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 …
[Updates: I’m not the only person saying this.] Russia has invaded Ukraine. It’s a naked act of aggression that cannot stand. Certainly my thoughts and prayers go out to those in Ukraine and their loved ones wherever they may be. If I find a way to directly support the Ukrainian people, I’ll do so. In …
Well… 2021 wasn’t what we’d hoped it would be, at least at a macro scale. The pandemic is still raging and I daresay the global political situation has been generally crappy. But when that calendar rolls over to January 1st, we have this social contract of breaking with the past and taking a fresh, hopeful …
I’m going to start a new annual tradition for the last blog of the year: I’m going to collect my favorite security and privacy resources for the year. Not just my own stuff, but from all sources. I have a Resources tab that’s chock full of stuff, but this article will be the best of …
It’s accepted wisdom that credit cards are more secure than debit cards. A credit card purchase is a loan – you’re not out any money until you pay your monthly bill. Therefore, fraudulent charges (if caught) have no financial impact. But with a debit card fraud, that money is already gone from your bank account. …
[Note: see related podcast and see affiliate stuff at the right] [UPDATED: Jan 8, 2022] When I wrote up last year’s list, I didn’t expect we’d still be dealing with a pandemic in 2021. And yet, here we are. But the best gift you could give this year – to yourself and those around you …
As of 9am this morning, I’ve seen one too many hair-on-fire “beware QR code” articles. I’m getting really tired of reading breathless, click-bait headlines extolling the dangers of these glorified bar codes. I need to set the record straight. It’s time to demystify these scary square symbols and debunk their mystical powers. What is a …
Apple just released a major update to it’s iPhone operating system: iOS 15. (Note that iPads will get many of these same features, too, from iPadOS 15.) As usual, there are tons of cool and useful features, but given my bailiwick, I’m going to focus on the security and privacy aspects. In this article, I’m …
