Category: Computing Tips

Misleading marketing companies and individuals are making money off internet users by publishing websites in attempt to make money from people that accidentally misspell web addresses, click links on search websites and charge for “free” software.

• Misspelled web addresses – Be careful when you type in a website into the address bar of your internet browser. Clever people have published websites that take advantage of misspellings or transposed letters. Some of these websites look similar to the correctly-spelled websites that people intend to type. Others are search pages that get paid for every link that is clicked on the site. Such sites may even attempt to make it your browser’s ‘Home Page’.

I came across an example of this when I recently tried to renew my driver’s license at www.dmvMv.com instead of www.dmvNv.com The bogus site brought up a search site not run by the State of Nevada Dept. of Motor Vehicles – but it looked official. The publishers of look-alike websites make money from every link that is clicked on.

• Links on reputable search sites may not always take you to a trustworthy website – When you use your favorite search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) to help you research unfamiliar websites don’t always trust the first website you come across. A few months ago if you searched for “Firefox” (a popular free web browser alternative to Internet Explorer), on Google a top-listed link would take you to a website named freedownloadhq.com. That site will let you download and install Firefox for free, but require you to pay if you want to use it. Many people have paid this company for the Firefox browser, and were unaware that the same program is free from the publishers at www.firefox.com

• Free coupons – There are websites that let you print out manufacturer coupons for free or deeply discounted items at the supermarket. However the coupons are counterfeit. If the deal sounds too good to be true – it probably is. The publishers of these websites often make money by selling your e-mail address or selling you the coupon at a discount. For more information visit www.cents-off.com

Many people have asked me about a letter they have received after their 1-year commitment to SBC (now AT&T) DSL is over. In the letter SBC has offered to continue their DSL on a month-to-month basis for a rate of $34.99/month.

What they don’t mention in the letter is that you can call them and often get a much better monthly rate if you agree to continue DSL service for another year and/or add other SBC/AT&T services to your phone bill. I have had SBC DSL for over 5 years, and my price for DSL has gone down every year. Several customers have reported that after I had told them to call for a better rate – they are now paying anywhere between $19 and $26 per month.

Unfortunately I’ve heard that the rates being offered are not consistent between all the SBC customer service reps. If you aren’t offered a fair deal by one rep, you may need to politely say ‘no thank you’ and call back to speak to a different rep. Some report that they received a good deal from the Customer Retentions Dept.

If you are a Charter High-Speed Internet customer, I’ve been told that their customer retentions dept. will offer you a rate of $19.99/month for 6 months if you mention that you want to switch away from Cable to DSL.

According to Wikipedia “phishing” is a form of social engineering, characterized by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an apparently official electronic communication, such as an email or an instant message. The term phishing arises from the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to “fish” for users’ financial information and passwords. (Click on the Wikipedia link at the beginning of this paragraph for more information including detailed examples claiming to come from eBay or PayPal). I’ve recently come across a new Phishing scheme that causes a window to pop-up on a computer claiming to be from AOL, and requesting information you should never give out on the internet – such as ATM PIN number. Luckily the customer did the right thing by not filling out the form, called AOL and confirmed that this is a phishing scheme. You can see the official-looking window below.

You’ve probably heard of Adware and Spyware. There’s a new word for programs that deceptive advertisers coax people into downloading from the internet – “Ransomware”.

Here’s a scenario…

You go to a website and an official-looking pop-up window appears on your screen telling you that you have viruses and spyware on your computer. The pop-up may give you a “yes” or “no” choice to scan your computer – though clicking “no” has the same affect as the “yes” button. After a program is downloaded, it appears to scan your computer and shows you that you have several viruses or spyware. It offers to clean the junk off your computer for “only $29.99”. If you don’t buy the program you get more pop-up ads and (fake) Windows alerts. The only way to stop the pop-ups and scare tactics is to buy their software. They are holding your computer at ransom until you buy their software. Many people give in.

Here’s what really happening…You initially visited a website that gets paid every time a visitor clicks on one of the ads. These ads are made by clever and deceptive marketing companies that will do anything to coax you into clicking on the ad. Once you click the ad you’ve allowed the marketers to download anything onto your computer. Soon afterwards a program claims that you have a number of viruses or spyware programs on your computer. The names it shows are usually names of real threats – but they’re not really on your computer, it’s just another gimmick into making you think you need to purchase their program.

After seeing dozens of these programs on people’s computers in most cases I’ve discovered what people have really bought was a hoax, and an “Anti-Virus” program that slows down your computer and doesn’t protect you from any real viruses or spyware.These fake anti-virus/anti-spyware companies are trying to sell you something. The internet makes it easy for them to make money off of millions of naive computer users. Remember they are trying to sell you something, don’t believe everything you see on the internet or from a pop-up window.If you get a pop-up window that you are unsure whether it’s an official Windows message, or just an advertisement you can check by visiting a trustworthy website. Close all browser windows, go to Start > Run and type in www.ctreno.com. That should open your default internet browser to Computer Tech’s home page. There is nothing on the Computer Techs home page that should generate a pop-up window or advertisement.

Cant’ get DSL? Don’t want Charter Broadband? Now there’s a new high-speed internet option in certain areas of town – Clearwire Wireless Broadband internet service. Their service offers download speeds up to 1500 Kbps (compare that to about 40 Kbps for most dial-up internet service). Clearwire officially launched service in the Reno/Carson City/Minden/Gardnerville area on March 14. As a promotion to get people to sign-up for their service they are offering residential service at just $19.99/month for your first 3 months (+$4.99 monthly modem lease fee). This is a savings of $10 to $17 per month for your first 3 months! A minimum 1-year contract is required. If you sign-up for a 2-year contract, the $50 activation fee is waived. You can find out more about their service at www.clearwire.com or contact your Computer Techs technician for a demo – we are Authorized Representatives of Clearwire. Don’t delay – the promotional rate expires April 30.