NEW YORK, NY - One of the world's leading global hotel groups disclosed that a guest reservation database, which covers a number of major hotel brands, suffered a large data breach. An internal investigation showed that unauthorized access had been occuring since 2014. The intrusion went unnoticed for four years by Starwood, which was acquired by Marriott in 2016 for $13.6 billion. It was uncovered in early September, when a security tool alerted Marriott officials to an … [Read more...]
Alphabet Releases App to Prevent DNS Manipulation, Deter Online Censorship
NEW YORK, - Google’s Alphabet has released a new Android app called “Intra” which prevents “DNS manipulation”, a process used often by ISPs to redirect invalid domain name resolution to their own version of branded search results, usually accompanied by search engine ads – when used nefariously, it is also a tactic of hackers who steal and redirect users to phishing sites or to otherwise dupe them into downloading viruses and spyware. The app is made available by a company … [Read more...]
Shortcut to GDPR Preparation for Sites and Services That Do Not Target EU Users
NEW YORK - As you are probably well aware due to the number of emails you are receiving, by next Friday, May 25th, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will go into full effect. You should be preparing to update your Privacy Policy even if your site does not target EU users. I wanted to share what I have learned so far as I prepare to update some of my United States websites. I urge you to seek out your own advice and council on what to do to bring your … [Read more...]
World Not Ready to Lose Access to ‘WhoIs’
NEW YORK, NY – There has been so much back and forth about the loss of ‘Who Is’ data that its been difficult to fully keep up on it. The ordinary availability of this critical industry information is expected to cease next month on May 25, 2018 when the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) becomes fully enforceable (it already went into effect this year but there is no recourse till May 25). However, today I received a meaningful update from the Internet Commerce … [Read more...]
The Question Is Not “If” You’ve Been Compromised; It’s How Many Times?
NEW YORK - If you haven't done business with one of the companies in this extensive list, you probably do not live on planet Earth with the rest of us. In other words, if you are reading this article, more than likely, despite all of the precautions you might take, your personal information has already been compromised. Below is a list of 245 instances of data breaches all over the world; those that have been reported. Keep in mind that many data breaches are never … [Read more...]
15 Minute Hot Seat with Mark Zuckerberg on Cambridge Analytica Data Privacy Breach
NEW YORK – Yesterday, March 21, 2018, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, sat with CNN Money’s Laurie Segall in a candid, and what appeared to be a difficult interview to answer tough questions on Facebook’s position in regard not only to the recent leaks related to the user privacy breach caused by Cambridge Analytica, but also its position on whether or not it’s platform has been used to influence past elections and what the company is doing to avoid this type of … [Read more...]
GDPR: The Entering of a New Era; User Data Privacy and Protection; Are You Ready?
NEW YORK, NY – The clock is counting down on a new set of rules to be enforced this May, which will affect not only UK based businesses, but all businesses operating in the digital realm, in the event they handle user data from UK based residents, to near any extent. There is a lot of preparation going on right now, and has been over the last year, in anticipation of these new rules. Some businesses may even disappear altogether. I for one, actually shut-down and sold-off … [Read more...]
Wouldn’t You Gladly Give-up a Little Bit of Privacy for So Much Better Security?
NEW YORK, NY – Imagine a World in which you allowed, or even specifically created your own little environment where all of your private communications and discussions could be monitored and recorded; all day, every day, till the end of time. Sounds like something you would never do? Welcome to Google Assistant; ready to help you wherever you are. Your one Assistant extends to help you across devices, like Google Home, your phone, and more. Who owns Google these days … [Read more...]
Be Prepared for Clever Scams & Tactics
I often write about security, privacy and other important personal safety issues such as being and keeping aware of security vulnerabilities, email threats and phishing scams..... It is often very simple precautions you can take which will save you a lifetime of headaches. With this type of material in mind, I received the following tips by email over the weekend from a family member and they are seem like they are worth sharing (rather than just deleting) as they will keep … [Read more...]
Phishing: Watch-out for New Dangerous Godaddy Email Phishing Attempt
NEW YORK, NY - This is just a quick reminder to remain vigilant of all sorts of threats from hackers, email-spoofers, phishers and scammers; you can never let your guard down these days when it comes to your accounts, financial information and especially your domain accounts, because loss of your domain name can be loss of your business and will likely be permanent. Just this week news broke about an Equifax hack that hit credit histories of up to 143 million … [Read more...]
iCloud Ransom: Will Hackers Wipe 627 Million Apple Devices on April 7th 2017?
NEW YORK, NY - Apple products have changed our lives incredibly over the last several years. IPhones, iPads, Macs, and all the rest provide many benefits making our lives a little bit easier and more enjoyable in general, but a couple of weeks ago, a hacking group calling themselves the “Turkish Crime Family” began contacting media outlets claiming that they had breached the Apple iCloud, and had access to millions of user accounts and would remotely wipe the accounts (and … [Read more...]
