The Older Geek

As if we didn’t have enough things to be concerned about. Identity theft and data theft is a growing problem. Hackers and other criminals are increasingly interested in our data instead of our money. This has insidious repercussions, as once stolen and abused, it is very difficult to get your good name and good credit [...]

In the previous post, I showed you How to Remove Location in Your Facebook Status. A reader asked me how to do the opposite– how to add a location to your Facebook status. This feat is much easier! Here is how: 1. Log in to your Facebook account. 2. Go to the top of the [...]

My computer recently got a virus. Although I’ve been through the practice sessions and have thoroughly planned my emergency response should the event ever occur, I was shocked to find that my emotions were largely ruling my decisions at first. When you get a virus, the effect is usually swift and strong. For me, I [...]

The big news in technology this week is the Carrier IQ fiasco. In case you haven’t heard, Trevor Eckhart posted a YouTube video exposing the secret recording capabilities of Carrier IQ on an Android phone. Here’s the video: Called a rootkit, I think Carrier IQ is heinous. Millions of other cell phone users also seem [...]

In a previous post, I reported the prevalence of “social engineering,” which is a new technique that’s been developed by hackers. Now that computers and browsers are becoming more secure with improved bug fixes and firewalls, hackers are looking to deceive computer users– YOU and ME. According to one report, 1 in 14 downloads is [...]

Wow, a news story I read at Computer World sure shocked me! According to a Microsoft report, 1 in 14 downloads is malicious! The next time a website says to download new software to view a movie or fix a problem, think twice. There’s a pretty good chance that the program is malicious. In fact, [...]

I guard my online identity jealously. When I started tinkering with online activities more than a decade ago, most users were very hesitant to post anything personal online. Things have radically changed today. Not only do users freely post their full names and children’s names, they may post their addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying [...]

It’s a heart-stopping moment, when you get an email from one of your blog’s readers notifying you of “weird popups” or “redirects to other websites” when they visit your blog. Or, worse still, Google has emailed you informing you that they have blacklisted your blog and removed it from their search engines, due to a [...]

Face it, Facebookers, there is no such thing as privacy on Facebook. Problems with Facebook: 1. They sell your personal information, and you have no control over who gets it. According to CBS News, Facebook sells your information to third party vendors, such as marketers and advertisers. This policy seems to change from time to [...]

Not too long ago, getting a computer virus or falling for a phishing scam was something that happened to other people. It was like hearing about a tragic earthquake or tsunami– it happened and it was awful, but it was far away and didn’t affect you very much. My, how the times have changed! Today, [...]