Sociopath: Someone who breaks into your Home

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What is a Sociopath?

A sociopath, technically, is not a psychopath. These are actual psychiatric terms, and to say they’re one and the same is like saying that eczema and psoriasis are one and the same.

2BThough a sociopath and psychopath will often commit the same crimes, like breaking into a home, these are two different psychiatric conditions. Both fall under the category of antisocial personality disorder. They have in common the propensity for violence, lack of conscience and disregard towards ethics and laws.

The psychopath is clean cut, dresses impeccably, drives a Jaguar, is well-read and knows his wines, and is married with children. The sociopath is a drifter, disheveled, with needle marks up his arms, can’t hold a job and never graduated from high school. Both, generally speaking of course. Both these individuals are capable of the same heious crimes, but for different reasons. Example: A woman is assaulted; the first guy did it for fun after breaking into her home. The second guy broke in and did it as punishment after she refused to give him money.

Sociopathy

  • Obvious issues interacting with people; shows anger management problems and edginess.
  • People think he or she “has problems”; they lack cunning and charm.
  • People aren’t surprised when he’s arrested for murder.
  • Capable of emotionally bonding with humans, but this is limited.
  • Capture by the police is easy; they’re sloppy with their crimes.

Psychopathy

  • Calm, cool, collected, suave, may even be the life of the party, well-respected in the community.
  • Carefully plans crimes and when caught, it’s usually after they got away with many crimes.
  • Despite often having a spouse and kids, the psychopath is not capable of emotionally bonding with humans.
  • Skilled at manipulating and tricking people with their charm and high intelligence.
  • Capture by the police is difficult.

The psychiatric establishment’s position is that sociopathy is the result of childhood environment, whereas psychopathy is primarily the result of faulty brain wiring. If you had to be stuck on a dark island with a sociopath or psychopath—opt for the sociopath. You have a small chance of tapping into what little empathy he’s capable of.

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

Expect all Free Mobile Apps to leak your Data

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Mashable.com says that recently over 98,000 photos have been leaked from Snapsaved.com, which has shut down. The Snapchat app makers won’t take any credit, even though previously, 4.7 million phone numbers and usernames were leaked. The company seems indifferent, though this May, they reached a settlement with the FTC.

5WSnapchat blames third-party sites and apps for the leakage, and also users of Snapchat (mostly teens), rather than their servers being hacked, but can’t explain how this is. Nevertheless, there’s a problem with Snapchat’s product.

Third parties can come up with their own applications to interact with Snapchat. Anyone can construct an application to the Snapchat service. People like these apps even though they violate the TOS. And Snapchat, thanks to its flawed infrastructure, can’t tell legitimate traffic from third-party traffic.

Snapchat doesn’t consider that users could be communicating with people who are using third-party apps. To date, people using Snapchat to send an image can’t trust that privacy won’t be compromised. How would the user know that the receiver of the image isn’t using a third-party app that ultimately can unleash the images for all to see?

But Snapchat insists that the images can disappear rather than be shared. Snapchat is failing to inform users that their images can be leaked. Though the way that Snapchat’s terms of use is worded protects them legally, there’s a morality issue when the company expects its users (mostly ages 13-17) to have the wits to know about third-party users violating terms of use.

Snapchat says it has removed dozens of third-party apps from key app stores. But this doesn’t stop new websites and apps from appearing. And you can’t rid an app from every app store. What users can do in the meantime is realize that Snapchat is not secure, and to be careful whom you Snap with. Snapchat is about fun, not privacy.

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.

What Is a Trojan Horse?

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One of history’s great literary classics is Homer’s Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan horse—the wooden horse that the Greeks hid in to enter the city of Troy and take it over. Two thousand and some odd years later, hackers use a digital Trojan horse to hide malicious files in seemingly harmless files with the intent to attack or take over your device. A Trojan horse (or Trojan) is one of the most common and dangerous types of threats that can infect your computer or mobile device. Trojans are usually disguised as benign or useful software that you download from the Internet, but they actually carry malicious code designed to do harm—thus their name.

6DThere are a variety of types of Trojans, many of which can launch sophisticated and clever attacks. Here are some types to be aware of:

  • Password-stealing Trojans—These look for saved passwords on your computer and email them to the hackers. Some can even steal passwords cached in your browser history.
  • Remote access Trojans—These are quite common, allowing the attacker to take control of your computer and access all of your files. The hacker could potentially even access your online banking and credit card sites if you have your password stored in your browser memory or on your computer.
  • Destructive Trojans—These Trojans destroy and delete files from your computer
  • Antivirus killers—These Trojans detect and kill your antivirus and firewall programs to give the attacker easier access to your computer

A Trojan can have one or multiple destructive uses—that is what makes them so dangerous. It’s also important to realize that unlike viruses, Trojans are not self-replicating and are only spread by users who mistakenly download them, usually from an email attachment or by visiting an infected site.

