How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

1. Be suspicious of any e-mail or other message containing an urgent request for your personal information.

Phishing scams typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements to encourage victims to act immediately. They typically ask for information like AOL screen names or other usernames and passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and more. Remember, AOL employees will never ask you for your password in an e-mail or instant message.


2. Even if you think a request for information may be legitimate, don't click the links in the e-mail to visit a Web site.

Sometimes links can be disguised to look like they're taking you to a real site, when they're actually taking you to a scam site. Instead of clicking a link, type the Web site's address by hand to ensure that you go to the company or organization's real site.

If the request for information is coming from a company or organization with whom you have a relationship, call them directly to confirm whether they actually need the information and, if so, whether you can provide it over the telephone.


3. Be extremely careful if you share personal or financial information online.

AOL recommends that you never provide sensitive information via e-mail or instant message. Providing this information via Web site is acceptable only if you are certain that the site is legitimate, and the site is secured (see below for additional info).


4. If you submit information to a Web site, make sure the site is secure.

Look for the "lock" icon on the status bar at the bottom of your browser window. The lock icon typically appears in the lower right-hand corner of the browser window. In addition, check the beginning of the URL or Web address - if it starts with "https://," rather than just "http://," you're on a secure server.


5. Review credit card and other account statements regularly.

If you see anything suspicious, contact your banks and all your credit card issuers immediately. If your statement is late by more than two or three days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.


6. Keep your operating system and Web browser up to date.

To update your Windows® operating system and your Internet Explorer® browser, go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Follow the instructions there to check for updates, then download and install any critical updates.


7. Install and run anti-virus software and update it frequently.

AOL offers anti-virus software to members who use AOL 9.0 Security Edition and other versions of the AOL 9.0 client. Upgrade now, or use any one of many commercially available anti-virus programs.

The AOL-provided anti-virus software, McAfee VirusScan Online brought to you by AOL, will update automatically when you sign on to AOL.

No matter which anti-virus program you use, make sure you keep it up-to-date, or it will provide less and less protection over time. Instructions for updating your software should be included in your program's manual or help area. You can also check the program manufacturer's Web site for instructions.


8. Run AOL® Spyware Protection software regularly.

AOL offers AOL Spyware Protection to all members for no additional charge. Visit AOL Keyword: Spyware for more information.


9. Run firewall software on your computer.

A firewall is your computer's first line of defense against harmful attacks from the Internet. If you have a broadband connection, use firewall software to hide your computer from hackers and help protect it from destructive computer trojans and worms. AOL for Broadband users may download and install a firewall for no additional charge by visiting AOL Keyword: Firewall Express.


10. Report any phishing scams you receive to the following organizations.

Report e-mail phishing scams to AOL by clicking the "Report Spam" button at the bottom of the AOL mailbox or use the Report Spam icon at the right when you are reading the message.

Forward the scam e-mail to the company featured in the e-mail if it is a legitimate company.

Forward the entire e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates) ; have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.


3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

Four tips to using System Restore on Windows XP

System Restore is a feature of Windows XP that periodically backs up the Windows system folders. It does this in case some piece of software is not doing something today that it was doing yesterday. In that event, you can restore the latest System Restore backup and hopefully fix things.

Microsoft refers to System Restore backups as "restore points". They reside on the C disk in a folder Windows tries to keep hidden.

System Restore runs silently in the background, thus, you can use a Windows XP machine for years and not be aware of its existence - which is both good and bad.

Tip One

The bad part leads to the first tip - every now and then make a restore point manually, just to be sure you can (instructions for doing so are below). There are three reasons for this.

First, under some conditions, System Restore will purposely turn itself off and not tell you that it's no longer running. Therefore, just before you manually make a restore point, check that System Restore has made some recent restore points. You do this by starting the restore procedure, then browsing the calendar of previous restore points without actually restoring anything. I would feel reasonably safe with one restore point a week.

Second, the rules for when System Restore makes a restore point are numerous and confusing. Thus it can be functioning within normal parameters but still go weeks without making a restore point.

Finally, I've seen System Restore break (as opposed to turning itself off by design). That is, when I tried to manually make a restore point it failed. It's better to know that this has happened than not know.

There is no one right answer for how often to manually make a restore point. I'd suggest monthly as a starting point, more often if the computer is very important, less often if not. The process of making a restore point takes about 10 seconds.

Tip Two

Always make a restore point before installing new software. Some software makes restore points as part of the installation process, but not all. Better safe than sorry. In addition to new software, also make a restore point before installing a new version of existing software and prior to installing bug fixes (a.k.a. patches, updates). And, leading to the next tip, make a restore point before letting antivirus or antispyware software remove something malicious.

Tip Three

Once upon a time I was working on a Windows XP machine that was infected with lots of malicious software (viruses, trojans, adware, spyware, etc.). When I got the machine, infected though it was, Windows was able to boot. At some point though, the cleanup process got too aggressive.

Something I did in removing the malware prevented Windows from fully booting. It got to the point of displaying the desktop wallpaper, but that was about it. The desktop icons never appeared and none of the auto-started applications ran. Even in safe mode, Windows got to the same halfway point in the boot process and stopped. I had followed my own advice and made a recent restore point, but how to restore to it?

The third tip is that System Restore can be used even in this case. Start the machine and use the F8 key to invoke the "Windows Advanced Options menu" just as if you were going into safe mode. Then chose the option to boot to "Safe Mode with Command Prompt". This disables more of Windows than regular Safe Mode does. In my case, it disabled the broken part of Windows and the machine was able to boot to a command prompt.

From the command prompt, you can run System Restore with this command:

c:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

This invokes the normal System Restore application (not a text mode version), except there is no option to make a restore point. All you can do in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Command Prompt is restore previously taken restore points. Pick the most recent restore point and hopefully your problem will disappear. In my case it did, Windows was able to boot after restoring the latest restore point. If not, try an earlier restore point.

Tip Four

The last tip is simply to try booting to "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" now, while everything is working correctly. Consider it a dress rehearsal.
Invoking

With Windows XP running, System Restore is invoked from the Start button with:

Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore

You can make System Restore easier to find by creating a shortcut to it on the desktop. When hovering over System Restore in the last step above, right click instead of left clicking and then "Send To" -> "Desktop (create shortcut)". Another way is to navigate to this folder:

c:\windows\system32\restore\

and right click on file rstrui.exe. Here too, send it to the desktop.

Note: The directory where file rstrui.exe lives is, technically speaking, the system root folder. Normally the system root is "c:\windows", but this is not mandatory. To be 100% sure, do Start -> Run and in the box enter "%SystemRoot%" this will open Windows Explorer at the system root folder.

Sometimes when invoking "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" Windows asks you to log in, sometimes not. If prompted, log in as as a user that is a member of the Administrators group. The Windows userid you normally use may work fine. If not, try logging in as user Administrator with a blank password.

Wise Disk cleaner

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