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Home + Mobile

An MSP and SMB guide to disaster preparation, recovery and remediation

Introduction It’s important for a business to be prepared with an exercised business continuity and disaster recovery (BC/DR) plan plan before its hit with ransomware so that it can resume operations as quickly as possible. Key steps and solutions should be followed...

Podcast: Cyber resilience in a remote work world

The global pandemic that began to send us packing from our offices in March of last year upended our established way of working overnight. We’re still feeling the effects. Many office workers have yet to return to the office in the volumes they worked in pre-pandemic....

5 Tips to get Better Efficacy out of Your IT Security Stack

If you’re an admin, service provider, security executive, or are otherwise affiliated with the world of IT solutions, then you know that one of the biggest challenges to overcome is efficacy. Especially in terms of cybersecurity, efficacy is something of an amorphous...

How Cryptocurrency and Cybercrime Trends Influence One Another

Typically, when cryptocurrency values change, one would expect to see changes in crypto-related cybercrime. In particular, trends in Bitcoin values tend to be the bellwether you can use to predict how other currencies’ values will shift, and there are usually...

Keeping Your Vehicle Secure Against Smart Car Hacks

An unfortunate reality of all smart devices is that, the smarter they get, and the more integrated into our lives they become, the more devastating a security breach can be. Smart cars are no exception. On the contrary, they come with their own specific set of vulnerabilities. Following high-profile incidents like the infamous Jeep hack, it’s more important than ever that smart car owners familiarize themselves with their inherent vulnerabilities. It may even save lives.

Want smart device shopping tips? Make sure your security isn’t sacrificed for convenience.

Smart Car Vulnerabilities

At a recent hacking competition, two competitors were able to exploit a flaw in the Tesla Model 3 browser system and compromise the car’s firmware. While the reported “Tesla hack” made waves in the industry, it actually isn’t even one of the most common vulnerabilities smart car owners should look out for. These, easier to exploit, vulnerabilities may be more relevant to the average owner.

Car alarms, particularly aftermarket car alarms, are one of the largest culprits in smart car security breaches. A recent study found that at least three million vehicles are currently at risk due to insecure smart alarms. By exploiting insecure direct object reference (IDORS) issues within the alarm’s software, hackers can track the vehicle’s GPS location, disable the alarm, unlock doors, and in some cases even kill the engine while it is being used.

Key fobs are often used by hackers to gain physical access to a vehicle. By using a relay attack, criminals are able to capture a key fob’s specific signal with an RFID receiver and use it to unlock the car. This high-tech version of a duplicate key comes with a decidedly low-tech solution: Covering your key fob in aluminum foil will prevent the signal from being skimmed.

On-Board diagnostic ports are legally required for all vehicles manufactured after 1996 in the United States. Traditionally used by mechanics, the on-board diagnostics-II (OBD-II) port allows direct communication with your vehicle’s computer. Because the OBD-II port bypasses all security measures to provide direct access to the vehicle’s computer for maintenance, it provides particularly tempting backdoor access for hackers.

Protecting Your Smart Car from a Cybersecurity Breach

Precautions should always be taken after buying a new smart device, and a smart car is no exception. Here are the best ways to protect your family from a smart car hack.

Update your car’s firmware and keep it that way. Do not skip an update because you don’t think it’s important or it will take too much time. Car manufacturers are constantly testing and updating vehicle software systems to keep their customers safe—and their brand name out of the news. Signing up for vehicle manufacturer recalls and software patches will help you stay on top of these updates.

Disable unused smart services. Any and all of your car’s connectivity ports that you do not use should be turned off, if not altogether disabled. This means that if you don’t use your car’s Bluetooth connectivity, deactivate it. Removing these access points will make your car less exposed to hacks.

Don’t be a beta tester. We all want the newest and hottest technologies, but that doesn’t keep us at our most secure. Make sure that you’re purchasing a vehicle with technology that has been field tested for a few years, allowing time for any vulnerabilities to be exposed. Cutting-edge technologies are good. But bleeding edge? Not so much.

Ask questions when buying your vehicle and don’t be afraid to get technical. Ask the dealer or manufacturer which systems can be operated remotely, which features are networked together, and how those gateways are secured. If you’re not comfortable with the answers, take your money elsewhere.

Advocate for your security. As smart cars become so smart that they begin to drive themselves, consumers must demand that manufacturers provide better security for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles.

Only use a trusted mechanic and be mindful of who you grant access to your car. OBD-II ports are vulnerable but necessary, so skipping the valet may save you a costly automotive headache down the line.

Keep the Conversation Going

As our cars get smarter, their vulnerabilities will change. Check back here to keep yourself updated on the newest trends in smart car technologies, and stay ahead of any potential threats.

Cybersecurity in Schools: What Families Need to Know

Our kids are more connected than any previous generation. From the moment they wake up, they have an instant connection to the internet through phones, tablets, and laptops. The internet is also now an important part of their learning experience, and many parents often assume that cybersecurity has risen as a priority for school administrators. But with many institutions struggling to modernize legacy systems, that assumption puts our children’s security at risk. Here are the top threats to cybersecurity in schools and how to protect against them, so you can send your kids out the door knowing they’re safe and secure.

Learn how VPNs help safeguard your data and can enable private and anonymous web browsing.

Unsecured School WiFi

Many school WiFi networks are as vulnerable as any public network at a coffee shop or airport. In an attempt to secure WiFi networks in K-12 environments, many schools use pre-shared key (PSK) authentication. PSK authentication is the practice of sharing a single WiFi password with network users in order to grant access. This password often makes its way onto unauthorized devices, granting potentially malicious users access to the school’s network, and to your child’s digital footprint.

Weak Cybersecurity Practices

A school’s cybersecurity defense plan is only as strong as its weakest link, and that weak link is often the plan’s users and overseers. According to Verizon’s 2019 Data Breach Investigation Report, a startling 35% of all education sector data breaches were caused by human error. Mistakes as simple as using discontinued or out-of-date software can leave entire school systems vulnerable—even at prestigious institutions like Stanford University. Because Stanford was using discontinued software called NolijWeb, a white hat hacker was able to exploit a security flaw that left sensitive student data easily accessed through a simple change to a numeric ID in a URL. While exploring the scope of the vulnerability, 81 students’ private data was exposed, including information like Social Security numbers, citizenship status, criminal status, standardized test scores, ethnicity, and home addresses.

Targeted Cybersecurity Attacks

Due to the highly sensitive data stored within their systems, education IT infrastructure is consistently a top target for cybercriminals. K-12 school systems and higher education saw more than 48 million records exposed through data breaches in 2017 and 2018 alone. The threat has become a large enough issue that the FBI has released a public service announcement warning that the education sector was one of those most frequently targeted by social engineering schemes and phishing attacks.

Beyond traditional cyber threats, schools often face a unique adversary—the students themselves. The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) recently conducted a survey that examined more than 850 cyberattacks against schools and concluded that a majority of those incidents had been perpetrated by students or school staff. Although an attacker who targets a school so that they won’t have to take a test may not be as costly as one that targets student data, it still can grind a school system to a halt.

How to Protect Your Student’s Cybersecurity

How can you protect your child’s cybersecurity while they are at school? Get involved. Ask the school’s administrators about their cybersecurity policy. Ask about their strength of their firewalls, their email security measures, and the amount of encryption applied to the data storage systems. If you’re not satisfied with their measures, be your child’s cybersecurity advocate.

Although you may have limited control over any school-provided devices, you can secure your child’s personal devices behind a trusted VPN (though they must know how to use it first). This will wrap your child’s data in a tunnel of encryption, protecting them from prying eyes wherever they go. In some cases, VPNs can prevent access to testing and curriculum sites on school networks, so students should know how to connect and disconnect to their VPN at will.

Most importantly, teach your child to be aware of the risks of cybercrime and how to combat them. Help them understand how a VPN and other measures can keep them safe, how to recognize phishing attacks, and why they should always be vigilant. Your child knows to wear a seatbelt when riding in someone else’s car, they should also know how to stay safe online, whether at home, school, or a friend’s house.

The key to truly protecting your children from potential cybersecurity threats is education, both for yourself and for your family. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest risk reports and security tips.

Out from the Shadows: The Dark Web

You’ve likely heard of the dark web. This ominous sounding shadow internet rose in prominence alongside cryptocurrencies in the early 2010s, eventually becoming such an ingrained part of our cultural zeitgeist that it even received its own feature on an episode of Law & Order: SVU. But as prominent as the dark web may be, few average internet users can properly explain what it is and the cyber threats it provides a haven for. Let’s step back from the pop culture mythos and dive into what makes the dark web so dark.

Don’t let cybercriminals steal your money or identity. Protect your devices with cloud-based security.

