Predators use Facebook to groom Kids

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Lock this guy up for good. That’s a most fitting motto for Brandon McIntyre, 22, who pretended he was “Katie Thompson” on Facebook and threatened to kill a girl’s family if she refused to go on trips with him.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-online-risks-sign-road-banner-image34668294This New Jersey nutcase made another ridiculous threat (ridiculous, because, how could he think that even young victims could take him seriously?) to a 12-year-old, telling her he was a cop who’d have her expelled from school and sent to state prison for failing to obey a police officer. The “order” was to send him explicit photos of herself.

Posing as a police officer, he even told a woman via texting he’d have her daughter taken away if she refused to go on a date with him. He could get 30 years in federal prison and fines totaling half a million dollars.

The next predator was a bit more convincing, using Facebook to talk a boy into ducking out of his home in the middle of the night to meet him. Adam Brown, 21, was caught by the victim’s mother. Brown got the boy’s confidence first by posting videos of himself and telling jokes. The boy’s mother worked nights and his grandmother watched him and his siblings.

One night she returned to find their dog acting strange; she discovered the boy wasn’t in his bed. She contacted him via cell and he said he was just out walking. She drove out and picked him up, took away his phone and computer, and demanded his passwords. She then gained access to the cyber dialogue between him and Brown. In the dialogue, Brown told the boy that the boy was cute. And the dialogue got worse. The boy actually met Brown, who had threatened suicide if he refused.

His mother told Brown, after contacting him, to cease contact with her son, but he contacted him again and made creepy comments.

  • Get full access to your kids social accounts.
  • Monitor their device activity without notice.
  • Have in-depth detailed conversations about how predators lure kids.
  • Read every news report about these issues and discuss with your kid.
  • Turn off all wireless and wired internet at night so kids can’t have access.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

What’s Your Click IQ?

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The recent celebrity photo hacks are an unfortunate reminder of how devastating or embarrassing it can be to have your data compromised.  But celebrities are not the only ones getting hacked. Cybercriminals aren’t choosy—they’ll send malicious texts, emails, and website links to Jennifer Lawrence and your grandma. And while the celebrity hacks are more publicized, the fact is, every day, hundreds of ordinary people are falling prey to phishing scams.

So how can you protect yourself from these cybercriminals? The best defense is actually you.

Many of these scams involve a similar thing—the click. So if you learn how to click wisely, 95% of cybercrime techniques—including phishing, bad URLs, fake text messages, infected pdfs, and more—are eliminated.

And that’s the idea behind Intel Security’s new campaign, #ClickSmart. Intel Security wants to empower you with the skills and sense to avoid those dastardly scams.

Here are some tips to get you started

  • Check URLs for misspellings or interesting suffixes. For example, if you see www.faceboook.ru, don’t click it.
  • Only open texts and emails from people you know. But even if you do know the sender, be wary for any suspicious subject lines or links. Hackers can try to lure you through your friends and family.
  • Beware of emails, texts, and search results offering anything for free. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true.

Print

Are you ready to take the #ClickSmart challenge? If so, go to digitalsecurity.intel.com/clicksmart and see if you’re a Click head or a Click wizard.

To learn more on how to #ClickSmart, join @IntelSecurity, @McAfeeConsumer, @cyber, @GetCyberSafe, @STOPTHNKCONNECT  for Twitter chat on October 14th at 12 PM PT. Use #ChatSTC to join in on the conversation. Click here for more information.

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.

6 Ways to prevent Social Engineering Attacks

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Hacking isn’t just about weak passwords and single-factor authentication. A lot of it occurs because people can be so easily tricked into giving up personal information: the craft of social engineering. Example: “Download this video of Kim K fully naked!” How many men would be lured into clicking this gateway to a viral infection? We are a sad species.

11DThe victim isn’t always a goofball like this. They can be a tech support agent tricked into resetting a password and handing it over. Often, the victims don’t even know they were targeted until well after the fact, if ever.

