There are items in the news every day about identity theft. The obvious consequence is an unexpected financial disaster. However, it can be worse. There can be crimes committed under a stolen identity and warrants issued for the person who has had his/her identity used. And yet, it can be worse.
Identity theft has been tagged as being the fastest growing crime in America. Your private information is a commodity that some criminals harvest and resell. It is a whole subculture. The people stealing the personal information may not bother with committing the actual identity theft, but there are buyers for your personal information.
There are some things that you want to keep private. It may be financial information, sensitive data like your passwords, proprietary information, or other such confidential material. You simply don’t want friends, colleagues, roommates, family, or repair people to have access to that information. Not only is that information private, but you want to secure that sensitive data from identity theft. And sadly, sometimes identity theft is perpetrated by someone you know.
One of the absurdities that is circulating the Internet is that even hackers are suffering in this economy. With the tough economic situation, supposedly hackers are having more competition. This is just one of the theories to explain why there is a steady increase in malware and criminal activity such as phishing and identity theft.
I’ve noticed lately that I seem to save things that most people would simply throw out. I have software that dates back so far, it wouldn’t even install on any computers I currently own. Seriously – some of it is that old! I have cables and cords that won’t fit any plugs. I have clothing that went out of style more than a decade ago. It’s time to face it… I am a pack rat.
Students returning to school at colleges and universities need to be concerned about their security online. However, the same security measures should apply to ALL Internet users. For students, they will be using new Web sites, and setting up new accounts via the school. As such, they are prime targets for hackers and criminals who phish and steal identities. College students make such nice sitting ducks because there is a high probability that they do not have criminal records, nor high financial debt.
For some of our readers, the new year starts very soon – it’s school time again. And with school, in spite of the economy, there will be purchases of new laptops and desktops. On those laptops and desktops will go some very important files – like lectures, papers, music, pictures and other personal “stuff” – including financial information. You want to have that personal information protected. Keeping that information secure is paramount, and we’ve been able to come up with a way to help.
Read more on Prepare for the New School Year by Protecting Your Information…
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford wrote what he considered to be private email correspondences to a “dear friend”. Unfortunately, the recipient of his email communications had her email account hacked. This unauthorized access meant that Governor Sanford’s private, intimate email correspondences were media fodder for the national and international press. The breach of email security was one of the reasons that Governor Sanford has much unwanted attention and public embarrassment.
The unfortunate deaths of a number of celebrities recently has generated an increase in spam. Add political scandals to the news, and the junk mail really spikes upward. There has been (and will continue to be) a significantly higher volume of this junk email directed at your inbox. Not only is this spam a waste of your time, it can be dangerous. A current article illustrates that spam is a means of delivering malware.
Cisco Systems uses this program. The Drug Enforcement Administration (USA) uses this program. The Exchange Bank uses this program. McCain Foods Limited uses this program. What program is it? It is Invisible Secrets, and the client list is impressive. Privacy and security are important to these companies and institutions – it is essential to computer protection. This is a preventative measure that individual computer users have to recognize because there is so much information on just one hard drive.
It is baffling when some people put their passwords on a sticky note and leave it on the edge of their monitor. Yes, that really happens. There are other things that people do with passwords that would make your jaw drop. Do you use a universal password for numerous sites? Is your password really your cat’s name or your dog’s name? Please tell me you don’t use your birthdate, or that of your daughter?
Read more on Managing your Passwords: Protection from Phishing / Identity Theft…
Did you do your taxes on your laptop or your desktop? Were you diligent enough to save a copy of all the work – just in case there were any problems? If you did, there is enough information on your computer to make you a victim of identity theft. There are essentially two things that a half-way efficient identity thief needs… your name and your social security number. Your date of birth would make it that much easier to turn you into an identity theft victim, but it isn’t really an essential. All that is needed is that social security number tied to your name.
Read more on Huge Savings to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft!…
What can you buy for ten dollars? It would be difficult to buy a large pizza for ten dollars, let alone much else. However, for a limited time it is possible to buy one of the best firewalls on the market. Those who have been online for a while will remember the Kerio Personal Firewall. Kerio is now a part of the Sunbelt Software product line and is called Sunbelt Personal Firewall. The Sunbelt people are the security experts who offer VIPRE, the anti-virus and anti-spyware program that has been featured on these pages.
Read more on Get a Top-Rated Firewall at an Amazing Discounted Price!…
You already have zero privacy – get over it. That was the famous quote from Scott McNealy, then the CEO of Sun Microsystems, ten years ago. It may be one of the most misinterpreted quotes with regard to privacy. Although there are various intrusions on our privacy, it remains our responsibility to protect our sensitive, confidential data. One program that offers an additional layer of computer protection is Invisible Secrets.
Read more on Huge Savings on Another Layer of Computer Protection…
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If you’re like me, you probably have dozens of different passwords. We all know that in order to protect ourselves online, we must have strong passwords. How do you know, though, if your passwords are strong enough?
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