DIY Cyber Guy

In this episode, we discuss the worldwide impact of blockchain from the perspective of a person who advises  governments – George Goognin . George is a Board Member of the Mile Unity Foundation, which educates governments and enterprises on how to apply blockchain technologies. George is the co-founder of peer to peer loan system Karma, and he is vice chairman of the Russian Parliament Blockchain...

Spear phishing.  It's when a hacker crafts an email or social media post designed to get you to click a link or open an attachment.  And it is the most prevalent threat to both business and personal computers today. According to the FBI, it is also the method that hackers used to create the infamous hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during the 2016 Presidential election.  Find out wh...

Another major hack is in the news; this time it is Reddit.  If you have a username and password on Reddit, even if you have been using a pseudonym, listen to this episode for tips and tactics to keep yourself safe online.

Do you want to find our more about your family history by doing a DNA test, or maybe you want to give a DNA test as a gift? You need to know which testing companies protect your DNA data (and which do not)! Our special guest is Jules Polonetsky , CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum. 

What's The Difference Between Cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings?  The answer may surprise you.  Listen to Blockchain compliance expert Diana Adachi before turning your money into ether!

Blockchain could have as great an impact on communication and culture as the Internet itself.  Find out why, and what you need to know about blockchain, with technology expert Ari Zoldan .

Did you know that 60% of small businesses that get hacked go out of business in less than 6 months? It's true, and it's avoidable. Listen to expert tips from cybersecurity guru Peter Clay.

The most vulnerable part of cryptocurrency is blockchain, its the individual's private key. How do you protect yours, and how do you keep hackers from staling your funds? Listen to this episode for expert advice from blockchain expert Dr. Serhii Yelchenko.

This week on DIY Cyber Guy, my guest is cybersecurity and privacy expert Dr. Chris Pierson.  We look at a recent Amazon Dot vulnerability that sent out 16-second recordings of conversations in people's homes. Also, hackers figure out how to easily use an expired hotel room key to actually make a master key - we will tell you how to check to make sure your hotel is safe before you check in.

Ransomware. It is the virus that actually makes money for the attacker. At first, it was randomly deployed, just like the nuisance viruses of the past, indiscriminately finding victims through phishing and spoofed websites. But the game is changing, as the Georgia cities of Atlanta and Savanna found out the hard way. Special Guest, Cybersecurity expert and Mile2 Cybersecurity Trainer, Michael Kapl...

Companies that offer free services, like Facebook and Twitter, are for-profit companies. So where is the profit if the service is free?  It could be in an 'upsell' product, like LinkedIn, which means that some useful features are not available in the free version of the product and require a subscription fee to access. Another common profit model is to collect and sell your data, which is one of t...

This week, I had the privilege of interviewing a real hacker about how hackers hack. Their tools, tactics, and tricks – and we will tell you exactly how to protect yourself and your family. Our guest is  Moe Sani , who has been an "ethical Hacker" for over 14 years. He began hacking at age 15, and has worked as a  hacker and penetration tester for several companies around the world – and he is on...

This is still a terrible time to buy a new computer! Why? Uncertainty around Intel's latest Spectre fix, plus a series of back-doors were just discovered in AMD chips. Wait to buy a computer, if you can – this episode explains why. Also, Microsoft is back-peddling on its March 13, 2018 update because it may cause your compute to crash – among other reasons. HP Printers are still being used to pene...

The largest internet DDoS attack in history briefly shut down several popular sites, I'll tell you what happened and why you need a little patience this week. Bottom line: News of the death of Internet is premature! - Update on Intel, and why I am still recommending that you avoid buying computers with certain Intel chips inside. But that could change soon. - Microsoft will facilitate Intel Code U...

Bitcoin. Crypto currencies. You probably know computers are involved with this stuff, and computers use electricity. Did you know that the computing power needed to process a Bitcoin transaction may get so large that the electricity cost could outpace any revenue? Actually, that has already happened in some parts of the world where electricity is not available at low prices.  But don't count Bitco...

Do you use Facebook? This episode is 'must listen' for you! Facebook has a new 'Protection' product that is the opposite of protection, or at least the opposite of privacy.  Actually, it meets the definition of spyware. We will tell you what information they want to collect about you, and how to avoid this feature. Also, we talk to the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Global Cyber Alli...

There are several manufacturers and providers, and HUNDREDS of products, that you need to avoid, including some big names like Intel, Adobe, Kaspersky and maybe Huawei. We don't make these recommendations lightly because we know that if all of our listeners stop buying these products, it will hurt the business of legitimate companies. However, the nature and the scale of the vulnerabilities in the...

The Equifax hack was historically bad, with the data of over 145 Million people exposed, which is now for sale on the Dark Web. Now, that data is being used to file fraudulent tax returns, which lets the bad guy get your tax refund. So, when you go to file your taxes this year, you may find that Uncle Sam thinks they already sent you a refund. We will tell you what to do.

Understanding the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities is complicated, so we use an old Gwyneth Paltrow movie to help explain what is happening.  And, if you are buying a new computer, we explain why to avoid Intel (for now); the problem with some of their chips may take years to redesign. 

There is a  new Tinder hack! Tinder is potentially leaking lots of information about you; listen to find out more. The biggest cryptocurrency hack ever (no, it's not Bitcoin). YouTube gets an ad "bug." And Spectre won't go away. We have a guest, Ben Rothke, with lots of great tips, and we answer a few listener questions, too.

We have a sobering report from the World Economic forum. And, by 'sobering,' we mean: if you don't already have a drinking problem, this could cause one! We also talk about the IoT Christmas, and new things to watch out for. Plus we have a great interview with David Redekop of DNS-Thingy.

This episode focuses on two large tech companies which set all of up a line of products with a default username of "admin" and a default password that is also "admin." And, you may be surprised to learn that you own one of these items – and have to fix it! Our guest is Philip Andreae who will help us understand why we can't swipe our credit cards like the old days, and he fills in some blanks on B...

We have a great show today filled with simple things you can do to avoid the major hacks and attacks happening on the internet right now. No computer science degree necessary – just do it yourself! Our guest is  Shahid Buttar  of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, speaking about net neutrality and privacy issues.