theft

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

On today's show, Google already runs out of disk space for Google +, and we're running low on disk space ourselves. The first Google eBooks integrated e-reader is landing soon, Apple takes another run at HTC, and we're discovering the most evil cities on the Internetz. --Molly

Are you the type of airline passenger who, when your hand luggage goes through security, tries to peer all the way into the machine, just to check that nothing will be tampered with?

You may have good reason to do so, if a story from Florida holds up in court.

According to WSVN-TV, a Transportation Security Administration worker allegedly had a systematic scheme for removing passengers' electronics and selling them on Craigslist.

In one incident, Broward County Sheriff's Office says that Nelson Santiago, 30, allegedly removed an iPad from a passenger's suitcase and then, well, stuffed it down … Read more

Phishing attacks are on the rise: the Anti-Phishing Work Group's April 2011 Global Phishing Survey (pdf) reports 67,677 phishing attempts in the second half of 2010, up from 48,244 in the first half of 2010, but down significantly from the 126,697 attacks recorded in the year-earlier period due to the Avalanche botnet.

Phishing attempts lasted an average of 73 hours in the last six months of 2010, up from 58 hours on average in the first half of the year, and from just under 32 hours in the second half of 2009.

When it comes to … Read more

Is malware really a problem on Android smartphones? It might just be, as evidenced by the rash of malicious apps that recently appeared in the Android Market.

As much as I dislike the idea of needing antivirus and antispyware software for my phone, better safe than sorry. And if I'm going to run such an app, it might as well kill multiple security birds with one stone.

ESET Mobile Security for Android offers malware protection, an antitheft system, call blocking, SMS blacklisting, and more. It's currently in beta, and currently free.

When you first install it, ESET Mobile Security identifies any immediate threats, which on my new Nexus S 4G included disabled SIM matching, an undefined "trusted" SIM, and an undefined password (for the app itself; it's there to prevent unauthorized attempts to uninstall it).

From there it's not immediately clear what you're supposed to do, if anything, but each of EMS' primary modules--Antivirus, Antispam, Anti-Theft, and Security Audit--comes with extensive built-in help.… Read more

There's is no such thing as a totally safe Web service. But that doesn't mean you have to go to extremes to use Web services safely. The rules are different for businesses and families with children, who need the extra protection offered by such tools as encryption software, keystroke scramblers, and proxy services (I described the OpenDNS service in a post from May 2010).

The two pillars of PC security for every user are anti-malware software and automatic software updates. Microsoft's free Security Essentials provides real-time protection from viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software. The company's … Read more

On today's show, "worms from hell" a mile or more underground. We get a look at Windows 8 and we dig it, a lot. Google says a Chinese hacker got into hundreds of Gmail accounts, which China (not surprisingly) denies. Plus, Molly gets a new boyfriend to take to the bunker (which gets grilled cheese sandwiches in addition to its chicken and Gaga), and we get schooled on matters of space shuttle transportation.

Sony has made good on its promise to offer PlayStation Network and Qriocity users a free way to keep their identity safe.

Subscribers to those services can go to a new page that Sony has set up and input an e-mail address to start the process of joining AllClear ID Plus from identity-protection company Debix. Within 72 hours, according to the page, the person will receive a free activation code, giving them access to the service for one year at no charge.

Sony first announced plans to offer AllClear ID Plus for free to U.S. customers earlier this month. … Read more

And they said Twitter was just another useless, self-aggrandizing waste of finger-pressing.

So see what you make of this tale, related by CBC, of a Canadian who says his MacBook was stolen last week in New York.

Sean Power, who happens to be a Web analyst and all round geekish hero, suddenly remembered on Thursday that he had installed Prey tracking software and began to wonder whether he might be able to follow the alleged thief. Then he had another thought: perhaps he could tweet about this situation.

The Ottawa man began like this: "Shit! Twitter, help! Prey just … Read more