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Anti-Virus Software Trouble

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         Commenting, "Folks using the Avast! anti-virus software might be interested in reading this," Jim Hays attaches this, "An article posted on The Safe Mac website states, 'The security community is ablaze with news of Superfish being pre-installed on some Lenovo computers. The primary issue concerning experts is that Superfish replaced SSL certificates, used for ensuring secure connections on the internet, with its own certificates. It turns out that the same behavior is being exhibited by software that many people are inclined to trust: Avast’s anti-virus software!'
     Read all about it here: http://www.thesafemac.com/avasts-man-in-the-middle/#more-1829.

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YouTube Malware

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        Alert and aware! Keep reading . . . 
        "I occasionally will watch a video on YouTube, as you probably do too," says Jim Hamm.   "One thing to be aware of when watching YouTube (or visiting any website, for that matter) is the possibility of getting malware on your computer. Here is an article that gives some tips on avoiding malware on YouTube and websites in general.

        "One item of particular interest, and one which I hadn't heard of previously, is a program called 'Tubrosa.' Take a read on what this program does. The hackers are quite creative, it seems. To my way of thinking, 'Tubrosa' is malware."
        And there's more to know.  Jim Hamm goes on, "Here is another link with 7 common sense tips on avoiding malware. 
        "Also, if I get an email from someone I know and trust, and it has a link in it with no words of description of why my friend is sending this to me, I don't open it. Why? Occasionally an email address will get hijacked and the hacker will start sending out links for people to click and get a virus or other malware -- and they never offer any comments on why the email was sent out."  So, thanks again to Jim for notifying us.  
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Good-bye, Privacy

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        In an article dated February 17, 2015 the writer goes into detail about your latest lack of privacy in your home and in your car.  The site shows photocopied information from the various companies' “privacy policies.”  
        The companies discussed are: Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Xbox Kinect, Amazon Echo, GM’s Onstar, Chevrolet’s MyLink and PDRs, Google’s Waze, Hello’s Sense, and Hertz cameras in its rental cars. 
        Got one of these?  Did you read the fine print? 

        (You could also add Safari which lets you check "Block Cookies and Other Website Data ALWAYS."  And soon you'll find 30 cookies (and other website data) have been added and info collected from your computer via the Internet.)  Well, more or less . . . 

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Are You at Risk From This?

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        A very serious warning comes from John Carter.  "GIGAOAM, CNN Money, BBC News, and others have released a notice that there is a bug called 'Freak' that was found in software used to encrypt data passing between web servers and web users. 
        "Browsers so far noted to be affected are Safari, Google Chrome, and Windows Internet Explorer. Initially, the flaw was thought only to affect some users of Android and Blackberry phones and Apple’s web browser. For sure, every version of Internet Explorer is at risk.

        "What is at risk is personal and financial data open to attackers. This bug only allows attackers to capture data, but that includes passwords which then opens up the possibility of the attacker stealing all your money and your identity.
        "The horror part of the story is that this bug is the result of the government insisting on 'weak' encryption so that it could break in wherever it wanted."
        Of course you will want to read the full story yourself.  See  here, here and here.
        John closes with these final remarks, "It might be wise to limit Internet browsing using only Firefox until things settle down.  The news broke as early as March 4, 2015."
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Why Your Smartphone Records Everything You Say to It

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        A friend sent this to us, and it deserves our attention.  The article starts out, "After controversy earlier this month over televisions recording owners and sending the clips to third parties, smartphone owners are now discovering that companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft are also recording voice commands and storing them for up to two years."  This article from the UK dated 2-25-15 also declares, ". . . and you agreed to it via the terms and conditions."
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11434754/Why-your-smartphone-records-everything-you-say-to-it.html   and notice the comments that are posted.  

