Has your computer ever refused to turn on when you hit the power button? Or maybe it turned on, but only to display a blue screen? The best (really the worst) is when you’ve been working on a document or presentation all day, and your hard drive crashes. If this has yet to happen to…
The most basic advice for protecting your own identity is to protect your Social Security number. The obvious solution is simply never to disclose your number, but this is silly, since, depending on your age, you have probably provided it to hundreds of people, on hundreds of forms. It now sits in hundreds of databases,…
Identity theft victims don’t need Jessica Van Vliet, an assistant professor in counseling psychology at the University of Alberta, to tell them that they no longer feel safe when conducting everyday financial transactions, which most of us take for granted. But she did a study highlighting a fact that many of us in the industry…
Back 30-35 years ago there were house break-ins like there are today, but home security systems were scarce and people weren’t all that concerned either. A lot has changed. When I was in elementary school, my parents would let us walk to school, walk home, play outside all day and my mother or father would…
When traveling, people are generally nice, kind and generally trustworthy. However there are ALWAYS predators waiting in the wings to pounce when you totally let your guard down. The best defense is a good offense. So keep your head up, pay attention and if it’s too good to be true it is. Fake Cops: I…
FedEx showed up to my house with a good-sized box, and the driver came to my door to request my signature and a little help. The box felt like it weighed 90 pounds, maybe slightly more. It wasn’t too heavy for two adults. A little awkward, but handling it was easy enough. A safe should…
Cyber scams happen to the young and the old, the rich and the poor. It doesn’t matter how good or bad your credit is, or whether or not you have a credit card. Cybercriminals target everyone, regardless of how much or how little you rely on a computer. The lowest of the lowlifes, however, tend…
Ever have your car stolen? I have. When I walked into the restaurants parking lot my car wasn’t in the spot where I parked. At first I thought maybe I forgot where I parked it. Then an empty feeling came over me and I knew it was stolen. When the police arrived I asked them…
The Sony Corporation has been providing consumers with stellar electronics since before the introduction of the Walkman. The past six months have been harsher for Sony, with attacks by hacktivists and numerous breaches of clients’ data. Many recent breaches involved usernames, passwords, email addresses, and in some cases, credit card numbers. Each compromised data point…
Have you ever bitten into an apple and found a worm? I have, and it’s yummy! Anyway, how many times have you heard, or even said, “I won’t get that computer virus because I have a Mac”? While Mac users tend to feel somewhat insulated from viruses, it’s time for anyone who owns an Apple…
