Privacy, Hacking and Virus Alerts

The German government agency overseeing IT safety is warning of a security breach in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and recommending people use other browsers until the problem is fixed.

In the hope of preventing you from experiencing a similar fate, we’ve listed a number of steps you can take to protect your data and your identity online.

Users whose computers are still infected Monday will lose their ability to go online, and they will have to call their service providers for help deleting the malware and reconnecting to the Internet.

At this point, stop reading this and go change your LinkedIn password to one that’s strong. Do it now. I’ll wait.

Some researchers say that certain characteristics common to Stuxnet and Flame suggest that whoever ordered up Stuxnet is also behind Flame.

After July 9, infected users won’t be able to connect to the Internet.

More than 600,000 Mac computers were affected by a hacking attack, a sign that the once rarely targeted company is becoming a bigger focus for people intent on spreading malware, a security-research firm said.

The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.

This is when you should hang up the phone. It’s a scam.

Officials from all the partnering consumer protection organizations will be on hand to assist members of the public in shredding documents and share tips and resources to guard against fraudulent schemes, deceptive practices, ID theft and scams of all types – including the most notorious ones going on today. All shredding services are free of charge. Up to two boxes of documents are allowed.

With these downloads, your data can remain safe until you are able–hopefully–to track your device down and have it safely back in your possession.