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Fingers Were Meant to be Inky

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Telltale Signs that an Email is a Scam #1

Example of a Scam Email
Example of a Scam Email – Click to Enlarge

So I’ve recently written about scam emails and what to watch out for. They just keep rolling in, though, so I figure I might use them to illustrate some of the things scammers do that are easy to spot. And it’s important that you CAN spot them.

The first thing you have to understand is that the people who put these things together are lazy. They do the bare minimum to get these emails out. They only need a handful of people to fall for it, so they don’t put much effort into creating believable, authentic-looking emails. Enough people fall for these that they don’t have to resort to those pesky time-consuming details like formatting and editing…. Read More

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Don’t Click that Link! – There’s Evil on the Other Side

It happens every year. The minute the smell of turkey starts escaping ovens, retailers start announcing their deals, discounts, and door-busters. Cards, catalogs, and coupons fill up our physical mailboxes. And electronic advertisements pummel us from our inboxes, social media feeds, and every site we visit. Deals are flying around everywhere. Gifts are exchanged among friends, family, and coworkers. People are buying lots of crap, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores.

The month leading up to Christmas is a veritable feeding frenzy for retailers and shoppers alike.

It’s also a first-class, grade-A, prime-time opportunity for hackers, criminals, and other unsavory specimens to pick your pocket, hack your accounts, and otherwise ruin your holiday.

… Read More

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How Do I Manage All These Freaking Passwords?

A Box of Index Cards

If you’re like me, you have accounts on a ton of web sites. I probably have over 200 accounts, including my email services, storage & note-taking sites, organizations, social sites, and a pile of online stores. In my previous articles, I’ve hopefully convinced you that you need good, strong passwords that are different for every site. The good side to this plan is that it helps keep your accounts secure. The bad side is that all these good, strong, unique passwords are a nightmare to remember. In fact, unless you’re one of the lucky few with a photographic memory, there’s no way you’ll remember all these passwords.

So what’s an Internet surfer to do?… Read More

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Hacking Types: Man In the Middle (MITM)

How a Man In The Middle Attack Works

There is no shortage of ways hackers get their hands on your sensitive data. And usually, when the industry catches up and patches the vulnerabilities, the hackers find others holes to exploit. It’s a never-ending cycle. And because computers are so sophisticated these days, the hackers come up with equally sophisticated types of hacks. I’ve already described what Phishing is. Today I want to cover another hacking method, one you may have heard a lot about recently: the Man In the Middle (or MITM) attack.

… Read More

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Show Me How: Make Great Passwords

Sign In

So over the past few weeks, I informed you that your passwords probably suck and why they suck, and then I gave you some general tips on how to make sure your passwords are strong. Today, we’ll take a look at how to actually put together some killer passwords that aren’t going to get hacked (unless you write them down on sticky notes and plaster them all over your office…I just can’t help you with that one).

… Read More

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Gone Phishing: The Catch of the Day is YOU!

phishing

There are a lot of bad people out there who want to steal your information and your money. I’ve already written multiple articles on why it’s important to have strong passwords. Cracking passwords is pretty mild compared to some of the more insidious ways hackers have of compromising your computer and accounts.

For example, they can control your computer’s camera and secretly watch you while you work.

They can install keylogger software that records every keystroke you make on your keyboard…meaning
… Read More

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Your Passwords Suck, Part III: If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Tire ‘Em Out

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I terrified you with stories about how sites store your passwords and how hackers can then crack them. As I said, no password is uncrackable. That’s the bad news. The good news, though, is that you can generate passwords that are strong enough so that hackers don’t bother with you.

Hackers may target specific, high-profile people, expending a lot of energy to access to their accounts. But most of the time, they’re looking for quick and easy ways to get into a large number of accounts. Remember, a really weak password can be cracked immediately.

… Read More

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Your Passwords Suck, Part II: How Passwords are Stored and Hacked

encryptionLock

Before we start, let’s get one thing straight: No password is uncrackable. Given enough time and resources, hackers can figure out your password. In this article, I’m going to cover the history of how sites store passwords and give you a brief explanation for how hackers bypass different storage types to get your passwords. Once you understand how passwords are stored, hacked, and cracked, you’ll be much better prepared to develop good, strong passwords.

So back in the Internet’s Iron Age (i.e., the mid 90s), sites wanted to personalize their user experiences, so they designed membership frameworks that allowed people to maintain virtual online personalities (a.k.a. user accounts). Essentially, this gave users their own little place on the Internet where they could maintain an identity, participate in discussions, and eventually purchase things.

… Read More

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Your Passwords Suck, Part I: The Whole World Has Gone Crazy

keyboard

Yahoo was hacked last week. Again. It’s the second time in a month. The hackers made off with an untold number of passwords and other user data. (If you have a Yahoo account and haven’t changed your password lately, drop everything and do that right now. No really, I’ll still be here when you finish.)

Last December, hackers busted their way into Google and Facebook, absconding with over 2 million passwords.

In November, they got 150 million passwords from Adobe. Yes, you read that right: 150 million…. Read More

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Why I Ditched XM Radio

xmlogo

When I bought a new car last year, it came with a complementary, three-month subscription to XM satellite radio. I’d never had it before, so I was kind of excited to check it out. After all, it did have Hair Nation: All your Hair Bands are Belong to Us!

At first, I loved it. Between Hair Nation, Ozzy’s Boneyard, and the 80s channel, I got to listen to tons of rocking tunes, some of which I hadn’t heard since high school. But after a couple months, I started to hear a lot of the same songs over and over again. I started checking out some of the other stations, but could never find one to settle on for any length of time.

… Read More