Vonage Announces Vonage World Calling Plan – Unlimited Calling To Over 60 Countries For $24.99/Month Plus Visual Voice Mail

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August 19th, 2009 - Posted by Erik

See the 60+ countries included in Vonage World.

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Vonage announced this morning the availability of the new Vonage World calling plan. Vonage World gives customers unlimited calling to over 60 countries (including India, China & Mexico – see below for full list) for $24.99 per month. Vonage World raises the bar for landline replacement VoIP services, offering unlimited calls to more countries than we've seen in any competing international plan.

Vonage World also includes some innovative voice mail features that are extremely useful.  First is Vonage Visual Voice Mail, which allow you to see the number (and name if available), time of call and message length of all your messages by logging into your online account.  So rather than have to dial up and press buttons to navigate through your voice mails, you can just do it all visually online.  Users of the iPhone and other newer smartphones will recognize and appreciate this feature that really revolutionized voicemail.  Vonage World also has added text transcription of all your voice mails so you can get emailed the text of any new messages you receive.  The system may not always transcribe every word perfectly, but you can almost always get a clear understanding of the message.

Vonage World is the replacement for the old Vonage Residential Unlimited plan, and it is keeping all the benefits of that plan, including the $24.99 per month price and the $0 set-up fees (free activation, free V-Portal adapter and free shipping).  In short, Vonage World has everything the old plan did plus unlimited calling to 60 countries, visual voicemail, and voicemail text transcription.  If you are currently a Vonage Residential Unlimited plan customer, you will not automatically be switched over to Vonage World.  However, there is no fee to switch and all you need to do is request the switch in your online account or call Vonage customer service.

For more information about Vonage World, read our full Vonage Review or call 1-888-692-8076 to speak to a Vonage representative.  Here's the full alphabetical list of countries that is currently included in the Vonage World unlimited calling plan.  A * denotes that calls to cell phones are also included:

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Austria
Bahamas*
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Brunei*
Bulgaria
Canada*
Chile
China*
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Guadeloupe
Guam*
Hong Kong*
Hungary
Iceland
India*
Iraq
Ireland
Israel (non Paltel)
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Latvia
Luxembourg
Macau*
Macedonia
Malaysia*
Malta
Mexico
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico*
Romania
Russia
Saipan*
San Marino*
Singapore*
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand*
Turkey
U.S. Virgin Islands*
United Kingdom
Venezuela
Zambia

A cat earns her degree online

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August 19th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin

A Georgia cat named Oreo was recently awarded a diploma from Jefferson High School Online. In reality, Oreo's owner, Kelvin Collins, paid the $200 fee and answered the test questions on the cat's behalf. Collins works for the Better Business Bureau and enrolled Oreo at Jefferson High School Online, which is based in the Carribean, in order to expose diploma mills. There are many online institutions that are more than happy to provide meaningless diplomas for a relatively low price. But those diplomas, and most of the time spent earning them, are utterly worthless.

Online education can be a valuable and worthwhile option, but it's important to do your research and select a reputable institution. A degree from a reputable online college or university can help you advance your career, increase your salary or break into a new field. To learn more about some of the top rated online degree programs, take a look at our reviews and comparison chart.

U.S. government gives away Social Security numbers

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August 19th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin

In March, Holly Ramer received a letter from a debt collector demanding that she pay $7,306 in two days. But she didn't owe that money. Instead, the debt belonged to a Micronesian man who defaulted on a disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Because that Micronesian man had the same Social Security number as Holly Ramer, his debt ended up associated with her credit file.

The Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau each has an independently operated Social Security Administration. In exchange for defense rights, the U.S. provides these nations with aid, including grants and loans after disasters. When grant and loan applicants provide their local Social Security numbers to federal agencies, the numbers are sometimes reported to credit bureaus. Two of the three Pacific Island nations use Social Security numbers with eight digits, rather than nine, and in some cases, computers automatically enter a zero to fill in the blank. That can create new numbers beginning with two zeroes, which makes them identical to numbers in New Hampshire and Maine. If your Social Security number starts with 002-6, 003-9, 005-7 or 007-8, it could match a number in Micronesia. Numbers that start 006-4 could match numbers in Palau. Those that start with 004 could match numbers in the Marshall Islands. Nobody knows exactly how many Social Security numbers overlap, but estimates show that there are roughly 135,000 possible matches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is aware of the issue and claims to be working on a fix, but so far, nothing has been done.

Your Social Security number and your credit file can impact so many aspects of your life. Monitoring your credit or subscribing to an identity theft protection service are two ways to maintain some level of control and awareness over your credit and your name.

Scammers continue to target Craigslist users

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August 19th, 2009 - Posted by Robert Siciliano

Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

Craigslist scammers aren't letting up. Fox News reports on scams that target online car buyers, in which crooks spend about a hundred dollars on a junk car, then steal a similar car and advertise it on Craigslist. They remove the vehicle identification number plate from the junk car and the ignition and put them in the stolen car. Buyers don't realize their new cars are stolen until the scammers are long gone.

