Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Most of the people that do this are selling fake antivirus. Selling fake AV products is one of the most recent socially-engineered scams and has become very popular. Fake AV is a program that does not do anything wrong and thus was initially difficult for real AV programs to detect. Instead of trying to steal information or do bad things to a user's computer, all it did was pop up a real-looking message pretending to be from the user's antivirus program. This message would tell the user that they were infected and that the infection could be fixed by buying the product. After buying the fake product, the message would of course stop. One of the recent sites even offered toll-free 800 number ordering support for customers that were having problems ordering online. After the purchase you really have no antivirus protection and your pc is being attacked. Have you noticed that with a lot of the big antvirus companies when you get to the renewal period that you tend to see more viruses? This is done to scare you into renewing. Wow, look at all those viruses, I better pay. Do your research and ask questions before purchasing. It will save you time and money.

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Hard drive health

If you had a way of knowing that your hard drive was having problems thus giving you enough time to form or implement your backup plan, would you use it? Just like your car's dashboard which gives you an option to see that all levels are working properly why not have a dashboard for your computer? The goal is to find, test, diagnose and repair hard disk drive problems, report and display HDD health, performance degradations and failures. This can be used to prevent serious damage or data loss. It warns before a problem can occur and this gives opportunity to backup important and valuable data. Everybody's info is critical now. What use to be stored in a box or little metal file cabinet is now stored on your computer.(Picture below) This is my hard drive and even though I'm at 94% it is letting me know if I keep having spin issues it could be the drive itself or the power supply. So now I will watch for power issues also.It gives you an average temp so if it goes too far outside the zone you can look to see if the air flow is being blocked or your fan has a problem. This is very helpful info for the tech and could save time on saving all of your info. PC's are like cars, the little things help it last longer but 9 times out of 10 at some point we all have to upgrade. Take your important info with you.

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What is Kinect?

Pre-order Now! http://store.microsoft.com/content.aspx?cntid=3066

You are the controller Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways - no controller required. Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect (formerly known as "Project Natal") gets everyone off the couch. So what is Kinect? Essentially Microsoft's answer to Nintendo's Wii. With Kinect, Microsoft has eliminated the controller altogether. Simply stated, it is an add-on for Xbox 360 that uses a sensor containing cameras and microphones to enable you to interact with the system through gestures, spoken commands and other objects. Want to join a friend in the fun? Simply jump in. And the best part is Kinect works with every Xbox 360. Pre-order Now. http://store.microsoft.com/content.aspx?cntid=3066

VirusSource

Most of the time we associate a virus with websites but this is not always the case. New software, older(no updates) software and programs such as IE8 always have some type of issue that can be exploited. Should you update every program you have? If not all,which ones?It's not always Lil Johnny being on your pc that causes issues. Every piece of software on your computer has a door open.You must patch and monitor these areas. Are you protected?

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Home Network

A home network or home area network (HAN) is a residential local area network. It is used for communication between digital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices. An important function is the sharing of Internet access, often a broadband service through a cable tv or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) provider. Additionally, a home server may be added for increased functionality.

Most homes probably have more items attached to their home network than half of the small businesses out there but are we thinking network? The kids have a computer(always on yours and it doesn't act right afterwards), one for work, the one you have had since '98 and your entertainment PC. Most people accept the pre-installed anti virus on pc's and when they run out users seem to ignore, forget or just won't renew. Is your router set up with all non used ports closed? Are you blocking sites so the young ones won't get lost. With our busy lives who has time for those type of issues?

There is help

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Rootkits

A rootkit is a software or hardware device designed to gain administrator-level control over a computer system without being detected. Although rootkits can serve a variety of ends, they gained notoriety as malware, appropriating computing resources without the knowledge of the administrators or users of affected systems. Rootkits can target the BIOS, hypervisor, boot loader, kernel or less commonly, libraries or applications.

Most anti virus software will not detect a rootkit because it comes on after the rootkit has started in the boot memory. When the anti virus starts the rootkit is already hiding doing its job. Most people notice changes happening to their pc and run the anti virus but nothing changes and it might get worse. At this time you probably should consult with some one who can help fill these holes in your system.

Contact www.pc-2uneup.com and get your free checkup.

