SPOT Can Find You Anywhere

From SPOT Inc. comes the SPOT Satellite Messenger (www.findmespot.com). The SPOT messenger gives consumers a vital line of communication, independently of cellular coverage, with emergency services, friends and family. SPOT is designed to raise the safety factor for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

“All of us have heard the news stories of people getting lost, stranded or worse in the mountains or remote areas beyond the range of their cellular phones and we’ve all wondered what would we do if caught in those same dangerous or potentially life-threatening situations,” said Darren Bassel, director of Retail Marketing for SPOT Inc. “Now, with SPOT, you can send a message for help or tell family members, friends or the authorities exactly where to find you, using GPS accuracy. For anyone who ever drives their truck or car, or works or plays anywhere, regardless of cellular coverage, help is now only a push button away.”

SPOT message and tracking functions enable users to send messages to friends, family or emergency responders, based on varying levels of need. The individual’s location is visually tracked through the SPOT Satellite Messenger. The Track Progress feature in the device sends and saves a person’s location and allows contacts to track that person’s progress using Google Maps and the SPOT website. SPOT is also ideal for those who need to notify others of their status after a natural or man-made disaster.

Weighing just over seven ounces the SPOT Satellite Messenger uses convenient, easy-to-replace AA size lithium batteries for complete portability and when powered on, has a standby battery life of approximately 12 months. SPOT floats and its rugged waterproof construction is engineered to withstand a wide variety of extreme environmental shock and temperature conditions. SPOT Inc. stated that the product is functional in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, plus hundreds of miles offshore in these areas as well. SPOT uses the GPS satellite system to determine a user’s location and the SPOT network to transmit that location and the user’s status.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger will be available to the public starting November 1 through retailers and through SPOT Inc.’s website, www.findmespot.com. The SPOT messenger will cost $149. Initially, service fees will be offered for $99. Later, monthly and multi-year options will be available. Optional features include automatic tracking service (SPOTcasting) and private rescue service for countries or regions with non-responsive emergency services.

Link to Fake US Soldier’s Blog Spreads Trojan

SPAM was always a nuisance but now it’s become destructive. E-mail users have been receiving what looks like a chance to view a soldier’s blog on his experiences in Iraq. Users are encouraged to click on a link in order to read what the US soldier has experienced. However, the link in this e-mail connects the e-mail user to a fake blog that appears legitimate, and without the person’s knowledge, two Trojans are installed into the computer being used.

The malicious site looks legitimate and extremely real because the creators of this website have reused legitimate pictures from other real blog sites, as well as videos from YouTube. The spam mail encourages users to forward this website on to their friends as well. Because the site looks legitimate, users are more inclined to forward it, thereby infecting other computer users without the virus creators having to do anything.

College Students Targets for ID Theft

College students are prime targets for identity theft and they need to understand how to protect themselves. With many students away at universities abroad, parents need to e-mail these tips to them and urge their sons and daughters to follow the suggestions for their own safety.

First, advise students to protect their national ID numbers and passports. Don’t use these numbers as driver’s license numbers or school ID numbers. Passports should be locked in a security box at a bank or specialized storage facility during the university semester when the student is not traveling.

Watch out for text message offers. Many of these offers come from sources that are not secure. To be safe, students should call the cell phone provider and opt out of this marketing feature and never provide personal information in response to these offers.

Many students have Myspace and Facebook accounts. While using these social networking sites can be a lot of fun, sharing personal information can result in identity theft. Although the sites prompt users to provide full name, date of birth, addresses for both home and campus, class schedules and phone numbers, students should never give any personal information on unsecured sites. This information can be “mined” to obtain access to personal accounts or be used in creating fake accounts and documents.

Universities don’t like to release the statistics on campus thefts, but any insurance provider will emphasize that thousands of laptops are stolen from university campuses annually. Laptops are usually full of personal information. Emphasize to your son or daughter that it is essential that any laptop is password protected at all times. Purchasing a security cable can prevent the laptop from being removed from a stationary object without knowing the assigned password. If a thief were to rip out the security cable without the password, all personal information in the machine would be automatically removed. Be sure that the laptop is engraved as well, as per the instructions of the campus police. It’s not only personal laptops that are stolen. Thieves make a habit of stealing computers from university registrar’s offices. Check to see what is the university’s policy on notifying students if a data breach occurs.

While computers are vulnerable, mobile phones are even easier to steal. Young people often store Gigs of personal information from photos to banking PINs on their mobile devices. This is a bad idea. It is far better to store such information on an encrypted, password protected flash drive. Lexar and Kingston, among others, make secure USB drives, which can be attached to a keychain or lanyard. The information on the drive can also be backed-up and stored, encrypted, at a data storage service in cyberspace. That way if the drive is lost, no harm is done and the information can easily be retrieved again.