In another Craigslist scam, a Massachussetts woman was horrified when a stranger alerted her to a Craigslist post offering her baby up for adoption. The advertisement read: "A CUTE BABY BOY FOR ADOPTION HE IS VERY HEALTHY AND READY FOR ADOPTION FOR MORE YOU COME BACK TO US," and featured a photo of the woman's seven month old son, which had been lifted from their family blog. (I've said before that you shouldn't reveal specifics when posting to blogs and social media sites. Don't post your address, date of birth, kids' names, pets' names, phone numbers, or any account numbers or financial information of any kind. You really shouldn't post children's photos online.) When the mother responded to the post, she was informed that the baby was Canadian but currently living in an African orphanage. The mother said that while her son wasn't being harmed, she felt he was violated. She alerted the FBI and the scammer has been removed from Craiglist as well as Yahoo.

I spoke with Jeffrey A. Kasky, Esq., renowned adoption expert from OneWorldAdoption.com. He said, "Families who hope to adopt a child are frequently medically unable to have children for themselves.  As such, they look at adoption opportunities from an emotional rather than a logical perspective, and are therefore more vulnerable to scams. What would tug at your heartstrings more than thinking that this beautiful little boy was stuck in an orphanage halfway around the world? All you have to do is wire us $300 now, then more and more and more, and he can be yours…"

These scammers are lower than that black smelly stuff in the sewer.

When we were young, our parents told us not to talk to strangers. Strangers are not yet part of our trusted circle. So don't trust them! There's no benefit to paranoia, but being a little guarded can prevent you from stumbling into a vulnerable situation.  Since predators use online classifieds to lure unsuspecting victims, you should find out as much as possible about strangers who contact you. Get a name, email address and phone number, and use Google, iSearch.com, or social networking sites to look for anything suspicious. If you find a red flag, use Intelius.com to investigate further.

Whenever possible, deal locally. People who cannot meet you in your town are more likely to be scammers. And even when you do meet in person, you should be wary. Never meet in private. Choose a public location surrounded by people. If possible, bring along a friend. Predators thrive on isolation, and by pairing up, you reduce your chances of being attacked. Be street smart, and dress accordingly. Don't wear expensive jewelry or provocative clothes. Scarves and loose clothing give attackers something to grab. Wear shoes that will allow you to run and kick if necessary.

Trust your gut and don't discount any troubling or negative feelings about the meeting. If something seems wrong, it probably is wrong. Don't be afraid to cancel. Unfortunately there is an inherent risk in meeting someone you don't know.  Being guarded can keep you from getting into a vulnerable situation. Let your spouse or a friend know where you are going and when you will be back. Use your cell phone to keep in touch throughout the meeting.

Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses all kinds of scams on TBS's Movie and a Makeover.

Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com , an identity theft expert, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and startups as an advisor on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. Siciliano's thoughts and advice on all these matters appear often in both the televised and print news media including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of security training as a member of the American Society of Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on High Alert; How to take control of your personal security and prevent fraud. He's also partnered with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and to provide tips on how you can protect yourself.

Cari-weightloss twitter spam

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August 18th, 2009 - Posted by Kent

A good friend informed me that a friend of hers twittered her the url of a weight-loss site. At first, we couldn't believe how tactless and offensive it was. Then we did some research. It turns out that a lot of people are sending these urls out.

Various urls such as cari-weightloss.com are being retweeted like mad. The retweet radar has variations on the site popping up in the top five. All indications are pointing to a massive spam operation, and quite possibly hacking too. No one knows if it's malware on twitter's side or individual accounts being hacked. If someone you know tweets a cari-weightloss url to you don't click on the link.

Do any of these storage systems back up external hard drives as well as the internal drive?

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August 18th, 2009 - Posted by Kent

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: I have two external hard drives attached to my laptop for additional storage. Do any of these storage systems back up external hard drives as well as the internal drive?

A: The only online backup system that we've found to offer backup on external drives is Mozy. Mozy earned a five-star rating when we reviewed it. While not quite as inexpensive as Carbonite, at only $4.95 per month (minus an additional 10% discount), it's well worth it. You can even try it out free with a 2GB storage cap to make sure it's right for you.

Criminal hackers clean out bank accounts using spear phishing

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August 18th, 2009 - Posted by Robert Siciliano

Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

Phishing continues to become more sophisticated, more effective, and more prevalent. According to Symantec, a 52% increase in phishing scams occurred in July alone. Computerworld reports that basic phishing emails successfully led to corporate bank accounts being completely drained. Criminal hackers waited until Pennsylvania schools administrators were on vacation, then used simple  money transfers to liquidate over $440,000 between December 29 and January 2.

Much of the phishing that occurs today is "spear phishing," in which the spammers concentrate on a localized target, generally an individual with control over a company's checkbook. This insidious type of phishing occurs when a recipient clicks a link, either in the body of an email or on the spoofed website linked in the email, and a download begins. That download is almost always a virus with a remote control component , which gives the phisher full access to the user's data, including user names and passwords, credit card and bank account details, and Social Security numbers. The malicious software can attach itself to the victim's web browser, where it waits for the victim to log into a bank site before launching. When the victim does log into his or her bank account, the software sets up new payees and transfers money to the criminal hacker.

