Have you been scammed by an email from a friend? There has been a wave of phishing emails going around lately, targeting peoples’ email accounts and tricking people into logging into their accounts via ‘spoofed’ web pages that look like webmail logins from their mail host. A significant number of iTandCoffee clients have been taken in by this scam. One of the key reasons people have fallen for this one is that the email has come from someone they know (who has previously fallen for the same scam), so looks like a trust-worthy email. They think that they have been sent a message or a document from the person, and that they are logging in to their account so that they can view what they have been sent. As soon as they log in, they give away their email account’s password and allow the scammers to send phishing emails to all their contacts - so more people can be taken in by the same scam. If the victim does not reset their email password very quickly, they may find themselves locked out of their own mail account! They have also then given the scammers access to all sorts of confidential information held in their mail account, and perhaps left themselves open to further attack through online account password resets and much more. Critically, they may have used the same password for other online accounts - so by giving away one account’s login details, they may have inadvertently given these undesirables access to so much more! Protect yourself now - change your password/s It is essential that, if you think you may have been the victim of such an attack, you change your email account’s password immediately. And, while you are at it, make sure you change the password on any other online account for which you have used the same email address and password combination. When you change your email account's password, it is highly recommended that you also set up a feature called 2-step authentication (if your email host provides this). In the remainder of this article, we will look at how to do this for your Hotmail, Live, Outlook and Bigpond accounts (for Bigpond accounts created since 2011) - or for any other account that is hosted by Microsoft. (Similar steps apply for Gmail, iCloud (Apple), Yahoo and other email accounts - the website you go to will be different though.) To set up 2-step authentication for all accounts that are hosted by Microsoft, you need to log into your account via your web browser (which we will describe in more detail shortly). This is also where you go to to change the password of your hotmail.com, live.com or outlook.com email address. For email accounts that are hosted by Microsoft, but are operated by businesses or other ISP’s, you will need change your password in a different place. For example, for Bigpond mail account holders, you will need to log in to your Bigpond account via the Telstra website, and change the password there. (Some background: hotmail.com and live.com accounts are now considered Microsoft accounts, but still have their @hotmail.com and @live.com suffixes. Other mail providers are also using Microsoft to host their mail - for example, newer @bigpond.com mail accounts are hosted by Microsoft, so webmail for these accounts is accessed using the Microsoft mail website. Telstra started hosting their new mail accounts with Microsoft after about 2011.) Securing your Hotmail, Live, Outlook - all Microsoft mail Visit https://login.live.com and sign in with your email address and password.  Click on your account name at the top right to see the set of options shown below, then click on Account Settings.  To change your password and/or set up two-step authentication, click on Security & password. (Note. If you are concerned about fraudulent activity on your account, click on the Recent Activity option to see details of attempted accesses to your account.)  You will then be taken through a series of screens that help you set up the improved security on your account. There is even an app (Google Authenticator) you can install on your Smartphone or Tablet to provide a security code every time you log in. We will not go through all the steps in this setup, as they are quite self-explanatory. (But if you do get stuck, make a time to see iTandCoffee to assist you with this setup.)   Logging into your account with 2-setup Authentication Once you have set up 2-step Authentication, the next time you log into your account you will be asked to enter the verification code that has been provided to you. If you chose to use the ‘Authenticator’ app on your Smartphone, your screen will look like that below. Open the Authenticator app on your Smartphone or tablet. A code will appear - enter that into the Code text box.  If you asked for authentication via SMS, you will need to check your phone and enter the code shown there. If you have provided several options for provision of the security code, you will be able to choose which form of authentication you wish to use this time.  Defining ‘Trusted’ devices You can specify that a particular device is a ‘trusted’ device, and that you don’t need the be asked for a security code every time that device accesses your mail account. When you enter your the provided verification code during login, just tick the box below to say that you sign in frequently on this device.  From that point on, you will only need your password to log into your mail account from that device. Need more information? So, hopefully that gives you enough information to set up your improved email account security for Microsoft accounts.
iTandCoffee can provide further help for anyone who has difficulty with any of the above - call 1300 885 420 to make a time, or email [email protected]
0 Comments
5/8/2014 0 Comments Scam email alert! Beware!BEWARE IF YOU RECEIVE AN EMAIL SAYING A FRIEND WANTS TO SHARE A DOCUMENT WITH YOU (or any other email that asks you to log into your Gmail or other email account)! In the past few days, a multitude of iTandCoffee clients have been caught out by a Phishing email that looks quite convincing. As a result they have given away their email address and password to those that sent the email! The email that they received was from someone they knew, so looked like it could be legitimate. It said that there is a document that the person wants to share with them, and includes a link to that document. Or it said that the person wished to share a message with them - just click the link! 
