“We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account.  To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”

An e-mail communication that reads like this has probably appeared in your inbox recently.  Sounds official, doesn’t it?  Judging from the header on the e-mail, a trusted source has sent it – a government agency, your bank, your Internet service provider.

What will you do?

Anytime you receive an online request for personal information, you should treat it with a healthy dose of suspicion.  What appears to be a trusted source may, in fact, not be what it claims to be.  Chances are high that you have become a target of a highly individualized and persuasive attempt to steal your personal information for malicious purposes.  Phishing, as this type of attack is called, has become increasingly common.

A phishing attack can originate when personal data is stolen. Not much is required.  Bits of data can be simple enough, such as your e-mail address, telephone number and birthday. But those bits hold the potential for creating a profile of you that can be easily expanded through access to other sources of online information.

Resumes and CVs are a reservoir of useful data.  As recently as August of this year, resumes and CVs were the target of an attack on Monster, a popular employment website.  The attack, which began with stolen login credentials, enabled hackers to gain access to the Monster site and gather the personal information of over a million of its users.  According to news agency Reuters, Monster responded by shutting the server that was used to access the information, and contacting the affected users.

But the Monster security breach was only the start of the phishing attack.

Phishing e-mails can be tailored to exploit the information at hand.  For example, a Monster user could receive an e-mail that claims to be from a recruiter.  Upon clicking a link in the e-mail, the user could be directed to a fraudulent website that looks legitimate. From there the possibilities for acquiring additional data are limitless.

Some phishing e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or others, or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.

How can you avoid being the victim of a phishing scam?   The U.S. government, through its OnGuardOnline.gov website and National Cyber Alert System, has some practical tips to keep you safe online.

Responding to E-mail – If you are not sure whether an e-mail is legitimate, try to verify its identity.  Contact the source directly by using any previously obtained information – telephone number or type in the correct web address – instead of using the information provided in the suspicious e-mail.

Providing Information – Do not provide personal or financial information in an e-mail, or by clicking on a link included in an e-mail. E-mail is not a secure form of communication and legitimate companies do not ask for information in that way.  Also, do not send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a website’s security policy or looking for evidence that your information is being encrypted.

To help identify a malicious website, take note of its URL and see if it uses a variation in spelling or domain (such as .com versus .net).

Checking your Records – Review your bank and credit card statements as soon as you receive them and check for unauthorized charges.  Since victims of phishing can also become victims of identity theft, check your credit report periodically to see if any new accounts have been opened in your name.

Reporting Phishing Scams – Report these by sending an e-mail to reportphishing@antiphising.org.  The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses that information in their fight against phishing.

Tuesday, 2 October 2007, 1:52 pm
Press Release: Symantec News ReleaseNew Symantec Endpoint Security Solution Now Available

Beta customers experience significant cost-savings and increased security with new integrated offering

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) raised the bar today for enterprise security by announcing the global availability of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 and Symantec Network Access Control 11.0. Symantec Endpoint Protection integrates Symantec AntiVirus with advanced threat prevention in a single agent managed through a single console, delivering unmatched defence against malware and data loss for laptops, desktops and servers.

 

Today Symantec also released results from a third-party study of Symantec Endpoint Protection beta customers quantifying the operational efficiencies gained through the integrated, single agent endpoint security solution. The study, which was conducted by the Alchemy Group in August and September, highlights Symantec Endpoint Protection’s ability to significantly reduce the cost and complexity of securing endpoints in diverse business environments.

Highlights of the summary include:
• The ability to manage IT security operations from Symantec Endpoint Protection’s single management console has the potential to reduce the number of current management hours by an average of 75 percent. One customer expects to save 97 percent of the hours dedicated to weekly security related reporting.
• Symantec Endpoint Protection’s Application Control functionality, which can limit access to only approved applications at the endpoint, can be a key enabler in reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency. Network outages caused by unauthorised peer-to-peer applications are costing one customer more than two million dollars annually.

“Symantec has once again redefined the enterprise security market to address evolving business needs and the changing threat landscape,” said Brad Kingsbury, vice president of endpoint security, Symantec. “Symantec has integrated state-of-the-art security technologies, including our unique behavioural-based intrusion prevention technology and our award-winning Network Access Control product, in a way that simplifies management and provides better security. By combining endpoint protection and endpoint compliance, this comprehensive solution can help customers secure critical assets, comply with regulatory mandates and protect information.”

Symantec Endpoint Protection provides customers the security technologies required to protect their endpoint environments against today’s threats while reducing the overall memory footprint to new industry lows. When running in an idle state, Symantec Endpoint Protection introduces a reduced memory footprint of only 24 MB. This is a dramatic decrease compared to competing endpoint security offerings.

