The Daily Teaser — 26-3-2015: Language Is A Computer Virus …

Oh, now that’s a thing … !

Bless him, you may — or may not — have realised I’ve a four year old nephew: called Jude.

He’s got quite quite a daffy sense of humour, Jude.

And he’s getting older: which is life, I’m afraid.

But … ?

But one of the pleasure of watching a child grown, is seeing them learn things.

Bless him, I think we can say Jude’s learnt to write his name.

Or START to, anyway!

That’s … 

Well … 

That’s all good!

~≈Ÿ≈~

The Daily Teaser — 14-09-2012

Well, it looks like I’ve got me work cut out for me.

I’ve officially volunteered to see what I can do with my kid sister’s laptop.

Wouldn’t you know it … ?

Her copy of McAfee’s security suite seems to have had an update that keeps it safe … by refusing to let it connect to the ’Net.

You can imagine my reaction, can’t you … ?

But at any rate … ?

At any rate, it means I’ve something to do this weekend … !

Let’s get moving on, shall we?

Yes, let’s …

~~~~~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers.   Along with telling us she like the classierº end of the musical scale, she also bagged 5½ out of 6*.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 14th September, 1917, saw which country declare itself a republic … ?

Q2) 14th September, 1752, saw the British Empire adopt the Gregorian Calendar: how many days did they skip, in that shift … ?

Q3) 14th September, 2000, saw Microsoft release which version of their Windows operating system?

Q4) 14th September, 1960, saw Mobutu Sese Seko gain power in a military coup: in which African country … ?

Q5) And finally … 14th September, 1944, saw which town become the first Dutch city to be liberated in World War 2?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) In non-leap years, 13th September is the 256th day of the year: how is 256 shown in binary … ?

A1) 100000000.

Q2) 13th September, 1994, saw the Ulysses probe pass the south pole of what … ?

A2) The Sun.

Q3) More to the point, Ulysses is the Latin translation of the name of which Greek hero … ?

A3) Odysseus.

Q4) Moving on … 13th September, 1788, saw which city become the temporary capital of the USA?

A4) New York.

Q5) 13th September, 1953, saw Nikita Khrushchev elected as General Secretary of the USSR: what was his full title … ?

A5) First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.   (You can see why they gave it up, in the end … )

Q6) And finally … which New York prison was stormed by National Guardsmen, in order to end a prison riot, on 13th September, 1971?

A6) Attica.

Enjoy those, everyone: I’ll catch you later.

After I’ve left you with this tune from a~Haª … 

And this quote from Hal Wallis …

“In the old days we had the time and money to give prospective stars a slow build up. Today, an actor makes it fast or he doesn't make it at all.”

Hal B Wallis September 14, 1898 – October 5, 1986

*        It wasn’t the whole title, Debbi: but I thought it was worth a ½ point, if nothing else.

º        I’ll keep that in mind, Debbi.   Saying that … ?   Some of Schœnberg’s 12-tone stuff is … well … definitely an acquired taste … 

ª        Well, it IS Morten Harket’s birthday … 

Apple taking technical, legal action against Flashback malware | Macworld

Apple taking technical, legal action against Flashback malware | Macworld

Right, HERE we go … 

I’ll happily admit to being something of a Mac fanboi: and what’s more, one that doesn’t usually like mentioning the M word.

But let’s be frank, here, malware gets everywhere: including on the usually untouched OS X platform.

As you’re probably aware, I’ve already highlighted the fact that a cross-platform nasty has been doing the rounds just recently.

But I also thought I should post a link to the above report from MacWorld: highlighting Apple’s announcement that they’ll be “developing software that will detect and remove the Flashback malware.”: further more, “In addition to the Java vulnerability, the Flashback malware relies on computer servers hosted by the malware authors to perform many of its critical functions. Apple is working with ISPs worldwide to disable this command and control network.”.

Have fun with that, folks: keep yourself covered.

The Comantra Scam: You mean You Phone at Weekends … ?

Oh …

Dear …

LORD …

You know, I’ think I’ve got to give whoever it is in Bangladesh that’s been running what I’ve come to call the Comantra Scam — in other words, a phone scam where the scammers attempts to con you into giving them remote access to your PC, and then sell you dodgy software to ‘get rid of any problems’ — credit for persistence!

Because … ?

Well, because I’ve just had another phone call from these guys: only this time, calling themselves the ‘Windows Defence Department’.

Deary, deary me …

And I’ll be honest … ?

I’m thinking their working their way through the phone book.

