If you are one of the millions of Facebook users, you have probably encountered a scam, without even knowing it. You have probably seen the Facebook pages that say “Type X into the comments and see what happens” or “If I get a million likes my dad will get me a car.” These pages and requests seem innocent, but they most likely aren’t real. By clicking “Like” on scam pages will open up your account to spam and unwanted ads.

One of the most famous scams was a colorful picture with the image from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. The caption read, ”OMG it really works. Step 1: Click on the picture. Step 2: Hit Like. Step 3: Comment “MOVE” Then see the magic!!” You might have seen this in your news feed and saw that your friends had “liked” it and commented. Then when you followed the steps….nothing happened. Well, nothing happened to the picture, but something DID happen.

“Like” Farming

The scam is called “Like” farming. This is how it works. A Facebook page is created and starts posting photos with inspirational quotes or other innocent content. After you “Like” it, the picture shows up on your news feed regularly for all your friends to see. As more and more people interact with the photo, Facebook’s algorithm shows it more often on the news feed. Another common “Like” farming strategy is to try and get to your emotions by asking for “Likes” to support a cause.

Why Scammers do it

So why do the Facebook scammers bother trying to get a bunch of “Likes” and comments from you and your friends? MONEY. Once a page becomes popular enough from the “Likes” and gains enough fans, the owner can start placing ads on the page. Now these ads will show up on your news feed. They could be ads for a game, app, or recommendation for a product on a website. The person who owns the original page will be given a commission for every purchase made through the link. Some even more devilish scammers might be getting paid to have the links lead to sites that will put malware on your computer to steal your identity.

The Big Payoff

Some of the really popular pages, such as one for hamburgers, can be sold. The hamburgers fan page has almost half a million fans, and a business would love to get their ads on all of those potential customers’ news feeds. How much does the owner want for the page? $5,000. There are many pages for sale and if you “Liked” them, you could be solicited by unwanted ads if they are bought.

Like most everyone else who uses a smartphone, you probably have not taken any steps towards protecting your mobile device from app malware. What most people don’t understand is that your mobile devices need to be protected just like your home computer. Our smartphones hold passwords, banking information, photos, and more personal information. Understanding the importance of protecting your mobile device from malware is the first step to protecting that information.

What is malware?

Malware is the term used for malicious software. It can contain a virus, Trojan horse, worm, spyware, or adware. All of these types of software can disrupt your mobile device and gather your private information. Malware can also allow unauthorized access to your systems which can disable your phone or allow remote access.

Why is it important to protect against mobile app malware?

A recent study found that mobile users are now two and a half times more likely to encounter malware than six months ago. It also found that hackers are becoming smarter and using more sophisticated means to access personal data on phones. Today, our phones contain our whole lives. Just think how upset you would be if you lost your phone. So would you want someone looking at your information while you have your phone without you knowing it?

Taking steps to protect your mobile device

Here are a few things to keep in mind before downloading apps or ringtones to your mobile device:

• Check who the developer of the app is and look for reviews. Do not download anything from unknown developers.

• Pay more attention to free apps. A lot of time the apps are free in exchange for allowing collection of data.

• Read the permissions. Do not just click “I accept” without reading the details.

• Use secure passwords. Strong passwords are longer and more complex to remember, but they will make it difficult for hackers to access your information.

• Be extra careful when using public Wi-Fi. if you access social networks, email accounts, and bank information on non-encrypted public connections you are more vulnerable.

• Use anti-malware software to protect your mobile device.

With Mother’s Day almost here, many sons and daughters will be looking for last minute presents. Online scammers will use the holiday and need for last minute gifts as a way to steal your information. So when you open your email and see “Don’t Forget Mother’s Day Flowers – Only $19.99”, be skeptical.

Scammers are going to look to take advantage of people’s sensitivity and love for the one who brought them into this world. If you aren’t careful, you could fall victim to an email scam. Bitdefender Labs has found that there are several different types of scams you may run into this Mother’s Day via email.

Often times the embedded links for those cheap, last minute, guaranteed delivery flowers will bring you to some non-flowers related site. The links will often lead to gag gift sites that are nothing more than a phishing scam. There are also other fake online stores used in Mother’s Day Scams such as ones that sell jewelry, shoes, and designer clothing. A good rule of thumb is that if you found out about the discount online store through a suspicious email, it is probably a scam.

