The temptation to snoop online might be strong for some but it comes with a price. John Hillman on the latest celebrity malware vector

The internet provides opportunities to indulge our curiosity like never before; unfortunately this includes our capacity for snooping around in other people’s private lives, a less than admirable human trait.

Cyber criminals, never slow to recognise an opportunity, are more than aware of this fact and happily use our inherent nosiness to exploit gullible people into downloading malware with the simple promise of a video containing a naked celebrity.

It beggars belief that such a crude system actually works but even in 2009 it seems that there are still thousands of you out there who just can’t resist a click, no matter how unlikely the promise sounds to a rational mind.

Over in the US this has been emphasised by the recent appearance of a video reportedly showing an ESPN reporter called Erin Andrews cavorting around in her hotel room with no clothes on. Erin Andrews is apparently quite attractive – a sort of Hollywood version of Gabby Logan.

As you can imagine this caused quite a stir with US “sports” fans, so much excitement in fact that some of them actually awoke from their beef-and-cola comas long enough to start trawling the internet looking for said video.

What happened next? Malware, lots and lots of malware, downloaded via a link that promises the content once you have installed a video player. Many people (well, men probably) have been fooled by the use of a web page that looks like it belongs to CNN, lulling them into a false sense of security.

The lesson here is a very simple one: promise of naked celebrity + free video download = broken computer. You have been warned.

—————————————–

Image Credit: Robert.Montalvo

With more and more hotels offering free Wi-Fi services you may be tempted to take your laptop with you on holiday, but beware when using open networks, says. John Hillman

Free Wi-Fi is great, lounging around in your hotel room or on the beach, you can upload photos onto Facebook, give all your friends a real-time commentary on how much fun you’re having while they’re stuck waiting for a bus in the rain, and keep updated with sports without having to pay 3 Euro for an abridged copy of a dodgy newspaper.

But there are dangers when you log onto an open network, especially as hacking is now such big business and large open networks such as the ones found in hotels are a fertile hunting ground for hackers looking for personal information.

For extra safety whilst on holiday McAfee’s Tracy Mooney recommends taking the following precautions:

PC users

1. Make sure you have a current subscription to an anti-virus program and that it has a Firewall which McAfee Total Protection does have.
2. Make sure banking/financial passwords are different from any other passwords. Don’t save passwords so it automatically logs in
3. Before you log on, look for/ask for the exact name of the Wi-Fi you want to connect to so you don’t connect to a hacker instead.
4. Turn off automatic connection to a network so your computer doesn’t connect without your knowledge. (It also saves battery life.)
5. Only log on to bank/financial sites when you are on a secure connection such as at home.

Mac Users

1. Make sure banking/financial passwords are different from any other passwords. Don’t save passwords so it automatically logs in!
2. Check your settings:
• Go to network Preferences > By Default > join “preferred networks”. Edit your preferred network SSID’s to include only trusted sources.
• Next click “Options,” and make sure “ask before joining an open network” is selected.
• Check the “Require Administrator Password to change networks” box, and deselect the option to automatically add new networks to the preferred list.

——————————————————————————

Image Credit: pink fish13