Entries by Robert Siciliano

Don’t Name Your Dog After Your Password

Recently I got a puppy for my child. We decided to name the puppy 4wgu23x5#9. My wife,8yysH3m, thought we should name the dog 0x2%#b5. But I’m sure she’ll get over it. Meanwhile, I’m helping my older child with setting up a few social media accounts, and I suggested the two passwords: Rover and Spot. Is…

Craigslist encounter ends very badly

At least one woman is happy that her driver drove like a drunk. That’s because his erratic driving caught the attention of troopers who pulled him over. They then heard a woman calling for help—from the backseat. She was bound and gagged with a bag over her head. The 41-year-old man had posted an ad…

Catphishing is a Heartless Scam

When someone online presents as a different person than their true self, this is called catphishing, and it occurs on online dating sites. Google the name of the object of your interest. Obviously, “Kelly Smith” and “John Miller” won’t get you far, but “Jaycina McArthur” just might. What comes up? See if they have social…

Consumers smartening up to Privacy Issues

According to a recent report from Pew Research, many Americans take privacy seriously—as in the cyber kind, but also offline. 9% of survey respondents thought they had strong control over how much of their personal information was collected and shared. 38% thought they had moderate control; 37% believed they had little control; 13% said they…

ATM Skimming rising, again

Do you know what ATM stands for? For crooks, it stands for A Thief’s Moneymaker. A new report from FICO says that “skimming” crimes have made their biggest spike in the past 20 years. This includes ATMs on bank premises, but of course, public ATM kiosks have seen the biggest spike. The thief tampers with…

Check out Google’s Password Alert

Cyber crooks have phony websites that masquerade as the legitimate site you want to log onto. They’ve spun their web and are just waiting for you to fly into it. Google now has Password Alert, which will tell you if you’ve landed into such a non-Google web. For the Chrome browser, this extension will prompt…

An ode to Angry Drivers

“Wes” is a professional man who, if you saw walking on the street, you’d easily imagine being jumped by a few teen punks and getting beaten up for his wallet. Wes is nearing retirement age, has a potbelly, doesn’t work out, has grey hair—hardly an imposing figure. But look out when he gets behind the…