Most of us get a lot of Spam and Phishing E-Mails delivered to our E-Mail, but if you are to ask to spot the difference between a legitimate e-mail and a phishing scam sitting in your in-box? Then according to sonicwall most of the internet users won’t be able to spot the difference. To help internet users sonicwall has a free online test for Phishing and Spam IQ questions. sonicwall offers a series of E-Mails asking users to identify them as Phishing, Legitimate or No Answer.

Read more…

It’s not a computer security expert protect your company’s network it’s the awareness regarding the online threats in your organization will protect your organization’s network. Awareness of key threats will enable you to employ practices and behaviors that limit your company’s risk. Lets have a closer look into major online threats for your business.

Spam: E-mail spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail," is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail. A common synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE). Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. Opening spam E-Mails can put viruses, Warn and other malicious code into your computer system and make your computer system more vulnerable for computer attacks. vulnerabilities came form spam’s can be capable of disabling your corporate network or steal important corporate, employee data from your computer system. Distributing spam should also be a concern for you.

Sabotage by an employee: A knowledgeable employee can easily put a malicious program on your network. It then could be used to steal information that the employee could not otherwise access. No one should have sole access to any area of your network. You should keep an eye on things, too. If your antivirus software is not working properly, you may have an internal problem. Same goes for firewall failures. You should have more than one person who is familiar with the network, in addition to yourself. This is similar to accounting controls, where no one person can access the money. Two employees should be watching things. You should be watching, too.

Virus: A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. viruses can be classified into four major categories File Infectors,System or boot-record infectors, Macro viruses and multi-part viruses. Viruses and worms will slow down your computer system’s performance and reduce productivity.  At their worst, viruses and worms can enable hackers to steal valuable corporate, customer or employee information, increase Spam, delete files or crash your entire computer system. viruses and worms are some of the most preventable threats that your company will face. Employing simple majors prevent organizations from viruses and worms.

Phishing: Phishing is online identity theft in which confidential information is obtained from an individual. It is distinguished from offline identity theft such as card skimming and “dumpster diving,” as well as from large-scale data compromises in which information about many individuals is obtained at once. Phishers accomplish their scams in following way

• Fraudulent Emails

• Keystroke Programs

• Web Site Hijacking

Phishers can replicate your logo and other identifiable characteristics to trick consumers.  Any attack using your brand can damage your corporate reputation, cost you money and drive away customers. Key steps to reduce the risk of a phishing attack include:

• Monitor or Register Sites with Similar Spelling To Yours
• Prepare.  Phishers often leave a trail of evidence so be prepared to identify the clues that a phishing attack is in its early stages:
  • Provide your customers with an email address that allows them to validate that an email they receive with your logo, etc. is really from you.
  • Monitor returned email messages as phishers often may hijack your email address to send bulk emails.
  • Log your customer service calls and check for spikes in certain types of complaints such as a password inquiries and changes.
  • Check for unusual customer account activity that has large volumes of logins, password changes, purchases, withdrawals, etc.
  • Regularly search the Internet for use of your corporate logos.

Source :

antiphishing.org

Google teamed up with AARP to launch a new video series that provides AARP members with helpful, easy-to-understand tips on how to stay safe online. It includes pointers on how to set privacy controls in online photo-sharing sites, configure firewalls to protect your computer, select safe and secure passwords for your online accounts, shop safely online, and avoid phishing scams.

Safe Starts

Practicing password safety

Sharing your content safely online

Know what’s posted about you online

Shopping safely online

Avoid phishing scams

Microsoft warning its Windows Live Hotmail users about the latest phishing scam. Attackers are sending E-Mail messages to Windows Live Hotmail user asking them to verify their E-Mail accounts and asking Their User Name, Password, Date of Birth and their Country. The Message looks like this.

From: @hotmail.com
Subject: Hotmail Warning (Verify Your Hotmail Account now To Avoid It Closed)‏‏
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:28:54 +0000

Dear Account User

This Email is from Hotmail Customer Care and we are sending it to every Hotmail Email User Accounts Owner for safety. we are having congestions due to the anonymous registration of Hotmail accounts so we are shutting down some Hotmail accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. We are sending you this email to so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account. If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name, password, date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account.
Due to the congestion in all Hotmail users and removal of all unused Hotmail Accounts, Hotmail would be shutting down all unused Accounts, You will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

* Username: …………………………

* Password: …………………………..

* Date of Birth: ……………………….

* Country Or Territory: …………….

After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences.
Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Hotmail

As Microsoft warning its Windows Live Hotmail users about this scam but i have not get any such mail till the writing of this post.

What Microsoft say about this mail

Hey Folks,

Please be aware that a new phish message is being sent stating that it is from the Hotmail team.  This is not a legitimate mail and you should not respond.

Remember, we will never ask you to verify your account in this manner.

Source : Windows Live Hotmail Technical Support Blog