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hacking


Hacked in the Subway: PRIVATE WiFi Featured on WNBC

Posted on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 by

“Turns out free WiFi has a price,” explained WNBC New York’s Andrew Siff in a recent segment.

As public WiFi connections expand in New York City’s subway system, Siff recognized the security implications. To get a better understanding, he spent some time underground with PRIVATE WiFi’s CEO Kent Lawson and Product Growth Manager Raj Devjani.

According to WNBC, “Computer security experts say the same advice that applies at coffee shops and parks and other places where you can tap into free hotspots needs to be reinforced underground… Experts recommend that riders… [on] public Wi-Fi should use a VPN, or virtual private network, to protect their correspondence.” Read More

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Man Who Exposed iPad Security Flaws Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison

Posted on Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 by

Is he a hacker or a man who did the public a favor by exposing a gaping online security hole?

Andrew Auernheimer (@rabite on Twitter) will now spend 41 months in a federal prison, with concurrent probation for three years. He also owes restitution to the U.S. Treasury to be dispersed to AT&T in the amount of $73,000.

Click to find out what he did — and what online security experts are saying about his sentencing. Read More

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Why Were You Hacked? Here are the 4 Most Likely Reasons

Posted on Monday, February 25th, 2013 by

Recently, Robert Grimes published an article on InfoWorld that detailed the most likely reasons that we end up being a target for hackers. Click to find out the top four reasons he identified — and learn the top ways to keep your sensitive online information safe and avoid becoming a victim of a hacker. Read More

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The 3 Riskiest Online Mistakes Travelers Make Every Holiday Season

Posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 by

Skim any travel website this holiday season and you’re bound to find an article or two about online security and traveling.  The articles certainly raise awareness of the precarious security situation while in airports and hotels, but they also generally fall short in a few ways.

Read more to learn three tips that supplement any on-the-road security plan to safeguard your sensitive personal information and avoid having your identity (or credit card number) stolen this month. Read More

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Data Breaches Continue to Happen At Banks, Colleges, and Beyond

Posted on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 by

October may be National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but that doesn’t  mean cyber-crime is taking a vacation. Here are just some of the major data breaches — including users’ Social Security numbers and dates of birth — that have been reported in October. Read on for more information. Read More

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Nearly 10,000 Malicious Websites Are Discovered Every Day: Tools to Protect Yourself Today

Posted on Monday, September 10th, 2012 by

A couple of months ago, Google revealed that they discover 9,500 new malicious websites every day.

Also each day, over 12 million Google search queries contain at least one hacked website.

Google discovered these startling facts through its Safe Browsing Initiative, which they founded five years ago in an effort to clean up the Internet and keep their users safe from viruses, Trojan horses, and the like.

Are you at risk from these malicious websites? Read on to find out what these malicious websites can do and how you can protect yourself. Read More

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Hacker Gets 8 Years in Prison, U.S. Attorney Warns ‘Hack and Steal At Your Own Peril, Consequence Is Prison Time’

Posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 by

Joshuah Allen Witt, a 35-year-old Seattle man, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his part in a three-man WiFi hacking and burglary ring.

His two fellow hackers have already been sentenced to federal prison, so this third and final sentencing concludes the court trials for a series of crimes that took more than $3 million from up to 50 local businesses. Read More

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Pop Quiz: Do You Have to Provide Your Child’s Social Security Number on School Enrollment Forms?

Posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012 by

 

This recent editorial cartoon in The New Yorker put a face on how simple it is for hackers to succeed at stealing sensitive information online.

It happens as easily to adults as it does to kids.

Nearly 400,000 kids get their identities stolen each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

In fact, federal authorities have warned about people with bad credit buying “credit profile numbers” or CPNs from businesses that use computers to locate and sell Social Security numbers issued to children.

Identity thieves steal kids’ Social Security numbers because their credit is generally untarnished. It’s not until years later — when they apply for a store credit card, a college loan, or a job — that they find out their credit has been destroyed. Read More

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From the Guardian to Chicago Sun-Times, Personal VPN Recommendations Keep Coming

Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 by

We’ve heard from The Huffington Post, we’ve heard from The New York Times, but this latest recommendation to use a personal virtual private network (VPN) is definitely the best and most direct so far:

“Well, why are you sending data in clear text over open networks, anyway? You should never ever do that.”

So states the Chicago Sun-Times, the latest major media outlet to come out with an endorsement for a personal VPN like Private WiFi.

  Read More

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Video: Public WiFi Insecurity, Hackers, and Why a Personal VPN Is So Important

Posted on Thursday, May 24th, 2012 by

The problem of hacking and wireless crime is only getting worse, and getting worse fast, according to a local Florida news station.

This local news video warns that “if you are on an untrusted network, don’t trust it,” and that’s wise advice whether you’re traveling internationally or simply working at your local coffee shop.

Indeed, as we’ve long pointed out, WiFi hotspots are inherently unsafe and the only true protection is a personal VPN like Private WiFi. A personal VPN will encrypt your information and keep hackers from stealing what no one else should see. Read More

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