@Roberta,
It sure sounds like a scam, albeit an oddly benign one.
Regardless, the threat of evil hackers and identity theft is growing exponentially as we all do more and more on the Web.
I've not had this particular problem (knock-wood
) but I have had several experiences with identity theft. I think at this point in time if you were in a room with 10 people (who are on the grid) you would find that at least 5 have had more than one problems with hackers and ID thieves.
It find it amazing that the Defense side of the equation can't seem to keep up with the Attack side, but I admit I don't understand all of the technical detail involved. I've read that fingerprints offer a good solution but the technology is expensive. I tried a security solution that used facial recognition and it was a bust. Two factor authentication is strong but a pain in the ass, which is generally the problem with security: People don't want to to delay their activity on the Web for even the few seconds smart steps require.
In any case, as everyone has recommended, you need protection software. If you have Avast you have protection, but perhaps not enough(It boggles my mind that anyone is on-line without anything more than what Microsoft provides with the operating system but apparently such is the case still).
This is a good site for answers and advice
http://download.cnet.com/security-center/
There are plenty of security programs that are free. In some cases it's free for trial period of 30 days (But during those 30 days you can clean up your PC) or it's the basic version that's free and you have to pay for upgraded versions (the free basic versions are better than none)
This site can be trusted in terms of downloading software. I've used it for years and have never had a problem that could be traced to the site.
I use Symantic End Point Protection because I use my laptop for business and personal purposes and my IT guys have convinced me its the best (I'm sure some may argue otherwise, but I trust my guys). It's installed on all of our company machines.
I also run Advanced SystemCare for malware/spyware protections and general clean up and optimization. I pay for the upgraded system but they have a free version that works well.
I found Advanced SystemCare because I was having PC performance problems and it did a great job cleaning out junk and speeding things up. I'm sure there are other programs that perform similar functions, but this one works for me. It's got a ton of add on feature that (of course) cost money, but you don't have to have them for the software to be effective. You run it once a week. If you don't keep up with it (I suppose you can schedule run times, but I don't) the smiley face on the icon goes from blue and smiling to Orange and neutral and finally red and frowning. It's a good visual cue and spares you constant messages from the software like "Hey you need to run me now!" It's also satisfying, in a silly way, to see the red frown turn into a blue smile.
A lot of people never clean out their junk files and just by spending time browsing on the Web your PC will fill up with them...to the point where you can have more junk on your hard drive than the files you want to keep. This tool, like many other, will safely clean them all out, and that alone could greatly improve the performance of a PC.
I can't tell you if this comes with the free or cost version, but the system will provide you with real-time alerts that can keep you from making that next click that causes all of the trouble.
I've used Spybot Search & Destroy in the past (It's free although the White Hat that created it and maintains it asks for donations to keep the boat afloat) It works very well in the sense that if you run it, it will find what it says is spyware, but this thing hates anything that compromises your privacy in anyway so if you check the box that results in deleting all of the discovered "spyware" you will probably lose stored passwords and the like ie things you want to keep. If you need to bring your PC back to the basics for a fresh start (as you may need), Spybot can, I believe, do it for you. (There is something strangely satisfying about seeing all the little devils it finds. Like watching a bucket of clean water turn dirty as you mop, or checking out the dust collector after you vacum in a house with a shedding dog.)
There was a time when I thought that more is more and
better and downloaded all of the security programs I could find, but I've since learned that it's a mistake to have multiple security software programs running at the same time as they compete for system resources and sometimes will foul each other up.
I should add that I am not a tech expert. I'm not a complete novice and I talk to my tech experts a lot, but I certainly don't profess to be able to tell you what the best programs are...just the ones that have worked for me.
Take a look at the CNET site. I think you will find it helpful. (It also has a lot of non-security related free software you can try)
BTW My tech-guys have been trying to convince me that the former password protocol that requires using upper and lower case letters. numbers and other characters is not necessary, and that any password of 11 or more characters, even if it makes sense like a line from a song, is just as secure, if not more so. It would make for much more easily remembered passwords, but I've noticed that a number of sites I visit with frequency require numbers and non-letter characters so the 11 letter password can't be used at them. Obviously this isn't a factor in terms of our internal systems.
Anyone have info or an opinion on the efficacy of this type of password protocol?
