Purveyor of High-Quality Verbiage » Uncategorized http://lisavaas.com technology, information security, careers, technology careers, science, bees, neuroanatomy, and many etceteras Tue, 08 May 2012 16:12:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 US man confesses to part in $1.3M bank and payroll phishing scam http://lisavaas.com/2012/05/08/us-man-confesses-to-part-in-1-3m-bank-and-payroll-phishing-scam/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/05/08/us-man-confesses-to-part-in-1-3m-bank-and-payroll-phishing-scam/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:59 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1138 Posted May 8, 2012

A 31-year-old US man from Atlanta, Georgia, admitted last week that he and his gang stole more than $1.3 million USD by phishing confidential account information from e-commerce sites. Be careful, particularly if you do your banking at a large online bank, because those are now scammers’ favored phishing grounds. The Anti-Phishing Working Group’s latest survey shows that PayPal, after years of being phishers’ fav, is no longer No. 1 It’s ecommerce sites (and BANKS!) they’re after, since there’s more coinage to be had. Read it. 

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/05/08/us-man-confesses-to-part-in-1-3m-bank-and-payroll-phishing-scam/feed/ 0 How to Give a Catastrophe-Free Presentation http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-give-a-catastrophe-free-presentation/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-give-a-catastrophe-free-presentation/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:26:12 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1094 Posted on 2012-04-10

To wit: How to prep your important presentation for blown bulbs, laptops left in taxis, projectors that get indigestion over your digital input, and viruses that spasmodically stream porn video. I share several horror stories because I know you love to point and laugh at others’ pain. But you’ll learn useful lessons, too, if you stop wasting your time on this pointless repository of clips and read the gosh-darn story.

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-give-a-catastrophe-free-presentation/feed/ 0 How to (Kindly! Gently!) Tell Users That Their IT Problems Are Their Own Fault http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-kindly-gently-tell-users-that-their-it-problems-are-their-own-fault/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-kindly-gently-tell-users-that-their-it-problems-are-their-own-fault/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:16:19 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1081 Posted on 2012-03-27

It’s not that you mind being called over when their monitors are unplugged. It’s that it’s happened multiple times — to the same users. Herein, I explain how to let users know they’re idiots without a) telling them they’re idiots and b) getting a reputation as a jerk.
Yes, it’s possible. Read the story. 

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/how-to-kindly-gently-tell-users-that-their-it-problems-are-their-own-fault/feed/ 0 Mobile phone carriers oppose law requiring warrants for location data http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/mobile-phone-carriers-oppose-law-requiring-warrants-for-location-data/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/mobile-phone-carriers-oppose-law-requiring-warrants-for-location-data/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:03:06 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1075 Posted on April 27, 2012

The proposed US bill doesn’t stop the carriers from handing over location data, but it does require that police get a warrant first. So what is CTIA’s problem with it? Read the article. 

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/04/27/mobile-phone-carriers-oppose-law-requiring-warrants-for-location-data/feed/ 0 New US counter-terrorism guidelines can hold data on citizens for years http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/26/new-us-counter-terrorism-guidelines-can-hold-data-on-citizens-for-years/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/26/new-us-counter-terrorism-guidelines-can-hold-data-on-citizens-for-years/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:30:02 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1019 Posted March 26, 2012

Last week, US counter-terrorism officials were granted permission to increase the period of time they can retain information about citizens, even if those citizens aren’t tied to terrorism. Here’s my writeup.

I can only repeat the headline for Wired’s cover story: Watch what you say. BTW, do read the Wired piece I reference in the above article, “The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)“. The NSA’s new data center and other programs are well on the way to cracking even AES encryption (!!!). and the storage facility has the “near-bottomless” capacity to hold “the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital ‘pocket litter.’”

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/26/new-us-counter-terrorism-guidelines-can-hold-data-on-citizens-for-years/feed/ 0 Detecting phone scammers automatically through keyword and voice tone analysis http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/detecting-phone-scammers-automatically-through-keyword-and-voice-tone-analysis/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/detecting-phone-scammers-automatically-through-keyword-and-voice-tone-analysis/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:10:27 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=1011 Posted March 22, 2012

Fujitsu says it has created a system that can recognise when somebody is being victimized by a phone scammer, by combining voice intonation analysis with keyword recognition. Read the full story on Naked Security. 

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/detecting-phone-scammers-automatically-through-keyword-and-voice-tone-analysis/feed/ 0 Multi-word passphrases not all that secure, says Cambridge University http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/multi-word-passphrases-not-all-that-secure-says-cambridge-university/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/multi-word-passphrases-not-all-that-secure-says-cambridge-university/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:05:13 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=999 Posted March 19, 2012

Think a passphrase of multiple, random dictionary words is as unguessable as long strings of gibberish, but easier to remember? Not necessarily, according to a recent study. Read the story on Naked Security.

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/22/multi-word-passphrases-not-all-that-secure-says-cambridge-university/feed/ 0 US Army warns about the risks of geotagging http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/14/us-army-warns-about-the-risks-of-geotagging/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/14/us-army-warns-about-the-risks-of-geotagging/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:58:54 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=979 Posted  March 14, 2012

The security risk of geotagging is obvious for soldiers: Every time your smartphone uploads a photo to Facebook, it includes exact latitude and longitude. The same goes for anybody: Geotagging on Timeline, Foursquare et al. presents a Dummies Guide to Stalking. Here’s the story on Naked Security. 

 

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/14/us-army-warns-about-the-risks-of-geotagging/feed/ 0 The Eminently Ignorable Document Retention Policy http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/08/the-eminently-ignorable-document-retention-policy/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/08/the-eminently-ignorable-document-retention-policy/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:34:25 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=964 Posted 03-02-12

Most businesses (93%!!!) have retention policies that dictate when and how to burn shit up. (Burn/delete/pulverize/whatever-ize.) Most businesses TOTALLY IGNORE THOSE POLICIES!! We made a nifty infographic to show how blasé we are about these matters. Check out the infographic on HPIO, then read the HPIO story about how to actually, you know, STOP IGNORING YOUR POLICIES!!!

]]> http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/08/the-eminently-ignorable-document-retention-policy/feed/ 0 How to Travel Unmolested by Warrantless Seizures and Creeping Malware http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/08/how-to-travel-unmolested-by-warrantless-seizures-and-creeping-malware/ http://lisavaas.com/2012/03/08/how-to-travel-unmolested-by-warrantless-seizures-and-creeping-malware/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:20:49 +0000 Lisa Vaas http://lisavaas.com/?p=953 Posted March 8, 2012

Travel to the US can be a nightmare; “Homeland Security” has free rein to take your laptop or mobile phone. Travel to China is a good way to bring spyware and malware back home. Here are some helpful tips to make air travel smooth and free of frustrating security snags. Read the story on HP Input/Output. 

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