I’ve created some really cool, security-enhancing dragon challenge coins to give away to people who are furthering the cause of privacy and security. My first set of 100 coins debuted in 2021. I gave them to my patrons who are supporting my mission to help people secure their devices and data, and to people who …
Every year, I publish an annual guide to the best and worst gifts, based on two and only two criteria: privacy and security. But I decided that I wanted to actually create a gift that people could give to others that would help them protect their devices and data. Virtual Seat Belts & Sunscreen We’ve …
[Updated: Nov 17, 2022] Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote an article about why QR codes aren’t inherently dangerous. That’s still true. However, there’s a tricky new scam that will basically hold any QR codes you generate on their site for ransom. QR Codes: Let’s Review As I explained in the previous article, a …
Cold hard cash is becoming scarce these days. People just don’t carry it around any more. So how do you split a bill at a restaurant or buy from a street vendor? Many people today use mobile payment apps like Venmo, Apple Pay, PayPal, the Cash App, or a service promoted by many US banks …
Last Monday Apple released a big update to its flagship mobile operating system, iOS (the software that runs your iPhone). Today I’ll give you a run down of the new security and privacy features in iOS 16. (There are tons of other features, too – if you want to check out the full list, click …
Security isn’t just about preventing bad things from happening. While it’s always better to avoid breaches and malware, you have to also be prepared to diminish damage when they happen. One of the best, time-tested strategies for mitigating the effects of a break-in is compartmentalization. Submarine compartments all have water-tight doors that can be sealed …
All software has bugs. Therefore, the less software you have, the fewer bugs you have. In other words, the fewer applications and plugins you have installed, the fewer the opportunities there are for your computer or smartphone to be hacked. It’s a mathematical certainty. In the cybersecurity realm, we call this “reducing your attack surface”. …
I’ve talked a lot about password managers, but I’ve mostly focused on generating and storing passwords. That frankly should be reason enough to use one. But there are many other great reasons for using a password vault. The key thing to understand is that password managers are just digital vaults. They can hold all sorts …
Cloud file synchronization is extremely convenient and today it’s nearly ubiquitous. You might not even be aware that you’re using it right now. These services allow you to synchronize the contents of a special file folder across multiple devices through the internet. When you add a file to this folder, or make a change to …
You shouldn’t know any of your passwords. You should only know one password: the master password for your password vault. That is, you should be using a password manager to generate, store and auto-fill super-strong passwords. There are other “passwordless” technologies on the horizon, but for now, passwords (with two-factor authentication) are still the best …