Because it ALSO turns out my mother had a call, this morning, as well … !

An FB Workaround.

You know, I’ve got to ask, what on EARTH is all the fuss about … ?

No, really … ?

You see, what with one thing and another, there’s a lot of talk about online security, and about HTTPS versus HTTP.

Just in case you DIDN’T know, the former is a somewhat more secure version of the latter, and used by both Twitter and Facebook to improve their users online security.

Or partially used by Facebook, I should add.

You see, a lot of the time, when you use many of the games on FB, it’ll ask you if you want to switch off secure browsing.

You have to, in fact, to use the games concerned.

That’s not an out-and-out criticism, I should add: but it IS fiddly.

Especially when you consider that the secure browsing feature isn’t automatically turned back on, once you’ve finished playing the game.

There’s a work around, though.

Or a couple, I should add.

First off … ?

Logging OUT of Facebook, quitting your browser, then re-strarting it, and logging back in.

Those of us using a desktop or laptop can do it the easy way, of course.

Just go to the URL bar at the top of the browser windo. And in-between the ‘http’ and the ‘:’, type the letter ‘s’.

And press ‘Enter’, or the ‘Reload’ key combo.

There.

Wasn’t that easy … ?

I’m just hoping you notice the new Favicon for Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar, while you’re there …

The Comantra Scam: Trust me, I’m WETTING meself …

Oh …

Dear …

Oh, deary, deary me …

And I say that, whilst ALSO admitting I’m trying not to wet meself, despite this being a serious subject.

You see …

Well, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve written — a few times, now — about a dodgy company based in Bangladesh, called Comantra.

Who’ve been phoning people, for at least a year, to try and con people into to giving them remote access to their PCs: installing some seriously nasty software, and then charging the innocent mark to remove it.

I first wrote about it, roughly a year ago, when a friend of mine, Kelly, got a call from them.

And, Kelly, being Kelly, she immediately started asking around, to see if anyone else thought it was as much of a dead rat as she did.

Of course, ever since then, the Gazette’s been keeping an eyeball peeled, and managed to report at least three of these attempts.

And I’ll be honest … ?

I’ve just had a call from them, myself, calling themselves Online PC Services.

Here … this is the email I sent to the Gazette about it …

Dear Sir

I’ve got be honest, I’ve been reading your articles about scam phone calls from people claiming to be able to remotely ‘fix’ your PC, with interest

As you may know, I’ve been following the story for a while, and written about it on my blog, after a couple of friends tell me about calls they’ve had.

Well, I’ve got to confess, I’ve just had a call from the same people: today, at 12:53.

Coming from a bad line, from a caller with a heavy Indian accent.

The chap — at least I believe it was a man, the line was very bad — identified himself as coming from Online PC Support, and told me their investigations showed there was a problem with my computer.

I got him to repeat that a couple of times to make sure I’d heard correctly.

He basically told me their records were showing them there was a problem with my PC.

And I’ve got to confess, I was trying desperately to NOT laugh at him.

Because — me being me — I immediately turned round and said “I haven’t had a problem with my Mac, for years”.

They put the phone down on me.

Which was rude, I thought. You’d EXPECT a bunch of scammers to be politer, after all.

But I’m going to thank the Gazette, here. It’s nice to see others beside me and tech fans, making people aware of this sort of scam.

It really does need continual highlighting.

Lets hope that gets published.

After all, I’m thinking this sort of thing really does need continual highlighting.

Comantra Scam

You know …

I’m blowed if I can remember which Teaser I mentioned it in, but I’m pretty sure that I have.

But you’re probably very aware that I’ve writing about Comantra, before now.

The Bangladeshi based company — who seemingly have a couple of Bradford based numbers — gave a friend of mine a call — in July of last year — and tried gaining access to her computer.

They didn’t, thankfully.

But I’ve been keeping an eye open for this sort of thing, every since.

And have come across two stories in the Brentwood Gazette about people who’ve almost been caught out by this sort of scam — seemingly from the same call centre in Bangladesh — and from two friends who also told me they’ve had the same phone calls.

Now coming across five such stories — all from the same part of the world — got me keeping me eyes peeled, understandably.