Open Web, Deep Web, and Dark Web: Know the Difference

The open web, or surface web, is the internet we use every day. This includes all the web content that can be found through search engines and is accessed by traditional web browsers. Though you might find it surprising that the open web accounts for just 5% of the internet. The rest is made up of the deep web.

The deep web is the section of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and cannot be found through traditional search methods. This means that the only way to access deep web content is through a direct URL. While rumors about the deep web make it seem as if it is exclusively used for nefarious purposes, content on the deep web is often banal. It is largely comprised of school and university intranet systems, email and banking portals, internal sites for businesses and trade organizations, and even things like your Netflix or Hulu queues. Nothing to be afraid of there.

While the dark web is technically a part of the deep web, it takes anonymity a step further by using overlay networks to restrict access, often attracting users engaged in illicit activity. These networks use special anonymized software to grant users access; the largest and most famous of which is Tor. Tor stands for “The Onion Router,” which references its “onion routing” technique of using encapsulated layers of encryption to ensure privacy. Tor websites are most easily recognized by their “.onion” domains, and by the fact that they cannot be accessed through traditional web browsers. You may have heard stories about the NSA trying to shut Tor down, but don’t expect the services to go away soon. It has funding from high places, with a recent FOI request revealing that one of Tor’s largest financial contributors has long been the U.S. State Department—likely to offer encrypted communication options for State Department agents working in the field.

Is the Dark Web Illegal?

The dark web isn’t inherently illegal—the illegality comes from how it can be used. Darknet markets, such as the infamous and now defunct original Silk Road, showcase how thin the line is between legal and illegal dark market activities. As long as what you are purchasing is legal, using a darknet market is as lawful as making a purchase from any other online retailer. But buying illicit drugs or human organs? Yeah, that’s definitely illegal.

Although not as remarkable as some of the more grotesque items available, one of the most commonly found items for sale on the dark web is data. With a reported 281 data breaches in just the first quarter of 2019, we have already seen 4.53 billion records exposed this year alone. That’s potentially more than 4 billion chances for hackers to profit off the victimization of strangers, and a majority of them will use the dark web to do so. We have seen several high-profile data breaches resurface on the dark web—Equifax, Canva, Under Armor, and Evite all recently had their user data available for sale on darknet markets.

The Dark Web and Malware-as-a-Service

Beyond selling your data, the dark web can be used to harvest it as well. Webroot Security Analyst, Tyler Moffitt, explains this growing threat:

“Anyone can create malware in today’s landscape where the dark web is very accessible,” says Moffit. “There are ransomware services on .onion links that will allow you to input just a few bits of information, like a bitcoin address, desired ransom, late fees, etc., and unique binaries are generated to distribute however they like. The only ‘catch’ is that the portal creator usually takes a cut (around 30%) for any ransom payments made.”

These malware-as-a-service attacks mean that an attacker doesn’t even need to know how to execute one; they just need to know how to navigate to the portal. Therein lies the largest dark web danger for many consumers—anonymized cyberattacks available at the click of a mouse.

Keeping Your Data Off the Dark Web

Like a hydra with its multiple heads, black markets will likely never be wiped out. When you shut one down, two more will pop up. Darknet markets are just their newest evolution. While you can’t expect to see this threat disappear anytime soon, you can take steps to keep your data secure and off the dark web.

Using an up-to-date antivirus solution will help stop malware from scraping your data on the dark web. You can also lock your credit (called freezing) to help prevent new credit lines being open without additional information. Another recommendation is avoiding public WiFi without a VPN, as it leaves you susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM). Even with these precautions, a breach may still occur. Keeping your sensitive accounts secured with a trusted password manager can also help prevent cyber attacks from spreading beyond their breach point.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest threats to your online security and privacy.

Streaming Safer Means Streaming Legally

It’s been more than a decade since Netflix launched its on-demand online streaming service, drastically changing the way we consume media. In 2019, streaming accounts for an astonishing 58 percent of all internet traffic, with Netflix alone claiming a 15 percent share of that use. But as streaming has become more common, so has the exploitation of streaming technologies. Some consumers stream illegally to cut costs, perceiving it to be a victimless crime. But as the saying goes: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Streaming is no exception.

Browsing on public WiFi? Learn how to protect your network connection with a VPN.

By downloading illegal streaming apps from third-party sources (i.e. outside of the Apple® App Store or Google™ Play), users may think they’re capitalizing on a clever loophole to access free services. However, according to a startling study conducted by Digital Citizens, 44 percent of households using pirated streaming services experienced a cybersecurity breach of one or more of their devices. That means if you use any type of illegal streaming device or app, you are six times more likely to fall victim to a cybersecurity attack than households using legal streaming services. Since a reported 12 million homes—in North America alone) are actively using pirated streams, that means illegal streaming may have led to up to 5 million potentially undetected breaches.

Why are illegal streams so attractive to cybercriminals? Because you’re probably streaming using devices and applications that are connected to your home network. Unfortunately, the firewall on the average home router does not provide adequate security against attacks. Any malware introduced by the streaming software is likely able to get through successfully. If you’re using a Window® computer or device, that means the malware can infiltrate not the device you’re actively using, but also any other Windows devices using the same internet connection. By spreading itself across multiple devices, malware makes its own removal that much more difficult. Pair these details with the fact that illegal streaming users are less likely to report a malicious app, illegal streams provide a haven for cybercriminals in which they can easily attack users, infect their machines, steal their data, and hold their files for ransom.

Cybersecurity breaches caused by illegal streaming can manifest in many ways. For example, a popular illegal movie and live sports streaming app was observed scraping the connected WiFi name and password, as well as other sensitive information, according to ThreatPost.

How You Can Stream Safer

Ultimately, nobody can guarantee the security of an illegal stream. The truth is that legal streaming is the only safer streaming. That doesn’t mean you have to go through the giants, like Netflix or Hulu. Users can now access many low-cost, legal streaming options—including a few that are ad-supported and are actually free. So why put yourself and your family at risk for the sake of an illegal stream?

If you’re worried that someone with access to your WiFi network may be streaming illegally, thereby putting you and your devices in danger, make sure all of your devices are using up-to-date antivirus software to help stop cyberattacks and prevent malware infections. More importantly, talk with your family and friends about the real cost of “free” streaming. They’ll be more cautious once they fully understand the risks.

Looking for more home security education? Check out our Home + Mobile playlist on YouTube.

Global Privacy Concerns: The World’s Top Five Cities Using Invasive Technology

Cities are expanding their technological reach. Many of their efforts work to increase public protections, such as using GPS tracking to help first responders quickly locate the site of a car accident. But, in the rush for a more secure and technologically advanced city, privacy can fall by the wayside. We’ve reviewed the top cities around the world that are using technologies that may invade citizens’ privacy, so you know what to expect and what you can do.

Big brother in Beijing, China

China is infamous for its mass surveillance, with Beijing often serving as a testing ground for new surveillance software. The Chinese government uses internet monitoring, GPS tracking, and the “world’s biggest camera surveillance system”, with more than 170 million CCTV cameras to monitor the country’s populace. These CCTV cameras are backed by powerful facial recognition algorithms, which can track an individual down in just seven minutes. It is safe to say that you are probably being monitored anywhere you travel while in China, but a general rule is that, the higher the population, the more surveillance there is.

The town of Yizhuang has more than 2,243 high definition security cameras, 277 vehicle recognition cameras, and 267 facial recognition cameras. It also features six patrol vehicles with mobile cameras, and enforcement officers equipped with video capture equipment. Each of these cameras is sending live video streams to a main control center 24/7—all to monitor a single 11-square-mile suburb of Beijing.

Beijing is also preparing to roll out a social credit system in 2020. This system will award personal trustworthiness points to citizens and businesses based on their financial credit scores, as well as their personal and professional behavior. In the meantime, how the Chinese government plans to use this system to reward or punish its citizens remains a mystery.

Always watching in Moscow, Russia

Not one to be outdone, Russia has also embraced mass CCTV surveillance. Moscow alone has more than 170,000 cameras, making it the most surveilled city in Russia. Facial recognition software is paired with this massive network of cameras to track down persons of interest, though exactly what defines a “person of interest” is somewhat nebulous. In fact, Moscow officials recently admitted that they “can now trace the debtors’ movements,” thanks to this massive network of CCTV cameras. He declined to comment on the number of debtors who have been traced using this technology, nor the severity of their debts.

Mass monitoring in Darwin, Australia

Darwin, Australia is piloting a surveillance system similar to the technologies used in China, with some warning that it could evolve into a social credit system. Darwin has installed poles throughout the city outfitted with speakers, cameras, and WiFi. These monitoring stations track people and their movements all around the city, and are aided by facial recognition software. They can even respond to triggers, such as when a specific individual breaches a “virtual fence.”

