Yes, airplanes can be hacked, just as power plants can be hacked. No, it’s not a widespread problem right now. Yes, we should talk about it before it becomes a widespread (and quite deadly) problem. No, we shouldn’t be harassing and detaining people who research these problems for a living. [Keep reading]
Now here’s a good idea. Discover Card consumers who lose track of the credit cards, but aren’t sure the cards are really lost yet, can temporarily “freeze” the cards with a new feature called “Freeze It.” New charges will be declined, which automated payments will continue, while the consumer continues [Keep reading]
It’s great that more folks are backing up their files using cloud-based services like DropBox. While hacker and virus writers get all the headlines, I think hardware failure is really the biggest risk most consumers face.Cloud services have become such a part of the way we live, however, that we’ve [Keep reading]
There was recently a very public debate about how awful airline travel is…vs. how whiney airline passengers are. In the New Yorker, Tim Wu argued that airlines actually create “calculated misery,” in order to trick you into paying more. Criminy, people pay extra now just to board the airplane early,theoretically [Keep reading]
It’s obvious that smartphones and driving are a dangerous combination. At this point, it should be obvious that ever-more-drastic laws banning cell phone use while driving have been ineffective, other than as another revenue-producing tool for law enforcement. A new study of teen drivers offers some insight into why. Experts [Keep reading]
A Georgia firm called millions of consumers attempting to
There’s a huge blind-men-and-the-elephant problem when talking about the economy. Writers can’t help but talk about it like’s it a single thing, that’s either doing well or poorly. Basically, if you’ve lost your job, the economy stinks. If you have a good job, it’s hard to understand what everybody is [Keep reading]
Victims of tax-refund identity theft have a nightmare on their hands — a long-term nightmare. A government audit found that it takes an average of 278 days for the IRS to resolve ID theft complaints and issue tax refunds. And that’s an improvement over the 312 days it took the [Keep reading]
Starbucks said this week it is “doubling down” on its free college offer, expanding from two years to four years the ambitious tuition reimbursement program it announced in 2014. The announcement also deals with criticism the program has received because student/employees had been required to shell out considerable sums and [Keep reading]
Internet firms have a tough time dealing with the kids issue. The temptation to rope children into brand loyalty is great, but many of the things that are most effective are at least immoral, if not illegal. After all, kids’ brains aren’t fully formed, and they are even easier to [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan