identity

Intel chips let Web sites check your computer's ID

Passwords can be phished, and carrying an extra key fob security device for accessing sensitive sites can be inconvenient. So Intel is putting authentication technology into its chips that will allow Web sites to verify that it's your PC logging into your online account and not an imposter or thief.

Intel Identity Protection Technology is being added to the chipsets of some Core and Core vPro processor-based PCs from HP, Lenovo, Sony and others, that began shipping to consumers this summer, according to Jennifer Gilburg, marketing director for the authentication technology unit.

This is two-factor authentication, which adds an … Read more

Identity thief nabbed with over 300,000 victim profiles

A California man was sentenced to eight years in prison for identity theft after federal police GPS-tracked his phone and discovered a hard drive with over 300,000 victim profiles during a raid of his home.

Robert Delgado, 40, who lived in a Los Angeles suburb called Monterey Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced on Monday. At the time of his arrest in March 2011, Delgado had already been on parole for identity theft.

Court documents show Delgado was accused of obtaining credit card numbers, forging credit cards and government-issued ID … Read more

Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2012

The bottom line: Following on last year's big overhaul, Trend Micro makes a series of smaller changes to this year's Titanium security suites. Four differences make this version $10 cheaper than Titanium Maximum Security, but for many those will be must-haves.

Review: Last year was a headliner for Trend Micro's security suites. Overhauled with a lightweight interface and cloud-based detection, and rebranded as Trend Micro Titanium, the changes made the suite competitive again. The 2012 version builds on those improvements, so this year doesn't have a lot of big changes. Still, there are enough substantial changes … Read more

Kaspersky 2012 offers solid but slow protection

The bottom line: The new Kaspersky Anti-Virus for 2012 introduces a dual cloud-and-local security system bundled under an overhauled interface that's both easy to use and familiar. The suite's scans aren't the fastest, but it definitely will protect you.

Review: Kaspersky Anti-Virus continues to provide users with a high level of protection that includes security tools not offered by many competitors. The 2012 version won't change the face of personal computer security, although this particular package of security options has attracted enough devotees to make it a best-selling program, both in and out of the security … Read more

How to prevent identity theft

Somebody breaks into your e-mail account and sends phishing spam from your address to everyone in your contacts list. Somebody else steals your online bank ID and password and cleans out all the money in your accounts. And another crook swipes your Social Security number and opens credit card, cell phone, and other accounts in your name.

All three of these crimes fall under the umbrella of identity theft. Reports of declines in identity-theft incidents from such security research firms as Javelin Strategy & Research and government agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC's consumer-complaint statistics for 2010--pdf), … Read more

What happens when Google+ cuts you off?

On Friday, Google tangled with the wrong Google+ user with an unusual name: Violet Blue.

Blue is a high-profile writer--at least in sex and technology blogging circles--who's even given two talks at Google. And she detailed her weekend-long Google+ ordeal at our sister ZDNet site today. She kept her account once she proved she really is Violet Blue, but Google lost an ally for some of its services when she found she was "guilty until proven innocent."

Google wasn't so happy with the overall situation, either. In an interview with O'Reilly Media Chief Executive Tim O'Reilly … Read more

Titanium's sharper this year, still can be honed further

The bottom line: Following on last year's big overhaul, Trend Micro makes a series of smaller changes to this year's Titanium security suites. While we loved the baked-in mobile support, free storage, and file encryption, inconsistent benchmarks hold the suites back.

New AVG suite defends your digits

A new suite from AVG called Premium Security introduces one new feature that AVG Antivirus Free and AVG Internet Security lack: identity protection. AVG Premium Security 2011, available only to people in the United States and United Kingdom, includes a new personal data protection feature called Identity Alert.

The feature is a direct response to the interests of AVG customers, said the company's ambassador of free products, Tony Anscombe. "Identity on the PlayStation Network highlights it perfectly," he said. "Ninety-four million people were affected by the hacks, and the information was hosted on servers in Japan. … Read more

Hospital scans palms to pull up medical records

A New York City hospital is using patients' palms, not insurance cards, to pull up their records, according to a new report.

The New York University Langone Medical Center started scanning palms last month to reduce paperwork and prevent identity theft, the New York Daily News reports, using a device that images the veins in a patient's hand.

Shaped like a butter tray, the black PatientSecure device uses infrared light to scan palms, then links the unique biometric trait to a patient's electronic health records.

That's right: no need to pore through a purse for an insurance … Read more

Google hopes to lure celebs to Google+

Google, apparently keen on moving beyond 10 million people on Google+, is working on a plan to attract celebrities to its new social network.

Central to the plan is the matter of verifying identities, according to a CNN report. Online identity matters are thorny on Google+, but they're particularly tricky with celebrities because of impersonation issues. I see seven Lady Gagas on Google+ right now, for example, and William Shatner's Google+ account was revoked and restored yesterday.

Google didn't comment on future plans or what happened with Shatner. It did say, though, "Just like everyone else, … Read more