“We’ll be getting sent an alarm saying, ‘There’s a person in this area that you’ve put a virtual fence around.’ … Boom, an alert goes out to whatever authority, whether it’s us or police to say ‘Look at camera five,’” said Josh Sattler, the Darwin Council’s General Manager for Innovation, Growth, and Development services in an article with NT News.

This system also tracks mobile phone use, web traffic, and mobile app usage—but only to help local businesses, of course.

“[It will tell us] where people are using WiFi, what they’re using WiFi for, are they watching YouTube, etc., all these bits of information we can share with businesses… we can let businesses know ‘Hey, 80 percent of people actually use Instagram within this area of the city, between these hours,’” said Sattler.

‘I spy’ in New York City, USA

In an effort to assist its police force, NYC has turned to the world’s largest surveillance technology company—the Chinese state-owned Hikvision—to install the same surveillance tools being used in China. Thousands of surveillance cameras have been operating in New York City since 2014, using the same facial recognition software that enables law enforcement in Beijing to locate and track individuals within the city. These cameras are equipped with infrared sensors that help capture high resolution images even in very low light. The NYPD has direct access to this surveillance network, and monitors the footage remotely to avoid showing an obvious police presence. The full extent of the surveillance in New York is unknown, but reports indicate the NYPD is using these products on a “large scale.”

Small-town surveillance in Hillsboro, USA

Hillsboro, Oregon is the smallest city on this list, with a population of just over 100,000. So why is such a small town on the same list as places like Beijing, Moscow, and New York? The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, which presides over Hillsboro, recently became the first law enforcement agency in the United States to use Amazon’s AI-powered facial recognition tool, Rekognition. As this is the first real-world test of this technology, its accuracy is hotly debated. Many experts argue that this technology will likely lead to the wrongful arrest of innocent people whose only crime is bearing a resemblance to the accused.

More than 300,000 mug shots taken at the Washington County jail have been uploaded into the Rekognition system. These pictures can be cross-referenced with images from a security camera, social media accounts, or even a deputy’s mobile device—without requiring a warrant. More than 1,000 facial recognition searches were logged into the Rekognition system by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, but public records requests show that only nine official case reports mention the use of the tool. Washington County deputies are under no imperative to note when facial recognition software assisted with an arrest, so we have no way to judge how accurate the system is.

Your Privacy is Your Concern

While the only way to avoid detection through the facial recognition algorithms is to hide or alter your face, there are some precautions you can take to protect your privacy when visiting these cities. As an example, you can easily obscure your digital traffic, which can help prevent the kind of tracking reported in Darwin. Strong encryption is your best protection against privacy invasive cities. Research a reliable VOIP and text messaging encryption service, and invest in a trusted VPN to shield your web and mobile traffic. Encryption may not stop state actors from intercepting your data, but it will make it nearly impossible for them to interpret it.

Have other tips for protecting your privacy while traveling? Let us know in the comments.

A Cybersecurity Guide for Digital Nomads

Technology has unlocked a new type of worker, unlike any we have seen before—the digital nomad. Digital nomads are people who use technologies like WiFi, smart devices, and cloud-based applications to work from wherever they please. For some digital nomads, this means their favorite coffee shop or co-working space. For others, it means an idyllic beach in Bali or countryside public house. One thing remains true wherever a digital nomad may choose to lay down their temporary roots: They are at a higher cybersecurity risk than a traditional worker. So what risks should they look out for?

Public Wifi

Without a doubt, public WiFi is one of the main cybersecurity hazards many digital nomads face. The massive and unresolved flaw in the WPA2 encryption standard used by modern WiFi networks means that anyone connecting to a public network is putting themselves at risk. All public WiFi options—including WiFi provided by hotels, cafes, and airports—poses the risk of not being secure. How can a digital nomad be digital if their main source of internet connectivity is a cybersecurity minefield?

When connecting to public WiFi as a digital nomad, it is crucial to keep your web traffic hidden behind a virtual private network (VPN). A quality VPN app is simple to set up on your mobile devices—including laptops and smart phones—and uses a strong encryption protocol to prevent hackers and other snoops from stealing important personal information such as account passwords, banking information, and private messages. VPNs will keep your data encrypted and secure from prying eyes, regardless of locale.

Device Theft

Physical device theft is a very real risk for digital nomads, but one that can largely be avoided. The first and most obvious step to doing so is to never leave your devices unattended, even if your seatmate at the coffee shop seems trustworthy. Always be mindful of your device visibility; keeping your unattended devices and laptop bags locked away or out of sight in your hotel room is often all it takes to prevent theft. Purchasing a carrying case with a secure access passcode or keyed entry can also act as an additional deterrent against thieves looking for an easy mark.

If your device is stolen, how can you prevent the damage from spiraling? Taking a few defensive measures can save digital nomads major headaches. Keep a device tracker enabled on all of your devices—smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Both Apple and Android have default services that will help you locate your missing device.

But this will only help you find your property; it won’t prevent anyone from accessing the valuable data within. That’s why all of your devices should have a lock screen enabled, secured with either a pin or a biometric ID, such as your fingerprint. If you believe these efforts have failed and your device is compromised, enabling multi-factor authentication on your most sensitive accounts should help reduce the effect of the breach.

However, if you cannot recover your device, remotely wiping it will prevent any additional data from being accessed. If you have a device tracker enabled, you will be able to remotely wipe your sensitive data with that software. If you’re using a data backup solution, any lost files will be recoverable once the status of your devices is secure

Lower Your Risk

Being a digital nomad means that you’re at a higher risk for a breach, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to lower that risk. These best practices could drastically reduce the risk incurred by leading a digitally nomadic lifestyle.

  • Toggle off. Remember to always turn off WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity after a session. This will prevent accidental or nefarious connections that could compromise your security.
  • Mindfulness. Be aware of your surroundings and of your devices. Forgetting a device might be an acceptable slip up for most, but for a digital nomad it can bring your lifestyle to a grinding halt.
  • Be prepared. Secure your devices behind a trusted VPN before beginning any remote adventures. This will encrypt all of your web traffic, regardless of where you connect.
  • Stop the spread. In case of a device or account breach, strong passwords and multi-factor authentication will help minimize the damage.

A staggering 4.8 million Americans describe themselves as digital nomads, a number that won’t be going down anytime soon. With remote work becoming the new norm, it’s more important than ever that we take these cybersecurity measures seriously—to protect not just ourselves, but also our businesses and clients. Are you a digital nomad making your way through the remote-work landscape? Let us know your top tips in the comments below!

A False Sense of Cybersecurity: The Riskiest States in America

Like many Americans, you might think your online habits are safe enough—or, at least, not so risky as to put you in danger for cybercrime. As it happens, most of us in the U.S. are nowhere near as secure as we think we are.

As part of our recent survey to better understand people’s attitudes, perspectives, and behaviors relating to online cyber-safety (or “cyber-hygiene”), we calculated each state’s cyber-hygiene score, which you can think of like a test score on people’s understanding and practice of good online habits. I’ve repaired computers and worked in the cybersecurity business for almost 15 years now, and I was shocked by some of the results.

Cut to the chase: just how bad were the results?

Bad. The average across all 50 states was only 60% (that’s a D in letter grades) on our scale. In fact, only 10% of Americans got a 90% or higher (i.e. an A). The riskiest states—Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Alaska, and Connecticut— combined for an average score of 56%. So what made their scores so low?

  • In Mississippi, almost 1 in 4 people don’t use any kind of antivirus and don’t know if they’ve ever been infected by malware.
  • Only 44% of Louisiana residents take any precautions before clicking links in emails leaving themselves vulnerable. (This is a great way to get scammed by a phishing email and end up with a nasty infection on your computer.)
  • Over 43% of Californians and Alaskans share their passwords with friends or family.

What does people’s perception vs. reality look like?

Americans in every state were overconfident. An astounding 88% feel they take the right steps to protect themselves. But remember, only 10% of people scored an A on our test, and the highest scoring state (New Hampshire) still only got an average of 65% (that’s still only a D).

While the average American has a surface level understanding of common cyber threats, there’s a lot of room for education. Many of those interviewed have heard of malware (79%), phishing (70%), and ransomware (49%), but few could explain them. Defending against the most common online threats in today’s landscape requires a basic understanding of how they work. After all, the more cyber aware you are of an attack such as phishing, the greater chance you have to spot and avoid it.

Along with understanding common cyberattacks, it’s also important to recognize threats to your online privacy. An alarming amount of Americans don’t keep their social media accounts private (64%) and reuse their passwords across multiple accounts (63%).

Given the number of news reports involving major companies getting breached, huge worldwide ransomware attacks, etc., we were pretty surprised by these numbers. As you’re reading these, you might be checking off a mental list of all the things you do and don’t know, the actions you do and don’t take when it comes to cybersecurity. What’s important here is that this report should act as a reminder that understanding what kinds of threats are out there will help you take the proper precautions. And, following a few simple steps can make a huge difference in your online safety.

