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

Even With DVR, Many Still Watch Commercials

I like to consider myself one of the kings of DVR. I have heard a few people say that they avoid DVR because they thought it would make them spend more time watching TV. Honestly, I think it's cut down on my time in front of the tube, mainly because I'm able to get on and speed through the commercials or material I don't want to see. With sports especially, you can use the fast-forward function to skip timeouts, officiating breaks, foul shots and more. In fact, my brother hates watching sports with me because of how much of the game I fly through.

With all of that in mind, it was especially surprising for me to hear a startling statistic out of The Atlantic today: 46% of people don't skip commercials with DVR. Say what? Apparently, regardless of whether or not they can skip ads, many viewers still consider TV watching to be a passive activity. I mean, I'm all for hanging out and relaxing on the couch, but surely pressing the fast-forward button isn't kicking the interactivity up too much?

As DVR gained ground over the last few years, it seemed to spell doom for the television network advertising model, but this goes against that idea. I'd be curious to find out what commercials people are stopping for, or if people are  using the time during commercials to take care of other tasks while they watch their program. What about you guys, do you skip commercials or watch them with DVR?

Source- The Atlantic

Happy Birthday to the Internet

The Internet turns 40 years old today. It's all grown up. Who knew?

On October 29th, 1969, "the first two nodes of ARPANET were interconnected between UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and SRI International (SRI) in Menlo Park, California". I suppose the rest is history. Eventually came the now-dead Geocities, broadband, file sharing, social media, pictures of cats and Kanye West memes.

It really is hard to imagine life without the crazy World Wide Web these days. It's just as ordinary as turning the lights on or cranking the heat during the winter. We use the Internet on our phones, personal computers and our video game consoles and expect to be able to do so without a wait or a series of crazy dial-up noises.

I think my first encounter with the Internet was around 1993 or so. My friend was on AOL I believe, and we would log into chat rooms after school and make fun of people. Looking around at message boards these days, I suppose that really not that much has changed. So what about you guys? What was your first encounter with the Internet?

Source- Mashable

Get Smart and Go Green Sweepstakes

For those of you who have to deal with a long commute to work, you know the awful pain of going to the gas pump and re-filling every week. If you don't have a fuel efficient vehicle, constantly stopping and paying for gas can be both tedious and expensive. Well, if you've been looking to get smart and go green with your vehicle, now might be the perfect time for you.

Green Mountain Energy Company and smart center Dallas and Fort Worth are teaming up to give Texas residents a chance to win a smart fortwo Passion coupe, valued at $16,235 before tax, title and license.The smart fortwo is one of the greenest and most fuel efficient cars that money can buy, pulling in around 41 miles per gallon on the highway. It also emits up to 50 percent less polluting emissions than average 2009 model vehicles. This is certainly a fitting give away for Green Mountain Energy Company, Texas' only electricity provider dedicated to cleaner energy.

Registering to win the smart fortwo is a piece of cake. Simply enter online or visit any number of Green Mountain Energy Company events. You need to get in fast though, because the give away ends on December 14, 2009. To enter the 2009 Sweepstakes, visit Green Mountain Energy Company. If you want to know more about the guidelines, check out the contest's official rules.

Making a Greener Halloween

Like most U.S. big ticket days, it's hard to avoid Halloween. Seeing as how stores start lining up the orange party decorations as early as July 5th, it's obvious that October 31st is a big event for many shoppers. To be honest, I've never been one to dress up much myself, but that doesn't stop me from buying candy like Willy Wonka. Or looking at pictures of robot pumpkins.

Given the amount of consumption around Halloween, it makes you wonder just how much of what goes on is environmentally friendly. Luckily for the eco-minded, we have Green Halloween. Not only does Green Halloween like capitalizing on clever rhyming conventions, they also give great tips about how to make Halloween less harmful to the environment. Their blog has tons of great tips including party activities, masks and even costumes for the kids.

To read more about how to be green this October, visit Green Halloween.

