Browser Wars Heating Up

The long standing browser war continues on with some new gainers and some losers. Internet Explorer (IE), Microsoft’s browser has long been the preferred choice for browsing the internet, but has been plagued with exploits which have caused a decline in it’s usage. Apple announced it’s version of a browser for Windows… Safari… and fast gained popularity propelling itself to the number 3 most used browser quickly after it’s release for Windows users. Then came Google, when Chrome first was released, it quickly became popular mainly due to Google’s vast popularity. Opera, which has always been the “long shot” in browser popularity continues to maintain a steady usage percentage.

Internet Explorer, as stated above, is still the most popular browser being used currently, but Mozilla’s Firefox browser has been steadily gaining on the browser empire that Microsoft has created. Recently, Google Chrome overtook Safari as the third most utilized browser, mainly I think, due to Google’s release of versions for the Mac and Linux operating systems. Opera is simply holding it’s own.

Now, in my opinion, which browser is the best? I am going to rate each of the most popular browsers based on three important criteria….the 1st… Speed, the 2nd… Security, and lastly…..Reliability. Now these recommendations are not based on any scientific research, but on my own personal usage experiences. All of these are ranked from Best (#1) to worst (#5).

Speed

Using Windows

1) Google Chrome

2) Opera

3) Mozilla Firefox

4) Apple Safari

5) Internet Explorer 8

Mac (OSX)

1) Safari / WebKit

2) Google Chrome

3) Opera

4) Mozilla Firefox

Note that IE is not available for OSX

Now keep in mind that the speeds are very close, but I have seen a noticeable difference, especially in the top three listed above. The speeds of all four of the browsers, on the Mac, were not very noticeable.

Security

Windows

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Internet Explorer 8

3) Google Chrome

4) Opera

5) Apple Safari

Mac

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Safari / WebKit

3) Opera

4) Google Chrome

I do not like the way that Apple’s Safari works on Windows machines. I think the lack of security features is due to Apple’s general lax of the need for security. Although all the browsers have comparable security features, I think that Firefox’s security and the ease of setting it up is, far and above, all the other browsers.  I tend to use Firefox on all my machines due to this fact. The minor speed disadvantage is outweighed by the security that is offered.

Reliability

Windows

1) Google Chrome

2) Opera

3) Mozilla Firefox

4) Internet Explorer 8

5) Apple Safari

Mac OSX

1) Safari

2) Mozilla Firefox

3) Opera

4) Google Chrome

Again, Safari for Windows did not fare well in my tests, but was the best on the Mac OS. This may be due to Apple’s venture to just get the browser out there, but crashes and stalls were frequent on a Windows machine and are non-existent on OSX. Google Chrome did so well on Windows mainly that it has a feature in which all the open tabs run in different “processes”, which means that should a particular tab running a web page crash, it will not crash the entire browser but only that particular tab. This is something that Firefox is supposedly going to add when version 3.6 is released. Firefox 3.6 was supposed to be released in early 2010, but has now been delayed. When this functionality is available in Firefox, the reliability may need to be updated.

OK, now for my overall favorites…..based mostly on “usability” and “speed”, but I never forget “security” either. The “usability” criteria also takes into account it’s ease of use, meaning that the UI (User Interface) is well designed.

Windows

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Google Chrome

3) Internet Explorer 8

4) Apple Safari

5) Opera

Mac

1) Mozilla Firefox

2) Safari / WebKit

3) Google Chrome

4) Opera

Although I rated Firefox as my top choice on the Mac, Safari is just as capable and could easily be put at the top spot, especially because it is faster. My personal preference is Firefox though, based mostly that it is, far and above, my favorite when using Windows. Google Chrome, although a competent and very fast browser on Windows, is lacking in the new version for the Mac, which is currently in Beta. I am quite sure that Google will update this browser in the future and may very well move up on the list, especially regarding the Mac. As far as Opera goes, it is not a bad browser, my biggest issue is the UI, I just cannot get used to it. Safari, for Windows, has a lot to be desired, it just is not a fully functioning browser for Windows that I have any trust in. On a Mac though, like I said, could very well be rated #1.

Here are the most recent browser popularity results…..

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0

What are you preferences?  Do you Agree? Disagree?

Let me know your thoughts, leave a comment or take these short Polls.

Thanks for asking, I Am Fine!!!

