People coming from Sites that don't exist

So I woke up today checking out my sites, and looking outside.   So As I was checking my Stats for my blog.  I cam across a referring site that brought Supposedly Two people to my site.  I looked at the URL for the site:

• http://trojan.fiftystatesclassifiedads.com/index.php

[ad#ad2-right]So after seeing the "trojan" Prefix and I am wondering if this was an attempt by Malware to infect my domain.   So I go check this domain out.   I got to it and I get a 404.  I then do a Cache Check with OPENDNS.  I also Then decided to see if it was even Registered domain by the doing a Whois.  So I am opening this up to people who might know.   I did do some research and here's wha I've found out so far.

According to How2hack, they talk about how people want privacy and that it might be someone who does not want to be found.  I tend to agree with them, Privacy for Privacy sake is good but if you want to be private you would you even be checking out websites knowing people will want to find out who really is coming to your site.  The How2Hack site also talks about how this might happen and I see where they are coming from.

This was the only site I could find that even looked like it was relevant to what I was searching for.  I don't see how someone can come to my site saying they were referred by another site and that site does not exist?  Anyone want to try to answer this question and give insight as to why this would happen?

Twitter Spam bots are hot to trot: http://gentai.com/revenge1

Ok so I was curious why I all of the sudden got people joining my list. each one I look at just to see who these people are have only one twitter message saying this from two different accounts:

and this one also

and once you click that link it takes you to this website and see what they want you to do:

These people are trying to get you to click on there links and [ad#ad2-left-1]get you give them email accounts.  This has been socially engineered to look like it is real.  I gave them a 10 min email account to see what they sent me.  It was a link to there porn site.  Wanting me to give them my credit card or checking account information and to join there site.  I don't think so, not this old dog.   Anyways if you get this spam from a user you might just want to block these people.  Some of these people have followers.  Hmm I don't know about these people.  I guess they want you to send an email to other people to spam them also.  How nice of them to social engineer this scheme so you can make your friends and family mad at you and probably not even talk to you.   So that is why it is good not to auto-follow people when they subscribe to your twitter account.   Some people have that set.  Some people just don't learn. I am sure some people will like this site for other reasons but please don't spam people with this little site. Please don't put people on that list.

Getting better speeds from your Cellular broadband!

If your like me and you want to get better than expected speeds from web pages loading.  It sometimes frustrates people that the speed of web page loading is slow to some people others like me always expect it to be slow.   This is the downside of having a mobile internet, because of the locations of the cell towers and if there is any interference to or from the tower.  This is always going to be a problem with this technology, if something is going on the network it will undoubtedly slow you down.    So what can you do to speed up the web page loading and other web site functions.   Here are some great list of available ways to get a little more speed from your modem:

[ad#cricket-1-1]

• Google Gears -- This is one of those little extensions that will Run JavaScript in the background to improve performance.  Although this is something you can use on all your website but if you like to go to certain websites alot for games or online interactions, who use JavaScrip will speed up your internet experience.


• FasterFox --  This is for Firefox only.  What it does is : Prefetch Links, Page Load Timer, and Block Popups. This starts caching some of the pages to better help with web browsing.  Although this is good by itself.  I find that it is better to use this with some of the other programs.


• RabbIT--  is a web proxy that speeds up web surfing over slow links by doing: Compress text pages to gzip streams. This reduces size by up to 75%, Compress images to 10% jpeg. This reduces size by up to 95%, Remove advertising, Remove background images, and Cache filtered pages and images.  This is pretty good for web access and seems to work well with Broad Band modem.

[ad#tmi-left-1]These are a few that I found to better help people who have cellular broadband to get a boost of speed from there service.  Although this might not work on all networks due to the restrictions of some of the network policies this will at least help out with some.  I'll be trying this out on my Cricket modem later this month to see if it is good for that service.

Microsoft to Release KB961051 on the Dec 17, 2008

According to McAfee and I will quote:

December 16, 2008: Microsoft has announced an out-of-cycle patch release for a critical, remote-code-execution, vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer (CVE-2008-4844). The patch, to be released on December 17, will address the vulnerability across multiple versions on Internet Explorer running on supported Windows platforms.

[via McAfee Threat Center]

[ad#ad2-right]From what I am understanding it will be KB961051 and will be a critical update on all Windows platforms.  Microsoft issued a security advisory for this on there Technet support website.   This will probably be put online sometime tomorrow and will be available to download after 10am PST although this is just a rumor because when I go to that article they talk about the work around and how to fix it temporary until they release the patch.  This is releated to the IE Vulnerability that is in the wild and has been causing havok on the internet.

Facebook: Virus Variant comes back from the dead!

In my recent post, I talked about a Virus that is circulating around on Facebook.  It is know as the Koobface virus and has been changed a little by the programers.   So I what is Techworld saying, just this:

[ad#ad2-right]

In fact, Koobface is now using one of Facebook's own features against it, Lovet said. The latest variant uses Facebook's ability to redirect web links to drive users to malicious websites, often hosted on Geocities.com, Lovet said.

