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So, who’s on your holiday gift list this year? That list is a lot longer than you think; consider all the names of hackers that have not yet appeared on it. Scammers will do whatever it takes to get on your holiday gift list! Here’s how to keep these cyber thieves out of your pocket:

• Before purchasing from a small online merchant, see what the Better Business Bureau says and also search Google for reviews.
• If you see an unexpected e-mail allegedly from a retailer you shop at, don’t open it. Scamme

Define Pwn: Pwn is a slang term derived from the verb own, as meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. The term implies domination or humiliation of a rival. And when it’s done by hacking email, the person is effectively pwned. No matter how “private” you are on the Internet, no matter how infrequently you post on your Facebook page—even if you don’t have a Facebook account—your life can be hacked into as long as you own just one password—and the ability to be tricked.

Such was the

The Internet has almost as many videos as there are stars in the heavens. And you know that some have to be hoaxes. Sometimes it’s obvious, while other times it’s easy to be fooled. For example, the hoax of the “angel” intercepting a truck just about to run over a bicyclist is obviously fake. Isn’t it?

But what about the video of the man cut in half by a bus while riding a bicycle, lying on the ground, staring at his intestines, talking for a full five minutes, while his pelvis and legs lie catty

With Cyber Monday, you don’t have to camp outside in the cold overnight so you can be the first person busting through the doors like on Black Friday. But you still may get trampled to a pulpby cyber scammers waiting for their prey.

How can you avoid these predators?

• You know that old mantra: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Be highly suspicious of outrageously great deals, and also assume that e-mails that link to unbelievable savings are scams. You may think it won’t hurt to just “ch

This application for your mobile device will change things in a huge way:

• Locks down smartphones with a finger-based biometric password
• Multi-factor authentication all-in-one
• It’s called BioTect-ID

And why should you consider the world’s first biometric password for your mobile device? Because most smartphone security devices have been cracked by cyber thieves.

Layers of protecting your online accounts have historically involved the password, a PIN, security questions or combinations of these which i

It’s about time: a biometric for your smartphone that will change the way you think about biometric security.

This revolutionary biometric comes from Biometric Signature ID and it’s called BioTect-ID, and though it’s a biometric, it does not involve any so-called invasiveness of collecting body part information. The world’s first biometric password involves multi-factor authentication and just your finger—but not prints!

All you need to make this technology work to lock down your mobile device is

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement has in some ways saved companies money, but in other ways put customer data at risk. Employees are onsite, telecommuting or traveling on business. This means their devices, and company data could be anywhere at any given moment.

A company manager or owner realizes that company use of employee mobile devices brings benefits. But employees also use the devices for personal activities, increasing the risk of hackers getting into company data.

The solution is

These days, who doesn’t travel with their laptop? But commonality doesn’t make it inherently safe for your sensitive information that’s stored in the device. In fact, traveling with your laptop is inherently unsecure.

Whether you’re traveling for business or to visit family this holiday season, here are some ways to protect your laptop and your personal data:

• Get a cable lock for your laptop. It’s a great way to deter a potential thief, especially if there are lots of people around.
• Register with a

It’s been stated more than once that WWIII will most likely be cyber-based, such as dismantling a country’s entire infrastructure via cyber weapons. And don’t think for a moment this doesn’t mean murdering people.

A report at bits.blogs.nytimes.com notes that foreign hackers have cracked into the U.S. Department of Energy’s networks 150 times; they’ve stolen blueprints and source code to our power grid as well. Some say they have the capability to shut down the U.S.

The bits.blogs.nytimes.com arti

You’ve probably heard of the gofundme.com site, where all sorts of stories are posted of people seeking donations. Some are tragic, others are trite. You may be touched by a particular story, perhaps one in which an entire family is killed in a house fire.

You click the “Donate Now” button and donate $50. So just how do you know that family who died in the fire really existed?