New Tools and Services to Guide Migration and Maximise Product Investments
Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Network Access Control serve a wide range of customers – from small businesses with no IT departments to global enterprises with thousands of endpoints to manage. Since each customer environment is unique, Symantec has developed a number of new tools and outsourced services to guide customers through product migration, new product deployment, operations and management for endpoint security.

Symantec will also provide customers with access to additional endpoint remediation and control capabilities to accelerate and enrich the benefits of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0. The new Symantec Endpoint Protection Integration Component is a free tool that integrates Symantec Endpoint Protection with the Altiris management platform to help Symantec customers streamline rollouts, facilitate migration from competitive products and secure endpoint configurations. Integrated Symantec endpoint security and management technologies provide Symantec protected systems with closed-loop remediation to help increase client availability and data security, and reduce IT ownership costs.

Licensing and Availability
Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 and Symantec Network Access Control 11.0 are available now and can be purchased directly or through Symantec’s worldwide network of value-added authorised resellers, distributors and systems integrators. Current customers of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition, Symantec Client Security, Symantec Sygate Enterprise Protection and Confidence Online for Corporate PCs (Whole Security) with valid maintenance contracts are eligible for a free upgrade to Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0. In addition, current customers of Symantec Network Access Control with valid maintenance contracts are eligible for a free upgrade to Symantec Network Access Control 11.0.

The Symantec Endpoint Protection Integration Component is scheduled to be available soon after the release of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 at no additional charge to Symantec customers. For more information on these products, visit: www.symantec.com/endpointsecurity.

Public Beta programme
More than 10,000 individuals participated in the public beta programme for Symantec Endpoint Protection, providing extensive feedback to assist in the final product, services and support that are offered today. Customer quotes are available on request.

About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in infrastructure software, enabling businesses and consumers to have confidence in a connected world. The company helps customers protect their infrastructure, information and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance and performance. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

Mark September 19 on your calendar! TechSoup Stock and GrantStation will offer a special one-day discount of $300 on a GrantStation membership (http://ga0.org/ct/tdLRaAn1p4om/),

which is designed to help you boost fundraising efforts using their comprehensive database of grant opportunities. This offer is now available for U.S. and Canadian public libraries, in addition to nonprofit organizations. If you have colleagues at a nonprofit or public library that could benefit from this special offer, please take a minute to forward this information to them.

 

Also this month, we have two valuable products from Symantec now available through TechSoup Stock to help keep your computer protected. Norton Confidential 2007 helps guard against identity theft, phishing attacks, and malicious software. You can also request Norton Save & Restore 2.0 for all of your organization’s computers to make sure your data is backed up in case of a hard drive failure.

 

If your nonprofit works with students, you’ll be interested to learn that Microsoft Math is now available through TechSoup Stock to help teach mathematical concepts from pre-algebra through calculus. Finally, we’re featuring several toolkits on TechSoup with valuable links to information on keeping your organization’s computers safe and secure.

 

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GRANTSTATION SPECIAL EVENT: SEPTEMBER 19 ============================================

Boost your fundraising efforts with GrantStation! For only 10 hours on September 19, specially discounted one-year GrantStation memberships will be available to eligible nonprofits and public libraries for only $99, thanks to an extra-generous discount offered by GrantStation. This offer will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Eastern time) on September 19; after 5 p.m., our usual discounted administrative fee of $399 will apply. Organizations may renew their existing memberships with this special offer.

 

GrantStation membership includes:

* Access to online resources that will help you identify potential grantmakers for any given program or project at your nonprofit or public library.

* Easy online access: you do not need to download or install any software to use GrantStation.

* Online tutorials on how to write compelling letters of inquiry and grant requests.

* An informative weekly bulletin, The GrantStation Insider.

 

Visit TechSoup Stock and place your request on September 19 (7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time)!

 

Learn more about this special offer and GrantStation:

http://ga0.org/ct/tdLRaAn1p4om/

 

UPDATE: U.S. and Canadian public libraries are now eligible for the GrantStation program!

 

Organizations must complete TechSoup Stock’s qualification process within 30 days of requesting a GrantStation membership to receive the specially discounted price.

 

ELIGIBILITY

U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits and Canadian Registered Charities; U.S. and Canadian public libraries. View eligibility

restrictions:

http://ga0.org/ct/t7LRaAn1p4oE/

 

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STAY SAFE ONLINE WITH NEW NORTON CONFIDENTIAL ============================================

Protect yourself from identity theft with Norton Confidential 2007, now available through TechSoup Stock. Norton Confidential protects passwords and other personal information so you can conduct business online while staying safe. The software helps protect you in a variety of ways:

 

* Anti-Phishing Toolbar: Norton Confidential identifies and blocks known phishing Web sites using a toolbar it installs in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

 

* Crimeware Tracker: This tool continually searches for evidence that crimeware is recording keystrokes or taking screen captures. If found, the crimeware will be disabled.

