The IT Nerd

You might have noticed that every time that something bad in the world there seems to be spam that is directly related to it. That’s because those who wish to do bad things to people leverage these events to profit from them. AVG has seen this trend and their Web Threats Research Team examines the motives, methods and impact of such spam in a report that was published today.

The report points out that once a victim has clicked on a malicious link, the spammer’s malicious code will try to do one or both of the following:

• Secretly add your machine as a botnet ‘node’ – allowing the spammer to use it and its Internet connection to serve his or her future illicit plans;
• Steal personal and financial information, or lock your computer using ‘ransomware’.

The report goes on to briefly explain what a botnet is, and then describes the spam that followed the Boston Marathon Bombings and the Waco explosion. Lastly, it offers three golden rules to follow to help people avoid becoming victims of spam.

This report is worth a read as it is very easy to become a victim of one of these scams if you’re not careful.

Technology helps us in a number of ways. But here’s something that perhaps I should have expected, but I didn’t see coming. A global survey by AVG has found them changing ways women are using technology to form and manage their relationships.

Here’s some examples:

• 35 per cent of women now use social media channels to check out dates ahead of time, prioritizing pictures followed by common friends and finally interests and comments.
• 50 per cent of those questioned either have or would break up with a significant other on the phone and more than a quarter have or would do so via text message.
• 61 per cent had cancelled dates based on information they’d discovered on social media channels.

There’s a lot more here that looks at women in different countries and different age ranges do with technology. It’s worth a read for everyone, but for guys who are in the dating pool, you might want to pay attention.

A press release hit my inbox announcing that AVG Technologies has acquired PrivacyChoice. What PrivacyChoice does is help people around the world take control of their privacy through web and browser-based tools. Here’s some more details:

PrivacyChoice provides both B2C and B2B tools, of which the flagship is the consumer-based web application, Privacyfix. Aimed at addressing web users’ privacy concerns, Privacyfix is an award-winning browser plugin that allows users to manage their privacy settings across Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and thousands of other websites. Web users can do this from a single personalized dashboard, on which they can see which companies are tracking them online, which websites may share personal information, and which have experienced data breaches in the past.

Here’s what AVG had to say about this deal:

“Our two companies share a vision of empowering consumers to manage their personal information and preferences as they live out their lives online. This is key part of our commitment to delivering privacy, protection and performance software solutions across multiple platforms and devices,” mentioned John Giamatteo, Chief Operating Officer of AVG Technologies. “We believe in allowing consumers to take control of their online privacy and this acquisition is a perfect demonstration of the active steps we are taking to support this vision.”

That’s a good fit for AVG as they’re all about protecting people. I rate this acquisition a win.

AVG recently did a survey of US and Canadian moms  that explored mobile device and Internet use with their children. Here are the results:

AVG’s survey found that 71% of North American moms frequently share their devices with their children to help keep them occupied, and 41% of moms are educating their kids on mobile threats and scams – such as fake app stores, hijacked wireless networks, virus-infected ads and SMS phishing.

The survey revealed that 68% of mothers do not currently use any child safety measures on their mobile devices. In more than half of the cases of mothers who found inappropriate content on devices their children use, the material was pornographic or sex-related

To help mobile moms in this regard, AVG has some tips:

1.    Relax: you’re in the majority: most moms give kids access to their mobile devices;

2.    Educate kids on online/mobile scams and threats;

3.    Control content with onboard software;

4.    Recognize there’s more to childhood than cyberspace – and consider limiting the time kids spend online. Currently, only 37% of North American mothers say they are doing so;

5.    Talk to kids on your own terms about sex – and make sure they feel safe coming to you or another adult for perspective should they encounter content they do not understand.

For what it’s worth, I think these apply to dads too.

🙂

Thinking of using a hack in for the online game of your choice to get an unfair advantage? Think again. You might just be inviting trouble because these hacks are often infected with marware according to anti-virus company AVG:

The April AVG Insight reveals how the AVG Viruslab Research Group has identified that more than 90% of all unauthorized ‘hacks’ for major computer games are infected with malware. These hacks take many forms, including cheats, patches and ‘keygens’ that enable use of pirated games, but all are designed to appeal to players looking to either accelerate their in-game process or get something for free. However, while the hacks may appear attractive at first glance, most are created by cybercriminals looking to pry, disrupt or steal.

That’s a big incentive to play fair. Need to read more? Take a look at the AVG Insight Report here.