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Monthly Archives: March 2012
What to do about your out-of-date Joomla site
We’ve noticed there are several Joomla sites out there which have not been updated to the latest version of the Joomla software. This is alarming since many security exploits have been discovered in Joomla over the past couple of years. Sites running older Joomla software are vulnerable to being taken over by cyber-vandals or crooks. The Joomla authors have done a great job of releasing new versions quickly as exploits are found. However, older versions of Joomla (1.5.x especially) are somewhat difficult to update. It’s not a simple button-push. Depending on how extensively the site has been customized, portions of the update may need to be applied file-by-file to avoid breaking functionality of the site. It’s tempting to just ignore the problem and hope your site won’t be found by hackers or vandals. However, the bad guys are quite adept at scanning the internet for sites running vulnerable versions of various software. If you don’t update your site, there is a very high probability that it will get defaced, or worse. At SWCP we have seen three Joomla sites compromised in the past month. So what to do? If you have a Joomla 1.5.x site you have 3 options: 1. Update to the latest 1.5.x Joomla release This is the simplest and probably cheapest option in the short term, but may not be good for the long haul. Have your web developer apply the latest Joomla update to your site. … Continue reading
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IRS helps enable online tax fraud
Your friends at the Internal Revenue Service are eager to get everyone to do their federal taxes online. But in their efforts to make everything quick and easy, they’ve wound up helping Internet tax scammers, too. And it’s not a phishing scheme or involves hacking, but is based on filing false online returns and collecting the refund. So this tax season, the government is warning people of the dangers. Identity thieves are very busy – last year, the IRS identified nearly a million fraudulent returns to the tune of $6.5 billion. Over half of these were related to identify theft, which is three times the amount of just three years before. And those are just the ones caught before any refunds had been issued. The IRS can’t, or won’t, even estimate how much money they’ve actually sent to scammers. Tax fraud has become an epidemic especially in areas like South Florida, with some gangs replacing drug sales and robberies with online crimes committed with iPads. Gangs even hold work parties to teach each other and commit hundreds of crimes in a single session. So many local officials are complaining about the lack of governmental concern and effective action. Working the fraud, authorities claim, is quite simple, and there are even written tutorials for thieves. The criminals first acquire victims’ Social Security numbers and other personal information. Perhaps they buy the data from insiders with access to medical or financial records or … Continue reading
Announcing Mail Minder
Southwest Cyberport is pleased to announce that our iPhone app, Mail Minder, is now available in the Apple App Store! Mail Minder – Intelligent Push Notifications for Email Mail Minder alerts you when important messages come in. Tell Mail Minder what to watch for: messages from a particular person, or location, or with certain key words in the subject. Then relax and let Mail Minder watch for them while you get on with your life. No more obsessively checking email every few minutes, wondering if the client has replied to your proposal, or your brother has emailed about the new baby, or the airline changed your flight after you left the hotel. The app is free (ad-supported) for up to 3 Minders, with in-app purchases avaialble for subscriptions. Paid accounts can add more Minders, get more frequent polling for new messages, and have no ads in the app. Mail Minder works with any standard POP or IMAP account (SWCP, GMail, etc.). Follow this link to download Mail Minder for free from the App Store!
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