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Most of
us would readily accept that not everything you read
in a newspaper is true. So if this accusation can be
made so freely about Fleet Street’s finest, how much
more sceptical should we be of the things we read in
emails?
Every day, users are falling foul to virus hoaxes,
phishing attacks and scareware but contrary to the
popular notion, these are not always penned by
brilliant yet misguided young software programmers.
Sometimes, these scams are simply the work of
convincing liars.
Virus Hoaxes
A computer virus hoax is a false email message which
is often presented in the form of advice to the
recipient on a dangerous virus that is doing the
rounds. The message usually takes the form of a
chain email, asking the recipient to forward it to
everybody in their address book to prevent something
terrible happening. Although many virus hoaxes are
quite harmless, some include instructions urging the
user to delete legitimate system files which it
claims to be viruses. Of course, if a user should
follow these instructions, his system would suffer
as a consequence.
Ensure you and your colleagues remain alert to this
kind of hoax message. If your are concerned about
the credibility of an email always consult somebody
who knows more than you about computer viruses.
Avoid the temptation of believing something to be
true simply because it is written down in an email
from somebody you know.
Phishing
This fraudulent process of attempting to acquire
sensitive information such as usernames, passwords
and credit card details by masquerading as a
trustworthy sender has received a lot of media
coverage in recent years. Communications claim to
originate from popular social websites (Youtube,
Facebook, Myspace), banks or auction sites such as
eBay. Once again, these scams are based on untruths
and rely on the recipient putting his trust in an
email he has often received quite by chance.
A reputable Internet security solution will
intercept the majority of phishing attempts but some
can still filter through to your Inbox. So remain
vigilant and show scepticism at all times. Question
the motive behind a request for personal information
and do not hesitate to contact the sender of the
message by telephone to verify the validity of such
messages.
Scareware
The term ‘scareware’ encompasses various types of
software that are sold or distributed to users using
unethical marketing practices (sadly, more lies).
The selling approach is designed to cause shock or
anxiety, such as an "email notification" sent from a
supplier you do not recognise, which warns that a
virus has been detected on your system.
If you react to these messages, please beware that
the website the email links to will probably be
designed to compromise your computer system in some
way. Once again, the watchword is 'scepticism'.
As someone once said, "there are lies, damned lies
and potential Internet security breaches."
Further
reading on scareware:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2008/12/10/video-of-a-fake-anti-virus-attack/
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2008/12/10/malicious-porn-spammers-lead-to-malware/
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