Well, it’s that time of year again: tax time. And today I have a simple tip for you: how to find the real Free File version of all the popular tax software. It’s not as easy as you’d think – and that’s no accident. A Brief History of Free File Back in the early 2000’s
Your privacy is under assault. I don’t just mean online privacy, I mean every day, real world privacy, as well. In the name of “better” marketing, we’re being tracked not just by our browsers, but also by our smart devices and even by our faces. I used to worry that people didn’t care about their
If you’re still running Windows 7 on your PC, it’s time to bump up to Windows 10. As of January 14th, Windows 7 will no longer receive software updates. It has reached the end of extended support from Microsoft. That means that when the next Windows bugs are found, your PC will be forever vulnerable.
2019 is almost gone and 2020 is upon us. You know what that means: New Year’s Resolutions! I’ll let you worry about signing up for a gym membership or quitting smoking or whatever… I’m here to give you concrete steps you can take next year that will significantly improve your computer security and online privacy.
(This is a guest post by Chad Warner, Internet safety enthusiast at Defending Digital.)
You shouldn't know any of your passwords! You should leave this to a password manager, like LastPass. Here's how to get that set up.
I’ve been a faithful Dropbox customer for many, many years. Their service solved a very real problem for me: sharing files between multiple computers. As a software engineer (and just a generally geeky person) I have several computers. I have three at home (not including my file server or several Raspberry Pi project boxes) and
October is National Cyber-Security Awareness Month. So now would be a great time to get off your butt and implement some of the security tips that I’ve recommended over the years! If you think you’re in pretty good shape, then maybe this would be a good time to help your loved ones get secure. Here
A recent study found that most people aren’t taking the time to properly wipe data off their hard drives before they resell them. The researchers bought 200 used hard drives and found that a whopping 59% of the drives still had data that was accessible, including “employment and payroll records, family and holiday photos (along
[This article is part of a Beginners Week blog series from my publisher, Apress.] While humans have had several millennia to adapt to the dangers of the natural world and many decades to react to the advancements of the modern age, the virtual world of the internet is relatively new. The risks of the physical
What happens to your digital life when you die? The laws haven’t kept up with the times and there aren’t clear rules for who has legal rights to your online accounts or the files you’ve stored in the cloud. Let’s talk about how to prepare for your inevitable Digital Afterlife. Getting Your Digital Effects in