Wow, It’s Been Awhile…..

Yes, it has been a while. But guess who has reared it’s ugly head once more? None other than Conficker!!

New Zealand’s Waikato District Health Board has announced that the Conficker (aka Downadup) Worm has infected it’s entire hospital network. On Thursday, 12/17 was when the problems were first discovered and Microsoft was called in to diagnose the problem. Two hours later, Conficker was found to be the culprit. This forced 3,000 of the Districts networked computers to be shut down. This caused the 7 hospitals, in their network, to urge patients not to seek care at their facilities, unless it was an absolute emergency.

The Conficker worm, which has become the most prolific computer infestation in history, is estimated to infect up to 15 million different computers, although due to the difficulty in tracking this worm, range from a low of 5 million infected computers. Each serving as a ‘zombie’ in it’s vast botnet. For a reminder regarding Conficker, you can check out my past post from 1/23/09 HERE and from 3/25/09 HERE, once again on 4/12/09 HERE.

But here is the part that gets me. How? and Why? did this worm get into that hospital’s network. First off, where was there IT staff? Conficker, although prolific, is not something that any computer should ever become infected with as long as proper security measures are in place. When the worm was first detected in 2008, and found it’s way into computer systems due to an exploit in the Windows Operating System (OS), Microsoft reacted quicky and on October 23, 2008, issued a patch (MS08-067) which closed the hole in the OS. They then pushed out a tool know as the Malicious Software Removal Tool or MRT, which effectively could remove the malware from an infected computer. It is true that the initial spread of this malware was through external USB storage devices, such as thumb drives, which were inserted into “Auto Run” enabled computers, but the fact remains, that a simple update and scan using the MRT should have removed the worm. The fact that Conficker, like I said earlier, may still infect up to 15 million computers is appalling, since a patch and fix for it has been available for 14 months now.

So let’s all make sure that we are updated. Using Internet Explorer, go to www.update.microsoft.com and check to make sure that you have all the critical updates that are available. Keep checking until there are no more updates available. Then make sure that Automatic Updates is turned on. Next make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date. Don’t have an anti-virus software, then check out my recommendations HERE. And lastly scan using the Malicious Software Removal Tool. Don’t know how??  Click HERE.

Although this is news, in my opinion, an organization such as this should be embarrassed that this incident has occurred. No major organization, with a competent IT department, should ever run into a situation like this. Of course, sabotage is always something to investigate, but under normal circumstances, Conficker should technically be dead and buried by now.

What are your thoughts regarding the Conficker worm…..

Leave a Comment!!

Finally, Chalk One Up For The Good Guys!!!!

In this day and age, we seem to read everyday about how we are losing the battle against spam, malware, and fraud while using the internet. Like the FBI’s investigation regarding allegations that Citicorp’s system was hacked to the tune of tens of millions. Something that Citicorp denies. Or the hijacking of personal pages on social networking sites like Facebook that are resulting in identity theft, it is nice to finally read about a success story. Well here is one of those successes.

In November 2009, FireEye Inc. successfully shut down one of the most notorious and nefarious botnets on the internet to date. For more information regarding “Botnets”, press HERE. In it’s hayday, the Mega-D botnet (aka Ozdok) was responsible for up to 15% of the spam that infests our emails on a daily basis. This literally equates to millions upon millions of spam messages being sent daily by this botnet. Here is a blow by blow about how FireEye succeeded in the take down.

For 2 years, FireEye researcher Atif Mushtaq had been checking on new ways in order to keep malware from infecting networks. During this research, he obtained crucial information about how these botnet controllers , known as “Command & Control” (C&C) servers, actually functioned.  This was the turning point and in November, the defensive posture that was being implemented regarding these huge botnets, was suddenly changed to an offensive one.

With cooperation from Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) located in the U.S., who were unknowingly hosting the C&C servers that were being utilized for the “zombie” computers to connect and receive new commands, were able to redirect these connections and effectively point them to “no-where”. So when these “zombie” computers tried to connect to their master, they could not. Note that there were two ISP’s over-seas, one in Israel and one in Turkey who did not cooperate in the siege.

