Carputers News and Computer Tips

Joris Evers writes in CNET News.com about an all-too-common mistake many home and small-business users make when setting up their routers.  From the article:

If you haven’t changed the default password on your home router, let this recent threat serve as a reminder.

We’ve seen far too many wide-open wireless networks in our travels to doubt the validity of this concept. 

If you are not sure what steps you should take to secure your wireless router, The DailyWireless website offers a fairly comprehensive set of instructions.  These instructions, along with a read-through of your specific router’s user manual should give you enough information to properly secure your wireless network if you’re fairly technically astute.

In addition, we highly recommend configuring your router to use the free OpenDNS servers.  From their website:

OpenDNS uses its distributed network of DNS servers to speed up your Internet experience, increase reliability, improve security and make DNS smarter for users all over the world. 

We’ve found these statements to all be true in practice.  If you are not sure what DNS is or how it works, OpenDNS has a great Frequently Asked Questions section.

And, as always, we’d be happy to help you with any network setup questions or needs you have.  Contact us if we can be of assistance!  

This is a long, well-written article by Owen Linderholm for the IT Security website which discusses “how the mob could be using your PC to run rackets on the internet and what you can do about it”. 

Some excerpts:

…in the past two years the rapid growth in organized crime in Eastern Europe and a huge increase in sophistication has jumped organized crime on the internet from an irritation to a serious problem.

How is this happening? The basic reason is that almost half all computer users connected to the internet have no or ineffective security protecting themselves and their systems while they web browse or even when using email.

Why? Here’s the bottom line – money and lots and lots of it. Industry estimates for the US are that at minimum several billion dollars were made in the US in computer and internet fraud last year. Some estimates go as high as over $20 billion.

We do a fair amount of malware removal, and, to be honest, we get more than one “deer-in-the-headlights” look from a customer when we explain in layman’s terms how and why their computer was infected.

Carputers specializes not only in malware removal, but in computer system hardening - taking proactive steps to make certain that your computer’s potential vulnerability is minimized.  This includes user training and awareness as well as anti-malware software and PC configuration.

If you have questions or need assistance protecting your computer and your personal data, contact us!  We would be happy to be of service to you.

…you’ll never know what you’ll get!

Preston Gralla on the Computerworld website:

“The next time you’re at an airport looking for a wireless hot spot, and you see one called “Free Wi-Fi” or a similar name, beware — you may end up being victimized by the latest hot-spot scam hitting airports across the country. You go to an airport or other hot spot and fire up your PC, hoping to find a free hot spot. You see one that calls itself “Free Wi-Fi” or a similar name. You connect. Bingo — you’ve been had!The problem is that it’s not really a hot spot. Instead, it’s an ad hoc, peer-to-peer network, possibly set up as a trap by someone with a laptop nearby. You can use the Internet, because the attacker has set up his PC to let you browse the Internet via his connection. But because you’re using his connection, all your traffic goes through his PC, so he can see everything you do online…”

The article provides tips for safe wireless networking and avoiding rogue networks.

We’ve witnessed this situation firsthand at the Birmingham (Ala.) International Airport.

In the picture above, “TheAuthorityLAN” is the legitimate airport access point.  Note the two peer-to-peer connections at the bottom…  This screenshot was made on 09/29/2006. 

Another article that we think is required reading for anyone using public wireless network access is Mr. Gralla’s How to protect yourself at wireless hot spots.

And, as always, if you need help or have questions about securing your computer or wireless connection, contact us!

And, why should the average computer user be concerned about it?

The IT Security website recently posted an explanation detailing the different types of malware in terms that the average computer user or layman can understand.  It should be required reading for anyone who uses a computer.

From their site:  “Malware, or malicious software, simply means any unwanted code or program that embeds itself on a computer without the user’s knowledge.”

Here and here are some real-world examples of why keeping your computer secure and malware-free is more important
now than it has ever been.  Here are even more “malware horror stories”.

Hacker-turned-computer security consultant Kevin Mitnick recently wrote a list of the top ten steps computer users should take to protect their information and computing resources from the bad boys and girls of cyberspace.

Carputers specializes in removing malware from your computer.  We’ll also secure your computer and your home or small business network.  Fixing problems isn’t enough - proactive security measures must be put in place to keep those same problems from returning.

The old adage “An ounce of prevention…” applies here as well.  A new computer (or a new installation of Windows) needs to be secured before connecting it to the internet for the first time.

If you’re not sure how to do this, contact us -  we’d be happy to help!