Hearty Cloud

Love is in the air, heart is in the sky! It was a chilling day today, and returning from work, I couldn't help but stop to take a shot of this cute heart shaped cloud solitary gazing at me in the evening sky.

A must-read for on-line shoppers

After my previous post on an unsolicited phone call experience I had first-hand, claiming to be from the 'Windows technical team' about 'virus on my computer' (No, it is not from Microsoft!), I've realized that being alert on the internet is no longer enough. Home phones have started to ring bringing thieves right in. However, the internet still stands tall as the most thriving place of the 'bad' trying to getaway with your money!

If you have become an on-line shopper, a 'must-read' by Scott Hanselman this week, What geeks need to tell our parents about shopping online safely and securely is not to be missed by not just moms and dads of geeks but all those who are purchasing online.

Hanselman says "If you (or Mom) had the Web of Trust installed, this is what you would have seen when visiting an evil site like this. I'm installing this free tool on Mom's machine today. It's a browser plugin that uses other people's experience to augment yours!"

Beware of Virus calls in Sydney

Having spent couple of weeks in Sydney, I once happened to pick up a telephone call where the caller identified himself as a representative of the 'Windows technical team' and took great effort in explaining how they had identified that my computer was infected by virus and malware. Ofcourse, I just having arrived in Sydney with my own laptop found this call extremely amusing.  Indeed, I was suspicious the very moment, the caller claimed to be representing the 'Windows technical team', Microsoft does not make calls across the world  to homes about virus and malware! Nevertheless, continued to query the caller after listening to him (for almost 3 minutes on the supposed viruses and malware on my PC and how they provide services to clean it up).

Me : "How do you know that my PC contains virus and malware"
Caller : "Ma'am, we are doing a research around your area and it has been identified"

I managed to control my bursting laughter at his answer, I shall not even attempt to interpret the meaning of his answer. Based on the sub-continent accented English I figured where the call was originating from, unfortunately, they are able to make international calls across continents and convince people to lose their money and sensitive information such as credit card and bank account details.

The ultimate aim of the caller, is to make you turn on your PC, and carry out some instructions they tell you which eventually would give them access to your PC or convince you to provide them credit card/bank details, under the cover of "we will clean the virus and malware and restore your computer system safely" for a minimal fee.

Back to the telephone conversation, I just popped a silly question.
Me :  Could you tell me the IP address of my PC please?
Caller : Hung up!