New Facebook Attack

So, I was looking at my stream on Facebook and came across a post by someone I trust that looked like this:

The subject matter and the title by my friend was a clue, so I clicked the link.  The page that appears is this:

If you look closely, the Submit button is drawn over the original Facebook button that allows you to use your Facebook credentials to login to a website.  By clicking submit, the same link above will be posted to your wall and the ‘Hacker’ will have access to your Facebook account.  Every one of your friends who clicks and does the same thing will perpetuate this scenario.  Pass this around so that we can stop this from spreading.

If this happened to you, change your password and look in your Facebook security settings and remove any unknown apps and websites that have access to your account.

FBI Virus

So, there is a new creative Malware circulating throughout the US and world.  It is called the FBI Virus and when it infects your computer it displays the following screen:

 

 

This screen prevents you from doing anything with your PC except entering payment information.  Since this is NOT a real message from the FBI or any law enforcement agency and there is a simple fix.  Download ComboFix, Install it.  Reboot the PC in to safe mode and run Combo Fix.  Allow it to scan and clean everything it finds.  Then update your antivirus and other malware software and allow them to perform a full system scan.  This is the easiest and most direct way of getting rid of this Nag Screen, which will not go away or allow you to do anything else until you do.  Also, there is no guarantee that paying the fee will get rid of the issue and that it wont just keep popping up randomly and demand money.

Refurbished Warranties

In my effort to get healthier and to lose more weight, I have experimented with substituting fresh vegetable juice for a regular meal.  To do this we used a low end Juicer that was purchased on sale at Target.  I wont mention the make or model, but will say that it worked really well for the price, but it was a chore to use because every few carrots or other vegetables, you had to disassemble the unit to clean it.  So in August, while still euphoric from the splendor of the Redwoods, I went to Fry's and purchased the Cuisinart CJE-1000FR juicer because it was listed on the shelf as being on sale for less then $100.  I realized by reading the box that it was Factory Refurbished and having dealt with this in Electronics I realized that most of the time they are as good as a new one.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwnd5hJoxSY]

When I got home, I decided I wanted to get a rubber storage bin to put the unit in after I cleaned it. This way it would remain in pristine condition. Well, I got busy with work and other chores and did not get around to opening it this weekend. To my surprise the hinge that holds the top on to the body of the device was broken, thus making the device worthless. A call today to Cuisinart Customer service, the representative said that this part was not covered by warranty. I asked for a supervisor, and the floor supervisor again told me that this part was not covered by a warranty.

When I asked her for a supervisor, her initial response was that she was the supervisor.  When I pressed her and asked for a name or number for her supervisor she gave me a number for the corporate office, the parent company is Conair.  I called the number and eventually got the Voicemail for the person that I was referred to and left a message.

About an hour later he called me back and we discussed the situation.  I provided him the same information that I had provided previously and he explained to me that the reason that they told me that part was not covered was because the unit was refurbished in 2001 and must have sat in Fry's warehouse for years before being shipped to the store where it sat until the day I purchased it.  By the normal methodology used by the company the device was out of warranty.  I explained that I had just purchased the unit and the gentleman asked if I had a proof of purchase.  I explained that I did not but that I had paid with a Visa card and that I could contact Visa or Fry's and get a copy of the receipt.  He explained that in order to expedite the process he would ship me a new CJE-1000FR unit and also put in a request for UPS to collect the old unit.  He then asked if I still had the box, to which I replied "Of course I do, I haven't completely unpacked the unit since I saw the hinge was broken."

The morale of this story is simple, when dealing with any warranty related issues, make sure you either have proof of purchase or can get it and then do NOT take no for an answer.  Sometimes you have to hang up and call back multiple times or talk to multiple people in order to ensure that you get the company to do what it is supposed to do.  This is true with all Warranty packages from the default to any extended warranties that you might purchase.