ABC Nightlife: The Year of the Hack

How do we protect ourselves from online security problems?

radio programs for techonology, web, social media, cloud computing and computer advice

It’s beginning to look like 2011 will be remembered as The Year of the Hacker as we see thousands of people affected by computer security problems at big corporations and government departments.

As we trust more of our data to online services like cloud computing applications and social media platforms should we be expecting these organisations to protect our private and financial information?

Tony Delroy and Paul Wallbank from 10pm on Thursday, June 30 2011 discussed what is happening to our valuable data in the online world.

Aspects included;

  • What exactly is hacking?
  • Who are these hackers?
  • Why are we seeing so many hacks happening?
  • How do these data problems happen?
  • Big corporations seem to be affected, is this something small business should watch out for?
  • What can we do to protect ourselves?
  • Should we be careful with social media platforms as well?

Listen now

If you missed the program, it’s available for podcast or download at the Nightlife Website.

Useful resources

If you’re concerned that your personal details have been leaked in the latest round of security, the Should I Change My Password site checks if your email address is on the available list of compromised accounts.

Removing malware

One of our callers, George, asked about a virus that was diverting his son’s computer to an unwanted web site that loads when the system starts.

The computer has been infected with what we call a page hijacker and it can be removed with the free Malware Bytes program.

Sometimes the infection can be a bit more persistent in which case we have instructions on Removing A Trojan at our sister IT Queries website.

Upcoming programs

The date of the next Nightlife tech spot will probably be August 4, but that’s to be confirmed. If you’d like to keep up to date with upcoming appearances, visit our Events page or Subscribe to our newsletter.

Add your views

If you’d like to  join the conversation with your on-air questions or comments are welcome, phone in during the show on 1300 800 222 within Australia or +61 2 8333 1000 from outside Australia.

The show goes to air across the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Local Radio Network. Tune in on your local ABC radio station or listen online at www.abc.net.au/nightlife.

You can SMS Nightlife’s talkback on 19922702, twitter @paulwallbank using the #abcnightlife hashtag or visit the Nightlife Facebook page.

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Author: Paul Wallbank

Paul Wallbank is a speaker and writer charting how technology is changing society and business. Paul has four regular technology advice radio programs on ABC, a weekly column on the smartcompany.com.au website and has published seven books.

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