blog

How Are We Being Scammed?

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 04:41:50 +0100

Scams have been around for years. However, since the technology revolution, the options and methods have become more creative, more widespread and more lucrative for those engaging in such criminal activity.

Before the age of the internet, the well-publicised Nigerian 419 scams were initiated via fax.

The internet is now flooded with scams, and email scams vary from a long lost relative who has left you a large sum of money to any number of ‘get rich’ quick scams.

Nowadays scammers have infiltrated sites that we trust. Only as recently as January 2013 did we see yet another report about TradeMe scams. The nature of these vary. Some may appear to come from TradeMe asking you to enter details into a web form or on a particular website that may look like TradeMe. Hover over the website link and you will see the true site name appear for about 10 seconds.

TradeMe scams include rental accommodation. So-called landlords may ask for a ‘holding deposit’ to be sent via Western Union. You should never send money via Western Union, nor deposit money into a bank account you are not familiar with.

Scammers love Western Union, as they often cannot be traced.

Dating scams are common in New Zealand, and we are still seen as a soft target by international scammers. Such scams target lonely hearts who are looking for love.

Kiwis have lost over 2.2million dollars in dating scams. There is always a similar pattern. The scammer has taken an overseas trip and has been robbed. They then ask the victim for a cash loan to be wired.

Female scammers ask male victims for money to help pay medical expenses of a sick family member, or to help with a flight ticket.

Often residing in another country, these criminals will send attractive photos of themselves (who may or may not be the actual person) and build up a rapport and trust over a period of months.

Sites such as http://scamdigger.com/ show fake profiles of scammers and why they are fake. Another site www.romancescam.com has a lot of info on the topic.

Email boxes have been flooded with phishing scams for the past few years. These appear to be from a legitimate business we deal with, as the logos and fonts look identical. The purpose is to gain access to our personal information, including bank accounts, for financial gain.

The biggest give-away sign of a phishing attempt is that by hovering over the link address, the true site will display for about 10 seconds.

It is up to each one of us to know when we are being presented with a scam. The old saying still applies: if it looks too good to be true, it’s obviously a scam.

The New Zealand Consumer Affairs site runs a scam watch with all the latest scams. You will find it at http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/scams .

How Productive Will Your Staff Be in 2013?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:40:23 +0100

January is a time where staff come back from long holidays fresh, keen and eager to get back into the working year.

Business owners set goals, KPI’s and update their business plans, to focus on productivity, profits and generating new business.

And as I start into the working year in earnest, I discovered an interesting development. A large company we deal with has decided to unblock internet access to Facebook and TradeMe.

I say this is an interesting development, as these two sites are known as the ‘low hanging fruit’ when it comes to staff internet usage.

In New Zealand, around 2.2 million people have a Facebook profile and a TradeMe account. Therefore it makes sense for many businesses to block these sites. There are of course, those companies who do daily business on Facebook and TradeMe, so each business does have their own requirements.

Most businesses could not survive without internet access as it is relied on so much for the day to day running of many companies. Of course, it’s also beneficial for staff to keep in touch with friends and family, to do their banking and take time out during a busy day.

“So should businesses block any sites at work?” you may ask. Yes, and WebSafety NZ has the best solution for small businesses to deploy anywhere in NZ.

Combined with simple yet effective Acceptable Use and Social Media policies, the software provides the ability to block, monitor, record and report on all internet activity the customer chooses.

A typical configuration would block access to sites containing objectionable material, sites containing malware or harmful viruses and sites that host software that could be harmful to your computer. All other sites are accessible.

The monitoring component collects information on internet surfing, including times and dates of sites accessed. It even collects information on file access, which is useful to identify instances of data theft.

Over the years that we have helped businesses manage internet usage, we have made the following observations:

· Facebook is a site that staff use often

· Other social networking sites that receive high usage are those hosting funny or silly pictures

· Online games are popular with males aged 20 - 30

· YouTube is common in the workplace

· Shopping and fashion sites also feature high on the list

We have also identified that staff poor performance is usually related to excessive non-work related internet surfing.

