When it is time to purchase a new PC many of us are left wondering what to do with the old one. Some of us hold on to it “just in case.” Some of us pass it down in the family. Yet, some of us just throw it in a non-descript dumpster somewhere. But why? There are so many refurbishing locations available in every community to turn that technology back into something usable for those less fortunate than ourselves. In fact, you can access a huge database just by visiting this site on the TechSoup site.

But before you just take out a hunk of mechanical junk to be reused, allow me to offer some tips (courtesy of TechSoup).

1. Determine if your old computer can be reused.

   If you have a computer that is less then five years old, chances are that it can be put to good use by someone else. Rather than donate equipment directly to a charity or school, however, it is usually best for all involved if you can send it to a refurbisher, especially if you need to wipe your hard drive or are uncertain about the computer’s condition. Refurbishers will ensure that equipment they send to nonprofits and schools works well and runs legal copies of software, and that any e-waste is disposed of properly.

2. Recycle old and broken hardware.

   Any equipment that is not working or is more than five years old should be tagged for recycling, i.e. responsible destruction.

3. Contact the refurbisher or recycler before donating.

   Call the organization or check its Web site to ensure that it accepts the type of computer you plan to give away. Some refurbishing organizations, for example, will refuse anything older than a Pentium II. While you may be tempted to donate equipment directly to a favorite local school or charity, remember that refurbishers are generally better equipped to repair and upgrade computers. They will then pass on ready-to-use equipment to those who need it, often at little or no cost.

4. Remember the accessories.

   If you can, include the keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, packaged software, or any other accessories you use with the computer. Schools and nonprofits can almost always put them to good use, and most organizations only accept complete systems.

5. If possible, keep the operating system intact.

   If you are donating hardware with a preinstalled Microsoft operating system, keep in mind that the license is only valid when used with the machine on which it was originally installed. Since charitable organizations usually cannot afford to purchase and license new operating systems, a legal transfer (whereby the computer and operating system stay together) is always preferable. While Linux and Macintosh operating systems have different requirements, as a general rule, try to include the operating system software with all donated computers whenever possible.

6. Provide the original software media and documentation.

   To ensure that the software transfer is legal, pass along the original disks, media, Certificate of Authenticity sticker (usually on the computer), user manual, and other documentation that came with the equipment.

7. If you clear your computer of personal information yourself, it’s best to use disk-cleaning software.

   “Personal information” includes your Internet browser’s cache, cookies, history; your email contacts and messages; your documents; your recycle or trash folder; and all nontransferable software. The best way to clear this is with a disk-cleaning utility that overwrites all the sectors of your hard drives, making your data unrecoverable.

8. Follow computer delivery instructions.

   Many recycling and refurbishing organizations have specific locations where equipment can be donated, while others have delivery instructions they expect donors to follow.

9. Keep a list of what you donated for your records.

   Remember that tax season will always return — and you are likely eligible for a deduction if you donate to a nonprofit refurbisher. Most school or nonprofit refurbishers can provide a tax receipt upon request. Business donors can deduct the un-depreciated value of the computer, and individuals can deduct the current market value of a computer.

10. Plan for future donations.

    Rescue a box from the recycling bin and use it to store the documents that came with your new computer, so that when the time comes to donate it, you’ll have everything in one place.

A trojan horse is one of those terms that makes us cringe. It is largely unknown as to what it does exactly, or where it comes from, but we know that such a thing on our computer, is probably not good. Trojan horses, like viruses, malware, spyware seem to fall under the “just let my antivirus deal with it” category.

If I may, for a brief minute, explain some background and go historical and technological, both at the same time: As the Greek legend goes, during the Trojan War, it has been said that the Greeks gave their foes, the Trojans, a big wooden horse as peace offering. But after the Trojans pulled the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers busted out of the horse’s belly and opened the city gates, allowing their fellow soldiers to pour in and capture Troy (Brad Pitt, apparently, somehow had something to do with all of this). A computer trojan horse, then, acts in a very similar way: by downloading an unknown program, an attacker can have access to the system by pretending something it is not, thus behaving like the famous horse of troy—allowing for an insider attack. Trojan horses can be delivered by opening a rouge email attachment for example, with a promise of something interesting or needed like a fake program upgrade; they are often delivered via email attachments or Internet software downloads and can cause significant damage to ones computer.

