Hacker breaches water treatment plant in Florida, tampers with chemical safety settings

Last week, someone breached the computer system of a water treatment plant in Florida. According to public officials, the hacker tampered with critical safety settings, making changes that could have released toxic chemicals into the water supply.

The Oldsmar water treatment plant hack

The incident occured in the city of Oldsmar, Florida, a small municipality (pop. 14,000) just outside of Tampa. According to a press release issued by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified hacker accessed the City of Oldsmar’s computer system twice on February 5.

The first intrusion was brief, and …

How to avoid Valentine’s Day romance scams

Valentine’s Day 2021 is right around the corner, and the FBI is telling people to be on the lookout for romance scams. In this article, we’ll tell you what romance scams are, how they work, and how you can avoid them.

What are romance scams?

Romance scams are a kind of social engineering. In a romance scam, the scammer pretends to be romantically interested in their victim in order to gain their affection and trust. They then use the relationship to ask for money or personal information. In some romance scams, an …

How to set up a new iPhone in 2021 running iOS 14

A new iPhone is a ton of fun — but once you have your shiny new device up and running, you should also take a few minutes to configure it for security, privacy, and performance.

What’s up with WhatsApp?

WhatsApp has been in the news a lot over the past week, with critics alleging that the popular Facebook-owned messaging app has become a threat to user privacy.

7 COVID-19 vaccine scams to watch out for

The COVID-19 vaccines are here, but there have been serious issues with availability and distribution. Sadly, the bad guys are taking advantage of the situation — and of people’s anxieties — with new COVID-19 vaccine scams. 

Here’s what to watch out for, and how to stay safe:

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Zero-click iMessage exploit used to hack journalists

Security researchers have uncovered a surveillance campaign aimed at journalists in the Middle East, claiming that a zero-click iMessage exploit was used to hack their iPhones.stock

Apple and Cloudflare develop a more private Internet protocol

Apple and Cloudflare have teamed up to build a better Internet protocol. Known as ODoH, the new protocol is designed to enhance privacy by making it harder for third parties to see what users are doing online.

How to avoid package delivery scams

For record numbers of people, holiday gift buying was done online this year — and now everyone is waiting around for those presents to be delivered. The bad guys know this, and are using package delivery scams to take advantage of the situation.

5 tips to help you avoid scam Facebook ads

If you’re going to be doing some online holiday shopping in the next week or two, here are 5 things you can do to protect yourself from the kind of scam ads you may encounter on Facebook and other social platforms.

5 things to know about Apple’s iCloud Keychain in 2021

iCloud Keychain is Apple’s native password management solution for iOS and macOS, but it does more than just remember passwords! Keychain can be used to store credit card details to make online payments, remember Wi-Fi network passwords for faster logins when you’re on the go, and help you seamlessly access your social accounts. 

While iCloud Keychain is pretty familiar to anyone who uses an iPhone or a Mac, it also has some less well-known features that you should be aware of.

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How to protect yourself from e-skimmers

E-skimmers are an increasingly common cyberthreat that everyone should be aware of, as these malicious tools can be used to steal credit card details and more.

How to buy safe IoT gifts

Internet of Things (IoT) devices can make great gifts, but the IoT in general is notoriously insecure — and with IoT threats on the rise, that’s a real cause for concern.