The holidays are over, the Consumer Electronics Show has passed, and now you have all these new shiny wireless gadgets you’re just itching to play with. Now, before you go and connect to the internet, please understand that it’s all fun and games until someone gets hacked. And many times, this means when you are…
Wireless connections can cost hundreds of dollars annually, so it makes fiscal sense that many people seek out free connections when they are out and about. But free doesn’t necessarily mean secure. By now you’ve heard all the warnings that publicly connected Wi-Fi, such as that found in coffee shops, airports and hotels, are vulnerable to sniffers. Sniffers read the…
A dinner, hosted by Yahoo’s CEO and another 11 CEOs and execs from Twitter, Google, Apple and more, recently took place in Silicon Valley. These major players, responsible for shaping our world of tech, simply sat down to break bread. You gotta wonder what the conversation was like. So this got me thinking: With whom would…
We’ve heard lots and lots about data breaches in the last decade. And with the term “cloud” becoming more prevalent (which, incidentally, just refers to a computer server connected to the internet), people are asking how secure their data is on the various websites they agree to host it. For example, online banking, online backup, social…
Whether you are on your home or office network or seeking out a free connection on public Wi-Fi, there are known risks that can be managed simply by using a free VPN. #1. Outdated operating system-critical security patches. When an operating system is released, it often is secure—or at least as it can be for the…
A sniffer is a software program used by IT administrators to monitor network usage, investigate network problems, investigate network misuse and abuse, identify configuration issues and determine the state of a network’s security. Sniffers ultimately decode the data so it is readable in words, numbers and computer code. Note that last part: “determine the state of a…
If I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked, “How do I protect my credit card number?” I’d be living on my own island in the Pacific. My response has always been, “Use your card whenever and wherever and don’t worry about it, but pay close attention to your statements,” because that’s really all you…
Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have taken special steps to ensure that children under 13 years of age don’t share their personal information on the Internet without the express approval of their parents. Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in 1998 and the FTC wrote a rule implementing the law. The FTC currently is…
Do you take a close look at all your bills and statements every month? Do you look at all the charges? Are you familiar with each charge—where, when and to whom? Do you recognize monthly recurring charges? Did you know that nine out of 10 people don’t check their bills, or merely skim them quickly…
Do you? I do and I’ve been doing it since I said “I do.” And if you are married or at least in a committed lifelong relationship, knowing each other’s passwords is probably expected. Today, sharing passwords has become a sign of commitment, a signal of love and devotion, like a varsity sweater or friendship ring.…
