UGN InfoManager

Associated Press reporter Christopher Bodeen writes about the steps taken by the Chinese government prior to Tiananmen Square protests 20th anniversary. Chinese authorities have rounded up dissidents and shipped them out of town. Now, they've even shut down Twitter.

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:30 AM |

What does former AT&T boss Ed "not gonna use my pipes for free" Whitacre know about cars? What do Canadians know about 'Net Neutrality'? Not much.

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:15 AM |

What happens if ICANN is privatized in September? The board of the internet governing body is no longer accountable to any entity. The organization is already failing to properly administrate the DNS system, once government overview goes away, so does all manner of accountability and private security. Privatization must be stopped. Read:

this article at SafeNetting

Posted by Fred Showker at 2:12 PM |

A non repairable threat attack has continued since Sunday, against all Microsoft Windows operating systems (not DOS) eminating from Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. Trojan comes attached to a phishing spam claiming to be from Western Union.

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:06 PM |

After April's rumblings of the iBotNet virus attacking Macs, which got little or no press, those of us on the frontlines knew is was basically a hoax Trojan that infected a very small number of Macs. This week, Bob Levitus wrote for The Chronicle, putting the situation in perspective saying "Virus' isn’t what you’ve heard it is"

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM |

I believe that I first heard of this via one of the Leo Laporte podcasts. This is a device about the size of most cell phone AC adapters. It puts an external USB hard drive plugged into it on the Internet.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:33 PM |

While Microsoft slams Mac for being "expensive" we wonder what they mean by "expensive"? Microsoft and Windows has caused the Pentagon to spend $100 million on Cyberattacks in the last 6 months. This Associated Press article provides stark reality to the difference between Mac OS and others.

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:21 AM |

UGNN anchor desk checked progress on Conficker early this morning to find quiet reports, and even a bit of levity linking the worm to WOZ's demise on Dancing with the Stars ...

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:41 AM |

This year the spam fighting collective with Knujon at the lead, have scored yet more victories. Those of you who got involved by sending Knujon your spam can congratulate yourselves -- several key ICANN rules have been passed.

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:57 AM |

You remember the fable about Apple not needing security software? Things may have changed...

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:16 AM |

I can remember many heated discussions, and quite a bit of dissent when applications began the practice of 'phoning home' when the user launches the program. Today the constant connection may turn out to be a hazard...

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:08 AM |

As we enter the new year, signs that cypercrime is on the rise increase. Here's a line-up of developments since the first of the year:
* Spam Levels on the Rise, Again
* The IRS is not trying to e-mail you.
* Fake CNN site hides a Trojan
* Best Practices for Protecting yourself
* Twitter hack explained by hacker
* Hack forces Twitter into 'full security review'

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM |

I don't know if you've noticed, but I sure have. My Apple Mail "Junk" box has now diminished to about 8 to 15 spams per day -- down from 150 to 200. NOW is the time to gather your members and join me in a push to let internet users' voices be heard. Read this important message from Fred...

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:08 AM |

Yesterday, and over night a wave of phishing attacks hit the servers targeting Apple Mobile Me users, and others who might not know the specifics of the phish. There were several, all from different "senders" but leading to the same address. READ THIS ALERT

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:29 AM |

Someone wrote in last week to ask why our comments are turned off. Rather than a lengthy explanation, the answer is spam and spam robots, and you'll understand when you see these two screen captures ...

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:48 AM |

All of our preaching for the complete dismantling and restructuring of ICANN is now being validated and reinforced by activities from several other internet crime-fighting agencies. We've reported the investigative work by KnujOn.com many, many times. A second agency has now entered the fray to provide yet more substantial evidence that ICANN is at the root of the cybercrime problem.

Read this article at www.safenetting.com

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:25 AM |

Apple's MobileMe plays into hands of spammers: How Apple inadvertently made it easy for spammers to get to you and your contacts...

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:29 AM |

This article is hard to summarize. It is on the New York Times web site and will be in the newspaper on August 3rd.

