Archive for April, 2009
Red Flag Rules to Protect Against Identity Theft Go in Effect May 1st
Saturday, April 25th, 2009Find out the who, what, when, where and how Red Flag rules work to protect you from identity theft.
We Want Your Opinion
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009You may be new to IdentityTheftSecrets, or you might have been with us now going on 5 years.
Either way, we really would like your help.
We are at a crossroads with the IdentityTheftSecrets.com, and need to know what direction to take it.
Identity Theft remains a huge problem, growing almost daily in size and complexity.
This crime is a major factor in all kinds of challenges currently facing the United States and other countries, including:
- International drug trade
- Meth addiction
- Ponzi schemes
- Child pornography
- Illegal immigration
- Bank insolvency (via massive fraud)
- And more
We want to continue to develop IdentityTheftSecrets into an incredible resource, and a unique source of information for everyone who visits the site.
I’ve Been Hijacked, Again
Monday, April 20th, 2009So, after 4 years or so of being error free and thinking I was protected (I do, after all run a web site devoted to teaching people how to protect themselves against Identity Theft), my laptop has been hijacked.
I thought other people might be interested in my process for getting rid of stuff from my computer. So I’ve included helpful links to the free software I use in this post.
Here’s how my computer got hijacked:
“Hey Jonathan, you have a great web site. We’ve already linked to you from www.DorksWhoHijackedMyBrowser.com (not the actual address they used) and we’d like you to link back to us.”
Well, I wanted to check out their site first (otherwise I’d be sending you along to junk that could infect your computer…)
So I clicked… landed on the web site, and WHAMMO!
Spybot Resident (free software I use in the background on my computer) starts going CRAZY and blocking tons of stuff that’s trying to change my system registry.
I couldn’t believe how quickly it happened, but with all the stuff hitting my computer at the same time, something got through. (Actually, a lot of stuff got through.)
So, I’ve run:
Spybot
CWShredder
Ad Aware
ComboFix
I’ve run ComboFix in SafeMode and Spybot in SafeMode.
I’ve downloaded Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool and gotten all the latest updates from Microsoft.
Every program has gotten rid of a variety of stuff running on my laptop, which is a good thing.
However, there’s still something running.
I finally resulted to HiJackThis (NOTE: do not use unless you know what you’re doing or will post to a web site where someone does know what they’re doing), which I ran in normal mode, and then in safe mode.
There is a process I can’t block or stop from running which I can’t figure out.
The reason I know something is still running is because Internet Explorer and Firefox both take a LONG time to open, and about every 6th click on a search result from Google lands me on a page that’s not actually what Google is showing.
I posted the HJT log to www.BleepingComputer.com, but so far no response to my post.
Here’s what I’ve got:
4/14/2009 1:34:27 PM Allowed (based on user decision) value “{CFBFAE00-17A6-11D0-99CB-00C04FD64497}” (new data: “”) added in Internet Explorer searches!
4/15/2009 12:33:20 AM Allowed (based on user decision) value “BootExecute” (new data: “autocheck autochk *
lsdelete
“) changed in Session manager!
4/15/2009 9:53:14 AM Denied (based on user blacklist) value “Qbihasamoqixate” (new data: “rundll32.exe “C:\WINDOWS\ifizuhifucize.dll”,e”) added in System Startup global entry!
I denied the process for ifizuhifucize.dll, but it’s running and I don’t know how to block/remove it (or what it’s doing).
Anyone have any suggestions?
Spend a Few Minutes at Government Registry.org, Not Hours at the Courthouse
Monday, April 20th, 2009A day at the courthouse is nobody’s idea of fun. There is an alternative that is a lot less painful and time consuming. Go to GovernmentRegistry.org.
“Who’s calling, please?” ReverseMobile.com has Answers
Thursday, April 16th, 2009Have been barraged by a number of missed calls with no message? Have you received annoying or even obscene phone calls? When your phone is ringing and you don’t know who is calling, it can quickly escalate from irritating to down-right scary. ReverseMobile can help you answer your questions.
Medical Identity Theft is Up as Job Loss Means Loss of Insurance Benefits
Monday, April 13th, 2009Identity thieves traditionally target a victim’s bank accounts or credit cards or else use a victim’s information to establish credit for credit cards, loans or even utilities in a victim’s name. Savvy citizens know to protect their bank and credit card numbers, social security numbers and passwords but did you know that you need to be just as vigilant with your insurance card numbers?
April Fools Month: Easter and Tax Day Scams and Hoaxes
Friday, April 10th, 2009There is more to April than Showers, Fool’s Day, Easter and Tax Day. Find out what you should avoid this April to protect yourself from identity theft.
CourtRegistry.org: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You
Thursday, April 9th, 2009CourtRegistry.org is a comprehensive collection of both private and public data all organized for an easy to use and friendly search process.
Where is Your Passport? Is it a Free Pass for Identity Theft?
Sunday, April 5th, 2009While trained security check points may be able to locate a passport imposter, don’t ever forget that passport books can still be used to steal your identity. Identity thieves aren’t interested in traveling the world with your passport, yet they may very well do so after they have accessed your bank accounts, credit cards or established new credit in your name.