In the school hack, the software added 42 people to its payroll during Christmas break and quickly began paying them. The issuing bank received 74 transfer requests during the four day period.

When consumers' bank accounts are emptied, federal regulations limit their liability to $50, as long as the victim reports the theft within a set time frame. But things are a lot more complicated for corporations and other entities. Whether or not the victim is responsible for the missing cash varies from bank to bank.

Protect your yourself. First of all, don't click on any links in an email unless you are 100% sure of its legitimacy. Whenever I receive an electronic statement from a bank or credit card company, I go to my favorites menu or type in the address manually, rather than clicking the link within the email. I take this extra step because I'm only 99.9% sure that the email is legitimate. You should also consider getting a credit freeze. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief. And invest in identity theft protection. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk. Make sure that your web browser is updated to the latest version, since an outdated web browser is often riddled with holes that worms can crawl through. Make sure that your Internet security software is updated and set to run automatically. And check your bank statements online frequently.

Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses phishing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtlnLQcjMZA[/youtube]

Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com , an identity theft expert, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and startups as an advisor on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. Siciliano's thoughts and advice on all these matters appear often in both the televised and print news media including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of security training as a member of the American Society of Industrial Security. He is the author of two books, including The Safety Minute: Living on High Alert; How to take control of your personal security and prevent fraud. He's also partnered with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and to provide tips on how you can protect yourself.

International hacker gets busted

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August 18th, 2009 - Posted by Kent

The US Department of Justice has indicted Albert Gonzalez for his part in a massive ID theft hacking operation. Maybe you know him by his other names: segvec, j4guar17, or soupnazi, but you probably don't. However, chances are that you've used at least one of the corporations that Gonzalez hacked, America's favorite purveyor of Slurpees and beef jerky: 7-Eleven. Using what the DOJ is calling "a sophisticated hacking technique called an 'SQL injection attack,'" Gonzalez managed to get around the network firewalls and grab over 130 million credit and debit cards from Heartland Payment Systems, supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers, and the aforementioned convenience store chain.

According to the DOJ:

"Gonzalez and his co-conspirators researched the credit and debit card systems used by their victims; devised a sophisticated attack to penetrate their networks and steal credit and debit card data; and then sent that data to computer servers they operated in California, Illinois, Latvia, the Netherlands and Ukraine."

As consumers, we expect that credit card transactions should be pretty secure. We trust that all our payment data is being locked away in a secure safe-house, never to be seen by criminal eyes. We expect that these corporations use the best security systems available. And maybe they do. Unfortunately, with hackers, it's an arm's race. Where there's a gap, they will exploit.

While corporate network security is beyond the control of everyday consumers, individuals can protect themselves with Identity theft protection and credit report monitoring. That way, even if your data does get hacked, there's a better chance you can control the damage.

Webroot consolidates storage & security products

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August 13th, 2009 - Posted by Kent

Visitors who've been shopping for online backup services may notice that Webroot's online backup service has changed. In fact it's been rolled up into its Internet Security Essentials. Webroot's security suite offers virus protection and 2 GB of free online storage for a discounted price of $49.95. 2 GB is not a lot of storage, but it's not a bad deal given that you're also getting virus protection for that price. If you need more space, Webroot offers upgrades of 5 GB to 50 GB for $10 to $70, respectively. It looks like most of the features that we admired in Webroot's online backup (including secure file sharing and remote access) remain with their Internet security software.

You can see how the Webroot's online backup component stacks up against other online backup services in our reviews and comparisons chart.

The 60-Day Domain Transfer Rule

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August 13th, 2009 - Posted by Kent

Let's say you registered a domain last month with Register.com. Now, let's say you want to transfer that registration to another registrar, maybe to a web host that you found while reading our reviews. If you did try, you'd find out that you can't. As weird as it sounds, there's a 60-day waiting period between domain purchase and transfer. ICANN, the non-profit corporation that governs Internet naming standards, set down this rule for all its accredited domain registrars.

So, if you bought your domain last month, you have to wait another month before you can move that domain to a new registrar (which would be the case if you're transferring to a webhost). Usually this is where we put in a common-sense reason for the rule, only we haven't found one yet. It probably prevents nefarious web site owners from shuffling around their shady domains to different web hosts. Either way, it's something to be aware of.

If you really feel like you can't wait to get your site up and running, consider signing up with a web host that offers you free lifetime domain registration. Since most web hosts will let you run multiple domains off of one hosting account, you can register an alternate version of your domain (such as a .org or .net). This will allow you to get to work on your site right away. When your 60-days are up, you can transfer over your original domain. It's a good way to protect your brand from typo-squatters, though it does mean you're responsible for two registrations, and any yearly registration fees associated with them.

While you're waiting for your 60-day waiting period to elapse, check out our web hosting reviews and comparisons.