As reported during the call, ”As they start to migrate into 4G, they will have to come off of unlimited and go into the data share plan. And that is beneficial for us for many reasons, obviously. So as you pick what tier you want to be and we think that there will be some price up in those tiers.”

Per a (LINK) CNET Report, Verizon has now clarified its position.

Now Verizon says that it will allow customers to keep their existing unlimited data plans if those customers either continue to keep their existing device or they buy a new device at the full retail cost of the smart phone.

In other words, if you renew your contract and purchase a subsidized phone, you lose the option to keep your unlimited plan.

“If a 3G or 4G smart phone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so,” Verizon’s spokeswoman wrote to me in an email. “(But) when we introduce our new shared data plans, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing, i.e. Signing new contracts.”

Verizon also clarified that the same pricing and policies once they’re announced this summer will apply to all 3G and 4G LTE smartphones. So this means that regardless of whether customers sign a contract for a 3G device or a 4G LTE smart phone, they will still have to give up the unlimited data plan if they buy a subsidized device. It also means that if you already own a 4G LTE phone and have been using the unlimited data plan, you can keep that phone and the unlimited data plan.

So in other words, if you pay $499+ depending on which Android phone or $599+ depending on which iPhone you choose, you can keep your unlimited plan. In addition, as noted by CNET, even if you don’t get a 4G phone, if your phone gets subsidized, you are out of unlimited luck.

Once these changes take effect, only Sprint will remain (of the 4 US National Carriers) to offer unlimited data. Wonder now that Sprint has the iPhone and is going to LTE 4G, how many Verizon customers will consider jumping ship.

*Disclosure – I’m a very happy Sprint customer with unlimited data.

     The concern comes from #5 on the What’s New list.  “See where friends are messaging from” which is also known as geotagging has been a part of Facebook previously, the difference is that as of version 1.7 it becomes automatically TURNED ON, without telling you (at least not clearly).  Some may like this feature, but unfortunately Facebook assumes everyone wants it. 

     If you don’t want to share your location, you can turn off the feature by accessing the Settings (Menu->settings) once you are in the app

These updates address an object confusion vulnerability (CVE-2012-0779) that could cause the application to crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that the vulnerability is being exploited in the wild in active targeted attacks designed to trick the user into clicking on a malicious file delivered in an email message. The exploit targets Flash Player on Internet Explorer for Windows only.

The update has been released for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. Currently the exploit that has been fix only seems to target Internet Explorer for Windows, but EVERYONE should update their version of Flash.  Once the fix is released, the bad guys can compare the old and new versions of the software and find where the problems are.

In addition, if you are a Windows user who is thinking “I don’t use Internet Explorer it doesn’t affect me”, you are WRONG.  You need to update your copy of Flash for Internet Explorer and your copy of Flash for the browser you do use (IE – Firefox).  The fact that Internet Explorer is loaded on your pc affects you, even if you are not using it.

This update is important because the exploit gives the bad guys a way in to your pc. If you imagine your house having the lock to one of your doors broken, and you not doing anything about it, and then when someone gets in and steals from you wondering how you got robbed.  This is the computer equivalent to that.

Addition details can be found on the (LINK) Adobe Security Bulletin

Affected software

Flash Player 11.2.202.233 and earlier

Recommended player update

11.2.202.235

Availability

Flash Player Download Center

(LINK) Get a Free Pair of Oakleys! (limited time only)! – Facebook Scam

Why it’s a Scam:

Clicking the wall post link takes you to a page that prompts you to share the info with your friends. This allows for the scam to continue. Once you have shared the page, you are then required to “like” the page on Facebook. Liking a page give the page a look of legitimacy for anyone who sees the page after you.

Once you have accomplished those 2 steps, you will see a new page automatically open, the page which does appear to be from Oakley, prompts for your information. If you read the fine print you will see that the offer requires you to complete 6 ‘reward offers,’ and these are likely to cost you real money.

(LINK) Receive 4 Disney Land/Disney World Tickets FREE (Limited Time Only!) – Facebook Scam

Why it’s a Scam:

This scam involves “Bogus Facebook Events” that are being used to spread bogus Disney Land & Disney World offers. Users who don’t know any better are willing inviting their friends to these fraudulent events in the hopes of receiving more tickets. If you click on the scam link (that was probably sent by someone you know) on the Facebook event, you are taken to a page that appears to be an official Disney page (It IS NOT an actual Disney sponsored page).

If you take the time to read the fine print, you will see that the Terms and Conditions of the ‘deal,’ require for you and 3 friends to complete a total of 13 ‘reward offers.’ These offers of course will cost you money.

(LINK) WOW I just got my hillbilly name! Hilarious! Get your hillbilly name! – Facebook Scam

Why it’s a Scam:

Clicking the wall post link takes you to a Facebook application installation screen. Clicking “Allow” will give the scammers app permissions (access) to your Facebook account. The application will be able to post to Facebook as you. This will allow them to spam their scam messages to all of your friends. This scam also tags your friends in the Wall Post. Do you really want to let an unknown developer have this much access to your Facebook information? These scams are known to use multiple Facebook apps.

If you were to continuing with the installation of the app, you will be redirected to a survey scam. Facebook is riddled with silly apps like this, and we strongly advise that you avoid them all.

Keep in mind that in addition to having to spend your own money to complete many of these “free offers”, your personal data could be shared with other marketers, sponsors, scammers (or whatever you want to call them). Providing info like your name, address, phone numbers and date of birth, will enable the shady marketers to not only spam your Facebook account, but also send you junk mail, have telemarketers call you and even send you text message ad’s.

