Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Hackers can take over someone’s life in a matter of hours. Just ask Patsy Walsh.
Though she is not a tech savvy person, the grandmother of six did have a Facebook account, and that was all the hackers needed to take over her life. By using methods such as click baiting, the act of convincing someone to click on a fake link, and then gathering information, the hackers were able to use this info to get into other accounts, and eventually hacked things such as her power of attorney form, Social Security information and learned how to open her garage door and her home.
How did they do this? Mrs. Walsh used the same password for all accounts and did not use recommended security measures.
Fortunately, Mrs. Walsh’s life wasn’t ruined. Instead, this hacking was set up by the New York Times and a private company made up of “ethical hackers”, yes there is such a thing, to show just how easy it is to gain access to someone’s digital life.
Computers Are Gold Mines of Important Information
When the team of ethical hackers gained access to Mrs. Walsh’s computer, they found a number of malicious programs running in the background. Examples include InstallBrain, a program that will download programs on demand, and programs such as SlimCleaner, SearchProtect and FunWebProducts, which can spy on Internet searches, change home pages and gather information through click baiting. More than likely she downloaded some lame tool bar that added all this bloatware. Keep in mind, Mrs. Walsh was only visiting sites such as Google and Facebook, sites that most of us visit several times a day.
Stopping the Hackers in Their Tracks
We can all learn lessons from Mrs. Walsh’s experience. Here are some things that she could have done to avoid this from occurring, and things you should do to remain safe:
- Use a password manager to keep track of long or complicated passwords, and use a different password for every account.
- Use a two-step authentication service, one that asks for a second password when an unrecognizable machine attempts to access an account.
- Use automatic updates for services such as browser updates or operating system updates.
- Wipe the computer clean if necessary, then start employing these new practices.
- Stop downloading stupid useless tool bars that are often delivery methods for crappy software.
- Pay attention to what you are downloading and why. Even when you are updating software, look for any checked boxes that install bloatware.
Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.
About the Author
ROBERT SICILIANO, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com is fiercely committed to informing, educating, and empowering Americans so they can be protected from violence and crime in the physical and virtual worlds. His "tell it like it is" style is sought after by major media outlets, executives in the C-Suite of leading corporations, meeting planners, and community leaders to get the straight talk they need to stay safe in a world in which physical and virtual crime is commonplace. Siciliano is accessible, real, professional, and ready to weigh in and comment at a moment's notice on breaking news.
Similar Posts
- How to pwn Anyone
Define Pwn: Pwn is a slang term derived from the verb own, as meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. The term implies domination or humiliation of a rival. And when it’s done by hacking email, the person is effectively pwned. No matter how “private” you are on the Internet, no matter how infrequently - Montana Town Sees Significant Rise in Identity Theft
Montana is “Big Sky Country.” With guns, beer, fishing rods, and meat are sold at gas stations, some argue that it should be called the “Don’t Mess With Me” state. Butte, MT had Evel Knievel, and he was one tough cookie. And Butte, like many cities and towns across the country, is facing an identity theft - 5 Mobile Internet Security Lessons
Do these things every day religiously and you will be more secure using your mobile devices: Be careful on social sites: When logging on via mobile, know that among Facebook’s billion users, thousands or hundreds of thousands of criminals are out there too and targeting its users. Hackers are creating viruses that specifically target Android users - New Facebook Phish Steals Passwords
I got an email from a colleague today: Subject: “My Facebook account got hacked.” I wonder if you could give me some guidance here – I received the following email from Facebook: ——————————————————————– From: Facebook [XXXXXX@facebook.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:58 AM To: XXXXXXXXXXX Subject: Security Warning From Facebook Dear XXXXXXXXXX, We have detected suspicious activity on your Facebook account and have - Facebooks New (and only) Security Feature
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano So maybe you used a public PC to log into your Facebook account and you hit a button that saved your login credentials. Or maybe you received an email from what you thought was Facebook and you plugged in your username and password and got phished. Now someone other than you