Gofundme.com and similar sites are loaded with “campaigns,” just tons of them. Think of the logistics involved if these si

It can be tough being a responsible adult sometimes, and managing these responsibilities isn’t always a chore that I want to deal with. Can you relate? Managing life takes focus and effort, and managing your online life is no different. Most of us are lazy with our online accounts, especially when it comes to our passwords. It is easy to use the same password for every account, but this also makes it very easy for hackers to access your passwords.

You Need a Password Manager

Most of us have severa

Companies that cut corners by giving cybersecurity training only to their technical staff and the “big wigs” are throwing out the welcome mat to hackers. Cyber criminals know that the ripe fruit to pick is a company’s sales staff. Often, the sales personnel are clueless about the No. 1 way that hackers “get in”: the phishing e-mail. Salespeople are also vulnerable to falling for other lures generated by master hackers.

In a recent study, Intel Security urges businesses to train non-technical (inc

If I wanted to crack one of your passwords, I could probably make a series of educated guesses and get pretty close. Why? Because people tend to stick with simple, easy to remember passwords, but these are the passwords that are easy to hack. According to Bill Carey, VP Marketing for the RoboForm Password Manager “Users need to take personal responsibility for their passwords and not assume that companies will keep them safe.”

Hackers Have Many Ways to Get Into Your Accounts

There are many ways th

There are many reasons someone might right-click on your image and “Save image as…”

Porn, Sex and Dating Sites

• A woman might steal your blog headshot and use it for her dating site profile.
• A perv might take the picture of your child off your Facebook page and put it on a porn site.
• A person who runs a racy dating site might take your image and use it to advertise his service.

Scams

• Someone might use, without your knowledge, a photo of your house for a rental scam.
• Your motorcycle, jet ski, boat, puppy

If you have made the decision to use a password manager for your personal cybersecurity, which I highly recommend, you will quickly find that you online world is safer, easier and more secure than ever before.

According to a recently concluded survey conducted by uSamp and sponsored by Siber Systems, creators of the RoboForm Password Manager, 63% of respondents reported forgetting a password, or had a password become compromised, in their professional life.  But it doesn’t need to be this difficu

If you are like me, you have several online accounts, each with a user name and password. Though it is tempting to use one password for every account, this can be troublesome as it is a huge security risk. So, what is your only option? To use a password manager.

According to a recently concluded survey conducted by uSamp and sponsored by Siber Systems, creators of the RoboForm Password Manager:

• 42% write them down
• 23% reported always using the same password**
• 25% reported using personal information
• O

Consider a keychain for a moment. For most of us, a keychain holds all of our necessities such as home keys, car keys, work keys and even forgotten keys, that we aren’t quite sure what to do with. Now, think about this. What if your keychain had keys that look identical, but each key only opens one door.

If you are like most people, this key scenario is almost identical to the way you treat your account passwords online. What happens when you want to use a key, but you don’t know which one goes w

Studies across the board indicate that weak usernames and passwords are one of the top causes of data breaches, and I find that information to be unfortunate, because it is preventable. According to a recently concluded survey conducted by uSamp and sponsored by Siber Systems, creators of the RoboForm Password Manager: 70% reported forgetting a password, or had a password become compromised, in their professional life in the US.

• More organizations are enacting policies where employees can use the

You need not be a celebrity or some big wig to suffer the devastating fallout of your online images (and videos) being stolen or used without your permission.

So how does someone steal your image or use it without your permission?

Hacking

• Hacking is one way, especially if passwords are weak and the answers to security questions can easily be figured out (e.g., “Name of your first pet,” and on your Facebook page there’s a picture of you: “My very first dog, Snickers”).
• Malware can be installed on you

Have a small business? Great. Have two-factor authentication for your accounts? If you’re not sure of the answer to that question, you could be in trouble. October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the perfect time to learn more about cyber security. As a small business owner, you certainly have thought about data breaches. They don’t just happen to giants like Target and Sony. The common thread in many data breaches is that the hackers got the password.

Once a hacker has a password, th