What is the Gameover malware?

Gameover is an updated Zeus malware attack that goes after bank information.  The attack takes place when malicious users send spam email to infect computers with malware, which is designed to collect bank account information from the recipient’s computer.  After this malware is on your computer,  it is able to steal usernames, passwords and can bypass financial institutions’ user authentications.  As the name of the attack suggests, once the malware gets your information, it is “game over” for your bank account.

How it works

Spammers spread the virus to computers by sending out emails from the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA), the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) saying there is a problem with your bank account or recent transaction.  A link is provided in the email to fix the problem, which then leads you to a fake website. As soon as you click the link and go to the website you also just downloaded this malware to your computer.

How to protect yourself

NACHA, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve all say they don’t send out unsolicited emails to bank account holders. So if you want to confirm there’s a problem with your account or one of your recent transactions, contact your financial institution. Do not click on any links sent via email, as these may take you to a Web site that places malicious software on your computer. Instead, enter the address that you know is legitimate into your browser. For example: Instead of clicking on the URL received in an email (such as http://www.123citi-bank-usa.com/update/yourcredentials.html), open up Firefox and navigate to Citibank’s known website: www.citibank.com.

Where can I find more info?
Visit http://www.luc.edu/uiso/protect_yourself.shtml for additional security tips.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft is a crime where a person uses your personal identification information, like your name, Social Security Number, driver’s license number or credit card number, without your permission with an intention to commit fraud. This also allows the criminal to steal money from you by opening up new credit card accounts and running up charges on them or purchasing new services like a phone account, internet, rent an apartment, etc. in your name. You may not even be able to find out about the theft until you review your credit card statement and notice charges you didn’t make or in some instances until you review your full credit report and credit history.

How is it harmful?

Identity theft can also provide a thief with false credentials for immigration or other applications. The biggest problem with identity theft is that the crimes committed by the thief are often attributed to the victim. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Identity theft is a serious crime and it can be harmful to the person whose identity is stolen by losing out on job opportunities, or denial of loans for education, housing or cars because of negative information on their credit reports. Aside from losing money and confidence in the marketplace, identity theft also soils the reputation and livelihood of the consumer. In few cases, they may even be arrested for crimes they did not commit. According to the FBI, identity theft is the fastest-growing white-collar crime in the United States.

What can one do if already a victim of Identity Theft?

1)     Place a fraud alert on your credit reports as and review them as fraud alert prevents an identity thief from opening more accounts in your name.

2)     Close the accounts that you suspect have been opened fraudulently immediately.

3)     File a complaint with the local police or with the Federal Trade Commission, which may help in recovering from identity theft more quickly.

How to avoid Identity theft?

To minimize the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, remember the word SCAM:

S – Be stingy. Do not give your personal information to others unless you have a valid reason to trust them
C – always Check your financial information on a regular basis to track your financial status
A  – Ask for a copy of your credit report from time to time – you are entitled to 1 free report every year
M – Maintain careful records of your banking and other important financial accounts

What Is P2P?

P2P stands for Peer-to-Peer which means the sharing of files between two or more users on the Internet. The concept behind P2P networking is powered by a peer-to-peer application such as Gnutella, KaZaA, Napster, iMesh, LimeWire, Morpheus, SwapNut, WinMX, AudioGalaxy, Blubster, eDonkey and BearShare. The P2P application takes a piece of allotted data or sometimes whole directories from your hard drive and allows other users to freely download this content, and vice versa. Content downloaded via P2P applications can be potentially laced with a computer virus or be legally protected copyright data. P2P programs are most often used to share music and videos over the Internet. Although sharing, by passing around a CD or DVD is not illegal; sharing by creating multiple copies of a copyrighted work is illegal.

How P2P Works

Much of the P2P activity is automatic and its use is unmonitored. Computers running this software will be busy exchanging files whenever the machine is turned on. Some of the P2P programs themselves contain “spyware” that allows the author of the program, and other network users, to see what you’re doing, where you’re going on the Internet, and even use your computer’s resources without your knowledge. Once installed, these applications are hard to remove. In some cases a user has to know which files to remove, which registry entries to edit, and which configuration files need modification. Since the computers running the P2P programs are usually connected to a network, they can be used to spread malware, share private documents, or use your file server for store-and-forward where data transmitted from one device to another passes through a message center which is used by the message service to store the transmitted message only until the receiving device can be located and then forwards the data transmitted to the intended recipient. Various types of illegal files can be downloaded and re-shared over these P2P networks by mistake. This includes child pornography, which can bring the owner of the computer and network under severe criminal penalties.

