Do you use Gmail? If you do, you might have noticed a new addition to…

Encryption; why it should matter to you

Springtime for us means it’s time for none another than…spring cleaning! And if there is…

How to spring clean your PC!

Remember that time that you, channeling your inner diva, began to belt it out on…

The dangers of public Wi-Fi

Chalk it up to the fact that homo sapiens have always had to find new…

Curiosity killed the computer

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that “adware” and “annoying” both start with the letter A, because…

Adware Goes Rogue

We have written a lot about ransomware in all different forms and incarnations here on…

Ransomware, Ransomware , Everywhere

We’re betting you love your smartphone. It’s okay if you do, because you’re in good…

The Banking Trojan in Your Pocket (or, Why Your Smartphone is Way Less Secure Than you Think it is)

Where were you in 2012? If you were on LinkedIn back then, there’s a good…

Have you Been Pwned in the LinkedIn Data Dump? Here is how to Tell!

Remember how your crazy old Aunt Sally stashed all her money in between mattresses because…

Lessons from the SWIFT Fiasco; Could you be Banking Safer ?

June is upon us and with it comes some of life’s sweet little pleasures –…

The Mega Hacks Cometh!

Invariably, if you use the internet a lot, you probably hear the term “The cloud”…

Are You a Closet-Cloud-Confusee? Understanding The Cloud and What it Means for Your Security

So if you remember, about two weeks ago we told you about a huge string…

Mark Zuckerberg Gets a Lesson in Password Safety

Boom! Whizz! Bang! Typically, when you think of the Fourth of July, you think about…

The How to Liberate  Your Device From Intruders Guide for the Fourth of July

Wondering what your friend or co-worker is doing, staring at his or her phone, wandering…

Go, Pokemon Go! The Latest Craze that Could Fill your Device with Malware

So not only is Pokemon go the biggest craze ever (seemingly anyway), it also seems…

Privacy in the Age of Pokemon Go!

We are well into the summer and for a whole lot of people that means…

Sure, it's Not Your Fault; But They Got Your CC Info Anyway

We’re finally in the home stretch – In just a few days, school starts up…

8 Essential Back-to-School Cyber Security Tips for a Rockin&#039; (and secure) School Year

Happy National Online Learning Day! Wait, is that even a thing? Well, it is and…

Happy Online Learning Day! (Yup, it's Really a Thing!)

Here at Reason Software, we are excited to announce the release of Unchecky v1.0. This…

Unchecky v1.0 is Here! Interview with Michael Maltsev

Attention any and all persons weighing 400 pounds or more — Donald Trump thinks you…

Is Cyber Security Worth a Spotlight at the Debates?

Gather ‘round and we’ll tell you a tale (okay, a few tales) of mystery, murder,…

Creepy Tales from the Internet of Things Crypt

As morning hits around the globe, the world is waking up to find out that…

Lessons Learned From the Election Shocker; Don't Let Hacks Take You by Surprise

For better or for worse, the biggest shopping season of the year has arrived. Now…

The Ultimate How to Not Get Hacked While Shopping Online Guide

Oh, Thanksgiving Day. You probably get a warm and fuzzy feeling even before the sugar…

The (Rotten) Gift that Keeps on Giving

As if worrying that your Android might suddenly explode wasn’t enough to worry about. Researchers…

The Gooligan Android Breach; What you Need to Know

“Um, honey, I think we have a problem. The computer is telling me that all…

Vulnerability of the year: Ransomware

2016 has come and gone and now we can look back at the year that…

A is for Apple, B is for BitCoin; The Most Noteworthy Data Breaches of 2016

It’s been a full fifteen minutes since you last checked your Facebook account (oh, the…

Fake News Flash; Think Before you Share!