Here are some steps you can take to avoid downloading a Trojan horse:

  • Beware of suspicious emails. Don’t open an email attachment if you don’t recognize the sender of the email
  • Use comprehensive security software. Protect all your devices with McAfee LiveSafe™ service as well as stay protected from spam, sketchy files, and viruses
  • Separate the good from the bad. Use an email program with a built-in spam filter to decrease the chance of a malicious email getting into your inbox
  • Know the threats. Keep current on the latest threats so you know what to look for when you receive suspicious emails

Remember that Trojans are common because they are so successful. Hackers use social engineering techniques, such as mentioning a current news topic or popular celebrity, to get you to click on their email. Just being aware of what they are and how they work can prevent you from having to deal with financial loss, identity theft, damage to your computer, and significant downtime.

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 Criminal Identity Theft?

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Identity theft gets all kinds of buzz in the news. It’s not hard to see why—in 2012, over 16.6 million Americans were victims of identity theft. What most people don’t know is that identity theft is much more than just stealing your credit card number. In other posts, I discussed how thieves use your identity to get free healthcare or your child’s identity to apply for credit. Today, I want to introduce you to another kind of identity theft—criminal identity theft—where the criminal uses your identity to make you look like the criminal.

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-identity-theft-red-words-binary-code-computer-monitor-image39907813Criminal identity theft involves impersonation and it’s the worst kind of identity theft and the hardest to clean up. You don’t want to end up like Jason Bateman’s character Sandy Patterson, in the movie Identity Thief, where his identity was stolen and used by another individual and he finds out because he owes a bunch of money and has a warrant out for his arrest.

Basically, a thief takes over your identity and assumes it as his or her own. But instead of using your identity to access your bank account or apply for a credit card, the thief uses your identity to commit crimes and get off scot-free.. How? They can give your personal information (like your name, identification number, or date of birth) to law enforcement officials during an investigation or an arrest. They could also use your information to create fake identification for themselves.

Criminal identity theft can lead to a very nasty headache for you. A thief could get caught for a traffic violation or a misdemeanor and sign the citation with your name. Then you get stuck paying those annoying fees and fines. If a thief uses your name when getting arrested for a crime, you could end up with a criminal record, which could affect your ability to get a job or buy property. Another case is when the thief commits a crime using your identity, and then a warrant is issued for your arrest.  But instead of looking for the criminal, they are looking for you—you could have a warrant out for your arrest and not even know it!

Criminal identity theft can have some pretty drastic consequences. Here’s some ways to protect yourself from this dastardly form of identity theft:

  • Shred all sensitive documents. This can prevent thieves from getting their hands on your personal information.
  • Report missing identification cards. Most criminal identity thieves get your information from stealing your driver’s license or other personally identifiable information (PII) like Social Security numbers or Identification cards. If you report a missing driver license, your state might flag your license number and in the event that another driver is pulled over by law enforcement and presents your license as their own they could be questioned for further information
  • Get a background check on yourself. If you feel like someone may be impersonating you, get a background check done. This can be done via online services or by a private investigator.
  • Check State and National criminal databases. Search your name in criminal databases like the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database to see if you have a criminal record.

Stay safe!

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.

Keanu Reeves two Intruders in two Days

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Keanu Reeves recently had a home intruder: a woman. It was 4:00 am when she got into his home and plopped in a chair. The 40-something nut-job told the movie star she was there to meet with him. He nonchalantly called 911. Police took the woman into custody.

3BWho’s nuttier: the intruder or the homeowner who leaves a highly valuable home left unlocked overnight, or at least, left in an easy-to-gain-entry state, while the owner sleeps? Maybe this woman is a kook, but it sounds like Reeves doesn’t have both oars in the water when it comes to home safety. She could have been waiting with a gun pointing at his head.

People are always breaking into celebrities’ mansions. How are they getting past security? While Sandra Bullock was sleeping, it happened to her, too—right at her bedroom door. What—no motion detector to sound an alarm? People in middle class neighborhoods have these, but filthy rich movie stars don’t?

Actually, these over-paid movie stars usually DO have security, but don’t use it. Reeves has an alarm system, but it was turned off. What are the odds that this woman just happened to plan her intrusion the night he keeps the alarm off? Well, a better explanation is that Reeves probably never used it much in the first place.

And then another woman traipsed into Reeves’s home a day later—but this time he was out. His cleaning people left a front gate open—and just by chance, this coincided with the intruder’s presence.

This woman was a bit loonier than the first one: She was in his shower nude, then went into his pool (though she’d be crazier if she left her clothes on, right?). She did all this before the cleaning crew caught on; they eventually called Reeves, who dialed 911. This second woman was also hauled away for the customary psych evaluation. Maybe she’ll be roomed with the first woman.

