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Articles from Robert Siciliano | Selfgrowth.com
- Eight security tips for travelers with laptop - by Submitted on Nov 12, 2015 from Robert SicilianoThese days, who doesn’t travel with their laptop? But commonality doesn’t make it inherently safe for your sensitive information that’s stored in the device. In fact, traveling with your laptop is inherently unsecure. Whether you’re traveling for business or to visit ...
Views: 915 - Eight ways to secure your employees' mobile devices - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2016 from Robert SicilianoBetween half and three quarters of all employees have downloaded personal apps to company tablets and phones, according to surveys. At the same time, people are increasingly using use personal phones for work purposes like email, document-sharing and the list goes on. What does it all ...
Views: 852 - Equifax Exposed: Major Breach of Data from Major Credit Bureau - by Submitted on Sep 08, 2017 from Robert SicilianoIf you haven’t yet heard, Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States, has been hacked. What does this mean for you? It means that your Social Security number, and possibly even your driver’s license information, could be in the hands of hackers. Some are ...
Views: 902 - Even Hackers get hacked - by Submitted on Aug 13, 2015 from Robert SicilianoBurglars get burgled, muggers get mugged, and hackers get hacked. This includes a sophisticated ring of hackers: Hacking Team, hailing from Italy, specializing in selling hacking software to major governments. An article on wired.com describes how a “400 gigabyte trove” went ...
Views: 951 - Everything You need to know about Door Security - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2016 from Robert Siciliano“I don’t need to lock my doors all the time; this neighborhood is very safe.” And I have some land in the Caribbean I’d like to sell you. Burglars know that every “safe neighborhood” has a certain percentage of fools who think they’re immune to ...
Views: 854 - Exclusive Coaching Call Webinar Recording - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2019 from Robert SicilianoMy interview with CNN has been trending all over the internet, and that makes me so happy because we talked about a very important topic–personal security. I’m so passionate about this subject that I wanted to provide some followup commentary. Use this link to view my most ...
Views: 546 - Facebook CEO Password dadada hacked - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2016 from Robert SicilianoIf you’ve heard this once, you need to hear it again—and again: Never use the same password and username for more than one account! If this got Mark Zuckerberg’s (Facebook’s chief executive). Twitter account hacked, it can get just about anybody hacked. A report at ...
Views: 816 - Facebook Photos bust Bank Robber - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2015 from Robert SicilianoDo these bank robbers have bricks for brains? They actually posted photos of themselves with wads of the stolen cash on Facebook, says a story on thesmokinggun.com. The alleged bank robers are John Mogan, 28 and Ashley Duboe, 24, and they’ve been charged with robbing a bank in Ohio. ...
Views: 871 - Facebook Wants my Social Security Number! - by Submitted on Jun 06, 2019 from Robert SicilianoWTH Facebook? Generally, I don’t have a problem giving out my SSN. That might seem contrary to the advice I give, but frankly, our SSNs are everywhere and if my insurance company needs it, I’ll generally just question them on it, maybe resist a bit, and if they insist, and I need ...
Views: 786 - Fake Emails are Becoming a Major Issue for Businesses - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2019 from Robert SicilianoYou might be surprised to know that more than 3.4 billion fake emails are sent around the globe each day. What does this mean? It means that almost every company out there is vulnerable to cybercrimes in the form of “spoofing” and “phishing.” On top of this, most ...
Views: 825 - Fake IDs are everywhere - by Submitted on Oct 29, 2015 from Robert SicilianoOkay, so you’re 18 or 19 and in college, and are stressed because you have to be 21 in order to gain entry to a night club or bar where you’d like to drink up a storm and mingle with a “more mature” crowd. Or really, you just want to meet someone. Life sure is tough, ...
Views: 947 - Fake News is Becoming Too Real - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2017 from Robert SicilianoFake news is a problem that is taking the internet by storm, and it ran rampant during the 2016 Presidential Election. In fact, many believe that fake news stories had a strong impact on the outcome of the election. In a survey following the election by the Pew Research Center, a whopping 64 ...
