ComputerHelpSOS Cyber Security Training / Newsletter, updated December 4, 2025

ComputerHelpSOS Cyber Security Training / Newsletter, updated December 4, 2025

How do crooks get on your device?

Most of the time this is accomplished with an email which has a phone number on it to call or a link which points to a website with a virus on it and then with a phone number to remove the virus, or scareware, which gives you a fake alert that you have been infected.  The goal of the crooks is to get on your computer and to lock it down and ask for a ransom to unlock it and or to harvest the data.  Since data harvesting is complex, they prefer to just lock it down and blackmail you.

Where are most crooks from? Ivory Coast Africa and India.

Scareware: You notice that your system is infected and that you should call the number on the screen.

You click on an email gift card.  Interesting enough, the email does not have a virus, but the link in the email points to a website with a virus on it.  The link pushes the virus to you and infects your device.

• You get a fake invoice from McAffee for example coming from a Gmail address.
• You get a fake PayPal invoice, and they tell you to call the number on the invoice
• You get a fake Docusign Email (Remedy: Bitdefender Endpoint Security)

Remedy: A good antivirus with end point security will take care of all threads AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT CALL THE PHONE NUMBER PROVIDED, TO SET SOMEBODY STRAIGHT OR TELL THEM THAT YOU DO NOT OWE ANY MONEY OR THAT YOU NEVER USED THEIR SERVICE. Do Not call anybody!!!

What are the crooks after?

Accessing your laptop or pc or phone and blackmailing you with the fact that they have access or datamining your device: Access your bank account online and transfer the money to an account.  Do not have a phone or computer which does not require authentication, a pin, a face or a password.  This is why it is so important to have different passwords for different services and storing those passwords in an encrypted manner.  Encryption makes it possible that data cannot be read when copied.  If somebody is on your computer, they still need the pin / password to access Google Passwords for example.  I use RoboForm for password protection.  It is encrypted and it needs a master password / fingerprint or pin to unlock itself.  

Does it really help if your Microsoft or Google id gives access to those passwords? The answer is no.  Encrypted passwords should have their own master password.  I would recommend RoboForm.  It has its own master password and encrypts everything.  It can be used on your phone and laptop / desktop and keeps your passwords synchronized.

Do not store your passwords in password protected word documents or excel spreadsheets.

Anti-Virus: The difference between a good and a bad anti-virus is how many bugs it catches.  Some anti-viruses let bugs through, like Norton Anti-Virus.  This is not an opinion; this is a fact.  I had customers with Norton installed and their system had bugs.  Especially when the bug is part of an installed program.  Bitdefender Total Security is fine, McAfee (Intel) is fine.

If you ever have somebody unwanted on your device, unplug the power cable (pc)or switch it off (laptop). You can always switch your Wi-Fi connection off, so that the intruder is disconnected.  You can switch your device off, or unplug your Wi-Fi router, the comcast box, or the Verizon dome.  Then you should call a computer technician to take care of the crook on your device.

Phones

Caller id on the phone can be faked. 

If you get a call from your “bank”, hang up and call the number on the back of the credit card / bank card.

When “Microsoft” calls you, hang up and do nothing.

When “McAffee” calls you, hang up and do nothing.

Whenever somebody calls you from a tax resolution center, they hang up.

When the “IRS” calls you hang up.

Bitdefender Mobile Security is a good method to keep your phone secure.  It also helps you with text phishing attempts and compromised pdfs.

Q: Where are most phones lost / stolen?

A: In the supermarket.

Lost Phone

What to do when you have lost your phone:

                Call your bank and block your bank account

                Call your credit card issuers and report them stolen.

                Block your phone.

                Try to locate your phone

                No result: Erase your phone remotely.

You can locate, block, or erase your phone.

Apple:

Goto: https://www.icloud.com/find/

Android:

https://smartthingsfind.samsung.com/login

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Use it at public places, like Coffee Shops, Airports, Hotels.

Email Accounts not to use:

No @comcast.net email accounts (because they get hacked frequently)

No @yahoo.com (no yahoo email accounts because the get hacked frequently)

Zelle: Pay with a credit card, do not send people money with Zelle, because you cannot get it back, no refund possible.

Do not give people your account number and routing number…ever

Phishing

I got a giant yellow “alert” that covered my computer screen, saying my computer had been hacked. My cursor was even moving on its own, so something seemed wrong. Another alert appeared that looked legitimately from the same brand as my computer, telling me to call the tech support line.

The man who answered was very professional and said they’d been seeing this attack happening a lot lately. He had me go to a website that had all sorts of cyber security information on it and clicked on a link. He said it would let him see my screen to gauge how bad the attack was. He had me sign into some unimportant websites like a movie site and my pet store. He said everything looked fine, but I should sign into my bank account to also check it. He said he couldn’t see my password as it showed up with just those dots in the password field. I told him there were no unusual transactions on my account, so he said it looked like it was all a false alarm and hung up.

Little did I know that when I gave him remote access to my computer, he was able to see everything I typed. The scammers later signed into my bank account and transferred thousands out.

Help protect yourself

Scammers know “virus alerts” immediately put computer users into a panic. Never click on virus alerts, even if they look like they come from your computer company or an anti-virus protection company. If you think your computer was impacted, talk to a reputable service provider.

Spoofing: Look out for scammers in disguise

Scammers can “spoof” phone numbers. The caller ID can say the call or text is from Chase even though it’s not. They do this to trick people into providing their personal or financial information or to get you to send money.

Remember:

Even if your caller ID says a call or text is from Chase, it could be a scam. When in doubt hang up and call us directly.

Do not share your laptop / desktop with your Kids

Windows

Always secure your laptop with a pin or password.

Have BitLocker enabled (Requires Windows Pro).  This makes sure that nobody can read what is on your hard drive, when disconnected from your device.  The BitLocker unlock code is stored within your Microsoft id.

Use Microsoft ID and not a local account, because you can reset your password online if you get locked out.

https://account.microsoft.com/account

Email antivirus

Most crooks do not send a virus via email, but they send a link to a website with a virus.  But we cannot rely upon that, at least when you are a business.  For that we use software as a service “SAAS Backup”.  It backs up all your emails, OneDrive (SharePoint), contacts and teams four times a day.

They also send scareware via website notifications, which come to your computer via windows notifications.

Email backup

OneDrive backup

Device backup

Nowadays it is not a big deal to have an encrypted image backup once a month of your device and incremental backup every day.

Endpoint Protection:

Bitdefender checks every link you click and protects the hard drive / solid state drive from viruses

All clicked links are always checked with Bitdefender Endpoint Protection

What would you say that your PC can be protected for $15 a month with automated backups, updates, anti-virus and link protection.  Your emails and OneDrive can be backed up for about $10 a month.

Please call (571) 604 5679 for more information.

Here is an example of a Docusign Malware Attempt

Bitdefender Endpoint Security blocks it and keeps you safe!