Scammers are targeting users of Windows XP with a socially engineered phishing scheme that is designed to exploit Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage program. The WGA-specific scam attempts to extort credit card information from its victims by warning that they must validate their Windows installation by updating account information, or risk losing access to their data.

Windows Genuine Advantage is a new anti-piracy effort that employs a system of incentives and disincentives to verify that customers have installed licensed copies of the OS. The program was initially a pilot that provided customers who opted-in with special perks for being “legal.” In return for their cooperation, customers will receive discounts on software and bonus downloads.
Read More at BetaNews

HNS – A Simple Guide to Securing USB Memory Sticks

Since their introduction the USB memory stick has been hailed by those fed up with the shortcomings of the floppy. Their small physical size, satisfactory speed and ever-increasing storage capacity makes them the most convenient device to use for transferring files from one place to another. However, these very features can introduce new security risks and amplify risks that already existed with floppy disks. The primary risks associated with USB memory sticks can be identified as:

• Virus Transmissions – Data sharing opens up an avenue for viruses to propagate
• Corruption of data – Corruption can occur if the drive is not unmounted cleanly
• Loss of data – All media is susceptible to data loss
• Loss of media – The device is physically small and can easily be misplaced
• Loss of confidentiality – Data on the lost physical media can be obtained by others

Read the full article from the link above. Much is basic, but there is something for us all to learn.

MSN Messenger Worm Packs Double Punch
Anti-virus vendors have raised the threat level on a double-barrelled MSN Messenger worm that lures users with the promise of sexy image files.

 The worm, identified as W32/Bropia, arrives as a download link within MSN instant messaging sessions, but instead of sexy photographs, infected users get an image of a cooked chicken on a platter with a neatly drawn bikini tan line.

The worm also deposits a variant of the Rbot backdoor Trojan that is capable of using infected machines to create zombie networks, security experts warn.

I cringe every time my kids play an online game from a source I am not familiar with. This is one of the reasons that machine is stand-alone and isolated from the rest of the network. Seems some Asian game sites are loaded with malware. Makes you wonder if the Internet is going to become a contaminated playground and PC’s will have to re-build them-selves nightly to assure nothing naughty isnt still lingering.[Cnet]