After years of research, and 6 months writing and re-writing, this first-time novelist (let’s call her Annie) was ready to put the finishing touches on her 300-page opus. As she sat down to her laptop she felt excited and relieved. It had been a hard slog. She pressed the power button. Nothing. She pressed again. [...]

Public Wi-Fi hotspots give us the freedom to access the Internet when we’re out and about. But they also expose us to threats. The most obvious is good old shoulder surfing. In a busy café or airport lounge it’s not impossible for someone to casually look over your shoulder and make a note of your [...]

Back in November, Facebook was the target of a concerted hacking campaign that posted violent and pornographic images in users’ news feeds. It was the kind of hack that’s more commonly seen outside the world’s premier social network. The fact that it occurred within Facebook however, means parents and children can add malicious code and [...]

The Internet offers unprecedented freedom for people to express themselves and access information. That freedom is an undeniable force for good. But there’s a flip side to the laissez-faire online environment. It can be a dangerous and dark place. This presents dangers for all Internet users but particularly children. Broadly speaking there are three risks [...]

Your Internet browser is not only your portal to the web it’s also your first line of defence against online threats. So it’s an important part of your armoury. As online threats have become better understood, security has emerged as one of the most important considerations when choosing a browser. Not surprisingly, browser developers have [...]

As the sergeant used to say, “Hey, let’s be careful out there.” Good advice for a New York City cop and anyone using the Internet these days. Cybercrime is in a constant state of flux. Methods change and the threat levels may rise and fall – as the Symantec Internet Threat Meter reports – but [...]

It is the way of the world that the bigger the crime story, the more publicity it gets. So when companies like Sony or Lockheed or Citigroup fall victim to data theft or other cybercrime, the story runs. You rarely hear stories of small businesses being attacked. Yet attacks on smaller business constitute the majority [...]

Identity theft – or if you prefer, identity fraud – is defined by The US Department of Justice Website as, “…all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” Identity theft can happen almost anywhere. Criminal networks [...]

For most people Spam, or Spim (via Internet Messaging) is the most easily understood Internet security issue. The concept of electronic junk mail is simple to grasp, the inconvenience of wading through hundreds of unsolicited emails is universally annoying, and the danger of contacting someone you don’t know, easy to appreciate. Spam isn’t just inconvenient. [...]

The sad news of the death of digital visionary and Apple founder, Steve Jobs, prompted an outpouring of tributes from around the world. The reaction has been a testament to the profound effect he had on the lives of millions of people. Jobs had a knack of producing ubiquitous machines that combine form and function [...]