Even money intended to assist victims of major natural disasters were not deemed off-limits with emails asking recipients to donate money.  What these recipients were not aware of, was that their goodwill only helped support the lifestyles of these con artists.

So the dramatic increase in scams that have an Olympic flavor really is no surprise, and quite frankly entirely expected.  These scams can take the form of text messages, spam that is delivered through social media, or emails that offer fake tickets, or lottery wins.  Indeed our Labs research team recently published a blog highlighting numerous examples of emails that were Olympic lottery related.

Despite the continuous bombardment of such scams, it would seem that the British public are unaware of risks associated with such high profile sporting events, and the potential impact they could have on them, their device or their data.  Recent research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of McAfee found that only 13% of respondents were worried about cyber threats, and many were simply unaware of the risks.

For those individuals that are aware of the risks, the most common approaches to protecting device’s focus on adding a PIN code to the smartphone, and switching off the Bluetooth.  However less than a third were planning to install security software onto their device, which is necessary for preventing possible malware infecting a device.   Some respondents also said that they did not intend to take their smartphone to the games, in particular 1 in 3 women decided to leave their devices at home, whereas only 1 in 4 men would take that action.  However based on the responses it certainly seemed that Londoners were the most reticent about leaving their smartphone at home even though they seemed the most concerned about a cybersecurity incident at the games.

Whilst leaving the device at home may seem excessive, some simple steps can reduce spectators, and would-be spectators safe from cyber criminals.  By keeping your wits about you, and not falling for the promise of 100 meter final tickets at a ridiculous price is the first step.   In terms of the device, adding a PIN code, and disabling Bluetooth remain sensible steps, as well as ensuring all of your personal information is backed up before you leave for a sporting event.

It does seem a shame to be talking about scams during such a wonderful summer of sport, but by taking some simple steps we can all focus on the games.  For more security tips, and advice on how to stay safe please visit: www.facebook.com/McAfee

My first thought about this is why do they want people to know that they are not home??? Do they not read my blog? Have they not seen pleaserobme.com?

For those of you who haven’t….the site broadcasted people’s Tweets and basically told the world that the person is not home.  The creators of that website have turned off the tweets by the way because it attracted a lot of media attention to the issue.

To choose not to add the location feature to your tweets then log into Twitter and you will see the little note under the “What’s happening?” box that says “New! Add a location to your tweets.” Choose “No thanks” to make it go away for that session then you will have to click it again the next time you log in. So they don’t give a permanent opt out option.

Well, I say no thanks! And I have repeatedly – it doesn’t go away, it’s like an annoying houseguest. The technology uses GPS technology if you are on a smartphone (Foursquare and Skimble are what you use on a smartphone) and your ip address (the number that is your computer’s Internet identification) number if you are on your home computer or a wifi network (using Twitter’s app (application). 

This is really cool technology, but before you decide to use it or not use it, I want you to think it through.  What are the potential ramifications for your life?  Are there people in your network that you may not want to know EXACTLY where you are?  (Think bosses, ex-boyfriend/girlfriends, strangers?) 

For me, on Twitter, the majority of my followers are people I do not know.  For me the choice is simple.  I have no problem interacting with people online, but if I do not know them personally, I do not know they are who they say they are! 

The choice for you may be different. I just want you to always think before you add that great new technology to your arsenal of online social tools.  The internet can be a dangerous place if you are not careful.  Stay safe out there!

Oh!  I almost forgot!  For a little bit of Twitter fun, go to isparade.jp and type in your Twitter handle.  Too cute!

 Tracy

cybermom@mcafee.com
@mcafeecybermom on Twitter

…But this week, McAfee began rolling out some major updates to make it scan for threats faster, use less memory and hard drive space and easier check for threat status’ on a cooler home page that even your parents or children can use. All current subscribers will be getting an automatic upgrade – if you haven’t already gotten it.

Here are a few features I am REALLY excited about…

· Any of you netbook users as frustrated as me in some programs when the screen gets all weird or you can’t read it because you are on a netbook? Well McAfee thought of that as well. I am so excited because the screen automatically adjusts to the right size for my screen.

· The mom in me is excited because the new parental controls features. You now have the ability to select an pre-defined age groups for your kids, filters on 18 different content categories and age-appropriate search. Let me know what you think! If you want a more robust program then I suggest looking into McAfee Family Protection though.

· You do not have an excuse to not back up your most valuable files now. If you have McAfee Total Protection software then you get access to 2GB of Online Backup storage (McAfee Internet Security subscribers get 1GB). If you are looking for an unlimited online storage backup option then McAfee Online Backup is a nice way to go.

I was lucky enough to see a little bit of the new software in December when I shot a video at McAfee HQs. It was a fun shoot and the new program is all I say it is in my video. Check it out at www.knowbetterprotection.com – make sure to watch my friend Dave’s video as well. His video “Know Better Protection” gives you a little insight into what they do every day over at McAfee Labs to keep our computers protected.

Enjoy the McAfee 2010 line! I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Tracy
@McAfeeCybermom
cybermom@mcafee.com