Risks from P2P Programs

Some P2P programs will share everything on your computer with anyone by default. Searches done so far revealed patent applications, medical information, financial and other personal and corporate information. Viruses, Worms and Trojans are being distributed at a fast rate.

Cybercriminals these days are using a modified version of the Zeusbot/SpyEye malware, which is using a peer-to-peer network, rather than a simple bot to command-and-control (C&C) server system, making the botnet much harder to take down. Also, P2P network enables the botnet to stay alive and gather information, even if portions of the network are shut down making it even more dangerous to use P2P software.

ZeuS is very popular in the cybercriminal world because it’s capable of stealing a wide variety of information, documents and login credentials from infected systems. Both ZeuS and SpyEye can be best described as cybercrime toolkits that are used for the creation of customized banking Trojans. The code base of the two former rivals was merged last year that led to the creation of strains designed to target mobile banking customers. Basically, if the control messages are handled by P2P networks, it is almost impossible to track the criminals behind it.

Consequences of Copyright Infringement

Downloading and sharing files which contain copyrighted material is against the law. The responsibility to restrict sharing and monitor the legality of your downloads lies solely with you. This is what can happen to you:

• Disciplinary action. Your name may be forwarded to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action. Sanctions include fines, termination of university network access and/o university probation.
• Legal consequences. Copyright holders may offer a legal settlement option (a.k.a. Early Settlement Letter) or pursue legal action against you.
• Financial implications. If a copyright holder chooses to pursue legal action, the minimum damage for sharing copyrighted material is $750 per file (in addition to legal and court fees). Some students who settled their cases outside of court were forced to pay substantial amounts. There is no way to predict how much you may be required to pay in settlement costs.

The Federal statute, titles 17 and 18 of the U.S. Code, provide criminal penalties for infringing on copyrighted material. In the worst case infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Violators can also be held civilly liable for actual damages, lost profits, or statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringement, as attorney’s fees and costs.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it a crime to create software that helps distribute copyrighted materials. It also limits an Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) liability if the ISP notifies the alleged infringer and suspends access to illegal copies of copyrighted materials. As an ISP, Loyola is required to comply with the DMCA.

What to Do About P2P

• 1)  Remove any copies that are running on any computers. This may take some time, and require some professional assistance.
• 2)  Do not allow P2P software Internet access. This may mean: Disable NAT – Network Address Translation; Block access to/from the common P2P ports; Use a packet-reassembly firewall that can examine streams of data in-context for possible P2P misuse.
• 3)  Delete any files on any machines which may have been obtained over a P2P network.

Legal Alternatives for Downloading

Some of the sites listed here, provide some or all content at no charge. They are funded by advertising or represent artists who want their material distributed for free. This list is not exhaustive of all content that is legally available. However, it will give you some legal options.

Movies: Watch movies online legally. Many of them are free->> Hulu Movies, Joost Movies, Amazon Video on Demand, Netflix, CinemaNow, Walmart Movies, BlockBuster

TV Shows: Watch TV shows online legally. Many of them are free->> Hulu TV, Joost TV, Clicker TV, Netflix TV, Walmart TV, iTunes TV

Music: Listen to music online legally. Many of them are free->> Pandora, Slacker, iLike, Music Rebellion, Last.fm, Blip.fm, Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music Unlimited, iTunes Music, eMusic, AmieStreet, Mindawn, Zune

Others: ESPN3, GameFly, GameTap, Steam

For more legal websites click here

Students can also watch new movies on-demand while on campus: http://watchnow.reslife.com/loyolachicago/SDC/Content/Browse.aspx

As a new feature in Microsoft Office 2010, you can easily convert your document to a PDF from any Office program (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). In previous versions of MS Office, you needed to have additional software installed to create a PDF. Now when you save your document, PDF is among the file types to choose from:

The PDF format is useful for sharing documents because all of the formatting is preserved and the file is protected from further editing.  Remember to keep your original Word document if you will need to edit it later.

SlideShare is a free Web-based sharing program that allows users to find, create and share presentations online.  With SlideShare, anyone can upload slides to the Web from PowerPoint, OpenOffice, Keynote or a variety of other formats, including PDFs, videos and prerecorded webinars.  You can easily sync MP3 audio files with your slides to create a musical slideshow or narrated lecture. Presentations can be kept private or made public if you would like to share your work with a wide audience. Viewers have the option to download public presentations and reuse or remix the slides.  Another benefit of using SlideShare is that the presentation files can be viewed on smart devices without Flash and smart phones.