How about some good news?

There is good news. There are some who scored a 90% or above on our test. We call them Cyber-Hygiene Superstars, because they not only take all the basic steps to protect themselves and their data online, but they go above and beyond. Cyber-Hygiene Superstars are evenly spread across the entirety of the U.S., and they help demonstrate to the rest of us that it’s easy to raise our own cyber-hygiene scores.

Some of the standout behavior of superstars included regularly backing up their data in multiple ways, always using antivirus, and using a VPN when connecting to public WiFi hotspots.

Superstars can also explain common attacks and are less likely to fall victim of phishing attacks and identity theft. They frequently monitor their bank and credit card statements and regularly check their credit scores.

What can you do to improve your cyber-hygiene score?

All in all, it’d be pretty easy for the average American to take their score from a D to at least a B, if not higher. You won’t have to do anything drastic. But just making a few small tweaks to your regular online behavior could work wonders to keep you and your family safe from cybercrime.

  1. Use antivirus/antimalware software.
    There are a lot of free solutions out there. While you typically get what you pay for in terms of internet security, even a free solution is better than no protection at all.
  2. Keep all your software and your operating system up to date.
    This one’s super easy. Most applications and operating systems will tell you when they need an update. All you have to do is click OK instead of delaying the update to a later date.
  3. Don’t share or reuse passwords, and make sure to use strong ones.
    You might think password sharing is no big deal, especially when it comes to streaming or gaming sites, but the more you share, the more likely it is that your passwords could end up being misused. And if the password to just one of your accounts is compromised, then any of your other accounts that use that password could also become compromised. If you’re concerned about having to create and remember a lot of unique passwords, use a secure password manager.
  4. Lock down your social media profiles.
    Making your posts and personal details public and searchable means scammers can find your details and increase their chances of successfully stealing your identity or tricking you into handing over money or sensitive personal information.
  5. If you connect to public WiFi, use a VPN.
    Antivirus software protects the device, but a VPN protects your actual connection to the internet, so what you do and information you send online stays private.
  6. Back up your data.
    Cloud storage is a great solution. But it’s a good idea to do a regular physical backup to an external drive, too, particularly for important files like tax documents.
  7. Don’t enable macros in Microsoft® Office documents.
    If you’re ever trying to open a document and it tells you to enable macros, don’t do it. This is a common tactic for infections.
  8. Use caution when opening email attachments.
    Only open attachments from people you know and trust, and, even then, be extra careful. If you’re really not sure, call the person and confirm that they really sent the file.

Want to see where your state ranks? See the full list or read more about our study and findings here.

Test your knowledge and see where the Webroot Community stacks up against the rest of America: Join our daily contest for a chance to win prizes! Contest ends at 4:00pm MT on May 21, 2019.

Webroot partnered with Wakefield Research to survey 10,000 Americans, ages 18 and up, with 200 interviews in each of the 50 states. This survey was conducted between February 11 and February 25, 2019, using an email invitation and an online survey instrument. The margin of error is +/- 0.98 percentage points for the total audience of this study and +/- 6.9 percentage points for each state at the 95% confidence level.

Antivirus vs. VPN: Do You Need Both?

Public concern about online privacy and security is rising, and not without reason. High-profile data breaches make headlines almost daily and tax season predictably increases instances of one of the most common types of identity theft, the fraudulent filings for tax returns known as tax-related identity theft

As a result, more than half of global internet users are more concerned about their safety than they were a year ago. Over 80% in that same survey, conducted annually by the Center for International Governance Innovation, believe cybercriminals are to blame for their unease.

Evaluating cybersecurity for your home or business? See how 1,600+ IT pros rank all the top competitors against key performance metrics.

Individuals are right to wonder how much of their personally identifiable data (PII) has already leaked onto the dark web. Are their enough pieces of the puzzle to reconstruct their entire online identity?

Questions like these are leading those with a healthy amount of concern to evaluate their options for enhancing their cybersecurity. And one of the most common questions Webroot receives concerns the use of antivirus vs. a VPN.

Here we’ll explain what each does and why they work as compliments to each other. Essentially, antivirus solutions keep malware and other cyber threats at bay from your devices, while VPNs cloak your data by encrypting it on its journey to and from your device and the network it’s communicating with. One works at the device level and the other at the network level.

Why You Need Device-Level Antivirus Security

Antiviruses bear the primary responsibility for keeping your devices free from infection. By definition, malware is any software written for the purpose of doing damage. This is the category of threats attempting to undermine the antivirus (hopefully) installed on your PC, Mac, and yes, even smartphones like Apple and Android devices, too.

In an ever-shifting threat landscape, cybercriminals are constantly tweaking their approached to getting your money and data. Banking Trojans designed specifically for lifting your financial details were among the most common examples we saw last year. Spyware known as keyloggers can surreptitiously surveil your keystrokes and use the data to steal passwords and PII. A new category of malware, known as cryptojackers, can even remotely hijack your computing power for its own purposes.

But the right anti-malware tool guarding your devices can protect against these changing threats. This means that a single errant click or downloaded file doesn’t spell disaster.

“The amazing thing about cloud-based antivirus solutions,” says Webroot threat analyst Tyler Moffit, “is that even if we’ve never seen a threat before, we can categorize it in real time based on the way it behaves. If it’s determined to be malicious on any single device, we can alert our entire network of users almost instantaneously. From detection to protection in only a few minutes.”

Why You Need Network-Level VPN Security

We’ve covered devices, but what about that invisible beam of data traveling between your computer and the network it’s speaking to? That’s where the network-level protection offered by a VPN comes into play.

While convenient, public networks offering “free” WiFi can be a hotbed for criminal activity, precisely because they’re as easy for bad actors to access as they are for you and me. Packet sniffers, for instance, can be benign tools for helping network admins troubleshoot issues. In the wrong hands, however, they can easily be used to monitor network traffic on wireless networks. It’s also fairly easy, given the right technical abilities, for cybercriminals to compromise routers with man-in-the-middle attacks. Using this strategy, they’re able to commandeer routers for the purpose of seeing and copying all traffic traveling between a device and the network they now control.

Even on home WiFi networks, where you might expect the protection of the internet service provider (ISP) you pay monthly, that same ISP may be snooping on your traffic with the intent to sell your data.

With a VPN protecting your connection, though, data including instant messages, login information, social media, and the rest is encrypted. Even were a cybercriminal able to peek at your traffic, it would be unintelligible.

“For things like checking account balances or paying bills online, an encrypted connection should be considered essential,” says Moffit. “Without a VPN, I wouldn’t even consider playing with such sensitive information on public networks.”

How Webroot Can Help

Comprehensive cybersecurity involves protecting both data and devices. Antivirus solutions to protect against known and unknown malware—like the kinds that can ruin a laptop, empty a bank account, or do a cybercriminals bidding from afar—are generally recognized as essential. But for complete protection, it’s best to pair your antivirus with a VPN—one that can shield your data from intrusions like ISP snooping, packet sniffers, and compromised routers.

Click the links for more information about Webroot SecureAnywhere® antivirus solutions and the Webroot® WiFi Security VPN app.

The Evolution of Cybercrime

From Landline Hacking to Cryptojacking

By its very nature, cybercrime must evolve to survive. Not only are cybersecurity experts constantly working to close hacking loopholes and prevent zero-day events, but technology itself is always evolving. This means cybercriminals are constantly creating new attacks to fit new trends, while tweaking existing attacks to avoid detection. To understand how cybercrime might evolve in the future, we look back to understand how it emerged in the past.

Cybercrime’s origins are rooted in telecommunications, with “hacker” culture as we know it today originating from “phone phreaking,” which peaked in the 1970s. Phreaking was the practice of exploiting hardware and frequency vulnerabilities in a telephone network, often for the purpose of receiving free or reduced telephone rates. As landline networks became more security savvy—and then fell out of favor—phone phreaking became less and less common. But it hasn’t been phased out completely. In 2018, a phone phreaker staged a series of creepy attacks in New York City WiFi kiosks, reminding us that the phreaks may have been forgotten, but they are certainly not gone.

Cybercrime as we currently think of it began on November 2, 1988 when Robert Tappan Morris unleashed the Morris Worm upon the world. Much like Dr. Frankenstein, Morris did not understand what his creation was capable of. This type of self-replicating program had never been seen before outside of a research lab, and the worm quickly transformed itself into the world’s first large-scale distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Computers worldwide were overwhelmed by the program and servers ground to a halt. Although Morris quickly released the protocol for shutting the program down, the damage had been done. In 1989, Morris was the first to be prosecuted and charged in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

At the turn of this century, we began to see a new era of malware emerge as email gave hackers a fresh access point. The infamous ILOVEYOU worm infected 50 million computers in 2000, corrupting data and self-propagating by exploiting a user’s email contacts. Given that the infected emails were coming from an otherwise trusted source, it forced many consumers to gain perspective on cybersecurity for the very first time. With antivirus software becoming a must-have for all computer owners, cybercriminals had to get inventive once again.

