Windows Genuine Version causing problems again

TIP: If you do NOT have a Windows Genuine Version we suggest you be aware that Microsoft is now including this notification tool (Windows Genuine Advantage - WGA) in all it's security updates. Click here to find out more.

For those who have a genuine Windows XP Professional version, but see the following:
You can safely remove the nag screens and notification windows by doing the following:

• Open TASK MANAGER - CTRL-ALT-DEL
• Right click on WgaTray.exe and a pop up will appear (do not click YES just yet)
• Search for WgaTray.exe in Explorer then right click - a pop up will appear (do not click YES just yet)
  
• With both pop ups next to each other, quickly click YES on both - this will remove WgaTray.exe from TASK MANAGER and delete WgaTray.exe from System32 folder
• Next: Search for wgalogon.dll in Explorer
• Rename wgalogon.dll wgalogon.dll.bak
• Right click on a blank space in "System32" and select "New" > "Text Document"
• Leave the text document empty and label it "WgaLogon.dll". Press Enter (on your keyboard).
• Finally reboot your computer.

Note: You must only do this if you have a genuine copy of Windows XP Professional and are experiencing 'WGA' notification problems. Also if you remove the WGA notifications you will be unable to download Microsoft Security updates. If you do have these problems we suggest you contact Microsoft directly. Click here.

Safe surfing folks!
Julian

How to protect your telephone identity

Fraudsters are always looking for new ways in which to social engineer your personal information. One way in which fraudsters can extract your personal information to commit identity fraud is by using a telephone.

The fraudster might pretend on a call to be an insurance salesman, creditor or someone from your bank. Everyone understands they must not divulge personal and financial information, but you would be amazed at how many people do!

How do you know when someone calls you that they are genuine? Well, let us tell you a little secret – you can use a ‘reverse phone lookup service’ which will allow you to find out specific information about the individual who called you (Note: only applicable in the US).

One additional unique facet of this service is that it also works for mobile phone numbers as well as unlisted numbers. Every call you receive will provide you with a number, which is the main purpose of the service.

One note worthy feature is the ability to disallow calls from blocked numbers, which will allow you to trace a telephone number with ease.

We suggest if you have been a victim of telephone identity fraud or suspect you might be, that you learn more by clicking here.

Safe surfing folks!

Source: ID Theft Protect

Web based applications should offer HTTPS always on

Recent research suggests the popular web based websites, Microsoft Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Facebook, and MySpace should look at introducing Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https) on all sessions not just using encryption to mask login information.

Google does offer HTTPS on the login information but the default web sessions are not encrypted, leaving users sessions open to "session hacking". It does however offer an "Always On" HTTPS option for Google GMail, but not by default. You also need to know where to find this option. One of the possible reasons for not offering "HTTPS" by default, is the affect it would have on the performance of Google's servers.

We think that you should have a secure connection! So, just for you, here is how you can enable the "Always On" HTTPS option in Google Mail:

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=74765

Remember, it isn't that difficult to hijack sessions on any cookie-based web application. A hacker only needs an IP address to hijack popular webmail programs like Microsoft Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail and then someone has access to your personal emails - they can even read and send emails, copy or delete your contacts and more... you have been warned!

Safe surfing folks!
Julian

New identity fraud scheme identified

In a recent example of how card fraud can impact your daily life, a husband with his wife and son were just about to pay for lunch when their debit card was declined. The husband arrived home and logged onto his online bank account to find he was overdrawn by $400.

Over a period of 24 hours 40 transactions were made by his debit card. How scary is this? Worse was to follow – 2 days later there were two packages on his doorstep and on the following day he got a further seven packages!

A close inspection found that all the packages were from different companies, ranging from health and beauty products to diet pills to coffee. In total it added up to $335, mostly in shipping fees.

There isn’t proof but ID Theft Protect believes that the individual (or individuals) actually gained financially from this scheme. The fraudster doesn’t really care whether they get the package; all they want is the credit for sending somebody to actually sign up.

In the US, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) indicates they haven’t seen this type of scheme before. What is very scary is that all the fraudster needs is a persons name, address and card number to pull this off!

Here are some simple cost effective TIPS on protecting yourself from this type of scheme:

TIP: Ask your bank for password account limit protection on your accounts. You can set the limit to $200 (£100) for example. You will need to check with your bank on whether they offer this service. (US and UK)

TIP: Keep a low balance on your spending account. Always use a separate account for paying bills – and never use the debit card for your bills account!

TIP: Never use a debit card online or for purchasing train tickets or gasoline (petrol)

TIP: If you have a credit card we suggest you use that for all online and offline (shopping) purchases! You are not able to get a credit card, so why not consider a prepaid card?

TIP: Register for online credit monitoring – click here to find out more.

Safe surfing folks!
Julian

Source: ID Theft Protect