Tagged: data protection

Are You Protected From Hackers on Public WiFi? [INFOGRAPHIC]

During tax season and beyond, it is hard to go a day without seeing a sign for free public WiFi at a local coffee shop, library, restaurant, airport, hotel, train station and countless other locations.  No matter where we go, WiFi is around us. While having instantaneous and constant access to wireless hotspots can be convenient, they also come with dangers and risks. Have you ever asked yourself whether you are protected against hackers and threats when using public WiFi?

Smartphone Privacy: Beyond The NSA

Smartphone privacy goes far beyond the NSA. Consider what your wireless carrier knows about you. Phone companies collect your data all the time, everything from your location, browsing, searches, and more…

The Dubious World of Website Certificate Authorities

HTTPs is secured with SSL encryption, but even sites using this technology are only safe to use if you are sure that the website is real. Did you know it’s possible for hackers to create fake websites that look very much like the real thing? Join us as we dive into the world of website certificate authorities and explain how a fake website poses as the real thing.

Attorney General Eric Holder Targeted for Tax Identity Theft

In a cruel twist of irony, U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder became a target of attempted tax identity theft just as the Justice Department is taking steps to fight such crimes.  Holder is calling for a national data breach law, requiring companies that have suffered a breach to be transparent and notify consumers of breaches.

Filing Your Taxes On A Public Library Hotspot Could End Up Costing You Plenty

It’s that time of year again, when thousands of taxpayers flock to public libraries to get free tax advice and help filing their returns. That kind of assistance can make doing your taxes a lot less taxing, but if you use the library’s open WiFi hotspot at any point during the process, it could end up costing you plenty. You might be wondering how we know for sure that public library WiFi hotspots can expose your sensitive information. We know because we checked.

Experiment Shows How Fast Hotspot Hackers Can Harvest Your Sensitive Information

By now, we hope you know that hackers can steal your sensitive information any time you connect to a public WiFi network. But what you may not know is how fast they can do it. That’s what WAFB 9 demonstrated in a hacking experiment on a university hotspot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. What happened should be a wakeup call for hotspot users everywhere.

Microsoft Launches “Do 1 Thing” Campaign for Online Safety

As part of Safer Internet Day (SID) on February 11th, Microsoft launched the “Do 1 Thing” campaign to urge people to do one thing to make their online lives safer. A major facet of the campaign is Microsoft’s Safer Online website where people can read tips to enhance their online security, find out what others are doing to stay safe, as well as share their “Do 1 Thing” promise.

We applaud Microsoft for educating consumers on how they can stay safe online. Ready to do one thing to stay safer online? Then take the pledge and “Do 1 Thing!”

Should We Be Thanking Edward Snowden?

Edward Snowden spoke at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival last week. The event focused on how his actions have impacted the security community and privacy awareness. Snowden has no regrets and other thoughts leaders think he could the good guy in this scenario. What do you think?

Researchers Show that HTTPS Doesn’t Hide What You Do Online

You might remember that we have repeatedly written articles detailing how HTTPS (otherwise known as secure web browsing) is not really as secure as it seems.

Well, guess what: now Cornell researchers have determined that HTTPS does not prevent third parties from figuring out which secure websites you are visiting. The supposedly secure walls around HTTPS are crumbling quickly.

Your Tax Refund: Still The Top Target Of Identity Thieves

Think filing your taxes is a pain? Imagine not getting your refund because an identity thief got there first and filed a fake return using your Social Security number. It’s happened to hundreds of thousands of U.S. taxpayers. And it’s cost the U.S. Treasury billions of dollars. Find out what it could cost you if you don’t protect your sensitive information from tax thieves.

Honey Encryption: A New Tool to Deceive Hackers

Every time we turn around, it seems, we read that hackers have penetrated another company’s supposedly “impenetrable” servers.

Researchers have created a new tool called Honey Encryption, and it’s anything but sweet for criminals who want to get their hands on sensitive customer data.

My Generation: Views on Security Differ By Age Group

Our CEO, Kent Lawson, was (infamously!) at last week’s RSA security conference in San Francisco. He said that one of the more interesting presentations had to do with the differences among generations in regards to their online security. This presentation contained survey information from ZoneAlarm, an online security company.