  1. Just say no—to giving out personal information. Social engineering can occur over the phone: someone pretending to be your bank, asking for your private information. Always contact any institution for verification they want your private data before blindly giving it out.
  2. Be scrupulous with security questions. Don’t answer ones that a hacker can easily get the answer to, such as “City you were born.” Choose the most obscure questions from the list. If all seem rather basic, though, then give answers that make no sense, such as “Planet Neptune” for the city you were born in. If you fear being unable to remember these answers, put the answers in an encrypted file or password manager.
  3. Do you get e-mails about password resets? Be careful. Contact the service provider to see if the e-mail is legitimate.
  4. You’ve probably heard this before, but here it is again: Never use the same password for multiple accounts! In the same vein, don’t use the same security questions, even though the list of security questions from one service provider to the next is usually the same list of questions. Do your best to use as much of a variety of questions as possible, and don’t forget, you can always give crazy answers to the same question for different accounts.
  5. Keep an eye on your accounts and their activity. Account providers such as Gmail have dashboards that show where you’re logged in and what tools or apps are connected. This includes financial and social media accounts.
  6. Beware of emails coming from anyone, for any reason that require you to click links for any reason. Social engineering via email is one of the true successful ways to con someone. Just be ridiculously aware.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

An Interview with Door Devil Reinforcement Technologies

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A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This common phrase can be applied to almost anything. In the security industry we call this a “vulnerability” or the “path of least resistance”. In your home, in regards to home security, this weak link is often your front or back door. If you take a close look at your existing door and frame, you will see the door jamb, where the lock and deadbolt enter, is made of half inch to three quarter inch pine wood in most residential doors. And if you’ve even seen 10 year olds in karate class demonstrate chopping three quarter pine with their bare hands, then you know how vulnerable this jamb is if a 200 pound man either kicks your door or shoulders it.

1BDoor reinforcement products were created to due to necessity because an overwhelming number of home burglaries and invasions happen because of that weak link (door jamb) in your door. There are a few variations of door reinforcement technology and here we discuss “door frame reinforcement”. Typically made of steel, this device can be up to four feet long and is installed on the door jamb center, over the existing strike plates. Braces come in different styles.

When I bought my existing home, I knew right away I needed to reinforce my doors. I did some searching online and found the “Door Devil”. After installing, I reached out to the engineers who created this simple but effective device and here’s what they had to say:

So, what is the “Door Devil Kit?” It’s doorway reinforcement component device.

Who needs the DDK?

A deadbolt is held in place by less than one measly inch of soft wood in most American doorframes. Just about any determined hoodlum could kick through it.

Explain the origins of the Door Devil.

There was a rash of burglaries several years ago, even though most of the houses had alarm systems. But the intruders were gone before the cops arrived—kick down the door, ransack, then flee.

The solution was to reinforce the doors, which could be done with two metal strips attached to the doorframe. But just several weeks later, a burglar kicked down one of these doors. We had the right idea but the wrong application.

Okay then, what about Spiderman who can scale a house and get in through a window?

A very determined thief may find a way into one’s house no matter what. But kicking a door is very common because crooks know that a window alarm will immediately go off. Plus, they know neighbors could hear a window shattering. A burglar may also avoid windows due to the threat of broken glass.

I have a gun and I won’t hesitate to use it.

What if you’re not home? And if you’re home…can you get to your gun before the intruder could get his hands around your throat? And if you can fight back, what if he’s in and out before you can get to him, like, say…you’re in the bathroom when he busts in?

Got it. How well does the Door Devil work?  

It’s fabulous. Though there are two verified instances in which cops used a ram to dismantle a door after several attempts. But the doorframe and hardware remained intact, thanks to the Door Devil.

Does the Door Devil replace a monitored alarm system?

Never. The Door Devil is one more layer of protection. Alarm systems go a long way at preventing burglaries, but homes with alarms do get targeted. After all, a burglar has a little time to disarm the alarm, but few intruders are skilled at and not intimidated by this. Sometimes the thief doesn’t consider the possibility of an alarm. Sometimes the intruder doesn’t care if there’s an alarm and just wants money for his next drug fix. But a smarter, more experienced burglar knows that a house with an alarm probably has more valuables. So as you can see, the alarm isn’t the be-all end-all. You need layers.

Who should get a Door Devil?

Really, anyone who is aware enough that well over a million home are broken into every year, most resulting is financial and sentimental losses, and others in tragic deaths. Remember, we are all about layers. Alarms, window locks and films to beef up windows, cameras, dogs, signage and door reinforcement. For $60 to $80, the Door Devil is great for those who can’t afford an alarm system too. It’s also perfect for damaged doorframes, and of course, for doors that can be kicked through. It can be installed in 30-45 minutes on a typical U.S. doorframe—a 98 percent chance of fitting.