Domain Suspension – Registrant Information Verification Failure; It Could Happen to You
REMINDER: If you change either the first name, last name or email address on one of your domain registrations, you’ll need to verify the new information via email within 15 calendar days or you will be met with a page similar to this one in the below screenshot. This new policy took effect back in January of 2014 but this is how long it took for me to actually see one of these pages in action; it happened today. Not paying attention to those email verification … [Read more...]
New York Releases Tips to Avoid Falling Victim to Cybercrime; Commemorates National Data Privacy Day
NEW YORK, NY - A host of New York State government agencies today announced important tips consumers and businesses can follow to protect their online privacy and information from unscrupulous scammers. These helpful steps and reminders from the Department of State, Office of Information Technology Services, Department of Taxation and Finance, Department of Financial Services and the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services help commemorate National Data Privacy … [Read more...]
SEARCHEN.COM : An Anonymous Search Engine for Firefox and Chrome Users
There is now an alternative private search engine available for users of Firefox and Chrome browsers that utilizes Google Custom search features for alternative results. The search engine also includes a directory type structure, similar to DMOZ and the old Yahoo Directory which brings in additional static listings as sponsored ads alongside search results. Additionally, users can click icons to compare or display results on standard Google, BING, Yahoo and Ask. The search … [Read more...]
Q3 Report: Internet Advertising Revenues Climb to Nearly $10.7 Billion
(New York, NY) According to a press release by IAB, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Internet advertising revenues have continued their climb hitting $10.69 billion for the third quarter of 2013. This number reflects an increase of 15% over the previous year and a 4.2% increase over the previous quarter. That’s $10,690,000,000.00. This record breaking growth shows that more and more businesses are moving their ad dollars towards the Internet and those companies seeking … [Read more...]
Verizon Wireless Phishing Email: Scams & How to Avoid Them (Part 2)
Back in May 17th 2012 I wrote a very detailed post about a fake Verizon Wireless phishing email I received. I decided to write the post because I know there are a lot of people who receive these types of emails and I wanted to help educate people about this sort of thing. I’m sometimes taken back by how ramped this problem is and how many people are likely taken advantage of by just not knowing what to look for to keep them and their privacy safe. I also wrote it because … [Read more...]
Cybersecurity Legislation Fails: Persistence is Key; Ignorance is Bliss
Most people are familiar with the news that surrounded the major FBI raid on file-sharing site Megaupload. This was probably one of the biggest take-down stories of the year as the site had over one hundred and eighty million (180,000,000) registered members that visited over fifty million (50,000,000) times per day before it was shut down on January 19 2012. The sites founder, dubbed a file-sharing kingpin, Kim Dotcom, was indicted and charged with criminal copyright … [Read more...]
‘Social Discovery’ Apps Report Hidden Patterns; Predict Human Behavior
Social discovery apps are starting to pick up where social networking software leaves off. New apps hitting the market allow users to search for other individuals based on their age, name, gender, location and interests. They also allow the storage and research on troves and troves of user generated data which can then be analyzed by groups of scientists in order to uncover hidden patterns of our lives, thoughts or political views. Sites like Pintrest.com already fit this … [Read more...]
“Jelly Bean” and “Google Now” To Make Ordinary Search Less Interesting
Google I/O saw a number of new features go down in the book. Several of these were directly related to search. Jellybean is the latest version of Android (available next month), and the operating system comes with improved Knowledge Graph visualization technology. Out of all the features, however, the search features of Google Now might very well be the most significant change to user navigation. Google Now is designed to serve users information that they require based … [Read more...]
Google Market Share Strong Despite Growing Legal Problems, Competition
Google's Street View project is currently being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While Street Views are designed to provide panoramic views and wireless mapping of areas, there are allegations that the process “went beyond mapping wireless connections” and private information and communications have been intercepted and collected during the process. According to FCC documents, Google's data gathering efforts have allowed people’s communications, … [Read more...]
Sudden House Passage of CISPA Legislation Sparks Hullabaloo
The rapid approval of new cybersecurity legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday has caught opponents off guard. The controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA) would grant law enforcement and national-security agencies broad powers to monitor private electronic communications. The 248 to 168 margin was especially galling to critics who had harshly denounced the bill as even more expansive than either the Stop Online Piracy … [Read more...]
Google’s Move To Encrypt Search Referrals
Everyone on the planet should boycott Google Analytics, but Google knows no one will. Google Analytics isn’t about delivering a great free stats program to users. It’s about using Webmasters for learning about their traffic and Google’s competitors. Google built an exceptional tool for Webmasters who are willing to share all their web sites information with Google in order to use the “free” Analytics system, including users time on site, user locations, referring sites, … [Read more...]
