Many criminal hackers have not been caught or even identified. That just proves why there are some unsolved computer crimes. They do their nefarious activity without other people knowing it but when breaches happen, they are being tracked by law enforcers. Luckily, they are not caught for what they have done.

Here are the top 10 infamous unsolved computer crimes:

1. WANK Worm, October 1989 – This is the first hacking activist attack, also called “hacktivist.” The WANK worm struck NASA offices in Greenbelt, Maryland. WANK stands for Worms Against Nuclear Killers. The attack is the part of the protest stopping the launch of the plutonium-fueled, Jupiter-bound Galileo probe. Up to this day, no one knows where the attack started. Many thought that the hackers came from Melbourne, Australia.

2. Ministry of Defense Satellite Hacked, February 1999
MoD Skynet was controlled by a small group of hackers from southern England who have signaled a security intrusion as “information warfare”. The attack aimed to disrupt military communications. The hackers were wise enough to reprogram the control system before it was discovered. No arrest has been made after the U.S. Air Force and Scotland Yard’s Computer Crimes Unit made an investigation on it.

3. CD Universe Credit Card Breach, January 2000
This is a blackmail scheme made by hacker Maxim. He posted over 300,000 credit card numbers on his website, The Maxus Credit Card Pipeline. It is still unsolved since early 2000. He was able to steal credit card information through CDUniverse.com. The worst of all, he asked for $100,000 from the website to destroy the data. Many believed that Maxim is from Eastern Europe. It is still unsolved since early 2000.

4. Military Source Code Stolen, December 2000
In 2000, a hacker was able to get the source controlling missile-guidance systems after broking into government-contracted Exigent Software Technology and nabbing two-thirds of the code for Exigent’s OS/COMET software from the Naval Research Lab found in Washington, D.C. The intruder is called “Leaf.” Officials were able to track him until his trail disappear in the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany.

5. Anti-DRM Hacked, October 2001
This just proves that not all hackers are bad guys. Some hackers sometimes just want to make a wrong right or make a life more easier for everyone. One of these hackers is Beale Screamer. He created a program named FreeMe allowing Windows Media users to strip digital-rights-management security from music and video files. Because of this, Microsoft went after Beale while other anti-digital rights management (DRM) activists praised him.

6. Dennis Kucinich on CBSNews.com, October 2003
In 2003, CBSNews.com was hacked. The CBSNews homepage was replaced with a campaign logo of Dennis Kucinich redirecting to 30-minute video called “This is the Moment” which shows Kucinich political philosophy. The Kucinich refused to admit that they have something to do with the hack. The hacker involved was not identified.

7. Hacking Your MBA App, March 2006
A hacker broke into the automated ApplyYourself application system in 2006 allowing some applicants to find out if they were admitted or not. He posted the ApplyYourself login process on Business Week’s online forums. People who used it got a warning from the schools that they will be receiving rejection letters in the mail. The hacker of the attempt has not been discovered.

8. The 26,000 Site Hack Attack, 2008
26,000 websites were hacked by unknown hackers including MSNBC.com. The hackers redirected the traffic to their own JavaScript code hosted by servers known for malware. The malicious code was hidden that the users were not able to see it enabling the hackers to activate it.

9. Supermarket Security Breach, February 2008
1,8000 credit card and debit card numbers were stolen at supermarket chains Hannaford and Sweetbay located in the Northeast United States and Florida. It remained unsolved for more than six months. The fraud was caused by hackers who intercepted the transmission of credit card information during the authorization process. Chain reps and security experts questioned how the criminals were able to gain access to their system.

10. Comcast.net Redirects to the Hacker’s Page, May 2008
The hacker group, Kryogeniks, was able to get unauthorized access to Comcast.net’s registrar, Network Solutions. Users attempting to access webmail were redirected to the hackers’ own page. As of today, Comcast and Network Solutions still don’t know how the hackers got the username and password.

How Can Techie Now Help?

It’s evident how hackers can really affect everyone with their online attacks. The above computer crimes have not been solved or maybe the solutions have been made public. With the hackers being unknown, more and more crimes or online threats will happen in the future. For now, always be cautious when surfing the web and make sure that your computer has strong security software. If you are looking for PC support services like virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration and general repair – contact Techie Now and keep your PC protected at all time.

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The official website of Spain’s European Union for presidency, www.eu2010es, was hacked where a large picture of Mr. Bean smiling was displayed in the site.

It been a joke in Spain for years now that the British actor, Rowan Atkinson, who played as Mr. Bean, looks really alike to Spain’s Socialist prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. El Pais, Spain’s leading newspaper, has published an article against the government handling the economy with the cartoon image showing Mr. Zapatero as Mr. Bean. The problem of unemployment in Spain has increased twice to about 19 percent.