The people buying the gifts aren’t the only ones who need to be careful of scammers on Mother’s Day. Moms need to be on the lookout for suspicious looking emails as well. Many people send E-cards on Mother’s Day and scammers are taking advantage of that. So if you see a Mother’s Day card in your inbox, make sure you recognize the sender before you open it. If the sender name or email looks suspicious, it probably is carrying malware, not a cute card.

Another popular scam that moms need to mindful of is emails that are giving a voucher for flowers from one of your children. They will often say not only will you get a bouquet on Mother’s Day, but once a month for the rest of the year. Scammers will also try and pull the old bait-and-switch on moms too. These emails will ask you to buy a voucher via email and then you can use the coupon at the store or restaurant later. If the email seems sketchy, has lots of spelling errors, very generic wording, or lots of capital letters, it is probably a scam.

Google celebrated Safer Internet Day by providing internet users with tips and resources on how they can stay safer online. Google posted the tips with the redesign of their “Good to Know” site, which was launched last year to educate consumers on web safety.

“Good to Know” includes advice on how to protect yourself from the dangers of the internet, like identity theft, scams, online fraud, and offers suggestions on how to make computers and mobile devices more secure. The site identifies more than 10,000 unsafe websites every day and informs users and other web companies of the findings.

Here are 10 tips from Google Security experts that every internet user should follow;

1) Use a long, unique password that is made up of more than just letters. Add in numbers and symbols to make it more secure. This is especially important for email accounts and online banking.

2) Never send passwords over an email and never share them with others.

3) Always set up password recovery options and keep them up-to-date.

4) Avoid scams by not replying to or clicking on links inside suspicious-looking emails, instant messages, or webpages.

5) Do your part by reporting and flagging content that is abusive, illegal, or suspicious.

6) Frequently check your privacy and security settings, and customize how you share your content with others.

7) Be mindful of your digital reputation. Think twice before you post something online that is embarrassing, harmful, or inappropriate.

8) Pay attention when you are asked to sign in online. Look to see if the web address starts with https://, this signals you that your connection to the website is encrypted and more resistant to hackers.

9) Always lock the screen on your computer, tablet, or phone when you aren’t using them. Set a password for even more security, this way other people can’t access your personal information.

10) Keep your device’s browser and operating system up-to-date. When you do install software, make sure you are getting it from a trusted source.

Think you are too smart to ever be scammed online? Think your anti-virus software can’t be broken? Well there are many scam emails and viruses that can slip through the cracks and can be very convincing. Scammers are getting smarter too and will do anything to trick you into giving up private information. Here are some scam indicators you should look for when checking your emails:

1) Disembodied Links

• Links that are the only content in the body of an email
• Bit.ly or otherwise shortened links that don’t display the actual address
• Hyperlinked text

When in doubt, DON”T click.

2) Vague, Generic, or Nonexistent Subject Lines

You probably send emails with no subject to your friends all the time, but if an email from an unrecognizable address comes in with no subject you need to be careful.

3) Intense Enthusiasm

EMAILS IN ALL CAPS can indicate spam. If there is an excessive amount of capital letters and exclamations, proceed with caution.

4) Urgency

People don’t normally use email to send urgent messages that relate to a time-constrained emergency. So if someone emails you saying they need money wired NOW because it is life or death, they probably are lying. Why wouldn’t they email a family member? Something to think about.

5) Grammar and Spelling

You didn’t have to get an A in English class to notice obvious spelling and grammar mistakes in an email. Look for odd syntax or major typos, especially if the sender claims to be a reputable company or your bank.

6) Sensitive Information Requests

More people willingly send their secure information to scammers than you think. Many scammers get private information from people by disguising themselves as companies, schools, and banks. These institutions will NEVER ask for sensitive information to be sent over email so that should bring up a red flag right away.

7) Surefire Guarantees

By now you should know that nothing on the internet is guaranteed. Promises of boosting your sex life or quick money to be made at home should not be taken seriously. Scammers will tell you anything to get you to click on a link in their email. It pays to be skeptical.

8) Name-Sender Disagreement

Scam email addresses often have different names to try and fool the recipient. Check the address before assuming the email is real. An email from TD Bank won’t have an email address that reads “contact@lightsaberduel.com”.