Next, FireEye contacted the domain registrars in order to obtain the IP addresses for these C&C servers. With this pertinent information, FireEye was then able to see any and all alternative addresses that were written into the code for the botnet. These alternative domains were set up, as a backup, should the zombie computers not be able to contact the C&C servers. Remember, the infected computers could no longer “phone home” due to the ISP’s cooperation. With these alternative domain names and IP addresses in hand, FireEye was then able to create, what is known as a “sinkhole”. Basically, they could then monitor the attempted incoming messages from the “zombie” computers without them actually contacting the C&C. By reviewing the log files from these transmissions, FireEye was able to determine that this botnet was an army of over 250,000 infected computers strong. With each zombie computer having the capability of sending up to 15,000 spam messages per hour. Mega-D certainly was most capable.

But not anymore. The day after Mega-D was brought down, it’s “market share” of total spam messages being sent, went from a staggering 15% to less than .5%, and this low number is probably because of the ISP’s that did not cooperate in crushing this botnet. Mega-D may try to reassert itself by registering new domains for it’s C&C servers, but with eyes now on them, it is more likely that the criminals responsible will simply move on and attempt to create a new botnet.

Even with that in mind, we now know how to bring these botnets down, however Mega-D was only the tip of the iceberg. Although a substantial threat, it was not the most aggressive, nor the largest. Finding the resources to knock these botnets off of the internet is the real challenge.

The “Good Guys” won this battle, but the war rages on……………

What are your thoughts??

Wicked Cool Site #17

With the Holidays right around the corner, you may be looking for that last minute gift for a friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family member. Well, from the folks at JibJab.com comes a site aptly named ElfYourself.com, where you can make a customized, animated video starring anyone whom you may choose. All you need is a photo of that person, or pet. Now the photo should be of decent quality as it will probably have to be cropped so that the face of the person is all that is in the shot. Once you log into the site, you will need to upload the photo to ElfYourself.com. Then you will be given a couple of head shapes in which you choose the closest to the photo. You then insert the head from your photo, and using pointers on the outside of the head diagram, drag the pointers so that it fits your head photo shot.  That’s it, then make the show. Now you have a dancing elf with your photo subject as the main character in the animation. JibJab.com will send you a link so that you can view and/or forward the animation. If you sign up for an account, you can purchase physical copies of the file for a nominal fee. This way they can be downloaded onto a CD and given as gifts.

This is a real fun site, and the results are sure to bring a smile to the face of anyone who sees it.

Check it out!!!!

Avatar

After, what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the chance to go see the newly realeased movie Avatar. Although, I did not get to see the movie in 3-D, the movie did not disappoint. Directed by James Cameron who also made the blockbuster movie Titanic. Cameron devised the plot and ideas for this movie 15 years ago, long before the technology needed to create it existed. Well after 4 years of production and $230 million later, I finally got to witness the epic film.

Set on the far off world of Pandora, which contains a very rare, and precious natural resource, which could hold the answer to Earth’s energy problems. Avatar is seen through the eyes of a wheel chair confined, ex-Marine named Jake Sully. Although Jake no longer has the use of his legs, he has never lost his warrior spirit. When Jake is recruited to the distant human outpost on Pandora, he excepts an offer to enter into the Avatar project, a program in which Human DNA is blended with the native people of the planet, known as the Na’vi,  thus giving him the ability to use his legs again, breath and interact, even though the planet’s atmosphere is toxic to humans. Jake enters into the Na’vi clan with the intention of gaining valuable field information about the Na’vi, who have always been a hindrance to the mining operations on Pandora. What Jake cannot foresee is the relationships that develop with the Na’vi people, especially with his mentor and trainer, the beautiful Neytiri. What ensues is an emotional and action packed journey into the Na’vi.

The movie is beautifully directed, and uses the most high tech special effects that have ever been used in a movie. The filmed utilizes about 40% live action and 60% computer generated action and is visually stunning.  Although, the movie is not overly graphic, there are some scenes that contain graphic battles, and scenes with indigenous creatures that may not be appropriate for younger children. However, the plot line is both exciting and moving. Some scenes had me on the verge of tears, while others had me wriggling in my seat, and wanting to stand up and cheer.

The musical score and sound effects are equally impressive. The audio successfully sets the tone for each and every scene.

Overall, this movie is an epic production that ranks right up there with “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The only thing dissapointing in this movie, although being 160 minutes long, is that it was too short. I found myself not wanting it to end. This is definitely one of my favorites.

It gets a huge “2 Thumbs Up” without a doubt.

