I see a ton of articles that say identity theft protection is not something you really need. These articles have titles like “ID Theft Protection Does Not Work,” or “The Poor Man’s Guide to ID Theft Protection.” Though some of these articles have a bit of merit, ... Views: 2742
There are really so very many ways to protect and make your home safe as well as secure—ways you’d never even think of, so here they are, as well as the classic ways that many people still neglect to implement.
Big numbers. Make sure your house’s address numbers are very ... Views: 2201
The holidays are just about here, and so is your not-so-friendly neighborhood burglar. Burglars know that during the holidays, there are just more goodies to steal, and not only that, but there’s a lot of traveling away from home. During this time of year, homeowners need to be extra ... Views: 1593
“On the Internet, you can be ANYBODY!”
Not quite. Remaining anonymous in cyber space isn’t as easy as it used to be. Your browsing habits can be tracked, leading to your true identity. But there are things you can do to remain as anonymous as possible.
Don’t feel ... Views: 1581
This story is entirely messed up. A man was recently convicted of three murders in California, and he is suspected of being involved in several more. He claims that he has been involved in killing 90 people across the county over almost 40 years.
This man, Samuel Little, is now 78-years old, ... Views: 1531
In the movies, the good guys always get the bad guys. In cyber reality, no such thing exists.
A survey of 5,000 IT security professionals turns up the following:
63% doubt they can stop data breaches.
69% think threats slip through the cracks of their security systems.
57% believe their ... Views: 1518
Any complete security system requires proactive and reactive components. Until now, no one had ever focused on the proactive side. BeON has arrived to update this product category, and they have done it in a simple and elegant way that gives you security without the stress while ... Views: 1456
Gee, it used to be just your desk computer that needed protection from cyber thugs. Now, your connected thermostat, egg tray monitor, teen’s smartphone, garage door opener, even baby monitor, are all game for cyber creeps.
Can’t be said enough: Install antivirus software. This ... Views: 1402
I was surfing on YouTube the other day and found this hilarious video mash-up of Taylor Swift’s song “Shake It Off” and an 80s aerobics video. For a lot of kids today, mash-ups are all the rage—whether it’s combining two videos, two songs, or two ... Views: 1398
A Massachusetts man is on trial. His crime? Stalking. But, it’s probably not what you think. The 48-year-old was chatting and sharing photos with a 16-year-old girl, and these chats and photos were “sexual in nature.” The pair met on social media, and when the girl asked to ... Views: 1381
Once you become active online…and especially once you become “connected” with a smartphone…your privacy will be in sizzling hot demand—and in fact, you can bet that as you read this, it is already being invaded in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine. ... Views: 1286
The season to give is also the season to steal. Burglars are always looking for great deals—you know—the house that looks like nobody’s ever home; the house that has lots of shrubbery crowding out the doors and windows so that nobody can see the prowler spending 20 minutes ... Views: 1280
Just because a job recruiter says he’s from (fill in blank—any huge corporation) doesn’t mean the job can’t be a scam. Anyone could say they’re from Microsoft or Google. Impersonating a representative from a big-name company is one way to fool gullible job ... Views: 1280
Fa la la la la, la la la la. Yes that’s me singing, but thank goodness you can’t really hear me (I save that for the shower). If you can believe it, it’s that time of the year again (even though it seems like we just finished Halloween). Time for holiday parties, family ... Views: 1264
The good old days were when today’s college kids’ parents lugged their typewriters into their dorm room, and they communicated to people via the phone on their room’s wall. Their biggest worry was someone stealing their popcorn maker. Nowadays, college kids need to beware of ... Views: 1252
The holiday season is in full force. Not only is it time to bring out the tinsel while jamming out to holiday music, it’s also time to buckle down on your holiday shopping. Have you made your holiday shopping list yet? Luckily, in the U.S., the biggest shopping days of the year are coming ... Views: 1245
You know who really loves that ever-so-annoying “fall back” time change November 1? Burglars. Because it gives them an earlier start on their criminal activities because they love to work in the dark. And burglars get busier as daylight becomes shorter and the holiday season ... Views: 1235
Thinking of bringing a credit card with you on your travels? You can end up in a jam: You just treated your extended family to fine dining in France. Time to pay; your credit card is declined.
If you try to make a purchase overseas, your credit card company might think it’s fraudulent, ... Views: 1229
Give me a break! In the next month, students will get the week off for spring break—a much needed reward after months of hard work and, for some, gnarly winter weather. Spring break means free time, family vacations, trips with friends, and timeless memories.
But, spring break can pose ... Views: 1224
Jack “Superthief” MacLean
MacLean stole in excess of $133 million in jewels, having robbed thousands of homes. By the time police nabbed him he was the owner of a helicopter and multi-million dollar mansion. His genius IQ failed to avoid his capture, but nevertheless, he was smart ... Views: 1194
Are you aware that many people probably have access to your personal info? If you have ever gotten an apartment, have insurance, or applied for a job, someone has done a background check on you, and you might be shocked by what’s in there, including your debts, income, loan payments, and ... Views: 1190
One type of mistake that you should never have to learn from involves home security. Don’t wait till something bad happens to you to learn a lesson. Here are the top mistakes that people make; learn about them here rather than from personal experience:
Leaving doors unlocked. Yes, ... Views: 1183
People complain about all the stress that comes with the holiday season: the in-laws, the expense of buying gifts, figuring out what to buy, travel, reunions with people they don’t like…
But trust me on this: You’ll take you’re ever-criticizing in-laws and bratty ... Views: 1182
How does my mobile phone know I like tools, electronic gadgets and tarantulas? It keeps showing me ads for these products! Christmas is coming and my kids like bugs, big bugs.
How does it know? It’s called “supercookies”. And they aren’t yummy.
If Verizon is ... Views: 1177
When getting on a flight many business professionals connect online. It’s common these days to see a number of people on an airplane busy at their laptops—business-looking people dressed in suits, eyes pasted to spreadsheets, charts, graphs and other grinding tasks.
How many know ... Views: 1173
A visual hacker can infiltrate you—from the outside in. Quite literally, a person (ranging from a snoop to a cyber criminal) can peer over your shoulder while you’re using your computer or mobile (“shoulder surfing” or “visual hacking”), and collect your ... Views: 1162
The holiday season means an upsurge in home-based parties, and some parties can seem extremely innocent, like a Christmas tree decorating party. These events can get out of hand, even if you know all your guests. But sometimes your guests bring guests that are shady. It’s awful to even ... Views: 1160
You might not think about this, but identity thieves really want your child’s Social Security number. If they get this number, they can do a lot, including buying a car, renting an apartment, opening a credit card account, or getting a mortgage. The Social Security numbers of children are ... Views: 1157
You worry about being hacked, but what about being tracked? Yes, there are hackers and then there are trackers.
Internet tracking namely refers to the user‘s browsing habits being followed. But there are ways to make the trackers harder to tag behind you.
Duhh, a fake name. What an ... Views: 1152
Ever wonder just how hackers bust into systems and cause destruction? One reason is because people are still using weak passwords. While your pet’s name and wedding anniversary dates are easy to remember and sentimental to use, this approach makes a hacker’s job all too easy. Here ... Views: 1150
What is a credit freeze? It’s an action you take to lock down your credit report. A lender can’t see your score, which means your Social Security number and credit rating is useless to them. In other words, they can’t tell if you are risky or not.
When an identity thief can ... Views: 1149
Ho ho ho! It seems that this year, Santa’s sleigh was filled with technology—laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, etc. Playing with and learning about your new tech toy is fun, but remember to secure your device. It would be a total bummer if your new toy was suddenly compromised ... Views: 1149
Angee, the new Kickstarter campaign that raised over $250,000 already, will revolutionize home security in more ways than one. Meanwhile, get going on these 20 home security tips:
Keep all doors and windows locked at all times. Yes, on hot summer days it’s tempting to keep windows ... Views: 1145
Billions and billions—it’s only a matter of time before this becomes the number of hacking incidents in a single year, because just in 2014, over one billion records were hacked out of 1,500 different hacking incidents, says a recent report.
Some other findings from the ... Views: 1142
One of my favorite commercials is a guy working out with his personal trainer. The trainer asks him if he’s been eating his vegetables every day. When he replies, “When I can,” the trainer bops him on the head. He could have had a V8!
Just like the man thought that eating ... Views: 1138
Let’s cut to the chase (never mind how you misplaced your phone): There are several ways to sign out of your Google accounts remotely. It takes three steps, and you’ll need the desktop version of Google.
On a mobile use a browser opposed to the Gmail/Google app and sign in at ... Views: 1136
There is no such thing as a home that is fully burglar-proof, but there is also no such thing as burglars who have the skills of Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible. With the right security in place, you can get your home almost burglar-proof.
When most people think of security, they only ... Views: 1135
IDC, an IT analyst firm, estimates that the mobile worker population could reach 1.3 billion by 2015, meaning, they access workplace data outside the workplace. This is risky because it exposes data to hackers.
In fact, the safety of what’s displayed on the computer screen in public is ... Views: 1128
You’ve heard of “dumb criminals,” right? Well…unfortunately, there’s at least as many dimwitted homeowners as there are criminals. Be a smart homeowner and use smart technology along with smart security tips and smarten up!
The holiday season has arrived. Are ... Views: 1127
10 years ago, many of us were hearing about social media for the first time. Now, social media plays a giant role in our lives, allowing us to share pictures, connect with family and friends, and get updated news. Through social media, we can express ourselves to our inner circle and the ... Views: 1126
Let’s look at the top 10 scams (random order).
Charity
A fraudster claims to represent a charitable organization.
Such scams can operate ring-style, such as one out in Colorado some years ago in which women wearing crisp white dresses that resembled the dresses nurses used to wear, ... Views: 1118
Have you heard of SIM swapping? It’s a new trick that hackers are using to get money and mess up your life.
What is SIM Swapping?
So, what is SIM swapping? It’s when a hacker tricks your cell phone company into thinking that you have activated your SIM card on another phone. In ... Views: 1114
As the holiday shopping season quickly approaches, identity thieves are quickly looking for their next victims. In Indiana, government officials are taking steps to stop these thieves in their tracks. Just recently, the state’s Attorney General Greg Zoeller was in Fort Wayne to announce ... Views: 1112
Planning a trip? Thinking of having your snail mail and newspaper delivery placed on a vacation hold so that thieves casing your neighborhood won’t see a pile-up of these items?
Well, there’s a better option, because what if…just what if…a crook works for the post ... Views: 1111
You don’t have to be wealthy to have a superbly protected home. You just need to have some common sense.
Keep your doors locked overnight! Smoke blows through my ears and nostrils every time I read about someone “entering through an unlocked door” in the middle of the ... Views: 1105
Maybe you don’t mind the ads for that bicycle rack following you around in cyberspace after you visited a site for all things bike, but browser trackers (“cookies”) also create a profile of you that gets sold to other advertisers and third parties.
Are you doomed to be ... Views: 1101
There was a time when online dating was a novelty, perceived as unsafe. Today, 59 percent of people agree that online dating is a good way to meet others (Pew Research, 2015). In fact, it’s the preferred method of matchmaking. A different online environment with similar views from the ... Views: 1101
At the start of the year, we all made our resolutions for 2015. Now it’s March—how are you doing on your resolutions? If you’ve already broken a few, no worries; New Year’s doesn’t have the monopoly on making goals to better yourself. This is especially true with ... Views: 1100
If you’ve decided to avoid getting a home security system, I’m banking that the reason is at least one of the myths described below. Check them out:
“I have nothing valuable inside.” First of all, unless a burglar has X-ray vision, he’s going to have to break in ... Views: 1098
2015 brings us no closer to putting the lid on hackers as any other year has. The crime of Criminal hacking will prove to be as big as ever in the new year. Here’s what we have to look forward too:
Bank Card Breaches
There will always be the bank card thieves, being that stealing data ... Views: 1098