Entries by Robert Siciliano

Selling Your Old Smartphone? Not Smart

It has become standard practice to upgrade to a newer device, and people often sell, donate, or discard the old one. Or maybe you’ve received a new computer or mobile phone as a holiday gift and need to get rid of the old one. You consider selling them so you can get some money back—maybe…

Gold Farming e-Guides Facilitate Banned Gaming Activities

Most MMO game operators ban the sale of in-game currency for real-world dollars. But that hasn’t stopped gold farming from flourishing into a full-fledged underground economy. A Telecoms.com article entitled “Killing Cash” addresses the ways in which virtual currency may be pushing old fashioned cash out of circulation altogether. One point is the prevalence of…

17 Percent of PCs Are Exposed

Exposed as in streaking through life naked without a stitch of security. There are things I do and things I don’t do, and no security isn’t on my “do” list. Come on, people! McAfee used its Windows-based Security Scan Plus scan an average of 17 million PCs per month in 24 different countries. This was…

Electrical Safety in Your Home

Electricity is an increasing presence in our modern lives. May is National Electrical Safety Month, and the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is promoting a healthy respect for electricity and increasing awareness of electrical hazards. Electrical incidents and fires disrupt countless lives and result in the loss of billions of dollars in productivity and assets…

Top 10 Warning Signs of Employee Theft

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that employee theft costs American employers more than $50 billion dollars each year. In a study conducted last year by The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, executives of 60 percent of the companies surveyed said they expected their employees to steal money or equipment. Another study conducted by The…

5 Steps To Ensure Your Home Loan Is Safe

Home loans are granted by banks who are FDIC insured. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system. The FDIC preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions…

10 Tips How to Prevent Retail Shoplifting

People steal. Stealing is normal. That doesn’t mean it’s good, because it isn’t, but I’ll bet some scientist could prove stealing is in our DNA. We’ve been stealing to survive for millions of years. Today, you wouldn’t think stealing would be necessary, but still, millions steal because of need or greed. Store managers know this…

How to Respond in a Medical Emergency

First, I’m no doctor so this advice is not intended to be substitute for consulting with a medical professional. If you think you are experiencing a medical emergency, seek immediate medical attention. But I am a Dad and these things interest me. So I hopped on over the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and…