Blog

The powerful attack on the Internet last week raised many questions — who did it? how did it happen? and could it happen again? Some of those answers are still unknown and could be for awhile. But what is known is that the Internet attack involved millions and millions of computers around the world. And we’re learning that not all of the computers involved are those of companies — some of the computers used, as well as other devices, are ones in people’s homes.

Nicole Perlroth outlined these disturbing facts in a recent New York Times article (see, “Devices Like Cable Boxes Figured in Internet Attack”; page B1, March 30th). … Continue Reading

A good friend of mine called me recently to ask what I knew about scams from online sales. He had placed an ad on CraigsList for something he was trying to sell and had asked for $150 for the item. He had received a call from a woman and she offered to send him a check for the item. … Continue Reading

It seems that almost every site on the Web requires a password. At least twice a week, I get an email from someone who wants me to join yet another site, which requires yet another username and password.

You can cop out and use the same username and password combination, but that’s always possible since some sites let you use numbers and symbols in your password and some don’t, or the user name you want may be taken. … Continue Reading

By now you probably have read about the latest hacks of corporate computer networks. The latest being reported were the Facebook and Apple incidents. News reports are now saying, with some level of assurance, that the companies know how this happened. Their employees visited an iPhone developers’ website that was completely infected with malware … Continue Reading

We all know that advertising pays for a lot of the great, free content we see online, but how do advertisers know what kind of ads will appeal to you? They use “online behavioral advertising,” also known as “interest-based advertising,” a technique that uses your visits to website to display online ads that are most likely to interest you. … Continue Reading