And even finding out, through an old schoolfriend I’ve been in touch with, via Facebook, that the company concerned seems to be doing the same sort of thing to a bunch of Australians, only masquerading as ‘SupportOnClick’.

Hmmm …

Talk about going global … !

Hmmm …

Now, I’ve got to admit …

I though this is starting to smell more and more like a dead rat.

Again.

What got me … ?

Is the fact that whoever’s behind this seems to ALSO have at least two Facebook pages.

So I’ve got to admit, I’ve got cheeky.

Here’s the message I sent them through the social site.

Sir,

I writing to you having seen that your group has started both it’s own Facebook page and group, and it’s own blog.

Over the past few years, I’ve taken a keen — if amateur — interest in technology.

And, on a par with many, developed a basic awareness of good security practise, when it comes to computer use.

So I’m genuinely aware that some unscrupulous companies are very keen to use unsavoury techniques to gain control of people’s computers.

Including — seemingly — a call centre in Bengal, with a UK based number, claiming to act in your company’s behalf: and on the behalf of Support On Click in Australia.

One that has made repeated claims to act on Microsoft’s behalf, that uses potentially unethical sales techniques, and manages to gain remote access to peoples computer by trickery.

I’d like to ask a few questions if your company is aware of this. I’d also like to know if this call centre is genuinely acting for your company.

If it is, are you intending to retrain any staff, so that they sell you products in a more ethical way.

If it isn’t, what are your company intending to do about it.

Please feel free to reply, through Facebook.

That way, I can happily tell people about your intentions through my blog.

Yours,

If I get any sort of reply … ?

I’ll let you know …

Comantra: They’re Baaaaaack

Oh, my word … !

Comantra — or one of its successors that’s kept the name — is still going … !

Just to fill you in, briefly, a few years ago, a friend of mine — Kelly, the singer — got in touch with me to tell me about a rather worrying phone-call she’d had: boiling it down to its simplest re-telling, the caller tried to con Kelly into handing over remote control of her machine, SEEMINGLY intent of infecting it with some form of malicious software.

And then charging Kelly a small fortune to — seemingly — remove it.

Kelly, after asking me, and a few other way more computer literate friends of hers, managed to turn them down, without handing over control of her machine, OR her bank account details.

But, afterwards, let me write up a post about it.

It wasn’t long after that, that the Brentwood Gazette had an article about what sounded like the same people — Comantra — who’d been in touch with a local businessman — Jason Lovell, who, ironically, runs a computer security company — getting a call from them.

Nice to scoop the Gazette … !

But at any rate, that wasn’t THAT long after I’d written about Kelly.

»»·««

What did tickle me, though … ?

Was the fact that they’ve written ANOTHER article, this week: about widow, Kimie Markarian.

Who’d had a call from what sounds a LOT like Comantra.

Seems they’d tried the same thing on her … !

You can imagine my response, can’t you … ?

I fired off an email … !

Here …

Dear Sir,

I’ve GOT to admit, I read your article about the widow targeted by fraudsters, this week, with no real surprise.

After all, this is something that I, as a blogger, have covered: as has the Gazette, itself.

Quite some time ago, as I recall.

So hearing that the same sort of scam is still around?

Isn’t surprising.

What DOES surprise me, however … ?

Is the simple fact that the company that supply operating systems and hardware — and both Apple and Canonical, makers of Ubuntu, are as bad as Microsoft, Dell and HP in this regard — still don’t hand out basic security tips to people who purchase their products.

I’ve been using a Mac for years, which isn’t as prone to virus and malware as a Windows based PC is.

But I’m also aware of basic good practice, for the few that’s out there.

Little things: don’t download stuff from sites I don’t trust. Don’t open an email attachment that you’ve not asked for.

Now, I’ve been online for a while: so this is stuff I’ve learnt over the course of that.

But for someone like Mrs Makarian … ?

Well …

I’m positive someone unfamiliar with using a computer would’ve appreciated having some basic security tips: either in the box, in the local paper, or from the sales staff they bought the computer from.

Let’s hope that gets published … !

But, at ANY rate … ?

At any rate, I’m thinking I have a point …

Microsoft, Apple, and others … ?

Should REALLY be doing a bit more to help those of us who aren’t computer literate be a touch safer.

If nothing else, though … ?

Well …

I’ll leave you with THIS link, courtesy of former Councillor, Karen Chilvers.