With all of the video formats out there, AVI, WMV, FLV and MP4, to name a few, it can be a challenge to keep track of which video files are compatible with your different systems and devices.  With Sothink Video Converter, you can take any video or audio file and convert it to the proper format for virtually any device (iPod, iPad, iPhone, HTC, Blackberry, Android, XBOX, Sony PSP, PC, etc). This all-in-one free program features an easy to use interface and works quickly to convert to high-quality video.

VoiceThread is a collaborative online application that enables users to share a multimedia slideshow and make comments, as part of a group conversation. Once a thread is created, contributing users can comment using text, a webcam, a microphone or even by telephone. With VoiceThread, a group discussion can be securely captured and stored in one place. This tool could be used a part of a class or even just to share photographs with friends and family.

After registering with VoiceThread, as a free member, you are able to create up to three threads at a time. If you would like to be able to create additional threads or need more space, there are purchase options available on the site.

Jing is a software program that allows you to easily take, edit and share screen captures from your computer.  With Jing software, a free download for Mac and PC, users can upload images and videos to Jing’s website then simply copy and paste the item’s URL anywhere — email, IM, Facebook, Twitter, wikis, etc.. Anyone can access your content by clicking on the URL.  No more downloading, saving and opening files!

Jing also features a simple image-editing program so you can enhance your image with text bubbles, arrows, and highlights. You can also add narration to your screencast videos, which can be up to 5 minutes long. Jing is great for web-based conferences, creating narrated slideshows, explaining maps, diagrams, directions and more.

Additionally, Jing will automatically provide an HTML embed code for your image or video so that you can paste it directly into a blog or Website. The free Jing download allows you to capture and store up to 2 GB of image or video files onto screencast.com. If you intend to use Jing for more elaborate projects, you can purchase Jing Pro for $14.95/year, which offers a few additional features such as simultaneous screen capture and webcam activity, higher quality images and the ability to post videos directly to YouTube.

No matter how many steps you take to protect yourself or your information, there is still a chance you will get hacked. However, the sooner you identify you have been compromised and the faster you respond, the more you can minimize the harm.

ACCOUNTS

You probably have numerous online accounts for everything from online banking and shopping to email and social networking. Keeping track of them can be a constant challenge. Here are some steps to help you identify and respond to compromised accounts.

Symptoms:

1. You can no longer log in to the website, even when you enter the correct password.
2. Your friends & co-workers are receiving emails from you that you never sent.
3. Someone is posting messages on your social networking page (such as Facebook or Twitter), posing as you.
4. Someone is transferring money out of your online bank account.
5. Contact information or other settings on your online accounts are being changed without your knowledge.
6. When a website or service provider publicly announces they have been hacked and user accounts/passwords have been compromised.

Response:

1. If you can still log in, change your password immediately and be sure to use strong passwords.
2. If you can’t log in, contact the service provider or website immediately.
3. Once you have regained access, review all of your account settings to make sure nothing has been changed by the attacker.
4. Make sure you change your password on any other accounts that have the same password.

DEVICES

With the explosion of mobile devices, you now have even more things to protect. Once attackers control your device, they have the ability to intercept every action you take on that device. Here are some steps to help you identify and respond to infected devices.

Symptoms

1. Your computer is taking you to websites you do not want to go to & running programs that you never installed.
2. Your anti-virus reports an infected file/ Anti-virus and system updates are failing.
3. Your device is continually crashing.
4. Your smart phone is making expensive calls or purchasing apps without your permission.

Response:

1. Perform a full scan with your updated anti-virus solution. If it detects any infected files, follow the steps it recommends.
2. Make sure you install the latest version of your anti-virus & do regular backups of your personal Data.

INFORMATION

Protecting personal information, such as your Social Security Number, medical history, or purchase history, can be challenging, since you often do not control this data. Instead, organizations like your health care provider, your credit card company or your school store maintain this data. Here are some steps to help you identify when your personal information has been compromised and how to respond.

Symptoms:

1. A service provider announces they had an incident and your data may have been compromised, such as your credit card number or your medical history.
2. You see unauthorized charges on your credit card.
3. Your credit reports indicate loan applications you do not recognize.
4. Your health insurance is processing claims for treatments you did not receive.