Monitoring and filtering software provides insurance for businesses to measure internet activity taking place in the workplace. It provides hard evidence of where staff have been and implemented with effective policies, sets the boundaries for staff and makes them accountable.

What Will Cyber Bullying in New Zealand Look Like in 2013?

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:44:10 +0100

As I prepare for the year ahead, my mind focuses on the hot topics that related to the internet in 2012. Cyber bullying was right up there in 2012, so I wonder what we will see regarding this topic in 2013.

Cyber bulling was rife throughout the majority of schools in New Zealand last year. Some schools asked us to particularly focus on Facebook bullying in our internet safety presentations as this was where many problems lay.

Some teachers told me they spent a considerable amount of time dealing with the ‘fallout’ of what kids were saying to each other on Facebook. This is not only a huge waste of time and resources, but it also prevents teachers focusing on student education.

The NZ Law Commission published a Ministerial Briefing on Harmful Digital Communications which proposes new laws to combat various levels of cyber bullying.

Since the document was published, several workshops were run around the country debating its content and throwing ideas around as far as how to best manage such a law, should it be approved. We await the next steps in 2013.

The proposed law changes have received flak from some commentators, touting that it will blur and interfere with free speech.

It is true that the guidelines for such a law need to be very clear, and that it will still require careful consideration in making any judgement. However, if we as a nation are serious about tackling and dealing with cyber bullying, it’s going to take a lot more than any law change.

It starts at home. Parents have to take this issue seriously and understand the impact it has on children, discuss the effects, symptoms and consequences, and take a strong stance if they discover any of their children engaging in such activity. It will require parents install internet monitoring software to monitor technology usage where appropriate, and maintain a positive relationship with their children.

There is the responsibility of the school, of which many are doing well and some not so well. The Ministry of Education have been recommended by the Law Commission to issue new guidelines on cyber bullying. In the meantime, schools must have their own, which should include clear lines of communication for reporting, as well as dealing with the issue.

Lastly, students have a responsibility. There is no stronger power for change than within young people. Cyber bullying is affecting about 50% of students globally and adults cannot make positive gains to fight this problem alone.

In 2012 we saw a real ground swell of students in the US standing up against cyber bullying. Celebrities also came on board to help with the cause.

It is the constant pressure from teens banding together to fight cyber bullying that will ultimately make the difference. People are tired of cyber bullying. Let’s help make it something of the past.

So, what will cyber bullying in NZ look like in 2013? Hopefully better than it was in 2012.

What will you do to make a difference?

Making Your Young Teen Safe on Facebook

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 06:45:52 +0100

Now your tween is a Teen, they fall into the Facebook guidelines of 13, as the minimum age to operate a Facebook account. Many teens see joining Facebook as a passage into adulthood. Parents see it a little differently. So how do you ensure they can use it safely?

Even for an adult, Facebook’s privacy settings are as daunting as trying to do your taxes with an abacus. For teenagers, unaware of the consequences of their online actions, using Facebook incorrectly could potentially leave a digital trail that might follow them all the way through high school, college and into the real world. What’s more, there are also creepy people out there on social networks.

First, you should sit down with children and explain that anything — stress the word anything –they post can and will be used against them on the Internet. This includes private messages and photos they believe are visible only to friends and comments they leave on people’s pictures or status updates. Although all of these things can be set to private, a friend-turned-enemy could take a screenshot of something your teenager has shared, then send it around school for all to jeer at.

Screenshots via Facebook make sure your child’s pictures are visible only to their friends.

Teenagers should assume that there is no such thing as private on Facebook. The company has repeatedly changed settings that were once private, to public, and there is nothing to say Facebook will not do this again. Even so, you will want to go through your child’s Facebook settings to make them as private as possible.

To begin, click on the arrow in the top right and then scroll down to Privacy Settings. Once inside, the first thing you will want to do is ensure that anything your child posts on Facebook is only visible to Friends, not the Public.

Once you have done this, methodically go through every setting — be aware, there are dozens of them — and change your child’s account to only be visible to Friends.

