Category Archives: Security tools

In a Few Days, Credit Freezes Will Be Fee-Free

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Later this month, all of the three major consumer credit bureaus will be required to offer free credit freezes to all Americans and their dependents. Maybe you’ve been holding off freezing your credit file because your home state currently charges a fee for placing or thawing a credit freeze, or because you believe it’s just not worth the hassle. If that accurately describes your views on the matter, this post may well change your mind. Continue reading In a Few Days, Credit Freezes Will Be Fee-Free→

Instagram’s New Security Tools are a Welcome Step, But Not Enough

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Instagram users should soon have more secure options for protecting their accounts against Internet bad guys.  On Tuesday, the Facebook-owned social network said it is in the process of rolling out support for third-party authentication apps. Unfo… Continue reading Instagram’s New Security Tools are a Welcome Step, But Not Enough→

Reddit Breach Highlights Limits of SMS-Based Authentication

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Reddit.com today disclosed that a data breach exposed some internal data, as well as email addresses and passwords for some Reddit users. As Web site breaches go, this one doesn’t seem too severe. What’s interesting about the incident is that it showca… Continue reading Reddit Breach Highlights Limits of SMS-Based Authentication→

Google: Security Keys Neutralized Employee Phishing

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Google has not had any of its 85,000+ employees successfully phished on their work-related accounts since early 2017, when it began requiring all employees to use physical Security Keys in place of passwords and one-time codes, the company told KrebsOnSecurity. Continue reading Google: Security Keys Neutralized Employee Phishing→

Plant Your Flag, Mark Your Territory

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Many people, particularly older folks, proudly declare they avoid using the Web to manage various accounts tied to their personal and financial data — from utilities and mobile phones to retirement benefits and online banking services. The reasoning behind this strategy is as simple as it is alluring: What’s not put online can’t be hacked. But increasingly, adherents to this mantra are finding out the hard way that if you don’t plant your flag online, fraudsters and identity thieves may do it for you. Continue reading Plant Your Flag, Mark Your Territory→

Librarian Sues Equifax Over 2017 Data Breach, Wins $600

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In the days following revelations last September that big-three consumer credit bureau Equifax had been hacked and relieved of personal data on nearly 150 million people, many Americans no doubt felt resigned and powerless to control their information. But not Jessamyn West. The 49-year-old librarian from a tiny town in Vermont took Equifax to court. And now she’s celebrating a small but symbolic victory after a small claims court awarded her $600 in damages stemming from the 2017 breach. Continue reading Librarian Sues Equifax Over 2017 Data Breach, Wins $600→

FBI: Kindly Reboot Your Router Now, Please

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning that a new malware threat has rapidly infected more than a half-million consumer devices. To help arrest the spread of the malware, the FBI and security firms are urging home Internet users to r… Continue reading FBI: Kindly Reboot Your Router Now, Please→

Detecting Cloned Cards at the ATM, Register

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Much of the fraud involving counterfeit credit, ATM debit and retail gift cards relies on the ability of thieves to use cheap, widely available hardware to encode stolen data onto any card’s magnetic stripe. But new research suggests retailers and ATM operators could reliably detect counterfeit cards using a simple technology that flags cards which appear to have been altered by such tools. Continue reading Detecting Cloned Cards at the ATM, Register→

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2018 Edition

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Microsoft today released a bundle of security updates to fix at least 67 holes in its various Windows operating systems and related software, including one dangerous flaw that Microsoft warns is actively being exploited. Meanwhile, as it usually does on Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday — the second Tuesday of each month — Adobe has a new Flash Player update that addresses a single but critical security weakness.

First, the Flash Tuesday update, which brings Flash Player to v. 29.0.0.171. Some (present company included) would argue that Flash Player is in itself “a single but critical security weakness.” Nevertheless, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer/Edge ship with their own versions of Flash, which get updated automatically when new versions of these browsers are made available. Continue reading Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2018 Edition→