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How dangerous is the internet for children? According to Marija Manojlovic, it’s even worse than we imagined. This week we chart the dangerous freeways and dark alleys of the internet, the hazards they pose specifically to children and what you can do to protect them. From cyberbullying to AI-based scams to much more serious crimes, Manojlovic walked us through what children need to know to avoid the online dangers they face, and how parents can begin the difficult project of balancing entertainment with privacy, security and child safety. This week’s Tin Foil Swan is a lightning round on holi ..read more

With a million followers and several books on kitten care, Hannah Shaw is no stranger to interview requests and the technical issues to which they often give rise. But when a podcaster helped her navigate a “problem” in her Meta settings, Kitten Lady was hacked. Hear how her eye for deceit and nimble action saved the day. Check out the episode to find out why keeping up-to-date with social media apps and settings can keep you from falling prey to the same scam, and why you should consider adopting a kitten (Travis did right after the recording). This week’s Tin Foil Swan asks the question: Are ..read more

Adam Levin was a featured guest and sponsor of the “What the Hack-a-Thon,” a real-time event for journalism students to learn to spot misinformation, deepfakes and scams online. Listen to Levin’s interview with the Lead, a UGA podcast here: The post Adam Levin Leads “What the Hack-a-Thon” at UGA Grady appeared first on Adam Levin ..read more

Apple has long made marketing hay of the security benefits associated with macOS and iOS devices. Users were willing to pay a premium for Apple hardware and upgrades (compared to Windows and Android-based devices), and remain within the walled garden of Apple services in exchange for better security and privacy.  A series of headline-making glitches and failures in 2023 raises a question regarding user perception of Apple’s marketing hype. A few lowlights from 2023: A new wave of infostealers targeting macOS: Infostealers are a type of malware designed to exfiltrate sensitive data. MacOS ..read more

On this week’s episode a veteran journalist helps us explore our usual beat from a new point of view. CBS Washington Correspondent Major Garrett is the host of “Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen” and an absolutely stellar guide as we parse the similarities and differences between spies and hackers. Check out this week’s episode to learn the fascinating story of one of America’s most notorious spies, what he had in common with the garden-variety romance scammer, and what we can learn from Hanssen’s story, the guy who tricked the trickiest people on Earth. “What the Hack with ..read more

Want to keep your car out of your sex life? Jen Caltrider created Mozilla’s “*Privacy Not Included” to help consumers make informed choices about popular products and services we all use—like pervert car companies and data-grabbing toys. Check out the episode to have your most paranoid suspicions confirmed about who’s watching you and to find out why you’re probably better off buying your kids something old-fashioned for the holidays. “What the Hack with Adam Levin” is available wherever you get your podcasts. If you like it, consider rating us on your favorite podcast service or wri ..read more

We talked to New York Times reporter Emily Flitter about criminals who use deepfakes to rob high-net-worth individuals. Spoiler alert: It’s a lot easier than you might think! Exploring something that we only vaguely thought was true, i.e. that it’s possible to use publicly available audio to create convincing voice doubles good enough to trick anybody into sending money. It’s not only rich people who are getting targeted. Tune in to hear ways to keep however much money you have in the bank a little bit safer. “What the Hack with Adam Levin” is available wherever you get your podcasts. If you l ..read more

Adam Levin was featured on a segment on WABC-TV’s “7 On Your Side” with host Nina Pineda, where he discussed how to identify, and to protect against, social media account takeovers, hacks and scams. See the segment below: The post Adam Levin Discusses Social Media Hacks and Scams with Nina Pineda & WABC7 appeared first on Adam Levin ..read more

More interested in news than partisan views? Sadly, there’s no app for that. The post-Elon Musk media apocalypse has arrived, and it’s misinformation-friendly. Media Matters CEO Angelo Carusone joins us to discuss how legit media can add some friction to the fictions that go viral when the world is on fire. We take a specific look at platforms like Rumble, X (nee Twitter) and other peer-to-peer apps, discuss the advantages of reading newspapers, and Adam challenges Beau who defends himself with animal memes. This week’s Tin Foil Swan gives the basics for field new identification. (Hint: if you ..read more