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Category Archives: Internet

Latest Facebook Scams for week ending 1/27/12

facebook  As always, Tech Geek and More would like to thank our friends over at (LINK) Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/) for the following information. Here are the latest scams seen over the past week on Facebook.

 

(LINK) THIS WEEK ONLY! $100 Applebee’s Gift Card Giveaway! – Facebook Scam (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/this-week-only-100-applebees-gift-card-giveaway-facebook-scam NULL.html)

Clicking the link on the Facebook wall post takes you to the following page designed to look like Facebook:

The scammers are hoping that users will think this is a Facebook promotion. If you look closely, you will see that you are on an external website designed to look like Facebook. This is a favorite trick of the scammers. If you ‘Click Here To Begin!’ the following screen loads:

The end game here is a rogue browser plugin. As with Facebook applications, only install plugins / browser extensions from trusted sources. Based on what we have seen so far, this one doesn’t fit the bill. Installing the plugin leaves your system totally vulnerable to the developer. Similar scams have been known to pack malware and viruses. Installing the plugin is definitely not worth the risk to your system. We decided to stop here and advise you to do the same.

Continue reading →

Some of the Latest Facebook Scams (As of 1/23/12)

facebook     In a continuing effort of keeping everyone informed, here are some of the more interesting Scams happening on Facebook.  The information comes courtesy of the Tech Geek and More friends over at (LINK) Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/).

(LINK) Hackers Impersonate Security Team on Facebook (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/hackers-impersonate-security-team-on-facebook NULL.html) – Facebook Scam

In a rather ironic twist of events, hackers are impersonating the Facebook Security Team on the social network. Their modus operandi is simple, ingenious, and one we have warned about several times in the past.

The message reads:

“Last Warning: Your Facebook account will be turned off because someone has reported you. Please do re-confirm your account security by: (link)”

Continue reading →

1/18/12 – The web protests against SOPA and PIPA

Protests All Across the web

     Today a large number of web sites (Big and Small) all across the internet are protesting the SOPA and PIPA bills that are current in the congress of the United States. The protests range from sites like (LINK) Google (https://www NULL.google NULL.com/) who have put a black bar across their name

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To sites like (LINK) Wikipedia (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Main_Page), which is going “dark” for 24 hours.

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Why these bills are such a concern

The following information comes from the site OpenCongress.org

PROTECT IP Act in the Senate

“Establishes a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be “dedicated to infringing activities.” The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show))

Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House

“This bill would establish a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be dedicated to copyright infringement. The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against any site they deem to have “only limited purpose or use other than infringement,” and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. It would also make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty up to five years in prison. This bill combines two separate Senate bills — S.968 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show) and S.978 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s978/show) — into one big House bill”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-h3261/show))

Where can you get more information about these 2 bills
(LINKS)
  • 100 Law Professors oppose Protect IP Act (http://freedomforip NULL.org/2011/07/06/100-law-professors-oppose-protect-ip-act/) – From Freedom for IP (Freedomforip.org)
  • Act Now : This Bill Seriously Screws with the Internet (http://www NULL.publicknowledge NULL.org/e-parasite-stop-online-piracy-act) (SOPA) – From Public Knowledge (Publicknowledge.org)
  • H.R.3261 – Stop Online Piracy Act (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-h3261/show) – From Open Congress (OpenCongress.org)
  • S.968 – PROTECT IP Act of 2011 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show) – From Open Congress (OpenCongress.org)
  • Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation (https://wfc2 NULL.wiredforchange NULL.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173) – From the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF.org)
  • What is Protect IP and SOPA (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VxPQ320jBLc) (Video) – From Lockergnome (On YouTube)
  • End Piracy, Not Liberty (https://www NULL.google NULL.com/landing/takeaction/) – From Google

 

Getting in touch with your Representatives in Congress

If you visit a site like (LINK) Project VoteSmart (http://votesmart NULL.org/) and enter your address on the top right,

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you can get a list of information from the President to your local ballot measures.

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If you click on the + next to Congressional (or whichever area interests you), you will get information like Office, First Election, Next Election, and Most Importantly Contact Information.

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If you disagree with these bills and want to protect your freedom of speech, please contact your local Representatives in Congress and let them know that they need to vote against these bills if they want your vote in the next election.

Some of the Latest Facebook Scams (As of 1/13/12)

facebook In a continuing effort of keeping everyone informed, here are some of the more interesting Scams happening on Facebook. The information comes courtesy of the Tech Geek and More friends over at (LINK) Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/).

(LINK) GUY TOUCHES 1000 BOOBS!!! – Facebook Scam (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/guy-touches-1000-boobs-facebook-scam NULL.html)

With the headline of “Yo! hahaha can happen to anyone! GUY TOUCHES 1000 BOOBS!!! This scam is part of a growing trend of scammers using Flickr to peddle their malicious links. This is probably done to bypass Facebook’s filters.

