Graham Cluley Users Quotations

Many users will be used to receiving dodgy sounding business propositions in their inbox, promising them a fortune. These schemes, however, only make money for the criminals behind them.

People who buy medicines marketed via spam messages are not only encouraging the spammers to send more of their nuisance emails, but are also potentially putting their lives at risk. Daniel Lin is unlikely to be sending any more spam, but there are plenty of other spammers out there prepared to make a quick buck with their unwanted marketing messages. All computer users should defend their email addresses with up-to-date anti-spam software, and remember to never buy goods marketed via spam.

It could be that more people are using broadband, and that home users are worse at updating their antivirus software,

Most businesses have been protecting against this for a couple of weeks. Home users who have not updated their software may be at risk if they open unsolicited subject lines.

Viruses emerging for the Mac OS X platform is headline news for Apple fans, but they are currently posing far from the level of threat that Windows users face every day. No-one should panic, but this is an indication that hackers are showing an increased interest in targeting the platform.

The question on everyone's lips is - when will we see the next one, and will it have a more malicious payload. Apple Mac users need to be just as careful about protecting their computers with anti-virus software, firewalls and security patches as their friends and colleagues using Windows.

Every month Microsoft releases security patches for its software - and it's often a race against time for companies to roll these patches out across their business before a hacker takes advantage of the vulnerability. A security hole which allows hackers with malicious intentions to run code on Windows or Apple Mac computers is very serious, and all affected users should ensure they have defended their systems.

Criminals are becoming increasingly canny at finding ways of exploiting vulnerable users and pilfering funds. Some employees are practically handing their private information over on a plate.

And Windows XP SP2 is having an effect, what with its primitive firewall and its status center that tells users if their anti-virus signatures are out of date.

Email scammers are attempting to fleece the innocent out of money, and it is the naive who are most at risk of ending up penniless. This scam contains spelling mistakes and typos, but even if the scammer had done a better job at presenting himself professionally people need to learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If an unsolicited email makes extravagant promises then computer users should be extremely wary.

There should be no excuse for any data being lost on February 3 by this worm, but there is always the danger that some home users will not have heard that warning.

ISPs have gotten better at blocking spam, they've gotten together to form anti-spam associations and task forces, and they've done a better job of educating their users about spam,

Companies should educate their users to practice safe computing - that includes never opening unsolicited email attachments and discouraging the sending and receiving of joke files, pornography and screensavers. This worm feeds on people's willingness to receive salacious content on their desktop computer, but they could be putting their entire company's data at risk.

Companies should educate their users to practice safe computing.

Apple Macs have been in the news for the last few weeks regarding a number of security issues. It's important that all computer users are protected against the latest attacks, and have their computers properly patched against vulnerabilities in the operating system. It would be a mistake to think that security flaws are only found in Microsoft's products.

A vulnerability like this opens the door for hackers to spy on your sensitive information. Users running the affected software should upgrade as soon as possible.

This is the first real virus for the Mac OS X platform. Apple Mac users need to be just as careful running unknown or unsolicited code on their computers as their friends and colleagues running Windows.

This judgment against a spammer is undoubtedly the biggest we have ever heard of. Spam is not just a nuisance for individual computer users who find their inboxes clogged up with unwanted mail, but for ISPs who are hit in the pocket by having to pay for the bandwidth to deliver and store hundreds of millions of messages.

There's a responsibility on the part of regular computer users to make sure that they are not part of a DoS attack.

The bad news is that most people think the situation is going to get worse for Macintosh users, and more threats will be targeted against the Apple community. The good news is that most don't believe it will ever be as big a problem as the one Microsoft Windows faces. What's perhaps surprising is that there is a hardcore element of 21% who believe that threat attempts against Mac users will not grow.

It's important that businesses and home users ensure they are properly protected with automatically updated anti-virus software, and never open unsolicited email attachments. The criminals behind these viruses and Trojan horses don't stop just because it's the holiday season. They are counting on people returning in the New Year and not thinking before opening their email.

The warning is clearly nonsense and no such virus exists. However, hoaxes and chain letters like this are not harmless - they waste time and bandwidth, and can be a genuine headache for support departments. Users need to think ask themselves whether everything they are told can be believed.

If users and businesses take proper care over their computers, and act sensibly, then they should be able to reap the advantages of online banking without compromising their security,

Chain letters like this are too easily forwarded to friends, family and colleagues without people using their common sense. Stories like this become urban legends, constantly being repeated without anyone bothering to check the facts. Hoaxes and chain letters like this are not harmless - they waste time and bandwidth, and can be a genuine headache for support departments. Users need to be more skeptical, and ask themselves whether everything they are told by email can be believed.

All computer users should treat any unsolicited email attachments with extreme caution, or they run the risk of being ripped off. Anyone unfortunate enough to run malicious software could potentially be allowing hackers to gain access to their computer to spy, steal and cause havoc. Users need to savvy-up to reduce the risk of being taken in by greedy, money-grabbing internet criminals.