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  Geebo 2:49 pm on January 27, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 178 ), hacking ( 31 ), security   

  Facebook offers new level of security 

  

  Recently, Facebook rolled out a new security feature designed to keep your account out of the hands of hackers and identity thieves. You can now purchase a USB key that will only allow someone with the key to access your account. This is a lot more secure than the regular two factor authentication as SMS messages can be intercepted.

  However, there are drawbacks to using this method of security. The first is that it only applies to using Facebook on your PC, a mobile version of this method has yet to be implemented. The second problem is that it will only work with the Chrome and Opera browsers, so if you’re a Firefox or Explorer user, you’re out of luck. Lastly, if you lose the key you’ll be locked out of your Facebook account.

  Unless you use Facebook for business purposes or are some kind of public figure you can probably get away with just the regular two factor authentication with no problem. However if your livelihood revolves around your Facebook, the security key may not be such a bad idea.

   

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  Geebo 10:24 am on January 18, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Gmail ( 2 ), phishing ( 76 ), security   

  New phishing attack targets GMail 

  

  For those of you who may not know, phishing is a type of scheme where an entity casts a wide net to a number of users in order to obtain the personal information of a few random victims. It’s like fishing but with a ‘ph’ because the internet likes to misspell things.

  A new phishing attack has appeared throughout a number of GMail accounts. If you use Google’s free webmail service the phishing email appears to be from someone on your contact list. That probably means that their account has probably been compromised. The fake email will have an attachment included in the email and when you click the attachment a new tab or window will pop up asking you to reenter your GMail login info. However, the new tab or window does not take you to GMail but rather takes you to a webpage designed to look like GMail, but in actuality is a fake page waiting to steal your login info as soon as you enter it.

  Some of the tips to avoid phishing attacks include not clicking on random attachments from strangers and in some cases from your friends. If it’s an unsolicited attachment there’s a pretty good chance it could be part of a phishing attack. Also, when logging in to your account check the URL, or web address, in your browser’s address bar. If it doesn’t belong to the service you’re logging into you could be compromising your info.

   
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  Geebo 1:07 pm on December 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: car theft ( 3 ), cars ( 12 ), grand theft auto, security, technology ( 7 )   

  New device could make anyone a car thief 

  

  Before cars became mostly electronic and computerized it took a skilled thief to steal or break into a locked car. Only a select few had the talent to be able to pick the lock or use a slim jim to gain access to the inside of a car without breaking the window. Then if they wanted to steal the car, in most case they had a tool that would pull off the ignition and they’d be able to start the car with a screwdriver. Now, the more electronic a car becomes the more points of failure it has when it comes to auto theft.

  If you have a car that either opens the car or can be started remotely there’s a pretty big chance that it could be stolen by just about anybody. Investigative reports have determined that there is a device used among thieves that relies heavily on your cars wireless remote features. For example if you lock your car using the wireless key fob that came with it, this new device can clone the wireless frequency your car uses then replicate it to gain access to your car’s doors and ignition.

  So outside of buying a car that predates these electronics what can you do to protect your car from being stolen this way? While many of these cars use sophisticated electronics many of them still use old-fashioned keys. Rely more on the physical keys themselves when locking or unlocking the car and the criminals have a less of a chance of cloning your signal.

  The odds that this device will be used around your car are slim but it’s better to be prepared than to have to deal with an insurance company over stolen car.

   
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  Geebo 9:51 am on October 10, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Kim Kardashian, Safety ( 45 ), security, social media ( 79 )   

  What Kim Kardashian can teach you about social media security 

  

  One of the bigger entertainment stories last week was the armed robbery of reality TV presence Kim Kardashian. She was said to have been robbed of $10 million in jewelry while in her Paris hotel room. Some reports have alleged that the perpetrators may have used her ubiquitous presence on social media to plan the heist. The truth is that you don’t have to be famous to have your social media betray you like that.

  Apps like Twitter and Instagram are constantly trying to get you to post your location. If you’re out in public and away from home this can present a number of problems for your real world security. Mashable, has a great blog post about how to disable your location in several apps. Another safety issue is with check in apps that announce where you may be such as a restaurant or concert. Instead of checking in as soon as you get there you may want to wait until after you leave before checking in.

