As you are reading this, I am in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada, attending the annual computer security conference known as “Defcon” for the fourth year in a row. Oddly billed as “the largest underground hacking event in the world,” Defcon is always...
Ah, spam! Highly prized source of nutrition; immortalized by Monty Python, and, a major source of irritation to computer users around the world. Of course, I’m talking about those blasted emails that shout at you to buy Viagra, send money to bail out Nigerian...
Your Internet-using computer’s safety and health are determined largely by your behavior. Where you go, what you click, and whom you invite in, all have a part in whether your computer is a smooth-running, enjoyable tool, or a plodding, frustrating albatross....
“Type password here,” the instructions read, and that’s exactly what millions of unwitting computer users over the years have done. They’ve obediently placed their cursor in the box, and typed the word, “password.” No big deal,...
I’ve worked for too many people who, after abusing their nice, expensive computers on the Internet for a year or so, tell me, “I don’t know anything about computers.” This is akin to driving on the highway while wearing a blindfold: sooner or...