Entries by Robert Siciliano

Goodguy Hacker Selling Bad Guy hacks

Makes you wonder what these guys would have accomplished had they been born during the Renaissance…case in point: Kevin Mitnick, whose genius was so impressive as a cyber criminal (he hacked into IBM, Motorola, Sun Microsystems and other big-name outfits), that after serving prison time, he was hired as a good guy to help security…

The Guide to Securing Your New Tech Toys

Ho ho ho! It seems that this year, Santa’s sleigh was filled with technology—laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, etc. Playing with and learning about your new tech toy is fun, but remember to secure your device. It would be a total bummer if your new toy was suddenly compromised by a virus or hacked into. Luckily,…

13 Cheap Simple and Smart ways to secure your Home

You don’t have to be wealthy to have a superbly protected home. You just need to have some common sense. Keep your doors locked overnight! Smoke blows through my ears and nostrils every time I read about someone “entering through an unlocked door” in the middle of the night and committing a sicko crime. This…

Fear of Fraud trumps Terrorism

Okay, what’s more likely? Getting bombed … or some punk racking up charges on your credit card? The yearly Crime Poll says that two-thirds of the respondents were edgy about data breaches involving their credit cards, as well as their computer and smartphones getting hacked—far more so than being robbed or taken hostage. It’s easier…

10 most prolific Serial Burglars…ever

Jack “Superthief” MacLean MacLean stole in excess of $133 million in jewels, having robbed thousands of homes. By the time police nabbed him he was the owner of a helicopter and multi-million dollar mansion. His genius IQ failed to avoid his capture, but nevertheless, he was smart enough to have a police scanner with him…

Background Checks aren’t as easy as you’d think

With seemingly more and more people being harassed, stalked and getting their identities stolen, the rate of background check requests (e.g., a small business owner hiring a private investigator) has increased quite a bit. The background check is no longer some snoopy kind of thing for extra-curious people; it’s become a necessary tool in a…

11 of the Biggest Home Security Mistakes

One type of mistake that you should never have to learn from involves home security. Don’t wait till something bad happens to you to learn a lesson. Here are the top mistakes that people make; learn about them here rather than from personal experience: Leaving doors unlocked. Yes, leave your door unlocked often enough overnight,…

7 Careful Commerce tips when Shopping this Holiday Season

Frosty the Hackman is teaming up this season with the Grinch to scam people out of their money. Shopping online is a godsend, but it brings with it a pristine opportunity to be ripped off. Avoid Phishing Scams. Never click on links inside e-mails even if they’re (allegedly!) from Macy’s, Kohl’s or some other big-name…

What is Ransomware?

Imagine that you want to pull up a certain file on your computer. You click on the file and suddenly a notice flashes on your screen saying your computer has been compromised and in order to get your files back, you need to pay up some money. This, ladies and gentlemen, is ransomware, a nasty…