Vault Apps Facilitate Lying Kids and Cheating Spouses

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If you have a kid who uses a smartphone, or even a spouse who might not be totally honest with you, they might be using apps to keep things hidden from you. Basically, these apps offer space where people can hide things like photos, videos, and other files, and you would never know by looking at their phone.

appsKnown as vault apps, since they serve as a vault for storage, some examples are Ky-Calc, Calculator Percent, and Calculator Vault. When you open any of these, it looks like a calculator…you can even use them as a calculator. However, when a secret code is entered, the user can store “secrets.” Consider Ky-Calc. it has a folder for image storage, a secret internet browser, and even keeps a separate contact list.

Though you probably don’t want your kid hiding things from you, at the end of the day, that’s child’s play compared to the real danger that is hiding behind these apps. Yes, they are popular among teens and cheating spouses, but they are also popular among predators. These bad people will engage with teens or even younger children, online, and then ask them to download an app like this. They can easily communicate without you ever noticing.

Here is some more information about vault apps that every parent, or of course spouse, should know:

  • Vault apps aren’t as safe as someone using them might think. You can still take a screen shot and share it with someone else.
  • These apps look and act just like any similar app. Generally, they are calculators, and even work like calculators, but are ultimately unlocked with a secret code.
  • If you look at someone’s phone and you see more than one calculator app on it, there is probably something funny going on. All mobile smart phones come with a calculator.
  • These apps are very easy to find, and they are generally free. You can find them by searching “photo vault,” “ghost apps,” “hidden apps,” or more, in the App Store or Google Play Store.
  • You also might be surprised to hear that teens often compete amongst their peers to see what type of content they can hide on these apps.
  • Almost all teens who use mobile phones know about these apps. You shouldn’t be surprised if kids as young as 12, and sometimes even younger, are using them.

As a parent, and even as a spouse, you should be digging into your family’s phones. There should be open and honest discussions about this, and it should not be considered taboo, especially when it comes to a loved one. With children, they should not expect any privacy until the age of 18. With a spouse, trust is a fundamental requirement. And if there’s a lack of trust, it is generally because something is going on wrong.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.

Covid-19 Remote Desktop Has Significant Risks

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Are you newly working from home? Or are you an old pro? Either way, it is likely you are using some form of remote desktop protocol. Those of us who have been working home as our primary means of earning a living, know these tools very well and are accustomed to eliminating the various distractions in our home environment in order to get the job done. There are some precautions to be aware of.

None of us think that we are going to get hacked, even though we have seen time and time again that it is very possible. Even the largest companies in existence have been hacked, and small businesses are even more at risk. You can add even more to this risk if you use a software called Remote Desktop.

Basically, Remote Desktop allows you to access computers remotely in your home or office and give network access to employees who are working remotely. However, when you give or have this access, you are opening up your network to hackers. Thousands of companies and individuals have fallen victim to this, and just one successful hack can be devastating to a small business.

Remote Desktop: What is It?

Remote Desktop, or RDP, is a very common software. In fact, if you have Microsoft Windows, you probably have this software and don’t even realize it. Though it is a very powerful tool for businesses, it is also not very secure.

Criminals know this, of course, and they have created a huge variety of tools to hack into this software. When they get access to the network, criminals can access company information and then take things like log-ins and passwords. Once they have this, they can buy and sell them so that other criminals can use them to access your network. Once they are in, they can do almost anything.

Are You at Risk?

There are estimates that there are over three million companies that theoretically have access to Remote Desktop. Most of them are small businesses and many manage their own IT services in house. If you are a small business and you have an in-house IT department, you could definitely fit into this category. What’s more is that hackers tend to target these businesses, too. Any company that has RDP access enabled is a target of hackers.

What Can You Do About It?

Hopefully at this point you are wondering what you can do to protect your business from hackers who like to access networks through RDP.

  • If you aren’t using remote desktop, then the first thing you should do is to remove Remote Desktop from your network.
  • Make sure to update your operating systems critical security patches which will inevitably update any software around remote desktop protocol.
  • Update all software that could allow remote desktop to be vulnerable
  • Make sure your wireless connections are encrypted which generally means password-protected.
  • If you have a good reason for keeping it, you can also choose to restrict access by setting up a virtual private network, or VPN.
  • Additionally, you can create a firewall to restrict its access
  • Setting up multi-factor authentication is also a good idea if you want to keep this software.
  • Just be aware that none of these solutions are fool proof except totally deleting the software.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.