To view the movie trailer, scenes, music, and stories regarding this film, go to AvatarMovie.com by clicking HERE

Let me know what your thoughts are about this movie….Leave a comment!!!!

Internet 411

When we think of calling a friend or family member on our phone, we think of dialing a number that corresponds to whomever we want to talk to.  However, when we think of contacting someone on the internet, or searching our favorite sites, we just type in a name. Well the internet is no different than the phone, it relies on numbers. So, if the internet is based on numbers, how can we type in names, phrases, or website names and have our computers go exactly where we want them to go?

In steps Domain Name Servers (DNS). These servers are nothing more than a huge phone book containing a vast database of names and corresponding IP addresses. All web pages do not answer to the alpha phrases or names that we type into a search. All web activity is governed by numbers, or Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.  These are a series of 4 groups of numbers separated by a period. For example, Google’s IP address is 208.67.217.231, and Yahoo’s IP is 69.147.76.15. Copy and paste these IP addresses individually into your URL bar and you will see that it will return either a Google or Yahoo result. When you want to go to Google.com or Yahoo.com, you simply type in Google or Yahoo, but the Word Wide Web (www) has no idea what that means. So a DNS has to intercept that query and assign a number to it so the return that you get will be what you are looking for.

Most “non-power users” never even question where these queries are coming from as your ISP will provide one for you.  However, the ISP’s DNS may not be the fastest or most secure one out there. You can change your DNS to one of your own choosing.

But how do I now whether the one I am using is the best one available? Well this is where DNS Benchmarking software comes in to play. It will analyze your connection with all the DNS’s available and tell you which is the best for you. Now, keep in mind that the DNS that is best for you, may not be the best for someone in another area. It depends on your location.

So, should you want to see if you could pick up your search query speeds, I am going to recommend a couple of good benchmarking software sites. The first one is an Open Source benchmarking tool provided by Google. You can download it by clicking HERE. It will work on Windows, OSX, or Linux. It is a small download, and will tell you at the end of the test whether there is another DNS that may be more efficient for you.  The second, and my personal favorite, is one from Gibson Research Corporation, and can be downloaded by clicking HERE. Steve Gibson, creator of GRC.com also does a really good job of explaining the concept of DNS. GRC’s version is Windows only, but I did use it on my Mac running Windows 7 in the free Virtual Box and it worked just fine.

Without doing a benchmark test, you simply will not know whether the DNS that you are currently using is the most efficient.  I am currently using OpenDNS and the benchmark test that I ran showed that it was, in fact, the most efficient for my area.

But you may say……I am not that tech savvy and have no idea how to change my DNS. Should I find one that is better for me, How do I change it?

Well before I explain that, I will suggest one before you even test. OpenDNS is an awesome phone book for the web. Once you set it up, which is not difficult, and get yourself an account, you will be given many different options, specifically Parental Controls, that none of the other DNS’s offer, and these controls are second to none. OpenDNS may or may not be the most efficient for you, but is faster than the vast majority of DNS’s and the flexiblilty that it offers is well worth it.

Changing a DNS is easy. You simply need to change the network settings (TCP/IP) on an individual computer, or you can change it on your router and globally change the DNS on your home network.

Here is a tutorial on using OpenDNS……Click HERE to watch it now.

I highly recommend using OpenDNS!!!

Here are the settings….

Preferred DNS: 208.67.222.222

Alternate DNS: 208.67.220.220

Google now offers a DNS and, although it did not test well on my computer, does show promise. I changed my DNS to Google, just to see how it would respond in the real world, and went back to OpenDNS as it was noticeably slower.

After watching the tutorial, you should now know how to change your DNS settings, here is Google’s new DNS address should you want to experiment…….

Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8

Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4

This is a tough subject to explain in full. Should you have questions, please contact me via email at “TheEdibleEarth@gmail.com”  I will get back to you as soon as possible.

What are your thoughts about Domain Name Servers?

Leave a Comment!!!

Fa-La-La, La-La.com

Playing music via the “Cloud” seems to be the way that the future is heading. Streaming music from sites like Pandora and not downloading and storing the music locally on your hard drive is gaining momentum. Evidence of this is the iPod rival Zune mp3 player from Microsoft. When you visit the Zune Marketplace, similar to Apples iTunes Store, you have the option of subscribing to a music service know as the Zune Pass. This allows you to stream an unlimited amount of music directly to your computer or Zune player for a monthly fee. Once you subscribe to this service, it also allows you to download 10 free songs per month, which almost negates the monthly service fee. Even though the popularity of the iPod and iTunes music store has far exceeded the market share of the Zune Store, it still does not have the Music Service feature.  A feature that is sadly lacking. Apple must be aware of this, and today this has become evident as the New York Times has announced that Apple has purchased the online music streaming site called LaLa.com.

