Friday, July 30, 2010

The Facebook Data Torrent Debacle

Security concerns over Facebook have been raised yet again after a security consultant collected the names and profile URLs for 171 million Facebook accounts from publicly available information. The consultant, Ron Bowes, then uploaded the data as a torrent file allowing anyone with a computer connection to download the data.
Simon Davies a representative of the U.K.-based privacy watchdog Privacy International accused Facebook of negligence over the data mining technique, according to the BBC. Facebook, however, told the British news service that Bowes actions haven't exposed anything new since all the information Bowes collected was already public.
So what are the security risks? Should you be concerned? Let's take a look.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

You Don't Have to Pay for Cable TV

Almost a year ago I moved into a new apartment and did something revolutionary: I didn't set up cable or satellite TV. I was frustrated by the lack of choice (only one provider), lengthy contracts, and inexplicably high price. As someone who watches a lot of television, this seemed like a truly difficult problem, but I resolved to find a way to see my favorite shows without paying a cable or satellite bill. Fortunately, it was much easier than I thought.gloriateaches.blogspot.com
More from MoneyTalksNews.com:

How to Get Free Unlimited Cell Calls

10 Things People Buy They Should Get Free
Find a Better Mortgage in Seconds

Thursday, July 15, 2010

4 tips to protect you from ATM thieves

ATMs are under siege more than ever from skimming. Skimming, where ATM thieves steal your PIN and account number using remote devices, is increasing dramatically. Often done by sophisticated crime rings from the Eastern bloc countries, ATM skimming is becoming a high-tech art that's hard to detect.
That's bad news for consumers. Experts say that losses from skimming are approaching $1 billion. Nearly one in five fraud victims reported having their credit card PIN or debit card ATM PIN information stolen in 2009, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. And Robert Vamosi, an analyst handling risk, fraud and security at Javelin, sees ATM skimming continuing to rise this year and next.