Carlo Orlando

One of the biggest tax errors in British history has led millions of people to pay the incorrect tax to the HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs). Even worse: phishers have burst onto the scene looking to cash in on the mass confusion. HMRC has ... since attempted to quash fears by promising that all those affected will have their issues rectified via standard mail and NOT by phone or email; however, considering the severity of the situation, many have taken to the Internet to conduct their own research. Once online, curious individuals become susceptible to opportunistic phishing scams. ... (view more)

For those who have the time, online quizzes can be a lot of fun. However, users should beware any quiz that asks for personal information in exchange for the results of a test. This means that in addition to your score, users could be placed on an ... emailing list to receive unwanted junk email messages, or worse. It is no wonder that the recent spike in popularity of IQ tests over instant messaging services has caught the attention of cybercriminals everywhere. Instead of infecting systems with viruses and malware though, these scammers are using an underhanded sales trick to get people to sign ... (view more)

As part of the latest iTunes version 10, Apple has recently launched a new social website feature called "Apple Ping," which keeps their 160 million music lovers connected with their friends, family and favorite song artists. Apple Ping Hijacked by ... Online Fraudsters Not surprisingly to some, however, the Apple Ping service was hijacked by hackers within hours after its debut, souring what was to be a promising reception from music, social engineering and Apple enthusiasts. To online criminals, the timing and forum for which to scam unsuspecting users could not have been better: ... (view more)

Recently, Microsoft raised a few eyebrows by partnering with old rival Yahoo on the search and advertising front. Now, Microsoft once again looks to blur the line between friend and foe with plans to introduce their first application for Google's ... Android platform. The application will offer a host of typical Bing features: image search, movies, maps, local news and driving directions. Microsoft Flaunts Bing via Google App It seems as if Microsoft is trying to purposely highlight functions that Google does not currently offer, while flaunting their features on an Android-based (Google) ... (view more)

The latest bout of scareware making its way through the Internet uses legitimate-looking browser warning pages and offers up a dose of fake antivirus. Those responsible for its creation have matched the webpage layout offered by the world's most ... popular browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and others -- right down to the design and layout. All Web Browsers Susceptible to Attack The scareware , dubbed Rogue:MSIL/Zeven by antivirus firms, is able to identify the Internet browser you're using, and then displays a fake warning page that states the site you're browsing may be infected ... (view more)

With hundreds of thousands of users looking to illicit torrent web sites to pirate their movie needs daily, hackers are also one step ahead by poisoning such files with viruses and Trojans. Simply put: not only is downloading copyrighted movies ... illegal, it's also dangerous for your PC. Fortunately for movie lovers, YouTube is now offering a new service that rewards visitors with free access to full-length feature films from major motion picture studios like MGM, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate. All of the YouTube movies are uninterrupted and feature a wide range of genres, including animation, ... (view more)

When Microsoft and Yahoo hinted at a possible alliance 13 months ago , few believed the tandem would work. What further put the merger at jeopardy was an unsuccessful attempt by Microsoft to capitalize on Yahoo's financial difficulties and overtake ... their counterpart with a proposed bid in 2008 . Since then, alliance talks were put on the back burner -- until now. Microsoft is currently powering the search engine on Yahoo's website in the US and Canada (with the shift in other countries planned for sometime in 2011/2012). The two companies have come to terms on an agreement that serves one ... (view more)

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) restrict, redirect, or reject inbound emails to save users the time and hassle of having to deal with irrelevant 'junk' messages. However, new studies are showing that a number of ISPs are rejecting millions of ... legitimate emails every day. The problem does not pertain to one-to-one personal messages. Rather, mass marketing emails and communications from sources like social networking sites (and even infopackets.com) are not being delivered to users. The problem is that even though users have specifically requested to receive these emails, the messages ... (view more)

Too often security measures taken against identity theft, malware infection and other vulnerabilities are performed in reaction to an attack. With the creation of their latest hard drive feature, however, Toshiba is taking a proactive approach in ... combating online thieves. The new Toshiba hard drive boasts a feature that effectively wipes out data after the storage devices are powered down. The Wipe setting is available with Toshiba's SED (Self-Encrypting Drives) and promises to delete secure data prior to disposing or repurposing hard drives. (Source: computerworld.com ) While the new ... (view more)

Hackers are running a new social engineering scheme that tricks users into uninstalling their legitimate anti-virus program protecting their computer, and using a rogue product instead. Those behind the duping scheme have leveraged a clone of the ... CoreGuard (fake) Antivirus product and relabeled it as AnVi Antivirus. Both products are rogue. Rogue antivirus products have become a reoccurring problem for security companies, though one particular security software firm, Symantec, noted that this method of attack differs from rogue antivirus products of the past. Symantec, AVG, Microsoft ... (view more)