[Via Techworld]

If you have been victim to this little virus, you should check out my Virus removal page and download the programs that should fix this little virus for good on your system.  You should also check out my Previous post I also have some good tips and tricks to prevent the user(YOU) from getting hit by this virus in the first place. This virus is a Good social engineered virus, so please be careful.

Some good CyberMonday Sites to look at for 2008!

I was just getting done with that story about the Walmart Stampede, and thought I would encourage people to check these good sites for people to check out for great deals.   I have been looking through sites combing for some great sites to find the best deals and here they are:

[ad#ad2-right-1]

• Dealio -- Dealio will not only show you sneak peaks at Cyber Monday ads, but we will also send you directly to the store so that you can purchase the often limited inventory Cyber Monday deals before they disappear. Best of all, there is no need to hop from site to site – Dealio has all your Cyber Monday shopping covered.


• CyberMonday -- Shop hot holiday deals from more than 500 merchants. All of Shop.org's proceeds from CyberMonday.com support the Ray Greenly Scholarship Fund.


• Cybermonday Mahalo Deals -- This Mahalo page collects links to websites offering information and discounted merchandise for Cyber Monday.


• Best Cyber Monday Sales --Well, I finally put together a list of the top retailers throughout the country with links directly to their Cyber Monday deals.


• Shopzilla --  The company's mission is to enable shoppers to quickly and easily find compare and buy anything, sold by virtually anyone, anywhere. Each month, Shopzilla connects millions of consumers with thousands of stores.

These are just a few that I could find and wanted to let people decide where they would like to go!!

Memorex releases a cheaper Blue Ray player than a PlayStation 3.

According to there website It can do this:
* Progressive scan Blu-ray Disc player 1080p capability for higher definition video content
* Full HD 1080p, DVD up-conversion up to 1080p (480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p), 24p, 60p video frame rate
* Multi-channel audio content (supports more advanced Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD)
* BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD, DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, CD-ROM, CD, CD-R/-RW
* 16:9 / 4:3 picture select
* On-screen graphical user interface
* Slow motion function (2x - 4x - 8x)
* RW/FF play function (2x - 4x - 8x - 16x)
* VFD display

[ad#ad2-left]The price of the unit at Memorex is 269.99$.   I think this is a great buy if all you need is a blue ray player.  Cheaper than buying a PS3.  Although if you want to buy a PlayStation 3 to play games and also watch movies on it that is still a good deal.   So why buy this player,  this will  not play games and keep your happy.

Antivirus Professional 2008 uses Scare tactics

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We came across a rogue today called Antivirus Professional 2008 that uses GeoIP Lookup as part of its scare tactics. This site uses Flash and script to create the effect of an online scan, that then attempts to push an installer at the visitor. The NoScript extension for Mozilla Firefox is an excellent way to mitigate against this kind of garbage.

[Via F-secure]

It seems that there is a site out there, that seems to be trying to scare you into downloading there software. If you have any questions about this site please feel free to check out what I've found out:

Registration Service Provided By: ESTDOMAINS INC
Contact: 1.3027224217
Website: http://www.estdomains.com
Domain Name: ANTIVIRUS-ONLINE-SCANNER.COM
Registrant:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru

Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Creation Date: 07-Jun-2008
Expiration Date: 07-Jun-2009
Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.antivirus-online-scanner.com
ns1.antivirus-online-scanner.com
Administrative Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru

Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Technical Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru

Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732
Billing Contact:
N/A
Serento faloimitator@list.ru

Minskay str. 27-14
Kiev
Kiev 237293
UA
Tel. 044.2901732

[ad#ad2-right]Now as you can see this site is located in Russia, and if that's the case it is probably some virus itself to take control of your system to do what they want with it. So you best advice is if you think you have a virus then check out my recommendations these are all free to download and try. Unlike this site, they are legitimate and actually do what they promise.  If you want to email them you can but It don't think it will help.

*UPDATE on that Website*


According to F-secure that site is now Suspended.  Great job guys.  We are now fighting these people even better than I'd thought.

Alien Ware Extreme Gaming Notebook M17 17 Inch

Looks like they are out of stock on this Laptop but they do have Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black) which looks to be an upgraded version of this one!!!

• Windows Vista® Home Premium (32- and 64-bit)(default)


• Windows Vista® Ultimate (32- and 64-bit)


• Intel® Core™2 Duo Or Quad and Extreme Processors (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
  Intel® PM45 + ICH9M-E Chipset up to 4 GB
  ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 (Also Comes with CrossfireX Enabled)


• Dual Harddrive In Raid 0 Config or you can have a single hard drive
  
  
  
  1. 5400 RPM – Up to 1TB (2 x 500GB)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1. 7200 RPM – Up to 640GB (2 x 320GB)
  
  
  
  

So I saw this and had to tell people this is a sweet laptop for people who like to go and play games in a large group. You would be able to play for hours on end, all you would need is an power cord. I would love one of these to try out.  If you want to go check it out or buy it. Here's the Alienware M17x-2857DSB 17-Inch Laptop (Black).