Mr. Zapatero’s official verified that a security breach caused the hack of the website covering Spain’s 6-month presidency of the European Union. Fortunately, the site information is not affected at all. El Mundo, another newspaper from Spain, showed to the public the screenshot Mr. Bean appearing in the official webpage. During that time, anyone who visited the website will receive a “Hi there!” greeting by Mr. Bean. Thousands of users flooded the site to prove if the spoof is true.

How Can Techie Now Help?

It’s easy for cyber criminals to hack websites like what happened to the Spain’s Official European Union Presidency website. It may not have affected the site that seriously but it just proves that websites are not safe with numerous hackers over the web. Also include the computers and its users. For a start, Techie Now can help you when it comes to computer protection. It also offers other PC support services like: virus and malware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration and general repair.

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We all have experienced many online threats last year. And as year changes to 2010, the more online threats are changing too. Cybercriminals will be more eager to spread online threats and attack computers to benefit with any valuable information challenging users for security.

Here are some of the predictions that will challenge computer security this year:

1. Spam, Scams on Social Networking and Real-time Sites – A group of security researchers belonging from Websense, Breach Security, IBM Internet Security Systems‘ X-Force, and Symantec agreed that cybercriminals will focus their attacks on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, and on real-time social sites like Twitter. When it comes to real-time features, Google, especially Google Wave, as well as Bing will be their target. The attackers enjoy the fact it will take time for others to discover the existence of a malicious link or file. Users may recognize one but still one way or another, there will still be victims.

2. Crime Cloud – Security vendors specifically AVG, M86, and RSA predicted that criminals will be attacking and using use cloud services directly to control attacks. and using them to direct and control attacks. IBM researchers are anticipating to see attackers exploiting more services. Take Amazon AWS for example which already served as a host for a malware command and control server.

3. Malware Hijacking Trusted Sites – Breach Security observes continuous improvements when it comes to compromising trusted sites and infecting them with malware. Numerous incidents of SQL injection has been proven successful in attacking sites. No doubt, it will happen again. Cybercriminals prefer to have a third-party that will distribute their malware.

4. Macs Will Be Compromised – It’s been years now that security companies have been talking about Mac being targeted by attackers for malware. According to Websense, exploitation will happen affecting Safari under Mac OS X which will invite hackers to target the Mac platform. Symantec is worried that Mac users who are not spending money to buy antivirus software yearly will not be protected with such attack. Zscaler still believe that Apple can somehow oblige the company to strengthen its security to surpassed continuous attacks. Many think Macs will be widely affected because of Adobe Flash vulnerability.

5. Search Engine Poisoning and Malvertising – Cybercriminals will exert more efforts on exploiting trusted sites. For them to infect sites, they will make use of search engines and advertisements. They will continue to threaten and weaken search results and enjoy the attention breaking news and events. Google together with Microsoft will assure its users for a safe search and advertising. Of course, they wouldn’t want their users to not trust them.

6. Increasing Number of Bots – Why would cyber criminals waste their time with cloud-hosted malware when botnets can do the same thing? Botnets are better than cybercriminals. It can also be a source of income generating cash for criminals and hijacking other botnets for money. This will cause conflict preventing botnets to grow and attracting security experts and law enforcement. It’s botnets against other botnets. It’s like what happened to Zeus/Zbot being shut down by Bredolab botnet. Symantec claimed that botnets have become the foundation of cybercrime.

7. Piracy Gets Riskier – Microsoft has started making a move to lessen software piracy since last December. They received many complaints from users who buy the pirated version of Windows. IBM researchers are expecting that the continuous use of the pirated software will infection more users will malware.

8. Mobile Security Issue – Smartphones like iPhone and Android-based handsets are like miniature personal computers. They are being used for business purposes. In 2010, Websense predicted that smartphones will be targeted for attacks just like the computers. Nowadays, security vendors either have or are developing a mobile security product service. IBM thinks that mobile attacks will still be limited.

9. Major Insider Theft Scandal Will – It is expected next year that someone who has been in a large organization accessing company data will be caught to be working for or with a cybercrime group. The Identity Theft Resource expected that the number of insider cases will increase because of failure to follow basic workplace security protocols.

10. Clickjacking is Back – According to Zscaler, clickjacking will strike back. Clickjacking is a malicious technique that tricks users to reveal confidential information or take control of their computer while clicking the sites. Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat Security and Robert “RSnake” Hansen of SecTheory reveal about the technique in October 2008. Efforts have made to lessen the risk of clickjacking but it is still effective to use especially with a social engineering component.