Basically, it is a warning of a subculture that exists on the net to make things difficult for more "normal" people.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 3:20 PM |

Security researcher Aviv Raff has discovered the iPhone's Mail and Safari applications are prone to a URL Spoofing vulnerability, which may allow attackers to conduct phishing attacks against iPhone users. iPhone is Phishable and SPAMable

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM |

Domain kiting targeted, and NetworkSolutions gets to point their finger at "Domain Tasting" as the reason for their long-established practice of "Front running Domains" and the whole mess is about to get ugly...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:08 AM |

On June 19th, SecureMac announced that they had discovered multiple versions of a new Trojan in the wild that affects Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:37 PM |

This web site provides web developers with useful information.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 12:55 AM |

I have mentioned OpenDNS in the past. With it, you can speed up your connection to web sites. Additionally you can easily block web sites from your computer network.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 12:32 AM |

This morning, I received an "email hoax" about illegal aliens and was more than a little peeved that my private email address had been included in such a mailing.

Unfortunately, many of the people on his list will simply forward to their list, and as the chain grows, all of the email addresses will continue to be embedded in the mailing. So 8 out of 10 Windows users on that list will undoubtedly have a zombie on their machines which will forward all the email addresses to spam harvesters.

Here's how I responded to the chain...

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:59 AM |

Sometimes Google is associated with evil on the web. But this time, they were on the right side of the isle by assisting in the arrest of an Indian cyber criminal. But the outcome is not what was expected...

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:36 AM |

Mike Butcher reported on the final throws in the case between MySpace.com and MySpace.co.uk, the cyber squatter. UK judges didn't see it quite as expected

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:26 AM |

I first came across the issue of port forwarding when I was still somewhat active on AOL and tried to use AOL's client for MacOS X. I couldn't get the client to connect via my router.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 11:34 PM |

PeopleCD, the Creator of Kidz CD, Announces the Newest Version of it's Free, Safe and Secure Web Browser Software for Children and Teenagers; Kidz CD v2.1

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:47 AM |

It has become almost commonplace to turn on the evening news or visit an online news source and see the headlines detailing a terrible crime involving a child.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte writes about the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:37 AM |

Chinese Cyber Attack, Malware cocktails and then the bad news : Homeland Security's cyber defense update, Cyber Storm I and Cyber Storm II. Is it enough?

Posted by Fred Showker at 3:36 PM |

Fortunately, Joe Showker studies these things better than I do. He discovered that this software is at high risk for "adult" material and other objectionable content.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:59 PM |

Photo Journalism students at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird, Virginia created PSAs for the Virginia Attorney General's internet safety contest.

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:00 AM |

What does Google know about you? Well, that just depends on how much you use Google. Google is now being accused of eroding privacy...

Posted by Fred Showker at 12:15 PM |

Our "Google caught, denies involvement" from last week about cybercriminals utilizing Google services brought quite a few responses. This one definitely knows the story, and we though should be passed along...

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:30 PM |

For the last week, we've been tracking one set of cybercriminals who successfuly elude spam traps and filtering software. It's NOT a pretty picture, and the hot trail leads straight to Google...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:40 AM |

There's a good chance your new iPhone will be stolen. iPhone theft has become more popular now than iPod theft. After all, there's a lot more identity to be stolen on an iPhone than an ipod.

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:08 PM |

MySpace has finally agreed to deploy some safety measures -- then, just when you thought it was safe to let your kids wander into the further reaches of the internet -- porno stars seduce under age girls, and hacker extorts MySpace user for 'favors' in exchange for getting her site back...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM |

Nothing's worse than buying a gift which uses a memory card, but doesn't come with one -- except buying a card which turns out to be a fake! BEWARE

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:35 AM |

Crimson Sky Software Introduces BitClamp - The AppZapper of Encryption

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:16 AM |

For the past day we've had 149 attempts to place links into the 'comments' here in UGNN which redirect the user to a download site where a trojan is downloaded. During tracking this criminal, we discovered this security notice published by Intego yesterday...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:26 AM |

Have you ever heard of anyone who actually wants you to send them your spam and junk mail? I know, it's crazy, but the folks at Knujon do indeed want all your spam. Why? So they can crush the criminals at the end of the money trail. You've heard me preach that everyone should have a SpamCop account. Well, now I'm emphasizing you should NOW also have a Knujon account.

