Imagine it. You sit down at your computer about to do your daily perusal of Buzzfeed or check out The Financial Times but your homepage is now some weird search engine you’ve never seen before. Guess what? You’ve been hijacked. Browser hijacking is when your Internet browser (eg. Chrome, FireFox, Internet Explorer) settings are modified.…
Lock this guy up for good. That’s a most fitting motto for Brandon McIntyre, 22, who pretended he was “Katie Thompson” on Facebook and threatened to kill a girl’s family if she refused to go on trips with him. This New Jersey nutcase made another ridiculous threat (ridiculous, because, how could he think that even…
The recent celebrity photo hacks are an unfortunate reminder of how devastating or embarrassing it can be to have your data compromised. But celebrities are not the only ones getting hacked. Cybercriminals aren’t choosy—they’ll send malicious texts, emails, and website links to Jennifer Lawrence and your grandma. And while the celebrity hacks are more publicized,…
Hacking isn’t just about weak passwords and single-factor authentication. A lot of it occurs because people can be so easily tricked into giving up personal information: the craft of social engineering. Example: “Download this video of Kim K fully naked!” How many men would be lured into clicking this gateway to a viral infection? We…
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This common phrase can be applied to almost anything. In the security industry we call this a “vulnerability” or the “path of least resistance”. In your home, in regards to home security, this weak link is often your front or back door. If you take…
Imagine being overseas, and in the process of using your credit card to make a purchase—and it’s declined—and you have no currency or checkbook. Nightmare. The decline could be to prevent fraudulent use; perhaps it was recently reported lost, but then found or the country you are in is known for fraud. To clear this…
The threat of data theft follows travelers; there’s never a vacation from hackers. So what should the traveler do? Anticipate snooping by hackers. This way, you can prepare for the worst. If you must bring a laptop, use it as a shell to access data remotely. Leave private information behind. If this is not possible,…
If a loved-one has gone missing, the first thing you should do is call the police. That sounds obvious, but how many times have you read about parents or spouses who delayed calling the police (even though they weren’t involved in the abduction)? A myth is that there’s a waiting period before the police will…
Don’t be part of the “I’ll never get hacked” camp. Do you really think it won’t happen to you? If so, it’s: Because you think no phishing e-mail could get past your radar. Just because you can spot a Nigerian scam doesn’t mean you can’t be tricked. Phishing campaigns today are ingenious and sophisticated, and…
Keeping your hard drive in tip-top shape is key to a well-running computer. A crashed hard drive means smacking a big wet-one goodbye to all of your data. Eliminate Unnecessary Data De-clutter the drive to make its workload easier. One way of de-cluttering is to uninstall programs you never use (go to the control panel).…
