Entries by Robert Siciliano

21 Tips for Holiday Home Security

People complain about all the stress that comes with the holiday season: the in-laws, the expense of buying gifts, figuring out what to buy, travel, reunions with people they don’t like… But trust me on this: You’ll take you’re ever-criticizing in-laws and bratty nephew any day over a burglar who turns your holiday plans into…

7 Things You Can Do To Protect Your Identity

One of my favorite commercials is a guy working out with his personal trainer. The trainer asks him if he’s been eating his vegetables every day. When he replies, “When I can,” the trainer bops him on the head. He could have had a V8! Just like the man thought that eating his daily vegetables…

Beware of Home Security Scams

Will the home security scams ever stop? The latest scam has fraudsters going door to door, posing as sales reps for “Trio Alarm.” They first make sure that the houses they visit already have a security system (e.g., security decals on windows), then tell the occupant that the company for that security system has gone…

Russian Hackers getting rich from your Identity

Where’s the $$$ at? Selling credit card data. Have you heard of the Russian hacking ring that raked in two and a half billion dollars? Check it out: Phishing attacks are lucrative for these cybercriminals. ATM hacks continue to increase, in part due to targeted attacks and new software. Smartphone attacks are on the upswing.…

What we can learn from Celebrity Stalkers

Rihanna was basically discovered on YouTube. Had she stayed there, her psycho stalker would have never had any interest in her. People are just plain insane. But she’s famous, so Kevin McGlynn decided to send her threatening letters and lurk outside her home, says an article at reuters.com. He was committed to a mental facility.…

Chip and PIN vs. Chip and Signature Cards

The planet’s most powerful nation is sure backwards when it comes to the payment card industry: Why has America been using 1970s technology as of the posting date of this article? That magnetic strip on credit and debit cards has GOT to go already! And thank goodness, the transition to chip technology is more imminent…

Identity Theft of the Dead affects the Living

You don’t have to be living to have your identity stolen. Every year in America there’s 2.5 million cases of ID theft involving the deceased. And while your first reaction might be “So what, I’ll be dead and I won’t care”, you need to keep in mind that identity theft of the dead often significantly…

11 ways to Let Santa in and keep Bad Guys out

You’ve heard of “dumb criminals,” right? Well…unfortunately, there’s at least as many dimwitted homeowners as there are criminals. Be a smart homeowner and use smart technology along with smart security tips and smarten up! The holiday season has arrived. Are you going to display a huge Christmas tree in your biggest window, shades up, so…

How to win the War on Phishing

A phishing attack is a trick e-mail sent randomly to perhaps a million recipients, and the thief counts on the numbers game aspect: Out of any given huge number of people, a significant percentage will fall for the trick. The trick is that the e-mail contains certain information or is worded in such a way…