I am a victim of identity theft. Someone used my social security number, address, and other personal information to go on a $6,000 spending spree in my name. I'm told they probably had a fake id too since they applied for the accounts in person in Bloomington, Indiana. Here is where they successfully opened accounts … Continue reading What I learned about being a victim of identity theft
Category: Online Security and Privacy
By now you have likely heard that the FBI wants Apple to unlock the iPhone that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters (who is now dead). Apple has refused to unlock the iPhone, and I fully support them. This debate is far bigger than one act of terrorism or even the group that … Continue reading Apple shouldn’t unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone for the FBI
For today's Works for Me Wednesday I am sharing one of my most basic pieces of computer security advice: Enable two-factor authentication (a.k.a. two-step verification) on every account you can. Two-factor authentication is a simple way to prevent someone else from getting access to your accounts. I've written about this before (including here, here, and here), … Continue reading Why you should turn on two-factor authentication
It is now estimated that personal data for 21.5 million people was stolen when the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked. OPM held (I dare not say "managed") background check records for current and former government employees. The data includes social security numbers, birthdates, current and former addresses, current and former employers, and lists … Continue reading 1 in 21 million: The OPM data breach and me
More and more websites are using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) by default. Recently, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) declared that all public-facing websites for U.S. government agencies will use HTTPS by the end of 2016. The increased use of HTTPS instead of unencrypted HTTP is great news for data security … Continue reading HTTPS does not mean your data is safe
Kim Z. Dale 