…and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys. —Douglas Adams

photo by Olivander

One of my coworkers sent me an email today, and asked my opinion about the following;

My computer guys (A Plus Computer Service) called me this morning to report an issue with our home basement computer.  Bob (husband) had brought it in to be fixed.  They said we had picked up the newest most dangerous virus and it was going to take quite a bit to fix it.  This type of virus has been around for awhile but this was the newest version of it and it recycles around your computer and you cannot get rid of it and it eventually shuts down your windows system.

He recommended I tell as many people as possible about this new virus.

If at ANYTIME a popup window comes on your screen and says something like” “Warning, you have been infected with 230+ viruses, spyware or Trojans”.  DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ON YOUR SCREEN!!!  Do NOT try to close the window, do NOT click on anything!!  NOT even the red “X”.  Simply hit the power button and shut off your computer.

If you click on anything in that window it will infect your computer.  Again, DO NOT CLICK ON ANY PART OF THAT “AD WINDOW”

Once computer is shut down or restarted, scan your computer with Malwarbytes and then Microsoft Security Essentials.  Both are free programs.

I honestly thought I had our computers in the house well protected however this new threat is even more sneaky.  My guess is a window popped up and our 9 year old tried to close it out with the “red X”

IS IT A HOAX?

My first thought when I receive items like this, is that it’s a hoax. These things tend to float around, and they feed on hysteria. You may also remember the “pay to use Facebook” hoax? Same thing.

Usually, you can simply take some of the unique text, and paste it into the search engine at Snopes.com or into Google, and there will be something written on it. Most of them are hoaxes.

This particular email though, I couldn’t find anything on it. Believe it or not, NOT finding anything tends to lend a bit of credibility to it.

IT IS A HOAX, BUT IN A DIFFERENT WAY

So, let’s assume it’s not a hoax. Virii like this are called “ransomware”. That means that they take control of your pc, and then demand money to release it. Usually, this takes the form of “Buy our antivirus software for $59.99, and it will remove the virus that’s just attacked you.” True ransomware is rare, though.

Most often, there simply is no virus. The window that pops up looks like an official MS Windows warning window. It looks very official and scary. And that’s how the scammers make their money. They count on uninformed users having a knee-jerk reaction. I know I certainly did the first few times before I figured it out.

IT’S ILLOGICAL

Stop and think for a minute. How could Windows know you have a virus, if you don’t have any antivirus software installed? How could Windows know that you’ve been infected by “230+ viruses, spyware or Trojans”? And if you DO have antivirus software installed (as you should), doesn’t the notification window look different than the scary, dramatic window you see in front of you?

So, we have a logical fallacy there. Windows either can’t know, or if does, it certainly wouldn’t report it like that.

It’s not a Windows warning window, it’s simply a pop-up advertisement made to look like a Windows warning window.

THEY WANT YOU TO PEE YOUR PANTS

Again, the whole point is to get you peeing your pants and pulling out your credit card.

That being said, I do take exception to the first paragraph.

They said we had picked up the newest most dangerous virus and it was going to take quite a bit to fix it.

Really? Quite a bit to fix it, ya say? At the standard hourly rate, ya say? Oh, you’ll give me a deal? Well then, how can I pass that up?

DON’T PAY FOR WHAT YOU CAN DO YOURSELF FOR FREE

It’s another scam folks. If your antivirus software is up-to-date, there is nothing that your local computer geek can do, that the antivirus software CAN’T DO BETTER AND FASTER. In fact, that’s WHY it’s installed.

The AV software can detect, isolate, and neutralize any actual virus code that the paid geek can do, and a hundred times faster and more accurately.

Computer geeks don’t have any kind of specialized knowledge in this area. Take it from me, I’m one of them; an alpha-geek. How would I solve this problem? I would install AV software, and let it do it’s thing.

And that’s all the “technician” is going to do. And you’re going to pay $50 an hour, for 2+hours of work, to have him do something that you can do yourself for free, something that your AV software should have ALREADY done.

