New tools Scamwatch

READERS WARN READERS

Last year, Firefox boosted its security by introducing warnings that appear when you try to download a malicious file. Now, in the browser’s 40th version – the first built especially for Windows 10 – it tells you when you’re about to visit a website containing “unwanted software” (see screenshot). This could be malware that hackers use to remotely access your PC, but also adware that makes “undesirable” changes to your settings.

As Mozilla explains in its Security Blog ( www.snipca.com/17577), Firefox uses Google’s Safe Browsing service to check the safety of sites (see Issue 456’s New Tools for more on this). In doing so, Firefox sends Google some data about sites and files it blocked as you browsed the web. Mozilla acknowledges that some people will be uneasy about this, and explains in its blog how to disable the blocking, but we think that would be an over-reaction.

Firefox should update to version 40 automatically. You can check by following the instructions at www. snipca.com/17583.

Fraud refund? Nope, a scam

Recently, I got an email claiming to be from Action Fraud saying I could get a refund because a ‘suspect’ had been caught. I was a victim of fraud a few years back, so the email did appear convincing. But the source address of the email ( actionfraud999 @gmail.com) didn’t look right, so I checked with Action Fraud ( www. actionfraud.police.uk), and they said they only ever email people using contact@actionfraud.police.uk. They knew about the email scam and also told me that the perpetrators are phoning people on withheld numbers. So be warned everyone!