It’s tax season and the deadline for tax filings of April 15th is almost here. Because of this, the Center for Internet Security (CIS) has come out with some tips for recognizing and defending against tax-related scams. It is important for everyone to be aware that these threats are out there so you will not fall victim to these scams.

Findings have shown that identity theft and phishing scams are the top security concerns yet again. Cyber criminals are using a variety of techniques to lure people into their scams. One popular tactic is to trick people with emails that appear to be from legitimate organizations in order to get them to provide personal data.

With the tax deadline approaching, scammers will be taking advantage of people waiting until the last minute to file. It is important to be educated about the phishing scams to protect yourself from being affected by them. If you provide your private information to who you think is the IRS or tax preparer, your identity can be stolen by a cyber-criminal. This can result in financial loss, damage to reputation, and damage to credit score. Another method the online thieves use is to send an email that discuses supposed changes to the tax laws and includes downloadable content to explain them. This content, usually in PDF format, will be carrying malware that can infect your computer and potentially steal private information.

If you have already filed your taxes, you are still at risk. Many schemes will try to extract information from you about your refund or say there was an error in your paperwork. Here are some tips that the CIS says will help protect you from these tax scams;

Do not respond to emails that appear to be from the IRS. The IRS does not initiate communication with taxpayers through email or social media outlets to request personal or financial information. The IRS will also never send emails stating that you are being electronically audited or that you are receiving a refund.

Do not send sensitive information in an email. You should also never open any attachments or click on links inside emails that may seem suspicious.

Carefully select the sites you visit. Safely searching for tax forms, advice, tax preparers, and other tax information requires caution. Do not visit a site by clicking on a link sent in an email, found in a personal blog, or on an advertisement. Many fake websites are created off these and can place malware on your computer.

Be careful with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi hotspots are great for quick and easy internet access. They are also often unsecure and give hackers easy access to your internet devices, even your smartphone.

Secure your computer. Make sure your computer has the latest updates for its anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Make sure your security controls are set up and that your firewall is on.

Identity theft has become a huge issue because of the increase popularity of the internet. So much of a person’s private information is entered online every day on shopping and banking websites. Weak passwords and smarter hackers have made identity theft more common than you might think.

Some of the problems come from internet users that use weak passwords to protect their information. Using a weak password, not being private on social networking sites, and not locking your smartphone can put you at a higher risk for identity theft. Here are some of the most popular passwords from 2011;

1) Password
2) 123456
3) abc123
4) qwerty
5) 111111

These passwords will not keep your information safe. Cyber criminals will hack your account and steal your information with ease. To better protect your information online you should make your passwords longer, use special characters, change them often, and do no use one password for multiple accounts.

Smartphone users are at a huge risk for identity theft because not many people take the proper safety precautions to protect them. 62 percent of smartphone users do not lock their screen with a password. If you phone gets into the wrong hands, all of your bank account information, credit card information, and anything else you store on your phone will be at risk. Here are some other facts about smartphone users;

• 32% save login info on their phone
• 32% do not update their operating system when a new version comes out
• 7% are victims of identity fraud, a 1/3 higher rate than the general public

You also need to be careful what information you make public online. Private information that you post to social networking sites can put you at risk of identity theft. Some people use their birthday or pet name as a password and if your profiles are not private, strangers will have access to this information.

• 68% share their birthday information
• 63% shared their high school name
• 18% shared their phone number
• 12% shared their pet’s name

It is important to take the necessary security precautions to keep your information safe. The internet and smartphones make life much easier, but without the proper protection your private information can be stolen. Protect your identity by being aware of the threats that are out there and take the necessary steps to avoid them.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow military personnel to cast ballots over the internet. This could pose serious risks to election security. Cyber criminals get smarter and more clever every day, thinking of new ways to break into so-called “secure” networks. If voting goes online, it will be extremely difficult to keep hackers from destroying the integrity of elections.

With recent cyber attacks on congressional offices, federal agencies, embassies, and government contractors by Chinese hackers, it is fair to say online voting is not a safe idea. The fear is that by opening up ballots to the online world, we would be putting elections at risk of being altered by hackers.