LaLa started out in 2006 as a music cd trading site in which account members could trade cd’s with other members for $1 plus a 75 cent shipping fee. This soon blossomed into a music streaming site in 2008, in which members could stream music directly from the site to their computer. The current model allows members to listen to a song once for free and offers an unlimited listening plan for 10 cents per song.  For an additional 79 cents, members can also purchase the DRM free songs.

Apple’s purchase of this online music company verifies that they are going to be attempting to implement a music service plan on their iTunes store. LaLa has had an agreement with the major record labels allowing them to stream this music, and according to their website, has a library of over 6 million titles. However, the agreement with the record labels states that this contract is non-transferable, meaning that the music library and the contract allowing the music to be streamed is not part of the sale.

So what is Apple buying then?

What they are apparently getting is the engineering technology as well as the engineers themselves, which includes LaLa founder and creator Bill Nyugen. With the resources that company has, coupled with the knowledge base will allow Apple to create an online music streaming service and up the ante with competitors like the Zune store, Pandora, Yahoo Music, and others.  From the NY Times article: “One person with knowledge of the deal, but who was not authorized to discuss it, said that the negotiations originated when Lala executives concluded that their prospects for turning a profit in the short term were dim and initiated discussions with Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president in charge of iTunes. This person said Apple would primarily be buying Lala’s engineers, including its energetic co-founder Bill Nguyen, and their experience with cloud-based music services.”

This makes sense based on Apple’s current business model for it’s popular iPod music player line. Allowing access to the vast amount of titles on the iTunes music store without having to download the song directly to your computer will give a user something that has not been available from Apple. The ability to simply fill up an iPod with music, and paying the monthly fee, will give users an incredible amount of flexibility in their music selections.  This is “Cloud” computing at it’s best. The downside to all of this, is that you will not actually own the content. Should you stop paying the monthly charge, all of the music will simply go away.

But as for myself and other music lovers, I anxiously await the release of this ability at the iTunes music store.

Tell me what your thoughts are about Apple acquiring LaLa as well as your views on “Cloud” computing.

WOT……

With Thanksgiving now behind us and the Holiday Season fast approaching, we are all looking at finding that perfect gift. Using the web, you can usually find it but can you get it at that bargain basement price. Well, unfortunately scammers know what we are looking for too. Fraudulent and malicious sites are popping up all over the internet, at this time of year, promising to ship the items you are looking for at real cheap prices. We all know about looking for TLS (Transport Layer Security), formally known as SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates before entering any personal information on any e-commerce site. We all know about checking URL’s to ensure that the site we are entering our personal information is, in fact, the site we intended to visit. But sometimes in the hustle and bustle that comes with the season, we forget, and get careless. Well, this is what the scammers are depending on. With phishing, scareware, browser hijacking, and malware on the rise, we could use all the help that we can get.

This is where WOT (Web Of Trust) comes into play. It is a lightweight plug-in that works in either Firefox or Internet Explorer and will alert you should you visit a known malicious site due to the “spirit of the season”. But this is not a certified authority, like VeriSign, that is a singular authority that verifies sites. WOT is made up of a large team that has checked over 25 million websites and will alert you before you click where you should not. WOT works with Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. Before you click on a search result, you will notice either a green, yellow, or red indicator as to the websites safety rating.  Green means that the site is safe, yellow indicates that caution should be taken, and red is telling you that the site you are about to enter is known as a malicious site.  WOT will also warn you should you click on a link to download software from a known malicious site. It will give you the option to over-ride the warning, but I would take the recommendation seriously.

To use WOT, download the add-on for your browser of your choice. Once it is installed, and you do a search, you will notice colored circles to the right of the search result. By hovering your mouse over the circle, a drop down window will appear showing the rating for the site in various categories including trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety. Should you click on a known malicious site, a large warning will appear on your screen. Think carefully about clicking on a site in which you get this warning. You do get the option to proceed, but again, I would seriously consider against the click on the link. Sites, in which, WOT does not have sufficient information will be marked with a question mark.

