Did Someone from Microsoft call you?

Wow, who knew that Microsoft has that kind of customer service? The truth is, they do not, it is a scam designed to separate you from your money. This is what is referred to as Social Engineering. (One aspect of Social Engineering is to take advantage of known human nature for the purpose of manipulating the marks (YOU) behavior. There are several variations of this scam but they are usually a variation of the following:

First, an email arrives in your inbox saying that there is a problem with your computer that requires immediate attention. These emails are ignored by most people and are just deleted. The sender of the email knows that the email will be deleted so why send it? Well, The second step of this low tech hack is to actually call the person. “Hello my name is John from Microsoft. We sent you an email earlier about a security issue with your computer. I can help you fix the problem. Please go to www.xxxxxxxxxx.com and I will walk you through the process” The process goes on for a couple of minutes and then they inform you that your computer is now fixed. Sounds great right?

Now what actually happened, First neither the email or the caller was from Microsoft nor any issues your computer may or may not have had is unknown by them. During the phone call with the fake Microsoft tech you granted him/her access to all of your passwords and financial information. At some point after the call you will be ripped off and most likely now have a malicious software infection on your computer that will allow remote access by the bad guys for future use.

More information and details about this scam can be found on the actual Microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

Do you know what else you are posting every time you put a picture online or in a message?

Your online pictures expose you to more than just what appears in the photo.  Almost all of today’s digital cameras and all smart phone cameras that we all use on a frequent basis actually contain more than just the photo that we can all see. Each of these pictures also contains “Meta Data”. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Metadata (metacontent) are defined as the data providing information about one or more aspects of the data, such as:

• Means of creation of the data
• Purpose of the data
• Time and date of creation
• Creator or author of the data
• Location on a computer network where the data were created
• Standards used
• Exact GPS location where photo was taken

So you may be saying so how does this affect me? Well it may or may not depend upon your actions. With this in mind knowing that a picture you post of yourself or others stating or suggesting that you are in one place when in reality you are not can be discovered by looking at the metadata. Even something as simple as posting pictures of your vacation or other trip while you are actually away from your home can often have negative consequences.

Posting a picture on the 21^st of June of your vacation or trip to the mall that has Meta data that shows the same date time and location of your trip lets those who would do you harm know for a fact that you are not home. With this knowledge it is now safe to rob your house.

The lesson here in protecting your privacy and security is to think mindfully before you ever post a picture online or send a picture via any digital means.

Brad Boynton