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Keeping Kids Safe Online

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It is no surprise that cybercriminals are taking advantage of the Internet and the people who use it. The Internet is like a bad neighborhood with bad guys around every corner. Any parent with an ounce of sensibility should recognize that when your child is on the wild wild web, they are at the same risk as they would be walking through the red light district in any big city.

I’m not saying this because I want to instill fear and panic, I’m bringing this up because sex offenders, pedophiles, criminal hackers and identity thieves treat the online world as if it was the physical world and use the anonymity of the web and the easiness of approach to seduce your children into doing things they wouldn’t normally do.

The Secret Online Lives of Teens, a survey conducted by McAfee, reveals that tweens and teens are relatively clueless about online privacy. The study sheds light on this generation’s tendency to use the Internet in ways that translate to danger in the real world.

There always has, is, and will be a predatory element out there. Generally, most people don’t want to think about that or even admit that it’s true. Instead of acknowledging the risks, most people completely discount this reality, telling themselves, “It can’t happen to me or my kids.”

The good news is you can do something about it. As soon as a family member becomes active online, it’s time to educate them—no matter what age they are—about cyber safety.

  • Set up the computer in a high-traffic family area and limit the number of hours your children spend on it.
  • Be sure you have computer security software with parental controls.
  • Decide exactly what is okay and what is not okay with regard to the kinds of web sites that are appropriate to visit
  • Use only appropriate monitored chat rooms
  • Never log in with user names that reveal true identity or that are provocative
  • Never reveal your passwords
  • Never reveal phone numbers or addresses
  • Never post information that reveals your identity
  • Never post inappropriate photos or ones that may reveal your identity (for example: city or school names on shirts)
  • Never share any information with strangers met online
  • Never meet face-to-face with strangers met online
  • Never open attachments from strangers

Once you have established the rules, make a poster listing them, and put it next to the computer.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing Home Security and Identity Theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Woman Suspect in Pot Stealing Home Invasion

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It’s not often that I see “woman suspect” and “home invasion” in the same sentence. Home invasions are mostly done by Cro-Magnon men who are one step out of a cave and temporarily in society until they go back to jail. Police released a sketch of an armed woman accused of stealing two medicinal marijuana plants while a 19-year-old woman was home.

The report goes on to say it was two woman and two men, which makes a little more sense. All is right with the world again. The Mercury News reports the teen was in the bathroom at the time and was ordered to the ground and briefly held captive while the house was pillaged. They stole the pot plants as well as electronics.

The teen was not harmed. Luckily. The pot plants belonged to the teen’s mother, who is a medicinal marijuana card-holder.

California has led the charge to legalize weed for medical purposes. And many a quack provides medicinal marijuana cards to anyone who has even the slightest ailment.

A side effect of having the law past has led to many such crimes. Even though it’s semi legal, it’s still worth something substantial on the street. So if you tug on the whacky tabacky to sooth your aching whatever, it would probably be a good idea not to broadcast your prescribed pot.

Home invasions are best prevented by locking your doors all day and night and having a home security system installed and armed. Oh and on another note, if you have pot plants it’s probably not a good idea to have them in the window getting sun.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel. Disclosures.

Facebook + Hackers – Privacy = You Lose

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I’m as sick of writing about it as you are sick of reading about it. But because Facebook has become a societal juggernaut: a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way, we need to discuss it because it’s messing with lots of functions of society.

We should all now know that whatever you post on Facebook is not private. You may think it is, but it isn’t. Even though you may have gone through all kinds of privacy settings and locked down your profile, Facebook has changed them up internally so many times that they may have defaulted to something far less private then what you previously set.

Furthermore, no matter how private you have set them to, if you friend someone who you don’t know (like that human resource officer), they see what’s “private” and anyone on the “inside” can easily replicate anything you post to the world.

The activist groups waging what amounts to an undeclared war against the social-networking site for the last year, complete with no fewer than three letters to federal regulators claiming Facebook’s actions are illegal said that they’re hardly ready to declare a truce.