A senior cyber security official with the Department of Homeland Security warned officials that online voting was not secure last year. The National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a statement shortly after, saying that secure internet voting is not feasible with the tools currently available. At this time, there is no developed testing or certification standards for internet voting systems.

There is a mistaken perception that because people can shop and bank online, that people should be able to vote online, too. Shopping and banking online are not secure, and businesses lose money every year to online fraud, but this is factored into the cost of doing business. When it comes to voting, there is no acceptable amount of fraud. Voting online differs from shopping in one big way. While in a financial transaction both parties can check each transaction by reviewing a statement or receipt, you can’t do that with voting. A vote is made by secret ballot and neither the voter or election official can verify that a ballot has been received the same way it was sent.

It is important for military personnel to be able to cast their vote in elections. Instead of online voting, there are several more secure ways to make sure each person in the military can vote:

1) Move registration deadlines closer to the election. Virginia did this in 2012, allowing service member to receive and return their ballots up to Election Day.
2) Allow military personnel to use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot to register and vote.
3) Count military ballots postmarked by Election Day and received seven days after. This would give soldiers the ability to vote and give election officials enough time to count the ballots before certification.

With mobile smart devices becoming more and more popular, hackers are targeting them more than ever before. Many people use their personal smartphones at work, and this is leading to data loss in many companies. Mobile malware has increased more than 400 percent since 2010 and should be a concern for businesses nationwide.

It has been found that 84 percent of consumers are now using their personal smartphones at work. In turn, reports have indicated that 51 percent of companies have experienced data loss due to insecure mobile devices. There are four areas that a business should focus on when looking to define their mobile risk management strategy. The four areas are Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), protected access, secure mobile solutions, and mobile security intelligence.

BYOD

Bring Your Own Device policies can control the types of allowed devices and the degree of participation by different employees. While not exclusive to smartphones and tablets, these new devices are a catalyst for the use of mobile in business. It is important to govern the use of mobile devices within a business with policies that outline appropriate use.

Protecting Access

It is important for a company to enforce these policies by gaining a certain level of visibility and control over the devices. Businesses need to be able to prevent the loss of data that may occur because of those devices. To address BYOD, businesses should outline a plan to secure the devices and the business data that is on them.

Secure Mobile Solutions

Mobile devices allow employees to access information relevant in context to their current actions. No matter how much business data is stored on a mobile device, users will invariably access additional business data and resources frequently. With a variety of access points, a business needs to establish secure channels and manage the risk associated with user authentication and authorization. Boundaries need to be set in order to prevent unauthorized access and reduce risky behaviors.

Mobile Security Intelligence

Apps have emerged as the primary interface for delivering mobile solutions. Apps allow for better and more task-oriented user experiences. Security design needs to be incorporated in each step of rapid software development. Mobile app developers who are not as security aware need tools and processes that help them use security best practices. The business needs to be informed and versed in mobile security to help reduce data loss. Benchmark security standards need to be created and enforced.

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A big problem in the Macintosh computer community is that many believe that their Apple computers’ superior operating system makes them immune to malware. This delusion of grandeur has allowed for their guards to be let down and is leaving them more vulnerable to attacks. This issue was addressed as the 2013 Macworld event.

Macworld is a famous event among Apple followers who are interested in Apple’s newest products, such as the iPhone, iPad, and Macintosh computers. An estimated 40,000-plus visitors make the trip to the show every year that is heralded as one of the world’s biggest tech events.

One of the only exhibitors targeting cyber security at Macworld this year was the popular bundles software MacKeeper. At their booth, they had several development team members who could answer advanced questions about the inner workings of their security system. MacKeeper boasted that their software had been revised to implement more than 170 improvements.

The reason many Apple users believed that their computers were invincible to malware and hackers is the amount of attacks were low. Until just a few years ago, Apple only held four to five percent of the computer market share. With the share increasing to 12 percent, Apple is realizing that more attacks are imminent and their users do need security software.

MacKeeper’s Virus Database received a 99.2 percent rating from the VB100 antivirus rating agency. Even though they were the only internet security company at Macworld, MacKeeper’s software has proven to be more than just a simple antivirus program. With Apple’s popularity increasing, hackers are going to begin targeting the Mac OS system more frequently, meaning Mac users must be prepared.

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