eHarmony Free Communication Weekend 9/3 – 9/6

Posted by tasha on September 3rd, 2010

Today through Monday (9/3 – 9/6) you can join eHarmony and communicate with matches for free.  And when they say "free", they mean it.  You don't even need to provide a credit card, and there is absolutely no obligation.  So go ahead and give it a spin – you never know who you might meet!

Poor money mule not so poor

Posted by Robert Siciliano on September 3rd, 2010

Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

“Money mules” may be unsuspecting Americans who act as shipping managers, do the dirty work for the bad guy, and open bank accounts, too. Sometimes the mule may be a foreigner, traveling to the United States specifically to open bank accounts.

Mules often get hooked into a “small business” or employment that is a function of a criminal enterprise. The mules often respond to “help wanted” ads from online job placement sites. Shipping scams are a common tactic criminals use to employ mules to receive goods bought with stolen credit card numbers, who then ship to people who buy them in online auctions. The mules in this process are essentially facilitating selling hot goods and money laundering.

The mules are often baited into setting up bank accounts that the criminal controls. These bank accounts will be set up under the name of the mule, and are generally programmed to transfer money overseas in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid detection.

Most mules end up pulling money out of their pockets to front shipping costs with the promise of a big payoff. In the end, the mule is often bilked and ends up with an empty bank account.

But not this mule, who was arrested and sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for sending more than $860,000 to offshore online scammers. He was caught after a sheriff's deputy became suspicious during a traffic stop. They found eleven cell phones, fake IDs, $53,200 in cash, and 76 Western Union receipts. This ain’t no poor unsuspecting mule. This guy knew exactly what he was doing.

“He admitted accepting and cashing wire transfers from online shoppers for vehicles, boats, motorcycles and vehicle trailers, then sending that money to Romania or Spain in small amounts to make detection less likely. The items for sale did not actually exist.”

To ensure peace of mind, subscribe to an identity theft protection service. For additional tips, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com

See Robert Siciliano discuss money mules and job scams on Fox News.

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 McAfee to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and to provide tips on how you can protect yourself.

iTunes Ping privacy: Part 2

Posted by kent on September 3rd, 2010

Yesterday we looked at the privacy settings of Apple's new social networking product Ping. One thing that we didn't discuss is how Ping handles usernames. It turns out that it handles them somewhat badly. Your Ping username is tied to to your account, meaning your actual first and last name. This name will replace the username you used previously, meaning any reviews you many have made anonymously before now, will display your first and last name.

So, why not change your name? Well you can, and we did. Then we made a purchase. We're now waiting to see if our credit card transaction can go through for a "Mr. Music Guy." Stay tuned…

Apple iTunes: Ping privacy

Posted by kent on September 2nd, 2010

It's "Facebook meets Twitter meets iTunes," that's how Steve Jobs explained Ping, Apple's new social networking addition to iTunes. When Jobs announced Ping yesterday, he made a big point about how easy the privacy is to manage. Having covered Facebook privacy on this blog before, we were curious to see how Apple's Ping would avoid Facebook's pitfalls.

First, what is Ping? Ping is really a way for iTunes store customers to share their musical tastes with others as well as follow the activities of their favorite musicians (assuming their favorites are participating). If you join Ping your iTunes activity is displayed in your feed. People who follow you can, in Facebook fashion, view, like or comment on your purchases. Here's what a Ping profile looks like:

iTunes Ping Profile Page

As you can see, there's not much information revealed here. This is my Ping page, which I'm totally comfortable sharing here because it displays virtually nothing about me (my Facebook page, on the other hand has much more data, so it's private). I chose the music displayed in the upper right. My activity is displayed at the bottom. By the way, I "liked" Lady Gaga for demonstration purposes only. Only music is shown in your purchase feed. Podcast downloads and audiobooks do not show up, so rest assured that the self-help audio book you bought on bed-wetting will not show up along side your recent music purchases.

Ping will tell you when artists that you're following are touring near you, and there are Ticketmaster links so you can buy tickets. There's also a page where you can choose to say that you're going, creating a notification in your feed. If you want to keep this and the rest of your activity feed private, you'll want to edit your privacy settings. While you have to set these up while signing up, you can edit them at any time through your account settings (click on your email address in the upper right hand corner and enter your password when prompted).

iTunes Ping Privacy Page

These are the actual privacy settings, and they're not very deep. Essentially you're just choosing if other users can find you and view your activity and full profile, essentially whether or not you want to approve new followers. Choosing the "Don't Allow" option makes you fairly invisible, unless you review content on iTunes. If you do, your name and photo will show up by your review. Theses options are pretty all-or-nothing, which is the price you pay for simplicity.

So, while Jobs has made it very simple to control your visibility, you're not at risk of exposing very much. We can't even warn you not to broadcast your vacation plans because, well, you can't create status updates. So that's Ping privacy in a nut shell. Of course, you don't have to join Ping. By default, it's turned off.

Or is it? So far we've dealt with information viewable by users, but if you're an iTunes customer, know that Apple sees all your information, and will share it with partners for marketing reasons. There's no way to opt out of this, and it's probably not really that different from what other companies do.

Q: Do I have to leave my computer on for MagicJack to work?

