McAfee 12 Scams Season of Sharing Sweepstakes: Win a Dell Ultrabook!

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It’s that time of year again. Yes, I know it seems like we just got past the spooks from Halloween, but the holidays are just around the corner. While we are busy buying gifts and making travel arrangements, cybercriminals are making their lists, and checking them twice, as they prepare to unleash a host of scams designed to take advantage of the seasonal surge in online shopping and sharing. Since it only takes one scam to spoil your holiday season, it’s a good idea to get familiar with our list of the 12 Scams of the Holidays, and learn how to avoid them.

To help you stay protected as you search high and low both on and offline for the perfect presents for your loved ones, McAfee has released its annual 12 Scams of Holidays list full of digital dangers to be on alert for as you surf the web for holiday deals and steals and how to be safe in the coming months and beyond.

And to make sure that we all have a safe and merry holiday, McAfee is hosting the Season of Sharing Sweepstakes*. By sharing the #12scams content with your friends and family, you’ll not only be helping others to stay safe online this holiday season, but you’ll also earn a chance to win a Dell™ XPS™ 12 Convertible Ultrabook or Dell Venue™ 8 Pro Tablet along with McAfee LiveSafe™ to make sure all your devices are protected! And while you’re at it, check out the deals on the Dell tablets as well!

12 Scams of holiday Here’s how you can help spread the joy so we can all avoid the 12 scams of the holidays.

HOW TO ENTER

  • Go to 12scams.com
  • Sign into the page using your Facebook or Twitter account
  • Share the #12scams content to earn entries into the sweepstakes drawing
  • Sit tight for winners to be announced on December 17.

WHAT YOU COULD WIN

  • Grand Prize: 1 winner will receive a Dell™ XPS™ 12 Convertible Ultrabook™ and a 1-year subscription to McAfee LiveSafe™
  • 1st Place: 1 winner will receive a Dell Venue™ 8 Pro Tablet and a 1-year subscription to McAfee LiveSafe
  • 2nd Places: Ten (10) winners will receive a 1-year subscription to McAfee LiveSafe

Have fun and stay safe this holiday!

*Sweepstakes open to US residents only. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes is from November 18 – December 13, 2013. See www.12scams.com for full terms and conditions.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

5 Ways To Protect Your Mobile From Prying Eyes

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Do you know how to keep your phone from the prying eyes of exes, strangers, cops, other officials and even your own spouse? Here are tips to keep your mobile safe and secure.

5W#1 Common Sense

When it comes to the police, cooperate; this will lessen the chance of mobile confiscation. Though you aren’t required to talk to the police without an attorney present, and don’t need to fork over your passcode or give up your phone just because they ask for it, don’t be a pest, either. In general, police need a warrant to search your phone.

#2 Lock down your Phone

Encrypting important data is crucial for those who want to keep prying eyes—be they the police, a vindictive ex or a nosy coworker—from gaining access to their mobile device. The method of encrypting varies from one mobile device to the next, but here are some guidelines:

  • Android and iOS phones come with native data protection for encrypting. Take advantage of this. Remember, other models also offer encryption features, and the user needs to learn how to access these features.
  • Lock your SIM card so nobody can access the SIM without a known PIN.
  • Don’t always use the same phone; switch them up.
  • Protect any videos or photos you’ve taken with the mobile by saving them, then sharing them immediately to provide a backup.

#3 Store in a Cloud

Cloud storage enables you to store your data (videos, pictures, files, etc.) in a virtual storehouse which can be purchased or leased through a hosting company.

To store photos or videos, enable Camera Uploads on DropBox (Android, iOS). You can do the same with Google Drive. Each mobile device has a different way of shunting your valuable data to a cloud for cyber storage.

For Facebook enthusiasts, cloud storage can also be done via your mobile’s Facebook app.

iOS users can use AutoSnap to upload any image that’s taken with it to Facebook, DropBox, Twitter and Instagram. Just link the app with any social accounts that you have.

#4 Live broadcasting Yourself

  • Livestreaming puts anything you record on your phone onto the Internet; here, the phone acts as an inputting tool rather than a storage tool.
  • Justin.Tv (iOS, Android) is the leading livestream app, and the service is free.
  • UStream (iOS, Android). This livestreaming app focuses more on quality than on easy access. The service offers many broadcasting options.
  • Veetle (iOS, Android). This company is smaller than Justin.Tv and UStream, but has an advantage: free, easy integration with social media, plus some other perks.