Otherwise, the product can be recessed. To find out, pinch two dimes together. That’s the thickness of the Door Devil. It just makes so much sense to add this to a home that’s already got an alarm system. I mean, how many burglars enter through the chimney, and I already explained why most don’t choose windows.

Robert Siciliano is a home and personal security expert to DoorDevil.com discussing Anti-Kick door reinforcement on YouTube. Disclosures.

21 ways to Prepare your Credit Cards for Overseas Travel

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Imagine being overseas, and in the process of using your credit card to make a purchase—and it’s declined—and you have no currency or checkbook. Nightmare.

2CThe decline could be to prevent fraudulent use; perhaps it was recently reported lost, but then found or the country you are in is known for fraud. To clear this up, you must call the card company and tell them that the purchase you want to make is legitimate.

Realize that the card issuer cannot allow more transactions until they verify that the attempted charge is valid.

Prior to travel as well as during, there are things you should do to minimize the problem of declined charges.

  1. Make sure your cell phone is set up for international use so you don’t miss a call from your card issuer.
  2. Make sure all your cards are signed.
  3. Before leaving, notify your card company that you’ll be traveling overseas; this way they can monitor your transactions.
  4. Before leaving, make sure your debit and gift cards are authorized for international use with merchants and ATMs.
  5. Bring with you the phone numbers for all of your cards. This includes non-800 numbers.
  6. Make sure you know whether or not your cards come with a foreign transaction fee.
  7. Have all the card numbers documented.
  8. Get a chip-and-pin card from your card company and bank. Chip and PIN is most prevalent outside the USA.
  9. See to it that your card won’t be overdrawn while you’re traveling. Consider any auto drafts that can inflate the balance.
  10. Have your PIN memorized.
  11. If you plan on cash advances from an ATM, makes sure to have a PIN enabled for your card.
  12. Don’t have the card company contact you by SMS text messaging if you don’t have an international data plan. Or just get a data plan. Make sure the company has a working cell phone number and e-mail address.
  13. Enable the feature, in your account settings, that yields an alert (e-mail or text) every time you pay with the card.
  14. Install your bank or credit card companies mobile app to alert you of any approval issues or potential fraud
  15. Don’t let a service person, like at a restaurant, leave your table with your card to swipe it. Go with them if needed. This may not always be possible.
  16. Always review your receipts against your card statements to make sure there are no duplicate charges.
  17. Check your accounts online when you travel to reconcile all account activity. Do this from a device you have control over opposed to a hotel or business center PC.
  18. If your billing ZIP code is required, make sure you carefully punch it into the keypad. If more than one invalid entry is made, the card can be disabled.
  19. If someone calls and tells you that your card has been suspended due to fraud, and they ask for your credit card number, address or SSN, consider this a scam. The card issuer will not likely want personal information, and instead will want you to confirm past transactions.
  20. Whenever using free public WiFi have Hotspot Shield installed on your wireless device to prevent data snooping and encrypt your wireless data.
  21. A fraud-hold on your card cannot be cleared until you contact the card company or bank to straighten things out. Make sure you know what the phone dialing patterns are for the country you plan on visiting—before you embark on the travel.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. 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.

7 ways to prevent Data Theft when traveling

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The threat of data theft follows travelers; there’s never a vacation from hackers. So what should the traveler do? Anticipate snooping by hackers. This way, you can prepare for the worst.3D

  1. If you must bring a laptop, use it as a shell to access data remotely. Leave private information behind. If this is not possible, bring it with you in the form of an encrypted memory stick or have it stored online to download later.
  2. Always use comprehensive security software whenever connecting online.
  3. If you anticipate bringing your laptop or other devices along, have an IT expert install on it disk encryption software. Better yet, have the whole hard drive encrypted: This would be worthless in the hands of a thief.
  4. Install a VPN: virtual private network. The VPN will allow you to get onto websites that are blocked in some foreign countries like China. A VPN will also protect data as it’s transmitted through the air, scrambling it so that hackers can’t understand it.
  5. Use multiple layers of protection. For example, if your device has the capability, use a fingerprint scanner to verify the user’s identity in addition to password protecting your device. Any combination of these features might be built into the hardware, software or available as a peripheral.
  6. To prevent visual hacking (people spying on what you’re doing on your computer), use a privacy screen. 3M makes a great one. And be careful where you choose to work on your computer. Don’t have your back facing the open where someone can easily peer over your shoulder or even record what’s on your screen from a distance.
  7. Never leave your devices in a hotel room or unattended while you head off to the restroom or take a break from a conference meeting. Just suck it up and take it with you.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

12 Tips to Find a Missing Person

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If a loved-one has gone missing, the first thing you should do is call the police. That sounds obvious, but how many times have you read about parents or spouses who delayed calling the police (even though they weren’t involved in the abduction)?

