Debit card Archives - The Silicon Underground

Pros and cons of RightTrack or SnapShot devices

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 11:00:35 +0000

Insurance companies are starting to offer discounts if you plug one of their devices, often called a RightTrack or SnapShot, into your car’s ODB2 port. One of my college buddies asked me about them when his insurance company offered his

The post Pros and cons of RightTrack or SnapShot devices appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

1984 called. It wants its surveillance back.

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:00:50 +0000

So, the reaction to my story about my coworker’s 10-year-old going all Scooby Doo on the guy who had the nerve to steal his dad’s car was definitely mixed. Most people, of course, lauded the 10-year-old’s detective work. Others pointed out the

The post 1984 called. It wants its surveillance back. appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Another breach, more credit-card advice

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 11:00:19 +0000

So Minnesota-based Supervalu, an operator of grocery stores, had a data breach in the midwest last week. If you’ve shopped at Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher’s, Shop ’n Save, Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, or former Supervalu chains Albertsons and Jewel-Osco

The post Another breach, more credit-card advice appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Why the Target data breach news keeps getting worse, and what you need to do

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:00:35 +0000

As you probably know, last year some still-unknown criminals stole a whole bunch of credit and debit card data from Target. And the story keeps changing. First there weren’t any PINs. Then they got the PINs, but no personally identifiable

The post Why the Target data breach news keeps getting worse, and what you need to do appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Cutting through the fluff around the Target PIN breach

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 23:34:38 +0000

OK, so Target is back in the news, and it’s nowhere nearly as bad this time but there’s some posturing and some fluff in the news, so I’ll take it upon myself to demystify some of it. Some of it’s

The post Cutting through the fluff around the Target PIN breach appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

What I’m doing to protect myself after the Target data breach

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 11:00:41 +0000

As you’ve probably heard, Target had a bad month. Between the days of 27 November and 15 December, about 40 million credit card numbers were stolen, making it one of the biggest breaches of its kind in history. As far

The post What I’m doing to protect myself after the Target data breach appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Two simple ways to increase your credit score

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:00:59 +0000

I have a friend who makes more money than me, has no debt except for a small mortgage, and his credit score is 150 points lower than mine. By becoming more like me, you can increase your credit score. The

The post Two simple ways to increase your credit score appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

No, it doesn’t take a “serious hacker” to crack wi-fi through WPS

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:15:49 +0000

John C Dvorak is raving in PC Magazine about Netgear wireless routers and range extenders and how easy WPS makes it to set them up–and providing some very seriously flawed security advice along the way. “Note that WPS is crackable

The post No, it doesn’t take a “serious hacker” to crack wi-fi through WPS appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

My Zinio adventures

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:00:53 +0000

My Classic Toy Trains subscription lapsed. I decided I wanted to subscribe to the digital edition and see if I liked the paper reduction enough to live with the DRM restrictions. I can always switch back to paper next year,

The post My Zinio adventures appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Don’t fall for get-rich-quick schemes: Check out the claims before you sign

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:01:30 +0000

The pitch sounded too good to be true. While most bank accounts in the United States are paying a piddly 4% interest, and rates are more likely to go down than up, there's another country whose economy is booming, is one of the safest places in the world for your money, and routinely pays 9, 10, or even 14 percent interest on three-month CDs.

I clicked the banner ad. I read what the guy had to say. But I didn't sign on the dotted line. Here's why.

The post Don’t fall for get-rich-quick schemes: Check out the claims before you sign appeared first on The Silicon Underground.