Families certainly don't need computer hassles during the holidays, but this highly social time is right when everybody needs to be a little extra alert to social engineering. Here's what social engineering looks like this week, at the convergence of last-minute holiday distractions and the sudden death of a young actor, Brittany Murphy. "As a young star in movies that were highly popular with a … [Read more...] about Celebrity news, holidays & malware
Security
How to avoid being phished
You may've seen news this week about Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, and Gmail users' having their email addresses and passwords compromised in a huge phishing scam. The BBC reported seeing "two lists that detail more than 30,000 names and passwords." A phishing scam usually involves an email from what looks like a legitimate business telling you that you need to do something like "click here to confirm your … [Read more...] about How to avoid being phished
The case of the password-requiring coach
A coach requiring a team member's Facebook password is a serious problem all by itself. But this coach used that password to read private messages and then kick the team member off the squad for profanity Coach Tommie Hill found in the private message. I'm referring to a case in Pearl, Miss., cited in eSchoolNews. The student was nominated for a team spirit award "for the previous year, but the … [Read more...] about The case of the password-requiring coach
Social networkers’ computer (in)security habits: Study
A small survey ("250 consumers") found that, while a majority of social networkers are "afflicted by Web-borne security problems," less than a third of them are doing anything about it, its press release said. The sample is small (more on that in a moment), but the results are suggestive of where social networkers run into trouble as far as computer security's concerned. More than a fifth (21%) of … [Read more...] about Social networkers’ computer (in)security habits: Study
Massive ID theft & new media literacy ed
The identities of some 4 million Britons and 40 million people worldwide (mostly Americans), are up for sale on the Internet to the highest bidder, the TimesOnline reports. "Highly sensitive financial information, including credit card details, bank account numbers, telephone numbers and even PINs are available to the highest bidder. At least a quarter of a million British bank and credit card … [Read more...] about Massive ID theft & new media literacy ed