It’s Tax Time: Play it Safe or Lose Your Identity

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Once again, tax time has rolled around, and though you technically have until April 15th, it’s always best to file a bit earlier…especially if you want to avoid setting yourself up for ID theft.

How Could Filing Taxes Compromise Your Identity?

Here’s how you could become a victim of ID theft just by filing your taxes: the first method is that a thief uses your Social Security number to file taxes, and then they steal your refund. The second method that they use is they take your Social Security number, get a job while using your Social Security number, and then their employer reports that income to the IRS. When that happens, the IRS gets your return, flags it as suspicious, and you could get a big tax bill in the process.

Of course, in either case, you could face some big problems. You could, for instance, be unable to file your own tax return or collect your refund…at least for a while until the IRS sorts it out. You also might find that the thief has used your Social Security number to get credit cards, loans, or other cash that will wreck your credit.

How do Thieves Get Your Information?

The big question here is this: how do the ID thieves get your Social Security number in the first place? Generally, they do it by hacking. For instance, do you remember the Equifax hack from 2017? Millions of people were affected, and you, too, could have been involved in that. It’s possible that thieves could get your Social Security info from hacks just like this one.

What to Do if You are a Victim

If you learn that you are a victim of tax ID theft, there are some things that you can do.

  • Fill out Letter 5071C – This is a form that the IRS sends if it feels like your tax return is suspicious.
  • Fill out Form 14039 – This form alerts the IRS that you believe you are a victim or potential victim of tax ID or regular ID theft.
  • Get an Identity Protection PIN – This is a number that the IRS can give you to confirm your identity on any future returns.
  • Report to the Federal Trade Commission – You should also file a report at IdentityTheft.gov to alert the FTC of the situation.
  • Contact your state’s tax office – Also, make sure to contact the tax office in your state. It might have other recommendations for you.

If you have tried to e-file and get a rejection, you should still file a paper return via mail. Also, call the IRS Identity Protection Unit for help. An agent can get you started on taking care of the issue and make sure your taxes are filed appropriately.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.

12 Ways To Contain the hack, stop the bleeding & eliminating the threat

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Hey YOU, SMB, yeah I’m talking to you. There are a number of things that you can do to not only protect your personal information, but also the information you have in your business:

  1. Hire a professional – It is entirely possible the small business was hacked because they did not employ technicians to prevent it in the first place. Therefore 3rd parties that specialize is security and breach mitigation should be contacted immediately.  These IT security professionals specialize in containment. Their role will be to forensically determine the nature of the compromise, remove the vulnerability, update any necessary hardware and software, and ensure a breach such as this does not happen in the future.
  2. Disconnecting every affected device from the Internet temporarily – The purpose here is to stop any data from leaving the network and to prevent the hacker from communicating with the server. This may mean disabling internet connections or physically unplugging the internet from connected devices
  3. Change and reset passwords – Many hacks begin with compromised passwords. And the moment a network or device goes back online the hacker will log back in unless all credentials have been changed and updated.
  4. Update all software – Begin by scanning all hardware and software with anti-virus programs and removing viruses. Vulnerabilities are often due to outdated software or operating systems riddled with flaws. Updating with critical patches eliminates these threats.  The breached party should have redundant networked hardware systems in place, backed up data, contingency plans to put duplicate systems online immediately in order to maintain operations.
  5. Update your Companies Hardware– Old outdated hardware simply can’t keep up with the requirements of newer robust software or the security software required to keep networks secure.
  6. Back Up All of Your Data – You have to make sure that you are regularly backing up data to a secure location. This data should also be encrypted.
  7. Manage All Identities – You also must make sure that you are managing identities and access to accounts. You must do this across the board, as just one account being accessed could make you or your network extremely vulnerable.
  8. Use Conditional Access – Additionally, you should make sure to use conditional access that is based on factors such as location or device.
  1. Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication – You can use multi-factor authentication to keep accounts protected, too. You can use this on its own, or with other conditional access methods to ensure those who are trying to access your data are legitimate.
  2. Security Awareness Training– Assuming employees know what to do and more importantly, what not do, is risky. Providing effecting ongoing security awareness, and in the authors opinion “security appreciation training” is partnering with employees to protect the network.
  3. Patching – Set up a system so that you can always ensure that your hardware and software is always patched and updated on a regular basis. This helps to keep your data safe.
  4. Align Your IT Security with Other Business Security – Those who are in the IT industry often feel as if they are struggling to keep up with changing technology, including security tech. The success of a business is based on keeping it secure, and by keeping all types of security in mind, including IT security, has a direct impact on revenue.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.