And warn you now: the cheeky sod’s have got a Facebook page … !

Virgin and Cabaret: A warning and a film.

You know, I’ve got to admit, there’s time’s I’m glad I use BT as my ISP, I really am.

OK, granted they’re not perfect.

But at least they’ve not had to issue the warning that Virgin has, today: that some of their customer’s machine’s have been infected with the SpyEye trojan: about 1500 of them.

Hmmm …

Nasty: I’ve got to admit, while I’m very aware there’s not that many bits of malicious software for the OS X platform, most of the ones that ARE out there … ? Are trojans: you can bet I’ll be keeping my eye’s peeled …

JUST on the off-chance … !

»»·««

At ANY rate … ?

At any rate, I’m going to give a BIG Thank You to an old friend and work colleague, James.

Bless him, I’d posted to my Facebook wall that I’d never actually seen the film, Cabaret, some time ago.

And, bless him, James let me have his old, spare copy.

Like I say, I think a BIG Thank You’s in order.

BIG Thank You, there, James!

And I think I can now officially say I’ve seen what had to be Liza Minelli’s break-out role.

And admit, she weren’t half distracting, back then … !

Well, she was … !

OK … I’m perving, JUST a touch, there, let me grab a cold shower …

AHEM.

Actually, she still is …

But, at any rate, I’m burbling, aren’t I … ?

Cabaret is very loosely based on the novel, Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood: and tells us of the time that Brian — Michæl York, possibly one of the few actors in the film to not have a song! — and his stay in Berlin, as a English teacher, during the 1930s.

Back when Berlin had a reputation for being the most hedonistic city in Europe.

Brian’s life is immediately complicated by getting to know Sally Bowles, one of the acts at the nearby Kit Kat Klub: the cabaret of the title, and the singer with whom he shares both lodgings …

And a complicated lovelife.

All of this … ?

All of this is set against the back of a Berlin that is both extremely hedonistic … and seeing the raise of Hitler’s Nazi party, that, by the end of the film, is getting everywhere.

»»·««

Now, I don’t know if you — like me — are fairly new to Cabaret.

But can I make a suggestion, here … ?

And this is in spite of the fact I know that my regular movie cohort, Kevin D isn’t grabbed by the thought of seeing it*.

I personally think you should REALLY go see Cabaret.

Because … ?

I think you’re going to be in for a treat … !

* Not enough wrestling, guns or explosions …

Up In the Clouds: Just how secure IS that … ?

Hmmm …

Now, I’ve GOT to admit that I’m an Apple fan.

Or Mac fan, I should maybe add.

You’d possibly noticed, hadn’t you … ?

But at any rate, like many of my fellow Apple watchers, I saw — with interest — Apple’s announce of both the upcoming new version of OS X — codenamed Lion — and it’s new cloud service, iCloud.

The trouble the whole cloud thing, though … ?

I mean from where I’m sitting … ?

Well, do you remember the Sony hack attacks, recently?

When Sony had to take down it’s Playstation Network, and start issuing warnings about one or two of their other networks.

On top of that … ?

Nintendo’s ALSO seen an attack on its servers.

And today … ?

Lulz Security, who carried out the Nintendo attack, announced that the NHS computer systems are extremely vulnerable.

And on top of THAT … ?

Today’s seen game company, Codemasters have a lot of personal details lifted.

I’ve got to wonder if, from a security standpoint … ?

Is any kind of cloud service sensible … ?

OK, granted Apple are seen to have a good track record in this sort of area.

But … … … …

PayPal: A Scam …

You know, I’ve got to admit, I’m something of a Dr Who fan.

You know that, already … !

It’s why Grub and I started Nik Nak and Grub’s Who Peculiar, after all.

But as you’ve probably realised … ?

The original Nik Nak’s Old Peculiar is still active.

Mind me making a confession, though … ?

By Gods, two blogs is harder work than I thought, even WITH all this time … !

But, at any rate … ?

At any rate, I’ve been following the rather good Life, Dr Who and ComBom for some time.

Who — earlier today — managed to flag up this little alert, about scams associated with video previews of A Good Man Goes To War, tonights 7th episode.

I made a mental note to keep my eyes peeled, just in case.

But the security scare that almost had me … ?

WASN’T a video …

It was actually a phising attempt, seemingly from PayPal, that almost got me handing over my details, given its apparent authenticity.

Seriously, it weren’t half convincing … !

I did a lot of digging around.

Just to make sure.

And found out that PayPal, never send out this sort of email: or, at least, not from the address, notice@security.org.

Once I’d worked out the email — and the attachment — were fakes?

