You can stay safe from gift card scams by checking gift cards for physical tampering before purchasing them and avoiding requests that ask you to purchase gift cards as a form of payment. While gift cards are a common gift that many people choose to give each other, they are also commonly used by scammers for financial gain. According to the Better Business Bureau, gift card scams increased 50% from 2022 to 2023 with losses from January to September 2023 totaling $147 million.

A botnet is a network of infected devices known as bots, which are controlled by a single attacking party known as a bot herder. Botnets are made up of Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as computers, mobile devices, network routers and smart TVs. Botnets are used to carry out time-consuming cyber activities such as managing online chatrooms or tracking internal data. However, cybercriminals can use botnets for malicious purposes such as launching large-scale cyber attacks and stealing sensitive data.

The main difference between malware and viruses is that malware is an umbrella term used to describe all types of malicious software, whereas viruses are a specific type of malware. In other words, all viruses are malware but not all types of malware are viruses. Continue reading to learn what malware is, what a virus is, the key differences between the two and how you can protect yourself against all types of malware, including viruses.

While support for hardware security keys is not new to Keeper, historically users were required to have a backup Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) option in addition to using a security key. Keeper is excited to announce support for user authentication leveraging only a hardware security key as the 2FA method, without requiring a backup option.

You can save all sorts of sensitive information in 1Password including your usernames and passwords, addresses, credit cards, and medical records. It’s also a safe and convenient place to store your passkeys – a new type of login credential that lets you sign in to accounts with unmatched security and convenience.

If you accidentally answer a spam call, scammers know your number is connected to a real person and can target you with more spam calls. These targeted spam calls will try to trick you into giving up your personal information which allows cybercriminals to steal your money, your identity and even your voice. You should avoid answering spam calls to help prevent cybercriminals from trying to steal your personal information.

Cyber extortion is a category of cybercrime that involves digitally threatening or coercing someone to do something against their will. Cyber extortion typically disables an organization’s operations or exposes an entity’s valuable assets such as confidential data, intellectual property or infrastructure systems. A cybercriminal will then threaten organizations or individuals to pay a ransom to prevent further cyber attacks or regain access to their sensitive files or operations.