Category: report

The behind the scenes of the bad guys

Paul

Photo by freezelight Photo by freezelight

Have you ever wondered how they find out your Email address or even find out your name or so called shipping address.   I’ve been wondering that for quite some time and have went researching online for the reason.  You see I’ve been getting spam email with my name and address  like this “Possible Check Pending [Last Name] [Mailing Address] Sender : Pam [Last Name]“

That email was a “Kevin Hoeffer” scam that advertise getting you money from Google, called the Cash Secret club.   Suffice it to say that the Rip of Reports all say this is a scam.  Seems they try to fool you into paying $1.99 and then charge an extra $98 after you give them your information.  The Domain that I looked up is protected by Whoisguard.com.  So I reported to them about this spam, this is a sure way to get off there list.  Reporting spam will black list you from getting spam because to there major providers.  That cost them money, if everyone did that the spammers would be stopped.  Although I think society as a whole isn’t even trying to fight the spam this way they just try to keep it under control.  I believe that if 10% of the spam is reported then we are making the spammers and scammers  pay for their misdeeds.

[ad]So I went searching for the reason behind how they got my information and I found Email Finder, which offers people email address or it offers to find out all that is out there to find about the particular email address.  Such as Name, last known address, social networks, and it goes on.  They do have an Opt-out policy where you can request not be listed, I advise everyone to go check and see if your listed.  You would have to pay to get the information but I if you see the screen where they said they have found information that is enough for me to opt out.   Actually it only cost the scammers and spammers $1.95 a month to use this service so they are making money in the long run.  You should also do an SEO Search on your email address  in Yahoo, Google, Bing and Other services to see if your email is out on the web.

There is a FAQ file on how Spammers Get your Email address, I strongly recommend people at least looking at it because it is still quite relevant to today’s spam.  I’ve also seen ways to Detect spam by using Bayesian filter but most companies now a days are using that from the get go.   Remember only you can prevent spam and from getting scammed, So do your research.

Skype has some Auto-Bots and Friendjungle.com

Paul

I was on Skype today and got an instant message from some girl:
skypespam

The Instant message goes like this:

hello there! I was checking people near me and i came across your page, and you seemed interesting.. 😉

Mary Fowler says: Im not crazy about Skype though … want to check out my picture and profile ?

use this link: http://www.matchshake.com/?id=4004&profile=rockergrl82

you just sign in (it’s free) to get to me, my username’s rockergrl82.

[ad]It looks like this is an Bot to help fool you into thinking it is a real person.  The link they give me is a redirect link that lands me on “Friendjungle.com”.  I am sure no matter what you answer with the question it asks that it will still send you a link.   You can however tell Skype to only allow chat from people on your contact list but that is totally up to you.   There is a story from the Rip-off Report about Friendjungle.com, so it looks like they went from text messaging to Skype chat.  According to Yahoo Answers, this is more or less a way for them to get money from you.   You sign up and before you realize it they are charging your card, so it looks really shady.   Although, To Friendjungle credit, they do have a scam section to help you report these types of incidents.   I don’t know if this works well or not but you can at least try.

There are some good comments about this Friendjungle on other sites that really make me wonder if they just don’t want your money.  If you get this type of message from someone, either through SMS or Skype, I’d just go along with my life and not register there are more better places to go to find your true love.

The Next big Wave of Layoffs is Sony. (9,000 workers)

Paul

In a report from Engadget, there seems to be more Layoffs going on.   One such one is Sony.  Here is what Engadget said:

[ad#ad2-right]

The bad news from the Japanese consumer electronics industry continues. Sony just announced plans to cut about 8,000 global jobs from its beleaguered electronics business while making unspecified reductions to its seasonal and temporary workforce. The move, as Sony explains it, comes “in response to the sudden and rapid changes in the global economic environment.” Ominously, it looks like Sony will also be raising prices in the countries where “Sony makes significant sales” (read: US and Europe) if we’re reading this statement correctly:

[Via Engadget]

[ad#ad2-left]In Today’s economy, you need to be prepared.  So I thought I bring back some old Favorites of mine and talk about them.  To see the other layoffs that I’ve talked about CLICK HERE.   If you wanted to know what you can do to be prepared here are some great resources for people who are worried about there jobs:

If you have any others you would like to suggest please leave a comment and let everyone know.   These are hard economic times and we all could use the help.

Rumor is that Itunes will Remove DRM!

Paul

[ad#ad2-right]A report from last week brought to AppleInsider‘s attention by French technology site ElectronLibre asserts that it’s now “clear” Apple will spark new interest in its music store by removing DRM from tracks published by Sony, Universal and Warner on December 9th.

[Via Apple Insider]

Although, this is somewhat unlikely I’ve got my own theories on this.  You see If Apple did this tomorrow that would be a BIG deal, due to the fact that Microsoft will be releasing there patches on the same day.  I find it would be a momentous occasion.

[ad#ad2-left]I can only guess why and the guess is just a guess.  If Itune’s did remove there DRM the same time as Microsoft Patch Tuesday, I’d have to guess they will co-inside because of the difficulty of using the DRM, Digital Rights Management, on other products.  For example, Windows Media Player .  If Apple decided to approach Microsoft and come up with a way to make sure all DRM is stripped this would be the ideal situation.   Although this is highly unlikely, I’d have to think Apple wouldn’t wait till tomorrow to strip the DRM.  They know Microsoft schedule.  We will have to find out in the coming days.

Upcoming Patch Tuesday

Paul1 Reply

[ad#ad2-right]I wanted to get prepared for the updates for this Tuesday and I thought I’d go through them and list what Microsoft said about each.   These are what’s been said on Technet and I am sure there will be more.   Each one of these don’t look to serious but I will post Tuesday if there is anything I’ve missed on this post.   As you might know this is not set in stone but just the direction of Microsoft for this Months Release.

KB955839

Update for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP

Install this update to resolve an issue that is caused by revised daylight saving time laws in many countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Server 2008 License Terms.

[ad#ad2-left]KB957388

Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Install this update to resolve a set of known application compatibility issues with Windows Server 2008. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

KB890830

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Microsoft released the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool to help remove specific prevalent malicious software from computers that are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000. After you download the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool, it runs one time to check your computer for inflection by specific prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps remove any infection it finds. Microsoft releases a new version of the tool every month.

[ad#ad2-right]KB905866

Update for Windows Mail Junk E-mail Filter [November 2008] (KB905866)

Install this update for Windows Mail to revise the definition files that are used to detect e-mail messages that should be considered junk e-mail or that may contain phishing content. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Vista License Terms.

I am sure there are going to be others but right now this looks like the normal things Microsoft sends out.  I am sure they are keeping a tight lid on the really serious stuff until last second so I’ll have to report the really important stuff Tuesday.