Articles

Might be time to upgrade the typewriter!

You’ll find articles and presentations related to Computer Security , WordPress , Product reviews, Privacy, Payment Card Industry, and many others!


Categories & Topics, with count of articles in each category. Click on the category to list those articles, or scroll through the list of recent articles with abstracts below.


  • How to secure FDA approved medical devices from hackers
    Medical devices present a unique cyber challenge for hospitals. Read these guidelines before deploying them to the hospital enterprise network
  • Python paradise: Ditch the setup, soar with cloud Colab
    Are you an experienced Python programmer? Then this article is absolutely for you. On the other hand, if you are a new Python programmer, or new to programming? Then this article is DEFINITELY for you! Colab: Your browser-Based Python Playground Colaboratory, or Colab, is a game-changer for anyone who wants to code with Python. It’s a free, cloud-hosted Jupyter notebook environment that lets you write and execute Python code right in your browser, without any setup required. Whether you’re a seasoned data scientist, a curious student, or just someone who wants to tinker with code, Colab has something to offer… Read more: Python paradise: Ditch the setup, soar with cloud Colab
  • “Hello can you hear me”: Social engineering or part of the call?
    Have you ever received a phone call where the caller’s first question is, “Can you hear me?” It is not likely what you’ve been told,
  • Watering Hole attack: Cybercriminals subvert your most vulnerable favorite websites
    A watering hole attack is a type of cyberattack in which the attacker targets a website or online service that is known to be frequented by the victim’s target audience. The attacker then compromises the website or service and injects malicious code into it. When the victim visits the website or uses the service, they are infected with malware.
  • The best free video editors for vlogging, YouTube, and more!
    Are you searching for a video editor? If so, this page is for you! OpenShot Video Editor, Kdenlive, YouTube Video Maker…
  • HostMantis WordPress web hosting review – Excellent A1!
    This is a review of HostMantis, a web hosting company that has been providing reliable and affordable hosting services since 2014. They offer a range of hosting solutions, including shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers.
  • Unveiling the Top Free Internet Faxing Providers
    Free internet fax options allow you to send and receive faxes over the internet without the need for a fax machine or a dedicated phone line. These services are often referred to as “online fax services” or “virtual fax services.”
  • Unmasking The Future Of Malware with ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Analysis And Expert Commentary On The Evolving Threat Landscape
    “The future of malware” is a trigger for most of us in computer security. Most cyber professionals have an idea of what they think malware looks like in the next few years, but truly few of us write about it or document it in a formal way. In 2013, I presented on the “future of malware”. My predictions at the time were that initial attack vectors would pivot strongly away from IP based network attacks and towards (1) social engineering, (2) insider threats, and (3) overprivileged systems. At the time, application sandboxing was somewhat in an infancy (especially phone based… Read more: Unmasking The Future Of Malware with ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Analysis And Expert Commentary On The Evolving Threat Landscape
  • Reviving Your Website: Dead Link Checkers for Seamless Online Experiences
    The user experience is paramount to revisits. Dead links are frustrating for users, and reduces that “first” (or second!)_ impression. This article provides a few dead link checkers to validate a site’s internal and outbound links.
  • Breaking the glass: Mastering BreakGlass Techniques for Emergency Access
    Breakglass access is a required component of business recovery. It should only be used in emergency situations.
  • Link Tracking: Unveiling the best Tracker websites with enhanced analytics
    Looking to track who clicked your links, and when? This article will help with link tracking!
  • Where to find “free use licensed” photos and videos
    Finding the perfect photos and images is always a chore. Finding the perfect “freely licensed” image is a double chore! This article is here to help you.
  • Enhancing Security: Protecting Networks with Outbound Firewall Rules
    Reconfiguring firewalls in operational environments potentially breaks things. This article helps to develop a plan for implementing change.
  • LinkedIn Mastery: Elevate Your Career with Proven Strategies for Success
    Getting started in LinkedIn is intimidating. That’s okay! This article is going to help you persuasively approach LinkedIn.
  • Safeguarding your domain search: how to avoid ‘front runners’
    Have you every had that perfect domain name, searched online, found it was available… only to have it taken away in the couple of days it took you to decide to buy? That’s the thievery of front runners. This article is for you!