I would recommend leaving the “Who can send you friend requests?” tab open to Everyone for the first week or so. Like a child’s first few days in school, let him corral friends on the social network, then you can go back into this option and change it to only allow Friends of Friends later.

To prevent an excerpt from your child’s Facebook page from showing up in public search engines, including Google and Bing, be sure to go to the Apps tab in the privacy settings and click on “Public search.” Then make sure you disable “Enable public search.”

One of the most important privacy settings is how personal information is used in ads. This is where Facebook uses you, or your likes, in advertisements on the Web site. For example, if you like Coca-Cola, Facebook will show your friends ads for Coke using your name as part of the advertisement. (A bit creepy, I know.)

Change your child’s ads settings to “No One.”

To change this, click on the Facebook Ads tab. Then click on the two links that say “Edit third party ad settings” and “Edit social ads setting” and change these options to “No one.”

It needs to be stressed that children should not log into accounts such as Facebook on friends phones. This, you should stress, is a very bad idea. If your child forgets to log out, the person can now see everything on their Facebook page, including private chats and messages.

Just like teaching a teenager how to park a car until they get it right, I would recommend sitting over a child’s shoulder and watching them log in and then log out of his or her Facebook account in a way that doesn’t save the password.

Oh, and one last thing: Friend your teenager on Facebook.

File Monitoring: Why You Should Be Concerned

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:56:21 +0100

File and folder management is now one area of technology which is a rising concern for businesses today. Traditionally, files and folders containing sensitive information were locked in a special filing cabinet, possibly in the office of a manager, where only certain people had access to the key and files within.

Updating any file within the cabinet was simple. Find the file using the index, and then add information to the file. Anyone looking at that file can clearly see the additional information that has been updated.

Nowadays our data is online. While online data saves trees and can often be more convenient, there is a downside. Many aspects need to be considered such as whether the data resides on a central server location or a local machine, who is accessing the data and what are they doing with it, how is version control of documents being managed and are staff introducing infected files or removing YOURS from the company.

Many small businesses do not have the capital to invest in large scale systems that require technical expertise to gather information, design, configure, test and implement. Nor do many of them employ technical staff on a full time basis. It’s just not viable.

WebSafety NZ are gaining a successful reputation of providing a cost effective solution for managing technology in the workplace. Their unique package includes software that monitors, records, blocks and reports on all activity on any computer and sends daily reporting to an elected email address. The product also has a ‘cloud-based’ offering.

The software allows non-technical managers to gain a total view of what is happening at any given time, including maintaining a record of all changes and access to electronic files and folders.

Around 52% of businesses report losing company data, with about 25% of them losing confidential customer data or intellectual property.

Disgruntled staff taking copies of financial records or customer databases can be a huge blow for any business. Given the fact that there are several ways staff can achieve this, it’s becoming ever increasingly necessary to ensure that the right software solution is implemented to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data is maintained.

The screenshot above shows a snapshot of our software on the ‘file tracking’ tab. Every item accessed is recorded, including user, time and date.

Our software solution is implemented with an Acceptable Use policy and a Social Media Engagement policy. These policies clearly set the boundaries for staff and make them accountable.

We make managing your technology easy, and help you manage the internet simply. Contact us through our website or email us for a no obligation discussion and quote today.

Are You Addicted To The Internet?

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:52:05 +0100

Are you or your children addicted to the internet? This topic has been discussed a lot in the past and is being talked about a lot more.

As the internet becomes more accessible, and the way we access the internet becomes more portable, people have a lot more opportunity to be online. Many city precincts now provide free wifi. Most cafes provide free wifi and cities are being flooded at key locations with free wireless hotspots.

Most of us have a smart phone that is internet ready and portable devices such as tablets and iPads are set to triple in the next 6 months as their price and popularity make them a very affordable option.

Portable devices are also being used now by Day Care centres across the country. While the driving force for this is educational, there is the ability to also access educational products online. Young toddlers are now requesting an iPad from their parents for Christmas!

