Is Your Computer Infected With Rogue Security Software?

Symantec Corp. recently announced the rather frightening findings of its Report on Rogue Security Software and it doesn't look good for millions of computer-owning consumers. The study revealed that cybercriminals are employing increasingly persuasive online scare tactics to convince users to purchase rogue security software.

Rogue security software, or "scareware," is software that pretends to be legitimate security software. These rogue applications provide little or no value and may even install malicious code or reduce the overall security of the computer. The scam involves encouraging unsuspecting users to install rogue software with website ads that prey on users’ fears of security threats. These ads typically include false claims such as "If this ad is flashing, your computer may be at risk or infected," urging the user to follow a link to scan their computer or get software to remove the threat.

According to the study, 93 percent of the software installations for the top 50 rogue security software scams were intentionally downloaded by the user. As of June 2009, Symantec has detected more than 250 distinct rogue security software programs.

The initial monetary loss to consumers who download these rogue products ranges from $30 to $100. However, the costs associated to regain ones’ identity could be far greater. Not only can these rogue security programs cheat the user out of money, but the personal details and credit card information provided during the purchase can be used in additional fraud or sold on black market forums resulting in identify theft.

To make matters worse, some rogue security software actually installs malicious code that puts users at risk of attack from additional threats. As a result, installing these programs can lower the security posture of a computer while claiming to strengthen it. For example, rogue programs may instruct the user to lower or disable any existing security settings while registering the bogus software or prevent the user from accessing legitimate security Web sites after installation. This, in turn, leaves users exposed to the very threats the rogue software promised to protect against.

Symnatec offers these tips to protect against rogue security software:

• Avoid following links from emails, as these may be links to spoofed or malicious websites. Instead, manually type in the URL of a known, reputable website.
• Never view, open, or execute email attachments unless the attachment is expected and comes from a known and trusted source. Be suspicious of any emails that are not directly addressed to your email address.
• Be cautious of pop-up windows and banner advertisements that mimic legitimate displays. Suspicious error messages displayed inside the Web browser are often methods rogue security software scams use to lure users into downloading and installing their fake product

Amazon's Kindle Greener Than Printed Books?

If Amazon's Kindle is on your wishlist for this holiday season, you might end up greener than your book buying friends and family.

Cleantech Group found in a study that e-readers could have a major impact on improving the sustainability and environmental impact of the publishing industry, one of the world’s most polluting sectors. In 2008, the U.S. book and newspaper industries combined resulted in the harvesting of 125 million trees, not to mention wastewater that was produced or its massive carbon footprint.

The Cleantech Group’s report, The Environmental Impact of Amazon's Kindle, found that, while e-readers are still a niche technology with a little more than 1 million units sold to date, they could have a more positive impact on the environment in the future. The report indicates that, on average, the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of a Kindle is fully offset after the first year of use. The Cleantech Group forecasts that devices like the Kindle and Sony's Reader purchased from 2009 to 2012 could prevent 5.3 billion kg of carbon dioxide in 2012, or 9.9 billion kg during the four-year time period.

Learn more about the study's findings here: Cleantech Group report: E-readers a win for carbon emissions.

TXU Energy Earns the ENERGY STAR® for Superior Energy Efficiency

TXU Energy recently announced that it has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) prestigious ENERGY STAR for its corporate headquarters. The designation is a national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. This signifies that the building's energy performance rates in the top 25 percent of facilities nationwide.

TXU Energy implemented numerous energy efficiency steps that earned the ENERGY STAR rating, including a retrofit of the parking garage to LED lights, upgrade of the building automation system lighting controls, and improved operating procedures.

Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The EPA's national energy performance rating system provides a 1-100 scale that helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a rating of 75 or higher is eligible for the ENERGY STAR. Commercial buildings that can earn the ENERGY STAR include offices, bank branches, financial centers, retail stores, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, supermarkets, dormitories, and warehouses.

To learn more about the program, check out The ENERGY STAR for Buildings and Plants.

New Study Finds More Than One Third of Employees Telework

According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, nearly two in five employed U.S. online adults work from home at least one day a month. The study, The Telework and the Technologies Enabling Work Outside Corporate Walls, also shows that most teleworkers plan to spend at least $925 over the next year on technology products to help them work from home.

More than 38 million employed U.S. online adults, or 37 percent of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least once a month. Employees say focusing on tasks without disruptions and running a business from home are the top reasons for teleworking. The top benefits include flexible hours, reduced travel time/costs and fewer disruptions/greater productivity. Ninety-eight percent of teleworkers use computer/IT technology, 90 percent use communication technologies and 75 percent use CE accessories.

The increasing number of teleworkers has benefits for the environment as well. CEA research has shown that a single day of telecommuting saves between 16 and 23-kilowatt hours of electricity or the equivalent of up to 12 hours of an average household's electricity use. One day of telework also eliminates the need for 1.4 gallons of gasoline and reduces CO2 emissions 17 to 23 kilograms. A worker with a one-way commute of 22 miles, commuting five days a week, will also save about 50% of the annual electricity consumption of the average household by working from home one day each week.

For more on the study's finding, check out the CEA press release.

Feds Offer Cyber Security Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

As part of this initiative, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a new site focused on the cybersecurity. OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and technology industry to help consumers be on guard against Internet fraud, secure their computers, and protect their personal information.