 

* InfoVault: Store login and password information for Internet Explorer using InfoVault and easily retrieve it using a master password.

 

Norton Confidential 2007 is available through TechSoup Stock for administrative fees of $15 to $70 (compared to retail values from $50 to $1000), thanks to a generous donation from Symantec. The software comes in packages of 1, 5, 10, and 25 licenses.

 

Learn more and place your donation request:

http://ga0.org/ct/5dLRaAn1p4oI/

 

Browse all Symantec products and learn more about Symantec donation programs here:

http://ga0.org/ct/51LRaAn1p4oW/

 

ELIGIBILITY

U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Canadian Registered Charities, and U.S. 501(c)(3) libraries. Review the Symantec donation program

restrictions:

http://ga0.org/ct/g1LRaAn1p4oy/

 

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BE PREPARED: NORTON SAVE & RESTORE NOW AVAILABLE ============================================

Would you be protected if your hard drive suddenly failed?

Norton Save & Restore 2.0 helps prepare for this and other emergencies by creating a backup copy of your entire hard drive or any folders you choose.

 

One advantage of Norton Save & Restore is that it can perform backups on the fly without interrupting your work or restarting the computer. Or, you can schedule a backup at certain times, when a user logs off, when new software is installed, or based on other events. Your data can be saved to a wide variety of media, including CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, USB and FireWire storage devices, and network drives.

 

Norton Save & Restore 2.0 is available through TechSoup Stock for administrative fees of $15 to $70 (compared to retail values from $50 to $1000), thanks to a generous donation from Symantec. The software comes in packages of 1, 5, 10, and 25 licenses.

 

Learn more and place your donation request:

http://ga0.org/ct/57LRaAn1p4o7/

 

Browse all Symantec products and learn more about Symantec donation programs here:

http://ga0.org/ct/51LRaAn1p4oW/

 

ELIGIBILITY

U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Canadian Registered Charities, and U.S. 501(c)(3) libraries. Review the Symantec donation program

restrictions:

http://ga0.org/ct/g1LRaAn1p4oy/

 

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DO THE MATH: SAVE ON NEW EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT FROM MICROSOFT ============================================

Microsoft Math can help students solve problems and gain a better understanding of mathematical concepts from pre-algebra through calculus. The primary tool in Microsoft Math is a full-featured scientific calculator with extensive graphing and equation-solving capabilities to deepen students’ knowledge of complex mathematics. An animated slider lets students make changes to an equation and see the effect on the graph.

 

The other tools include:

* The Step-by-Step Equation Solver, which coaches students to develop problem-solving skills

* The Formulas and Equations Library, with more than 100 common equations and formulas

* The Triangle Solver, a graphing tool to help students explore relationships between different components of triangles

* The Unit Conversion Tool, which makes it easy for students to convert units of measure

 

Microsoft Math is available through TechSoup Stock for an administrative fee of $2 (as compared to a retail value of $20). Learn more and place your donation request:

http://ga0.org/ct/t1LRaAn1p4oj/

 

ELIGIBILITY

U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofits and Canadian charitable and nonprofits organizations. View eligibility restrictions:

http://ga0.org/ct/tpLRaAn1p4oU/

 

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STAY SAFE AND SECURE WITH TECHSOUP TOOLKITS ============================================

In addition to the right software, nonprofits today need the know-how to keep their computers safe and secure. Visit these TechSoup toolkits to find links to essential information on recovering from disk failure and other disasters, combating spam and spyware, and preventing viruses.

 

* Disaster Planning and Recovery Toolkit:

http://ga0.org/ct/gpLRaAn1p4o8/

 

* Spam Prevention Toolkit:

http://ga0.org/ct/b1LRaAn1p4oi/

 

* Anti-Spyware Toolkit:

http://ga0.org/ct/gdLRaAn1p4oh/

 

* Virus-Prevention Toolkit:

http://ga0.org/ct/g7LRaAn1p4on/

 

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TELL A FRIEND

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As a nonprofit helping other nonprofits get the technology they need, TechSoup Stock depends on your referrals to reach organizations that might not know about our service. I encourage you to take a moment and forward this email to nonprofits and libraries you know that could benefit from access to these products and savings. Since 2002, TechSoup Stock has helped over 50,000 nonprofits and public libraries take advantage of product donations.

 

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QUESTIONS?

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If you have questions about our donation programs that were not addressed by this email or the program pages on our Web site, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department via email at newproducts@techsoup.org or call us at 1-800-659-3579, extension 700. TechSoup Stock Customer Service is available Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time. In addition, you can get answers to your questions at our online Email and Answer Center at http://ga0.org/ct/5pLRaAn1p4ou/.