  • Coronavirus special report: Separating your Work and Personal identities
    We are our identity. Whether working from home or working in an office, separating your “Work Identity” and “Personal Identity” remains very important, both for your protection and for the security of your company. Read this article for more information.
  • The first rule of security: “Be aware” of your surroundings
    How can you protect yourself on the internet? The same methods you use to keep you safe “in real life” will also keep you safe in the digital world. First thing? Be aware of your surroundings.
  • Vishing Scams: How to Safeguard Yourself from Deceptive Voice Attacks
    The vish: Vishing and social engineering are nefarious confidence scams that pretend to be helping you. This article will help you avoid being a victim.
  • Protecting Your Personal Privacy at Work: Tips for Confidentiality and Security
    In today’s world of privacy, you might be surprised that your company is recording every one of your keystrokes. Keep your private information private.
  • The Ups and Downs: Exploring the Journey of InMotion Hosting – A Revealing Two-Year Review
    This article presents a candid review of inmotion hosting, focused on both “reseller” and “end user” accounts: Ease of use, setup, speed, and configuration.
  • Defending Your Wallet: Unveiling the Thrilling World of Payment Card Theft and How to Stay Safe
    Seems every day there are new reports of payment and credit card theft. Explore how payment card theft happens, and how to protect yourself.
  • Bulletproof Your Website: Enhancing WordPress Security with File System Protection for Login
    WordPress login hardening is a great step towards security. This article explains adding an additional password to the wp-login.php file. Every user will have to enter a secondary password before retrieving wp-login.
  • Domain Dilemma: The Pitfalls of Free Domains and the Benefits of Owning Your Own
    Ready to show off a new domain? Want to use a “personalized” domain for a new customer, but don’t wish to buy the domain until the customer actually engages you with a contract? Sometimes having a free domain is of benefit.
  • Brighten Your Website: How to Remove the Default Featured Image Shading in WordPress 2019 Theme
    This article is going to help you change the built in WordPress 2019 Gutenberg Featured Image shading.
  • Computer Security Incident Response (NIST SP800-61r2)
    The NIST Computer Security Incident Handling Guide provides a framework for creating a company focused computer security incident response plan.
  • Data Breaches Unmasked: The Devastating Reality of Identity Theft
    Identity theft is terrifying. This short article will explore what you can do if your information is compromised, and give you advice even if it hasn’t (yet).
  • Phish for phun and profit
    Phishing is a real problem, and that problem is only increasing in frequency. Phish attacks come in many different forms. Everyone is affected by phishing. Whether it be that a credit card number is stolen from your family member, or your friend gets their Facebook account hijacked, or you have your company web site blacklisted for SPAM, we are all affected by phishing attacks. Some of those attacks are worse than others. Click here for the presentation All information in this presentation is derived from public sources. A few definitions Comparison to SPAM References
  • WordPress Plugins – 2.1 Mail Relay
    Let me ask an honest question.  Would you rather be doing business with “bobrx153@hotmail.com” or “bob@randolf.com” ?  Which one looks more professional?  Which one looks more trustworthy?
  • WordPress Plugins (1.0 Introduction)
    WordPress is an incredible Content Management System — and it is free!  WordPress off the shelf is just that — a content management system.  The best part of WordPress is that it is extensible. 
  • WordPress Plugins (2.0 Security: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability)
    This post is a part of the WordPress Plugins discussion threads and focuses on Plugins that increase the Security of your WordPress site. Just as with all WordPress Plugin recommendations, only “free” Plugins will be considered. Security First, a definition for this very important section. Security is protecting the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of a system. We’ll be examining WordPress Plugins that help to achieve:
  • WordPress Plugins – 2.1 Interact with your users – Mailjet Outbound mail relay
    Emails are integratl to business. Whether for transacitional email to change a user password, or as marketing campain, this Mailjet configurator is for you.
  • WordPress Post Revisions
    Have you worked hard on a post, only to forget to save the post? I have. If you are looking to “autosave” your WordPress posts, this post is for you!
  • Using Artificial Intelligence to create predictive systems
    The term Artificial Intelligence (or AI) was coined in the mid 1950s.  AI technology was heavily funded by the Department of Defense for many years. Unfortunately, the practitioners at the time were overly optimistic and failed to overcome some of the difficulties that they faced. By the mid 1970s, funding was largely cut in favor of more promising projects.