  1. A myth is that there’s a waiting period before the police will take the report seriously. If your 14-year-old has been missing for two hours, call the police. Don’t wait 24 hours.
  2. Call the police daily. You should have the officer’s name who took the case; repeatedly contact that officer. The squeaky wheel finds the missing.MISS
  3. In the case of an adult, check the missing person’s last known address—with permission—to look for clues: notes, belongings, mobile phone, wallet, signs of a struggle, blood, something left cooking, running water, etc.
  4. Contact the person’s family, friends and other contacts. Were there any fights? Talk to coworkers and bosses. Find out if there were any financial problems or signs of depression.
  5. Check with hospitals, medical examiners and coroners. Ask for the individual by name. Also ask if there’s any unidentified patients who fit the description of the missing person.
  6. Check social media; there may be a cyber trail.
  7. If a child is missing, contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
  8. Contact NamUs (National Missing and Unidentified Persons System); here you can upload information about the missing individual.
  9. Put up fliers. This is very effective for increasing awareness. There have been numerous cases in which the missing person called to have the fliers taken down. Post the fliers where the missing person goes often, and use a photo of the person smiling to evoke more community sympathy.
  10. Contact the media. This can put the heat on the police to get the case solved. Contact TV stations, newspapers and the websites of media and launch a mission.
  11. Hire a private investigator. Rates range from $50 to $150 an hour. Shop around good for one, preferably one with a solid record of successful cases.
  12. Never give up hope or action. Also get involved with support groups.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

5 Reasons why You will get Hacked

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Don’t be part of the “I’ll never get hacked” camp. Do you really think it won’t happen to you? If so, it’s:

4DBecause you think no phishing e-mail could get past your radar. Just because you can spot a Nigerian scam doesn’t mean you can’t be tricked. Phishing campaigns today are ingenious and sophisticated, and include information about the recipients, fooling them into thinking these e-mails are from their friends or associates. These messages will blend right in with all your other legit messages as far as content and appearance, which include good spelling and grammar.

Because you think you’re not a target. You think you’re too little a fish in a sea of gargantuans for a hacker to be interested in you. However, every fish in the sea, including the tiniest, is a potential target. Sometimes, all a hacker wants is someone else’s e-mail from which to send spam.

Because you think deleting your cookies will keep you from getting targeted. This is like saying your house can’t get broken into because the second story windows are locked. But what if the first floor windows, and the front door, are open? Intruders will find other ways to cyber track you than cookies. For example, your IP address can identify you, which is why it’s always good to run Hotspot Shield to mask your IP address and protect your data on free WiFi. Second, your computer and browser have your unique fingerprint.

Because you think you’re invulnerable with firewall and antivirus software. Did you know that in some cases the best anti-malware detection, especially for larger business networks, spot only 45 percent of attacks? Keeping in mind you have to have antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware and a firewall as necessary layers of protection.

Because you think that avoiding Internet back alleys will keep you protected. Just like a mugging can occur in broad daylight in a busy mall parking lot, so can deposition of malware in that this is many times more likely to occur as a result of visiting popular online shopping sites and search engines, when compared to phony software sites. And if you spend a lot of time on porn sites, consider yourself infected.

Don’t Be a Myth Head

A smart, sophisticated cyber criminal will go after smart, sophisticated users, not just the dumb ones. Don’t let your guard down for a second. There’s always someone out there who’s smarter than you—or, at least—smart enough to trick you, if you become lax.

One step forward is to just commit to never, ever clicking on any links inside of e-mails. And when you receive an e-mail with an empty subject line, even if the sender is apparently your mother…don’t open it. Instead, send her an e-mail and ask her if she sent you one with a blank subject line. And even then, don’t open it, because you just never know. Protecting yourself takes a little more time, but remember, a stitch in time saves nine. Which frankly, I really don’t know what that means, but it sounds good right here.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. 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.