Continue reading →

Another Facebook Scam – $100 Texas Roadhouse Gift Card

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     Scams seem to be a daily event on Facebook.  Just ran into another scam on Facebook today, this one posted (like usual) on the wall of someone in my friends list.  The person in question didn’t even realize the post was there.  The post which showed a message of “I love chipotle” was for a $100 Texas Roadhouse Card.

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When trying to figure out if something is a scam, always look for the small mistakes. Scammers don’t usually go to any of the places they talk about or they would know better, in this case Chipotle and Texas Roadhouse are not the same place, they don’t even serve the same type of food. Continue reading →

Securing Your Wireless Network (Via OnGuardOnline.gov)

Securing Your Wireless Network

If you don’t secure your wireless network, strangers could use it and gain access to your computer – including the personal and financial information you’ve stored on it. Protect your computer by using WPA encryption.

 

Continue reading →

Beware of ‘Remove Facebook Timeline’ Scams (Via Facecrooks.com)

facebook The following scam alert post is courtesy of our friends at (LINK)Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/beware-of-remove-facebook-timeline-scams NULL.html). For the latest information concerning Facebook scams, Tech Geek and More recommends visiting (LINK) Facecrooks (http://facecrooks NULL.com). (Thanks to Facecrooks for allowing the repost) Originally posted – January 4, 2012

When new Facebook features are added, scammers use the chaos, confusion and disdain to take advantage of unsuspecting users. The most recent instance involved the Facebook Ticker. There are ways to remove the Ticker by using browser extensions; however, there is no such fix for the Facebook Timeline.

Inside Facebook (http://networkedblogs NULL.com/sjNEW)reported the following just yesterday:

“Despite Facebook’s efforts to educate users about the new profile, some people have misconceptions that make them susceptible to scams like these. We have found 16 Timeline-related scam pages, which have collectively gained more than 71,000 likes. The largest, with nearly 19,000 likes, has been around for at least two weeks. These pages are among the top search results when searching Facebook for “timeline.”

There are several Facebook Pages, rogue applications and rogue browser extensions claiming to show you how to remove the Timeline from your profile. Just doing a quick search via the Facebook Search bar revealed the following:

(http://facecrooks NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/remove-timeline NULL.jpg)

Continue reading →

2011/2012: New Years Eve from Time Square

HappyNewYear  With New Years Eve 2011 just a couple of days away, I figured it was as good a time as any to post the livestream information for New Years Eve in Time Square – New York.  Tech Geek and More will have the livestream showing (courtesy of the Time Square Alliance (http://www NULL.timessquarenyc NULL.org/events/new-years-eve/webcast/index NULL.aspx)) on our site.  So for anyone who would like to see what is happening live in Time Square plus special performances and events that wont be shown on Network TV come back on Saturday 12/31 between 5:50p (EST) and 1a (EST) to watch the festivities LIVE!

Watch live streaming video (http://www NULL.livestream NULL.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks) from 2012 (http://www NULL.livestream NULL.com/2012?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks) at livestream.com

If you are watching before 5:50p on 12/31, you are seeing last years (2010) New Years Eve.

Scam: Woo Hoo–I’ve just been offered a MILLION DOLLAR ATM Card (No seriously it must be true, I just got an email telling me so)

no_scam-150x150     File this under the category of “REALLY!” . The following email which was received by Tech Geek and More friends over at (LINK) zombiepancake.com (http://www NULL.zombiepancake NULL.com/) claims to be from a “Funds Clearing” and looks fairly official (At least these guys had spell checker). The email below is exactly as sent except for 2 changes, specifically to omit links, as I’m not trying to help them in their ways.  Here is the MILLION DOLLAR ATM email –

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From: Funds Clearing [mailto:fundsdp@(Omitted).org]

Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2011 12:43 PM

Subject: Your ATM MASTER CARD

Season Greetings,

We are very sorry for the delay. Your ATM MASTER CARD, Valued US$1.216Million has been activated and is ready for delivery, delivery fee of $125 is needed urgently for delivery of the MASTER CARD to your home address . Note that $5000-$10,000 is permitted daily only for each cash withdraw from any ATM MACHINE within your state.

Therefore do not delay to respond immediately and quickly send us your Receiving Address, Full Names and Telephone number. Get back to us for your Payment so that we can registration the CARD for delivery to your destination including the Parcel Tracking Number which will be provided to you after the registrations is done for easy tracking of your parcel on the arrival

God Bless

Mr. Tony Roland

ATM DEPARTMENT

SKY BANK PLC

Email: mytonyroland@yahoo(Remain removed to not give them that much credit)

********************************************************************************************

     Of course, the majority of people have enough common sense to know this is actually a scam.  Unfortunately these scams continue to happen simply because there is always someone out there who thinks “It came in an email, it must be true”.  If someone didn’t fall for it, the scammers would stop doing it, and move to something else. 

     The moral (and common sense tip) of this mornings post is simple, “If it sounds to good to be true, then its probably a scam”. This goes for Emails, Tweets, Facebook, or anything else in life. 

     Oh and lastly to Mr. Tony, from the Sky Bank, using a yahoo email address – REALLY!.  Come on, if you go through all this trouble to create a scam, couldn’t you do something better than yahoo!

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