AT&T Launches New Entertainment Site

Last week, AT&T announced the launch of AT&T Entertainment, a new site that offers streaming TV shows and movies to watch on your PC. The online content is provided by numerous providers including ABC and NBC Universal (via an agreement with Hulu), CBS Interactive and others. The site is open to any user, not just AT&T high speed Internet customers.

Content will include movies and TV shows (available after their initial network airing) from a variety of networks and studios, including ABC, Bravo, CBS Entertainment, CBS News, CNBC, NBC, Oxygen, Syfy, The CW, and USA Network. The site allows users to brows TV shows and movies alphabetically, by genre, or by network or studio.

AT&T U-verse TV and Internet customers who visit AT&T Entertainment can sign in to access U-verse Web Remote Access, a popular application that allows customers to schedule and manage DVR recordings directly from their PC.

To start watching, visit www.entertainment.att.net.

The Green Driving App

Have you ever wondered about how your driving affects your fuel efficiency? Sure, we all know that the car we drive has a lot to do with the gas we get for our buck, but we don't always consider if our driving habits are helping or hurting us at the pump. For instance, do we brake too hard, turn too sharply or accelerate too quickly, and how much is it costing?

Well, Wired has posted about a new program for drivers that are looking to be more fuel conscientious, called I Drive Green. I Drive Green is actually "a three-part strategy that combines classroom training with a software app and real-time feedback via Skype to make you a greener driver". Put together by two racers, the program has a video game-like training session which teaches you about your bad driving habits and how you can score better on your commute. And apparently, they are having much success at lowering people's overall CO2 output.

In addition to these workshops, users also have access to a software app that functions alongside a GPS tracker to monitor your actual driving to see how fuel efficient you are on a day-to-day basis. It even gives suggestions on how to fix your mistakes. To find out more about this green driving workshop, visit Wired and I Drive Green.

Introducing: The Energy Allowance

One of my best summers as a kid was the year that I started getting an allowance. Sure, it was only a few bucks a week, but suddenly having some money to spend on candy, soda and comic books was like a whole new world for me. Obviously, I had to work to get the money, but it was life-changing at the time to receive it, even if it meant doing chores.

Apparently, there is a way to give kids an allowance and teach them about active energy efficiency. Energy Circle is offering a way for you to provide the kids with a monthly allowance based on how much energy they help the family save around the house. It provides some easy-to-use tools for parents, so that kids can monitor their monthly progress and help save on the electricity bill. After that, they share in a percentage of the savings.

This seems like a win-win situation for parents out there. Not only does it teach kids about energy efficiency, it gives them a way to participate in it and see the benefits in a tangible way. To read more, be sure to visit EnergyCircle.

Scientists Develop Synthetic Carbon-Capturing Trees

Ever see a decorative fake tree and wonder what its purpose was? Sure, it makes the hotel lobby seem a little more lively I suppose, but in the end, it doesn't contribute to the environment in the way a living tree does. Or even a synthetic super tree, apparently.

According to PhysOrg, scientists have developed a tree that traps carbon dioxide from the air, much like real trees. However, these synthetic trees capture carbon dioxide at a rate roughly 1,000 times that of a normal tree. The synthetic tree "could absorb one ton of carbon dioxide per day, an amount equivalent to that produced by about 20 cars, on average".

Oddly enough, they actually don't look like trees, but small buildings. While planting real trees is clearly the better route to go, these synthetic trees seem like they could be an alternative for crowded city spaces with high carbon dioxide emissions and no landscape for planting. Unfortunately, they cost about $30,000, so one wonders if we'll be seeing them any time soon.

To read more about the synthetic trees, visit PhysOrg.

YouTube to Change Focus

Looks like YouTube feels they've mastered the short-form content market and now they want to go head-to-head with Hulu in the long-format arena. It makes sense for YouTube to grow as a company and right now there is money in long-format content.

Also, as an audience, we are very finicky and our attention will always be drawn to something new and shiney. So as YouTube gives us yet another reason to go to their site, lets just hope it is as entertaining as their current content. 

To read more on the new focus at YouTube, hop over to Broadcasting and Cable.