remaining rooms or don't allow you to see a breakdown of fees.

    3. Research hotels' security policies before you book.

    According to cybersecurity expert Matt Suiche, hotels are being targeted more frequently by criminals. Guest credit cards are kept on file for room charges and opportunities for additional spending at spas, restaurants, bars, and shops
    on premise make these properties attractive targets. In April 2017, InterContinental said that 1,200 of its franchise hotels in the United States, including the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, were victims of a three-month cyberattack aimed at stealing customer payment card data. Also this year, 14 Trump hotels were targeted by hackers raiding personal data such as credit card
    numbers, expiration dates, and security codes, as well as some phone numbers and addresses of hotel customers.

    When booking your hotel, you can ask about privacy and security policies in place for protecting customer data. Does the hotel have cybersecurity software?
    Is data stored in a secure computer/network? Who has access to it? Their policy
    should cover this information and more.

    4. Watch out for public wifi in airports and hotels.

    Yes, free wifi is a wonderful thing. How else would you stream Netflix in your hotel room instead of watching the room service menu options on your TV? However, free wifi is also public, which means that any person in the hotel or airport can access that account with (or without) a simple password. Wifi that isn't password-protected is especially vulnerable. Add thousands of people accessing it daily and you've got a recipe for data breach.

    So what to do? Use up your mobile data? That's one (expensive) way to deal with
    it. What we recommend, for the layperson, is to avoid sites where you need to login, sites with sensitive info (banking, healthcare, etc.), and especially stay away from making purchases over an unsecured connection. If you absolutely
    need to access sensitive info on this summer trip-perhaps it's for business rather than pleasure-you'll want to look into using a virtual private network, or VPN. In fact, if you are traveling for business and staying at a luxury hotel, you might be vulnerable to a spear-phishing campaign called DarkHotel if
    you use the in-house wifi network. Better get that VPN cracking.

    5. Don't announce to the world that you'll be away from your house on vacation.

    The lead-up to the vacation is almost as good as the vacation itself, no? It's hard not to get swept up in the excitement and jump on Facebook to tell all your friends about your upcoming trip. Problem is, unless you are ruthlessly private about what you share (and social media platforms are constantly updating their policies, making it easier for people to find your information that you didn't intend to), people who aren't your friends will see that announcement, too. And really, how well do you know that girl you passed in the
    hallway in high school 30 years ago?

    Discussing your travel plans (specifically the dates you'll be gone) opens you up to a physical security issue. Criminals are known to watch social media in order to target homes they know will be vacant for robbery. So best to wait until you get back until you start posting those trip photos.

    6. Look closely at ATM scanners and gas pumps.

    Heading to a concert and need to gas up? Hitting up an ice cream truck at the beach and forgot your cash? Be extra careful when stopping at gas pumps or ATMs, especially those unaffiliated with a bank. ATMs and gas pumps are targets
    for cybercriminals, who might attach skimmers in order to pilfer bank account or credit card data (and eventually drain those accounts).

    Before you swipe your card, give the card reader a good tug. If there's a skimmer attached, it'll likely pop right off the top. In addition, take a look around the ATM or gas pump for small cameras (smaller than your typical surveillance camera). They'd be pointing down at the keypad in order to capture
    your zip code or pin number.

    7. Avoid credit card fraud.

    Easier said than done, we know. This one is extra tricky when traveling abroad.
    Pick-pocketers steal wallets or credit cards might be accidentally left behind and lo and behold: someone's charging $2,537.45 worth of train tickets. While many card companies can track fraud and refund you the charges, the hassle of reporting and waiting, especially when overseas, is probably the last thing you
    want to deal with while sunning yourself in Phuket.

    A few ground rules for traveling with credit cards: don't take them all. Select
    one or two with high credit limits and low foreign transaction fees. Make copies of the credit cards you're bringing with you so you can see the numbers and customer service phone number. Leave one copy with a friend and bring another with you. (Just don't store it in the same place as your credit cards.)
    And finally, make sure you alert your credit card company of your travel plans so they don't freeze your account.

    Summer is a time to kick back and enjoy. So don't spend it on the phone with your bank and the IRS. Take these precautions and you can be sure to end this easy-breezy season on a light and carefree note.


    Regards,

    Roger
    --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna - (1:3828/7)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to ROGER NELSON on Wed Jul 26 07:08:00 2017
    Roger,

    7 tips to stay cyber safe this summer

    Thanks for these posts. I'm saving several of them, and creating ZIP
    files for download, in the Computer Virus Protection Area on my BBS.