Response:

1. Call your credit card issuer immediately & have them cancel the credit card and issue a new one.
2. If you believe there is fraud with your insurance account or bank account, call your insurance company or bank.
3. During any filing process, always document all conversations with date, time and the name of the person you talked to.

To learn more about the security solutions visit http://www.securingthehuman.org/

With the introduction of iOS6, Apple has snuck in a feature that many users don’t even know exists. Identifier for advertisers, or IFA, is a random number assigned to a device and its user. It’s nothing all that unheard of, think grocery stores providing tailored coupons based off data they collect every time you use their “club card.” The reason IFA is more invasive though is it allows ad companies to not only tailor what ads show up on the screen of your smartphone, but it also lets them know if you clicked the ad, even if you downloaded or purchased whatever the ad was for. Even that’s not the biggest issue, what’s worse is that it’s on automatically without users even knowing it. Luckily though, there is a way to turn it off. To turn it off, first you need to go to “Settings” and then to “General” (not Privacy, which would seem logical). Then it’s off to “About” and finally, select “Advertising.” Here is the confusing part, naturally one would think something set to track your data needs to be turned off. In this case though, the option is labeled “Limit Ad Tracking,” it needs to be turned ON. Being ON in this instance actually means being off. In a world of constantly less and less privacy, it’s nice to be able to control and maintain some form of privacy.

For more information, check out this article:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ifa-apples-iphone-tracking-in-ios-6-2012-10

Your laptop’s battery life can be extended if you take precautions to avoid frequent total discharges. One step you can take is to set up alerts so you’ll know to plug in the power adapter when the battery goes down to a particular level.

Almost all laptops display alerts if the battery has 5% or 10% of the charge left. You can easily modify your notifications to avoid total discharges.

In Windows 7, click on your battery icon in the system tray and select More power options, then select  Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings and change the  low level battery setting to 30% and the critical level battery setting to 25%.

It is also recommended to keep the battery in cool temperatures to make battery life last longer.

Additionally, if you are planning not to use your laptop for a long time (for example when you go on vacation), make sure it is charged about 40% before you unplug the power adapter and power down.

If you constantly find yourself checking your email, updating your Facebook, reading blogs, shopping online or watching YouTube videos (when you are trying to get important work done) there is hope yet!  With Freedom, a  program available for Mac and PC users, you can set parameters to disable your internet access from 60 seconds up to eight hours.  You can circumvent the time limit you specify by rebooting; though if you have to go through the trouble of rebooting, the idea is that you would wait until your Freedom minutes are up and not cheat.  Freedom software is available for purchase for $10 with a 90 day money-back guarantee.

If you do think that your internet habits could use a little policing but maybe not by completely removing internet access, you might want to check out a free browser plug-in from Firefox called LeechBlock.   With LeechBlock you can choose specific Web sites to block and set times to make the sites unavailable.   Since it might be too difficult for some to part with all digital distractions initially, LeechBlock might be a good entry point into the world of productivity software.

Gliffy is a web-based application for creating diagrams. There are a variety of graphics and templates available such as Venn diagrams, flowcharts, floor plans and different shapes to help you get started. Here are some examples of Gliffy diagrams:

On the site, there is an option for a free or premium membership. With the free membership, you can create and share up to five public diagrams. After you finish a diagram, you can easily export it as a JPEG or PNG image or even just print it. Gliffy is also a great tool for creating graphics for a presentation. For more information, visit Gliffy’s Webpage.

Not only can Google Calendar help you manage your own schedule, you can also create a calendar to share with your students, co-workers or an organization.  This is a useful tool because there are several options for sharing your calendar.  Some of the sharing features in Google Calendar include:

*  Share only available/busy times on your schedule (no details). This is helpful if you need to schedule a lot of meetings but do not want to share the details with everyone.

*  Show all event details but you are the only person able to edit. This way you can continually keep your course schedule and assignments up to date.

*  Show all details and also allow users to add or change the events. If you want to share the calendar with a T.A. or even let students add events, this is a helpful option.

Getting Started

If you don’t have one already, you’ll need to create a Google account. From your Google account, you will see a calendar tab at the top of the screen.  This brings you to the main calendar page where you can add events, create multiple calendars and adjust your settings. Follow these steps to create and share your new calendar:

Create

1. On the left-hand side of the screen, under My Calendars, click Create.

2.  Add relevant information such as a title, description
and location.
3.  Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Share your Calendar

1. Back on the main calendar page, click on the drop-down arrow next to the calendar you would like to share.
2. Click on Share this Calendar.

