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Year: 2014

Photo stories

Yes, the Hudson did freeze — even in NYC

January 10, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Wow, it was cold here.  Kinda like Mars.  Lucky enough to get these pictures today. And lucky the ferry was running! Click here to view these pictures larger Subscribe to Bob Sullivan’s newsletter.

Privacy

She said no to the FBI; but you say yes every day

January 9, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

With all the screaming about the NSA hacking into our lives, Americans have kind of missed the point.  We’ve voluntarily given our lives to private companies for years.  Government agents don’t have to hack us. They can simply ask any of these companies for everything they have. The Supreme Court [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

IRS warns tax return ID theft a ‘growth industry’

January 8, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

The IRS tries very hard to send out tax refunds quickly, so it sometimes sends them to the wrong person. Criminals have figured this out, and increasingly try to jump between you and your tax refund. They do this by filing a tax return before you do.  Your solution: File [Keep reading]

Kids and Tech

Are your kids part of the Vanishing Web? Better find out

January 7, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Snapchat was the target of the first real hacker data leak of 2014, with data on 4.6 million members taken and posted online.  It happened during the holidays; perhaps you missed it. Or perhaps you don’t know what the heck Snapchat is. Now would be a good time to find [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Don’t sign up for a health club membership without knowing about these hidden fees and gotchas (and get a dog instead?)

January 6, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Getting shape can really make your bank account unhealthy. If you are among the millions of New Year’s resolute-rs who think January is the time to finally commit to an exercise plan, and you are considering joining a health club, know this: signing up for a gym membership can be [Keep reading]

No Picture
Technology run amok

Snapchat’s 4.6 million phone number leak; 2014 begins with a privacy bang

January 1, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Happy New Year! Snapchat is leaking users’ phone numbers online. To prove it, hackers posted 4.6 million of them online last night. What’s Snapchat? Essentially it is a service everyone is using for extra privacy, in which messages (kind of) self-destruct after a few seconds. Snapchat users, such as those [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

Bob Sullivan