Job Scams - What You Really Need To Know

More and more people now use the internet searching for work but those that are also risk putting themselves in jeopardy.

Job scams are on the increase, and with that it also means that those that apply for these jobs are at greater risk of Identity Theft and Fraud.

You may be asked to provide personal information such as your Full Name, Bank Account details, Credit Card information, PayPal information, Social Security Number, Drivers License, Home Address……with this arsenal of information in the wrong hands you could have a serious problem.

Identity Protection is extremely important online for everyone.

For Job Seekers it is even more important as some of the companies that are recruiting offer very attractive salaries, and appear to be genuine and big companies, some with very well known industry names.

But the people behind thse will often recreate a complete website, which to all intents and purposes looks like the real thing…..and then they start a recruitment drive, advertising for employees who may need to relocate, and offer extremely good packages to you.

There are several ways to discover if a job offer is real or a scam, I highly recommend that you head on over to Oil Offshore Marine and read what they have to say about this and also check their list of known scams.

They also offer a Free Checking System where if you get a job offer that you are unsure about, email them the details and they will investigate it to see if the offer is by a genuine company or whether it is a scam.

Oil Offshore Marine is the Worldwide Center of Oil & Gas Jobs.

I highly recommend that you read their blog Beware of Job Scams, it really is an eye opener, and it could save YOU from being duped.

Securing Firefox

How to avoid hacker attacks on Mozilla’s Firefox browser

Constant security problems with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser helped pave the way for Mozilla Firefox to emerge as an alternative browser for surfers.

However, Firefox users should be aware that hackers can exploit software flaws and design features to launch attacks.

The following configuration changes can disable various features and set up the browser to run in a secure state, limiting the damage from malware attacks.

To get started, select Tools, then Options.

In the General tab, you can manually set your home page and check to ensure Firefox is your default browser.

In the Privacy tab, select the Cookies sub-category. Here you can disable cookies or change your preferences for how the browser handles them. It is recommended that you enable cookies for the original site only. Also, by enabling the option ‘unless I have removed cookies set by the site’, a website can be “blacklisted” from setting cookies when its cookies are removed manually.
It is recommended that you do not use the Firefox feature to store passwords. If you decide to use the feature, be sure to use the measures available to protect the password data on your computer. Under Firefox’s Privacy category, the Passwords subcategory contains various options to manage stored passwords, and a Master Password feature to encrypt the data on your system. Use this option only if you decide to let Firefox manage your passwords.
Alternatively use Clipperz or RoboForm.

From the Content category, you can configure Firefox to block pop-ups and warn when websites try to install extensions or themes.

You should also Disable Java unless required by the site you wish to visit. You should determine if this site is trustworthy and whether you want to enable Java to view the site’s content.
Click on “Advanced” to disable specific JavaScript features.
It is recommended that you disable all of the options displayed in this dialog.

Firefox’s Downloads tab offers the option to change actions taken when files are downloading. Any time a file type is configured to open automatically with an associated application, this can make the browser more dangerous to use.

Vulnerabilities in these associated applications can be exploited more easily when they are configured to open automatically. Click the View & Edit Actions button to view the current download settings and modify them if necessary.

The Download Actions dialog shows the file types and the actions the browser will perform when it encounters a given file type. For any file type listed, click on either Remove Action or Change Action.

If you click on Change Action, select Save them on my computer to save files of that type to the computer. This helps prevent automated exploitation of vulnerabilities that may exist in these applications. Also scan them with an Anti-Virus program before executing them.

Firefox includes a feature to Clear Private Data to give users the option to remove potentially sensitive information from the web browser. Click on Tools, then Save Private data to find the settings (Ctrl+Shift+Del)

This is where you can configure Firefox to remove potentially sensitive data from the browser.
Place checkmark in the following boxes:
Browsing History
Saved Form Information
Cookies
Cache
Authenticated Sessions
Ask me before clearing private data.