The Internet of Things (IoT) promises all sorts of cool new features for our previously "dumb" devices, allowing them to be controlled from anywhere on the planet. But because the compete on cost, security is lax or nonexistent. If you're going to bring these devices into your home, you need to keep them walled off.
Facebook, I’m breaking up with you… It’s not me… it’s you. In the last few weeks, Facebook has been rocked by one scandal after another. First the Cambridge Analytica thing, then the “Ugly Truth” memo, and then news that it’s been saving all your text messages and call info. But these are just the latest
Every new computer comes with one account, and most people never change that – but we all should. The default account on your computer is an administrator or “admin” account. This account has full permissions to do anything – which is convenient, but dangerous for daily use. One of the first things you should do
It’s that time of year again: tax time! And that means it’s also high season for identity thieves and scammers. Millions of people are affected by fake tax return filings every year. And while we’re talking about tax return fraud, we should take the opportunity to discuss some other tax and Social Security scams, as
Despite being available for seven years, less than 10% of Google users have taken advantage of two-factor authentication. This is according to Google engineer Grzegorz Milka, who quoted this figure at a recent tech conference. And yet, two-factor authentication (2FA) is probably the best option today for most people to lock down their online accounts.
I just read an entertaining and interesting story that was published about 16 years ago in Willamette Week, an indie newspaper in Portland, OR. This article was published shortly after 9/11 and the sweeping new government surveillance powers that came as a result. In particular, the article discussed a rather disturbing investigative technique used by
It’s been a pretty bad week for Apple software, both for their macOS computer software and their iOS smartphone and tablet software. But today I’m going to focus on a truly horrendous software bug that somehow slipped through Apple’s normally stellar quality control process. This one screw up could allow someone to quickly and easily
Evading malware can be difficult these days. The bad guys are very clever and surfing the Internet involves several complicated technologies. Software is rife with bugs and traps are ready and waiting for any slip-up you might make. I posted a detailed article on choosing the most secure web browser setup recently that you should
Your primary portal to the Internet is your web browser. Choosing the right browser to increase your security and privacy can be hard to do, but in this article I will walk you through it and give you my personal recommendations. Furthermore, browser plugins can both help and hurt your browsing safety - I'll help
Every application you install on your smartphone comes with a set of permissions – a list of things it would like to access. This includes things like your camera, microphone, location, contact list, photos, calendar and more. While these functions allow your apps to do amazing things, they can also compromise your privacy. These permissions
