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With all the apps out there that individualize communication preferences among teens, such as limiting “sharing,” parents should still hold their breath. Face it, parents: times have changed. It’s your duty to discuss these applications with your kids. And parents should also ... Views: 837
Here’s one for the know-it-alls: Kids are 35 percent more likely to become victims of identity theft than are adults. Betcha didn’t know that! This startling news comes from a 2015 Javelin Strategy & Release study.
Needless to say, the bulk of parents aren’t on top ... Views: 837
For more than four years, malware has been posing as legitimate software and infecting industrial equipment across the globe.
The malware, which looks just like the Siemens control gear software, has affected at least seven plants in the US. According to security experts, the malware was ... Views: 836
Be honest. Do you have a key to your house under your doormat or a flowerpot? If you do, you might as well put a sign out that says “Come rob me.” This isn’t to say you shouldn’t have a key somewhere, though. After all, you might need it one of these days. However, there ... Views: 834
If you were to design the ultimate security system for a house, what would you focus on? These days, many people would immediately think in terms of the most technologically advanced alarm system—one that’s voice activated, detects motion anywhere, can be remotely controlled and ... Views: 834
According to a new study, genetics and evolution have made an impact on the murderous behavior of the human species. However, becoming civilized has tamed some of these instincts.
Scientists have looked at the homicide rate of more than 1,000 species that kill their own, and noticed that ... Views: 834
In 2015, depending on the kind and type of identity theft we are talking about, identity thieves impacted 1.5 million people or more, says the Javelin Strategy & Research report. That’s more than double than for 2014.
The move from stripe cards to chip cards has motivated crooks to ... Views: 834
Even though the highly publicized retail data breaches have involved off-line brick and mortar stores, this doesn’t mean that security is high with online shopping. Scammers and hackers are waiting for you in more ways than you know, such as:
Fake product reviews
Non-existent ... Views: 834
Though you cannot totally protect your home from getting burgled, you would probably be surprised to know that there are no burglars that are as sophisticated as someone like Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible movies. However, when you have the right plan in place, you can almost make your ... Views: 834
This week I worked with Gemalto, as part of Gemalto’s #ChipAwayAtFraud campaign. I was tasked with using my “chip” card when making a bunch of every day purchases like getting coffee and shopping. Gemalto, one of the world’s leaders in digital security, wanted a ... Views: 832
How prepared are you for a disaster? Most of us are not prepared, at all, yet two-thirds of us live in an area where we are at a moderate to very high risk of experiencing a natural disaster. Here are a few things you should do, today, to start preparing for a “just in case” ... Views: 830
You may be putting your company at risk simply by hiring a new employee. Why? Because that person could have a hidden, malicious agenda.
This is known as an inside threat, and it means that someone within your organization is planning or conducting activities meant to harm the company.
There ... Views: 829
This post isn’t exactly a “how to” but if your current employment isn’t bringing in the bacon, I’m sure your criminal mind can figure it out. In the biggest digital advertising fraud in the history of the U.S., it was recently found that a group of hackers is ... Views: 828
With all the increased news coverage of kids running off with adults they met online, and kids dying by suicide supposedly due to online bullying, many parents are wondering if their worries about their kids being online are justified.
We hardly hear about how social media has benefited kids. ... Views: 827
If your computer password contains the name of your dog, your favorite vacation spot, and an easy-to-remember numerical sequence, then you are breaking some basic rules of password safety. Even though “BusterBermuda789” might seem impenetrable to you, this is a password security ... Views: 827
If you are thinking of jumping onto the Bitcoin bandwagon, or any type of cryptocurrency, you have to make sure that you are watching out for scams. There are a ton of them out there, including the following:
Fake Bitcoin Exchanges
You have to use a Bitcoin exchange if you want to buy or ... Views: 826
Criminals often rely on tricking their victims to gain access to their passwords and other account information. This act of tricking is called social engineering, also known as a confidence crime, and it comes in many forms.
A type of phishing e-mail where the criminal targets someone ... Views: 825
Are you thinking of getting a personal loan? Hopefully you have a high credit score, as this will give you a better chance of getting the loan through a legitimate company. But even if your credit is excellent, you need to be aware of the personal loan scams out there.
Not Respecting Your ... Views: 825
When you go traveling, I’m sure you make a point to protect the various things you bring with you—including your laptop, children, even spouse. But what about something you left behind? Your home? Is that being protected too?
Before Leaving
Don’t wait till the ... Views: 825
If you employ remote workers, your IT staff has a unique challenge keeping your organization safe. Fortunately, using a combination of best practices for cybersecurity, user awareness campaigns, and a strong policy will help to keep data safe.
New advances in mobile technology and networking ... Views: 824
Stop clicking on e-mails about your package delivery! Scam, scam, scam! Look, it’s simple:
Scammers are also pretending to be from the DHL and FedEx shipping companies, not just UPS.
Crooks know that at any given time, thousands and thousands of U.S. people are waiting for a package ... Views: 824
It’s fair to wonder how many people would still be alive today if there were never any such thing as a life insurance policy. Personally I can’t imagine NOT having a life insurance policy if you have children 17 and under. But the below info might ring true for some of you.
An ... Views: 824
If you’re ever confronted by an assailant in your garage, you may have any number of highly effective weapons within your reach. A woman in Indianapolis identified as Carol found that out soon enough when she arrived home in February of 2016.
A man was waiting in her garage. The ... Views: 824
April Marchessault got attacked just after midnight inside her bathroom. At 5-1, she wasn’t intimidated by the 5-7, 200 pound man. Edgardo Montes, 47, got his clock thoroughly cleaned.
