I had a client ask me recently how she could know she was safe while surfing the Internet on the free wi-fi networks available in the various coffee shops around the city. I went through the general comments of a good firewall, malware and virus protection, but also offered a few other ideas for her to think about.

One of the things that immediately makes me start wondering about whether a wi-fi network at an establishment is legit, is whether or not the name of the wi-fi network being broadcast matches or at least is similar to the business name.
For …read more

If you’re quick, you should go follow @MSNBCHeadlines on twitter. They’ve had their account hacked and let’s just say the person that’s in control of the account is having a little fun with the media outlet.

I’m not sure how it is all these accounts on twitter have been getting hacked so prolifically lately. I don’t think all of these people have simple passwords that are getting cracked, so what’s happening? Are there machines infected with other malware that’s collecting login information?
Aside from the major PR issues that a entity like MSNBC is going to have to deal with after this …read more

It hasn’t been a good week for Nebraska’s offensive coordinator, Shawn Watson. He’s in the middle of an identity theft crisis, at least on small level. Apparently, someone at a Kansas high school got an email from Watson, asking for information about some of their players.
Problem is, Watson didn’t send the email. The school thought that the message sounded a bit off, so they contacted Nebraska’s athletic department directly. Watson confirmed that he had never sent such an email and contacted the police. Finding the impostor could be troublesome, though, since a savvy scammer can easily block his or her …read more

This should be a very short post as I have a fun contest starting on Monday here so we’ll keep it light and easy for now…
Below are a few simple ways to make sure your computer stays safe and secure for that much longer (they all eventually get messed up, even you Mac):

Run a software firewall (Windows XP comes with one built in, not too sure on the Mac OS front but I would imagine they have something).
Keep anti-virus software installed and up-to-date (AVG is free for the PC and ClamXav is free for the Mac).
Install a router. Make …read more