Hackers look for vulnerabilities that they can exploit.
If you look for the term zero-day attack in your home dictionary, you probably won’t find it.
Go ahead and check…I’ll wait.
You might not even find the term in some online dictionaries (though to be fair, it does appear in others.).
Nevertheless, if you google the term, you’ll find thousands of references to it, many of them from mainstream sources including Forbes, Time, and USA Today. So what’s the deal? If the term is so important, why isn’t in the dictionary yet?
When hackers breach banks and retailers, there’s not much you can do. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to protect your personal data from falling into the wrong hands.
Continue Reading… The Year of the Hack: How to Prevent Your Personal Data from being Hacked
Is that Adobe Flash update notification you received legitimate? Or is it a scam designed to install malware on your computer?
Cybercriminals disguise malware as pop-up notifications to update Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Web browsers, Java or other mainstream software. The update notifications are designed to look legitimate, such that unsuspecting individuals are unlikely to think twice before clicking on “Install”.
But when and where do these fake software requests tend to appear? And how can you tell a real update request from a fake one? Here’s what you need to know.
Continue Reading… Is That Software Update Actually Malware?
Your email archive is full of information that’s valuable to you—and to cybercriminals.
The combination of plentiful email storage and relaxed password practices enable criminals to do their worst. Many Web-based email systems now offer multiple gigabytes of storage for free. For example, Google gives you 15GB to share across Gmail, Google Drive, and other Google services. With all that free storage, you may be using your email account as a kind of searchable archive of important data. And you probably don’t delete messages that you might have erased in the past. With gigabytes of storage, why bother? You may need those messages for reference later.
Continue Reading… How Valuable is Your Email Account to Hackers?
Technology can be defined as applications, instruments, or processes that enhance or simplify the aspects of everyday life. The vehicle you use to drive to work is an example of technology that simplifies life. Or, the Internet, as a whole, can be seen as technology that has greatly enhanced our lives. While the introduction of the Internet led to many benefits, unfortunately, it also came with its own set of problems. Most significantly, these problems can negatively impact your security and privacy.
Continue Reading… The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet
