Identity Theft Online

Q: I am interested in having Yahoo! host my website. I am currently using Homestead, or Intuit. Can you advise me?

Q: I am interested in having yahoo host my website.  I am currently using Homestead, or Intuit. Can you advise me?

A: We think Yahoo! is a great choice for web hosting. If you’re coming from Intuit, you’ll be right at home with the interface. We were generally unimpressed with Intuit’s web hosting, finding it expensive and lacking in features. Depending on the Intuit plan you’ve been on, you could save 50% on your hosting costs. Here are two things to keep in mind as you consider making the change:

1) Transferring your domain: If you keep your same domain, you’ll have to move it over to Yahoo! Fortunately, Yahoo!’s phone-based customer service is pretty great, and they should be able to guide you through the process.

2) If you used one of Intuit’s templates to design your site, you probably won’t be able to move it over to Yahoo! Yahoo!’s site builder is very good, however, and we think you’ll be pleased with your options there.

For more information on Yahoo!

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Tags: Advise, Currently Using, Currently Using Homestead, Using Homestead

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You Have To Make It Hard For Identity Thieves

You don’t have to be some sophisticated mastermind to be an identity thief. One of the reasons there are about 10 million identity theft victims each year in the United States alone is because people make it easy for thieves to get their information. The worst offenders: people 18 to 24, who, according to Javelin Research, do the least to protect themselves and take the longest to notice when someone compromises their credit. Identity thieves love people who don’t check their credit, especially after they’ve been victimized. It lets them continue to use their accounts with impunity.

The CEO of Lifelock, Todd Davis, told Channel 3 News in Arizona, ““The criminals, if they were willing to work hard, they’d be productive members of society. The reality is, as long as you make it hard, you won’t be the next victim.”

So how do you make it hard for thieves to get your information? Well start by eliminating the simple ways your information gets leaked. *Don’t use the same passwords for your bill pay and bank accounts as you do for less sensitive sites, like social networks. *Don’t throw cred

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Tags: Identity, Identity Thieves

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Payment card industry standards somewhat flexible

If you’ve used a credit card to make a payment on anything since the year 2005, you should be thankful for the Payment Card Industry’s Security Standard. It is a set of rules that help protect consumer information, specifically the information that is attached to your credit card. These rules govern the type of information security technology a merchant is required to have.

While these rules have undoubtedly made consumers safer, there is a huge problem with them, mainly that thousands of businesses do not comply with them. The PCI Security Standards Council recently conducted a survey of 560 U.S. based and international businesses, and its findings were quite discouraging.

The organization determined that: *Only 28 percent of small businesses comply with the standards. *Of those that do comply, 55 percent only secure credit card information, not other sensitive details, like Social Security numbers. *Many companies don’t even attempt to comply because they find it to be cost prohibitive.

So what does this mean to you? Well, you are safer than you were before, kind of. It de

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Tags: Card Industry, Industry, Payment Card, Payment Card Industry

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Facebook will let your friends say where you are (whether you are, or not)

Facebook is entering the location-sharing game to compete with the likes of Foursquare, meaning you can now add your location to the list of things you’re oversharing. But as with all Facebook features, the devil is in the details. Because Facebook wants to do more than just let you check into a location. They want to let your friends check you into locations, by tagging you. Sound confusing? This is how it works:

You go with your friend to a  particular Starbucks. Your friend wants all her friends to know she’s at that particular Starbucks. So she “checks in” thereby broadcasting her whereabouts. But your friend can also check you in by tagging you so everyone knows that you’re at that Starbucks with her. Although, really, you don’t even have to be there, for that to happen. You are, however, notified if you’ve been checked in somewhere.

There are a number of reasons why this could be a very bad thing, but the biggest is this: you let everyone know where you are (and where you’re not). This can be an issue of physical security for you and your home (since everyone will know you’re not there, you’re at Starbucks).

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Tags: Facebook, Facebook Let

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Mobile Phone Spyware Resellers Arrested

This is all perfectly legal as long as the PC’s owner is the one to install the software. Installing spyware on a computer that is not your own is illegal. Spyware can be great if, for example, you have a twelve-year-old daughter who obsessively chats online, and you want to know with whom she’s chatting or if you have employees whose productivity is less than satisfactory, you may want to check if they’re watching YouTube all day.

Spyware also comes in the form of a virus, which essentially does the same thing. When you click a malicious link or install a program that is infected with malicious software, numerous types of spyware can be installed as well.

Mobile phone spyware is relatively new and is quickly grabbing headlines. As PCs shrink to the size of a smartphone, spyware continues to evolve with this trend.

Apparently, cell phone spyware is illegal in Romania, since the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism recently arrested fifty individuals, including “businessmen, doctors, and engineers, in addition to a judge, government official, police officer, and former member of Parliament,” who have been accused of monitoring cell phone communications of their spouses and competitors, among others, using off-the-shelf software.

Spyware can be installed on your cell phone remotely or directly. To protec Read more…

Tags: Spyware, Spyware Resellers

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