McAfee Labs has just released the McAfee Threats Report, First Quarter 2012, and I’m proud of it. I am cribbing from the intro to this quarter’s report, but it kinda says it all: “The Greek philosopher Heraclitus, known for his doctrine of change as central to the universe, once wrote that ‘everything flows, nothing Read more…
Tags: Android, antivirus, Consumer, counter identity theft, critical infrastructure, Cybercrime, data breach, Data Protection, global threat intelligence, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, mobile security, phishing, social networking, spam
Lately, it seems that barely a day goes by when we don’t learn about a major Internet presence taking steps to further erode users’ privacy. The companies with access to our data are tracking us in ways that make Big Brother look like a sweet little baby sister. Typically when we hear an outcry about Read more…
Tags: Consumer, counter identity theft, Cybercrime, Data Protection, Family Safety, malware, McAfee, Mobile, mobile security, personal information protection, scams, social networking, spam
Keeping up with the latest technology can be a challenge for parents this time of year. Kids want all the latest electronic gadgets and sometimes they get them from well meaning Grandparents and relatives. What are you to do when a new device enters the home and you are not quite sure what it can Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, holiday gifts, holiday shopping, online safety tips, secure new devices, tech gifts
Your Social Security number was never meant to serve the various functions it is used for today. Over the past 70 years, the Social Security number has become our de facto national ID. The numbers were originally issued in the 1930s, to track income for Social Security benefits. But “functionality creep,” which occurs when an Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, Data Protection, identity fraud, identity fraud scams, identity theft, personal information protection
Yes, it’s a glorious day with the birth of my new book. I’ve spent 15 years in the trenches, reporting on all issues of personal security. Now I’ve taken what I know about protecting your identity and avoiding fraud and packed it all into 99 tips, a quick read of less than 35,000 words. Now Read more…
Tags: 99 things, Consumer, counter identity theft, credit card fraud and protection, credit monitoring and resolution, Cybercrime, data breach, identity fraud, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, personal information protection
Big companies and big government get big press when their data is breached. And when a big company is hit, those whose accounts have been compromised are often notified. With smaller businesses, however, victims are often left in the dark, regardless of the various state laws requiring notification. One reason for this is that smaller Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, credit card fraud and protection, credit monitoring and resolution, Data Protection, identity protection, identity protection surveillance, identity theft expert, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, lost wallet protection, McAfee Identity Protection, personal identity theft fraud
Without question, 2011 is the year for hackers of all kinds to get their 15 minutes of fame. But it feels like it’s lasting a lot longer than 15 minutes. With so many different breeds of hackers, each with their own agenda and an endless supply of potential targets, the media has certainly been more Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, credit monitoring and resolution, identity fraud scams, identity protection, identity surveillance, identity theft, identity theft expert, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, McAfee Identity Protection, personal identity theft fraud, personal information protection, proactive identity protection, proactive identity surveillance
More than ten years ago, when I began speaking to organizations about personal security and identity theft, headlines often read “Utility Worker Steals Identities” or “Human Resource Officers Steal Identities” and even “Police Officer Steals Identities.” Back then the primary concern was insider identity theft, perpetrated by those who had direct access to victims’ data. Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, credit card fraud and protection, credit monitoring and resolution, Data Protection, identity fraud, identity fraud scams, identity protection, identity protection $1 million guarantee, identity protection surveillance, identity theft, identity theft expert, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, lost wallet protection, McAfee Identity Protection, personal identity theft fraud, personal information protection, proactive identity protection, proactive identity surveillance
The most basic advice for protecting your own identity is to protect your Social Security number. The obvious solution is simply never to disclose your number, but this is silly, since, depending on your age, you have probably provided it to hundreds of people, on hundreds of forms. It now sits in hundreds of databases, Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, credit card fraud and protection, credit monitoring and resolution, Data Protection, identity fraud, identity fraud scams, identity protection, identity protection $1 million guarantee, identity protection surveillance, identity surveillance, identity theft, identity theft expert, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, lost wallet protection, McAfee, McAfee Identity Protection, personal identity theft fraud, proactive identity protection, proactive identity surveillance
Identity theft victims don’t need Jessica Van Vliet, an assistant professor in counseling psychology at the University of Alberta, to tell them that they no longer feel safe when conducting everyday financial transactions, which most of us take for granted. But she did a study highlighting a fact that many of us in the industry Read more…
Tags: counter identity theft, credit card fraud and protection, credit monitoring and resolution, Data Protection, Family Safety, identity fraud, identity fraud scams, identity protection, identity protection $1 million guarantee, identity protection surveillance, identity surveillance, identity theft, identity theft expert, Identity thieves and cybercriminals, lost wallet protection, McAfee, McAfee Identity Protection, personal identity theft fraud, proactive identity surveillance, social networking
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