How to Use the Cloud to Reduce Expenses

Posted on 10/26/2011 @ 9:07 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Many people are looking to cut expenses. Personally, I’ve shaved at least a couple thousand dollars a month from my expenses by downsizing to one car, cutting out lots of monthly recurring fees, and looking closely at which services I can now shift to the cloud.Software:Contact managers, office documents, media editing programs, you name it: if there is a software version, there is probably acloud-based version, and often for free. Just search for the name of the software you use plus “free online.”Data storage:Backing up your data is absolutely fundamental. And while you can buy a two terabyte hard drive for under $100 (and you should), you can also get free online backup all day long. But you won’t find anything free that includes more than 100 gigabytes, and most free services provide between two and 25 gigabytes. Search for “free online backup.” I need terabytes, so I pay.Media:Are you still getting a newspaper delivered? Cutting out a newspaper can save $15 – $30 or more every month. Most newspapers Continued...

Cloud-Based Contacts Managers: To Use or Not to Use?

Posted on 10/26/2011 @ 8:41 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

The old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” still rings true today. Without a network of “trust agents,” influencers, or simply good contacts, it’s hard to get anything accomplished. Getting a new job, making sales, or simply finding a good accountant requires a network of people you know, like, and trust to make a recommendation so you won’t get fleeced.So how do you manage your contacts? How do you stay in touch and up-to-date with relevant names, addresses, and phone numbers? Many people still use a notepad, others use a subscription service or software such as ACT!, and even more use Outlook. More and more people are usingcloud-basedcontact managers today than ever before. Some are free, while others cost as little as $5 or up to hundreds per month.I’ve tried them all and can tell you there are a variety of options. The goals of any contact management system are ease of use, portability, accessibility, customization, and backup. If the contact manager you choose is in the cloud, then Continued...

Javelin Study Shows Increased Credit Card Fraud Risk

Posted on 10/26/2011 @ 8:23 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Consumers, businesses, retailers, and even the media are becoming numb to news about data breaches. Not a week goes by when we don’t hear of another major breach affecting thousands or even millions of customer accounts.Criminal hackers are getting smarter and savvier all the time, and they often have better technology than the banks and retailers tasked with protecting your data.Timereportedon a recent Javelin Strategy and Research survey in which Javelin analyzed 23 of the biggest credit card issuers’ online security practices. When companies were graded on a 100-point scale, the average result was just 59. Javelin head of security and risk analyst Phil Blank, who authored the study, explained, “The good news is issuers are doing a better joboverallof resolution, but that’s the easiest thing to do. Prevention is the hardest to do but it’s got the biggest payback.”The report also found that for a full year after your bank account information has been hacked, there is a strong chance that you will be a victim Continued...

Cloud Home Security is Here

Posted on 10/25/2011 @ 7:01 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

A burglary occurs every 15 seconds. The chance of your home being broken into is higher than you’d think. The good news is that today’s alarm systems are “not your father’s alarm.” Twenty years ago, a contractor had to spend a week tearing up your walls, ceilings, and windows to retrofit a messy, hardwired security system. These alarms were so expensive that they were mainly used by businesses, rather than in private homes. Since then, home security systems have dropped in price. They are now mostly wireless, right down to the cellular phone signal. But what makes home alarms even more exciting is that the majority of the functions are cloud-based. I have the “ADT Pulse,” which marries home security with automation. From almost anywhere — on the road, in your office, or even at the beach — you can access your cloud-based smart home system. Depending on the plan you select, this system can provide an unprecedented level of control with Z-Wave wireless technology, your own personal Continued...

The Cloud of Clouds: Amazon Web Services

Posted on 10/25/2011 @ 6:55 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Amazon Web Services is a cloud-based service hosted by Amazon.com, which provides numerous tools for web-based businesses. The service’s primary function is to help businesses of any size compute and store data. Solutions available to both businesses and consumers include: Application HostingBackup and StorageContent DeliveryDatabasesE-CommerceEnterprise ITHigh Performance ComputingMedia HostingOn-Demand WorkforceSearch EnginesWeb HostingMedia and EntertainmentLife Sciences Let’s say you run a small business that is rapidly expanding. You probably already have a basic website, and perhaps a local or national company to handle your data traffic. But when your traffic is suddenly growing exponentially and you find yourself needing more bandwidth, that’s where Amazon Web Services comes in. Their cloud is ready and waiting to handle whatever your clients can throw at it. But what really makes Amazon’s cloud stand out from the rest is that it isn’t just a “server.” The features listed above Continued...