Phishing Makes A Splash

Phishing is the practice of tricking a user into willingly providing account logins or other sensitive information. This popular style of attack began with downloadable files through email, like the ILOVEYOU worm, but quickly grew more sophisticated. Phishing emails often imitate a trusted source, like an internet or phone service provider, and often include official-looking graphics, email addresses, and dummy websites to trick the user. In some cases, these phishing attacks are so convincing that even top government officials have been fooled—something we learned all too well in 2016 when the Democratic National Committee was breached.

With the rise of social media, we have seen a new style of phishing attack that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. Messages from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media accounts are frequent and increasingly sophisticated sources of social media phishing.

The Rise of Ransomware

No history of cybercrime would be complete without an examination of ransomware, a type of malware that gains access to critical files and systems and encrypts them, blocking a user from accessing their own data. Perpetrators extort the user, threatening to permanently delete the data or—in some cases—expose incriminating or embarrassing information. While ransomware has been around for decades, encryption and evasion techniques have become increasingly refined, sometimes at the hand of state actors. One of the most infamous examples of ransomware is the WannaCry attack in 2017, in which North Korean hackers used loopholes developed by the United States National Security Agency in the Windows operating system to attack more than 200,000 computers across 150 countries.

This made ransomware an international cybersecurity boogeyman, but it shouldn’t be your top concern. Webroot security analyst Tyler Moffitt explains why it’s a complicated strategy:

“Ransomware requires criminals to execute a successful phish, exploit, or RDP breach to deliver their payload, bypass any installed security, successfully encrypt files, and send the encryption keys to a secure command-and-control server—without making any mistakes,” Moffitt said. “Then the criminals still have to help the victim purchase and transfer the Bitcoin before finally decrypting their files. It’s a labor-intensive process and leaves tracks that must be covered up.”

Cryptojacking: the cutting edge?

A more recent workaround for the hard work of ransomware? Cryptojacking. Cryptojacking works by embedding JavaScript code into a website, which can then harvest the processing power of all devices that visit that site, using device processors to mine cryptocurrency for the host. This resource theft drags systems down, but often stealthily enough to go undetected; a fact that makes it very attractive to hackers. The number of cryptojacked URLs detected more than doubled from September to December of 2018, and cryptojacking attacks have officially surpassed ransomware in prevalence.

“Cryptojacking costs basically nothing to pull off and has much less illegal footprint,” Moffitt said. “When criminals are leveraging victims’ hardware (CPU) and power for siphoned crypto, the profits are very appealing. Even with the volatility of crypto prices, large campaigns have been able to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in only a few months. It’s estimated that over 5% of the cryptocurrency Monero in circulation is the result of illicit mining.”

Until recently, a cyptocurrency mining service called Coinhive was responsible for 60% of all cryptojacking attacks. Coinhive announced in early March 2019 that they would be shuttering the service. But this is by no means a death knell for crytpojacking—competitors are already rushing to fill the vacuum, not to mention inventing new ways to pivot off of existing cryptojacking techniques.

Being prepared for this next generation of cybercrime requires a few things from internet users. Keeping devices protected with antivirus software is a strong first step, but awareness of current threat trends is also helpful in preventing outside actors from viewing your data. Pairing antivirus software with a trusted VPN wraps your web traffic in a tunnel of encryption, shielding it from prying eyes. A double-pronged antivirus-plus-VPN defense will stop a majority of cybercrime in its tracks, but it’s by no means where your cybersecurity plan should end.

The best tool you have against evolving cybersecurity threats? Ongoing education. Read Webroot’s 2019 Threat Report to prepare yourself against threats on the horizon, and check back for regular cybercrime updates.

How To Keep Better Tabs on Your Connected Apps

Not that long ago, before data breaches dominated daily headlines, we felt secure with our social media apps. Conveniently, every website seemed to allow logging in with Facebook or Twitter instead of creating a whole new password, and families of apps quickly became their own industry. Third-party apps and games on social media platforms (remember Farmville on Facebook?) were allowed profile access en masse. Trivia games, horoscope predictions, personality quizzes — all seemingly secure and engaging diversions — let social media users enable some type of third-party app.

Unfortunately, we now know that this left many of us, and our data, exposed to a potential breach

So we turned to Randy Abrams, Webroot’s Sr. Security Analyst, for insights on how to keep third-party app breaches in check. The trick to keeping yourself and your loved ones safe? Information silos, both on and off of social media.

“As a rule, I leave my apps in silos, meaning I severely limit their connectivity level — especially when it comes to accessing my mobile device, “Abrams says. “Apps for email, texting, and calling people do have a reasonable need for access to your contacts on the phone. Most other apps, such as social media apps do not need to be able to look up your unsuspecting friends.”

Limiting the access your apps have to their direct functions will help keep you and your loved ones safe. Here’s how to get it done.

Mobile App Permissions

Limiting your app’s permissions may seem like a chore, but it is the best way to keep breaches from expanding in scope. We’ve put together a mobile app permissions crash course to help you silo your sensitive data quickly and easily.

For Android Users

To monitor and edit an existing application’s accessibility permissions on your device, go to your Android’s settings and tap Apps & Notifications. From there, you will be able to locate all the applications that are active on your device. When you’ve located the application whose permissions you would like to edit, simply tap the app and then tap “Permissions” to view and edit its current permission settings.

To review an application’s accessibility permissions before you install it on your device from the Google Play Store, tap on the app you’d like to install and click Read more to bring up its detail page. Scroll to the bottom and tap App permissions to review the app’s requested permissions. After you install and open the application for the first time, you will be prompted to allow or deny application permissions (like access to your contacts or location). You can always edit the application’s existing permissions later using the steps outlined above.

For iOS Users

To monitor and edit an existing application’s accessibility permissions on your device, go to the settings app Privacy to see all the permissions available on your phone (like location services and camera access). Select the permission set you would like to review to see all of the applications with access, and revoke any permissions you’re not comfortable with.

To review an application’s accessibility permissions at install, simply open the app and begin using it. The app will request permissions, which you can either allow or deny. You can always revoke permissions after they have been granted by following the steps outlined above.

Preventing social media applications from gaining unnecessary access to your mobile data could help stop data breaches from spreading. But it won’t stop the breaches themselves from happening. Leaving apps enabled entails large-scale security issues — not only for ourselves, but also for friends and family connected with us through social media. When we connect apps to our social media profiles, we expose not just our information, but the shared information of a broader network of connections — one that expands well beyond our immediate circles. In a startling example, only 53 Facebook users in Australia downloaded Cambridge Analytica’s infamous thisisyourdigitallife app, but a total of 311,127 network connections had their data exposed through those users. That amount of collateral damage is nothing to scoff at.

Removing Third Party Apps

“Facebook is the company best known for leaking extensive amounts of data about users, usually by default privacy settings that allow third-party apps to access as much user data as possible,” says Abrams. “Most users had no idea they could control some of what is shared and would have a difficult time navigating the maze to the settings.”

Facebook made a few reform efforts to help make managing third-party access to your account a little bit easier. Click on Settings from the account dropdown menu, and then select Apps and Websites. This should take you to a dashboard that will show your active, expired, and removed apps. It will also give you the option to turn off the capability for any third-party apps to connect with your profile.

From your account dropdown, click on Settings and privacy. Click on the Apps and devices tab, which will show all of the apps connected to your account. You can see the specific permissions that each app has under the app name and description. To disconnect an app from your account, click the Revoke access button next to the app icon.

From a web browser, log in to your account and click the gear icon next the Edit Profile button. Select Authorized Apps to see all of the apps connected to your account. Click the Revoke Access button under an app to remove it from your account.

Building Secure Social Media Habits

Monitoring the access levels of your connected apps is a good start to keeping yourself and your loved ones secure, but it’s not always enough.

“It must be assumed that all third-party apps are collecting all of the information on the platform, regardless of privacy settings,” warns Abrams.

Establishing secure social media habits will continue to help keep you secure after you’ve reviewed your app permissions. This means conducting regular audits of the third-party app permissions associated with all of your social media accounts and — slightly more arduously — thoroughly reading the privacy policies of any third party apps before you connect them.

“If a person is going to use apps in conjunction with social media platforms, it’s important to understand their privacy policies,” say Abrams. “Unfortunately, with many apps, the privacy policy may not be shown until the app has been installed, and may not even be visible on the developer’s website. When the policy can be located, you’ll often find the user’s friends’ privacy is collateral damage in the agreement. It is up to the individual choosing to decide if their friends’ privacy is acceptable collateral damage. Unfortunately, few know how to obtain the information required to make an informed decision.

