Don’t fall for these tricks
Virus warnings, malware alerts, online crime: Guidelines for avoiding anguish
Of all the major events involving technology and the internet during the past year, one depressing topic stands out. It’s cybercrime and its devastating consequences for all aspects of society. People are regularly victimized by scams, spam, and malware. I’ve repeated the guidelines for safe computing often, and here they are again. Following them could save you hours of wasted time and anguish.
The single most threatening activity you do every day could be checking your email. Along with the usual bits of information there are scams and spam intent on stealing your money. Your best defence is to have a healthy level of scepticism about any unsolicited email.
If you get an email from a financial institution, a large corporation, or your internet service provider, informing you that your account has been compromised do not click on any links in the email or open an attachment. Pushing the Delete key should be your first response. Every major company and bank has said repeatedly it will never send any customer an email asking for personal information. If in doubt, phone the company.
Be wary of any “official” email that is sent to undisclosed recipients, contains spelling and grammatical errors, or has a strange return address. For example, Apple does not use a Hotmail address.
In the same vein, never open an unexpected or suspicious attachment. For instance a shipping company will not send you an email attachment you have to open to track your package. Any attachment in either .jar, .zip, or .exe format should be immediately deleted and even a Microsoft Word document should be treated cautiously. If you open the document and it asks to run a macro click No and delete it since the macro could compromise your computer (http://tinyurl. com/noqx4df ).
Be a careful reader. When you update applications, install software, or enter your email address anywhere, read the little windows carefully. For instance if it’s a Flash update uncheck the box allowing the installation of a virus scanner which may conflict with your existing antivirus software. Don’t let the free version of AVG trick you into downloading a trial version of the retail program. Attention to detail is a wise practice in any undertaking.
A common scam that continues to trick people is a pop up window that freezes the computer, or makes it impossible to close the window, and informs you the computer is infested with viruses, needs the registry repaired, or is malfunctioning. If this happens to you make a solemn vow to not panic. Never call the phone number displayed on the screen to get help, or click on anything that will download and install software. If the pop up freezes your internet browser hold down the Alt, Ctrl, and Delete keys at the same time and open Task Manager. In the Processes portion highlight the browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer, and click on the End Task button.
If all else fails, hold down the power switch for five seconds or unplug the computer. No changes will have been done to your computer, unless you called the number.
Recently I have tried to help people who let charlatans take control of their computers and demanded $500 to $700 for installing “trojan removal” software when actually nothing was installed. You have to ask yourself why you would deal with a company that gets your business by freezing your computer.
If you get a phone call from someone purporting to represent Microsoft who wants to fix your computer of rid it of viruses, hang up immediately. Microsoft does not make unsolicited calls and no one could do a security scan of your computer without your knowledge and permission. The intent is to charge you a huge amount of money for installing free software or, at worst, installing a malevolent program.
If you are concerned that something is amiss with your computer, spend some money to have a local, trusted, technician service it rather than an unknown online fraudster.
It’s always better to be skeptical and cautious than sorry.