technology

Since the start of the pandemic, I and many other people have become accustomed to meetings on Zoom. Whether for business or personal gatherings, Zoom has been a great way to safely stay in touch. I recently attended a family reunion that normally convenes every summer. Because of the pandemic, we had not met in […]

This is a concise list of recommended practices to ensure the security of your computer(s). Use an unprivileged account for normal activities. Every system needs at least one administrator account, but that account should not be used for anything other than administrative functions. (By default, the first account created will be an administrator.) Users should normally

“Smart” devices are all the rage these days, and you might have some in your house. They are connected to the Internet so that you can do whatever with them from anywhere. What’s not to like about that? Unless they aren’t really as smart as they should be. Here’s a story about a “smart” coffeemaker

I know people who avoid doing shopping, banking and other financial activities on-line because they don’t think it’s safe. If only it was that simple. While it is true that any on-line account can potentially be compromised, there is also a security benefit to creating certain accounts: If you don’t create an account at your bank’s

FastCompany has these 4 easy ways to reclaim your online privacy. I recommend all of them.

Fidelity provides this excellent overview of the things you should be doing to stay safe online.

Comcast is whining about Google’s plans to encrypt DNS traffic. Google’s approach has valid technical criticisms, but Comcast is mostly worried about losing access to its customers’ browsing histories.

I like Apple products, but their policy on self-repair is an abuse of their market power, pure and simple. It needs to change.

If you own an iOS device, you need to read this explanation of the checkm8 boot ROM exploit that lets practitioners explore all the inner workings of iOS apps and iOS itself. 

A virtual private network (VPN) is a great tool for protecting your privacy and security on the Internet, especially when you’re using a public network or Wi-Fi hotspot. However, not all VPNs are trustworthy, and some are nothing more than thinly disguised data collectors. Here are some sites that help you weed out the good

According to Microsoft, multi-factor authentication will stop over 99.9% of unauthorized login attempts, even if the attacker has the correct password.

I highly recommend using a password manager for all of their benefits, but you really should read Stuart Schechter’s detailed report on potential traps and trapdoors.

I like and have used a lot of Apple products, but this one deserves all the ridicule it gets. Have at it!

I’ve never used Uber (or Lyft), but I know many people do, both riders and drivers. Some people think Uber is great. For riders, it’s convenient for getting from point A to point B. For drivers, it’s an easy way to earn some extra money. With all due respect to those people who drive for

Your car is becoming a surveillance device.

Here’s an article about a security vulnerability in Auth0, a technology used for user authentication. It might be too technical for some readers, but it underscores some important points about on-line security: Good security can be hard to do. Technology designers and implementers (coders) make mistakes. There is no silver bullet that guarantees security. The