How Can Techie Now Help?

The above security threats serves as a reminder for computer users to be careful over the web. You’ll never know what security threat you will be into. For now, the best protection is a reliable and updated antivirus software that will keep you and your computer in trouble. When it comes to your computer’s protection, Techie Now is the name you can trust. Techie Now offers PC support services: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration and general repair.

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Security researchers stated that there was a huge spam campaign that happened early this December with a message coming from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) asking the people to register for H1N1 vaccinations.

The e-mail messages redirect the innocent victims to a fake CDC site convincing them to create their profile. In this way, they will receive a swine flu vaccination. The fake site advises the users to download a vaccination profile archive which includes the link for that download. Of course, H1N1 known for its aggressive spread and lack of vaccine, people grab the mistaken opportunity and download the link which is a new variant of the Zbot Trojan horse. Security companies called it “Zeus”. It is a bot malware that hijacks your Windows PC for sending more spam and other nefarious activities.

Enormous number messages hit the users’ filter during the day when the bogus CDC messages started arriving to inboxes with the subject lines like “State Vaccination H1N1 Program, “Governmental registration program on the H1N1 vaccination” and “Create your personal Vaccination Profile.”
According to AppRiver, an email and web security solutions to businesses from Florida, the spam campaign’s average was about 18,000 messages per minute, or about 1.1 million per hour. It considered as the biggest when it comes to malware-oriented run currently reaching its customers and virus/phishing campaign right now. Because of its high volume, AppRiver has to block an approximate of 13 million messages during that time. 37 of 41 anti-virus detection engines of AppRiver has not detected the said Zbot Trojan but later recognized by its 21 detection engines.

The malware author is wise enough to make a backup attack plan for those people who are too cautious to clink the link. The fake CDC site has an iframe, an invisible element on the page which contains attack code exploiting Adobe Software vulnerabilities like Adobe Reader and Flash player. Attackers are too frustrated for being incapable to exploit Windows that they target Adobe’s applications. In the most recent Adobe Reader update, there are patched 29 vulnerabilities in the PDF viewer. The update made last October plugged a hole already being used by hackers.

Zbot, also called a “botnet” in security parlance, is the main active collection of compromised computers. When it comes to malicious activity, Zbot has been in the top for months. It was used by a British couple who then get arrested for stealing online banking account usernames and passwords. McAfee, AppRiver’s rival security company, the host servers of the fake CDC is can be located in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, India and Malaysia.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Even H1N1 vaccinations are being used by the attackers to victimize innocent people whose only concern is to protect themselves from the disease. This really questions our computer security. If you feel that your PC is not protected from any online attacks, contact Techie Now for your PC support services such as virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. Techie Now is what you need for your PC needs.

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The British police arrested a couple from Manchester, aged 20, for purportedly using a sophisticated and malicious virus to infect thousands of computers and steal millions of pounds worth of personal information.

The said virus is known to be the notorious ZeuS or Zbot Trojan which bypasses security safeguards to record online bank account details, passwords and credit card numbers. It also copies passwords for social networking sites and let the hackers control the computer by forwarding the data to the servers. The said virus appears in different guises, which includes false Facebook page encouraging users to download a software update. It can steal passwords or sends your personal information hackers. It also hijacks computers pressing them into the services of botnets which can be used to send spam e-mails, distribute more malware and do other malicious things. All the taken information is worth millions of pounds making the criminals sell or use it themselves.

According to Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie, the couple was the first in Europe to be arrested in connection with the scam. Zeus or Zbot Trojan is a known malware which can be used for infecting or accessing personal information. It has affected 10,000 computers worldwide. The couple gathered millions of lines of data from infected computers. The scam uses the taken data of users and quickly harms them financially. Cyber criminals use Zeus because it threatens the people from using the Internet globally.

Zeus viruses is the biggest and most sophisticated “banking trojan” in the world. It targets the online banking accounts of millions of people. As it first came out in 2007, Zeus had grown more flexible and complicated after a few months that it was able to adjust and look for more ways to prevent from being detected by anti-virus software. Symantec’s analyst, Orla Cox said that ZeuS spreads fast because there’s an available toolkit online which allowed the cybercriminals to customize and create their own versions. The toolkit makes it easy for people to steal from online accounts. Since it’s easy to find on the web, it’s a useful kit for those who wants to be an Internet crime lord. Ghost is one of the best know open source toolkit. In the past year, more than 90,000 variations of Zeus virus have infected computers.

