Posts tagged Phishing at Download Squad

Posts with tag phishing

Firefox add-on stops accidental MySpace encounters: it's actually useful!

Posted Jun 9th 2008 12:00PM by Danny Mendez
Filed under: Fun, Internet, Security, Mozilla, Freeware, Browser Tips, web 2.0

Have you ever accidentally visited MySpace? Yeah, we probably have too, though, it was never a noticeable problem. In fact, we can't even remember it happening, but it seems like it has to have happened... right?

Well, this Firefox add-on promises to detect MySpace in Firefox, and provide a pop-up menu to stop unsuspecting web-browsers from hitting up the social network. The plug-in is obviously a joke, but we found a great use for it anyway -- avoiding phishing.

It's called AmIOnMySpace.com? and it can be used to detect the real MySpace site. If for any reason the message doesn't pop-up upon first visiting the social network, you're not on the real site. The biggest problem with using this as a way of avoiding phishing sites is that it doesn't alert users when leaving MySpace, so it's still possible to get attacked from within.

[via Digg]

Senate to outlaw phishing (again) while stripping away domain privacy

Posted Feb 27th 2008 5:00PM by Romeo Wahed
Filed under: Internet, Security

Despite the fact that phishing is already illegal, some senators felt that it needed to be made a little more illegal. A bill (PDF) introduced by three senators including, of "series of tubes" fame, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, seeks to outlaw phishing all over again, as well as make it illegal for people to mask or hide their private information if they own domain names.

Specifically, if the bill passes, any domain that is used for any "commercial activity" must have the correct contact information available of the owner. So, technically, this could mean that even an anonymous blog running ads to pay for its servers, could potentially be at risk of breaking the law if they don't cough up the information.

Besides the fact that this is almost no different than trying to introduce a new bill that will fine people for speeding on the road, this bill appears to be a self-serving tool so that someone can say that they tried to crack down on phishing and Internet fraud and add that they have fought the good fight. Way to look out for the people.

Or maybe we're wrong, and doubling up legislation to make extra sure that it is illegal is a good idea - especially while stripping away more layers of privacy.

[via Techdirt]

Six steps to securing your computer, or your family's

Posted Jul 27th 2007 12:00AM by Grant Robertson
Filed under: Security

Face it, as a geek you get asked all the time to fix this, or reload that. We're always looking for ways to streamline that process, educate our family or friends and leave more time for ourselves to ~~play World of Warcraft~~ read.

Michael Wales put together an excellent 6 step security briefing that even your mom can understand. Covering the basics like Phishing, Antivirus, Automatic Updates and Spyware, it's sure to clear up some of the glassy-eyed looks you get when you try and explain how those pop-ups keep appearing.

Twenty years for a phisher

Posted Jan 17th 2007 8:00AM by Chris Gilmer
Filed under: Internet, Security

What's better than spam? How about seeing a man found guilty of operating a phishing scheme face 101 years in prison? A 45 year old man in California was recently found guilty of posing as AOL's billing department and tricking people into giving him their credit card information, by using hacked Earthlink accounts and fraudulent web pages. Under the glorious Can-Spam Act, this guy has been convicted on multiple counts including wire fraud, and misuse of AOL trademark. So if you have noticed a little decrease in the amount of spam in your inbox, most likely it stems from cases like this. The government taking spam issues extremely seriously and laying down the law, it seems as though fewer and fewer spammers and phishers are in operation. Look out for final sentencing information that will be announced on June 11th for this case.

Phishing's new target: MySpace

Posted Oct 30th 2006 12:06PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Security, Web services, Social Software

Thought phishing was just a problem for banks and PayPal, did you? Well, it's entered a new territory: MySpace. And it's got some new tricks up its sleeve. MySpace's iconic Tom Anderson has made a post describing the new attacks that con users into divulging their MySpace username and password. What's interesting about the attacks is that, unlike most phishing sites that must exist on a site other than the official site and whose fake URLs need a keen eye to be identified), these exploit MySpace's customization features to make an ordinary profile at profile.myspace.com look exactly like the official login page. You can see a screenshot of one such phishing profile here. You'll notice that the URL begins with profile.myspace.com rather than the legitimate login.myspace.com, but the page is otherwise indistinguishable from an ordinary MySpace login prompt.

So what are evil phishers using those passwords it collects for? Spamming, of course. Once a phisher has a user's login info they use them to post spam comments and send spam bulletins to that user's friends. How original.

Anderson's advice to MySpace users is that whenever they see a login form they should go to www.myspace.com instead of entering their username and password, which is, in my opinion, no solution at all. It just compounds MySpace's already-jarring interface problems. By allowing arbitrary CSS in MySpace profiles, MySpace has created a huge problem for itself that's going to take a very creative solution.

PhishTank: Open phishing site database

Posted Oct 2nd 2006 7:00PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Internet, Security, E-mail, Web services

This week the folks behind OpenDNS launched PhishTank, a new database for tracking and defending against phishing sites. It's a pretty slick-looking site that allows you to submit suspected phishing sites, verify (or not) sites that other people have submitted. What really sets PhishTank apart, though, is that the database is totally open via a free API. This is intended to allow developers to build anti-phishing tools into their own programs and web apps at no cost. I've really been enjoying OpenDNS over the past few months, so I hope PhishTank will become as mature and useful.