“Without reading the privacy policies you cannot know to what extent your friends’ private information will be shared, “adds Abrams. “Remember, it isn’t just their names you are sharing, it is part of the data aggregation they are already subjected to. Simply letting an app know you are friends provides more information than just their names. It helps app companies build more robust profiles.”

Stay Vigilant and Informed

Don’t allow your data or your network to be used beyond your wishes or against your will. Take charge of your data security, and protect your friends by conducting regular audits of your third-party app permissions. Before you connect any new apps, settle down with a little light reading and thoroughly vet their privacy policy. Given how intertwined our digital lives have become, the cybersecurity of our closest friends and loved ones could well depend on it.

Four Tips to Help Tidy Up Your Tech

This spring, many of us will roll up our sleeves and get down to business decluttering our homes. Garage sales will be held, basement storage rooms will be re-organized, and donations will be made.

Shouldn’t the same thing happen in our digital lives? After all, the average American will spend the bulk of their waking hours parked in front of some sort of screen—flipping , swiping, and clicking away. A little tidying up of data and online habits can go a long way toward enhancing your digital security andpeace of mind.

So here are a few tips for tidying up your tech designed to make you ask not only: “Does this bring me joy?” but also, “does this make me more secure?”  If not, consider purging apps, connections, and permissions that could leave you more susceptible to a breach. If you answer yes, make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to protect it.

Turn off Bluetooth when it’s not in use

Since the Blueborne family of vulnerabilities was discovered in 2017, deactivating Bluetooth when not in use has become standard security advice. With the increasing adoption of home IoT devices, the consequences of ignoring that advice have only risen.

Bluetooth connections are like a lonely person on a dating site; they’re in constant search of a connection. When Bluetooth-enabled devices seek out the wrong sources—that of a cybercriminal, say—they are vulnerable to exploitation.

“Smart speakers and other IoT devices may introduce convenience to our daily lives,” says Webroot Security Analyst Tyler Moffitt. “But they’re also a calculated risk, and even more so for knock-off devices whose manufacturers don’t pay proper attention to security. Minimizing the time Bluetooth is on helps to manage that risk.”

Or, as Webroot VP of engineering David Dufour put it to Wired magazine soon after the discovery of Blueborne, “For attackers, it’s Candyland.”

Use a VPN to cloak your digital footprint

Shrouding your connection in a virtual private network (VPN) is especially important when accessing public or unsecured WiFi networks. Again, we make a trade-off between convenience and security when logging on to these “free” networks.

Without additional protection, cybercriminals can spy on these unencrypted connections either by commandeering the router or by creating their own spoof of a legitimate WiFi hotspot, in a variation of a man-in-the-middle attack. From here, they’re free to monitor the data flowing between your device and the network.

“It’s more than just the privacy violation of being able to see what you’re doing and where you’re going online,” Moffitt explains. “Cybercriminals can lift sensitive data like banking login credentials and drop ransomware or other malicious payloads like cryptojackers.”

A VPN encrypts the traffic between your device and the router, ensuring your digital footprint is shielded from prying eyes.

Keep apps updated with the latest software

While some apps are inherently sketchy, and users shouldn’t expect the app creators behind them to prioritize security, others introduce vulnerabilities inadvertently. When responsibly run, app developers address these security gaps through software updates.

Take the cultural phenomenon Fortnite, for example. The game that drove its parent company, Epic Games, to an $8 billion valuation was found at the beginning of the year to contain multiple vulnerabilities that would have allowed malicious actors to take over player accounts, make in-game purchases, and join conversations. Epic Games was quick to issue “a responsibly deployed” fix, but in this and similar instances, users are only protected after installing the suggested updates.

“I always recommend users keep both their apps and their mobile operating systems up to date,” says Moffit. “This is made easier by turning on automatic updates wherever possible and only downloading apps from reputable app stores, so you increase the chances that updates are timely.”

For more tips on protecting your smartphone from mobile malware, see our complete list of recommendations here.

Set up automatic cloud backups

Purging unused apps is a good principle for spring cybersecurity cleaning – like a box of old clothes you haven’t worn in decades, unused apps represent digital data containers you no longer need. But what about all that data you’d hate to lose—the pictures, videos, documents, and other files you’d be devastated to see disappear? Protecting that trove of data is another core tenant for tidying up your tech.

Ransomware is one prime reason for keeping up-to-date backups of valuable data. It can strike anyone from college students to cities, and the list of those who’ve been burned is long and distinguished.

“The combination of an antivirus and a cloud backup and recovery solution is an effective one-two punch against ransomware,” Moffit says. “On the one hand, you make your device more difficult to infect. On the other, you become a less attractive target because you’re unlikely to pay a ransom to recover data that’s already backed up to the cloud and out of reach for ransomware.”

Natural disasters and device theft—two contingencies even the tightest cybersecurity can’t account for—are prime reasons to make sure backups are in place sooner, rather than later. Cloud backup is more secure and affordable than ever, so it makes sense to back up anything you couldn’t stand to lose, before it’s too late. Want more tips for cybersecurity spring cleaning? Download Webroot’s full checklist for tidying up your tech.

Lock Down Your Digital Identity

The last decade has been one of digital revolution, leading to the rapid adoption of new technology standards, often without the consideration of privacy ramifications. This has left many of us with a less-than-secure trail of digital breadcrumbs—something cybercriminals are more than aware of. Identity theft is by no means a new problem, but the technology revolution has created what some are calling a “global epidemic.”

Securing your digital identity is more important now than ever, and Webroot can help you start.

What is a Digital Identity?

The first step in locking down your digital identity is understanding what it is. A digital identity is the combination of any and all identifying information that can connect a digital persona to an actual person. Digital identities are largely comprised of information freely shared by the user, with social media accounts generally providing the largest amount of data. Other online services like Etsy and eBay, as well as your email and online banking accounts, also contribute to your digital identity. Realistically, any information that can be linked back to you, no matter how seemingly inconsequential, is part of your digital identity.

Digital Identity Theft

Digital identity theft occurs in several ways. A common tactic is social media fraud, where a hacker will impersonate a user by compromising an existing social media account, often messaging friends and family of the user requesting money or additional account information. If unable to gain full control of a genuine social media account, identity thieves will often set up a dummy social media account and impersonate the user using it.

A less widely-known form of digital identity fraud is internet-of-things (IoT) identity theft, where an attacker gains access to an IoT device with weak security protocols and exploits it to gain access to a higher priority device connected to the same network. Another growing threat is “SIM swapping”— an attack that involves tricking a mobile provider into swapping a legitimate phone number over to an illegitimate SIM card, granting the attacker access to SMS-enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) efforts.

Even those who don’t consider themselves targets should be aware of these tactics and take steps to lock down their digital identities.

Locking it Down

Reviewing your social media accounts’ privacy settings is one of the easiest things you can do to cut opportunistic identity thieves off from the start. Set your share settings to friends only, and scrub any identifying information that could be used for security clearance — things like your high school, hometown, or pets’ names. Only add people you personally know and if someone sends you a suspicious link, don’t click it! Phishing, through email or social media messages, remains one of the most prevalent causes of digital identity theft in the world. But your digital identity can be compromised in the physical world as well — old computers that haven’t been properly wiped provide an easy opportunity hackers won’t pass up. Always take your outdated devices to a local computer hardware store to have them wiped before recycling or donating them.

The Right Tools for the Job

This is just the start of a proper digital identity lock-down. Given the sensitive nature of these hacks, we asked Webroot Security Analyst Tyler Moffitt his thoughts on how consumers can protect their digital identities.

“Two-factor authentication in combination with a trusted virtual private network, or VPN, is the crown jewel of privacy lock-down,” Tyler said. “Especially if you use an authenticator app for codes instead of SMS authentication. A VPN is definitely a must… but you can still fall for phishing attempts using a VPN. Using two-factor authentication on all your accounts while using VPN is about as secure as you can get.”

2FA provides an additional level of security to your accounts, proactively verifying that you are actually the one attempting to access the account. 2FA often uses predetermined, secure codes and geolocation data to determine a user’s identity.

Because 2FA acts as a trusted gatekeeper, do your research before you commit to a solution. You’ll find some offerings that bundle 2FA with a secure password manager, making the commitment to cybersecurity a little bit easier. When making your choice, remember that using SMS-enabled 2FA could leave you vulnerable to SIM swapping, so though it is more secure than not using 2FA at all, it is among the least secure of 2FA strategies.

