Many years ago when you were on vacation, before Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were invented (assuming you were an adult then), you had a great time, right? You weren’t “connected,” because there was no social media to be connected with. If today you can’t imagine being disconnected from social media while on vacation, ask yourself…
Who’d ever think those silly little yellow circular faces and other such cyber symbols would become such a worldwide smash? I’m talking about emoticons, also known as emojis. Five years ago Apple put an emoji keyboard on its mobile devices. Six billion of these doggone things are sent every day. But a story at kdvr.com…
Ransomware thieves sure know how to pick their victims—institutions that store loads of highly critical data that they need on a daily basis, that without—even just 24 hours without—can have crippling effects. This form of cybercrime is growing by leaps and bounds. Recently a ransomware attacker struck the network of the University of Calgary. An…
If you have a strong password for your Amazon account, you may still want to consider beefing up the security with two-factor verification (or authentication), which will prevent a thief from accessing your account (which is possible if he gets ahold of your password and username somehow). Log onto your Amazon account. Have your mobile…
Let’s cut to the chase: Regularly back up the phone’s data! If this is done every day, you won’t have to worry much about losing important information if something happens to the phone—such as a ransomware attack. Keep the phone’s software and applications updated. Delete apps you no longer use, as these can reveal your…
Ever peruse Craigslist for a new home? Nothing against Craigslist for doing that, but that’s where Coty Houston and David Yost happened to find a very alluring four-bed home for sale; looked perfect for their five young kids. Then they all got squashed by a bomb: The man who sold it to them was not…
IRS The e-mail (or phone call) says you owe money; if you don’t pay it immediately, you’ll be put in jail or fined.The scammer may know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security number. Caller ID will be spoofed to look like the call is from the IRS. The e-mail will include an…
The days of using a computer to access your bank account, using a password, may be coming to an end, to be replaced entirely (as some experts believe) with a fingerprint or face scan using a smartphone. The smartphone employment of such biometrics will drastically reduce hacking incidents, but will be problematic for those who…
Malevolent advertising is called malvertising. The “ad” is placed on a website by cybercriminals who want control of your computer for financial gain. And the real scary thing about malvertising is that these trick-ads have appeared on trusted, popular websites like the Weather Network, BBC, NFL and the New York Times. Oh, and it gets…
You’d think with all the media attention regarding data breaches, hackers and identity theft, that consumers would be more focused on their privacy and how to protect their information from prying eyes. Surprisingly, almost 70% of the people are clueless about how a criminal might have got a hold of their personal information. We all…
