Each week someone has a new way of fleecing people of their money, credit card information and other personal data. This past week we encountered two examples that were targeting CenturyLink customers. Although aimed at CenturyLink customers, similar scams can be found all over the Web. In the event that you’ll encounter a scam like this soon, we wanted to give you a heads up.

In our first scenario, our client received an email from “CenturyLink Support,” the text of which is below. (Spelling/grammar errors included. Links are removed for your safety.) This bogus message was clearly NOT from a CenturyLink representative. Although this message might seem to be legitimate, CenturyLink never asks clients for their account information in an email.

“Dear Subscriber, We are deleting all unused webmail accounts to create more space for new account and better Online service efficiency. Please Click the Link Below to Validate Your Mailbox. Failure To Validate Your Quota May Result in Loss Of Important Information In Your Mailbox/Or deactivated of your webmail account from our database.. Thanks Account Help Desk”

Fortunately, our customer realized this was not from CenturyLink and did not click on the link. Typically a scam like this will link to a malicious site that may attempt to load malicious software on your computer and steal your information. If you receive emails of this nature, always delete them!

Another scam we came across took the form of a webpage claiming “serious security threats might have been detected.” The website was providing this warning to “CenturyLink Customer” and they (the customer) should call an 800 number right away to deal with the threat. This webpage used things like the customer’s IP address and location in an effort to scare them into calling the number. Calling the number on the screen would put you in contact with a representative claiming to be from CenturyLink who then gives you a second number to call for help in removing the threats. If you call that number, a technician from a “remote support company” will then attempt to gain access to your computer via remote login session.

Giving an unknown person access to your computer is NEVER a good idea. In this case, the support call would have cost anywhere from $200-$500 depending on the length of the call! In addition to being scammed out of those funds, providing such a person with your credit card can give them access to your account. While connected to your computer, they will often install backdoors for later access, key logging programs to get your passwords, and other malicious software.

What can you do about these kind of scams? As usual, your first line of defense is a solid antivirus product, but no software can replace a cautious user. Be careful about the sites you visit and the links you click on. Always check links by hovering your cursor over them to see where they go. Never open emails from people or companies you don’t know. Never give your credit card information over the phone. Never allow someone who calls you to access your computer.

Consider buying an antivirus program. While we have long been advocates of free antivirus programs (effective ones), in some cases a paid version is the better option. Paid antivirus programs offer greater levels of protection against more threats than their free counterparts. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Also, not all antivirus programs are as good as the next, and picking one that’s right for your needs can be a chore. Fortunately, we do all the hard work for you by tracking the top performing security programs throughout the year so we can recommend only the best products for our customers.

If you have been the victim of a scam, there are several things you should do. To start with, if you have made a payment, contact your credit card company or bank right away to file a fraud claim. They will rescind the transaction and issue you a new card. Second, you should use another (safe) computer to update all your online account passwords. Third, contact us to remove any malicious software from your computer. Finally, don’t be afraid to call us if you’re unsure if you’ve been scammed or if you run across something suspicious. We’re happy to give input about whether your situation warrants concern or action.

Do you have a question or topic you’d like us to blog about? Email and let us know! 

While browsing the Internet, your web browser collects information on the sites you visit and the things you do there. There are many reasons for this, including automated login on secure websites, faster page loading, custom advertising, etc. Over time, however, this data can become corrupted, leading to problems displaying web pages or loading content. In addition, some malicious software might hijack or change settings on your browser such as your homepage or search engine. Knowing how to avoid unwanted changes is a good start, but sometimes something is missed and now your browser is broken. Let’s take a look at how to get things back to normal.

Mozilla Firefox
To clean up Firefox, start by clicking on the Settings button near the top-right corner, it’s the three horizontal bars just under the X (Close) button. A menu will open, click on the Options button (it looks like a gear). A new box will open with a set of buttons across the top. Click on the General button and set your homepage. Be default, Firefox has it’s own start page with a search box, but if you want to use another page simple type the address in the field provided.

Next we want to check the Search settings by clicking on the Search button. The first option will allow you to set the default search engine. Firefox currently recommend Yahoo Search and sets it as the default search engine automatically but you can easily set another. Below the default search engine you will see a list of alternate “one-click” search engines. To remove any that don’t belong, click to select and hit the Remove button. You can also click on the Restore Default Search Engines to put things back to normal.

For the next step, click on the Privacy button. Here we can set our Tracking preferences. Typically you will want to choose the option to “Tell sites that I do not want to be tracked.”

Below the Tracking section is the History section. Click on the blue text that says “clear your recent history.” A new box will open entitled Clear Recent History. At the top is a drop-down list to select how far back you want to clear. Select whichever option you want, although Everything is the most often selected option. Once that is done, select which items you want cleared. While you can select whichever items you’d like, we typically recommend removing the following items: Browsing & Download History, Form & Search History, Cookies, Cache, and Offline Website Data. After you have made your selection, click on Clear Now.

Now that you’ve cleared the browsing history it’s time to check out your Extensions. Close the Options screen and click on the Settings button again. This time you will want to click on the Add-ons button. This will open a new tab with a menu on the left. Click on Extensions. Firefox doesn’t have any extensions pre-installed, so if there are any in this list that didn’t knowingly install, they should be removed. To do this, click on the Remove button on the right side of the extension.

Next, check the Appearance and Services sections and follow the same procedure.

Finally we will check the Plugins section. Firefox handles plugins very well by setting known, unsafe plugins to ask to activate. If you see any in the list that are marked unsafe, you will need to remove them from the Add/Remove Programs list in Windows Control Panel. To do this, write right down the name of the plugin you want to remove and close Firefox. Next, click on the Start button, then Control Panel, then Uninstall Programs. Scroll through the list to find the entry you want, then select it by clicking on it. Now click the Uninstall button and follow the prompts. Remember to read the prompts as they come up so that you actually remove the plugin and don’t accidentally install more unwanted items!

Good job, you have now successfully cleaned Firefox!

This is the last of three articles in which we have shared how you can clean up Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox. We realize, however, that some of our readers would rather we do their computer cleanup for them. Give us a call if we can assist you! 715-255-0325.