Entries by Robert Siciliano

5 Ways to Browse the Web Privately

You’ve probably never even thought that “browsing the web privately” was something that you needed to take extra steps to do. Most people think all web surfing is relatively private and nobody is really paying any attention. Unfortunately, there are many people, particularly in the form of marketers and advertisers, who watch almost every website…

2013 Boston Marathon: My Best Worst Day Ever

Like Big Papi said “This is our f–king city.”  It’s the 10th anniversary of that beautiful – tragic day. The new Netflix documentary “American Manhunt; The Boston Marathon Bombing”  has me sobbing in my kitchen. I’ve watched the movie Patriots Day with Mark Wahlberg countless times. This week I was asked to speak at a…

Beware of Credit Card Micro Charges

Micro charges are charges ranging from 20 cents to $10 and either are fraudulent, legitimate or fall into the category of “grey charges,” which describe sneaky recurring or unwanted charges. These charges often go undetected because they are so small. Nine out of 10 credit card holders don’t scrutinize their statements carefully, allowing these scammers…

What Exactly is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a network set up to communicate privately over a public network. For example: You occasionally want to or need to work from home and your employer knows that if you do, the data that travels between your PC and an office PC needs to be protected. So your employer…

How Hackers Use Our Information Against Us

We hear an awful lot about hackers breaking into systems and taking down networks or stealing millions of data records. The general understanding we have for hacking is bad guys want to disrupt things to make a point or to make money. But how do they really use our personal information against us? Whether you…

Steps to Take When Connecting to WiFi at the Coffee Shop

Consumers are oblivious to the dangers of connecting in a free wireless environment. If they actually knew how vulnerable they are, all that coffee shops would do is sell coffee.Nobody would stick around and connect to the internet. Everyone—and I mean everyone—always asks me if they should connect to public WiFi. The short answer is…

How NOT to Dispute a Credit Card Charge

My wife was searching online for a specialist to take care of a minor medical condition. While browsing, a certain ad caught her eye, so she checked out its website and made a phone call to get more information. The receptionist was warm and friendly and gave her all kinds of advice and direction over…