#5 Use a VPN

When surfing the web on your local computer, mobile or tablet on a free, unprotected public network in a hotel, airport or coffee shop, your data is vulnerable to “sniffers.”

That’s where a Virtual Private Network (VPN) comes in to protect your data between your laptop, iPad, iPhone or Android and an internet gateway. This kind of VPN creates an impenetrable tunnel to prevent snoopers, hackers and ISPs from viewing your web-browsing activities, instant messages, downloads, credit card information or anything else you send over the network.

Hotspot Shield VPN is a great option that protects your entire web surfing session, securing your connection at both your home Internet network and public internet networks (both wired and wireless). Hotspot Shield’s free proxy protects your identity by ensuring that all web transactions (shopping, filling out forms, downloads, etc.) are secured through HTTPS—the protected internet protocol.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures.

Scrooge’s 12 Scams of the Holidays

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They’re baaaack! Actually, they never left—Scrooge’s little trolls work hard all year, scheming and scamming to steal holiday presents—or at least valuable information—from good girls and boys. From the North Pole to the South Pole, they target every one of us through phishing, SMiShing (text phishing), shipping and gift card scams. If you aren’t paying attention, they will hack your devices, spy on your surfing and empty your bank account.

12-scamsThe holidays are supposed to be a fun-filled time for celebrating with family and friends, so make sure you keep the cheer in your holiday and learn about the “12 Scams of the Holidays,” the dozen most dangerous online scams to watch out for this holiday season, revealed today by McAfee.

To make sure your holidays are not stolen by the Grinch, here are some tips on how to protect yourself against scams during the holidays, and year-round:

  • Educate yourself—Keep up-to-date on the latest scams and tricks cybercriminals use, so you can learn to recognize scams and avoid potential attacks.
  • Use strong passwords— Make sure your passwords are at least eight characters long and contain a variety of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols.
  • Be careful when clicking—Don’t click on links in messages from people you don’t know, and use a URL expander to know what site you are going to before clicking on a shortened URL.
  • Stay suspicious—Like mom said, be wary of any offer that sounds too good to be true.
  • Practice safe surfing—When searching for holiday gifts, use a safe search plug-in such as McAfee® SiteAdvisor®.
  • Practice safe shopping—Make sure you stick to reputable e-commerce sites that have been verified as safe by a trusted third-party, like the McAfee SECURE™ mark. Also look for “https” at the beginning of a site’s URL, which indicates that the site is using encryption to protect your information.
  • Use comprehensive computer security—Make sure you have comprehensive security protection for all your devices, including your mobile phone and tablet, that also protects your data and identity protection, like McAfee LiveSafe™ service.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

What is a Firewall?

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Most of us may have heard the term, and know it’s related to security in some way, but do you really know what a firewall is? Traditionally, firewalls were built to keep danger at bay—they were doors (or walls) to block fire from coming into another area—hence the name firewall. When you’re thinking in terms of your online security, modern-day hardware and software firewalls are similar. They act as barriers to prevent unauthorized access to your personal information.

6DFirewalls are software programs or hardware devices that filter the information coming through your Internet connection to your computer (and all the devices that are connected to that connection). A firewall protects you and your devices by examining each piece of information that flows between your devices and the Internet.

Hardware firewalls, such as those included with some routers, are usually a good first line of defense against outside attacks, and they require little to no configuration. The one down sides of using only a hardware firewall is that it only protects you if you are at home. So if you take your computer to a cafe or on a trip, your device is no longer protected by the home-based firewall.

Fortunately, software firewalls can catch these kinds of threats because they are running on your computer and can take a closer look at the network traffic. This allows them to intercept a malicious program before it leaves your computer.

Now that you know the purpose of firewalls, follow these tips for greater security online:

  • Make sure you are using a router that includes a firewall as a first layer of protection
  • Use comprehensive security, like McAfee LiveSafe™ service, that includes a two-way firewall that filters both incoming and outgoing traffic, as well as protection for all your devices, your identity and your data
  • Turn off file-sharing and printer-sharing features if you don’t need them
  • Use common sense, don’t click on links or open attachments from people you don’t know—you could unknowingly be giving them access to your device
  • While the bad guys may always be looking to do harm, just remember that we all need to be vigilant about protecting ourselves and our devices, which in turn helps protect everyone else.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.