VPNs wrap your data in a cocoon of encryption, keeping it out of sight of prying eyes. This is particularly important when using public WiFi networks, since that’s when your data is at its most vulnerable. Many VPNs are available online, including some free options, but this is yet another instance of getting what you pay for. Many free VPNs are not truly private, with some selling your data to the highest bidder. Keeping your family secure behind a VPN means finding a solution that provides you with the type of comfort that only comes with trust.

The two things that only you can do to keep your identity secure? Constant vigilance and continuous education. Visit the Home+Mobile page on the Webroot blog for a host of resources to help keep you and your family safe online—at home and on the go.


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Saturday, April 11, 2015

Weird Science DC Comics Podcast Episode 13: Endings, Beginnings and Fuller House

Episode 13: This week Eric and Jim talk about the endings of Batman: Eternal and Futures and World's End.  They also gush about
Convergence #0, try their hands at a game show and yell about Fuller House.  Eric also thinks he's going crazy, Jim doesn't know who Casey Jones is and they both get called out by Reggie and the rest of the listener mail.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Convergence #2 Preview

Written By: Jeff King
Art By: Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 15, 2015

As Telos, the Planet Incarnate, easily defeats the survivors of Earth 2, Thomas Wayne and Dick Grayson set off to find help in the pre-Flashpoint Gotham City. The emotional implication of these worlds colliding comes crashing down when Thomas Wayne confronts this world’s Batman, as father meets son!
Plus, Alan Scott’s attempts to connect with The Green yield unexpected results, setting our team on a quest to escape the planet. And the cyborgs of Futures End engage in a battle to the death against the reimagined heroes of the Just Imagine Universe, while the city of Superman Red and Blue takes on the opposing forces from GENERATIONS!

Holy Shit Does This Issue Sound Crazy!!!!  I hope now that all the exposition has been given about what Convergence actually is is done, we can get into a kick ass story and from what I'm reading in this solicit......... It looks like I may actually get my wish.  So much going on here but the real draw for me........ which is probably very different than most, is the inclusion of the Just Imagine Universe and the Generations Universe.  I loved Generations and Just Imagine was corny enough that I can't wait to see how DC plans on re-imagining them.

Convergence: Suicide Squad #1 Preview

Written by: FRANK TIERI
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 15, 2015

STARRING HEROES FROM ZERO HOUR! When Kingdom Come’s floating fortress of New Oa threatens Metropolis, it’s up to Amanda Waller to assemble a team of Metropolis’s deadliest villains to stop it.

I love two things...Frank Tieri, Amanda Waller, the Suicide Squad and Hamburgers. This was one of the select titles that I've been looking forward to since Convergence was announced.  Frank promised me on Twitter that this was indeed an Amanda Waller story, but things don't look good for "The Wall" in this preview.  I can't wait!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Check Out the Video of Our Television Debut

We told you all that we'd be on television and if you couldn't (or didn't want to) stay up and see us
make fools of ourselves on Wednesday Night, here is the video.  We will be going in depth about the whole thing on our podcast this week including such things as:

  • Wednesday Night at 1:00 AM does not mean Thursday Morning at 1:00 AM
  • After freezing up every single time I talked leading up to the show, they insisted on talking to me more than Eric
  • Eric kept making weird faces because he was convinced his video feed froze
  • They completely changed up what we were going to talk about without letting us know and asked questions we weren't prepared for
  • I tried to help out by pushing their Star Wars auctions and went blank when they asked me which one I liked the best...I could only remember the Princess Leia at first
After all that, we had a great time!  Eric got to push his fashion sense on the world of late night shopping networks and I got to fumble and mumble about being a nerd.  I am still trying to catch up on my sleep, but I hope they have us back so I can use some of my prepared material like, "Take this Batman Comic...Please!"  Eat your heart out, Henny Youngman!  Here's the video:

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Convergence: Superman #1 Preview

Written by: DAN JURGENS
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 8, 2015

STARRING HEROES FROM THE PRE-FLASHPOINT DCU! A powerless Superman is called upon to protect Gotham City…and his pregnant wife Lois Lane!

While I am getting a little tired of a powerless Superman recently, this one makes sense.  The Dome may have taken his powers away, but it seems it didn't get rid of his libido.  Superman and Lois got busy!  Or should I say "bizzay"?!?  Either way you say it, it will be nice to see Lois and Clark going against DC's usual No Family policy.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Weird Science DC Comics...on the Television?!?!

If Eric is Face, then I'm Murdock!
Hey guys and gals, if you didn't hear us this week on the podcast, then you need to go listen because we mentioned a bit of personal news for Eric and myself.  We are going to be on TV!  I know what you're thinking...we have faces for radio and you'd be right.  Well, at least half right. Eric has agreed to be the face of Weird Science because due to technical constraints, we can only have one of us in full HD video.  I will be calling in and contributing, but all you get is my silky smooth voice.  If you have listened to the podcast, you know what that means.  Let me apologize in advance.

Convergence: Harley Quinn #1 Preview

Written by: STEVE PUGH
Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 8, 2015

STARRING HEROES FROM THE PRE-FLASHPOINT DCU! Life for Harley Quinn has become downright normal over the last year. Will she be ready to go nuts when Catwoman and Poison Ivy draft her to fight – Captain Carrot?!

Harley Quinn and Captain Carrot?  That sounds like a fun time, but it also seems to be the book that everyone is pushing any time they talk about Convergence.  Dan Didio pointed it out in his video explaining the event and Jeff King told us (HERE) that it's the book to get excited about.  I guess I've succumbed to their mind powers, because I am now excited.

Convergence: Titans #1 Preview

Written By: Fabian Nicieza
Art By: Ron Wagner, Jose Marzan Jr.
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 8, 2015

STARRING HEROES FROM THE PRE-FLASHPOINT DCU! Starfire and Donna Troy track down Arsenal, who had retreated after the loss of his arm and the death of his daughter – but what they find is more terrifying than they ever could have expected!

This is an odd one for me just because I wasn't reading Titans Pre-Flashpoint....... but I have to tell you, this looks amazing and I can't wait to dive into this issue and see what I missed before Flash had to go mucking up the time stream.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope OGN HC Preview

Writen by: Roy Thomas
Art by: Howard Chaykin
Cover Price: $24.99
Release Date: May 6th, 2015

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment have already taken the industry by storm with blockbuster new stories set in the Star Wars universe. This May, we’re proud to return you to the story that started it all as the first original comic adaptation of the greatest space-fantasy film of all time is reborn as the STAR WARS™: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE OGN!

Weeks before George Lucas’ first STAR WARS film hit theaters – Marvel gave eager fans their very first look at Luke Skywalker, boldly asking “Will he save the galaxy, or destroy it?” Now, 30 years later, you may know the answer, but that doesn’t spoil the excitement of reliving this now classic adaptation like you’ve never seen before – including scenes that never made it to the silver screen!

Completely remastered for the modern age with new coloring by Chris Sotomayor, Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin’s iconic story debuts this May in an oversized hardcover format with a new cover by famed artist Adi Granov! Now is your chance to relive the original Marvel Comics adaptation that started it all when STAR WARS™: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE OGN comes to comic shops and book stores this May!

Plus, don’t miss exciting remastered adaptations of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI coming later this year!

There are only a few Marvel books that would ever be allowed on our site.  One of them is Star Wars.  A New Hope still ranks as my favorite movie of all-time. I get a lot of crap for that amongst Star Wars fans and while I agree that Empire is a better movie, it's not my favorite.  I was eight years old when Star Wars came out and it took over my entire world.  I wanted to be Luke and I wanted to have friends like Han and Chewie to go on adventures with.  I wanted to see the movie over and over and over.  It was such a badge of honor to see Star Wars multiple times and while I wasn't even close to some of my buddies (my friend Joe saw it over 30 least that's what he told everyone), every time was a huge moment.  The best one was seeing it with my family at a Drive-In with me and my brother laying on a blanket on the car roof. Unfortunately, as the years have passed and I've been forced into adulthood, the pure joy and excitement that I felt seeing Star Wars back then has never been replicated with any other movie. However, every time I see that opening crawl and hear that wonderful theme blast in, I'm eight years old again for at least two more hours.  I think I'm going to go watch it now.  Enjoy this preview.

Batman: Arkham Knight #7 Review

Written by: Peter J. Tomasi
Art by: Ig Guara
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: April 3, 2015

Little Benefit

I have really enjoyed this book so far.  Sure, I've wanted to see more of the actual Arkham Knight, but I have enjoyed the ride that Peter J. Tomasi has taken the reader on.  He has made the book bigger than just a video game tie-in, but fans of the games benefit more with all the references being bandied about.  I fall into that fan category so this book has quickly become one I anticipate each week.  So, when I opened the issue this week and saw the Arkham Knight in full action mode, I couldn't wait to read the rest of the issue.  Now that I have, was it as good as the others?  Let's find out...