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Avoid IRS Phishing Scams

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  'Tis the season to be concerned about taxes, filing papers, paying.  An email purporting to be from the Urban Institute had links to open to change your password on tax forms.  Before you click to give anyone any such information see what the IRS has to say: IRS Completes the "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams for 2015  and see http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing  

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Cyber Vulnerabilities: Did You Know?

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        “Car Hacked on 60 Minutes” is the headline that shrieks to grab your attention when you click on this CBS news article forwarded by Jim Hamm.  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-hacked-on-60-minutes/   
        Quoting from this article,"In a dramatic demonstration, he (Dan Kaufman) and his colleagues use a laptop computer to hack into a car being driven by Stahl. Much to her surprise, they were able to take control of many of the car's functions, including the braking and acceleration."  Be sure to read the article.  
        Bringing this notice to us was the response of Jim Hamm when queried about another eye-grabbing article about the risks of using SmartTV.  
        Samsung notifies their customers “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.”
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Find Out More About Malvertising

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        According to Rahul Kashyap we'll be hearing a lot more about malvertising.  See http://www.wired.com/2014/11/malvertising-is-cybercriminals-latest-sweet-spot/   
        Third-party ads are "quietly displaying on these pages and sometimes burrowing into viewers' browsers and PCs before they even click anything," is how he describes it.   His short article in Bottom Line/Personal declares that malvertising has already invaded extremely popular sites including Amazon, Answers.com, Yahoo and YouTube. 
        Malvertising relies on a trusted destination to bring in a target for their attack.  Site operators often have no knowledge of malware on their own domain.  Cybercrime rings are brutally efficient and do not bother with unnecessary effort, cost and exposure.  

        Rahul Kashyap is Chief Security Architect and Head of Research at Bromium.  Part 2 of this series is already online.  Find info at bromium.com and be aware of the growing problem and what you can do to protect yourself.  
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Being Careful to Avoid Viruses

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        John Carter knows what he's talking about.  He writes, "In my experience, there are NO Mac viruses that Apple hasn’t taken care of, and that the only threats found anywhere are in some email message or in an application that is not blessed by Apple; in the latter case, it won’t be found in the App Store.

        "If you have downloaded and installed an app from the Internet, such as Firefox or Chrome, that app may contain something that Sophos doesn’t like the looks of and declare it as suspicious or a threat. However, if you get the app from the source (e.g., Mozilla or Google), then you should not have any problems with that app. However, avoid links that claim to be the source or that offers extra features."
        And John goes into detail in a report to be posted at the Prescott Mac User Group's website, www.pmug.us so you'll learn more about Sophos (www.sophos.com) and how to use it. 
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Internet Controversy

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Keeping us informed is David Passell's goal here.  He writes, "I think our members might want to add comments."  He refers to a government bill that would censor the Internet as part of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  For details look here.  Apparently, the bill would make it a felony to merely stream copyrighted content online like a video of someone singing karaoke, singing happy birthday, or even playing a video game.  

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Approach With Caution

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        David Passell suggests we approach with caution if you are offered a free credit score.  David points out that when you click on the red "Click here"  you are taken to a NOT FREE site where you have to establish an account and provide a lot of information.  The catch is if you do not call the given telephone number to cancel within seven days you'll be charged $29.95 per month.  
        "The pitch did not come to me by email.  It appeared when I signed into my BofA account to check my online banking.  I also got it at the top of my PayPal account."
        David called to cancel and a "heavily accented person who answered tried very hard to get me to get me not to cancel or at least keep it till the end of the year."  He emphatically told him to cancel and then got an email confirming the cancellation. 

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Flashlight App Alert

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     "If you've installed a flashlight app on your smartphone you might want to take a look at the following video," declares Jim Hamm.  He continues, "And here are the Android apps SnoopWall.com checked.  No apps listed for iOS as yet, but if you have a flashlight app installed on an iPhone you might check the size of the app, as mentioned in the video.  The cyber crooks are getting ever more devious in their malware." A Cybersecurity Threat That Could Be Lurking On Your Phone