All of the information above comes courtesy of the TGM friends over at (LINK) Facecrooks. Click on any of the links above to see complete information (including screenshots) and details about these scams and hoaxes, and how to deal with them if you have fallen for them.

Finally, If you or your Facebook friends are falling for tricks like the ones listed, it’s time to get yourself informed of the latest threats. You can do that by staying updated with sites like Facecrooks and Tech Geek and More. Threats likes the ones listed above don’t just spread false information, many of these scams also open your pc up to infections, and risk having your online information compromised.

     (LINK) KKTV (based in Southern Colorado) just ran a story about someone who got one of these calls.  The caller reportedly said he was from Microsoft. 

As reported on the KKTV story, Microsoft released a statement about these types of calls that says

I can categorically confirm that neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls to help solve your computer problems. If you receive an unsolicited phone call that purports to be from Microsoft and requests that you send personal information, hang up the phone.

Note the important part of the statement . “neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls”. 

     In addition to the KKTV story, a post on (LINK) Tampa Bay Online, reporting a call from someone claiming to work for “Windows” attempted to use the same type of scam with another person. In this case, the scam artist said

We have received some information from your computers via the Internet that some files are not working correctly, and we want to fix them for you at no charge

     Fortunately in both of these cases, the persons who received the calls knew enough NOT to fall for scams like these.  If you believe you may already fallen for a scam like these, you are going to want to check your pc, to see if there is anything there that shouldn’t be there. Here is a list of free programs you can use to scan your pc.

Microsoft Security Scanner (As talked about in the KKTV Story)

SuperAntiSpyware (Via Ninite.com)

Malwarebytes (Via Ninite.com)

(TGM NOTE)

We do NOT know if the calls listed in the update above have any relation with the original post below that talks about the company called pcwizards. However, as noted above “neither Microsoft or its partners make unsolicited phone calls”. So the same way that you know NOT to click on an unknown link or open an unknown attachment, please be alert if you receive one of these unsolicited phone calls.

(Original 2/26/12 Story)

Every day I hear scam stories, however, one of these stories just hit close to home this week.  The parents of a friend of mine received a phone call from a company calling themselves “PC Wizards”. The call went something like this

‘Sir, we have reason to believe that through your Windows operating system you have downloaded some malicious software from the internet which can cause serious damage to your computer and greatly impact upon system performance. We would be happy to dial into your pc and fix the problem for you’.

Fortunately, the person who got the call is the parent of a computer tech who does all the family tech support, so he knew better and did not fall for this scam.  My friends dad did ask the person calling for a phone number, telling them “Ill have to call you back”.  Using the company name and number given during the call, I came across the (supposed) website for this company, onlinepcwizards(dot)com (I did not put a link on their website address on purpose, as I do not wish to give this scam a link back). On the picture (below) you will see their website, the 1st thing I took note of is the US and UK flags (on the top right), depending on which flag you click on, the site will show either an 888 US number or an 808 UK number. (Even though the pictures below show the 2 phone numbers, again I recommend you have nothing to do with these people, Ill explain after the pictures)

(US Page)

(UK Page)

When you click on the “contact us” link on their page, the site bring up an address in Southern California.  If you do a map search for that address, you will find that address leads to an apartment building in that area.

I do understand that people can run “home based” businesses, but that’s not what they make it seem like. The following is a quote from the sites “About Us” page.

We offer a computer support experience unlike any other in the industry.

You want your computers and your home network to work without a hitch, but they sometimes don’t. So you try to get decent tech support, but it’s always a challenge – long wait times, tech jargon you don’t understand; buck-passing between manufacturers, and costly onsite service.

All that’s in the past. Welcome to PCWizards – your 24×6 personal tech advisor. We provide total tech support for PC & connected devices. We help you with installation, configuration, customization, troubleshooting, upgradation, connectivity issues and basic feature support. We’re the only ones you need to call, because we handle them all!

We don’t just resolve problems; we help you prevent them with good advice. In a nutshell, we make IT work for you.

With the growing dependency on our PC, an average user needs to access technical support at-least six times in a year. With connect times less than a minute PCWizards offers instant support whenever you need it, in the convenience of your home instantly.

PCWizards’ Microsoft Certified Technicians are on stand-by to help you anytime of the day. We provide computer repair, tech support to you irrespective of the make of your computer using windows operating system.

I guess 1st question is how many techs can you fit in an apartment (ok bad joke I know). Seriously a couple of things to point out from their About Us page. They are a 24×6 operation (hmmm hours seem a little strange), and if you read the about us carefully you will notice some grammatical issues. Can someone tell me what upgradation means?

Ok after all that, here are a few more details.  Found interesting web posts on the following websites, where you will find numerous people who have received calls from PCWizards

• (LINK) 800notes
• (LINK) Ubuntu Forums
• (LINK) Number Investigators

Many of the postings talk about a bait and switch where the company offers free service and at the end of the call they claim you owe money. Some of the posts even quote how the company admits to actually being located in India using US/UK numbers for easier access. These are just a couple of sites, there were numerous others I’m not listing with the same type of complaints.

On another front, here is the (LINK) Who IS page for the PCWizards website

You will find that the website was registered on 10/7/2011 in Italy. (That is based on the fact that usually the privacy company listed is also the register of the domain).

Is it possible that PCWizards is a legit organization, maybe, but there are just to many things that make you go hmmmmmm. Do you really want to let a random total stranger (that you weren’t looking for) into your pc? Where they could install anything, or steal your data.  I wouldn’t.

Lastly, this call identified themselves as PCWizards, but there are reports of other similar calls claiming to be from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and other major computer hardware/software makers.