Views: 873 - Fake Real Estate Agent Caught Stealing $30K in Jewelry - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2019 from Robert SicilianoRecently, a man was accused of pretending to be a real estate agent just to steal some jewelry from an open house. According to Toronto police, he has been arrested. The victims are a couple (their identity isn’t being listed for their safety). They had an open house in a small city ...
Views: 677 - Fake Realtor scams Children and their Parents - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2016 from Robert SicilianoEver peruse Craigslist for a new home? Nothing against Craigslist for doing that, but that’s where Coty Houston and David Yost happened to find a very alluring four-bed home for sale; looked perfect for their five young kids. Then they all got squashed by a bomb: The man who sold it to ...
Views: 932 - Faulty Tire Repair could break your Neck - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2016 from Robert SicilianoRoy Chattelle was on a road trip in 2008 and suffered what seemed like a minor tire leak. So he got the tire repaired. Many people think nothing of pulling into the nearest tire shop and getting that little puncture or tear repaired or “plugged.” A few months after this routine ...
Views: 813 - Fear of Fraud trumps Terrorism - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2014 from Robert SicilianoOkay, 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 ...
Views: 980 - Feds warn of more Online Predators - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2015 from Robert SicilianoWhat goes on in the home life of a 14-year-old girl such that she feels there’s nothing better to do than send nude photos of herself to a man whom she’s been corresponding with online? Though this goes well-beyond the parents not bothering to find out what their kids do online, ...
Views: 926 - Finally: a Proactive Layer for your Home Security System - by Submitted on Nov 06, 2014 from Robert SicilianoAny complete security system requires proactive and reactive components. Until now, no one had ever focused on the proactive side. BeON has arrived to update this product category, and they have done it in a simple and elegant way that gives you security without the stress while ...
Views: 1467 - Financial Preparedness in a Disaster - by Submitted on Nov 06, 2018 from Robert SicilianoYou have probably heard that it’s important to be prepared for a disaster. You might have a first aid kit set aside, food and water, or a battery-operated radio. But, are you financially prepared? Creating an Emergency Fund It might be tough but try to set aside some money a little at ...
Views: 608 - Finding out which Employees keep clicking on Phishing E-mails - by Submitted on Sep 26, 2015 from Robert SicilianoYou have the best IT security, but dang it…the bad guys keep getting in. This means someone inside your house keeps opening the back door and letting the thieves slip inside. You have to find out who this enabler in your company is, and it may be more than one. They don’t know ...
Views: 765 - Fingerprint hacked by a Photo - by Submitted on Jan 20, 2015 from Robert SicilianoYou can’t change your fingerprint like you can change your password. But why would you want to change your fingerprint? The thought might cross your mind if your fingerprint gets stolen. How the heck can this happen? Ask Starbug. He’s a hacker who demonstrated just how this could ...
Views: 1034 - First American Financial Exposes 885 Million Mortgage Documents - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2019 from Robert SicilianoApproximately 885 million digital documents have been exposed from mortgage deals that date back to 2003. First American Financial Corp is a provider of title insurance, as well as other services for the mortgage and real estate industries, and it allowed millions of records to be exposed ...
Views: 809 - Fixing a Credit Report after being hacked - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2015 from Robert SicilianoFirst off, how NOT to fix a hacked credit report: signing on with a service that promises to correct the problem in a jiffy—a “sounds too good to be true” advertisement. A company that claims they will 100% fix your bad credit by removing negative information from your credit ...
Views: 951 - Florida City Pays Hackers $600,000 after Scam - by Submitted on Jul 25, 2019 from Robert SicilianoRiviera Beach, a city in Florida, has agreed to pay a $600,000 ransom to hackers who attacked its network. This week, the City Council voted to pay the demands after coming up with no other option to meet the demands of the hackers. It seems that the hackers got access to the system when a ...
Views: 692 - Freezing Your Child's Credit: What You Need to Know - by Submitted on May 04, 2018 from Robert SicilianoYou might not think about this, but identity thieves really want your child’s Social Security number. If they get this number, they can do a lot, including buying a car, renting an apartment, opening a credit card account, or getting a mortgage. The Social Security numbers of children are ...