    On another note, I had a virus scare last week, but I recognized it as
    a scam.

    The deal locked up Google Chrome, displaying a message that "my system
    was infected, and I needed to call Microsoft at this toll free number".

    Suspecting it was a ruse (it was, confirmed by 2 fellow ham radio operators...one who had worked in IT for years), I just closed the
    browser with the Windows Task Manager. I then rebooted the system into
    safe mode, and ran a full virus scan (which took all night)...but, the
    system was clean. When I restarted Chrome, it asked if I wanted to
    "restore" it. Realizing that would activate that crap again, I told it
    to instead "open a new window". I then went in, and flushed the cache (I normally have it set to do that when I exit Chrome). The former IT guy
    (he has retired, due to health issues) notes that he usually sees this
    twice a week.

    Basically, if you call that number (it is NOT Microsoft, and Microsoft
    does NOT offer "a virus help line"), these thugs (for lack of a better
    word), convince people to download this "virus cleaner", but it's
    malware designed to scan your system looking for important data. Then,
    they cause panic in saying you need to pay them large amounts of money
    to get things fixed...which you have no guarantee of them doing...never
    mind you may have just become a victim of identity theft.

    Daryl

    ===
    þ OLX 1.53 þ Be kind to your dentist. He has fillings, too.
    --- SBBSecho 3.01-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (1:19/33)
  • From Roger Nelson@1:3828/7 to Daryl Stout on Thu Jul 27 05:24:42 2017
    On Wed Jul-26-2017 07:08, Daryl Stout (1:19/33) wrote to ROGER NELSON:

    7 tips to stay cyber safe this summer

    Thanks for these posts. I'm saving several of them, and creating
    ZIP files for download, in the Computer Virus Protection Area on my
    BBS.

    Everytime I get one from Wendy Zamora at Malwarebytes, I post it. If you aren't running Malwarebytes, I highly recommend it. I use it and MSE to keep my system safe. Even the free version of Malwarebytes will save you a lot of heartache.

    On another note, I had a virus scare last week, but I recognized
    it as a scam.

    The deal locked up Google Chrome, displaying a message that "my
    system was infected, and I needed to call Microsoft at this toll
    free number".

    I don't get those as often as I used to, but I did the same thing you did except I didn't reboot.

    Suspecting it was a ruse (it was, confirmed by 2 fellow ham radio operators...one who had worked in IT for years), I just closed the
    browser with the Windows Task Manager. I then rebooted the system
    into safe mode, and ran a full virus scan (which took all
    night)...but, the system was clean. When I restarted Chrome, it
    asked if I wanted to "restore" it. Realizing that would activate
    that crap again, I told it to instead "open a new window". I then
    went in, and flushed the cache (I normally have it set to do that
    when I exit Chrome). The former IT guy (he has retired, due to
    health issues) notes that he usually sees this twice a week.

    I dumped Google Chrome last month. Caused me some problems and I only use Firefox now. If I want to use Chrome, it's on my Android. (-:

    Basically, if you call that number (it is NOT Microsoft, and
    Microsoft does NOT offer "a virus help line"), these thugs (for
    lack of a better word), convince people to download this "virus
    cleaner", but it's malware designed to scan your system looking for important data. Then, they cause panic in saying you need to pay
    them large amounts of money to get things fixed...which you have no guarantee of them doing...never mind you may have just become a
    victim of identity theft.

    Microsoft has spent hours on the phone with me trying to straighten out a problem I had with a system I bought for my son-in-law back in January. The key lasted for 6 months -- something I never heard of before and so last night,
    they put a new install of W7 64-bit on the machine and everything is fine now.


    Regards,

    Roger
    --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna - (1:3828/7)
  • From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to ROGER NELSON on Fri Jul 28 12:17:00 2017
    Roger,

    Everytime I get one from Wendy Zamora at Malwarebytes, I post it. If you RN>aren't running Malwarebytes, I highly recommend it. I use it and MSE to kee RN>my system safe. Even the free version of Malwarebytes will save you a lot o RN>heartache.

    I'm using the IObit Malware Fighter (PRO Version) which has its own anti-malware/anti-spyware engine, the BitDefender anti-malware engine,
    and an anti-ransomware engine. The license I purchased allows me to run
    it on 3 computers for 1 year...and I have similar licenses with their
    Driver Booster, Smart Defrag, and Advanced System Care programs...and
    the rates are very reasonable, when you average them out. I just have
    the main BBS desktop computer, and a laptop right now...so, that means I
    have "one spot left", should I acquire another system...which at
    present, isn't necessary.