A more sophisticated form of delivering trojan horses, though, is the lesser-known “road apple.” A road apple is a real-world delivery mechanism of a trojan horse—a quite creative one, if I may. In a road apple (a nicer term for horse manure) attack, the attacker leaves an infected CD Rom or USB drive in a location easy to be found and with a label that would attract curiosity.

For example, an attacker might leave a USB drive in an elevator or bathroom of a large corporation with a label that reads “Executive Bonus Payments 2007″. The victim would then insert to the USB drive to their computer out of curiosity and alas, the trojan horse would be delivered.

I tried this technique here at MinuteFix (sans the trojan horse), to see if someone would fall. This is what my hidden camera discovered:

Read more about Road Apples from Wikipedia.

A question has been posed for some time about the likelihood of Apple computers becoming infected by viruses. The issue has become even more relevant since Mac invited Intel to the table and started producing dual boot systems through programs like Parallels Desktop for Mac and Boot Camp. The question, itself, is simple enough. Do Macs get viruses?

In short, yes, it is possible for an Apple Macintosh to get a virus. However, the likelihood of an Apple Macintosh user getting a virus when compared to a Microsoft Windows user is little to none. In fact, many Apple Macintosh users (including myself) don’t even run an antivirus protection program.

Some of the reasons why Apple Macintosh computers do not have as many viruses as Microsoft Windows are:

1. Newer Macintosh operating systems, such as the Mac OS X, is built on the Unixkernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available.
2. Microsoft Windows is used by a lot more users. Because more users use Microsoft Windows, it is a lot better of a target than Apple computers.
3. Most of the virus writers are familiar with Microsoft Windows, and therefore are capable only of creating a virus for that platform.
4. Many of the tools and scripts used to help users create viruses or other malware are most frequently designed for Microsoft Windows.

There is certainly no lack of virus protection programs for Macs.

Note: If you’re running a virtual PC on your Apple Macintosh, because it’s emulating Microsoft Windows, it can become infected with Windows viruses and you should be running an antivirus protection program on it such as Norton or Macafee. In addition a Mac can serve as a virus carrier, meaning that a virus could be stored on an Apple computer yet not infect it. But if that computer were to connect to a network or a user was to forward an infected e-mail to a Windows computer that could become infected.

As technology evolves, and people become more sophisticated at using it, so the threat posed by computers and the internet. More and more, the real threat lies in social engineering, and not so much in technological attacks.

Phishing is one of the most common forms of modern security threats, causing people to unwillingly compromise their identity and privacy.

Here our top 10 ways in which you can reduce the risk of being phished:

1. Don’t ever click on a link in an email that comes from any financial institution. Banking is the most vital data you can lose, so it is the most common form of phishing. It is very easy to generate an email that spoofs the “from” address, and a logo and design can be made to look like communication coming from real companies. These emails are skillfully crafted and links can be “masked” to hide the true address. The security lock on a browser toolbar can also be falsified. A rule of thumb, is don’t ever answer to any financial institution email unless you are expecting it. When in doubt, pick up the phone and call.

These emails often warn of some dire consequences (eg: “Your account will be closed” or “There has been fraudulent activity”) and require some sort of immediate action. A good solution is always have bookmarks to the financial institutions you deal with, or always type the company’s web address directly in the address bar.

2. Consider having 2 levels of password security. As much as it would reduce your chances of being victimized, changing your top-level security password every three months for every website you use would just not give you any time to check your email. People often use a single password for everything we use to make it easier to remember, but we propose this: use the same password you already use, but add a variation to it. For example, if your password is city of birth (a no-no, more on this later), you could add the last 4 digits of your social security to the end. So, if you kansas is your password, add some extra security by adding those digits, for example, to kansas9876. Then, use this new variation (which will be very easy to remember) to any web service that may have sensitive information. These might be your email and your online bank and credit card accounts, for example. Now, you can use your standard password for everything on the net and not worry that your password can be potentially accessed by a teenager who runs one of your social favorite networks. Best of all, this keeps it simple you don’t have to remember more than one password.