Attacks targeting Facebook users will continue, and they could easily become even more dangerous. Computerworld reports “There are limitations to what Facebook can do to stop this,” said Patrik Runald, a U.K.-based researcher for Websense Security Labs. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see another attack this weekend. Clearly, they work.”

Websense has identified more than 100 variations of the same Facebook attack app used in the two attacks, all identical except for the API keys that Facebook requires.

What does this mean to you?

For crying out loud stop telling the world you hate your boss, neighbor, students’ teachers, or spouse and you’d like to boil a bunny on the stove to teach them a lesson. I guarantee even if you are kidding, someone won’t like it. What you say/do/post, lasts forever.

Stop playing the stupid 3rd party games. When you answer “25 questions about whatever” that data goes straight into the hands of some entity that you would never have volunteered it to.

Make sure you PC is secured. Keep your operating system up to date with security patches and anti-virus and don’t download anything from any email you receive or click links in the body of any email. Once you start messing with these files you become a Petri dish spreading a virus.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Facebook scams on CNN.

Summertime Scams Are Coming

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As the spring rolls through and the summer heats up, the bad guy is planning his next seasonal scams.  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has on average over 15,000 complaints a year related to travel, vacation or timeshare scams. It’s important to have summer safety in mind when planning your next summer vacations.

OK, I’ll admit it. I got scammed in a timeshare deal, kind of. I got what I paid for, but many lies were told to get me to sign on the dotted line. Whenever someone offers you money or dinner or tickets to anything in exchange for your time to sit down and learn about a timeshare “opportunity”, know that a very hard sell by someone who does not take no for an answer is coming. The way we got scammed was we were told we’d have no problem renting it out, which was the defining reason I’d commit to buy. The reality is there are hundreds of thousands of timeshares for rent. Which means it’s cheaper to rent someone else’s timeshare than it is to buy one and people who rent them out often do so for less than their annual maintenance fees.

Most people are not equipped to say no to these professionals. So if you absolutely don’t want to buy a timeshare, don’t take the bait, don’t go to the sales presentation, and for heaven’s sake don’t do it if you are under the influence of alcohol!

Another devious summer scam relates to classified offerings for summertime rentals that don’t exist. There may very well be an actual cottage rental, but the scammer may not own it and he may be renting it to 30 people the same week. This is an easy scam to pull off and often involves up front deposits that the victim never gets back.

The best way to prevent getting scammed and ensure summer safety is by dealing with a local real estate agent who specializes in rentals or going through a referral of a friend who has a previous relationship with the owner.

As crazy as it sounds, you are better off paying via a credit card number opposed to a check. Once a check is cashed, that’s it; you don’t have many (or any) options of recouping those funds if fraud is detected. There are a few more protections available when using a credit card.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing scams on the Donnie Deutsch The Big Idea Show.

Renting and Securing an Apartment

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The time has come to leave the nest. The little birdie has to spread its wings and fly on their own whether they like it or not.  The process is often overwhelming and difficult and the results can end up being great or awful. But knowing what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time can save you all kinds of headaches down the road.

Check the crime climate of the city/town/neighborhood you are considering moving to.  Often we make moving decisions based on convenience and price.  However consider spending a little more (or even less) if another location is safer but less convenient.

Protect your identity. Landlords almost always ask for a Social Security Number in order to check an applicant’s credit prior to considering them for a move. It is generally not an option to say NO. However by investing in a credit freeze or credit monitoring you can reduce your risks that the Social Security Number will be used for identity theft.

Check out potential roommates. I did the roommate thing throughout my entire 20’s. I had the best and the worst roommates of all times. Some, I am friends with today and others, I wish I never met. There are numerous considerations to be made. The most important consideration is your personal security. Do a background check before signing a lease with a potential roommate.  Determine if they have any type of a criminal history. A background check may also determine if they have even been bankrupt.

Ask the landlord about options for installing an apartment security alarm for maximum safety. Apartment security systems today are easy to install for a do-it-yourselfer or certified alarm dealer. Often they require minimal wiring which means the landlord should have a problem with it. Wireless home alarms are even easier and only require batteries and two sided tape. If the landlord opposes an apartment security system, then the apartment is the right fit for you.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston.