    I don't get those as often as I used to, but I did the same thing you did RN>except I didn't reboot.

    Next time that comes up, I'll just END TASK. But, I haven't seen that
    deal again since the "full scan".

    I dumped Google Chrome last month. Caused me some problems and I only use RN>Firefox now. If I want to use Chrome, it's on my Android. (-:

    I use Chrome on the Android, and have used Chrome on the main
    computers for awhile, because I also have Google Plus and GMail (the
    Google Plus, and Skype accounts are rarely used). I also have the
    Dashlane Password Manager (as a paid subscription), but I'm not sure if
    I could get Firefox to import all my bookmarks and passwords. I keep
    seeing a lot of security news on Firefox from the Naked Security Blog
    from Sophos. It's almost like they have as many issues as Internut
    Exploder (mis-words intended). :P

    Microsoft has spent hours on the phone with me trying to straighten out a RN>problem I had with a system I bought for my son-in-law back in January. The RN>key lasted for 6 months -- something I never heard of before and so last nig
    they put a new install of W7 64-bit on the machine and everything is fine n

    I've got Windows 7 32-bit, and have no intentions of upgrading...never
    mind that I can't afford it.

    Daryl

    ===
    þ OLX 1.53 þ A coin. Good. I will replicate one immediately. - Data
    --- SBBSecho 3.01-Win32
    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (1:19/33)
  • From Roger Nelson@1:3828/7 to Daryl Stout on Sat Jul 29 06:43:28 2017
    On Fri Jul-28-2017 12:17, Daryl Stout (1:19/33) wrote to ROGER NELSON:

    Hi,

    Everytime I get one from Wendy Zamora at Malwarebytes, I post it. If you RN>aren't running Malwarebytes, I highly recommend it. I use it and
    MSE to kee
    my system safe. Even the free version of Malwarebytes will save
    you a lot o
    heartache.

    I'm using the IObit Malware Fighter (PRO Version) which has its
    own anti-malware/anti-spyware engine, the BitDefender anti-malware
    engine, and an anti-ransomware engine. The license I purchased
    allows me to run it on 3 computers for 1 year...and I have similar licenses with their Driver Booster, Smart Defrag, and Advanced
    System Care programs...and the rates are very reasonable, when you
    average them out. I just have the main BBS desktop computer, and a
    laptop right now...so, that means I have "one spot left", should I
    acquire another system...which at present, isn't necessary.

    I have 3 HDs in the desktop. 1 is C: with W7 on it, 2 is D: backup drive and 3 E: has W10 on it. I also bought a laptop recently with W7 on it and I'm about to experiment with ArcaOS 5 on it.

    I don't get those as often as I used to, but I did the same thing you did RN>except I didn't reboot.

    Next time that comes up, I'll just END TASK. But, I haven't seen
    that deal again since the "full scan".

    MBAM runs at 3am every morning. MSE every Sunday at 2am.

    I dumped Google Chrome last month. Caused me some problems and I only use RN>Firefox now. If I want to use Chrome, it's on my Android. (-:

    I use Chrome on the Android, and have used Chrome on the main
    computers for awhile, because I also have Google Plus and GMail
    (the Google Plus, and Skype accounts are rarely used). I also have
    the Dashlane Password Manager (as a paid subscription), but I'm not
    sure if I could get Firefox to import all my bookmarks and
    passwords. I keep seeing a lot of security news on Firefox from the
    Naked Security Blog from Sophos. It's almost like they have as many
    issues as Internut Exploder (mis-words intended). :P

    That's news to me. I'll check it out. When I boot to W10, I use the Edge web browser becasue I'm told it is more secure. Whether that's true or not remains
    to be seen, but so far I haven't had any issues with it. My main gripe with M$ is that I can't change window colors in W10 like I can in W7.

    Microsoft has spent hours on the phone with me trying to straighten out a RN>problem I had with a system I bought for my son-in-law back in
    January. The
    key lasted for 6 months -- something I never heard of before and so
    last nig
    they put a new install of W7 64-bit on the machine and everything
    is fine n

    I've got Windows 7 32-bit, and have no intentions of
    upgrading...never mind that I can't afford it.

    None us can until expediency comes calling.

    Anyway, M$ had to reformat the drive when they came to the conclusion that the OS became corrupt. Everything is fine now.


    Regards,

    Roger
    --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna - (1:3828/7)