Department stores are now targeting younger audiences by displaying portable devices in store such as tablets, showing popular cartoon games on screen.

Recent research from the US is showing that 40% of teens are spending at least 4 hours on the internet daily.

Although it is too early to obtain results from long term studies, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are now listing a new disorder: Internet Addiction Disorder, or IAD. The definition of the disorder is noted is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life.

Our children now grow up with the internet and start using it as soon as they can point. Limiting the amount of time they spend on the internet starts with parents.

While it is important to set boundaries, draw up a contract and agree to the terms you decide, there are many software products that can be configured to set time limits, and some of these products are free.

It may take up to another 10 years for the findings of studies to be published and concluded, regarding the effects of long term internet usage that can be described as an addiction. Until then, manage it in the home, and consider using software to do this.

Mobile Parental Controls

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:33:45 +0100

Mobile devices are now mainstream and the perfect size for little hands to use. What’s more is that they are all able to connect to the internet. How convenient!

Leave yours lying around and its likely to be picked up by your young one, who will quickly know how to connect to the internet. Kids love pushing buttons and learn what each button does very quickly.

Mums and dads are handing down their old iPhone, Android smart phone, iPad or tablet to their children while they themselves upgrade to the latest version.

Internet ready mobile devices have flooded the market so quickly, they have not only become affordable to most of us, we have also forgotten how dangerous an open internet connection can be to young ones.

Not only are our schools rolling out iPads in the classroom, our pre-schools are also starting to use them for educating our toddlers. Some parents are not impressed about this, as their toddlers are coming home and demanding iPads for Christmas!

Protecting these devices with parental monitoring and filtering software is so important. But many parents don’t know they exist, don’t know what it is, don’t know how it works and don’t know what is will cost them.

We’ve looked at many on the market and tested several. We have also come up with our recommendations and why.

What is Parental filtering & monitoring software?

Parental filtering & monitoring software is inexpensive, and gives parents the ability to block access to up to 50 categories that an internet site may fall into. ‘Pornography’ and ‘Social Networking’ are just two of them.

The software is very customisable, allowing parents to block a category such as ‘social networking’ but allow Facebook for a particular user between specific times.

We recommend parents install filtering software as soon as young ones start using a computer. Otherwise they are likely to stumble upon objectionable material accidentally. Female names, cartoon characters, pet names and mistyped words all return links to objectionable material in search engines.

Monitoring software is the second component. This records more than just websites visited. It records an entry for every mouse click and every enter key pushed. In other words, it will record all website links within each website.

Another feature of the monitoring software is capturing all search terms used in a single view.

Parents will quickly identify whether their children are using the internet safely by glancing at their web traffic and looking at their search terms used.

Parents are best to block categories for younger children, then, as they get older, it’s best to open up access. By making older children accountable for their internet surfing puts the onus on them. If they fall back to bad internet surfing habits you will see this from the monitoring screens. You’ll then be able to discuss it with them.

We recommend MobiCip for all ‘I’ products as well as Android. This product provides all the monitoring and filtering capabilities you will need.

If you are looking for a product to monitor and manage phone calls and text messaging on smart phones we recommend PhoneBeagle.

What will it cost?

Costs are minimal. Mobicip is about $20 per mobile device per annum.

Choose a product that suits your needs and budget. Alternatively, email us and arrange for us to install the software for you, nationwide!

Contact WebSafety NZ through their website: www.websafety.co.nz

My Facebook Got Hacked!

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 03:04:41 +0100

Thousands of people lose access to their social networking sites or email boxes with the most common being Facebook. The common term most people use is ‘hacked’. But in the majority of cases their password has simply been guessed.

Passwords are seen by some as a hassle. As such, they are often weak and easily guessed. Did you know the two most common passwords are ‘123456’ and ‘password’?

In our school internet safety presentations to students, we tell them it is unacceptable to have a password of their favourite friend, sweet, chocolate, sports team or any other word found in the dictionary. We encourage them to have a password consisting of letters, numbers and a special character. A phrase or passphrase is even better.