Regulation E Protects Consumers, Not Businesses

Posted on 10/25/2011 @ 6:46 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Consumers enjoy a certain level of protection that business bank accounts do not, and it’s called “Regulation E.” Here is Regulation E in black and white: “ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS (REGULATION E) Limitations on amount of liability.A consumer’s liability for an unauthorized electronic fund transfer or a series of related unauthorized transfers shall be determined as follows: 1. Timely notice given.If the consumer notifies the financial institution within two business days after learning of the loss or theft of the access device, the consumer’s liability shall not exceed the lesser of $50 or the amount of unauthorized transfers that occur before notice to the financial institution. 2. Timely notice not given.If the consumer fails to notify the financial institution within two business days after learning of the loss or theft of the access device, the consumer’s liability shall not exceed the lesser of $500 or the sum of: (i) $50 or the amount of unauthorized transfers that occur within Continued...

Consumers Need to Rethink IT Security and Safety

Posted on 10/20/2011 @ 7:02 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Hackers and crackers and data breaches! Oh my! Confused? Overwhelmed? Don’t care? You should, and there’s help. Few people are head first into gadgets, technology, the cloud and security as I. I have my devices, my wife’s, my kids, there’s Apple products, Microsoft Windows, smart phones, feature phones and tablets. It’s maddening. Now instead of one PC per household, consumers are purchasing multiple devices . And with consumers able to access the digital world as easily from their smartphones and tablets as from their personal computer, PCs are no longer the main method of connecting to the Internet. This wave of new devices and their ease of connectivity also means that consumers are now starting to think differently about their digital security. Mobile Device Users The threat of lost or stolen devices and the possibility of their personal information being used for fraudulent means a significant concern. In the United States 113 mobile phones are lost every minute and more than Continued...

Cloud-Based ATMs Coming Your Way

Posted on 10/20/2011 @ 6:41 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Criminals often target cash machines, as well as various other automated kiosks that dispense DVDs, tickets, or other merchandise. They have discovered numerous techniques for compromising these devices. According to the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), ATM fraud alone results in over a billion dollars in losses each year. But manufacturers are fighting back. Diebold, a security systems corporation and the largest ATM manufacturer in the US, has developed a prototype for a “virtualized ATM.” The new machines will utilize cloud technology to enhance security, mitigate fraud, and improve operational efficiency, delivering an optimal consumer experience. Unlike traditional ATMs, these new machines will contain no onboard computer. Instead, each individual terminal will be connected to a single, central server, which will provide resources to a fleet of cloud-based ATMs. This advancement will give banks and ATM operators greater control over multiple machines. Servicing the new ATMs Continued...

The Evolution Of Online Fraud Prevention

Posted on 10/20/2011 @ 6:24 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Around 1994, when I operated a small mail order catalog business, it was very difficult to obtain “merchant status,” or approval to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express cards. It was easier if you had a storefront, but payment processors made mail order businesses jump through more hoops. Their main concern was that companies could set up shop, accept tons of credit card charges, and then vanish, leaving the banks short. Mail order fraud was also big. A stolen credit card could be used to place orders over the phone, and when the fraudulent charges were discovered, merchants would suffer from chargebacks. At the time, it wasn’t even necessary to provide a correct expiration date, as long as the card wasn’t already expired. Then credit card companies began verifying billing addresses to authenticate mail orders. Eventually, an additional verification code was added to cards, referred to as a CVC or CVV. We still use these codes today, but they can be fraudulently Continued...

What Are Your Digital Assets Worth?

Posted on 10/14/2011 @ 4:29 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Digital assets include: entertainment files (e.g. music downloads), personal memories (e.g. photographs), personal communications (e.g. emails), personal records (e.g. health, financial, insurance), and career information (e.g. resumes, portfolios, cover letters, contacts), as well as any creative projects or hobbies involving digital files. If your PC crashes or is hacked and your data is not properly backed up, how devastated will you be? Whether for personal use or for business, chances are you have a collection of documents, music, and photos that, if compromised, would almost feel as if your house and all your belongings had been burned up in a fire. A recent survey found that 60% of respondents own at least three digital devices per household, while 25% own at least five. (Digital devices are mainly desktop or laptop computers, tablets, and smartphones.) As many as 41% of those surveyed spend more than 20 hours per week using a digital device for personal use. Admittedly, I’m Continued...