Police Seek 2 Men, Woman in Stun-gun Robberies

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A Stun gun or electromuscular incapacitation device when pressed against a human’s body causes a disruption in the electrical impulses of the nervous system.  When someone is “shocked” in the upper chest area where the arms meet the chest or the lower abdomen on the left or right sides and in the upper thighs, they may lose the ability to walk, talk or function normally.  Stun guns are considered non-lethal, which means they aren’t supposed to kill. However there have been situations where people have died when a stun gun was involved in subduing them.

Seattle police are searching for a trio of robbers responsible for daytime attacks on three women using stun guns.

In each case they were “crimes of opportunity.” Crimes of opportunity generally mean the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but what it really means is they were taken by surprise.

The women were going about their business and the robbers attacked them. One was pushed into her trunk then her purse stolen. Her wallet with her home address and her keys were stolen so her landlord changed her locks.

Another woman was followed home and while taking groceries out of her car was accosted by 2 men.

A third woman was in her driveway when she too was robbed when she heard the crack of a stun gun then fell to the ground hitting her head.

An attacker’s tool of trade is the element of surprise. They like to attack from behind when you aren’t paying attention. They also attack from the side or often use a distraction up front.  It’s easy to say all these attacks could have been prevented. But as they say, easier said than done.

By being fully aware of your surroundings you look less like a potential target.  When a bad guy stalks you, if they know you see them, they may move on to someone who they can easily surprise.

Always know what is going on behind you.

Be prepared for someone approaching and distracting you.

When pulling into your garage if you have the option shut the door behind you before you get out of your car.

When pulling into your driveway always look around your car before getting out.

Consider a home security alarm that also has home security cameras.  That same alarm equipped with a panic button can help you if you see someone paying unwanted attention. By hitting that panic button it sets off an alarm getting attention to the situation.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing non-lethal personal protection and home invasions on the Gordon Elliot show.

Protecting Your Property When You are Home

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In a down economy, people make decisions they otherwise wouldn’t need to consider. Home invasions and robberies make the news every day multiples times a day.

In Huntington West Virginia in just the last two weeks, they’ve seen several different instances where homeowners have fought back and won. But, where is the line when it comes to self defense and protecting what’s your home?

One man says a machete saved his and his family’s lives. “They came at me physically with firearms, as far as I was concerned,” he said. When two thieves broke into his home waving a baseball bat and a toy gun that he thought was real, he wasted no time fighting back.

The suspects spent some time in the hospital before heading to jail. Jeez, the homeowner goes at them with a machete and they went to the hospital. Makes sense.

“They were masked and hooded, but due to their injuries, they were bleeding profusely from head and neck area,” the County Sheriff said.

This homeowner chose an extreme solution for an extreme situation. The whole event could have seriously gone wrong for the homeowner and put himself and family at risk. Ultimately whatever you to survive you’ve done the right thing.

The best defense is a good offense as they say. In this situation preventative measures would keep them from getting in the first place. Therefore, there is no need to hack them all up with a machete. Plus it’s all messy. Icky.

Home security tips:

Timed and/or motion activated lights, inside and out. This burglar stated lights turned on made him nervous and he would go to a home that didn’t pose a threat of getting caught.

Trim bushes and shrubs. Anything covering doors and windows that give a burglar cover is an invitation to a thief. I also recommend defensive shrubbery with lots of thorns.

Encourage your neighbors to report any suspicious activity around your home while you are gone or even while you are home.

Install a home security system. It’s not enough to just lock your doors. A home alarm is an effective deterrent while you are away and while you are home. Even home alarm decals and signage is a layer of protection.

Dogs big and small. A dog need not be an attack dog to be an effective deterrent. Barking dogs bring attention to the home they are protecting.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams.

Google Street View Security Issues

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You may not realize it but a picture of your own home is very likely available on the Internet thanks to the popular Google Street View map program.

I’m a big fan of Google. They’ve done a great job or organizing the world’s information. All their tools and apps like Gmail, calendar and docs are fully functional and mobile. They seemed to have taken the fight out of technology with these tools.

