Entries by Robert Siciliano

Identity Fraud Victim every two Seconds

Yes, identity fraud is SO common that someone becomes a victim every two seconds. The 2014 Identity Fraud Study, as reported on javelinstrategy.com, turned up some alarming results. Though the dollar amount stolen had decreased over the year preceding the study, the number of victims had increased. People at highest risk were ages 35 to…

What is the Cloud?

You’ve probably heard of people storing information in “the cloud,” but what does that really mean, and is it safe to put your data there? The cloud is best described as a network of servers offering different functions. Some servers allow you to store and access data, while others provide an online service. You may…

Dude hacked Lottery Computers

Who needs psychics to reveal future lottery numbers when you can hack into the state lottery association and tamper with it? That apparently was the reasoning of Eddie Raymond Tipton, 51. Prosecutors believe Tipton inserted a thumb drive into a computer—the one that spits out random numbers for the lottery, says an article in the…

How to Burglar Proof your Doors

Burglars love doors; they frequently gain entry by kicking them down and even using less aggression to get into a house—and that includes simply opening the door because it’s not locked. Don’t believe that if a burglar wants to rob you badly enough, he’ll figure out a way to get in. While there is no…

Tips to destroy and shred

You can’t be too neurotic about shredding sensitive documents to smithereens. For example, some people make a career out of “dumpster diving,” digging through trash in search of bank account information, credit card preapprovals, medical bills, mortgage statements, etc., and then they commit fraud, including creating new accounts with the found information—accounts in the victim’s…

Smartphones for Kids aren’t such a good Idea

Maybe you believe that kids should not have smartphones because the devices can tell a pedophile where a child is located. But there’s other reasons that perhaps you haven’t thought of: cyberbullying, violent porn, online drug purchases, you name it. Smartphones give kids ongoing Internet access; they can’t live without this constant connection because it’s…

Is your Website and Data secure?

Imagine a lifeguard at the beach sitting on his perch. His job is to patrol and monitor for signs of trouble. He sees a surfer being attacked by a shark. Wow, a lot of good it does that he’s in a completely helpless position; by the time he scrambles off his perch and runs towards…

The High Performance Router for a Many-Device Home

You will love the Tri-Band WiFi technology; it can connect all of your devices at the same time. The only router capable of this is the Netgear Nighthawk X6 AC3200 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Router (a.k.a. Netgear R8000). This router provides three connections and has six wing-like antennas. Another feature is the ReadyShare USB. The user who’d…

Trusting too much brings Trouble

There will always be the person who lives on the Equator to whom you can sell an electric heater. As they say, there is a sucker born every minute. This is why cyber criminals will always have a field day, like the crook who posed as a tax man who got an elderly couple to…

Risks of Public WiFi

Wired internet or wireless WiFi, the warnings are out there: Don’t visit any websites that you have important accounts with when using a public computer (hotel, airport, café, etc.). Visiting even a more trivial account, such as an online community for cheese lovers, could sink you—in that a cyber thief might get your username and…