3. Don’t use the password reminder feature in your browser to store your login information to your email or financial institution’s website. Remember that intruders can’t only access your computer over the Internet, but some may be lurking around you at a cafe or at the office. If you remain logged in, or save your access data in your browser, it makes finding your private data, a breeze. Which takes us to…

4. Always use the Windows password protection when logging into your computer (same applies to Mac). Share it with your family, spouse or co-workers if you need, but keep in mind that a computer can be stolen or lost. Especially if you use a laptop, you can safeguard all your information by keeping Windows locked down. It is nearly impossible to access Windows without the password, and this would guarantee that if your computer gets the five finger discount, that your data is lost, yes, but safe.

5. A very recent form of phishing can be found on some social networks is trying to phish for your email password. Disguising themselves as helping you “invite your friends” a social network might ask you enter your email address and password. Many users do, giving these networks access to your inbox. This is one of the reasons why you should use a secondary password for your email and financial websites. Don’t ever share that password.

6. For goodness sakes, don’t use your pet’s name, city of birth or your spouse’s first name. Your city of birth is also a common one too. Try to stay away from obvious passwords, these are the first things hackers might attempt. Try to think of something people don’t commonly know about you, like a place you’ve always wanted to go, the name of someone you admire, or your favorite restaurant. These are easy to remember, and hard to guess.

7. Be careful giving out information over the phone. With the advent of voice over IP, crooks are finding more creative ways of fooling people. Vishing (phishing over VoIP) commonly uses caller ID spoofing, where a caller can fake the origin of the call. For example, a criminal can spoof an outboud call, to seem like it is coming from your bank, or from a person who you know. Don’t give out your personal details to any in-coming caller. Dial back to the institution if you are suspicious.

8. Be careful about downloading any software from unknown sources. Trojan horses often lie inside software packages. Check the validity of the website before downloading. Google the company. If people are saying good things about it, it’s probably safe.

9. Consider security software to detect phishing sites. Haute Secure and McAfee’s free Site Advisor are the ones we recommend.

10. Lastly, use your common sense. Hackers and cyber thugs are people too. They think of obvious ways to abuse the system and most of these can be mitigated by using your common sense. If something seems urgent, or overly impressive, stop and take a second look.

We are giving out $10,000 to the first 10 people who read this post. If that’s you, please enter your bank account number and your password in the comments below. Got ya.

A few days back we published our community’s Top 5 Vista Annoyances. Our number one was the User Account Control. User Account Control (UAC) is a new security component in Windows Vista. It enables users to perform common tasks as non-administrators, called standard users on Windows Vista, and as administrators without having to switch users, log off, or use Run As…
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work quite like Microsoft describes. What it does is, when you want to install a program, Vista tells you it “Must have permission to run this program”, then you click, and you go on your merry way. I found it a pain. Here is where you turn it off (I found it after much hunting and cussing):

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click User Accounts.
3. In the User Accounts window, click User Accounts.
4. In the User Accounts tasks window, click Turn User Account Control on or off.
5. If UAC is currently configured in Admin Approval Mode, the User Account Control message appears.
6. Click Continue.
7. Clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK.
8. Click Restart Now to apply the change right away, or click Restart Later and close the User Accounts tasks window.

You will now be good to go, and won’t get that nagging message anymore. Is there any Vista Annoyance you’d like to see addressed? Let me know in the comments.

Today’s computer security threats are not frequently what people think they are. Often times, viruses or so called trojan horses keep people faithfully updating their security software giving them a comfortable sense of security. But the most common security threats today are no longer cousins of the infamous “I love you” attachment, but rather, human deceit. This new form of security threat is a combination of technology and physiology, techniques now known as  social engineering. They apply trickery to get people to divulge confidential information.

Kevin Mitnick, one of the most famous security criminals (who served five years in prison—eight of them in solitary confinement—and now runs Mitnick Security Consulting, a computer security consultancy) coined the term “social engineering.” Mitnick points out that that it’s much easier to trick someone into giving you his or her password for a system than to spend the effort to hack in.