Posted by kent on August 31st, 2010

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q: Do I have to leave my computer on for MagicJack to work?

A: Yes, you do. Alas, the MagicJack is not really magic at all (though it is a jack, so they're half right). While the MagicJack uses VoIP (Voice of Internet Protocol) technology, it's different from a service like Vonage. The MagicJack hooks into your computer's USB port and your phone. Your computer becomes the conduit for all your calling using the MagicJack software. If your computer is off, well, that's like turning off your cordless phone's base station. That's why we don't recommend MagicJack as a replacement for your home phone service.

Check out our VoIP and Other VoIP reviews for a full rundown on the technology that can save you money on your phone calls.

Exclusive Online-Only Trusted ID 10% Discount

Posted by tasha on August 30th, 2010

NextAdvisor.com has partnered with Trusted ID to offer an exclusive 10% discount on their identity theft protection service.  This is an online-only, limited time offer, and there is no coupon code required.  All you need to do is click on any Trusted ID link on our site.

Trusted ID is one of our top reviewed identity theft protection services.  They provide 3-bureau credit monitoring, scores and reports.  They also monitor the Internet and public records for any fraudulent use of your personal information.  Added to that is medical record protection, anti-spyware software, a $1,000,000 warranty and a number of other features.  Right now you can try Trusted ID for free and get a 10% discount with their 14-day free trial.

Does the Trusted ID family plan include my partner and myself? Also, does Trusted ID offer monitoring of public records and the Internet black market?

Posted by tasha on August 30th, 2010

Q.  Does the Trusted ID family plan include my partner and myself? Also, does Trusted ID offer monitoring of public records and the Internet black market?

A. The Trusted ID family plan includes all household members living at the same address, related or not.  So you and your partner are eligible, as long as you live together.  Trusted ID also provides monitoring of both public records and the Internet black market.  Public record databases are scanned to see if your personal information has been compromised (ie, credit cards or bank account numbers).  They monitor the Internet for any suspicious activity around personal information such as your SSN, bank accounts and credit cards.

In addition to all of this, Trusted ID provides 3-bureau credit monitoring, credit scores and credit reports.  See our complete review for more information about the Trusted ID identity theft protection plan.

I don't have a computer, is there a number I can call for a free credit report?

Posted by tasha on August 26th, 2010

Q:  I don't have a computer, is there a number I can call for a free credit report?

A: Yes, there is.  You can request your free annual credit report by phone or by mail, as well as online at annualcreditreport.com.  If you prefer to call, the number is 1-877-322-8228.  If you'd like to mail your request instead, you'll need to go to the annualcreditreport.com website, download the appropriate form, fill it out and then mail it in.

Although we think getting your free annual credit report is a useful tool, it doesn't give you an accurate picture of your credit history year round.  Your credit report can change at any time, even 5 minutes after you get your annual free credit report, and you won't know or be able to take steps to fix it.    Instead, we recommend subscribing to a credit monitoring service so you are fully aware of any changes that might affect your credit history and score.  You can even try out many of the services we review for free.  Trusted ID is one of our top reviewed credit monitoring services that offers a free trial.  You can sign up online or call them at 800-234-6611

Kaspersky 2011 reviewed by NextAdvisor

Posted by kent on August 24th, 2010

We've spent some time with Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, the first of our Internet security vendors to release an update. We installed it on two machines and ran scans, did some web surfing, and played around with its special features. The verdict? Check our review of Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 to find out.

The great iTunes-PayPal hack that mightn't be a hack at all

Posted by kent on August 24th, 2010

Many iTunes customers are finding their PayPal accounts suddenly drained of cash due to unauthorized charges. No one knows the cause, but that doesn't stop people from guessing. Some blame Apple (because people love blaming Apple), some blame a Microsoft vulnerability, and some blame iTunes users themselves. We'll withhold judgment, but all are possibilities, and no matter if the fault lies with the big companies or the user, this incident demonstrates just how new technologies, and new forms of commerce, create new crimes.

Fortunately, consumers don't have to be victims. While you and I are not responsible for Apple's or Microsoft's security protocols there are things that we are responsible for:

1) Checking bank and credit card balances. Sign up for electronic alerts on from your bank. Many banks allow you to set a notification limit; if your account drops below a certain dollar amount they'll let you know via SMS or email.

2) Watching out for phishing scams. Hackers often use phony electronic alerts to phish passwords and other sensitive data from victims. Don't click on links in emails, and be sure to double-check the address of any website you visit before entering personal data.

3) Create complex passwords. Using the name of a loved one, or a predictable numerical combination like "1 2 3 4 5" is a big security risk. Use letters, numbers, and symbols to create something unique and hard to guess.

4) Keep your Internet security software up to date. If the last time you paid for Internet security software is over a year ago, chances are you're not getting the security updates necessary to keep your computer safe. If you're not using Internet security software at all, it's time to start.

5) Keep your computer up to date. Your computer requires maintenance, just like your car. Fortunately, software updates from Microsoft and Apple are free, so take advantage. These updates often patch serious security holes.

6) Invest in identity theft protection. An identity theft protection service can alert you to data theft and fraudulent activity related to your credit.