It Takes Sharing and Organization to Fight Organized Crime

Posted on 10/14/2011 @ 4:16 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

The amount of money made and lost due to fraud is surpassing the illegal drug trade. A digital arms race has law enforcement officials nipping at the criminals’ heels. Retailers and banks continue to fight criminal hackers, but are being bombarded by advanced, persistent threats that eventually make their way into the network. There are data breaches every week, and I’d bet every day, but we may not hear about the majority. All of these breaches have a method, signature, or feature in common, which retailers and banks can learn from. Criminals are organizing like never before. They are learning from each other, sharing information and strategies. When one publicizes an exploit, other criminals execute it, leading law enforcement off in a new direction. It’s like a vicious game of whack-a-mole. Today, governments around the world are organizing to fight fraud. But what’s even more exciting is that competing banks, retailers, and small businesses are all sharing fraud information to Continued...

Cars in the Cloud

Posted on 10/14/2011 @ 3:57 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

People love their cars. My 80-year-old mother-in-law goes nutty at the thought of not being able to drive. “Take my car and you take my freedom,” she says. I understand where she is coming from. Personally, I don’t like to drive. But I do like riding my Harley! Many consider cars synonymous with freedom. Cars allow you to go places and have experiences that you otherwise wouldn’t. That’s why it’s so exciting that cars are now being equipped with lots of new features, including technology that can essentially meld your car with the Internet! Ford recently unveiled the Evos, a car that learns your driving preferences and uses its Internet connection to provide traffic information and other useful details. It can tailor the suspension and driving modes based on your driving style and ability. It can also detect the driver’s heart rate. The Evos is a concept car, but Ford plans to release a similar model within the next several months. OnStar offers “RemoteLink,” an application for Continued...

Dumb Ankle Monitor Wearing Home Invader Busted

Posted on 10/14/2011 @ 3:36 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

If you ever decide to get all hopped up on drugs and seek some extra cash to feed your fix, I’d suggest not wearing your governmental department of corrections court ordered previously installed GPS ankle-monitoring bracelet to your next home invasion. Chances are you’ll get caught. But as tongue and cheek funny this may be, this home invader “leveled a shotgun at a young couple and their infant child.” It’s scary to know that hardened criminals are only tethered by a “signal” and don’t care about getting caught. Companies that provide ankle bracelets set up their products to send a signal to a GPS satellite every minute to track its location. That information is logged into a data base. If the “tracker” which could be a parole officer or law enforcement has the system set to notify them if the criminal is outside of their required boundaries, police are dispatched. But in many situations criminals with GPS ankle bracelets can roam free. It’s only when they cut the bracelet off that a Continued...

Trust: A Rare Commodity Online

Posted on 10/13/2011 @ 6:58 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 1 comments

People lie when they set up online dating profiles, they lie when they put up fake social media profiles, and they lie to the innocent victims of their scams. Banks and retailers know better than anyone that people lie. There are countless scenarios and justifications, but people who lie invariably do it in order to get something. In general, we strive to be a kind and civil species. We trust by default. We want to be helpful and accommodating. We don’t want to believe that people lie, but they do. Dishonesty poses a challenge to banks and retailers in the form of theft. Theft is a big problem on the Internet, and any online business knows that they can’t afford to trust you, regardless of how honest you may be. The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council recently instructed both retailers and banks to enhance their security procedures, in response to the increasingly creative lies concocted by scammers. One of those FFIEC recommendations involves incorporating complex Continued...

Beware of Robo-Call Scams

Posted on 10/13/2011 @ 6:23 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

While out for an evening with friends talking about everything under the sun, including security, which I’m obsessed with – and people often quiz me anyways, my mobile rang from an “unknown” number. The caller, a computer, stated “Hello, this is a call from Eastern Bank. Your MasterCard account has been locked. Please press 1 now to unlock.” Eastern Bank is local to me. This is hilarious because I don’t have an Eastern Bank account and I’m in the middle of a conversation with someone about identity theft. So I immediately put my phone on speaker and played the message for everyone who proceeds to look at me and then ask “whats wrong with your Mastercard?” While I’m laughing at the call, they are concerned about my card, not initially realizing this is a scam. No longer funny, this saddens me because these are intelligent people who could easily get bit by this crime. So I had to explain that this is a “Robo-call scam” where scammers simply use free technology to call thousands of Continued...