The couple was suspected of offenses against the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the 2006 Fraud Act on November 3. Unfortunately, they have been released on bail. Reports showed that many businesses and individuals have experienced the online attack worldwide where money are stolen from their accounts and transferred to the criminals through complex banking networks. The accounts of willing “money mules” receive the money and withdraw it.

How Can Techie Now Help?

With the virus like Zeus, online bank accounts are not safe from the cyber criminals. It can steal your passwords or send your personal information, only to find out that your all your money is being stolen under your nose. It’s good to know that cyber criminals like this couple from Manchester was arrested for committing the crime. To protect your money from being stolen in your bank account online, always use updated anti-virus software. If you need assistance with this and other PC support services (virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair), contact Techie Now. Techie Now will keep your computer running and protected all the time!

Security researchers reported that SoftBarrier is the latest development of the hackers from Winisoft. Also known as WiniGuard, it appears to be the biggest roguewares in the Internet world. Winisoft is the creator of rogueware family. According to experts, SoftBarrier enters the system through different Trojans like most fake anti-spyware application do. It sneaks quickly into the user’s system configuring Windows Registry. SoftBarrier banks on misleading advertising to sell its claimed “licensed version”.

As soon as SoftBarrier enters the system, it will flood it with fake notifications and pop-ups to inform the user about any infection present in the system. This information is not true, but only a trap asking the users to download SoftBarrier to dispose-off the so-called threats. Unfortunately, SoftBarrier is like any other rogues that perform fake scans emphasizing risk-free files as threats. After completing the scanning process, SoftBarrier will recommend the user to buy its expensive full version for the detected threats to be removed but the truth is, it doesn’t work.

According to security experts, SoftBarrier owns the softbarrier.com website. They advised the users not to click the provided malicious link and also avoid visiting the above mentioned website. The malware originally originated in Sweden. The cyber criminals were able to hide their original IP address and accomplish their malicious activities successfully.

Security experts stated that the creators of this rogueware group will not stop attacking computer users with their rogue anti-virus and anti-spyware applications. So, users should be careful to avoid falling into their traps. In addition, they should not install the SoftBarrier application. It should be removed from your computer even if the virus has entered the system.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Computer users should be careful with any kinds of online attack, like SoftBarrier. Computer users must prevent this to happen to protect their computer from any threats. PC support providers like Techie Now can help you with that. Techie Now provides PC support services: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. Contact Techie Now and avail our services at your convenience.

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Security researchers stated that attackers have hacked the computer network of the Swiss foreign ministry which led to the network’s shutdown for many days. A professional virus attack was launched enabling the attackers to hijack network and collect unspecified data. The scope of the attack is still unknown and the officials have not revealed what data did the hackers targeted.

According to reports, the attack was really planned enough that the attackers involved were able to get away with it without being detected. Microsoft and specialists from the ministry discovered the attack on October 22, 2009. Allvoices reported that the network was shut down after the hack has been discovered last October 27, 2009. The specialists tried to find where and how the attack started, and if there are any data that has been stolen. The staff have been prohibited to use the Internet for security purpose.

Unfortunately, the Swiss Interior Ministry and Finance Ministry also experienced some problems on their systems on the same month. It is not clear if the same incidences are related to the latest attack. Reports imply that maybe a spyware from a foreign country was spying the Swiss systems. Security specialists warn that the virus authors are starting a secret rebel technique to make a massive virus outbreaks happen hoping to be successful in compromising a significant network prior to any response from the anti-virus agencies.

On the contrary, the Swiss external affairs ministry isn’t the only entity that has been victimized by a virus attack. In 2007, hackers has successfully attracted employees at the foreign ministry and at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to be part of a phishing scheme where there are around 500 workers who received e-mails that contains a link on a photo contest. Employees who clicked the link to vote for the said photo contest have been infected with a Trojan virus. Too bad, the government’s security software was not able to recognize the threat. The said attack was traced to come from Africa. United States had also accused China for using secretly-copied data to hack into the Commerce Department computers. Chinese were also accused for hacking computers that belongs to the computers of the Dalai Lama. In February 2009, a computer virus struck UK and French defense computers. A virus was also discovered hitting German military networks. To prevent the virus from spreading, several websites of German armed forces were disconnected from the country’s military network.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Hackers have been increasing nowadays attacking many organization and government websites in various nations. Anyone can be a victim of these online attacks especially if your computer is not protected. Contact Techie Now for your computer’s protection. Techie Now offers PC support services: virus and spyware removal, performance optimization, installation and configuration, and general repair. With Techie Now, your PC is safe and protected.