Find Other Alienware Products

Sites that you need not Visit:

[ad#ad2-right]I've had some Anti-virus problems in the past few weeks and have been trying to see if it is my system or if it was just luck of the draw.  So I did some research and found some sites that you should not go to, or download from.   These sites have been know to spread the fake anti-virus malware software.   So I wanted to warn people of some common websites that have been known to have viruses on them:

• hxxp://movieportal2008q.com/freemovie/Movie/xxxx/x/ -- this site usually tries to send you the "Trojan.HTML.Zlob.AG" Virus.



• hxxp://porntubedot.com/xxxxxxxx/WatchFreeMovie.php --This site usually tries to send you the "Trojan.Dropper.SMN" Virus.



• hxxp://handballfondi.it/xxxxxx1.php -- This site is one of the new Malware sites that looks like Youtube,   When you go to this site they say you need a special to play a video clip.  Most of the time when you get something like this, it is going to try to install Malware. A good broad set of Codecs that you may want to download is called Klite Mega Codec, which if you us that you should never need to download any other codec to play a movie clip from any site online.



• hxxp://0scanner.com/---censored---/ --  This site usually tries to send you the "Adware.FakeAntiVirus.L" virus.  Another site trying to install malware. [ad#ad2-left]
  
  

If you want to check your system, here are some places to go to get a free Anti-virus check:

• Panda Security Active Scan


• Trend Micro House Call


• Kaspersky Labs Free Virus Scan


• Symantec Free Antivirus Scan


• Bitdefender Free Online Scanner


• F-Secure Online Scanner

If you have any other ways sites that we should avoid by all means comment about it. I would love to hear sites that you know are bad!!

Did you Recieve a Check from Shadow Shopper? (Scam)

I just got done checking my sources and here what I know and I will quote:

Will ShadowShopper.com ever send a job to me via regular mail?
Never. We will always contact you via email. If you do receive a letter in the mail claiming to be from ShadowShopper (with a realistic looking logo) and asking you to mystery shop by cashing a large check THROW THAT OFFER AWAY. It is a Nigerian check scam ring pretending to be Shadowshopper. The scam is run out of Canada and the UK, and the check will bounce. Remember, ShadowShopper provides you with hundreds of job opportunities, and for your protection, we do it only via email and our website.

[via Common Questions]

It is a Scam to send you money Via the postal mail and that is why you must not believe what you get in the mail. This is in response to someone telling me they got a check with a different name but for the same reason to cash the check and send money to them.

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If anyone has any information they would like to add about this by all means talk about it in the comments. I want to hear where the check cam from or who sent it. You should also check out my other article about Nationwide Marketing that is also a Scam.

Oprah Recommends the Kindle!

Today in Chicago, and on TV screens across the USA, Oprah Winfrey is going to recommend her new "favorite gadget," which is Amazon's Kindle ebook reader. A brief video has appeared on Amazon's website to plug the show -- as spotted by Chris Nuttall at the Financial Times -- which will also feature a guest appearance by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (Not his first, by the way.)

[via Guardian.co.uk]

[ad]

I this recent turn of events I thought I recommend some great Kindle Reviews and let you decide if it is worth your money.  So Here are some fantastic Sources to help you decide for yourself:

[ad]

• Amazon Kindle Real-Live Review Gizmodo


• MacInTouch Kindle Review


• Cnet Reviews of the Kindle


• ZDnet Reviews of the Kindle

These are just a few that I could find to better help you make choices on if you would like to buy a Kindle.  I hope this better helps you decide if it is worth.

What's with Google trends?

Having been going to the Google Trends and keeping watching.  I am starting to wonder something?  Take a look at this and you tell me?

[ad]Can you see how someone might use this to create a Goog-411 and use it to promote there website? It is all about the hits and getting what publishers like to say the eyes on a website. Now is that going to confuse people or make people not want to come to a site.  So how would people abuse this?

Very Simple, they'd watch what is trending and post accordingly.  Now you as a reader would click on the website expecting to see what you want to see but instead it would popup with advertisements and maybe malware?  Check these links to better understand it:

• Skype isn't always safe!


• Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!!

[ad]
Now even though these are just a few.  You can see how someone might want to abuse it and get there site up on Google trends and be able to infect several to even millions of computers before Google sees that or stops.  You could in theory take over a website high in Google rankings and do exactly that.

Then I have to ask myself, why would hackers want to do it in the first? One they'd be able to direct people to sites that they could use to phish your information, or maybe make money by you going to these sites. It is all about money, I don't say that lightly, but it seems to always be true.

So what is Google doing to prevent this? is it right to use Google for your advantage? Do we need it for anything other than to see what people are looking at? Is that a form of them tracking your every click.

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Are you comfortable with them keeping the list of what people searched for last year? if you don't believe me, go check it out yourself. These are important questions to answer and should be explored.