January 2016 issue
|
Understanding the types of
SPAM, PHISHING, SPOOFING & FRAUDULENT emails Did you know? Column Email spam is more than a simply annoyance, it's also a good chunk of the activity on the entire Internet. In 2010, an estimated 260 billion spam emails were sent per day making up 89% of all email communications. Though only a small percentage of spam email recipients fell victim to the scams included in these junk messages, victims lost almost $500 million to Internet crimes in 2011. According to the FBI that breaks down to 26,000 complaints per month or one claim every 100 seconds. CyberSafe Advisor e-newsletter With this inaugural January'16 monthly issue of "CyberSafe Advisor", we will begin to discuss a explosive, dangerous and negative technology trend; namely Breaches - Hacking - Scamming- Identity Theft This real world topic is for everyone who uses daily email, online shopping and everyday browsing using the internet. Our mission statement is to provide vital knowledge to better understand and to implement a better habit of cyber-security alertness. In this issue, we will define a variety of common and yet annoying email intrusions which can result in criminal fraud, identity and/or cyber theft of monies and private information. 1. Email "Phishing" Threats: These "scam" emails are most common and include copied corporate name and graphics, strong and persuasive language warning of a "suspension" or "termination" of service. The email includes a response "link" and often times, has misspelled words or bad grammar. Do not reply to these emails but place them into your Junk mailbox for future blocking of receipt. If possible, call the respective business provider and report the email to their Fraud Department. 2. Email "Spoofing": These emails often come from a personally known email address and refers to a "special deal" or "discounted price". A link connects you to possible web sites of adult content, quack health products, political promotions, etc. Do not click these links as your email address becomes captured or can even allow for malicious malware files to download to your computer. Delete these emails. Better yet, call the known person or send off an original email describing the spoofing email. 3. Email Fraud: Email frauds are scam messages that offer huge sums of money and request bank account details and con the recipient into giving their credit-card/account details. The email asks for the bank details or requests the recipient to make an advance payment as good faith gesture, with the promise of returning the money in the future. If the recipient provides the details, then money is robbed from the account. 4. Email Virus Attachments: An Email virus is a program or document attached to an email message that, when opened, spreads by forwarding itself to any number of recipients and groups in the email address book. These attachments are not a threat to your computer if you do not open/execute them. Do not open any attachments if they are not sent from a trusted source. Overall, email scams come in a wide variety of forms. The best protection against possible cyber-theft is to be aware and to be prudent. When in doubt, simple delete or move the email into your Junk mailbox. We also suggest calling or forwarding the email to us for another opinion. We want to be reactive to your questions. We hope these quick tips are informative. Thank you. Shawn M. Reischmann Owner/President & Managing Director 212-996-9400 email: ComputerAide@aol.com This e-newsletter is published in partnership with ComputerAide, LTD. and the Reischman Law Group, LLC. personally helping you master today's newest technologies |
February 2016 issue
|
Upgrade your passwords
Did you know? Column With cyber-attacks resulting in hundreds of millions of leaked records and over $1 billion stolen in 2015, you might think people are starting to get wise about online security. And you would be wrong. Password management company SplashData released its fifth annual report of the "worst passwords" Click here to see full report http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/splashdata-worst-passwords/ Here's the 25 worst passwords of 2015: 1 - 123456 2 - password 3 - 12345678 4 - qwerty 5 - 12345 6 - 123456789 7 - football 8 - 1234 9 - 1234567 10 - baseball 11 - welcome 12 - 1234567890 13 - abc123 14 - 111111 15 - 1qaz2wsx 16 - dragon 17 - master 18 - monkey 19 - letmein 20 - login 21 - princess 22 - qwertyuiop 23 - solo 24 - passw0rd 25 - starwars Please, please if your password is on the list, you should change it immediately. CyberSafe Advisor e-newsletter Passwords. Passwords. Passwords. We can love them and we can hate them! In today's tech world with email, social media, online e-commerce, banking, transportation, memberships, cloud backup, etc., we are highly dependent on our daily passwords. And the more passwords you have, the more hackers and cyber-thieves are attempting to discover them, hack into your accounts and steal valuable information and ultimately, money. This staggering amount is approaching $1 billion in cyber-theft. About 5 years ago, your password needed to be only about 4-6 characters in length and usually in some simple abbreviation of your child's name, date of birth or anniversary, favorite song, etc. Today, with our personal advancement and greater usage of the internet, these simple passwords will no longer suffice against the daily narrative of cyber-security violations. If you haven't reviewed and upgraded your current passwords, here are some quick tips to follow in 2016:
1. "Critical" Group: Use your best passwords
2. "Non-payment" Group: Use your average password Web sites that do not require any payments or user profiles
These are your frequently used everyday devices and those devices shared with others.
