In case you’re not aware by now, you need to beware of internet scams. As computer savvy as I think I am, about two or three years ago I opened an email that claimed to be from Federal Express and I clicked on the attachment only to open a can of worms. Literally. My office computer was immediately infected by a computer “worm” and my entire operating system crashed and burned. The good news is that I have an awesome IT dude, Igor, who immediately came to my office and tried CPR on my computer. He had to take it back to his workshop for the weekend but by the time I got it back, my computer was up and running. Unfortunately, due to my own fault, I lost three years of work because I accidentally deleted the backup drive.
Don’t ask! (And, please, don’t try this at home!)
In any event, a federal government agency called the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an alert on November 5, 2013 about a new malware campaign (translate: virus) that has been circulating this year, called CryptoLocker. It’s a nasty one, which “appears to have been spreading through fake emails designed to mimic the look of legitimate businesses and through phony FedEx and UPS tracking notices. In addition, there have been reports that some victims saw the malware appear following after a previous infection from one of several botnets frequently leveraged in the cyber-criminal underground.”
Please do yourself a favor and go directly to the US-CERT website to familiarize yourself with this malware and find out what you can do to prevent what I went through. Click here: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A
Make sure you click on all clickable links on the website (also here, for your convenience) to access useful information, including:
- Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks
- Using Caution with Email Attachments
- Recognizing and Avoiding Email Scams
Special thanks to Patrick Rosiak, IT Manager the City of North Miami Beach, for this valuable information!
This holiday season, please point, click and shop responsibly!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Maybe since you gave him a shout-out, he’ll unblock your web site from city computers. 🙂
I’m pretty sure Patrick can’t make that decision by his lonesome. I think he answers to a Higher Power.
Like most of us, he answers to many Higher Powers. Not sure where that directive came from. On the other hand, you did at one point suggest that his department could be outsourced to teenagers. To quote one of your favorite sayings, I’m just sayin’
I did suggest that, didn’t I? On the one hand, teenagers are natural geniuses when it comes to technology. On the other hand, though, the care and feeding of a teenager can be an exhausting proposition. Teenagers also can be harder to deal with than bad hair days. All things considered, we’re probably much better off with Patrick.
Pat and his staff are amazing. What they accomplish, with the resources they have, is solely due to their dedication and work ethic. The man himself moves so fast that the average person has to jog to keep up with him. BTW, last week’s Herald had an article about one of his staff members (Lori Helton) who rooted out Homestead Exemption fraud in NMB, resulting in the discovery of thousands of dollars of unpaid taxes. You can read about it here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3753637/north-miami-beach-official-helps.html
Okay, Pat, can we please read the blog at work now? 🙂
Stephanie thank you for posting this information. As cyberterrorism has become a bigger threat to our country than terrorist acts of violence, it is important that we continue to educate ourselves on this issue. I want to send a thank you to the individual who sent this to you. By the way, on Wednesday, November 20 at 5:30 I will be giving a demo on FixitNMB in the Council Chambers. This is our free smart phone app that puts our residents in touch with staff who can directly address issues of concern in the community. This demo is part of the Beautification Committee that will follow thereafter.
Thanks for finding this information, Patrick. Hopefully it will help everyone!
Over the weekend I’ll post a reminder about the FixitNMB demo and other NMB announcements for the upcoming week.
Thanks again!