[Via Paul Stamatiou]

Phishing, fighting it, and Netcraft's toolbar

Posted Sep 21st 2006 11:10AM by Ryan Carter
Filed under: Internet, Security

Brian Krebs of the Washington Post writes about how Banks and other financial institutions are stopping phishers by disallowing the use of their logo and website images via a white-listing technology for outgoing image links. This forces phishers to actually do some work if they want to duplicate the website, since the bank swaps the real images with a fraud warning image. The phishing site thinks it has displayed the image, but it has been duped into using an image that alerts consumers not to use the site. Pretty smart of banks, don't you think? Brian also mentions Netcraft's anti-phishing toolbar, and its near-flawless detection of phishing sites. Personally, I haven't used it, but wanted to see if you had heard of it, and if it is any good. Brian seems to think so.

IE7 vs. Firefox 2: Which is more secure?

Posted Aug 4th 2006 6:30PM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows

Both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7, both in beta, are being positioned by their makers as the most secure web browsers for Windows, but which is really the best? ZDNet's Ed Bott has written an in-depth comparison of the two browsers' security features, which covers not only code vulnerabilities, but phishing and malware as well. Bott doesn't indicate a clear winner, instead concluding that "Both IE7 and Firefox 2 add extra layers of protection and provide additional information to users to help them make intelligent decisions. In the final analysis, though, no browser can force a user to make smart or sane decisions. They can only point the right way." The article, which includes a big screenshot gallery of the browsers' screenshot features, is definitely worth a read if you're following this second round of the browser war, of if you're just trying to figure out what browser to recommend to your mom (mine uses Firefox).

OpenDNS: Teaching the DNS dog new tricks

Posted Jul 19th 2006 11:00AM by Jordan Running
Filed under: Internet, Web services, Freeware

Every one of use uses DNS every time we connect to the internet, yet it's been decades since anyone has made any improvements to the end-user experience. In case you're scratching your head (or saying, "DNS? Isn't that the thing that happens when Internet Explorer can't connect?"), DNS is the system that, among other things, translates the addresses you type into your browser into the IP numbers that let your computer to connect to web (or e-mail, or IM, etc.) servers. So how can such a basic service be improved for the end-user? Direct your gaze toward OpenDNS, which adds some features to DNS that immediately make the lives of users easier. In particular, it adds phishing protection and address spell-checking to every web site request your browser makes, without you having to install any software. All you have to do is configure your browser or OS to point to OpenDNS' DNS servers, and the next time an email points you to a phishing site, OpenDNS will block it, and the next time you accidentally type downloadsquad.cmo, OpenDNS will automatically direct you to .com. On top of that, OpenDNS claims to be faster than other DNS servers. On top of that, you can configure which features you want to use (e.g. if you don't want phishing protection, turn it off) without even registering. It's also totally free to use--OpenDNS makes money by placing advertisements on those typo pages. WordPress developer Matt Mullenweg wrote a mini-review of the service and says it's "a great idea, well-executed" and "invisible in all the right ways." I'm sold.

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Brad Linder	119	14
2	Joey Celis	47	0
3	Jay Hathaway	46	16
4	Drew Olanoff	30	25
5	Christina Warren	15	4
6	Kristin Shoemaker	14	12
7	Lee Mathews	14	19
8	Nancy Messieh	6	0
9	Emily Price	5	0
10	Danny Mendez	5	3
11	Alan Silcott	4	7
12	Todd Ritter	4	0
13	Adam Maras	4	1
14	Ian Dumych	3	1
15	Jason Clarke	3	0
16	Dolores Parker	2	6
17	Patrick Beeson	2	5
18	Nik Fletcher	2	0
19	Gordon Finlayson	2	0
20	Victor Agreda, Jr.	1	2

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the debut trailer PS Fanboy Week in Review: 6/30 - 7/6 Brawl on the go with homebrew Super Smash Bros. Rumble	Flickr Find: Macintosh on Nintendo DS Ask TUAW: rEFIt with Open Firmware passwords, iCal problems, iPod without iTunes, and more Beefing up your Phishing net
Facebook for Palm released, gives Centro users something to show off Truecrypt Updates to v6, Hides Your Subversive Plots Even Better! FormatFactory Kicks Media Conversion Ass and Takes Names	Spy Shots: 2010 Buick LaCrosse spotted in the wild Chrysler and Great Wall to share technology, distribution Lutz chimes in on the Chevy Beat
iRobot (still) working on lawn-mowing Roomba? New report says SSDs are, in fact, more efficient Study says more than 10,000 laptops go missing at US airports each week	Sony's Hancock wins holiday race Sunday Funnies: Business should have NBA type salary cap Las Vegas takes its lumps over the holiday weekend

Firefox add-on stops accidental MySpace encounters: it's actually useful!

Senate to outlaw phishing (again) while stripping away domain privacy

Six steps to securing your computer, or your family's

Twenty years for a phisher

Phishing's new target: MySpace

PhishTank: Open phishing site database

Phishing, fighting it, and Netcraft's toolbar

IE7 vs. Firefox 2: Which is more secure?

OpenDNS: Teaching the DNS dog new tricks

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