Vista Service Packs

One thing I have noticed with the onset of windows 7, vista is having serious problems. Most of the time the root of the problem is not updating your service packs. Vista has two and they must be done in order. Most people think they get viruses from the websites that their kids or spouse visit but it could be the lack of updates. Anti-virus is like having a guard at your front door 24/7. He doesn't move from that spot and all he will know is that no one will enter this door. If you don't have your service packs then that will be like having your back door and windows wide open. The front door guard has no clue to the activity taking place at the back door. These holes have to be filled and microsoft and security experts know how to plug them. Once these holes are filled the front door job becomes important again, he just needed a little help. Please help your O.S. protect itself. Do your updates.

Security Questions? pc-2uneup.com

What is Social Engineering?

 Social engineering -Art of manipulating persons in order to bypass security measures and tools. The purpose is to obtain confidential information from users through phone, e-mail, snail mail or direct contact and secondly use these data to gain illegal access.

Social Engineering happens every day and the first line of defense is to acknowledge its existence.We must understand that we have to protect our info from others.To do this sometime we have to sacrifice convenience for security. Starting with your pc, stop leaving sticky notes with passwords on them attached to your screen. If you use the pc everyday please remember the password. You might not read anyone else's  info but there is always someone waiting to get yours. If you have not been instructed to give out job info or if you did not request info that's in your email, don't give it to them. Always verify why it is needed. Awareness is the key. If it sounds to good to be true, it is. Even on your job if someone requests sensitive info please verify with your supervisor. This will save you a lot of trouble. Social Engineers are skill at retrieving info and they know what questions  to ask to push the right buttons. They might have to try a hundred times but they only need one person to slip up and they are in and this could take down a whole network. Always ask why when these request come from outside the normal channels and it could save you or your company a lot of grief. Once again always be aware.

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Oil change for your computer

How many times have you noticed your computer moving slower? Can't get online or it just keeps crashing? When was the last time you had the oil changed? Just like a car your computer needs it's check ups to keep it at top condition. Most of us notice the warning signs but with a computer you just ride it out. Most laptops are made to last 3 to 4 years but with maintenance you can extend the life of your computer. When was the last time you did updates or defragged your hard drive? Is it really necessary? No if you don't mind buying a computer every 2 years. How long does this take? It depends on the condition your pc is in at check up. Newer computers require less time to maintain. How often do you back up your data? Have you lost everything before? Are you prepared because it will crash at some point and will you lose everything again? Computers are amazing that they even work at all. There are so many different factors that must work together to make the smallest function happen so what will you do when that function stops? Have you noticed that after windows 7 came out that you have more problems with vista? There are reasons for this but you can extend your pc. There are other operating systems that you can put on that same old pc of yours and it will double the lifecycle of your pc. This is the same operating system that runs most servers on the internet. Windows is made to break. That's why you get a new version every 3 years. Just like your car, by doing the small $20 things it keeps you away from the hundreds to thousand dollar items a little while longer.

Is your subscription to MS Office coming to an end? There is an alternative to this, it's Open Office. Open Office performs the majority of the same functions as MS-O at a fraction of the cost, which happens to be free.
One thing about free is you can use the product to see if it will be a benefit and if not you've lost nothing. You can save your info in different MS formats to be exported to different pc's. It's really a win-win situation. There are Open Source products out there that will give you the same results with more bang for your buck. One thing we know that is constant is change. After so many years MS  wants their money and are you paying because it's a great product or because that's all we know. Check your options especially if they are free.

www.openoffice.org  
 

Watch email attachments

When you receive attachments in your email from friends and family look at the stuff they are saying in the text and if it is off base from what they normally would send it's probably a virus. The best thing to do is send them an email and ask if they sent it.  Maybe call or text just to be sure. Most times you can right click the attachment and it should be an option to scan the file with your ant-virus. Most times when people get a virus they blame everyone else who used their computer for the virus, it couldn't be them because they know where they have been but a virus can come from anywhere at anytime. Be aware of  who is sending and why and only open attachments if it's something you asked for or you confirm with the sender.

Would you believe there are operating systems out there that are equal to or better than windows. They also cost less.

Have you done your routine computer maintenance? Just like your car it will help it run longer and better.

Have you done your routine computer maintenance? Just like your car it will help it run better and last longer.