Don’t pay for this kind of service folks. It’s like telling your teenager to hire someone to mow your lawn. I hope you can see the parallels between the scary windows message, and the fear-mongering tactics that the “computer guy” is spouting.

It’s the same thing. They’re counting on—and preying on—your emotions and lack of knowledge.

SO WHAT DOES THE CHRONICLES OF WULFGARNIA RECOMMEND?

Install some good AV software; AVG, Clamwin, and ZoneAlarm are all free, and have success rates even better than the paid packages like McAfee. Set your software to automatically update via the internet, and you won’t have any problems like this.

DON’T DO THE POWER BUTTON THING

By the way, hitting the power button as recommended above, while Windows is running, is a sure way to damage your system. This is perhaps where the “shuts down your windows system” symptom comes from. It’s not the virus, it’s the “fix” for the “virus”.

Regards,

p.s. If you need any help with choosing, installing, or using AV software, please contact me.

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The Big G wants to make your email socialable with their new product, Google Buzz. It appears that they’re going after their own piece of the Twitter and Facebook pies. Google Buzz isn’t a stand-alone application like Twitter or

Facebook however; it’s attached to your Gmail account by default, via your address book. And that’s the dangerous part.

Our address books contain contacts that we may not want our Buzz updates to go to; that one stranger you dealt with on Craigslist that one time, crazy relatives, even crazier ex-significant others, your landlord, your “serious friends”, your pastor, etc.

Buzz connects to many of our personal places on the web; email addresses, Blogger accounts, or Picasa photo sharing accounts.

Google has released some privacy fixes to address this, but they’re not default. You have to go find and configure them. Google has given you the option to opt-out. Most people won’t know to change the default settings. Instead, Google Buzz should give you the option to opt-in if you choose.

For these reasons, Google Buzz can be dangerous. Please be careful.

Do you have any questions about Google Buzz? Any tips on how to improve it’s use? Please comment!

Regards,

p.s. I use Google Buzz, and will likely continue to do so. It’s still fun, you just need to be aware of the privacy implications!

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photo by Lisa Norwood

I went out to eat tonight, and as I was waiting for my table, a couple sat down next to me to wait. The gentleman was being led by a large dog wearing a vest, and sporting a funky handle.

I haven’t seen one in a while, as I don’t think we have many in town. But I realized that this was a service dog.

Service dogs assist people with disabilities. They may help detect seizures, or assist the hard of hearing, or–the most common experience most of us have had with them–help the blind navigate through obstacles. Sometimes they’re called “seeing eye dogs”.

You see them in public places because we now have laws that guarantee access in public places for guide dogs. These laws supersede the health code laws governing restaurants, for example. So, Paris Hilton can’t bring her toy poodle to Applebees, but the gentleman I saw tonight was well within the law by bringing his dog with him.

Unfortunately, some folks don’t know the etiquette regarding service dogs. I saw lots of children petting the dog tonight, as it was a very charismatic-looking dog, and people were naturally drawn to it.

Service dog etiquette has some very good reasons behind it, though. You should never pet, or feed, or whistle to any service dog. It tends to distract them, when they should be focused 100% on their owner. They go through extensive training to develop this focus; watching out for potentially harmful situations that their owner may accidentally become a part of, for example.

By distracting the dog, it takes time to regain it’s focus, and get back on track. This is potentially dangerous for the owner, and very upsetting for the dog.

If in doubt, simply ask permission. Most service dog owners are very proud of their dogs, and will talk about them at length. There’s a very good chance the owner will be happy to give you permission to pet the dog, but it should be the owner’s choice.

Don’t be offended or put-off is the owner declines your request. Service dogs get a lot of attention wherever they go. You’re very likely the 17th person that day to ask about the dog, or ask for permission to pet the dog. I know I would certainly be cranky after a day like that!

A service dog is just as important to a blind person as a wheelchair is to a paraplegic. The dog means mobility, freedom, independence, and confidence in interacting with a chaotic and scary world.

So, please do the dog and it’s owner a favor; don’t pet them, don’t call or whistle to them, don’t stare at them in a restaurant-no matter how pretty the dog is-and be respectful of the owner’s choices about the dog.

Regards,

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