Views: 1168 - FTC Brings Office Depot Fines and a Strong Warning to Other Companies - by Submitted on Apr 26, 2019 from Robert SicilianoThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Office Depot, along with a tech support firm, must come up with $35 million to settle a lawsuit over claims that both organizations were part of a computer repair service scam, which involved a fake malware scan. In the FTC complaint, it was ...
Views: 590 - Gemaltos' "EMV For a Week Challenge," starts now! - by Submitted on Feb 10, 2016 from Robert SicilianoAs part of Gemalto’s #ChipAwayAtFraud campaign, I’m being tasked with numerous tasks, some tacky, some essential to living. Gemalto, one of the world’s leaders in digital security, wants a real-world take on the EMV card experience. Which includes the security benefits EMV ...
Views: 844 - Get a Credit Freeze NOW Before it's Too Late! - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2018 from Robert SicilianoWhat is a credit freeze? It’s an action you take to lock down your credit report. A lender can’t see your score, which means your Social Security number and credit rating is useless to them. In other words, they can’t tell if you are risky or not. When an identity thief can ...
Views: 1162 - Getting attacked by a Police Dog - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2015 from Robert SicilianoHave you ever seen men getting “attacked” by a police or military dog as part of the dog’s training? The men (I’ve never seen a woman, but I’d like to think there are some strong, feisty women who suit up for this role) wear either just a big padded thing on one of ...
Views: 869 - Getting Owned or Pwned SUCKS! - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2017 from Robert SicilianoA well done New York Times article recently re-introduced this topic to the masses. Being “owned” isn’t new, but the term is not becoming part of popular culture. If you use the internet or are often on social media, odds are good that you have been OWNED. Whether you are ...
Views: 837 - Getting Rid of an Electronic Device? Do This First… - by Submitted on May 06, 2017 from Robert SicilianoA shocking study by the National Associated for Information Destruction has revealed some terrifying information: 40% of electronic devices found on the second-hand market contains personal information. This information includes usernames and passwords, personal information, credit card numbers, ...
Views: 818 - Gift Cards: The Newest Scam that You Should Be Aware of - by Submitted on Oct 27, 2019 from Robert SicilianoHackers are making a lot of money thanks to phishing attacks these days, and now they are also focusing on gift card scams. One of the most notorious scam groups, Scarlet Widow, which is out of Nigeria, has been boosting its efforts to scam people with gift cards since 2015. This group generally ...
Views: 848 - Go Two-Factor or go Home - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2015 from Robert SicilianoLogins that require only a password are not secure. What if someone gets your password? They can log in, and the site won’t know it’s not you. Think nobody could guess your 15-character password of mumbo-jumbo? It’s still possible: A keylogger or visual hacker could obtain ...
Views: 922 - Goodguy Hacker Selling Bad Guy hacks - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2015 from Robert SicilianoMakes 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, ...
Views: 1107 - Google Alert Scams - by Submitted on May 13, 2016 from Robert SicilianoIf you want to know the latest on “any topic”, just sign up for Google Alerts. Google will e-mail you notifications of new information coming online. I have Google Alerts for “Home Invasion” “Identity Theft” “Burglary” “Computer ...
Views: 991 - Government risks Consumers' Identities - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2016 from Robert SicilianoGuess who may be compromising the security of your Social Security Number. The Social Security Administration! Yep, that’s right. Did you know that 66 percent of the mail the SSA sends out contains someone’s Social Security number? This is what the inspector general of the SSA, ...
Views: 834 - GPS Locator for a Person or Vehicle - by Submitted on Apr 29, 2016 from Robert SicilianoWe live in a time where you can track a car, a driver and even speed by using GPS tracking. This is a technology that is in huge demand, and it is not just because of higher rates of theft; but also due to technological advances and frankly, people “just want to know”. FBI reports ...
Views: 820 - Hacker for hire a rising Trend - by Submitted on May 25, 2016 from Robert SicilianoHackers and wannabe hackers can easily purchase cheap tools of the trade online. The security firm Dell SecureWorks Inc. confirms this in their latest report and adds that underground markets for hackers, including those from Russia, is thriving. The “Dark Web” is the go-to place ...
