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
[UPDATED 6/16/19: VPN recommendation changes] For reasons I can’t begin to fathom, people today seem to have zero regard for online privacy. I can only chalk this up to ‘ignorance is bliss’. I can’t imagine anyone voluntarily subjecting themselves to constant, unblinking surveillance. It would be like having a GoPro camera mounted to your forehead
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
In the last week, we learned about a set of nasty computer chip bugs, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre. Unlike most of the bugs we discuss here, these bugs are in hardware, not software. This makes them impossible to truly fix without replacing the chip. In most cases, since the Computer Processing Unit (CPU) itself isn’t
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
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
Thanksgiving is almost upon us here in the US. I felt it was a good opportunity to say thanks to some of the wonderful organizations out there working very hard to improve our security, protect our privacy, and defend our rights. If you believe in a cause but don’t have the time to get directly
