Fake LinkedIn Emails

Mark Berry February 6, 2012

Today’s suspicious emails supposedly come from LinkedIn. They look authentic, but the links actually take you away to bogus and potentially malicious web sites.

New FedEx Virus Email

Mark Berry January 28, 2012

Back in November, I wrote about an airline ticket virus email. Now it’s FedEx:  today I received this email supposedly from FedEx with a zip file attachment:

If you open the zip file to see the “invoice,” you’ll see what looks like a a PDF file:

However if you go to Windows Explorer and uncheck “Hide extensions of known file types,” you’ll see that it is actually an executable file:

Don’t run it! That means don’t double-click on it to “open” it. It’s got to be a virus.

Another clue:  the subject line refers to USPS but the body refers to FedEx.

This virus bypassed the VIPRE anti-virus on my computer. www.virustotal.com shows that only 2 of 43 engines currently recognize it as a virus.

As usual:  if you don’t recognize the sender, or are not expecting the email, don’t open the attachment! In fact, I’d say just don’t open attachments from anyone unless you personally know the sender (e.g. a friend or colleague) and you are expecting them to send you a file. Big companies are not just not sending email with attachments.

New Airline Ticket Virus Email

Mark Berry November 3, 2011

Today I received an email supposedly from American Airlines with an Zip file attachment:

If you open the zip file, you’ll see what looks like a Word document:

However if you go to Windows Explorer and uncheck “Hide extensions of known file types,” you’ll see that it is actually an executable file:

Don’t run it! That means don’t double-click on it to “open” it. It’s got to be a virus.

The scary thing is that this virus was delivered directly to my Outlook inbox. It got past Forefront security on Office 365, and my up-to-date VIPRE anti-virus does not flag it as a virus. When I submitted it to www.virustotal.com, only 1 of 42 engines currently recognized it as a virus.

As usual:  if you don’t recognize the sender, or are not expecting the email, don’t open the attachment!

Update January 16 and 19, 2012:  Several people have asked how to remove this virus, the main effect of which is apparently to hide (but not delete) files on your computer. Thanks to the several posters who have offered suggestions. For example, see these comments below:

• December 16, 2011 – Susan Green
• December 16, 2011 – Michael
• January 6, 2012 – Teresa
• January 16, 2012 – Shea
• January 19, 2012 – Bob
• January 19, 2012 – Mark

Use these procedures at your own risk! If you’re not comfortable with the procedures and especially if you don’t have a good backup of your files, find a professional to help.

“We Are Going to Sue You” Virus Spam

Mark Berry September 26, 2011

A new spam email warns that you will be sued—for sending spam! Don’t worry about being sued, but do worry about opening the attachment that purports to be a scanned document. It’s actually a known virus. The email contains at least one language error, but it’s one that is easy to miss. More info on the websense blog.

Free Laptop Anti-Theft Tracking

Mark Berry September 5, 2011

This is pretty cool:  preyproject.com.

You install a small piece of software on your laptop or phone. If you lose the device, log in to the Prey web site and change the device’s status to Missing. The software will capture a screen shot, webcam shot, geographical location (using GPS or WiFi triangulation), and a bunch of system and network info. You can even sound a loud siren through the speakers if you think the device is nearby. I tested it on a laptop and it geo-located it within one house!

Up to three devices are free; Pro plans are available. Works with Windows, Mac, and Android.

I read about Prey in the article 4 simple steps to bulletproof laptop security. Besides, theft and loss recovery, the article also describes strong passwords, fingerprint readers, and full-disk encryption, all of which I’m already using.

Contact MCB Systems if you’d like to beef up laptop security in your environment.

Anatomy of a Hacked Web Site

Mark Berry June 15, 2011

Today I visited www.dmachoice.org, the web site of the Direct Marketing Association, intending to update my opt-out preferences. I was surprised when one of the pages took me off their site to a third-party page. When it happened a second time, I started looking for signs that the site had been hacked.

Cyberheist Not the Bank’s Problem

Mark Berry June 14, 2011

I’ve recently become aware of a legal case where a company lost a huge amount of money due to a computer virus. Hackers used the virus to steal the company’s online banking password, then proceeded to transfer out over half a million dollars. When the account was empty, the bank advanced over $200K of the company’s line of credit.

The Next Scam: Tech Support Calls You

Mark Berry May 19, 2011

A user contacted me yesterday telling me, “I just got a weird call from someone with an Indian accent saying his company had been getting error messages and they wanted me to go on the computer and have a technician walk me thru steps.” She did exactly the right thing:  “I refused and hung up.” But what is behind this scam? What are they trying to achieve?