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:45 AM | Comments (1) |

If you've been keeping up on the Net Neutrality debate, then you've noticed who is conspicuously on the "Free Internet" and "Internet Freedom of Speech" bandwagons. It certainly is a worthy cause, however here in Virginia, we have an old saying: "put your money where your mouth is." Yesterday, the Democrats did just that.

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:40 PM |

Now, with the popularity of Apple's Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop or VMWare's Fusion, security and protection against cybercrime attacks is no longer just a PC problem.

Posted by Fred Showker at 12:53 PM |

This issue of The Frontline zeroes in on September being "Internet Safety" month in Virginia.

Posted by Fred Showker at 12:55 PM |

If you suspect your Mac account has been hacked, here's what to look for. Chances are, yours is one of millions of email addresses forged to send spam...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:34 AM |

Here's why SpamCop is an excellent bargain for your email provider. Using it correctly not only gives you a top-class email service, but contributes to the overall well-being of all honest, honorable web users

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:57 AM |

The subtitle of the site is Common questions, simple answers.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:33 PM |

BEWARE: several weeks ago we warned you about "Postcard" or "eCard" spam, and the dangers it poses for computer users. Several people on the infomanager and AUGD list snickered. Seems both the FBI and FCC now agree...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:51 AM |

Have you ever worried about your security when signing on at Starbuck or other public Wi-Fi Networks. Well you should be.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 8:43 PM | Comments (0) |

The pumpers & dumpers are back with a different approach -- embedding an Acrobat PDF file... here, we'll show you a picture, and show you how to submit a complaint...

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:07 AM |

Storm Worm, Hidden In Phony E-Card Spam, Strikes Again -- ALERT: Beware of "Greeting Card" spam.

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:12 AM |

Internet Safety News and Information You Can Use - Joe Showker passes along some sage tips for summer safety on the internet

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:32 AM |

Betsy Scherzer, RMS PUBLIC RELATIONS sent in these statistics to keep readers alerted to the ever-present, ongoing computer security and privacy breaches

Posted by Fred Showker at 5:52 PM |

Have you prepared for an eventual virus or zombie attack on your Mac? Thought so. Most people haven't. Here's what to do...

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:50 AM |

VOLUNTEER ANTI-SPAM ORGANIZATION FILES Largest Anti-Spam Suit In U.S. History ... Project Honey Pot Suit Seeks $1B+ from Spammers, Email Harvesters, and Comment Spammers

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:45 AM |

The Pew Research firm has released some rather 'telling' data on the way kids use their online social networking accounts.

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:44 AM |

I was told about this search engine by a co-worker today.
It is a little bit scary

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:35 PM | Comments (0) |

I came across an article in today's Fort Worth Star Telegram about the Pew internt & American Life Project. In it, it quotes online teens as saying they exaggerate their content on Myspace or FaceBook.

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:13 PM | Comments (0) |

Myth or Fact? Is Mac OS X Really More Secure than Windows?

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:40 AM | Comments (0) |

While America sleeps, and the drive-by media obsesses

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 10:14 AM |

I felt great last week when I got email from my contact at the SEC... letting me know of the launch of "Operation Spamalot"

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:17 AM | Comments (0) |

Where does net neutrality stand with the Democratic take over?

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:10 AM |

How bad is it when the cures become worse than the problem?

Posted by Fred Showker at 5:52 PM | Comments (0) |

Several Adobe Acrobat exploits have been discovered to inflict potentially serious damage on unwary users.

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:20 AM |

anti-phishing, online crime and spam kicks off a new year

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:16 AM |

Here are three not-to-miss articles from last weeks cyber-crime stalkers -- including the UCLA hack-attack announcements, and cyber attacks vented through Symantec's anti-virus flaw!

