Tech Alert "Scare Ware"

Over the past year I have been receiving 'scareware' in my incoming email box. When you open the email it tells you that you have problems in your registery and if you click on this link the program will scan your computer free of charge and analyze the registry.

When you click on the link, your computer downloads a bogus program, makes you think it is doing something and then tells you that you have 472 problems in your registry and to correct these problems, just click on this link and they will be fixed. But, it doesn't fix anything. It takes you to another link to purchase this program for $29.95 and download it immediately or you may lose all of the information on your hard drive.

So you shell out $29.95, down load the program and run it according the directions and guess what? It tells you that the registry has been repaired. Then you go back to your email box and click on this 'scareware' email again. It goes through its routine again and tells you that you still have 472 problems in your registry.

Cha-Ching, you've just been scammed.

Next came the 'data hostage program' which, when you open it, it would encrypt all of the files in your 'My Documents' folder and demand $19.95 for a program to un-encrypt them.

Now, the latest scam, when you open the email, locks down your computer so that you cannot access any programs except for Internet Explorer to navigate to their shopping cart. These folks are demanding up to $79.95 to unlock your computer. One of the programs that they are promoting is 'Total Security 2009'.

Again, be aware and don't open anything promoting a software fix for your computer.

Darl Anderson
Technical Editor

Link: http://pocketgod.blogspot.com

The folks at Bolt Creative have done it again. Pocket God, rated #2 in the top paid app list has now gone to Episode 21: Flipping the Bird.

Just what is Pocket God? Have you ever wondered what kind of god you would be -- Benevolent or Hateful? Imagine the following scenario. Everything takes place on a remote island, where you are the all-powerful deity ruling over the primitive, tiny islanders. You have the power to give life and/or take it away. You can employ this power on the poor helpless islanders: lift them in the air, alter gravity, hit them with lightning, sacrifice them to a volcano, the sharks, or other nasty ends to their tiny lives.

Pocket God is actually an episodic microgame to entertain you and your friends. Achievements are recorded on Feint where you can unlock icons of achievement levels: Minion, Shaman, Demi-God, & God. One of the interesting things about this game is that many elements are suggested by the users.

I tried the game out and found it to be funny, fascinating and addictive. You can simulate earthquakes, sunamis and hurricanes. You can drop a meteor on your pygmies or save them by picking it up off them. You can also save them from drowning when they fall off the island (which they often do).

This is a paid game but is available for 99 cents. Updates are FREE and the developers are continuing to update with new episodes and features. For reviews and other info, check out the Pocket God Blog.

Languages: English
Compatible With iPhone and iPod Touch
Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later

Cost: 99 cents

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Additonal Note: Currently iTunes is celebrating the first anniversary of their App store and is offering extensive discounts on different featured apps for the iPhone and iPod. It's well worth the visit to check it out.

One of the most popular devices on the market is the iPhone -- the popularity, the functionality, the apps, and how the competition is trying to come up with a newer and better smartphone to knock the iPhone out of its nice comfy top-selling position. What is it that makes the iPhone so popular? Besides the high-tech features, the biggest selling point is the applications. There are thousands and thousands of apps available for just a touch and a swipe. Most are free.

As a long-time dedicated Palm user, one area I have found lacking is the inability to "beam" data from my device to another (my business partner, for example). I understand the legal issues of copyrighted material; it isn't proper or fair that I "give" a $20 application to someone who hasn't paid for it. However this should not apply to free applications. Sending data in this manner has been limited to PDAs such as the Palm devices, for example. However, Infinite Labs has developed an app called Mover, which allows you to transfer images, text clippings, bookmarks and contacts to other nearby iPhones via Wi-Fi networking, making this as fast and as fun as possible.

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Link: http://hamptonroads.com/2009/05/hackers-demand-10m-your-prescriptions

I can't help but wondering a few things about the supposed "kidnap & ransom" of sensitive medical records. See Virginian Pile-It story here.

First - How stupid (and we know how stupid government can be) would this government agency be if they did not have multiple redundancies of onsite and offsite backups? This writer finds it hard to believe that the hackers got to the offsite backups. And if they don't have multiple onsite and offsite backups somebody needs to be looking for another job!

Secondly - Why has there been so little information forthcoming from public officials? Has the mainstream media been told not to cover this? Or, is there just no information coming from our public servants?

Third - What OS is this system running? Could it be that, once more, a poorly designed, written or secured OS is to blame?

Whatever the answer, this is a bad situation from any viewpoint!

Link: http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-190.htm

Steve Gibson, whom I've known since the late 1980's, is one of the foremost authorities the windows operating systems. In this transcription of his April 1, 2009 pod cast, he explains what is happening in the nether world of computing.

In this podcast he dissects Conflicker, explaining: "The key for keeping a worm or botnet - and Conficker is both - essentially alive is allowing it somehow to update itself and to avoid the authorities. So one of the reasons that this particular worm is doing so well, if you want to put it that way, is that it's able to phone home to get updates to itself.

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