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Worm attack

The Internet is very useful to our everyday lives. However, we must know how to protect our PC from any online attacks. Viruses are one of the threats for PC users nowadays. Some send worms in chat message displaying a link to a web site which is also infected with a Trojan horse. Worms spread through programs exposing new vulnerabilities, then report them back to the hackers. The hackers will create the malware that will exploit the vulnerability before the people can download a fix.

Do you know what malware can do to your PC? Malware exposes your PC to online attacks. It also gives hackers direct access to your PC. It enables the hacker to get your personal information or control your PC remotely and be used in a criminal activity. Viruses are commonly found through peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. Spyware, Trojan horses, viruses and worms are being integrated into free downloads. Many users don’t know the danger of using the “browse host” feature of the P2P applications. It is very risky to use because it allows others to directly connect to your computer and browse through file shares.

Through using P2P, hackers can access your logins, user IDs and passwords, personal information such as letters, chat logs, cookies, and emails and other private and accessible folders on your PC. When it comes to email and instant messages, viruses in P2P files can steal your information, give it to cybercriminals to forge your identities and commit fraud.

You must protect your PC, follow these rules:

1. Protect your computer with updated security software. You need a security software that will protect your PC from hackers. Your computer should have an anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, anti-spam and firewall to fight online attacks. It should scan any files including disks, email attachments, files downloaded from the web, and documents generated by word processing and spreadsheet programs.
2. Use a secure Internet service provider (ISP). It should have anti-spam and anti-phishing procedures.
3. Always update your Windows automatically or to prevent your PC from any known vulnerabilities. You can install patches from other software manufacturers. A fully patched computer behind a firewall can prevent lessen the risk of being infected with a Trojan and spyware installation.
4. Be careful when opening attachments. Set your anti-virus software to scan all your email and instant message attachments automatically. Don’t open unwanted emails, or attachments even from people you know.
5. Be cautious when using P2P file sharing. Some Trojans are just hiding within the programs and waiting for users to be downloaded. Also be careful in downloading files through email and instant messaging like files with the extensions .bat, .bin, .dll, .cmd, .exe, .lnk, .scr, .com and .vbs.
6. Use security protections for your cell phone, PDA, and Wi-Fi devices. Viruses and Trojans can be attached through email/IM, downloaded from the Internet, or are uploaded along with other data from a desktop. In time, cell phone viruses and mobile phishing attacks will be popular especially now that more people are accessing multimedia services and Internet content using their phones. It is advisable if you always use a PIN code on your cell phone. Don’t ever install or download mobile software from unknown source.
7. Set your instant messaging application correctly. Don’t set your instant messaging to open automatically as your computer opens.
8. Watch out for spam-based phishing schemes. Never click on links in emails or IM.
9. Always back up your files. So if ever you become a victim of a virus attack, you can recover all your important files.

How Can Techie Now Help?

Virus and worms are easily spread over the Internet. With all these threats, you have to protect your PC to prevent online attacks. As soon you become their victim, it will risk your personal and business life. If you need help with anti-virus software installation or virus removal, Techie Now is the best PC support provider that can help you. We do it fast, safe, better and with lower prices than others do. Contact Techie Now and get your PC protected.

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Zombie PCs and bot nets

Internet service providers can play a crucial role in detection and removal of spyware. However, so far they have not step up to take further responsibilities in the battle against botnets. This may be about to change as Comcast announced a dedicated customer security assurance team.

So, what’s the danger?

There are many malign consequences of having malware in your computer. One of them is that if your computer is infected by spyware, it can be used by hackers as a proxy (aka zombie computer). Botnets are groups of these zombie PCs (more details in Wikipedia). They can be used for many purposes but mostly to send spam emails but they could also perform much more destructive actions such as stealing your personal data.

What can the ISP do?

ISPs are uniquely positioned to identify these Botnets. ISPs can look at spikes in network traffic from particular PCs. They can also check which IP addresses are involved in that network traffic. In that way they can differentiate between somebody just using all their bandwidth to download movies from a computer sending many emails to many different addresses. Comcast approach is to show a pop ups in PCs with these symptoms and direct them to their Constant Guard site for remedial actions.

How Techie Now can help?

Comcast is providing a great service and we recommend you take advantage of it if you can. However, there are still good reasons to come to Techie Now for further help:

• Do you have time to be checking for malware, viruses, etc, yourself? – if you don’t then we’re glad to save your time.
• Maybe you’re not part of Comcast – we’re happy to help you regardless of who is your Internet provider
• Comcast provides their users with an antivirus. However, antivirus are not always that effective. There are some of them which need an expert to manually remove them.
• Maybe you’ve tried everything and you still have a slow PC or viruses… come to us, not only we like those challenges, we’re successful at them and have incredible prices!

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