Data Privacy Day is an international holiday that marked its 10th anniversary on Saturday, January 28th. Created in 2007 by the Council of Europe, Data Privacy Day was adopted by the U.S. a few years later. This day is meant to remind people of the importance of data privacy and...
‘Can You Hear Me?’ Scam is Easy to Fall for
"Can You Hear Me?" the person on the other end of the phone asks. Your automatic response is "Yes", which seems simple and harmless. Now with a new phone scam that is traveling around the country, your harmless answer might cost you hundreds of dollars. The Can You Hear Me?...
Totally 100% Fake Scareware
If your screen should pop up with a something similar to the picture above, the best thing to do is PRESS THE POWER BUTTON, turn off your computer and call Mad Dog Computer at 503.922.1599. Clicking on anything on the screen in an attempt to close the messages may infect...
Back Up Before It Is All Gone – New Ransomware Threat
RANSOMWARE THREAT IS BACK! After an absence of 2 months, the CryptoWall ransomware threat is back! CryptoWall 3.0 started appearing on Monday 1-12-15 and is a sophisticated ransomware threat program that encrypts the victims' files making them unusable and non-recoverable. Users are instructed to pay the equivalent of US$500 in...
Windows XP End of Support: What the “end of support” means to YOU!
Windows XP End of Support Announced by Microsoft If you don't have the Windows XP operating system then this blog means nothing to you, but you might be interested in what is happening to Microsoft Windows XP users. Unless you live under a rock, you already know that support for Windows...
The Trade-Off: Sacrificing Internet Security for Convenience and Privacy for Popularity
Every day when I look at the news I am bewildered by the contradictory nature of society. On one hand, we pay for things like LifeLock, Anti-Virus software, firewalls, encryption and software that makes us anonymous to provide Internet security for our information and to protect our privacy. We use paper...
New Variety of Malware Dubbed Ransomware Attempts to Extort Money from Unwary Internet Users
Whatever you do, don't follow the payment instructions for any ransomware! The Internet Crime Complaint Center (which is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center) has recently been made aware of a new variety of malware (MALicous softWARE) used to deliver ransomware...
Keep Your Data Safe – Wipe Your Data
How to Protect Yourself - Wipe Your Data Seven years ago, author and security pioneer Simson Garfinkel conducted a study of data he found on second-hand hard drives. He bought the hard drive from an old ATM machine on eBay and it still had the information on 827 bank account...