Criminal hackers (a.k.a. crackers) simply apply cognitive bias techniques that can people into giving up their personal data, deceived by false information. One of these practices is pretexting, where the criminal creates an invented scenario (the pretext) often posing as an authority, or a trusted source, to trick a person into disclosing their information. The most common expression of these security threats is phishing where a cracker can spoof the authenticity of a website by copying the logo and format of a familiar site, and getting a user to submit their personal information. Unbeknownst to the user, instead of the information being sent to the authentic company’s website, the data is neatly stored by the information thief.

Common phishing techniques target banking institutions where an email might contain an urgent request, such as a request to change a pin number. See, for example a common social engineering attempt to steal your Citibank account information below. This is a real email sent by a so-called Riley Buckner, “Head of Citi© Identity Theft Solutions”:

Recently there have been a large number of identity theft attempts targeting Citibank customers. In order to safeguard your account, we require that you update your Citibank ATM/Debit card PIN.

This update is requested of you as a precautionary measure against fraud. Please note that we have no particular indications that your details have been compromised in any way.

This process is mandatory, and if not completed within the nearest time your account may be subject to temporary suspension. To securely update your Citibank ATM/Debit card PIN please go to:

https://www.citibank.com/signin/citifi/scripts/login2/update_pin.jsp

Please note that this update applies to your  Citibank ATM/Debit card - which is linked directly to your checking account, not Citibank credit cards.Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and thank you for using Citibank!

Regards,

Riley Buckner
Head of Citi® Identity Theft Solutions

Notice that the address in the email seems legitimate; however, the thief has coded the address to go to the page you see below. You will notice that the phisher has actually opened the genuine Citibank website, under the pop-up where they display a page, hosted on their servers, where your personal information is being requested.

If you are concerned about security, be careful not to believe that the best way to protect yourself is with an antivirus software or firewall. Keep in mind that modern security threats attempt to play with your mind, not with your computer. And the only antidote to this virus, is you.

Have you been deceived by social engineering?  If so, why don’t you leave us a comment and tell us about your experience?

Finding a good, free antivirus is a difficult task. When I purchased my new computer, it came with a trial of Norton Antivirus. I used it for the 60 days, and then I decided not to keep it by purchasing it. I had purchased a few others over the years, but nothing seemed to do the trick.

A MinuteFix Tech sent me a link from PC Magazine which conducted some testing of antivirus programs; an independent report by Av-Test.org . Pretty interesting stuff. I have always used more than one anti-virus program and spyware/malware program for protection on my own system. I’ve tried AVG, Avast!, and several others, even paying for a few like Panda.

I wasn’t familiar with the first product on the list, WebWasher, but I was thrilled to see Anvira’s Antivir listed as #3.  Douglas Wong, another MinuteFix Tech, recommended this product to me, and it has become my absolute favorite program to use and recommend. The best part is that is has a free version. In my experience, Anvira finds all kinds of things that others miss. I use it in conjunction with NoAdware , and Spybot Search and Destroy. Between these three products, my system runs pretty smoothly, and stays pretty clean of viruses, spyware, and malware.

There are a couple of things I really like about Anvir. It can be set to auto update, so I don’t ever have to worry about that, and I can run it automatically with an easy to use scheduler. Scans can also be run in Windows Safe Mode, which is terrific for times when you can’t get Windows to boot totally into full mode (a lot of programs such as this won’t run in Safe Mode), so that is a definite plus. It leaves a very small resource footprint, unlike other competitors, and it seems to find things that other programs don’t.

On a downside, unlike Avast! and AVG, it does not scan incoming our outgoing emails. Its built-in on-demand scan doesn’t quarantine found items, it only tries to delete or repair them.

Antivir has also received positive reviews by PCMagazine, Sofotex, and About.com.

Everyone who I have recommended this product to loves it.

If you need any help configuring your system, we’re online and ready to help.

How do you deal with Viruses and Spyware? Please let me know, I’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this product, if you’ve tried it, or others you use, both good and bad.