Five or ten years ago, it was relatively easy for scammers to trick people into opening email attachments that would launch malicious programs on victims’ PCs. Nowadays, most email providers won’t permit .exe attachments, so viruses may be saved as compressed files, or hidden behind links that appear to lead to PDFs or word documents.…
It seems that almost every site on the web requires a password. At least twice a week, I get an email from someone who wants me to join yet another network, which requires yet another username and password. You can cop out and use the same username and password combination, but that’s just asking for…
Over the past 15 years, we have watched hackers’ evolution from “phreaking” phone systems, to hacking government agencies like NASA, and eventually creating viruses that take down networks. In the beginning, their primary motivations were fun, fame, and amusement. Over the past ten years, the game changed dramatically, from fun and fame to financial gain.…
This question often comes up in my seminars “How can I completely burglar proof my home?” And the answer is tricky. There is no such thing as 100 percent security which “burglar proofing” suggests. However burglar proofing can conceivably be achieved if you consider that most burglars don’t have the necessary wherewithal or tools to compromise some…
Consumers, businesses, retailers, and even the media are becoming numb to news about data breaches. Not a week goes by when we don’t hear of another major breach affecting thousands or even millions of customer accounts. Criminal hackers are getting smarter and savvier all the time, and they often have better technology than the banks…
“Free” is one of my favorite words so when I have the option to get something for free, I will allocate a reasonable amount of time figuring out how I can apply that to my life before I determine if I should adopt it, or if it’s worth the extra few bucks for the paid…
Many people are looking to cut expenses. Personally, I’ve shaved at least a couple thousand dollars a month from my expenses by downsizing to one car, cutting out lots of monthly recurring fees, and looking closely at which services I can now shift to the cloud. Software: Contact managers, office documents, media editing programs, you…
Hackers and crackers and data breaches! Oh my! Confused? Overwhelmed? Don’t care? You should, and there’s help. Few people are head first into gadgets, technology, the cloud and security as I. I have my devices, my wife’s, my kids, there’s Apple products, Microsoft Windows, smart phones, feature phones and tablets. It’s maddening. Now instead of…
The old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” still rings true today. Without a network of “trust agents,” influencers, or simply good contacts, it’s hard to get anything accomplished. Getting a new job, making sales, or simply finding a good accountant requires a network of people you know, like, and trust…
Digital assets include: entertainment files (e.g. music downloads), personal memories (e.g. photographs), personal communications (e.g. emails), personal records (e.g. health, financial, insurance), and career information (e.g. resumes, portfolios, cover letters, contacts), as well as any creative projects or hobbies involving digital files. If your PC crashes or is hacked and your data is not properly…