Daylight Back to Back Burglaries In Same Town

Posted on 10/13/2011 @ 6:08 AM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Most people think that burglaries happen at night, in the dark when burglars can creep undetected. But the reality is most burglaries happen during the day when you are at work. Burglars work too, in the day, 9-5, like you. This is why a home security alarm is so important. In Warwick Rhode Island police are on the lookout for someone who forced their way into two homes that apparently didn’t have home security systems. Why in 2011 someone doesn’t have an alarm that sends a shrieking siren and calls the police is just mind boggling to me. Anyway the burglars apparently spent a significant amount of time there because they turned everything upside down and were able to steal “large quantities of jewelry, laptops and other electronic equipment from the properties.” The statement “large quantities of jewelery, laptops and other electronic equipment” is further distressing because these people were naïve enough to believe they wouldn’t be targeted and didn’t even have the sensibility to get a Continued...

Think You’re Protected? Think Again!

Posted on 10/4/2011 @ 10:58 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

In 1990, when only the government and a number of universities were using the Internet, there were 357 unique pieces of malware. The need for security began with desktop computing when the only means of compromising data was by inserting a contaminated floppy disk into a PC or opening an infected email attachment. That was the anti-virus era. The need for securityevolved with the Internetas more companies developed internal and external networks. That was the network security era. Now as companies leverage the power of the web, information security has evolved yet again: We are in the application security era. And as big companies get better at locking down their software and protecting their data, criminals are targeting the little guy. Ordinary citizens’ every day digital lives are at risk via infected web pages, instant messaging, phishing, Smartphone viruses, text message scams and now hackers are targeting Macs in a big way. In the past 20 years, e-commerce and social media have Continued...

Social Web Loaded With Profile Misrepresentation

Posted on 10/4/2011 @ 10:17 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

“Social fakes” are invented profiles on social media (often referred to as profile misrepresentation), which can be used to harass or mock victims anonymously. But the more lucrative fake profile is one that imitates a legitimate business, damaging that business’s online reputation. The imposters’ ultimate goal? Spam leading to scams. Social-web security provider Impermium published the results of their recent analysis of the cost of social spam. “Online ID signup fraud” is an emerging trend, with fraudulent accounts ranging from a low of 5% to 40% of users. “Scammers are registering accounts by the millions as they perpetrate fake “friend requests,” deceptive tweets, and the like, while the black market for bulk social networking accounts is growing exponentially.” They also warned about social web abuse, describing current “sleeper cells” as “a ticking time bomb.” Last month, more than 30,000 fraudulent accounts coordinated an attack, in which attackers submitted more than Continued...

Burglar Hits 60 Houses in 60 Days

Posted on 10/4/2011 @ 10:03 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Police in Morristown NJ have a prime suspect in mind which they call an “opportunist”. Sometimes the burglar breaks in by using a crowbar or breaking a window but mostly he just goes in through an unlocked door or window. He’s going after the standard gold jewelry and laptops, stuff that’s easy to fence. But what makes this story so interesting is the police know who he is but can’t arrest him. The police Chief was quoted saying “This is a person who knows video surveillance very well and knows technology very well, and he does this for a living and he doesn’t want to get caught.” The neighbors were quoted as saying stuff like “we never see a police car around” etc and the police respond by saying “the government can’t do everything anymore, the chief said. “We simply need more help from the communities we serve. Most of it is eyes and ears, and picking up the phone.” The Chief suggested everyone pay attention and even start a neighborhood watch. Readers of these posts know I’m all Continued...

Check Out These Hurricane Prep Apps

Posted on 10/1/2011 @ 7:05 PM in #News by RobertSiciliano 0 comments

Hurricane Irene whacked the east coast over two weeks ago and people are still pumping out. Roads are still messed up and life has changed for many. My property was in the path, although she went a little west of me so I was spared any damage. But if she did head a little east I was prepared. What helped me prepare was technology. For almost a week I had sms text messages coming into my iPhone via iMapWeather Radio. iMapWeather Radio 9.99: only app offering critical voice and text alerts on life-threatening weather events. Your iPhone will “wake up” and also “follow you” with alerts wherever you go. Listen with ease to local weather forecasts while you are on the move. Enjoy the power of a Weather Radio, with all the convenience and precision of a smart phone. The Weather Channel FREE: Looking for the most accurate weather information available? The Weather Channel’s staff of 200+ meteorologists, along with our patented ultra-local TruPoint(sm) weather technology, allow to provide you Continued...