Internet Watch Dog

Spam Facts

04.23.08 (8:31 pm)   [edit]

 True: 92.3 percent of all email was spam during the first quarter of 2008 - this a large increase of estimates for 2007

The USA relays 15% of the worlds spam a drop of 5% from last year

China is increasing the volume of spam faster then any other region

Most spam is sent via botnet zombies

Debit or Credit? The answer may surprise you…

04.23.08 (3:38 pm)   [edit]

I personally do not like credit cards, and do not own any, my wife used we have cut them up no longer use them. With this mentality I have for years answer the questions with a resounding “debit please”.  I few week ago I was driving and hear Dave Ramsey say that credit was the way to go, his reasoning was when you saw credit you get the backing of MasterCard or Visa in case of a problem.

Well since I am never wrong I set out to prove Dave Ramsey wrong, yea I know he is a smart man but everyone make a mistake now and  then so dove into some research of why debit was the right answer.

What I discovered was that 14% of the bank in the USA now charges a fee if you use the debit card, (normally about 2%) and the trend is growing. This fact alone is enough to make want to switch, but I also discovered another problem. If by chance you have an over draft fee (the average American  pays $223 in over draft fees glad I read that and never experienced it J) some banks (mine included) will pay the overdraft to the vender, charge you $20-$35 PLUS a per day fee of $5 for every day the check remains unpaid. I don’t plan on testing this out but my banker has confirmed this to be true and is my banks current policy.  They can not do this if you say credit.  (the $5 a day part)

ok Dave I guess I wont be a guest to correct you any too soon

After reading the comment I must clarify one point, I am talking about using a  bank debit card and when they ask run it as "credit" it is not a credit card it is a debit card. And as far as I know Dave does say do not use credit cards, he advises that you only use only use debit cards, but when asked to say "credit"

Bird Flu - not in news much anymore but still a problem

04.23.08 (8:31 am)   [edit]

A year ago the major news networks where warning about the bird flu almost daily, it has been a  while since i have seen anything on the TV about it. This morning I decided to see if there was any recent news on the problem.  With ina  few seconds not only did I relize the threat had not gone away, but was still a major problem in south east asia. In the past week South Korea had to cull 5 million birds, and some other countires have start to stop bird  imports from South Korea.

On piece of news that looked good was that researchers in the USA may be getting close to a new bird flu vaccine could last longer, protect more people. It is still in testing and may be several years before its ready. 

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed 240 people worldwide since late 2003, according to the World Health Organization. The major fear of the H5N1 striain is that it may mutate into a form that could spread in humans and start a deadly global pandemic.

School lunches hit by rasing prices of food

04.23.08 (7:56 am)   [edit]

Many schools across the country are cutting back on what they serve our children for lunch. Since most school districts set prices at the start of the year and are locked into them for the school year some have been forced to cut back on portion or substituting items. It is becoming a balancing act for many districts to provide a nutritional meal.  Parents be prepared to pay higher prices for school lunches next year. 

PayPal's anti-phishing strategy takes drastic measures

04.23.08 (7:31 am)   [edit]

On of the most popular sites that phishing scams use is Pay Pal and they are taking steps to protect their customers.  the stragey involves  blocking older browsers or browsers with no anti-phishing features from accessing their website. Phishing made victoms of about 3.3% of the 124 Million customers, a large percentage of the victoms use older browsers. I understand many people not want to learn new software, and that you like your old Internet explorer od Netscape, however using these old broswers is a kin to having dead batteries in your smoke detector. new browsers have features that can help detect phishing do yourself a favor and update your broswer.  

 

 

Microsoft finishes big XP update??

04.23.08 (6:53 am)   [edit]
Microsoft announce yesterday is had completed service pack 3 for XP.  It seems that Microsoft has lost it way. in June Large companies will only be able to sell XP on a  few low memory machines and PCs aimed at emerging markets. (3RD world)  Now XP is a decent system and if it my motherboard would support it I would be using it. it seems to me they need release the service pack to fix Vista, its been out a year and still no service pack to fix it. Well Vista users it gets worse windows has started work Windows 7. Windows 7 (formerly known as Blackcomb and Vienna) is the working name for the next major version of Microsoft Windows as the successor of Windows Vista. OK guys  so what about vista did we all just waste our money? Looks like another episode of Windows ME to me....

FCC steps in on Comcast case

04.23.08 (6:33 am)   [edit]
in a follow up to my post about file sharing it appears the FCC has stepped in and ordered Comcast to stop you can read the story here http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/23/kevin_marti n_talks_comcast_again/" title="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/23/kevin_marti n_talks_comcast_again/" target="_blank"http://www.theregister.co.uk/...  

ISP's that t block or delay file-sharing getting attention of US Senate

04.22.08 (10:11 pm)   [edit]
Last year in a well publicized report several large ISP’s where caught “delaying”  file-sharing (most reported they where simply blocking it but Comcast only admitted that it delayed file-sharing among some customers as a way to better manage network traffic. Comcast as well as Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc all where reported for similar problems.   
Today (April 22 2008) Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, requested the hearing in October on the matter. AS an owner of an ISP I do not wish to speak harshly about my competitors however I do feel this practice should stop. When you purchase service from an ISP it is not the job of the ISP to decide what files download or websites you can visit. It is my personal feeling they really don’t care what the file was, the just wanted to find a way to save money on bandwidth. Over the last few years wars price war has cut large ISP’s profit margins greatly, this was simply a move to save money. They may claim that many of the peer to peer
 file sharing is the transfer of illegal files but they are not law enforcement, nor should they be.  While I do think something need to be done with illegal file sharing asking ISP’s to regulate it  a very bad idea, what will be next ask them to look in your email to make sure you a abiding by the law?

 

What is the top Internet scam?

04.22.08 (9:40 pm)   [edit]

As a long time owner of an ISP and several other .com businesses if someone was to ask me that question, I would have answered either get rich quick scams or lottery scams. I have seen hundreds of them, and helped customers and friends avoid them for years, however I would be wrong!  On April 3 2008 the FBI released the top scams of 2007 and believe it or not pet scams was their 1^st listing. Below is quote from the release

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Pet Scams
- You see an online (or offline) ad selling a pet and send in your money, plus a little extra for delivery costs. But you never get the pet; the scam artist simply takes your money and runs. 
- You’re selling a pet. You’re sent a check that’s actually more than your asking price. When you ask about the overpayment, you’re told it’s meant for someone else who will be caring for the pet temporarily. You’re asked to deposit the check and wire the difference to this other person. But the check bounces and you lose the money you sent to what turns out to be a fraudster

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.

After reading this the reason it works becomes crystal clear, while the cost of acquiring a new pet is significant. If you purchase your pet at a pet store or from a breeder, you can expect to spend anywhere between several hundred and several thousand dollars. Due to this many people look elsewhere to get their pets and save a few dollars. I have done this myself (I have never bought a dog at a pet store) it cheaper to look at the classifieds. If I can locate rover for less then the over priced pet store I am happy. When buying a pet most never associate the process with a scam. After reading this I  did some research and spotted may pat sites posting warnings about this problem. I have put together some things to watch for to protect your self.

Some key points for pointing out a pet scammer:
1. Doesn't care much about the pet, just the transaction.
2. Says they will use their own shipper.
3. 95% of the scammers are from overseas (Nigeria, Israel, South Africa)
4. Pays you more then the pet is worth, then asks for the difference in money back.