Blog

Privacy used to mean changing clothes behind a partition. Nowadays, say “privacy” and people are likely to think in terms of cyberspace. Stay connected, and you risk losing your privacy.

Even if you’re not connected, don’t even own a computer or smartphone, information about you can still be out there on the Internet, such as a listing for your address and phone number or a way for someone to get it with a small fee if you live in owner-occupied property.

An article on wired.com points out that th

The old TV show “Star Trek” has and episode where Spock is telling Kirk of a human flaw called intuition. Spock was all about analysis and logic, while Kirk often relied upon intuition to solve problems. Intuition is a complex human sense that isn’t entirely understood or even believed to be real by some. Some call it mothers intuition or women’s intuition. But I believe everyone has it even though some don’t know how to properly cultivate it for their benefit.

Intuition vs. Analysis

A Rice Univer

I know someone who tried to make a hotel reservation over the phone. She goes by the name “Kelcie,” but her birth name is Frances. She hates her birth name. When making the reservation she used the name Kelcie, which is what’s on her credit card and checks, but her driver’s license says Frances.

She was told that when she arrived, she’d need to present a photo ID. She asked if there’d be any problem since her driver’s license said Frances and the reservation said Kelcie. She was told most definit

Who needs guns, threatening notes to rob a bank when you can do it with just your fingertips inside your home?

A hacking ring in the eastern portion of Europe may be the most successful team of bank robbers to date, having purportedly robbed $1 billion from multiple banks. This can only be done by infecting computers with malicious software (malware) and sucking out all the money.

Obviously, these hackers aren’t dumb criminals, but they also play on poor security measures of the banks. Apparently,

The RIMS Risk Management Society (LogicManager’s co-author for the RIMS Risk Maturity Model) promotes the adoption of Risk Committees for organizations looking to formalize their enterprise risk management processes.

With more organizations adopting risk committees or similar governance groups, the question remains: What should risk managers present to their risk committee; or conversely, what should risk committees ask that their managers present to them?

Forrester Research, in their report on me

What is catphishing? It certainly isn’t Garfield lazily sitting in a canoe holding a fishing rod. Catphishing is when a fraudster fabricates an identity and tricks someone via cyber communication into a phony emotional or romantic relationship—usually for financial gain to the scammer—because eventually he’ll hit the victim up for money.

But another reason for catphishing is to lure someone into having a “relationship” with the scammer—to either ultimately publically humiliate them with this info

It’s been said that there are over a million different apps for the smartphone. Well, however many may exist, know that not all of them are passing security tests with flying colors.

You may already be a user of at least several of the 25 most downloaded apps And what’s so special about the top 25? 18 of them flunked a security test that was given by McAfee Labs™ this past January. And they flunked the test four months after their developers had been notified of these vulnerabilities.

App creators

You wouldn’t have to worry about privacy issues on Facebook if you didn’t post sensitive, private information on Facebook…such as information that one day can be used against you. And really, you should share only what you consider “professional” information, even with family. Just stop with the nonsense.

At any rate, it’s important to know how to use Facebook’s privacy features, which change from time to time. Here are useful tips.

1. Go to Start, then Account, then Privacy Settings, then Edit Your

One of the arguments against being very virtually social is that nobody is SO important that everyone wants to know, for instance, that this person is going to be at the local sports bar watching the Super Bowl (or almost nobody; sad to say, some celebrities have half the world following them).

Another argument, however, against tweeting and posting your every move is that this tells burglars when you’ll be away from your house.

So, you’re important enough to post every detail of your life on Face

Who’d ever think that 50 years ago, your money was safer in your bank account than it is today in this “modern” age: remote theft. If you bank with a large or small bank, your account may be at risk by hacking rings.

However, most of the time, but not always, if your account is drained by a cyber thief, the bank will cover it for you.

The latest information is that a big attack is planned in the spring, but it’s the “It’s easier to get one dollar from a million people than it is to get a million b

This article from the Wharton University of Pennsylvania titled Confidence Games: Why People Don’t Trust Machines to Be Right highlights the issue of placing trust in our own judgement even though the facts tell us otherwise.

In the article, Wharton professor Cade Massey and doctoral student Berkeley Dietvorst explain that once we use a predictive algorithm that makes a mistake, most of us no longer trust it.  We would prefer our own judgement even though the facts point to the algorithm being ri

Ever felt like your computer was possessed? Or that you aren’t the only one using your tablet? I think I smell a rat. Literally, a RAT.

A RAT or remote administration tool, is software that gives a person full control a tech device, remotely. The RAT gives the user access to your system, just as if they had physical access to your device. With this access, the person can access your files, use your camera, and even turn on/off your device.

RATs can be used legitimately. For example, when you have

Nowadays investing in the stock market seems to be all about competing over pennies at sub-millisecond speed, requiring huge upfront investments in low-latency technology, in what is known as High-Frequency Trading. At the other end of the extreme, ordinary people are using mobile investing apps to simply automatically invest small amounts in passive index funds. Little attention however is going to approaches that actually aim to predict market movements by taking advantage of fundamental marke

You may think you’re not dumb enough to fall for scams, but consider that someone you care deeply about is naïve enough to be conned. Besides, some scams are so clever that even those who think they’re scam-proof have actually been taken for a ride.

Sometimes fraudsters pose as an authority figure. Some claim you won a prize, while others claim you’re in trouble. Some even claim they’re a family member (needing money) and have figured out a way to convince you of this.

Some scams are done via e-ma

It’ll get worse before it gets better: online data safety. It’s amazing how many people think they’re “safe” online, while one huge business or entity after another keeps getting hacked to the bone.

And “safety” doesn’t necessarily mean the prevention of your computer getting infected with a virus, or falling for an online scam that results in someone getting your credit card information. It’s also a matter of privacy. While targeted advertising (based on websites you’ve visited) may seem harmle

Deadbolts aren’t hyped up; they really are superior to regular knob locks. Though we keep shaking our head in amazement whenever yet another news story comes out about a burglar or rapist who waltzed through an unlocked door and committed mayhem, it remains a hard fact that many criminals gain entry via physical force.

Yes, what you see in movies and TV shows is true: People CAN kick open a locked door—that’s either missing a deadbolt, has a faulty one or simply because a door jamb itself is jus

 Low interest rates, new regulations and an unstable economic situation have impacted revenues and profits of retail deposits in North America.   Therefore, the upcoming GFMI 3^rd Edition Retail Deposit Optimization & Strategic Management Conference comes at a very important and optimal time for banks.

Silvio Stroescu, Managing Director, Investments & Deposits at Tangerine Bank recently spoke with GFMI about key topics to be discussed at this upcoming meeting, scheduled to take place April 27-29,