If you’ve seen the 2002 movie “Catch Me If You Can,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, you’ve seen the true story of reformed super-conman, forger and deception artist Frank Abagnale who, in 1965, at the tender age of 17, became the most successful bank robber...

In my class, “Fight the Internet Bad Guys and Win,” I play a video featuring former executive assistant director of the FBI Shawn Henry. Mr. Henry specialized in computer crime and cybersecurity investigations, and is widely regarded as a top-level expert in the...

Countless computers have come my way, all with the same problem: botched Windows 10 installations. With many of these systems, the owners said the same thing: “I never told it to install.” The grim reality is, by failing to tell the computer not to install the new...

For almost a year, Microsoft has been ushering in what it touts as a new era in Windows computing. However, this is nothing new for Microsoft, as they usher in new eras about every five or six years, as new versions of their Windows operating system are introduced....

Back in "the old days" (for me, the early 1990s) when the Internet started becoming popular, most folks didn't much care about things like computer viruses, email scams, online criminals or the Russian Mafia. Sure, there were problems here and there but, for the most...

It’s called “The Internet of Things”; “IOT” for short. It’s the latest annoying buzz-phrase that seems to be showing up in more places more often than Kim Kardashian’s tush. You’d better get used to it, though, because IOT is based on last year’s most worn out and...

Countless computers have been coming my way lately, all with the same problem: botched Windows 10 installations. With many of these systems, the owners said the same thing: “I never told it to install.” The grim reality is, by failing to tell the computer not to...

Critical Security Control #3, as proposed by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), is called Secure Configurations for Hardware and Software on Mobile Devices, Laptops, Workstations, and Servers. This nerdy, wordy tome is written mainly for I.T. security pros and...

Continuing last week’s discussion of “Foundational cyber hygiene,” let’s look at the first five “Critical Security Controls” proposed by the Center for Internet Security (CIS). A good understanding of these controls is important to your safety on the Internet. The...

“Critical Security Controls,” a phrase coined by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), is a high-tech, nerdy way of saying, “super-important things you really, really, really, really need to do.” They’re not kidding around, either; you really do need to do them. The...

I am using this week’s column as an opportunity to announce three “laws” that are so obvious to me I’m surprised nobody has announced them before. If they have been announced before, I can’t find them. Therefore, here I go. Behold, the worldwide introduction of Dave’s...

Columns of the past two weeks have been prep work for what you read today. Knowing what search engines, Internet searches and browsers actually are and how they function is critical to staying out of trouble on the Internet. Today: how the Internet bad guys trick...

We looked last week at the technology and background of searching the Internet, with a warning that the search results you get from Google, Bing and Yahoo could actually get you in trouble. This week, we’ll look at some of the things you need to know in order to...

Back in the early 1990’s when I started playing with the Internet, things were generally pretty peaceful. In 1994, there were less than 3,000 websites in existence. By 1995, that number had jumped to 23,500, with only 44 million Internet users worldwide. Now, in 2016,...

Smart phones and tablet computers are increasingly becoming the prime ways people connect to the Internet. They have also become prime targets in the sights of the Internet bad guys, who aim to steal, cheat, trick and destroy, just like they have for years against the...

The Internet is like a big city. There are good parts of town and there are bad parts of town. There are parts of town where you can let your children run free, and parts your family should definitely avoid. There are parts of town that look great until a bad guy...

Moving your computer from one version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system to another can be like electing a new President and Congress. Sure, you’re living in the same country, but things are going to be done a bit differently, from now on. Windows 10, released by...

Allow me to repeat that: Microsoft did not call you. Seriously, Microsoft did not, and will not, call you; I’m positive it was not them. Many folks reading this will be puzzled so far, thinking, “Why, of course Microsoft didn’t call me; I never said they did. What are...

With the holiday season bearing down on us, Internet scammers and spammers are ramping up their efforts to more effectively trick us out of our money. Some of my customers are already reporting an increase in deceptive emails that seem to be targeted directly at them....

When you turn on a computer, hundreds of things all start running in the background, immediately vying for your computer’s attention and processing power, all trying to accomplish their various tasks. Maybe all you see on the screen is a pretty background picture,...