Views: 956 - Hacker isn't a bad Word - by Submitted on Aug 11, 2015 from Robert SicilianoDid you know that the original meaning of hacker, as far as computers, was that of a person who built codes into computers? In fact, the bad guy was called a “cracker.” Somehow, “cracker” didn’t catch on. But the mainstream folk out there hears “hacker,” ...
Views: 945 - Hackers don't play well with Kids' Toys - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2016 from Robert SicilianoNo company is immune from hackers—even a toy company. Hong Kong based VTech got hit by a hacker recently. This company makes techy educational toys for kids, and its database got breached. Customers go to the Learning Lodge store and download content to their children’s VTech ...
Views: 874 - Hackers for Hire both Good and Bad - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2015 from Robert SicilianoEver see those public bulletin boards with all the business cards on them? Don’t be surprised if you spot one that says “Hacker•for•Hire.” These are hackers who will, for a nice juicy fee, hack into your wife’s Facebook account to see if she’s cheating on ...
Views: 968 - Hackers for Hire both Good and Bad - by Submitted on Mar 26, 2015 from Robert SicilianoEver see those public bulletin boards with all the business cards on them? Don’t be surprised if you spot one that says “Hacker•for•Hire.” These are hackers who will, for a nice juicy fee, hack into your wife’s Facebook account to see if she’s cheating on ...
Views: 885 - Hackers Hacking Airport USB Ports - by Submitted on Jun 27, 2019 from Robert SicilianoHave you ever wondered if it’s a good idea to surf the internet using a public WiFi network at the airport? It’s heavily trafficked, so it’s more likely that your information could get stolen, right? In some cases, it is safe to use public WiFi; your information isn’t ...
Views: 671 - Hackers hacking Banks big time - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2016 from Robert Siciliano“Anonymous” is an activist hacking group that has recently boasted that it will engage in 30 days of cyber assaults against “all central banks,” reports an article on cnbc.com. And their bite is as big as their bark, as this announcement came soon after several major ...
Views: 1022 - Hacking 2015 and Beyond - by Submitted on Jan 18, 2015 from Robert Siciliano2015 brings us no closer to putting the lid on hackers as any other year has. The crime of Criminal hacking will prove to be as big as ever in the new year. Here’s what we have to look forward too: Bank Card Breaches There will always be the bank card thieves, being that stealing data ...
Views: 1113 - Hacking Cars Getting Easier and More Dangerous - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2016 from Robert SicilianoIf your car is in any way connected to the Internet, it can get hacked into. You know it’s only a matter of time before hackers begin infiltrating motor vehicles in droves, being that vehicles are plagued with hundreds to thousands of security vulnerabilities. This hack is more serious ...
Views: 782 - Hacking Humans is Painfully Easy - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2016 from Robert SicilianoHackers can take over someone’s life in a matter of hours. Just ask Patsy Walsh. Though she is not a tech savvy person, the grandmother of six did have a Facebook account, and that was all the hackers needed to take over her life. By using methods such as click baiting, the act of ...
Views: 809 - Hacking the CEO with Social Media - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2016 from Robert SicilianoIf the super big wigs could get their social media accounts hacked, you can too. If you can believe it, the Twitter accounts of the following were recently hacked: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey Shouldn’t ...
Views: 819 - Half of American Adults on FBIs Biometric Database - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2017 from Robert SicilianoHere’s a bit of a shock for you: about half of all adult Americans have a photograph stored in the FBI facial recognition database. What’s even more shocking, it is that these photos are being stored without the consent of the individuals. Approximately 80 percent of the photos the ...
Views: 754 - Having the Privacy Talk with your Kids - by Submitted on Feb 05, 2015 from Robert SicilianoYears ago, having “the talk” with your kids meant telling them where babies come from. Nowadays, “the talk” has a whole new meaning. Your kids may be able to explain in detail how a baby is created, but may be clueless (because so many adults are) about something called ...
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