InstallationWarning: MS Removal Tool is fake.
Posted on April 29th, 2011On a recent service call a customer showed me how his computer was protected by this software called MS Removal Tool, he entered his credit card information, paid about $40 and his computer was free of viruses. People are still falling for this fake software that takes over a computer and demands money by pretending to find all sorts of threats in your system.
Let me be clear on this, any program that starts up an automatic scan and immediately finds threats and then demands money to remove them is fake software, MS Removal Tool is not the first software of its kind and certainly not the last. When you get a pop-up window with a message that your computer needs a scan or that you automatically won a free PS3 or an ipod, DO NOT CLICK ON IT! You may be putting your computer and your data at risk.
MS Removal Tool disables all processes that could shut it down, changes your internet settings so you can’t download an anti-virus and limits the functionality of your computer to only a couple of programs. In most cases the computer becomes unusable and needs to be checked by a professional.
Is your PC secretly connecting to the web?
Posted on September 23rd, 2007There is a DOS command that can help you find out if you computer is secretly connection to the web.
- In START > Run, type cmd
- Type “netstat -b 5 > activity.txt” and press enter.
- After say 2 minutes, press Ctrl+C.
- Type “activity.txt” on the command line to open the log file in notepad (or your default text editor)
This .txt file will have a record of everything that has made an Internet connection in the last couple of minutes; you can then check your task manager to find out where it is and take care of it.
What is SSID?
Posted on January 12th, 2007
Assuming you have a network using a router to connect to other computers and the internet, this tip will help you prevent unauthorized use of your network resources, such as internet connection.
What is SSID?
Stands for Service Set IDentifier, it is a code included in all data transmitted over a wireless network, lets say you have two networks, one is called ‘OFFICE’ the other one is called ‘GAMES’, two routers used for two different purposes, how do you prevent the signals from crossing over? Well the SSID allows you to have networks with a unique identifier so devices can communicate with it each other.
Using SSID
You can customize your SSID to almost anything, as long as you don’t exceed 32 alphanumeric characters you are ok, for example:
SSID: My Private Network
or
SSID: Private do NOT connect
SSID Broadcast: Enabled
When you purchase and install an router it usually has SSID enabled by default, the SSID is transmitted as soon as you turn the router on, if someone nearby is working on his computer he will get a message notifying him that a new network has been found, the user will be able to connect to your network because by default your router is open to all connections as long as they can identify themselves with the same SSID, and since you are being so nice to share it, this makes it easier for anyone with a wireless device to connect up to your network.
SSID Broadcast: Disabled
Routers have an option to disable the SSID broadcast, this means that the SSID will still be in effect but will not reveal itself to other wireless devices, it will be hidden, the problem is that if a device already connected once to your network it already knows your SSID so a good move is to disable the broadcast, then change it to something else.
Are we secure yet?
Not really, even without an SSID, a wireless device can still communicate with your network and find a way in, that is why other security features are available, such as WEP, WPA, Radius, etc.
These protect your network with an encryption, in other words, they scramble the data before it is being transmitted and this works with the use of an encryption key. More on this later…
If you still don’t understand SSID, leave a comment below.
Bluetooth hacked
Posted on January 3rd, 2007
This is not new, but a friend called me yesterday concerned about this, here is a small explanation. If your phone has Bluetooth enabled that means it can communicate with other devices through a wireless connection, for example, your Bluetooth headset. Your device has a security feature that allows 2 devices to communicate and secure the connection with a 4-digit number, from 0000 to 9999.
The problem
There is a program that allows an attacker to connect to your cellphone and start guessing the 4-digit number, if it is successful, the program will then lock on to the signal and give the attacker full access to your personal data and take control of your cellphone. All this can happen while your phone shows no activity of any kind.
Using your phone to steal your phone book and other info
This is the most simple attack, someone connects to your phone and copies all your stored information to their system.
Using your phone to connect to the internet.
The attacker can use your phone to connect to the internet and check email or use it for other purposes, if you have email on your phone, the attacker can read and copy all of your emails in a few seconds.
Using your phone to make expensive phone calls.
Some devices allow the software to run while making a call, this can allow an attacker to use your phone to make international calls or even worse, call to a pay-per-minute service setup by the attacker and making a long call without you even noticing, if they charge $5 per minute, a simple 10 minute call can generate a $50 charge on your next bill.
The solution
Well some phones have the ability to select which devices to connect to, therefore an attacker cannot connect. Another solution is turning off Bluetooth if you are not using it or if you don’t have a headset.
By far the best solution is not to use your phone to store personal information such as your SSN#, your bank account number or other info that might put you at risk.
Don’t use Bluetooth?
Not necessarily, the odds of being attacked like this are probably one in a million but it only takes one attack to realize the seriousness of the situation. It is always best not to use these wireless devices to store any information that you might consider important.