3.  Enter the email address of each person you would
like to share your calendar with.
4.  Adjust permission settings for each calendar user.
5.  Once you save your settings, an email will be sent
inviting each person to view the calendar.

Format Factory is a handy tool for the Windows platform that allows you to easily convert media files from one format to another. Whether you need to reduce the size of a media file for uploading to the Web or you need to convert files for iPod or iPhone compatibility, file conversion software can be incredibly useful. With a free download of Format Factory, you can convert common video formats such as AVI, MOV, WMV, and SWF to another video format.  You can also convert image and audio files to popular formats.

If you’re using a program with audio recording capabilities, such as Adobe Connect or Panopto, you may have experienced being unable to play audio when you have your microphone plugged in.  A quick fix to be able to play audio when using an external mic, is to set your speakers as the default playback device.  To change this setting, right-click on the speaker icon from your taskbar on the lower right side of your screen and choose Playback devices. Next, select your speakers and click Set Default, then choose Apply to save your settings.

Atomic Learning is an online, on demand, training site that offers over 50,000 short tutorial videos on over 250 technology applications, including Microsoft and Adobe. Instructors can pull Atomic Learning videos directly into their Sakai courses. To find a tutorial on a particular subject, use keywords and optionally add filters for application, topic and category.

Try Atomic Learning by logging in at https://www.atomiclearning.com/login/luc using your Loyola credentials, and type your keywords into the Search box – or check out the featured Training & Resources, like Outlook 2013 or Computer Literacy Basics.

There is a free Atomic Learning app for iPad® available in the App Store. To log into the app, use your Loyola UVID and password, and type in “luc” under Advanced.

For a video introduction to Atomic Learning, visit https://connect.luc.edu/p6obwzxiy1e/.

Instructional Technology & Research Support (ITRS) assists faculty with the integration of technology into teaching, learning, and research. You can review our training opportunities and calendar of sessions offered on our new Technology Training webpage: http://www.luc.edu/itrs/resources/technologytraining/

 
Topics for training include Adobe Connect web conferencing, Atomic Learning online tutorials, Panopto lecture capture, Sakai learning management system, VoiceThread for online collaboration, and more!  When you are ready to register for a session, view our registration marketplace.

 
Space is limited, but we are adding more sessions each term, so be sure to check back often! You may also follow our ITRS training calendar under the University Calendar and then filter for “Instructional Technology and Research Support”.

Come learn about the various instructional technologies available at Loyola, and collaborate with faculty peers for new ideas about teaching with technology. Need more one-on-one support? Don’t forget, you are always welcome to stop by a drop-in location for additional guidance… just be sure to check the schedule on our website at: http://www.luc.edu/itrs/resources/Dropin.shtml

There’s good news for qualitative researchers at Loyola! The university has moved from a per seat license to a site license for NVivo 10. All faculty are now eligible to use NVivo. If  you require NVivo 10 and you do not yet have an association to the software on your LUC desktop, email helpdesk@luc.edu. Provide the LUC bar code of your computer in the request for the software.

If you already have NVivo 10 associated to your LUC desktop you should upgrade both the service pack and license by doing the following:

1. In All Programs, click on the Loyola Software icon.
2. Choose Statistical Applications.
3. Under Statistical Applications, click on the NVivo 10 SP5 icon to apply the new license code and Service Pack 5.

Students access to NVivo has increased from one open access lab to three:  CLC 710 and 201 at WTC and the Information Commons, 3rd Floor at LSC. The software can be found under Loyola Software > Statistical Applications > NVivo 10 SP5.

VoiceThread ~ Interact, Collaborate, Communicate!

Looking for a way to collaborate and communicate with your students online in a fun, engaging format? Check out VoiceThread which is fully integrated with Sakai, and now offers new features including the option for assignment linking to the Sakai Gradebook.

VoiceThread allows instructors to place collections of media including images, videos, documents, and presentations, at the center of a conversation – wherever and whenever you like! Faculty can use VoiceThread for collaboration and to lead conversations using any mix of text, microphone, webcam recordings, or audio files.

Think of it as a media-rich, interactive “discussion board” of sorts. Start with a PowerPoint slide, photograph, or even video, and record voiceover questions to get the conversation started. Have students create their own VoiceThreads to introduce themselves and share class presentations asynchronously.

For more information about VoiceThread, please visit our website at: http://luc.edu/itrs/teachingwithtechnology/voicethread/ and add the VoiceThread tool to your course site in Sakai to begin exploring.