Consumer Reports is known for the research and comparisons of products and services, but they also offer a free personalized security and privacy planner. Today’s guest is Amira Dhalla. Amira is the Director of Impact Partnerships and Programs at Consumer Reports focusing on digital privacy and security. Amira works on projects that improve the cybersecurity and privacy products and tools on the marketplace while also tackling topics like discriminatory technologies, deceptive design, trust, and safety.

Show Notes:

• [0:57] - Amira shares her background and her role at Consumer Reports.
• [3:10] - The internet is incredible, but the quality isn’t always what it should be.
• [4:26] - Technology has expanded at an unprecedented rate.
• [6:14] - Amira explains some of the fears that people had in different countries when learning about internet use.
• [7:21] - Security Planner has been around for a long time and Consumer Reports brought it into their toolset a few years ago.
• [9:29] - Constant updates as technology changes and trends emerge is crucial.
• [11:19] - Consumer Reports studies tools people use. MFA is becoming much more commonly used.
• [12:30] - MFA is also required by many organizations for their employees.
• [13:40] - Password managers are not trending as more commonly used.
• [14:14] - Amira shares Consumer Report’s picks for password managers and VPNs.
• [16:12] - Online shopping has increased since the pandemic and is prime time for scammers.
• [17:31] - There are ways to be smarter online shoppers.
• [19:45] - What is a Grinchbot?
• [20:59] - Once you go to a third party site, you are no longer secure.
• [23:07] - Amira describes some of the things to look for to determine if you are looking at a fake site.
• [25:20] - Question yourself on why a site needs the information they are asking for.
• [27:54] - Charity scams are a huge problem particularly during the holiday season.
• [29:10] - Always go to the site you know directly.

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