Especially, during this festive season, it is imperative that we get all the help that we can in order to keep our computers malware free. But more importantly, it is imperative to keep our personal information out of the hands of the cyber-criminals.  WOT is a great tool that is lightweight and will aid you in ensuring that you do not click on something that could harm either yourself or your computer. This is not fool proof, and should be used along with your best weapon…..common sense!!!!

To view a video about the Web Of Trust, click HERE…

To download the Web Of Trust, click HERE…..

Just another tool to help keep you safe.

Happy Holidays!!!

Wicked Cool Site #16

Where do you get your television content from? If you are like me, then you are finding yourself getting more and more of your content from the internet. With sites like Hulu, Fox, and TV .coms,  among others, it makes it so easy and convenient to simply watch, from your computer, wherever and whenever you choose. But one thing that I find a little clunky about the whole experience, is quickly finding the content that I am looking for. For example the other day I wanted to watch an episode of the sci-fi show “Sliders” and had to go to each site and see what episodes were available and then choose which one I really wanted to watch. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a website that would group all this content in one spot. Well, now it is here. Clicker.com does just this. Enter a search name for the show that you want, and it will give you a listing of the available shows along with the site that is showing it.  Of course when I did a search for “Sliders”, I also received some alternate results like a Chef Emeril episode in which he is preparing some turkey “sliders”, but that is to be expected. Clicker will always give you the television show result first, and then the alternative search results after, so your main search is always at the top.  That is as long as your search query is the name of an actual TV show.

Make sure that you check out the “Playlist” feature. Add shows to your playlist, and as new ones become available, they will automatically be added. There will never be a time when you have nothing to watch.

All in all, this works great for me. Saves me time and gets me right where I want to be.

This is a good thing!!!

What Now…..This is getting old fast!!!

Are you a Verizon Wireless customer?  Well if you are, then pay special attention.  There is a new scam in the wild right now that is targeting Verizon Wireless customers directly.  It is estimated that about 16% of all Verizon Wireless customers have come into contact with this scam.  This is how it works.

You will receive an email, which appears to be from Verizon Wireless, which states that you have exceeded the minutes limit on your account and asks you to check your account by downloading a “balance checker” tool.  Keep in mind that this message looks exactly like a legitimate Verizon message.  But it is not from Verizon Wireless. If you should download and run the tool, what you are in fact doing, is installing a Trojan Horse. By installing this Trojan Horse, you open up your computer to a myriad of other malware from the Zbot Botnet.  This Bot is notorious for lifting banking and credit information from User’s accounts.  So as you can see, this is a serious threat.

The first emails were sent around 11:30 AM Pacific Time on Friday, 11/13/09.  Friday the 13th’s are always notorious for the launch of new scams on the internet.  Since then, it has been estimated that about 200,000 messages have been sent per hour.  So this scam is already well established.

So how do I know if the Verizon Wireless message is legit? and what should I do if I do receive this message?  First off, and I have stated this many times before in past posts, do not EVER open a message that states that there is a problem with your account from an email that you receive without having asked for the information prior to receiving the message.  Even then, I would be real cautious.  The best way to keep yourself from falling for these scams, is to never open an email from anyone, even if you have an account with them, that states that there is a problem with your account.  Instead, go to the company’s website, in this case Verizon Wireless’, and log into your account.  From there, you can check to see if there is anything that needs your attention.  As always, make sure that you log in over SSL, meaning that the URL starts with ‘https://” and not “http://”.  I cannot say this strongly enough……never, ever open a link in which the email states that there is a problem with your account.  These are almost always scams as companies do not alert you of problems in this manner.  Always, manually log into your account and check it once you are securely logged into your account.

This new Verizon Wireless scam will render your computer useless, should you fall for it, and believe me, it is easy to do.  These scammers know what they are doing and create fake sites, and messages that look exactly like one that you would receive from Verizon Wireless, complete with logo.  They are easy to fall for.  Knowing the basics is all you need though to ensure your safety. Always delete those emails alerting you to account problems and log into your account from the vendors website and check to see if the message is valid from there.  Never click on any link that was sent to you without you asking for it. It is that simple.

For more information, check out the Trend Micro Security Blog Site.

Watch out for this scam as it is a serious one and is easy to fall for.

Let me know your thoughts……