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

Steps to Manage a secure online backup

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Cyber storage does not always = secure backup. Users of cloud storage have many potential tools at hand to beef up security. And just because cloud services have some loopholes doesn’t mean you should just throw in the towel, as the saying goes, and figure “What’s the point?”. Here are some ways to beef up cloud storage security and manage your online backup.1D

  • Take inventory of what’s stored in your cloud account. Evaluate how important each data item is. If the cloud service can access your data, you may want to make some adjustments, since some of your data might not be compatible with the service’s terms.
  • Consider encrypting your most sensitive data if you don’t want to remove it from the cloud and then back it up locally.
  • Don’t put all your data in one basket, either. Suppose all your data is stored in one cloud service, and that service gets hacked or something else happens and you lose your data—or it’s in the hands of thieves. If you use more than one cloud service, then at least if one gets hacked, you’re not totally screwed. Think of this as being like having your precious jewels locked in several small safes throughout your house, rather than in one giant safe. What are the odds that an intruder will find all the safes and get into all of them?
  • If your cloud account has any devices, services or applications linked, very carefully inspect and modify their settings to optimize security. Discard useless, old, unused connections so they don’t become portals to your data.
  • Use two-factor authentication on every cloud password when available. If the service doesn’t offer two-factor, consider dumping it.
  • Make your answers to security questions crazy-nutty, but also memorable.
  • Assess your cloud passwords. They should be very different from each other. If you can’t handle memorizing a bunch of long, convoluted passwords (which are the best kind), use a password manager.

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.

10 more Horrible Accidents to avoid

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“When it’s your time, it’s your time.” NOT. Most accidents, including freak, are avoidable. Here are more preventable deaths, courtesy of popularmechanics.com.

EMERCommotio cordis. An object (baseball, hockey or lacrosse puck) slams into the athlete’s heart between beats and causes the heart to quiver from ventricular fibrillation. Solution: Dodge the ball. Fatality rates have dropped with the presence of defibrillator devices.

EAH. About 30 percent of endurance athletes (runners etc) who keel over during events die from exercise-associated hyponatremia: too much water intake during the activity, which swells up the brain. During intense activity, limit water to 1.5 quarts per hour. Take plenty of salt with it.

Hypothermia. Only 30-50 degrees can be fatal. Avoid wearing cotton, which traps moisture and exacerbates hypothermic conditions. Wear wool or synthetic clothes. Stuff dry leaves into your clothes to conserve heat.

Killer heat. Heat stroke kills about 675 U.S. people every year. Be prepared with plenty of fluids, and conduct your activity in the morning. Never trek in the dessert without someone knowing your whereabouts.

Cutting trees. The victim saws into a leaning tree, which causes it to topple over, crushing him.

Hunting accidents. No, not from getting shot; from careless climbing of tree stands (wooden boards nailed to the trunk, which can also give way). Climb only when tethered via harness to the tree.

Cliffing out. You’re climbing up a cliff and at some point realize the only way out is to climb to the top, not back down. Never scramble up a cliff you don’t know the length of. Always have with you a device that can send a distress call from anywhere.

Carbon monoxide. After natural disasters, people may use a portable generator to replace the lost power. When these machines run overnight, they may leak carbon monoxide gas. The generator should be kept at least 20 feet from the house.

Glissading. Glissading is sliding down an icy hill, usually on your butt. The slide can get out of control and take you over the edge of a cliff. Avoid this activity, or, if you can’t resist, know exactly where the descent leads to, and have with you an ice axe to self-arrest (which you should be skilled in).

Don’t panic. Ocean rip currents may be invisible. If you’re caught in one, let it carry you beyond its flow so you can then swim alongside it. You’ll eventually reach a point where you can turn back and safely head towards shore.

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

5 ways Criminals hack your PC

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Hackers are hell-bent on busting into the network of their targets. They are persistent—never giving up. When you build your defense against cyber criminals, it must be done with the idea that they WILL succeed. When you operate on this assumption rather than thinking that your anti this and anti that are all you need, you’ll have the best cyber security in place.

4DAnother mistake is to assume that hackers hound only small businesses or weak networks. The cyber criminal doesn’t care so much about vulnerabilities; he wants the goods. It’s like a burglar wanting a million dollars worth of jewels that he knows is stashed inside a mansion surrounded by a moat filled with crocodiles. This won’t stop him. It will only determine the dynamics of how he penetrates.

Yes, less sophisticated hackers will target more vulnerable networks, but there’s a lot of hefty hackers out there who aren’t intimidated by persistence. If cyber thieves want a goal badly enough, they’ll get into every nook and cranny to achieve their mission.