Then, there is Google Street View. Zoom, rotate and pan through street level photos of cities around the world. I remember the day Google Street View came down my street. I live on a private dead end and they came right down my driveway. They got stuck trying to turn around and we had to move a car for them.

Then, a few months later there it was on Google Street View. It’s an ambitious attempt at mapping the world just like you were there yourself.

So how does this affect you? For one thing, it allows anyone anywhere to gain intelligence about your street, fences, gates, driveway and information about your home and in general scope out your neighborhood. Certainly someone can simply just drive–by and use a video camera or take pictures and Google Street View makes it even easier.

But what if Google captured much more than a picture?

Now Google admits they messed up a little. An ambitious Google Street View engineer plugged some code in their data collection process that they planned on using to collect data on “Public Wi-Fi Hotspots”.

The code pulled more the just hotspots. There could have been enough data pulled to steal someone’s identity.

Protect yourself by making sure your wireless router is protected with a password.

When you have an unsecured wireless connection, it’s just like leaving the front door to your home open and inviting the world to come inside to take a peek.

Google says its Street View cars will stay in park until the problem is fixed.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston

2 Million Homes Are Burgled Every Year

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The FBI says a home is burgled every 15 seconds. Police only catch one out of 10 burglars. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, show U.S. households experience about 16 million property crimes annually. Burglaries result in over $4.5 billion in losses annually resulting in over $2000 in losses to the victims. The National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, determined property crime averages above 75 percent of all crime. And despite 2 million homes being burgled every year the Justice Department says that burglaries have declined over the past 30 years.

One reason is due to as many as 1 million private officers and security guards who work in residential areas patrolling and providing access control at community entrances. But that’s not all.

What have also reduced burglaries are home security alarms. Studies show as many as 25% of all American homes are equipped with a home security system. Additional security measures such as home security cameras are far less expensive and easier to install, wireless alarm systems and window film that makes it difficult to break glass.

Today’s door locks are better than ever too. Certainly a person can buy and install budget locks, but they can be easily picked or compromised with a ‘bump key.” Spending a few bucks more means much better locks. The most important aspect of a good lock is LOCKING it!

However most burglars don’t care if you have an alarm or expensive locks, because they break into the homes that don’t have alarms or they just jiggle the door knob and hope it’s unlocked.

Many homeowners admit that they don’t use their home security systems to the full extent because they are inconvenient or “scary” to use.  When choosing a home security system, be sure to choose something that can be armed and disarmed easily by all family members.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Security on NBC Boston. Disclosures.

Burglars Burgle the House Then Burn It

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Desperate people do desperate things. A home burglary is a desperate act. And when the burglar wants to absolutely, positively cover his tracks, he may torch the house.

It’s a troubling crime pattern and Syracuse Police are asking for the public’s help. In the past two weeks there have seven burglaries near the Syracuse University area. In two cases, after the homes were ransacked the burglar set them on fire. No one was inside the two homes at the time of the fires.

When a home is broken into the burglars almost always steal something. Sometimes they break in just to “party” or need a place to hang out or crash for the night. Other times it’s for vandalism and they generally do a pretty good job of destroying the property when they set their minds to it. With home invasions it’s often to torture the residents and make them miserable. This is certainly the worst case scenario for the homeowner.

But breaking in and burning it is probably the most destructive of all tactics. When a person’s home is entered without authorization, people generally feel a sense of violation they don’t easily get over. For a dozen reasons a person should make certain their home is as secure as possible. To prevent any of the above acts, one needs to invest in their home security.

Home security tips:

Timed and/or motion activated lights, inside and out. This burglar stated lights turned on made him nervous and he would go to a home that didn’t pose a threat of getting caught.

Trim bushes and shrubs. Anything covering doors and windows that give a burglar cover is an invitation to a thief. I also recommend defensive shrubbery with lots of thorns.

Encourage your neighbors to report any suspicious activity around your home while you are gone or even while you are home.

Install a home security system. It’s not enough to just lock your doors. A home alarm is an effective deterrent while you are away and while you are home. Even home alarm decals and signage is a layer of protection.

Dogs big and small. A dog need not be an attack dog to be an effective deterrent. Barking dogs bring attention to the home they are protecting.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston.