Hacking Safety
March 25th, 2020
In the digital world, free isn’t free. It may appear to be. You probably didn’t pay anyone for your email address. The invitation you sent to a dozen friends didn’t cost you a dime. Those terrifying rogue-wave videos you watched when you couldn’t sleep? The open Wifi signal at the coffee shop? No fees, but not without a price.
Just about every service you engage online comes at…... Continue reading >
March 13th, 2020
Following are seven simple steps you can take to improve your digital security. Protecting yourself can seem impossibly complicated. It doesn’t have to be. These are steps you can take today to defend your privacy and improve your security. They’re simple and effective. Let’s go.
1) Get off social media. The less you “share,” the more secure you’ll be. Even private accounts aren’t really private: What’s stopping a follower from taking a screen shot…... Continue reading >
March 3rd, 2020
In an analog world, the personal address book was gold. They were curated, edited and sprinkled with exclusive numbers that weren’t widely available. Contacts who gave you their unlisted numbers gave you, by extension, their trust. Close your address book and put it away, and no one could read it.
That was then. A digital address book doesn’t reside safely in a desk drawer. It’s in your phone, labeled “Contacts” and as vulnerable to…... Continue reading >
January 28th, 2020
If you’re new to password managers, an introduction is in order. A password manager is an application that you use to automatically generate unique passwords for each of your accounts. You provide security for all of these passwords by entering a single master password into the privacy manager itself.
Why are password managers useful? Think of all the apps, online stores, banks, social media accounts you regularly use. There are a lot, right? Each…... Continue reading >
July 27th, 2019
Your kids know what TikTok is, and so do roughly 500 million monthly users. You should, too.
TikTok is a social media app used to make and easily share short videos. It’s like Vine, if you recall that early-days video app, but much more popular. It’s fun, engaging, and easy to use, and therein lies the problem: millions of quick, zany videos at your fingertips, waiting to eat up hours of your day and…... Continue reading >
May 16th, 2019
A prompt to restart your computer or phone for a software update usually leads to a groan and a vow to do it later. And then later comes and you…vow to do it later, again.
Here’s a tip: Do it now, not later.
The reason for updates (yes, they’re tedious) has a lot to do with the current state of digital defenses and making sure all users and their…... Continue reading >
September 6th, 2018
They say that a vampire can’t come into your home until you let him in. It is the same with the vampires behind the free WiFi who you allow into your devices. To many people those two words are music to their ears, but they often aren’t aware of what is really at stake. What does “free” mean exactly, especially in this context? What are the privacy implications that come with it? The truth is, the…
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September 6th, 2018
Is there a vulnerability hidden in your smartphone or laptop mics and cameras? Is someone truly listening through your active listening devices such as your Alexa or Google Home? Are you being watched? Parents, are your kids being watched?
The reality is that nothing—including hardware—is truly safe from hackers. There are ways to protect your smartphones, computer webcams and even your baby…
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September 6th, 2018
We “search” to learn. But what are “searches” learning about us?
Most of us generally understand the search process: We type something, and the search engine tries to match it to an advertiser with a related product or service. The more they advertise and the more people search, the more frequently we’ll run across their ads or listings.
But the act of searching raises questions: Who gets to see what we’re searching for? What…
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September 6th, 2018
You’re waiting on an oil change at the car dealer, and it’s easy and “free” to connect your tablet to the public WiFi so your child can play an online game. Once you click “Accept & Agree,” you’ve gained access to the free WiFi and digitally told the business that you agree to their terms for using this service. Unfortunately, there are hidden costs of using that free public WiFi.
The term “free” is something…
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