Posted by Fred Showker at 6:49 AM |

If computers could make new year's resolutions, here are seven they'd make for a safe, secure 2007

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 10:09 AM |

News may be scarce, but the battle isn't over.. Issues have a way of fading out of the consumer's mind them until it's too late. So we continue our vigil to follow the twists and turns of the issues, hopefully to keep you informed. Effects of the Electons on Net Neutrality

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:42 AM |

best advice for K-12 teachers and administrators regarding blogs

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:38 AM | Comments (2) |

Looking for Way to Fight Phishing -- If you read the news, you would think something is getting done.

Posted by Fred Showker at 4:23 PM | Comments (0) |

Finger pointing, blame game as Apple's rising star suffers from a little sniffle ...

Posted by Fred Showker at 2:34 PM | Comments (0) |

Fred catches up on the resurgence of stock scam spams and pump-and-dump schemes and answers some readers' questions about such evils.

Posted by Fred Showker at 1:53 PM |

free 10 page Adobe Acrobat white paper that sheds a great deal of light on the entire Net Neutrality issue.

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:27 PM | Comments (2) |

Who would have guessed that the sleepy little backwoods Virginia town, Harrisonburg, would become the focus of a global telecommunications revolution. While it wasn't really news to all of us, it certainly is news -- we will be the first site in the country to test the next generation of the Internet -- IPv6.

Posted by Fred Showker at 10:43 AM |

... the long and sad story of how spam and online crime have driven some ISPs to blind, extreme measures which threaten the very usability of the internet. AOL, one of the world's longest trusted providers can no longer be trusted... it's sad but true.
AOL Gone Bad

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:03 AM | Comments (0) |

Yes, I've also updated the Net Neutrality coverage with another week's news, views and reivews. This time with improved editorials, and opinion pieces. Whew... glad to at last see some sense coming into the issues. ... See it at:

http://www.user-groups.net/safenet/net_neutrality.html

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:46 AM |

Identity Theft, Cyber Security Fixes Offered in New Study -- Market Solutions Spur Incentives, Better Technology

Posted by Fred Showker at 9:16 AM | Comments (4) |

When Sony BMG hid a "rootkit" on their CDs last year, they spied on you and let hackers in. What were they thinking?

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:09 AM |

ALERT: San Diego computer users: MARK YOUR CALENDARS
for this special San Diego Macintosh User Group presentation

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM |

Phishing Alert: in the past three days UGN Crime Trackers have analyzed more than six phishing attacks utilizing a different scheme than usual.

Posted by Fred Showker at 2:45 AM | Comments (2) |

UGN Crime Trackers issue this alert based on criminal phishing attacks in the past two days spoofing official IRS tax refunds. PLEASE READ AND SHARE

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:47 AM |

Latest update on Stock Scams, Pump & Dump In Safe Netting READ IT NOW

Posted by Fred Showker at 10:29 AM | Comments (0) |

Just how safe is your password?

Posted by Fred Showker at 8:18 AM | Comments (1) |

Porn; Fire Bombing; sex charge; Extortion and more in this week's "MySpace.com" report...

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 8:40 AM | Comments (0) |

Three leading stories parents and educators should read...

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 9:16 AM | Comments (1) |

Chris DeWolfe, MySpace co-founder, defends the site in a telephone interview with WWMT News Channel 3...

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 6:22 AM | Comments (0) |

Posted by Lynn Wegley at 3:39 PM | Comments (0) |

Hear it from an expert a the school system just like yours...

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:30 AM | Comments (0) |

Pass this along to your members...

Posted by Fred Showker at 7:25 AM | Comments (1) |

Lynn, I've posted my "Stock Scams" update -- last week I saw a substantial increase in stock scam traffic. The UGN Spam Traps are getting hit with over 30 scams per day -- more than one per hour! Read this latest update:

SPAM STOCK SCAMS >>>

Posted by Fred Showker at 4:01 PM | Comments (0) |

Each day the threats become greater and greater. Computer safety expert and author Victoria Roddel has sent along five simple ways to protect yourself and your children
Continue Reading...

Posted by Fred Showker at 11:30 AM | Comments (0) |