  • Strategic breakthrough: Unleashing the power of Business & Technology Planning for unstoppable success
    This article explores basic ideas that you should keep in mind as you are starting or continuing your business. It is intended to provoke deeper thoughts for you and your executive team. From business continuity, to free coffee and free WiFi, we’ll look into ideas that are important to businesses… and to customers.
  • Exploring advantages and disadvantages of Cloud: IAAS PAAS SAAS
    Cloud early, cloud often: Four words to say that now is the time to embrace cloud services. Read more to understand and explore the advantages and disadvantages of “cloud” solutions.
  • Exploiting the SDLC: Unleashing the Devastating Power of Cyber Warfare
    Attacking software is really attacking the software development process. The adversary is looking to take advantage of software defects before those defects are repaired. This paper explores the attack timeline in the SDLC
  • Empower your website: Unlocking access with content filtering companies
    Content filtering categorize domains based on reputation. Many companies block domains based on those filters. This article will show you how to register your domains so that they are not inadvertently blocked.
  • WordPress: Transform Your Experience with Subdirectories
    Using subdirectories just makes things cleaner. This article will help you add https, www, and run WordPress from a subdirectory.
  • Identity theft
    Our online identity IS our identity. Someone masquerading as you is potentially a dangerous situation, but it is at least creepy. The problem is, as sure as everyone will pay taxes this year, we will all have our online identity compromised. What do you tell your colleagues who have had their identity stolen? What do you tell your family who have not *yet* had their identity stolen? What should they do? And what should they have done in order to reduce the vulnerability? This paper will give you ideas on preventing problems in online identity theft, and also provide guidance on how to fix a problem if it happens.
  • Centrally managing WordPress sites
    Managing multiple WordPress sites is no easy task. While managing a single WordPress site in itself can seem difficult at times, managing many WordPress sites concurrently requires keeping track of multiple security updates, different Plug-In updates, Theme updates, backups, usernames and credentials, and Firewall settings. Fortunately, this is a common problem for many WordPress managers. Why is this fortunate? Because you don’t have to reinvent anything! But you will have to work through the slew of management platforms that exist. This article is here to help you identify the best WordPress management platform for all your sites. Option: Hiring hosted… Read more: Centrally managing WordPress sites
  • Zero day, 0day, ohday, oh my!
    Hackers have a few things in their favor when it comes to getting into your network and stealing data.  One of those things is the elusive zero day.   When it comes to hacking, a zero day is an “exploitation against a publicly unknown vulnerability”. But hackers don’t need a zero day.  They only need a “zero to me day”.  What does that even mean? 
  • The end of the (land) line
    So you’ve looked at your local phone bill and it was… oh my, I’m paying that much for a simple landline phone number? This doesn’t seem right! How can I be paying $40 a month for a landline phone (base price around $15/month, plus “options” price like call waiting around $20/month, plus taxes around 22%, plus plus plus)?
  • Business Continuity Planning
    Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the pre-planning effort put in to make sure your business continues to operate even during adverse situations. BCP is the work put in before those imperfect days, in order to smoothly transition between “normal” operations and “backup” operations. A backhoe digs through the internet cables, the electricity goes out, a computer stops working, the delivery truck is involved in an accident. In all of these situations, what is the backup plan?
  • Risk management – developing a framework
    Risk management is an essential skill for any business professional. Whether it be having a second screwdriver available on the job in case one is lost or broken, or it be having Errors and Omissions or liability insurance, we are constantly evaluating risks and the costs associated with managing those risks. In this paper we are going to focus on understanding risk management. If you better understand that you have options when it comes to risks, you may be more comfortable with the risk brainstorming cycle. 1. Risk management Risks are often complex. In an effort to disassemble or distill… Read more: Risk management – developing a framework
  • Computer security hardening – safeguarding your systems
    Computer Security.  Kind of scary, actually.  With the likes of Target going down to hackers in late 2013, and a large attack on Home Depot in 2014, what can the rest of us do?  If Home Depot can be compromised, how can I protect myself? The bad news — you are a target.  Why though?  Well, let’s consider: At this point you are likely thinking, oh great, thanks for making my day.  But remember, we are trying to make your computers safer.  Before we get into that though, let’s take a look at how malware gets on your computer in the… Read more: Computer security hardening – safeguarding your systems