  The biggest security flaw that has come back to bite social media mavens is being on vacation. It’s become common place to announce your vacation plans on social media before documenting the entire trip. This has the potential to let one of your followers know that you may not be home for a while which has led to burglaries in the past.

  Instead of documenting every moment of your life on social media as it happens, maybe put some time aside at the end of the day to do more of a ‘day in review’ type of update. Your safety and security is not worth a handful of likes and emojis.

   
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  Geebo 11:08 am on September 23, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: hacking ( 31 ), passwords ( 5 ), security, yahoo ( 13 )   

  Yahoo hacked again. What you need to do 

  

  Yesterday, Yahoo announced that 500 million accounts had been stolen by a state-sponsored hack back in 2014. So if you use Yahoo Mail, or any other of their services like Flickr, it’s time to change your password once again. Even if you’ve changed your password since the hack took place it is recommended that you update your password again. This inevitably brings out the articled and blog posts about how to keep your passwords secure, and this is one of them.

  First, you should try using a passphrase instead of a password. Also you should really consider enabling two-factor authentication for most of your accounts. Some tech experts also suggest using a password manager. Personally, I don’t care for password managers for one reason, they require a master password. That means that all your passwords can have a single point of failure. If you lose your password manager’s password then all your passwords could be lost. Conversely, if someone were to access your password manager’s password they’d have access to all your passwords. However, your results may vary.

  A great resource to see if any of your accounts have been hacked is the “have i been pwned?” website. At their website you can enter your email address to see if any of your accounts associated with your email address have been compromised in the most infamous hacks that have taken place on the internet.

  Lastly, and this one can’t be stressed enough, don’t use the same password for all your accounts. That is how most accounts get hacked. Hackers will get an email address and password from one hack, such as Yahoo’s, and then will try them on other services like Facebook to try to gain even more of your personal information.

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  Geebo 9:51 am on September 22, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: computers ( 4 ), privacy ( 46 ), Safety ( 45 ), school ( 3 ), security   

  Do you know how your kids’ school monitors them online? 

  

  These days a number of schools issue Chromebooks or iPads to their students to in order to assist the students with online learning. These programs are also often seen as a boon to families who may not necessarily be able to afford to provide their kids with electronic devices for school. But did you know that the schools can access those computers at almost any time?

  Usually when a school checks a child’s activity on a school issued device, it’s either to make sure the device isn’t being used improperly, or to make sure a student isn’t getting behind in their work. However, there have been incidents of abuse in the past where schools have used the devices’ cameras to allegedly spy on students in their homes.

  So what kind of privacy can you and your kids expect on these school issued devices. Well, according to TechCrunch, virtually none and the schools aren’t exactly forthcoming with that information. However this lack of privacy can be used as a teaching opportunity for your kids and how to behave online. It can teach them that their online activities can have real world repercussions and can prepare them to protect their own privacy for when they become adults.

   
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  Geebo 11:28 am on September 21, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ATM ( 4 ), atm skimmer ( 5 ), debit cards ( 13 ), Periscope ( 2 ), Safety ( 45 ), security   

  New type of ATM skimmers appear in US 

  

  In case you’ve never heard of an ATM Skimmer it’s normally a device that a suspect will insert into the card reader of an ATM. This device will read all the information off your ATM card,including your PIN. It’s not just ATMs though, these skimmers can also be attached to gas pumps and any other stand alone machine that accepts debit cards. These type of skimmers can be usually thwarted by firmly pulling on the slot where the card is inserted, If a part slides out, it’s probably not safe to use that ATM or other machine.

  Recently, the Secret Service released an announcement to financial institutions that a new type of skimmer has shown up in the US and isn’t as easy to spot. The skimmer, called a periscope, is a piece of hardware that is installed inside the ATM. According to the announcement, the suspects access the ATM from the top in order to install the skimmer. The Krebs on Security blog post that’s been linked to recommends that you should only use ATMs that are embedded into the bank’s walls and can’t be accessed from the top.