I immediately alerted PayPal, themselves: they have a specific email address for this sort of thing, spoof@paypal.com.

If you get something like that … ?

Let them know, by forwarding them the suspect mail, and let them know what’s going on.

Oh … And have a read of the helpful advise they sent me …

• The email uses a generic greeting like ‘Dear user’ or ‘Hello, PayPal member.’ We always address you by your first name and last name or the business name on your PayPal account.
• The email requests financial and other personal information. For example, an email from PayPal never asks for the numbers of your bank account, debit or credit card, or driver’s license. We also don’t request your email addresses, your full name, your account password, or the answers to your PayPal security questions.
• The email includes an attachment, a software update to install on your computer, or a hyperlink.

Catch you later … !

MACDefender: A Heads Up …

Hmmm …

You know, I’m glad I’ve got a Mac, I am …

No, really … !

Mostly on the ease-of-use front, I think OS X can’t be far beaten.

Actually … ?

It usually can’t be beaten on the malware front, either.

Usually …

And usually, when there is malware about … ?

It usually hits the headlines, much like MAC Defender has.

»»•««

Just so you know, the reason I know it’s hit the headlines … ?

Is that I have Mail.app, my email client, set up as my default RSS reader.

One of those feeds … ?

Is the BBC’s Technology news site.

Which is where I noticed this …

Like I say, headlines …

»»•««

To summarise … ?

Briefly, it seems many of my fellow Mac owners have been conned into downloading a piece of software called MACDefender: or, occasionally, Mac Security.

It’s scareware, so you know.

In other words, it’s a piece of software that pretends to scan your Mac, and claims there’s tons of malicious software on it.

And that, in order to get rid of it, you have to pay MACDefenders producers for it to finish the job.

Instead … ?

It just redirects you to tons on porn sites … AFTER you’ve coughed up.

Oh …

And hogs a lot of your systems resources in the process.

»»•««

There’s a solution, though.

Bit of a monotonous one, but one that will get the malware off an infected Mac.

You can read it, here.

But at the bottom of it … ?

Is an old issue with Safari, and something that came up with the .dmg bug, a few years ago.

Basically, Safari automatically opens files it thinks are safe.

Indeed, altering that is something I know I’ve done for years, whenever I’ve got a new version of OS X or Safari.

At the end of the procedure, the guide I’ve found for dealing with MAC Defender Safari’s Preference pane — pictured above — you need to make sure that you’ve unticked the ‘Open “Safe” files after downloading’ button.

Personally … ?

I’m thinking Apple’s a touch remiss about not just doing a little bit of altering.

Just to make sure that’s a closed hole in one of their few cross platform programmes.

Look Out … Fraudster’s About

You know, I’ve got to admit, I’ve known some bright women, in my time, I really have …

And bright women, I’ve noticed, tend to be able to smell rats, from a mile off …

Remember Kelly? And the Comantra scam she managed to avoid, a while back … ?

Well, I’ve had another old friend — Maggie — who’s also a former boss get in touch about a chap she’s been introduced to on Facebook, called James Paul.

By another person called Carol Iannella.

From what Maggie told me, the Chief’s* always on the lookout for good causes to promote, as she’s always keen to be helpful: and, seemingly, Carol had been helped out by Mr Paul to the tune of some $30, 000 worth of wedge.

James Paul managed to befriend Maggie, and get chatting her about the work he does.

And asked for her email address …

Maggie was … cautious.

Ex-pub-landlady that she is, part of her automatically does ‘DING’ whenever large sums of cash get a mention.

And goes into overdrive when someone does something like what James Paul does next.

Asked for her email address …

And the associated password …

She immediately did two things.

Messaged me for a second opinion.

And confessed she was smelling a three-week-old, extremely dead rat.

As, while James Paul was pestering her for her login details, she’d down a search on FB for Carol Iannella …

And found Ms Iannella has at least three accounts with differing details, but exactly the same profile picture.

Old campaigner that I am … ?

And never being able to resist the Chief, when she needed a hand … ?

IMMEDIATELY started writing this post, with one aim in mind.

To suggest that, if you’re contacted by either of these two … ?

You block them.

AND report them to Facebook.

I’m thinking that James Paul and Carol Iannella are up to no good.

* Chief is the nickname Maggie ended up with, when she was in charge of the White Horse, back in the day, before it got turned into The Sugar Hut.