Twitter took some heat earlier this month for resetting more passwords than necessary after detecting a security breach in its microblogging network, as CNET's Daniel Terdiman reported on the Internet & Media blog.

The more followers you have, the more potential damage may result from a compromised Twitter account. That's why it's big news when the Twitter feeds of media organizations such as Reuters and Fox News are breached by hackers who post false news stories.

CNET News Editor Steven Musil describes the two attacks on the Reuters Twitter account last August, and Fox News' infamous erroneous … Read more

It's Cyber Monday, and while you're busy shopping online, chances are you'll see lots of user reviews on various products. While the majority of those reviews do come from real users like yourself, who are passionate enough to share their opinions on a product, many of them could be fake, left by the vendors themselves to either promote their product or, in some cases, smear competitors.

While it's exceedingly difficult to absolutely prove that a review is faked, here are a few tips on spotting those that aren't from real users. These will come in … Read more

It's that time of the year again, when savvy shoppers like yourself head to your favorite online retailers to avoid the ridiculous shenanigans and flesh-pressing of Black Friday. But just because you know enough to buy online doesn't mean that there aren't some good tips worth paying attention to. Here are a few worth repeating for habitual online shoppers.

Change your passwords now because chances are, you haven't in a long time. Change your e-mail account password, change your banking password, and change the passwords for online shopping accounts like at Amazon. A good tip for … Read more

We don't know where, we don't know when, but we do know for sure that disaster will strike. The only thing we can do is prepare for a day we hope never arrives: the day something turns our world upside-down, as Sandy has done for so many people in New York, New Jersey, and other parts of the East Coast.

You can help your neighborhood get ready for whatever calamity fate may have in store by creating a neighbor social network that links to emergency-preparedness information customized to your locality. The free Nextdoor private social network launched recently … Read more

Need to shut down your PC in a hurry? Simple. Here are two handy keyboard shortcuts to save you time and mousing.

Close all open programs A little-known set of keystrokes will shut down all active programs at once in no time.

Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then Alt-T to open Task Manager's Applications tab. Press the down arrow, and then Shift-down arrow to select all the programs listed in the window. When they're all selected, press Alt-E, then Alt-F, and finally x to close Task Manager.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's seven steps that … Read more

If you stick with your software's default settings, you're letting the programs' vendors determine how much security is right for your system. Those vendors have their best interests in mind, not yours.

As I pointed out in last week's post titled "Ten simple, common-sense security tips," PC security doesn't have to be complicated. However, not all important PC security measures are easy to implement. Follow these less-than-intuitive steps to block Flash cookies, lock down your browser, and test your Facebook profile's privacy.

Note that not everyone needs the level of protection offered by … Read more

A friend took me to task last week for a post I wrote back in January on preventing Google from tracking you when you search. His alternative solution: "Just use Bing."

That got me thinking about other no-brainer approaches to security that thumb their noses at the conventional (and often convoluted and time-consuming) advice of the experts.

Search without footprints via the 'other' search engines Truly anonymous Web surfing requires the use of a VPN service that blocks your IP address as well as other personal information. (For more on VPN, see the tip below.) If you simply … Read more

Last week's notice by researchers at Security Explorations of an unpatched hole in the Java runtime environment may have left you wondering whether to disable Java until Oracle releases a patch. CNET's Topher Kessler noted in his report on the Java flaw that no malware exploiting the vulnerability has yet been documented.

Which leads to the question, "Do I need Java?"

The best way to find out is to disable Java in your browser and re-enable it only if you encounter a site that prompts you to download Java before it will open. Then you can … Read more

Thieves love smartphones. They're easy to snatch, easy to conceal, and most importantly, easy to resell.

If you're the victim of a smartphone robbery, you have more to lose than the phone itself. The thief may attempt to use or sell the personal data stored on the device to make fraudulent purchases or otherwise steal your identity -- and maybe empty your bank account.

There are two things every smartphone user should do to minimize the damage resulting from loss of the device: lock the screen and activate a remote-location and remote-wipe service.

In a post from earlier this month … Read more