He was charged with breaking and entering and intent to rape, plus other charges. It all began when ... Views: 823
If you use Gmail, pay attention! Security experts have announced that there is a very effective phishing scam out there, and you are a target. This scam, which has only been growing over the past couple of months, is also hitting other email providers, too. However, it’s quite difficult to ... Views: 823
Before buying a security camera, ask yourself:
Where do you intend on placing it?
How well-hidden can/will the unit be?
Are you familiar with laws pertaining to surveillance of people without them knowing about it and the associated audio recordings?
Laws vary from state to state ... Views: 821
Just because something is legal, does that mean you should do it? In the case of spying on your kids’ phone activities, some say yes. Though the very same mode of operation is illegal in most states when the eavesdropper is your boss or anyone else and you’re the ... Views: 821
How many times have you read, or at least caught a headline, of the latest high profile missing child case? How many stories have we heard about the kid who got lost on a hike? His body was found several miles from where he’d been last seen, concluding a several-day search.
What if he ... Views: 820
WTH 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: 819
If you are like me, you have several online accounts, each with a user name and password. Though it is tempting to use one password for every account, this can be troublesome as it is a huge security risk. So, what is your only option? To use a password manager.
According to a recently ... Views: 819
Even if you don’t realize it, your identity is all over the internet. Whether you posted to an internet forum in 1996 or you ever had a MySpace page, this information is still out there, and you have to protect it. Here are some simple and easy ways that you can protect your digital ... Views: 819
Frankly, naked babies shouldn’t be a big deal. If you don’t have naked baby pictures of your kids in the kitchen sink then you aren’t human. BUT….the world has changed. If you compare posting your children’s photos online with whipping out a wallet photo of your ... Views: 819
Do you ever use the same password over and over again for different accounts? If so, you are not alone. However, this is quite dangerous. It’s best to use a different, unique password for each account, and to make it easier, you should use a password manager.
According to surveys, ... Views: 819
Two thousand credit card payment terminals stand to become infected with malware called Trinity point of sales.
Ten million credit cards were stolen by hackers, called Fin6, who may end up scoring $400 million. The cards were stolen from retail and hospitality businesses. If each card sells ... Views: 818
Yes, believe it or not, you CAN get by in life with a wallet that just has a little cash, a store card or two, one to two credit cards and your ID. Unless you absolutely need your insurance card or Social Security card, leave those items at home.
For years now, wallets have been on the market ... Views: 818
Do you have a secret self-defense weapon on hand that you don’t even know about?
Here’s a few:
Canes. Might seem obvious…but…
Your first instinct would probably be to swing the cane like a baseball bat. However, this isn’t the best way. An attacker can easily ... Views: 818
If you have an iOS device, you may be leaking personal information about yourself—without even knowing it—because you’re not familiar with the privacy settings.
Apps have “permissions,” meaning, they can access private information such as your social calendar ... Views: 815
Are you making a big home security mistake? If you are leaving your doors unlocked, or if you are using low quality lock systems, you are putting yourself…and your home…at risk.
However, just because your door is locked, it doesn’t mean that a burglar can’t kick the ... Views: 815
Our world has dramatically changed and we rely on technology for everything we do. According to recent studies, there is a new victim of identity theft every two seconds. Identity theft and cybercrime could happen to anyone.
In this video, Sandra Estok shares her first-hand story of identity ... Views: 814
If you have a strong password for your Amazon account, you may still want to consider beefing up the security with two-factor verification (or authentication), which will prevent a thief from accessing your account (which is possible if he gets ahold of your password and username ... Views: 814
Your account passwords should be as unique as your fingerprint—to make them less hackable by crooks using password-guessing software that can run through millions of possible combinations in just minutes. And if you have an easy password, there may be a hit within 10 seconds.
Think ... Views: 813
Wow, it’s true: The monster under the bed really does exist!
Recently in New Jersey a man broke into a home and hid under a bed in a spare room for possibly five days before being arrested. Margaret Adamcewicz reportedly stated that the man, Jason Hubbard, had dated her daughter five ... Views: 812
A ransomware attack is when your computer gets locked down or your files become inaccessible, and you are informed that in order to regain use of your computer or to receive a cyber key to unlock your files, you must pay a ransom. Typically, cybercriminals request you pay them in ... Views: 812
If you are like most people, you probably haven’t done a lot of thinking about what you would do in a situation involving physical assault. Why would you? I mean, it’s unpleasant and scary. Further, depending on your physical makeup, you may think you’d probably lose anyway. ... Views: 811
The Dark Web, according to LeakedSource, got ahold of 33 million Twitter account details and put them up for sale. Twitter thus locked the accounts for millions of users.
Twitter, however, doesn’t believe its servers were directly attacked. So what happened? The bad guys may have ... Views: 810
If 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: 810
For those of you who want to knock your presentations out of the park and be the speaker everyone raves about, Victoria LaBalme is leading an unbelievably unique workshop titled Rock the Room LIVE.
If you create and deliver keynotes, trainings, breakouts, podcasts, videos, webinars or ... Views: 810
13.1 million people were stricken by identity theft last year in America, reports a study by Javelin Strategy & Research which reveals:
Many people who don’t trust their banks are unwittingly doing things that make crime easier for crooks. This includes not using the bank’s ... Views: 810
“Nobody likes to do it, but it has to be done.” You’ve heard that before. This time, it applies to 26 documents that you should have all bundled up in a folder that trusted family members have access to (someplace where fire and water won’t damage them). But first ... Views: 809
$200 million: The amount people were ripped off by online dating scams in a year.
DUI: dating while under the influence…of the quest for love…is costly to countless people.
A nytimes.com article notes that this quest impairs judgment, making it easy for con artists to bilk ... Views: 809