TECH TIP: How to Spot Fraudulent Email With Bogus Links

A listener forwarded me an email that appeared to be from LinkedIn notifying them of a "new message".

What concerned this gentleman, and quite wisely, was that he didn't know a "Catherine Patterson". While only one of many clues, it was enough to raise the caution flag and seek assistance. Fortunately he asked questions before clicking the links.

I shared the following; perhaps it will be of value to you as well:

You can check the validity of links in Outlook emails by holding your mouse over the link URL. If the URL shown in the mouse-over does not match EXACTLY the URL you’d expect (i.e. linkedin.com -> linkedin.com or at least somethinghere.linkedin.com) you can bet this is bogus. In the example you forwarded, the URL *displayed* is www.linkedin.com but the email code would send you to some crazy amrpartners dot com dot br URL.

While it’s POSSIBLE this is an email re-direct from their email provider, the “.br” domain, among other clues (i.e. you don’t know Catherine Pathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifterson) makes me confident it’s fraudulent. You can always log in to linkedin.com separately to see if Catherine HAS in fact sent you a message.

Short version: If the mouse-over URL does not equal the displayed URL (and the domain of the site you’ve heard of), simply press delete.




More information on this topic from anti-virus maker Trend-Micro.

What clever tricks have you seen from spammers? If you have a tech question, feel free to reach out: techexpert AT brianwestbrook DOT com

Washington State Broadband Office 2011 Report

Did you know? The "Washington State Broadband Office of the Washington State Department of Commerce" is an actual, it seems, entity? They sent me a press release with information on the use and availability of broadband in the State.

Among the findings: "3.88 percent of all Washington households do not have access to broadband" (that number, the report states, is an improvement from 2010).

The press release follows, and more information is available at: http://www.broadband.wa.gov/.

Washington State Broadband Office Releases
2011 Annual Broadband Report
Access improves, private investment increases


Olympia, WA – The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) of the Department of Commerce released its second annual comprehensive report today on broadband access, availability and use in Washington State.
Highlights of the report include:
• Just over 44 percent of all Washingtonians have a choice of four wireline providers.
• Gaps still exist: 3.88 percent of all Washington households do not have access to broadband – down from 4.3 percent in 2010.
• Grantees began work on more than $200M of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act broadband infrastructure projects.
During 2011, private investment in broadband increased dramatically, particularly among wireless providers which are expanding their 4G service areas. In the state’s most populated areas wireless speeds jumped from 10 mega bits per second (mbps) to 25 mbps.
The report also outlines the goals of WSBO during 2012 and is available online at: http://broadband.wa.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2011BBAnnualRptFINAL.pdf . In addition to the report, updated maps that include broadband availability, upload/download speeds and feedback options are available under the mapping tab at the WSBO website: http://www.broadband.wa.gov/

TECH NEWS: Disaster Communications Receives Passing Grade at VTech

Virginia Tech, apparently, earned a graduate degree in crisis communications in the four years since the tragic 2007 shootings. When shots were fired on campus yesterday, campus officials used text message alerts, even Twitter, to keep their community and the public at-large informed.

One simple message, sent minutes (not hours) after initial reports of a gunman loose on campus --and several timely updates later-- informed students and staff to simply stay indoors.



After receiving a failing grade during the previous campus tragedy, VT went high tech, installing a outbound text alert system amplifying the message from the administration offices to personal cell phones in pockets across the community.

Such systems are becoming commonplace in universities, hospitals, even municipalities around the world.

One local school campus installed a similar program to notify students in a variety of emergency situations with instant updates in the aftermath of the VT shootings.

If you have a son or daughter in school, yesterday's news from VT should serve as a reminder to check the contact information on file with your campus. Alerts are useless if sent an old or incorrect phone number.

While no one technology is foolproof, even in the best of circumstances. Outages, errors, even dead batteries can thwart complex systems when they're needed most.

Always have a backup.

Think about your own, personal, communications plan: What will you do when the next emergency hits?

KXL: The 25 Worst Passwords

Just in time for the Holiday shopping season...

Once again, the list of 25 worst passwords is out and the results (as Rebecca asked: "How many years have we been talking about this?") are still somewhat surprising.

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

If your password is on the list (or could be), here are some quick tips to choosing a good password:

• Make it easy for you to remember but hard to guess.
  
• Use a phrase, lyric, or quote rather than word or simple numbers.
  
• Add capitalization, punctuation, and symbols.
  
• Change your passwords regularly and when you suspect compromise.
  
• Do not give your login information to anyone (especially over the phone!).

Do you have additional tips? Have you had your accounts hacked? Leave a comment below... and thanks for joining us on FM News 101 KXL.

KGW: Five Facebook Privacy Settings To Check Now

Many of us use Facebook every day.

But do we really know what information the social media giant is sharing with others?

I recently spoke with KGW-TV (NBC/Portland) Reporter Abbey Gibb about some of the most important settings and how to protect what others see about you.

Few take advantage of the updated security options - possibly because users aren't even aware they're available.

Of course, the tip not listed if you really don't want your information out there? Don't share it on the web at all.

For more perspective on this, or any tech story, drop Brian an email: techexpert AT brianwestbrook DOT com.

KING-TV's New Day Northwest w/Margaret Larson: Remembering Steve Jobs - 12 October 2011 (KING-TV)

How will you remember Steve Jobs? Which of these products do you remember?


For more visit http://tech.brianwestbrook.com or follow Brian on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMW/

KXL: Netflix CEO "Apologizes", Makes Things Worse

Netflix just can't catch a break.

Listen to my radio report on this topic, originally broadcast on Portland's FM News 101 KXL earlier today, 20 September 2011: kxl_techexpert-netflixbacklash_20110920.mp3 (MP3)

In a PR and stock price nightmare, the company announced a price hike moving from basic plans starting at around $10 a month to seperate fees for their signature DVD-by-mail service and their online streaming movies-on-demand offering.

Now customers must choose either the streaming service (with convenient set-top box playback on devices such as Xbox 360, ROKU player, TiVo, and even many newer television sets) or receiving the familiar red envelope with a disc at your doorstep. Each service is now $8 a piece-- a 60% price increase for those without a calculator handy.

Perhaps to make matters worse, Netflix Co-Founder and CEO, Reed Hastings posted and emailed customers (in part) the following statement:

"It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. I’ll try to explain how this happened."

Then Hastings continues to explain that the rate hike was necessary to improve the technology of the streaming platform.

What has alarmed users, and as a result shareholders, most, however in the CEO's message seems to be the announcement of a split. Where both products were once offered under the "Netflix" name, now the physical DVDD service will, the note informs, be called Qwikster while the streaming option will retain the Netflix brand.

Now to create queues, search, rank and share titles users will be forced to use two separate platforms-- a confusing option it appears many users are not pay MORE for.

Meanwhile, web comic The Oatmeal weighed in this week with perhaps the genius' most timely and spot-on commentary of the price-hike yet (click the red banner to load the full comic in a new window):



Listen to my radio report on this topic, originally broadcast on Portland's FM News 101 KXL earlier today 20 September 2011: kxl_techexpert-netflixbacklash_20110920.mp3 (MP3)

Is Netflix doomed? Did you unsubscribe? What can save the struggling company from its recent downward spiral? What other streaming movie on-demand options do you recommend?