Topics include computer security, broadband Internet, identity theft, Internet auctions, email scams, and social networking sites. The site also offers a variety of practical tips and tools consumers can use to be safe online, including a glossary of Internet terms, and tutorial videos on topics like spam filtering and wireless security. There is even a game, The Case of the Cyber Criminal, that teaches tips on how to protect privacy online.

For more tips on cybersecurity, also check out StaySafeOnline.org.

Consumer Electronics Will Be Big This Holiday Season

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® says that finding from their recent research points to a holiday season where consumers plan to spend more on consumer electronics.

The CEA study found that four out of five adults (80 percent) plan on buying CE products this holiday, the highest results in the 16 years of the survey. Overall gift spending this holiday will increase four percent over last year despite a drop in overall holiday spending. They also found that consumers plan to spend an average of $222 on consumer electronics this holiday, a gain of eight percent over last year. Half of consumers (48 percent) also plan to buy a CE product for themselves this holiday.

Consumer electronics comprise four of the top 10 items on adults' holiday gift wish list, with computers and video games ranking two and three respectively behind clothes. Televisions and digital cameras also made the list. Several emerging technologies, such as Blu-ray players, eReaders and netbooks, are among the most wanted and hottest gifts this season. These products are in adults top ten CE wish list for the first time, joining mainstays such as notebooks, portable MP3 players and flat-panel TVs. Netbooks are another hot category, especially among teens, ranking in the top ten CE gift wish list of that age group for the first time.

What consumer electronics products are on your wishlist this year?

Half of American Homes Now Have an HDTV

A recent report released by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) shows that 53 percent of American homes now own a high-definition television set. HDTV ownership has spiked recently, as less than one quarter of U.S. households reported owning one of the advanced televisions just two years ago.

Interestingly, the reports also shows that only 69 percent of HDTV owners subscribe to high-definition service (up from 56 percent last year), meaning three out of ten HDTV owners aren’t getting the full HD experience.

Looking to get the most out of your HDTV? Check out WhiteFence to compare television offers from the top cable and satellite providers.

Whole Foods Buys A Whole Lot of Wind Energy Credits

While Whole Foods might have taken a hit with the media and some of its customers lately over the remarks of the company's CEO, it's still looking toward a greener grocery future. The company recently announced that it has finalized the largest purchase of renewable energy credits ever made by a U.S. retailer.

Whole Foods's 776 million-kilowatt-hour purchase from wind farms will be equal to 100 percent of the its electricity use in its North American locations, and nearly 90 percent of this year’s purchase is helping to fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ (EC&R) recently-completed Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm.

Nearly 90 percent of the renewable energy credits Whole Foods Market has purchased for 2009 came from a Big Spring, Texas-based wind farm, which is 50 miles east of Midland. The project is built and operated by EC&R North America, a renewable energy developer headquartered in Chicago, with development offices in Austin and Denver. The remaining RECs come from a number of different wind farms in locations across the U.S. and Canada.

“The Environmental Protection Agency commends Whole Foods Market for their continued commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing green power,” said Kathleen Hogan, director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at EPA. “As a partner in EPA’s Green Power Partnership, and by supporting renewable energy, Whole Foods Market is helping to move our nation into a clean energy future.”

The 2009 Whole Foods Market wind power purchase will help avoid up to 868 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution. This has an environmental benefit that’s similar to taking more than 72,000 cars off of the roads for a year, or planting nearly 3.6 million mature trees.

For more, check out the Whole Foods official blog.

Comcast, DISH Network and the NFL To Put Fans In The “NFL Redzone”

If you are an NFL football fan who felt like there just wasn't enough coverage last season, the NFL Network has good news for you. Comcast and DISH Network both announced recently that they plan to offer the network's “NFL RedZone” channel this season. (Comcast customers will have access as of its Sports Entertainment Package.)

"NFL RedZone" is hosted by Scott Hanson from the new state-of-the-art "NFL RedZone" studio at NFL Network's headquarters in Los Angeles and debuted this past Sunday.

Produced by the NFL Network, the channel will air every Sunday from 1:00 p.m. EST through late afternoon games providing live look-ins and real-time highlights for every NFL game that afternoon. Throughout the NFL football season, the channel will move from game to game providing live action each time a team is poised to score inside the 20-yard line. The channel will also have in-studio coverage to provide real-time scoring and fantasy updates to fans.

If you have Comcast cable service or DISH Network, surf over to redzonetv.nfl.com to see if you can get your red zone fix this season.

J.D. Power and Associates: Bright House Networks Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction

For the third consecutive year, Bright House Networks ranks highest in customer satisfaction among U.S. telephone service providers in the South according to the report recently released by J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Regional Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study.

Bright House highest ranking performance in the Residential Regional Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study was a result of highest scores in customer service, billing, performance and reliability, cost of service, billing, and offerings and promotions. The study was based on responses collected in July 2008 from more than 13,600 customers nationwide who receive their local and long distance telephone service from one provider.

J.D. Power and Associates reported that the 2008 study marks the second consecutive year that cable television providers have dominated the highest-ranking positions across all regions examined in the study. The study finds that overall satisfaction is higher among customers who bundle two or more services with one provider, compared with customers subscribing to phone service alone. Satisfaction among "double-play and triple-play customers"—those subscribing to some combination of telephone, cable and Internet service—is 25 index points higher than among those customers subscribing to just phone service.

Find Bright House Networks home phone plans and pricing available in your area.