Lastly, now that you have updated and organized all your passwords, where should you store them? This answer is simple and logical. 1. Either type them into a computer and print out one document with the current date. Then save the one document onto an detachable external hard drive or flash drive. 2. Or write them down into ONE notebook and store the notebook in a safe and simple location. 3. Or type them into a touch ID or password protected smart phone using a typing application. I do not endorse subscribing to a "password manager" service which often will self generate strong passwords for encryption and storage. Your very own, personal and meaningful passwords should be created and managed by you alone. We hope these quick tips are informative. Thank you. Shawn M. Reischmann Owner/President & Managing Director 212-996-9400 email: ComputerAide@aol.com This e-newsletter is published in partnership with ComputerAide, LTD. and the Reischman Law Group, LLC. Personally helping you master today's newest technologies |
March 2016
Newletter |
Subject: RE: Security Tips for Online Shopping
Did you know? Column 95% of people share up to 6 passwords with others. 76% share passwords with a spouse or significant other. 26% share passwords with a child. 22% share passwords with a coworker. 16% share passwords with a friend. Where are passwords most often shared? 58% shared for WiFI access 48% shared for TV or Movie streaming 43% shared for financial access CyberSafe Advisor e-newsletter Today, who hasn't tried online shopping? Online shopping has made it easier than ever for people to find and purchase anything they could possibly want - from books, big-screen TVs, shoes, clothing, groceries, etc. But on the downside, there are plenty of cyber criminals hovering nearby and doing everything from stealing your personal information to making unauthorized transactions from your bank accounts. In fact, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 17 million Americans experienced identity theft in 2014. This number is only going to get larger as a growing number of people make the internet their No. 1 shopping destination. Fortunately and smartly, there are a number of ways consumers can take to protect themselves when shopping online. 10 Security tips for online shopping 1. Use a strong, unique password with every one of your online accounts. Use at least 8 characters and letters. It is important to limit your exposure every time you sign up for a new online service. 2. Always use a reputable credit card which is more robust against online fraud. 3. Never use a debit card which, once stolen, can be used to easily zero-out your bank account 4. Never click on a store or bank promotional email link requesting your account details. This may take you to a "clone" website asking for detailed private information. 5. Manually type the website address into the URL address box. 6. Verify the "https" prefix when typing in a website address. The 's' at the end of https stands for 'secure' and means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. 7. Confirm the URL website address has not been redirected to another similar named website. 8. Be mindful of personal information shared on social networking websites. 9. Don't click on any suspicious email link from friends containing a possible virus or personal data. Talk to the sender to confirm authenticity. 10. Keep your computer and mobile device operating system and your internet browser up to date with the latest security patches. Now you can enjoy a happy and safer online shopping experience. Thank you. We hope these quick tips are informative Thank you. Shawn M. Reischmann Owner/President & Managing Director 212-996-9400 email: ComputerAide@aol.com This e-newsletter is published in partnership with ComputerAide, LTD. and the Reischman Law Group, LLC. Personally helping you master today's newest technologies |
April 2016
Newletter |
Subject: A Data Breach and Your Identify
Did you know? Column Top 10 Worst Cyber Data Breaches from 2013-2015 1. OPM - 2015 (Office of Personnel Management) - 25.7 million records 2. Ashley Madison - 2015 - 32 million records 3. Target - 2013 - 110 million records 4. Home Depot - 2014 - 56 million records 5. Anthem - 2015 - 87.6 million records 6. JP Morgan - 2014 - 83 million records 7. IRS - 2014 & 2015 - 1.7 million records 8. Premera BlueCross - 2015 - 11 million records 9. UCLA Heath - 2015 - 4.5 million records 10. eBay - 2014 - 233 million records Credits to Trushieldinc.com CyberSafe Advisor e-newsletter Alarmingly, a cyber "data breach" is beyond your control. This makes you a passive, stand-by, vulnerable victim for theft of your personal identity and/or financial information. Unfortunately, in today's internet-based infrastructure, a data breach and subsequent theft of your private, personal information is at a high risk. The more our daily habits of email communication, browsing and shopping come online, the greater the exposure to criminal hacking groups located throughout the world. What is a data breach? "A data breach is an incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so". Why should I be concerned? Data breaches may steal your personal health information, personally identifiable information (social security number, data-of-birth, home address, finger-prints, etc.), corporate and government trade secrets or intellectual property. Who is targeted for a data breach? Today, every single industry from retail, financial, insurance, healthcare, education, legal to governmental and military organizations are being target. No industry is safe. (See list in left-side column) What should I know if I am a victim of a data breach? A data breach liability impacts the targeted company or government agency. Companies of all sizes continue to be subject to increasing data breach liability, both in the form of single plaintiff or class action lawsuits and regulatory investigations and proceedings 1. Federal law requires banks and most states require companies to inform customers of breaches. You should receive a letter - via mail or email - informing you exactly what information was exposed and when. 2. Don't click through any suspicious emails or take any direct calls but visit the official web site to learn about the breach and access help. 3. If offered, accept any funded cardholder identity protection services. 4. Remain vigilant with all bank, debit or store credit cards and "phishing" type emails, scam letters or phone calls. All of the above facts appear daunting and disheartening. How can I improve my own cyber-security? On a smaller scale, you can be more defensive. Protect your personal identity and implement these following preventive steps in order to upgrade becoming a victim of identity theft and cyber-crime. 1. Choose strong passwords on all online accounts. Passwords should be unique - (minimum of 8 characters) but easy to remember and frequently changed. 2. Install and maintain a good anti-virus program. Plus, allow for automatic updates and renewal. 3. Secure your WiFi network with a password which is shared only with authorized parties. 4. Avoid using Public Wi-Fi. Everyone has been tempted to latch onto free Wi-Fi whether you're a remote user at Starbucks or waiting in the airport. It's risky. "Free" and "public" doesn't always guarantee secure. 5. Never reply or click on an email or attachment from someone you do not know. If in doubt, call the person. 6. If always connected to the internet via ethernet cable or WiFi, power off computer at end of day or usage. Thank you. We hope these quick tips are informative Shawn M. Reischmann Owner/President & Managing Director ComputerAide, Ltd. since 1984 212-996-9400 email: Shawn@ComputerAideUSA.com Need more help with today's newest technologies? Please visit our newly remodeled web site: ComputerAideUSA.com |