DC Comics Best Covers of the Week 4/4/2015

What a week it's been.  Actually, it's been a pretty standard week for me, but I always see people
open articles like that so I thought I'd join in.  April Fools Day started off this comic week and while I usually go full bore with pranks, I laid off a bit.  I tricked Eric into believing my Dad had died, but after that hilarious fun, I laid low.  As far as comics were concerned, this was an odd week.  It was dominated by Convergence #0 and the end of the three weeklies and had a weird ending/beginning vibe to it.  For the next two months, fans will be dealing with the Convergence Event so this will be the last covers column with the normal books for a while.  So, here are my picks...

Five Questions With...Jeff King, DC Comics Convergence Edition

I'm so excited to be able to bring you this Five Questions With...featuring Jeff King, the writer of DC Comics huge Convergence Event.  For all you out there familiar with the Five Questions, this one is a little different.  I actually put on my  press hat and got down to some honest to goodness reporter stuff. Actually, I emailed Jeff some questions and he responded.  Take that Walter Cronkite!


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Sectors: Co-op & Development, Education - Training, Social Affairs

Beneficiaries: Development NGOs, Schools, Training centres, Universities

Regions: European Union

Category: Call for proposals

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IPA II- Improving the quality of Vocational Education and Training through establishment of Sectoral Centres of Excellence – Turkey – 2020
Funds for: establishing a flexible, transparent, innovative and quality based education system which supports social and economic development and prepares for employment, where all segments of society find the possibility to learn within their own needs

Priorities and funded actions:

* Investing in human capital through improving the quality of education and training;
* Supporting innovative approaches to increase quality of VET, teacher training and establishment of cooperation methods between representatives of the business world, professional organizations, NGOs working in the field of education, vocational secondary education institutions

* Establishment of Sectoral Centres for VET Competence Development;
* Increasing the capacity of vocational teachers via trainings;
* Preparation of training materials and programs for in-service training;
* Increasing the awareness of business world on the importance of vocational education and opportunities provided;
* Establishment  and development of networks and partnership mechanisms that will bring together business world and education related to VET

Among financed actions:
– Capacity building actions including the establishment of Sectoral Centres for VET Competence Development and in-service trainings of VET teachers;
–  Preparation of workbooks, tools for VET teachers;
– Sharing good practices for teachers’ assessment and evaluation activities in the field of vocational education, developing tools and methods;
– Providing equipment support to SCVCDs;
– Preparation of in-service training programs including capacity building activities for the personnel of SCVCDs;
– Awareness raising activities for business world to increase their participation and support to VET education;
– Providing training to prepare multimedia/e-learning applications for VET teachers;
– Studies on the preparation of e-learning materials related to the vocational education curriculum

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* Initial duration of the action: between 16 and 18 months

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– Be established in a Member State of the European Union or Turkey or an eligible country;

– Actions must take place in Turkey but some activities can be implemented in EU member states if properly justified


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Whitchurch High School students learn a lifesaving lesson

Students and staff from Whitchurch High School have been thanked by the Welsh Blood Service for rolling up their sleeves and giving blood to help patients in need.

More than 60 blood donations were recently made at the first blood donation session to be held specifically for students and staff at the school, potentially saving or improving more than 180 lives.

A further 18 blood donors also signed up to the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, joining a database of over 35 million donors from across the globe whose unique attributes could make them the only person in the world capable of saving the life of someone in need of a transplant.

Blood donor and Headteacher of Whitchurch High School, Mr Mark Powell, said:
“We are very proud and excited to be a part of this initiative and have no doubt it will continue to grow from strength to strength. The Welsh Blood Service provide a crucial service to the people of Wales and we will do all we can to make a positive contribution to its efforts.

“We are a school that serves a community and do all we can to instil strong community values in our students. We always strive to make a positive difference to people’s lives, so to see our students come out to support this endeavour is testimony to their willingness as individuals to make a difference – they truly are an amazing group of youngsters.

“I am immensely proud of each and every one of them as we start our lifesaving journey here with the Welsh Blood Service.”

After making her first donation, sixth form student, Maddie, said: “I was so nervous beforehand because I’m not great with needles but it was absolutely fine, the staff make you feel so comfortable.

“I wanted to give blood here today because my mum had to have a blood transfusion years ago.

“Now today I’m helping someone in need like my mum.”

By hosting its own donation session, Whitchurch High became the eighth school to join a new Welsh Blood Service initiative to offer blood donation sessions at a selection of Wales’ largest post-16 education settings.

The Cardiff-based school joined Monmouth School for Girls, Monmouth Schools for Boys, Stanwell (Penarth), Bryntirion (Bridgend), Porthcawl, Cowbridge and Monmouth Comprehensive Schools, who have collectively contributed more than 1,300 blood donations.

The donations taken from staff and sixth form students at the schools could have potentially saved or improved the lives of more than 3,900 people or 7,800 babies. More than 130 students have also signed up to the Bone Marrow Donation Registry.

Alan Prosser, Director of Service at the Welsh Blood Service said:
“We would like to thank the students and the members of staff who have selflessly contributed towards the 100,000 donations needed in Wales each year. They have shown fantastic commitment and great community spirit.

“It’s essential that we pass on how important donating blood is to the younger generation. By having the support of some of the largest schools in Wales, we can encourage more students to try donating as part of their school day. We hope that the actions of these students will encourage more people living in Wales to consider donating in the future.

“The blood collected is not just used for accidents and emergencies; it is also used for cancer and leukaemia patients who need regular transfusions, so it’s crucial we maintain a steady supply to support patients in need across the country.

“If you have never donated before, now is a great time to try.”

To start your lifesaving journey today, please visit wbs.wales/schools or call 0800 252 266.


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Scientists One Step Closer To 3-D-Printed Ovaries To Treat Infertility

A microscopic view of the gelatin structure used to 3-D print a bioprosthetic mouse ovary implant.
A microscopic view of the gelatin structure used to 3-D print a bioprosthetic mouse ovary implant.

The list of things that can be created with 3-D printers keeps getting longer: jewelry, art, guns, food, medical devices and, now, mouse ovaries.

Scientists have used a 3-D printer to create a mouse ovary capable of producing healthy offspring. And researchers hope to create replacement human ovaries the same way someday.

"It's really the holy grail of bioengineering for regenerative medicine," says Teresa Woodruff, who led the new research published this week in the journal Nature Communications.

The ultimate goal is to create replacement ovaries to restore fertility in women who became sterile after medical treatment, such as cancer chemotherapy, Woodruff says. She hopes to test a human ovary within a few years.

For some time now, doctors have been able to restore the fertility of certain cancer patients by removing and freezing some of their ovarian tissue before they undergo chemotherapy and transplanting it back into them later. Some doctors have even tried doing the same thing with entire ovaries.

But those approaches have shortcomings. The tissue may harbor cancer cells, Woodruff says, and the transplants usually only function for a limited time, depriving the women of the other benefits of a functioning reproductive system, like keeping bones healthy. That's especially challenging for women who lose their fertility as children or young adults, Woodruff says.

So Woodruff and her colleagues developed a technique using 3-D printing to reproduce the three-dimensional structures of ovaries that could be used to create "bioprosthetic" versions of the organ.

"It's just like the 3-D printers people even have in their homes, but the ink in this case is a biological ink," she says. "It's called gelatin."

Gelatin is a naturally occurring substance that helps form the structure of organs. A 3-D printer squirts out gelatin ink in extremely precise patterns, one layer on top of another, to build complex three-dimensional structures modeled on the natural ovary.

"We were able to use 3-D printing to actually lay down a scaffold that was copying what we knew the scaffold looked like of the normal ovary," Woodruff says.

A male mouse with a litter of mixed pups. Green pups were born from the bioprosthetic ovary.
/ Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
A male mouse with a litter of mixed pups. Green pups were born from the bioprosthetic ovary.

In the mice, the result was a structure about the size of a pea that contains complex formations, including tiny pores, that re-create the environment inside natural ovaries.

Next, the researchers placed real tissue from mouse ovaries, known as follicles, into the 3-D-printed ovary scaffolds. Follicles contain immature eggs and cells that secrete hormones needed for reproduction and other bodily functions.

The researchers then transplanted the devices into sterilized mice. Blood vessels attached themselves to the partially artificial ovaries and began functioning.

When the researchers mated seven of the mice, three of them produced two healthy pups each.

To use the technology in humans in the future, doctors could remove follicles from a woman before she starts chemotherapy. They would put that tissue into a larger, 3-D-printed ovary scaffold, then transplant the device into the patient when she finishes treatment.

"I find this paper very exciting," says Kutluk Oktay, who specializes in fertility restoration at New York Medical College and was not involved in the work.

Oktay cautions that much more research is needed to see whether this approach would work in humans. However, he is optimistic.

"I think it does open a new avenue in the area of reproductive biology and fertility preservation," Oktay says.

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