For the case where the email supposedly had a document, the link took them to a screen like that shown below, showing that there is a PDF document to be downloaded and viewed. It looked like screen from Google.  When they clicked the 'Download pdf' button, they were taken to a login screen that looks like that below. It looked quick authentic, so they chose the Gmail option (as they had Gmail email addresses, which then asked them to log in to their Gmail account to view the attached document.  After entering these details, they either got a login screen asking them to log into their Gmail account or, if they were already logged in to their Google account, they were taken to Google Drive and shown their own set of documents (if they had any).
Unfortunately, as soon as they had entered their gmail address and password, they had given away these details to the seedy individuals who sent the email. A similar email takes the victim to a screen that appears to be an iCloud login screen. This scam is very clever, as it looks at your email address and takes you to a different page depending on the type of email account you have! This type of email is known as a 'Phishing' email. It's purpose is to get to to enter some confidential security information for an account (and perhaps other confidential information). They can then access that account and use it to do various things - such as sent SPAM and Phishing emails to people in your address book. These emails will look like they came from you and can result in others falling for the same scam. With access to your email account and password, they could also reset your password so that you can't access it, and arrange password resets for other accounts that use this email address. They can also access all sorts of confidential information that be in your email account. Of course, if the same email address and password has been used to set up other online accounts (eBay, PayPal, iCloud, iTunes, etc), the scammer can also gain easy access to these accounts. What do you do when this happens? We'll shortly publish more articles about how to reset you email password and set up a feature called two-step authentication. Keep an eye out for these articles on the iTandCoffee Blog. I have lost count of the number of clients that I have seen recently who are in an iCloud tangle because they are ‘sharing’ an iCloud account with another person (and sometimes with more than one person). They end up deleting each other's Contacts and Calendar events, perhaps getting each other’s messages and photos, and often have run out of space in iCloud. Unless you really do want to share your calendar, contacts, notes, reminders, photos, messages, etc with someone else, do not use the same Apple ID for iCloud as any other person because iCloud accounts are not meant to be shared! It is OK to have an iTunes and App Store account (Apple ID) that you share with others in your family - this will save you having to purchase music, movies, books, apps, etc multiple times. But iCloud is different. You should have your very own Apple ID for iCloud - which can be an email address that belongs to you (and is not used for iCloud by anyone else), or can be a free Apple iCloud email address that you can easily set up. iCloud accounts are designed to be associated with one person - to allow that person to sync their important data (contacts, calendar entries, notes, reminders, photos) between their devices and, if desired, to back up each Apple mobile device belonging to that person. I like to picture an Apple shaped cloud floating above me wherever it go. This cloud is labelled with my email address to identify it as mine and mine alone. My husband Jim and son Jacob have their own iCloud clouds, since I don't want their data to be mixed up with mine.  Picture drawn (badly!) on iPad with the app Paper by Fifty-Three When I do things on one device - for example, add a calendar event or contact, or take a photo - that 'thing' will appear magically on my other devices (but not on their devices). Not only that, my iCloud cloud will hold on to this information - so if a major act of God leaves me with no iPad, iPhone or computer, my information is still safely floating up there in my cloud - waiting for me to get a new device. The minute I tell that new device about my 'cloud', all of the important information that is sync'd to my iCloud will downloaded onto my new device. And because I also back up my iPad and iPhone to my iCloud, I will can restore all my photos, messages and app data to the new device - ready to pick up where I left off. Just be careful when you try to unravel any existing iCloud tangle, as you may end up unintentionally removing your own important information from your iPhone or iPad. iTandCoffee can help sort out any iCloud mess in your family. Just call 1300 885 420. |
What's on at iTandCoffee ?Below is our list of videos, classes and other events that are coming up soon.
Videos shown are offered for eligible members of the iTandCoffee Club. If you have questions, why not join fun and informative 'user group' meetings, held once a month. All iTandCoffee classes are run as online classes (using Zoom), which means you can attend from anywhere. |
RSS Feed
Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 420
to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products
|
SENIORS CARD WELCOME HERE:
Seniors Card holders qualify for a 10%* discount on eligible classes booked and paid for online. To activate the discount at the time of booking, select Redeem Coupon or Gift Certificate and enter 10OFFSEN before selecting Pay Now Seniors can also save $5** on the first full hour of appointments booked online. Enter Coupon Code of BASEN5 when booking to receive this discount. * Some heavily discounted classes are excluded from the 10% class discount offer. ** Where more than one type of discount is available, only one type of discount can be used. |
© 2012-2026 iTandCoffee Pty Ltd. All rights reserved ACN: 606 340 434