Tagged: Hacking Threats

Hackers at the World Cup: Beware the Risky Free WiFi in Brazil’s Soccer Stadiums

If you are lucky enough to be at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, chances are you will have access to the public WiFi networks set up just for the event. At least half of the 12 World Cup stadiums will have public WiFi available, with over 2,300 access points.

This includes inside the stadiums as well as the areas close by, such as parks, public transit stations, and squares. So that means that not only will those inside the stadium have access to public WiFi, but many thousands of other soccer fans outside as well.

Unfortunately, the World Cup (and its public WiFi) is attracting more than just soccer fans.

Justice Department Shuts Down Two Notorious Web Viruses

While law enforcement believes they were able to hunt down and destroy all instances of both GameOver Zeus and Cryptolocker — two of the most notorious web viruses operating today — there is no way to know for sure. Even if they did destroy all copies of both viruses, there will certainly be more of this kind of malware released by other hackers in the future. Keep reading to learn things you can do to protect yourself from botnets and ransomware.

Online Apathy: Heartbleed Bug Only Convinced Half of Us to Change Our Passwords

According to a Lifelock survey, despite all the news stories about the Heartbleed security bug and how it may have compromised our online accounts, only half of us actually got around to changing our online passwords.

The survey asked a simple question: after people heard about the Heartbleed bug, had they changed their passwords for their online accounts?

Hacker’s Treasure: NYC’s High Line Gets Free WiFi

As if New York City’s popular elevated park, the High Line, needed another reason to draw even more people, it’s now the latest and greatest location to access a public WiFi hotspot.

While we all can agree that it’s nice to have WiFi hotspots available (including when we’re walking around New York City), how many of the people accessing these hotspots know that anything they do online while using them can be intercepted and viewed by hackers?

Why You Should Worry About Wearable Tech and Wireless Security

They track our movements, monitor our health, and record where we’ve been and what we’ve seen.  They’re wearable computing devices – one of the hottest trends in tech today. According to a 2013 Nielsen survey, 15% of U.S. consumers already own and use some form of wearables – everything from smart watches and fitness bands to glasses that record video.

So before you don that wearable tech, read on and consider how your data could be exploited.

New York City’s Payphone Hotspots Could Be a Payday for Hackers

In the age of smartphones, why would anyone want to use an outdated New York City payphone? To connect to a free WiFi hotspot, of course!  That’s what NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is counting on as he embarks on a bold plan to create one of the largest public WiFi networks in the country. Politicians and public interest and trade groups are jumping on the payphone hotspot bandwagon. But wait a minute! Is anybody thinking about security, which is non-existent at WiFi hotspots?

Hotel WiFi is a Favorite Place for Hackers

When we are traveling, there’s nothing more convenient than hotels offering WiFi so we can check our email and possibly even get a little work done. Since we usually pay a premium to access the hotel’s WiFi network, many of us probably assume that it must be secure.

Hackers Steal Data from Microsoft and the Army

If companies like Microsoft can’t safeguard their own proprietary information, how well can they protect your information? Keep reading to find out what hackers allegedly did with popular video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Gears of War 3” as well as other software systems.

The Heartbleed Calls That Never Came

On April 7, all of the daily email blasts we received had the same word in the subject line. That word was Heartbleed. Keep reading to learn how to take measures to protect yourself and your information because Heartbleed (whether everyone knows it or not) is a serious bug, but there are security steps you can take today. After all, a bug in your computer is not unlike a bug in your body, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.