GoodRx “Leaked” Your Data to Facebook and Google
As reported in the New York Times on February 1, 2023, GoodRx, the drug discount apps used by millions Americans was found by the Federal Trade Commission of "sharing sensitive personal data on millions of users' prescription medications and illnesses with companies...
Free Practical Paranoia Security Essentials Books
WHAT All of our Practical Paranoia Security Essentials books are guaranteed to be the easiest and most comprehensive cybersecurity and internet privacy books available for Android, ChromeOS, iOS and iPadOS, macOS, and Windows users. And now the first 50 people who...
Practical Paranoia ChromeOS Security Essentials Book Giveaway!
WHAT Practical Paranoia ChromeOS Security Essentials is guaranteed to be the easiest and most comprehensive cybersecurity and internet privacy book available for Chromebook users. And now the first 50 people who respond can get a free copy of our EPUB version...
Social Media in the After Life
What Happens to Us After Our Death? Ok, perhaps I've bitten off more than I can chew with that question. So how about an easier one... What Happens to Our Social Media After Our Death? THIS I can deal with! Most social media sites have some mechanism in place to deal...
NEW Practical Paranoia ChromeOS Security Essentials Released!
Welcome the newest member to our family–Practical Paranoia ChromeOS Security Essentials! One of the strongest features of ChromeOS and Chromebooks is the baked-in security. And while this is true (at least relative to Windows), there are still many areas of...
Should You Update Router and Modem Firmware?
Why Many of us know how vital it is to ensure our computers, phones, and software are updated on a regular basis. But very few give the same thought to our routers and modems. But perhaps I've gotten ahead of myself. The big question is "What is all the fuss about...
Q: What are alternatives for password protection that are more secure than traditional passwords?
A: First, let us review the problems with traditional passwords. The overwhelming majority (perhaps up to 90%) of users use the same password(s) for everything. Although this is great for remembering your passwords (you only have one or two passwords you have to...
Massive WTF?! for 500M Crypto Investors
Although many people have jumped onto the cryptocurrency bandwagon, only a few actually understand how crypto works (and I'm using the term "works" very loosely). My personal take from day one has been that crypto is the second grandest-scale hoodwinking in the...
Q: One of my employees keeps using the same weak password for everything. How can I get them to change it and make it stronger?
Answer: Were you my client, my first question would be “how do you know?” Because under normal conditions, there is no need to know an employee password. But no matter how you were to answer my question, the answer is to assign a Password Policy to the computer. Heck,...
FREE PRACTICAL PARANOIA MACOS 13 UPDATE BOOK
Well, this is embarrassing. For the first time in nine years, we have a quality control issue at The Practical Paranoid. At some point in the publishing process for Practical Paranoia macOS 13 Security Essentials, we released a version with a few old (macOS 12) assignments and screenshots.
New Credit Card Fraud Operating in the Wild
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water. Oh, wait. Wrong movie! Do you have a credit card? Do you have a cell phone? Of course you do! And if a bad actor gains access to both of these, they have found an effortless way to gain full control over...
Personal Data Tracking Report: Google Worst, Apple Best
As reported in the August 25, 2022 edition of AppleInsider (https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/08/25/google-tracks-39-types-of-personal-data-apple-tracks-12), of the five major Big Tech firms, Google tracks more personal data than any other, and Apple tracks the...
Hikvision Camera Security Alert
I normally don't post any of the daily cybersecurity alerts that post my desk. If I did, I would quickly fill up my 4TB local storage! But this is significant enough to warrant attention. Hikvision is a highly popular camera manufacturer that is found around the...
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TPM 2.0 and Win 11- Part 2
In what has to be one of the most out of character moves ever, Microsoft recently released a registry hack to install Win 11 on a system that does not meet the minimum hardware requirements set by Microsoft. Why would they do that? It’s a good question that I do not know the answer to, but if allowed to speculate, I have a hypothesis or 2. To get there, let’s go back the beginning of the Win 11 adventure.