Hackers also determine ahead of time how the victim might respond to an attack. The crime ring will invest time in this, going well-beyond the intended target’s IT tactics. They’ll go as far as learning employees’ after-hour leisure activities. To make it harder for hackers to mine all this information, a company should keep things unpredictable like work routines and not embrace social media.

The hacker creeps around quietly, going undetected while spreading damage. To catch below-the-radar cyber invasions, a business should employ a system that can spot and stamp out these murmurs.

Finally, cyber criminals usually launch a secondary attack as a distraction while the major attack gets underway—kind of like that newsworthy operation of some years ago involving pairs of thieves: One would approach a woman with a baby and tell her the baby was ugly. This distracted her so much that she had no idea that the accomplice was slipping off her purse and scrambling away with it. You must anticipate decoy operations.

Remember, install layers of protection:

  • Antivirus, antispyware, antiphishing, firewall
  • Set up encryption on your wireless router
  • Use a VPN when on free wireless
  • Keep your devices software, apps, browser and OS updated

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.

2 Ways to Prevent Military Identity Theft

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You’d think that servicemen and women would be better protected than civilians from identity theft, but their risk is higher, since their Social Security numbers are used so often and also abroad. In Iraq, it’s painted on their laundry bags!

2DOhio wants to introduce a bill to stifle military ID theft.

When a military individual has damaged credit and accumulated debt, they are subjected to disciplinary action. ID theft can delay or cancel a military person’s deployment and lead to revocation of security clearances.

The FTC says that ID theft among service individuals is on the rise. Last year, 22,000 filed complaints of ID theft. In Ohio, this crime jumped 20 percent between 2012 and 2013.

The proposed Ohio bill would raise the penalties for ID theft against active-duty members and their spouses. The bill would also allow the victims to file civil actions against the thieves.

New Jersey is also considering a bill that would increase the penalty for ID theft of veterans. New York and Illinois have already passed stronger penalties. North Carolina bans the release of military discharge documents.

All along, the SSN was printed on a service member’s military ID card, which was used all over the place. In 2008, the Department of Defense began removing the numbers. In 2012, they implemented removal of the SSNs from the card barcodes. These changes won’t be completed till 2017.

What can military personnel do to protect against ID theft?

Two things that service members can do is get active duty alerts and security freezes, but it would be simpler to use these tools one at a time.

The active duty alert, which is free, is done one year at a time after contacting one credit bureau. You can remove this at any time.

The security freeze, once in place, is indefinite unless you decide to remove it. It requires contacting three credit bureaus and is free online to North Carolina residents.

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.

Top 10 Horrible Accidents to Avoid

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“When it’s your time, it’s your time.” NOT. Most accidents, including freak, are avoidable. Here’s a compilation from popularmechanics.com.

EMERMauled by a mower. Every year in the U.S., about 95 people die by mower when it flips over on a hill and crushes the driver. Don’t mow sideways on a slope; mow up and down.

Wild animals. Never run from wildlife, as this will trigger its chase instinct—chase and kill, that is. Every year in the U.S., three to five people die from wild animal attacks, mostly bears and sharks. Avoid shark infested waters. Carry “bear spray” when hiking/camping. Wear bells and make noise when hiking.

Vicious vending machines. Between 1978 and 1995, vending machines killed 37 people who weren’t quick enough to get out of the way when the machine—after it was aggressively handled by the customers—toppled over and crushed them. Solution: You’re not Fonzie; don’t hit vending machines.

Dam it. The dam appears to be a plane of water as the boater approaches going downstream. However a spinning vortex is created by water rushing over the dam, and can trap the boater. If you get trapped after being capsized, curl up, then drop to the bottom, them move downstream.

Electric shock drowning. Even if you swim like Flipper, you can be electrocuted to death if the water contains cords, that are plugged into a dock outlet. If a dock is wired, don’t swim within 100 yards. If you’re not sure, stay on the dock.

ATV accidents. One-third of ATV fatalities occur on paved roads because the tires, which are designed for traction on unstable ground, produce too much traction, making the vehicle flip. If you must take an ATV on pavement, go in a straight line in first gear.

One wrong move. Ladder falls kill over 700 people a year. Half of ladder accidents involve people carrying something while climbing. To carry things use work-belt hooks.

Shallow-water blackout. How many times have you taken a few big breaths, gulped in a lot of air, then went underwater? This can result in a fatal shallow-water blackout, drowning you.

Straight landing. Have your landing spot decided from 100 to 1,000 feet up to avoid swerving to connect with it. The swerve can interfere with the parachute.

Ford ev’ry stream…with much caution. Shallow streams can pack a force that knocks you and all your heavy gear down, potentially incapacitating you, leading to fatal hypothermia. Test the current by tossing a stick into it. If it moves faster than walking pace, don’t go in. Otherwise, cross at a wide, straight portion of water.

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