The holiday season is upon us, and that means people will be scrambling to find the best presents for their friends, family and loved ones. Geeky gadgets are always popular, but not just for the recipients! The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a major boon for hackers and marketers, as well. So let me
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
[Update 2019-04-07: While Quad9 is still a good option, you should check out Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 service which will come with a new free VPN service called Warp.] 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
With all the news of the Reaper malware that’s infecting Russia and Ukraine, and reminders of the disaster of last year’s Miria botnet, it’s a good time to review basic home network hygiene and best practices for securing the Internet of Things (IoT). What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? The Internet of Things, or
You’ve probably already heard about the massive data breach at Equifax, one of the three major US credit bureaus. The company says that up to 143 million people may be affected, which is almost half of the entire population of the United States. The stolen data may include names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses
(It’s been a while since I’ve written a full blog post. I’ve been putting most of my efforts into my weekly newsletter – be sure to subscribe to get weekly tips and news on cyber security and online privacy.) Headline Hyperbole This week, we saw the following headline from The Guardian: “WhatsApp vulnerability allows snooping
My second interview has posted on the George Orwell 2084 site – this one about the Internet of Things, or IoT. As they say, the “S” in “IOT” is for security. In this interview, we talk about the impact that these newly-connected “smart” devices are having on our lives, particularly with respect to our overall
Check out my radio/podcast interview with David Boron at George Orwell 2084. We talked about the Gooligan malware for Android, which has infected over 1 million Android phones so far and is making lots of money for the hackers. Look for another interview in the near future about the Internet of Things and how the
I’ve been a Yahoo Mail user for 19 years. My Yahoo user ID has only 4 characters in it. It’s been my public (read spam) email address since 1997. I’m sure it’s the longest actively-used email account I’ve ever had. But now it’s time for me to move on. You should, too. Here’s why, and
I happen to be a rather political person, but I try to keep my politics out of my work in the security and privacy arena because these issues must transcend politics. Our democracy in many ways depends on some basic level of computer security and personal privacy. In no place is this more obvious than
