Entries by Robert Siciliano

6 Ways to Protect your Internet of Things from Hackers

Everything seems like it is connected to the Internet, just about, including TVs, home thermostats, sprinkler controls, door locks, egg trays (yes, there’s an app for that), tooth brushes (cray cray), and more. A study by HP shows that 70 percent of devices have vulnerabilities. Researchers have revealed that most of the devices in their…

How hackable is my Home Security System?

In a few words, there are some issues. But, really, don’t worry about it. But be aware of whats going on. So are your home’s Internet-connected smart gadgets smart enough to ward off hackers? A research team found that they’re pretty dumb in this area. A house was filled with smart gadgets in an experiment…

Use Door Reinforcement to beef up your Home Security

Though there’s no such thing as a 100 percent burglar-proof home, there’s also no such thing as a burglar who has the skills of Mission Impossible’s Ethan Hunt, Spiderman or the Hulk, either. With enough security measures, you can almost make your home burglar-proof. When homeowners think of security, often only a limited range of…

Hotel PCs serve up Infections

You can legally purchase spyware and install it on your computer, but it’s against the law to do so on someone else’s device. Spyware records e-mails, chats, browser history, passwords, usernames, etc. You’d buy it for your computer if you wanted to know what your tween was up to on it or how much your…

The Beginners Guide to using TOR

Want to be invisible online? Get to know Tor. Tor will make you cyber-anonymous, concealing your cyber footprints, ID, browsing history and physical location. It even makes the sites you visit anonymous. Now, all that being said, there seems to be a concerted effort by certain US government agencies and others to crack Tor, but…

Are All Hackers Bad?

The word hacker has a pretty negative connotation. It brings to mind other words like cybercriminal, thief, and malicious. It’s easy to see why hacker has a bad rep. The news is full of stories about hackers stealing data from large companies and the government. Hackers are the bad guys. But are they? Tesla just recently…

Botnets Here, Botnets There, Botnets EVERYWHERE

What are these “botnets” you keep hearing about? Botnets (think roBOT + NETwork—gets you “BOTNET”) are a network of secretly compromised, run-of-the-mill home and office computers that have malicious software—controlled by a solitary hacker or cybercrime ring. Hackers use botnets to execute a variety of cybercrimes like page rank sabotage, mass spamming, bitcoin mining, and…

The Sweet Sixteen Rule

Your child is turning 16! As a parent in the US, your mind is occupied with planning the big sweet 16 party and preparing for a new driver on the road (and the crazy high insurance that goes with it). During this exciting time, there’s something else you should be thinking about—your child’s credit score.…