  Unfortunately, there’s no absolute way to always protect yourself from ATM and debit card fraud. However, you can avoid problems by just using some common sense and if a ATM machine or any other card reading machine feels shady or unreliable just pass it by.

   
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  Geebo 12:22 pm on September 19, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: privacy ( 46 ), Safety ( 45 ), security, social media ( 79 )   

  When did we give up our privacy? 

  

  Tech blog Mashable recently posted a listicle entitled “6 ways you’re being too open online”. It has some good tips like not accessing sensitive information over public wifi and the mandatory tip about keeping strong passwords. One tip they share is one that not too many people seem to want to follow and that’s “Posting too freely on social media.”

  Services like Facebook and Instagram seem anathema to not only privacy advocates but they fly in the face of most if not all security protocols. Back in the days of the early web in the late 90s, most tech experts would say not to post any personal information online. Then somewhere in the mid 2000s with the advent of social media, we all started posting our personal information online so we could reconnect with old friends. Then it got to the point where we document our daily lives online with endless selfies and detailed descriptions of our daily minutia. It has become so accepted that we don’t even think twice about it anymore.

  A lot of the information that we share openly online can be used by bad actors to socially engineer their way into your personal accounts. Facebook tells everyone when your birthday is, and your birthday is often used an identifier to access your accounts. When you post pictures on Instagram of being at a party or on vacation people can tell when your home is left unprotected. Even posting pictures of your kids at their soccer game or whatever activity they enjoy can give predators information on how to approach your children.

  Have we become so narcissistic as a society the we crave likes and follows so much that we disregard our own safety? If so, maybe it’s time that we started re-thinking our safety priorities.

   
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  Geebo 10:06 am on September 16, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: privacy ( 46 ), security, toys ( 2 )   

  Your kids’ toys are tracking them 

  

  As adults, we realize we’re being tracked online by companies like Facebook, Apple and Google. A adults, not only do we know the benefits and drawbacks of being tracked like that, but we can also take steps to also protect our privacy online. Our children, not so much, and some toy companies have been caught using their products to track children’s online habits.

  Mattel, Viacom, parent company of Nickelodeon, Hasbro and Jumpstar have been fined by the State of New York, hundreds of thousands dollars apiece, for using internet connected toys and services to track children. Granted, the information gathered is more than likely used for marketing purposes, it doesn’t make it any less disturbing.

  In today’s climate kids are marketed to almost from birth and while US law states that children under 13 can’t have their personal information collected without parental consent, it obviously hasn’t stopped some companies from trying. As parents it’s up to us to protect our children from being targeted by unscrupulous businesses.

   
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  Geebo 10:01 am on August 22, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Facebook ( 178 ), Lifestage, Safety ( 45 ), security, Social Network ( 2 )   

  Facebook announces new app aimed at teens 

  

  Over the weekend, Facebook announced a new standalone app aimed at teens called Lifestage. Not only is it meant to be a competitor to Snapchat, but it’s also said to return to Facebook’s roots. Facebook’s first incarnation was a social network geared specifically toward college students. Lifestage, which so far has only been released for iPhone, is geared towards users that are 21 and under and is supposed to help you get to know the classmates at your school as the app is very school-centric.

  As is the norm with most apps geared towards kids and teens, there are some security concerns. The first is that there is no actual age verification system for Lifestage, so it has the potential to be abused by offenders. Another issue is that Facebook doesn’t say what the under in 21 and under is. The closest to an age limit that I’ve found was the rating on the Apple app store which says that app is rated 12+. Lastly, since the app is so focused on schools it has the potential to be used for cyberbullying.

  This is not to say that Lifestage doesn’t have its advantages. For example, a user can only list their school once. This prevents potential offenders from changing schools to in order to target new victims at a different school. Lifestage also has a feature where someone can be blocked with a single swipe.

  However, like most apps Lifestage is just a tool. While most apps have security concerns or features, the only true defense between potential predators and kids are parents that are actively engaged with their child and their social network use.