The downside of losing access to your social networking profile such as Facebook can be widespread. Invariably, the offender will start messaging your contacts with derogatory messages. They may think it is from you, or if they are internet savvy may realise your account has been compromised.

I’ve met students and parents who have experienced a lot of stress trying to think what the offender may have changed the password to.

Fortunately, Facebook have provided a quick way to regain access to your Facebook profile. The reason why they have made this feature available tells me that loosing access to profiles must happen quite often.

If you find that your Facebook profile has been compromised, find another computer with internet access and go to the following link: http://www.facebook.com/hacked

There you will find a page that will ask you for your email, phone or Facebook username. Alternatively, you can enter your name followed by a friend’s name. It will try and make a match and ask you some more questions.

Ultimately, following the simple principles in creating a strong password will keep you out of trouble. Remember, a password provides access to the most important stuff about us online. Let’s keep it important by using strong passwords.

NZ Cyberbullying Laws

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:50:46 +0100

In August 2012 the New Zealand Law Commission released its report on Harmful Digital Communications. This report has many recommendations on how to stamp out the problem, which is also linked to self-harm and suicides.

WebSafety NZ applaudes the report and say it is a long time coming, and will go far in helping address the issues. The Government is finally taking cyberbullying seriously and we are very pleased.

In a nutshell, the details are:

· A new electronic communications offence for those aged 14 and older.

· The establishment of a Communications Tribunal as a ‘mini-harrassment’ court.

· New legal requirements for schools to combat cyberbullying.

· Should require schools to implement effective cyber-bullying programs.

· The law will involve a new offence targeting digital communication that is grossly offensive or indecent, obscene or menacing and which causes harm. This will also address instances where Facebook pages are setup to ridicule another, whether a student or teacher.

· Make it an offence to incite a person to commit suicide, whether the person does it or not.

The law will include potential imprisonment of up to 3 months or a fine of up to $2000.

The report proposes amendments to the Harassment Act 1997, the Human Rights Act 1993, the Privacy Act 1993 and the Crimes Act 1961 to ensure that the provisions of these Acts can be readily applied to digital communications.

It would also be an offence to publish intimate visual recordings of another person without their consent.

Complaints would be first referred to an approved agency, such as Netsafe.

We will be watching carefully, for more details as to how this will evolve, and when it will be implemented into NZ law.

Why Are Kids Leaving Facebook?

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:41:16 +0100

Whether you know it or not, Facebook is losing its appeal with teens. Just as parents start to understand what Facebook is all about, and create a profile of their own to keep an eye on their children’s activities, children have decided that it’s no longer cool to be on a social networking site where your parents hangout.

While it is not uncommon for teens to have multiple Facebook profiles, the novelty of using a social networking site to chat to their friends, and know their parents are on the same site, is now wearing thin.

Children are now moving to Twitter and Tumblr as their number one choice for communicating with each other.

Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets".

Twitter allows for users to be anonymous and it is easy to create multiple accounts. Not only that, teens will often use their own ‘text speak’ in their tweets making it more difficult for parents to understand what they are saying.

Tumblr, stylized as tumblr., is a microblogging platform and social networking website that allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog, named a "tumblelog". Users can follow other users' blogs, as well as make their blogs private. Much of the website's features are accessed from the "dashboard" interface, where the option to post content and posts of followed blogs appear.

Tumblr has caught the attention of many schools over the past couple of years due to bullying issues. Emotionally charged teens often vent their feelings of anger and frustration very quickly without giving what they are saying a second thought.

Too often, what may have started out as a simple online conversation could easily escalate into a full on verbal assault on an online victim. The term flaming is described as the act of posting deliberately hostile messages on the Internet.

So what is the answer, Parents may ask. We recommend installing monitoring software to keep track of where your children are going to online. Ask them where they like to go to when using the internet. Discuss cyberbullying with them. Talk about the sites online where cyberbullying takes place.

Help children to understand the effects of cyberbullying, and how it affects a person that is being bullied. Many children do not understand the pain they inflict on the victim, so building empathy with your kids goes a long way!