November, 2010 :: Cable TV, Internet and Phone Provider :: Alliance Communications

Proudly serving communities in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

Phishing Scam
Fake LinkedIn E-mails Link To Malicious Software

Bundle And Save This Holiday Season!

This Month's FAQ
What Is Social Engineering And What Are Some Examples?

Sites Of The Month
Great Sites To Check Out In November

Short Tutorial
Changing The Default Search Engine On Your Browser

Hi Alliance Internet Subscribers

Now that we're in the holiday season, socializing with family and friends takes a high priority. Unfortunately, hackers don't take a holiday, and may try to use your social connections to accomplish their malicious goals. A case in point is the recent attack using fake LinkedIn e-mails, which we describe at the start of this November issue. You'll also learn about social engineering, and find out how to change the default search engine on your browser. On a lighter note, we "talk turkey" in one of the featured websites, along with sharing tips on shipping holiday packages and taking online trips down memory lane.

The goal of each of our eNewsletters is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. We think you'll find this information interesting.

To see what's inside this issue, simply scroll down the eNewsletter or click on the links within the index to the left. Thanks for reading!

- The Alliance Internet Team

Phishing Scam – Fake LinkedIn E-mails Link To Malicious Software

Bogus e-mails are being distributed in a massive campaign that pretends to be from LinkedIn, the business networking site. (How massive? According to Cisco Security, at one point nearly one in four spam messages was a fake LinkedIn invite.) Designed to resemble genuine LinkedIn messages, they claim that pending invitations are awaiting the recipient's response and advise him or her to visit the LinkedIn e-mail inbox to view the invitations.

However, the e-mails are not from LinkedIn and the links contained in the messages do not lead to the LinkedIn website. In fact, all links in the bogus messages point to a website that contains malicious software. Clicking the links opens a page that tries to trick you into downloading and installing the software, which may be a rogue antivirus program or other type of malware.

To help avoid this type of scam, LinkedIn recommends you only connect to people you know and trust well enough to recommend them to others. Visit the LinkedIn customer service page for more information on account security and privacy best practices.

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Bundle And Save This Holiday Season!

For more information on saving with Bundles from Alliance, click here!

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This Month's FAQ – What Is Social Engineering And What Are Some Examples?

Question: I've heard people talk about social engineering with respect to computer security, but I'm confused by the term. Could you explain what it is and give a few examples?

Social Engineering Download Graphics to View

Answer: In computer security, social engineering is a term that describes an intrusion by a hacker that relies on human interaction and manipulation to steal information. This may involve obviously valuable information like usernames and passwords. Or it could be seemingly harmless details (like where you went on vacation or the name of your first pet) that hackers want in order to send you highly targeted spam or try to hack into your accounts.

There are many different social engineering tactics, and these attacks can be done over the phone, in person, or online. Here are two examples of what social engineering hackers may do:

Pretend to be someone from your company's Internet service provider and ask for your employee password in order to "test the service."
Look at your profile on social networking sites like Facebook to extract tidbits of information that could lead to the answers to your "secret questions" on secure websites. These questions are ones like "What is your mother's maiden name?" that are used if you cannot remember your username or password.

To avoid falling victim to social engineering, be diligent about your privacy settings on social networking sites and make sure the answers to your "secret questions" aren't revealed by your profiles or pictures. In addition, don't blindly accept friend invites; review each one carefully. Hackers set up phony social networking profiles and you don't want to accidentally become friends with them!

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Sites Of The Month – Great Sites To Check Out In November

Turkey Tips And Recipes
www.eatturkey.com – Preparing a turkey dinner can seem intimidating if you've never done it before, but this site makes it easy. With recipes, checklists, and helpful hints, even old pros will find something new. Check out the seasonal menus, wine suggestions, and turkey purchasing pointers. Watch the turkey cooking videos, learn turkey facts and trivia, and learn how to use turkey to "upgrade" your favorite meals.

Ship It Right
www.ups.com/packaging – As you get ready to send holiday packages this year, check out this site for advice on shipping containers, cushioning materials, and proper closure and label placement. Whether you're sending apparel, books, electronic equipment, housewares, toys, or TVs, the tool is easy to use: just provide the type, size, and weight of the merchandise you want to ship, and view the packaging guidelines.

Video Time Machine
yttm.tv – This cool site provides a peek into the past with videos of TV, sports, music, news, and more from each year, going as far back as 1860! You can check out the first Moonlighting episode, experience a Jefferson Airplane performance, or learn about the building of the Oakland Bay Bridge. Just pick the types of videos you want to view, and click on a year to see selections from that year ... or refresh the site to see a random year.

Best Textbook Deals
rentscouter.com – If you have a kid in college, you know how expensive books can be. This site helps you quickly compare prices for buying college textbooks versus renting them, and find the best deals. Just enter the title of the book you want, and get a summary of sources for renting or buying, new or used. You can also sell books, CDs, DVDs, and games. And check out the site's blog for textbook news.

Social Security Essentials
ssa.gov – Everyone knows about Social Security, but have you thought about what it really means in people's lives? You can find out by watching the 75th anniversary contest-winning video at the Social Security Online site. You can also estimate your retirement benefits, apply for benefits, find a Social Security office, watch helpful "how-to" videos, and much more.

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Short Tutorial – Changing The Default Search Engine On Your Browser

Let's face it; there are just times when we could all use a change of pace. If you've been using the same default search engine for years, you may want to consider trying a new one—perhaps switching from Google to Bing. Changing your default search engine is easy to do on your browser, too. Simply follow the steps below.

Changing The Default Search Engine In The Search Bar When Using ...
Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 8
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7

With Internet Explorer open, click your cursor arrow on the down arrow on the right side of the Search Bar (to the right of the magnifying glass) and select "Manage Search Providers" from the resulting drop-down menu.
When the Manage Add-ons window opens, make sure "Search Providers" is selected and then click on the search provider of your choice.
Once you have chosen the new search provider, click the "Set as default" button and your new selection will be labeled "Default" in the "Status" field.
Click the "Close" button to save your changes and close the Manage Add-ons window.
The Search Bar will now show the name of your new search provider.

Changing The Default Search Engine In The Search Bar When Using ...
Internet Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.6
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X 10.5

With Firefox open, click your cursor arrow on the down arrow on the left side of the Search Bar field and select one of the other search engine options from the resulting drop-down menu.

Changing The Default Search Engine In The Search Bar When Using ...
Internet Browser: Safari 5.0
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X 10.5

With Safari open, click your cursor arrow on the down arrow on the left side of the Search Bar field (to the right of the magnifying glass) and select one of the other search engine options from the resulting drop-down menu.

Changing The Default Search Engine In The Search Bar When Using ...
Internet Browser: Google Chrome 6.0
Computer Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X 10.5

With Chrome open, click your cursor arrow on the icon that looks like a wrench in the far right corner of the screen and select "Preferences..." from the resulting drop-down menu.
The Basics window will open. In the "Default search:" section, click on the down arrow to display other search engine options. Select the one that you would like to make as the default.
Close the Basics window to save your changes.

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Alliance Communications
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Garretson, SD 57030

605-594-3411

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