Mobile devices have come a long way. We mean a reeeallly long way. In but…

Simple Tips to Spotting Evil Apps

How does the idea of a smart city sound to you? The term might conjure…

The Hidden Dangers in Smart Cities + 5 Bonus Tips to Secure Your IoT Devices

You know the only saying “Nothing is certain but death and taxes”? Seems pretty clear…

5 Tricky Tax Season Scams and How to Avoid Them

When was the last time you went to your bank? If it feels like you’re…

5 Major FinTech Security Concerns You Need to Know About Before You Bank

In honor of Mother’s Day, we thought it would be fitting to take a look…

The amazing mothers of tech

By now, WannaCry is a household name. The ransomware that shocked the world on May…

WannaCry No More? You Better Start Patching

When is adware not just adware? When it’s also malware, of course! Fireball, a new…

Fireball & the explosive malware heard around the world

Imagine this scene: You’re sitting at home one night, happily watching House of Cards on…

Attacks to critical Infrastructures: the next cyber front to worry about

“We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data….We also are focused…

Think Your ID was Exposed in the Equifax Breach? Here&#039;s What to do About it

This post has been updated to reflect the current BitCoin to UD Dollar exchange rate,…

Everything You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency

In a recent post, we discussed the basics of cryptocurrency — what it is, how…

The Role of Cryptocurrency In Cyber Crime

Remember the Petya/NotPetya ransomware outbreak from back in June? That was the ransomware that was…

Bad Rabbit: The New Ransomware With Some Famous Cousins

“It’s the most hackable time of the year.”  Oh wait, that’s not how the song…

How To Steer Clear of Cyber Monday Scams

As the holidays draw closer, chances are you’re busy making your gift list and checking…

What NOT to buy for the holidays

Another day, another oddly named malware attack. Last week, researchers from Kaspersky disclosed that they…

ZooPark and Watering Hole Attacks

So now, May 25th has come and gone. If you live in the EU, you’re…

Oh, the irony; phishers are using GDPR to scam you

Which is worse: getting hit with crypto mining malware or falling prey to ransomware? with…

Ransomware or crypto mining malware? Rakhni is both!

You may not have known, but September 15th is National Online Learning Day. Nowadays, it…

Watch out for online learning scams!

Veux-tu Virobot? For the non-francophones among us, what we’re asking is if you’ve heard about…

Virobot: are monster mash-ups the future of ransomware?

January 28th is International Data Privacy Day. If you’re wondering why data privacy needs its…

It's Data Privacy Day: What does your camera know about you?

Today, cameras are everywhere — on our phones, our Alexas, baby monitors, desktops, laptops, home…

Webcam hacking; taking back what’s yours

In spring 2018, a powerful banking Trojan named BackSwap surfaced, targeting online banking users in…

Browser-based threats; Don’t worry, we’ve got your back

Another day, another major hack. This time around, India-based outsourcing giant Wipro was hit with…

To Scan or Not to Scan; The Proactive Way to Protect Your PC

  Today is Mother’s Day, the day set aside to honor those special women, who…

The 5 Coolest Mother’s Day Tech Gifts You Can Find (and how to secure them!)

Reason is excited to launch Reason for Business, a powerful endpoint security protection solution for…

We Invite You to Join Reason for Business Beta

Cybersecurity breaches only make the headlines when they involve large entities like banks or tech…

Think SMBs Fall Under the Radar as Targets for Cyber Threats? Think Again.

The threat landscape is undeniably becoming more challenging and more menacing every day. It seems…

Reason Download Defender- It’s time to defend your downloads.

While spring cleaning may only come around once a year, PC cleaning needs to happen…

Should I Remove It? It’s cleaning time! How to declutter your PC.

6 tips for celebrating National Online Learning Day and keeping your data safe! Magnifying the…

To learn (online) or not to learn?

Next up on the ‘crazy meter’, and probably the ‘creepy meter’ as well, is the…

What happens when ‘ransomware’ meets ‘crazy’?

Recently, the cryptoblackmail scam, “ScamYourself”, has returned to the market – many usersworldwide have been…

Threat Analysis Report: Save Yourself Malware

The advent of the Internet and Internet-enabled technologies not only ushered in the era of…

Threat Intelligence; A Unifying Force of the Future.

Halloween: Famous SMB Cyber Attacks in Disguise. Halloween normally conjures up images of costumes and…

All Tricks and No Treats

Looking for another reason to put on your party hat? Well, we’ve got one: International…

International Internet Day: A Reminder about Security Online.

Before launching into a discussion on how an antivirus detects malware, it’s important to first…

How does an antivirus detect malware?

Antivirus programs were initially created to distinguish and expel PC infections. Be that as it…

What is antivirus software and how can it protect you?

Get 70% Off Reason Cybersecurity on Black Friday and Keep Your Business out of the…

Cyber attacks and Black Friday: It only takes one to put you on the red

Hacking has evolved into a billion-dollar growth business, making hackers relentless in their pursuit to…

Can Antivirus Programs Stop Hackers?