PC Hard Drive Maintenance 101

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Keeping your hard drive in tip-top shape is key to a well-running computer. A crashed hard drive means smacking a big wet-one goodbye to all of your data.

7WEliminate Unnecessary Data

  • De-clutter the drive to make its workload easier.
  • One way of de-cluttering is to uninstall programs you never use (go to the control panel).
  • Review your files and folders and rid the ones you’re done using.
  • Store the ones that you rarely use but don’t want to delete on a flash drive.
  • Also use your computer’s disk clean-up program (go into “Computer,” right-click the hard drive, hit “Properties” and click “disk cleanup”) to help get rid of junk.

Keep the Drive Hopping

  • There are many freeware utilities that can help your hard drive provide you feedback of its integrity. You should use one of these, as they will tell you how your hard drives are performing—kind of like going to a doctor to get your cholesterol numbers—you want to nip any potential problems in the bud.
  • Go into “Computer,” then right-click the drive, and then hit “Properties.” Once here, click the “Tools” tab. You will see an option for checking errors. It is important for Windows to perform recurring checkups of your drive. So hit “Optimize” to get this task done.
  • Next up, go to the control panel. Click “Hardware and Sound” and hit “Power Options.” This choice will keep the hard drive feeling young.
  • Don’t let physical clutter engulf the perimeter of your computer; it needs room to breathe.
  • Make sure your computer doesn’t get too hot. One way this can happen is if you use it while in bed. You also don’t want your computer to get cold, either, but chances are, you won’t be doing computer work outside in 40 degree weather.

Reinstall your operating system

  • Google “How to reinstall Windows.. (your OS)” or same with Mac. This is not all that hard to do. I do this every 2-3 years and I know others that do it every year. This is the single best way yo keep your hard drive tight.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Removing Location data from Mobile Pics

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Those cutesy photos in your phone of your puppy can reveal your location because the images leave footprints leading straight to your home. The trace data is called EXIF: exchangeable image file format. It may contain GPS coordinates of where you took the photos.

6WApple’s and Google’s smartphones ask owners if it’s okay to access their location. Click “okay,” and this means every photo you take gets tagged with GPS coordinates. Thieves look for this information, which remains with images that are uploaded to Flickr, Photobucket, etc. (Facebook strips EXIF.) Crooks or pervs can then use Google Maps to get your exact location.

Prevent Geotagging: Six Steps

  • For social media applications, turn off the location services.
  • For iPhone, go to Settings, Privacy, Location Services, and turn off the location services.
  • For Android, go to Settings, Location Services, and turn off the location services.
  • There are apps such as Pixelgarde that wipe geotags from existing online photos.
  • For computers, Windows can strip out the EXIF; just right click the image, click Properties, then in the “details” tab, hit the Remove Properties and Personal Information.
  • Mac users can use XnView, but this bulk-stripper works also for Windows.
  • Run Hotspot Shield which masks your IP address creating an incomplete profile of location data.

Many people don’t even know that photos store location information. You’re a walking map unless you take certain steps to protect your privacy. With those pictures you take with a smartphone camera, you also record all sorts of goodies like shutter speed, type of camera, date the image was taken, and of course…GPS coordinates. Here are the details for protecting your privacy:

Windows Phones

  • Select photos in Windows Explorer.
  • Right-click them, hit Properties.
  • Beneath the Details tab, click “Remove Properties and Personal Information.”
  • A window will pop up; hit Okay.
  • You’ll see a copy of each right-clicked photo in that same folder. The copied images are safe to upload.

Mac OS X

  • Use an app called SmallImage. Download the file.
  • Open the app; drag photos into its window.
  • Uncheck the box called “Recompress at quality.”
  • Click “Process,” and the copied photos will appear in the folder.
  • To replace the original photos rather than make duplicates, uncheck the “Add Suffix” box.

Linux

  • You’ll need a tool, EXIFTool. Install it on Ubuntu by running this command: sudo apt-get install libimage-exiftool-perl.
  • Next, to create clean copies of your photos, cd to their folder, then run: exiftool -all= *.jpg.
  • It will then generate copies of the photos

There exist a number of other programs for removing location data from your mobile phone, but the steps described here are among the easiest.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield. 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.