Although details may vary between packages, anti-virus software scans files or your computer’s memory for certain patterns that may indicate an infection. The patterns it looks for are based on the signatures, or definitions, of known viruses. Virus authors are continually releasing new and updated viruses, so it is important that you have the latest definitions installed on your computer.
If you use Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or any Social Networking Community website, you may want to take a closer look at your privacy settings. The US-CERT, (United States Computer Readiness Team), offers some good tips on Staying Safe on Social Network Sites. Among the imporant tips is simply recognizing that infomation you post on the web for your friends to read may be open for the world to read.
Vishing describes a scam artist that uses the phone to attempt to con you out of your hard earned money. The scammer, or fraudster, may use either an automated calling machine or if they’re bold enough may simply pick up the phone and start dialing through the phone book. They pose as your credit union or bank and issue an urgent warning requiring immediate action on your part or your credit or debit card will be deactivated. That action includes providing your card information along with other “identifying” information such as your social security number.
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Apr
23
Credit reporting bureaus provide consumers with automated phone numbers that allow them to place a fraud message on their credit report. When potential grantors acquire a report, they are notified to further verify the identity of the applicant to avoid obtaining credit on others behalf. More details available at Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.
There are some great articles on deflation and Inflation at Mint.com that illustrates some economic concepts in an easy to grasp visual way.
Deflation is inflation’s polar opposite. It’s what happens when prices go down and you get more bang for your buck. Sounds good right? But deflation, like inflation is complicated and much less understood than inflation. It can lead to what’s called the deflationary spiral and grind the whole economy to a halt. In this second of a two-part series we take a look at deflation.
Mint.com provides a useful free tool for managing your money online including aggregating information from multiple accounts.
“Complaints from victims of Internet crime rose 33% in the U.S. during 2008 from the year before, indicating that the economy’s downturn is exacerbating electronic fraud, says the Internet Crime Complaint Center.”
That means there’s no better time than the present to start acting more intentional about your online security habits.
We’ve posted before about the importance of using strong passwords. Here is an article from Lifehacker.com linking to a List of common passwords you should never use. Be honest, you’ve probably used some of the ones on the list over the years. Now you know better than that. Don’t be a victim, use strong passwords!
If you’re a young adult, the economic clouds have silver linings: You’ve got time to recover from the market’s losses, and you can snag a great deal on your first house. Read more at MSN Money Central.
Why the economic meltdown might be good news, if you’re under 35.
Houses are on sale. Prices are down, mortgage rates have low and the government has incentives.
Stocks are on sale too. You’ve got at least 30 years until retirement, and an investment in stocks, as measured by the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, has never lost money in any 30-year period.
This one’s sort of strange, credit is tight. But think about it, unlike those before you, you’re going to have trouble getting credit cards. That means, you’re not even going to have the opportunity to create credit card debt.
Read the whole article at MSN Money Central.
Lifehacker.com has an interesting article with a video of Andy Jolls dishing out 10 answers in 60 seconds about your credit score. You may know some of them already, and you might not. There’s also a link to the original article which lists out the 10 answers.
Mar
25
Do you know how your credit score is calculated? Do you know how to increase your score? ABC News has a helpful post with an overview of what affects your score and how to stay on top of it.