Start by Installing Reason Cybersecurity – Get 70% Off Today! Think about this for a minute:…

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Which Antivirus is Best for Window 10?

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Which antivirus is good?

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Which is the best antivirus for Windows?

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why antivirus is needed?

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How do you know what antivirus to use?

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Which Antivirus is Best for Laptops?

Windows 10 was first launched in 2015, but it wasn’t until January 2018 that it…

Which Antivirus is Best for Windows 7

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Can Antivirus Remove Virus?

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Which antivirus is best for a Windows 10 laptop?

To combat the continuously evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, antivirus software has been changing and…

How Antivirus Software Works

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What antivirus do I need?

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Which antivirus should I buy?

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Can small businesses really keep their data private?

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7 Cybersecurity Beauty Hacks You Need to Know!

## No more cookies in our future?

In today’s digital world, data is the mainstay of successful marketing. First, second, and third-party data have long been the force behind data-driven marketing strategies, decision making, and business intelligence. Third-party data, however, and the companies that sell it are increasingly falling out of favor for several reasons. 

First, the original source of the data is unknown and often not validated. Second, the data is not exclusive; a business’ competitors have access to the same data. And third, its use puts a business’ cybersecurity risk in the hands of outside entities. 

For example, the use of third parties in a supply chain or to handle data increases an organization’s points of connection which creates potential security risks. These risks then get compounded if the third parties have security weaknesses.  Notably, 63% of all data breaches can be linked directly or indirectly to third parties. 

## Third-party data and its consequences

In fact, anytime a business uses third-party data, it exposes itself and its customers to security and privacy risks; risks that are too substantial to ignore. And consumer privacy concerns are growing as a result. In response, Twitter and Facebook, which had regularly used third-party data in the past, decided to remove it from their ad platforms. Their decisions speak to these heightened consumer concerns. 

Privacy concerns over third-party data have also been a driving force behind the introduction of several data privacy protection legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Washington State People Privacy Act (WPPA), and other data privacy laws.

## Marketing morsels

Controversy over third-party data is also behind the move to phase out third-party (3P) cookies. Cookies are those tasty marketing morsels used to carry out advertising processes such as behavioral profiling and retargeting to create a more personalized browsing experience. The cookies are small snippets of data added to users’ browsers and hold data about their browsing behavior. The data that 3P cookies hold about users is not in and of itself a problem; the problem arises with how it is collected and used. 

With 3P cookies, data about an individual’s browsing history is collected via online apps or services and then sold to other companies that use it for their own marketing purposes. On the plus side for advertisers, 3P cookies allow them to reach their audience with relevant ads at scale. On the negative side for users, they’re a significant invasion of privacy. 

For example, companies use 3P cookies to determine search queries, purchase history, device location, etc. In addition, they’re a security risk. Cyber criminals can hijack 3P cookies and then use them to impersonate a user and gain unauthorized access to websites or commit various cyber crimes such as sending malicious ads.

## A cookieless future

Concerns and controversy over the use of third-party cookies in relation to cybersecurity and privacy risks have grown so much that Chrome and other web browsers have decided to phase out third-party cookies. Yet, while the phasing out of 3P cookies seems like a good move for privacy, the likelihood that doing away with them will stop all covert tracking is small; marketing technology will undoubtedly find other ways to follow us around. 

In terms of cybersecurity, therefore, a cookieless future doesn’t change much. The job of stopping trackers is far from over. Ad and content blockers, browser plugins and extensions, anti-spyware, anti-adware, and other anti-tracking technology will still be necessary to ensure user privacy. In addition, software developers must ensure that cookies are used securely by taking steps to mitigate vulnerabilities. 

Businesses also continue to have a responsibility to avoid security and privacy risks that could cause them to run afoul of regulatory requirements or have the potential to compromise customer trust. Finally, Internet users must also do their part by keeping their browsers updated and using anti-tracking software.

## And that’s the way the cookie crumbles

Despite the death of third-party cookies, not all cookies are crumbling. First and second-party cookies are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. And while doing away with third-party cookies might strengthen cybersecurity, businesses that use cookies must still make sure they do it in a way that provides a secure environment, protects user privacy, and complies with privacy regulations. At the end of the day, that’s the cookie diet businesses should be following.

No more cookies in our future? In today’s digital world, data is the mainstay of…

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