Wi-Fi is Wonderful
The constant supply of data to your smartphone, tablet, and other mobile devices makes life easier. The reliable connection to the Internet without using your data plan allotment is priceless. That’s why your family and friends all ask for your Wi-Fi connection information.
The Dark Side
However, the Wireless Access Point (WAP) that provides the signal to you and yours can also be a spy in your home or office. The default configuration when you take it out of the box makes it easy for the bad guys to take control of it.
Continue reading Wi-Fi Wonders Come at a Price – maybe loss of your Privacy →
It used to be that if you needed a security system at home or at the office, you’d call an alarm company. 
They would provide the full package:
- Provide and install a security system, complete with a console and sensors and the wires that connected everything
- Monitor the system from their office, and notify the police or fire department if something bad happened
- You would enable and disable the system using a key or keypad on the console, but the alarm company took care of the rest
That model served a lot of people for several decades, and there is no shortage of companies offering that kind of service today. (In some markets, you’ll encounter ads for security systems several times daily on radio, TV, and other media.)
Continue reading How Technology Changed our Perception of Security →
I knew I might be in trouble when I clicked on a Google search result and the page that opened was crawling with ads. Then the page clicked-over to a different site on its own: To an article in Vogue I believe. The article itself didn’t look especially threatening, but that’s not a site I visit – and most importantly, I hadn’t done anything to be taken there.
Everything seemed fine after that, but later I clicked the icon to open Microsoft Word and received a UAC (User Account Control) warning from Windows indicating that a program it didn’t trust was trying to start. Any time a Microsoft application isn’t recognized by a Microsoft operating system, something is clearly amiss. I’ve used Word zillions of times with no issue like this, which reinforced that something was wrong, so I didn’t allow it to start. The same thing happened later when I started Outlook, and then Java, underscoring that I had a serious problem.
Continue reading Like a Cross Between Ballet and Speed Chess →
Always asking "What are you trying to accomplish?"
