I spent last Tuesday negotiating with a criminal syndicate based in Eastern Europe. They weren’t asking for a hostage exchange or a briefcase full of cash. They were asking for 0.5 Bitcoin because they had encrypted the laptop of a … Continue reading
I have a bad habit. Every few months, I look at my Discord sidebar and get completely overwhelmed. It’s a graveyard of dead conversations. There’s the guy I traded Pokemon cards with in 2022. There’s the moderator from a tech … Continue reading
It starts with a feeling. You are scrolling through your Stories feed. You see the usual suspects: the friend who posts their gym workout, the friend who posts their lunch, and the friend who posts blurry videos of a concert. … Continue reading
We have all been there. It is 11:30 PM on a Tuesday. You are bored. You are scrolling. And then you see it. The colorful ring around the profile picture of someone you absolutely cannot be seen watching. Maybe it … Continue reading
It usually happens in silence. You are sipping your morning coffee. You move your mouse to wake up your PC. And then you see it. A red screen. A countdown timer. A message in broken English demanding $5,000 in Bitcoin … Continue reading
We have all been there. You met someone at a party. Or you are applying for a job and want to check out the hiring manager. Or, let’s be honest, you are checking up on an ex-partner from five years … Continue reading
We have all been there. It is 11:30 PM. You are lying in bed, doom-scrolling through Instagram Reels. You watch a video of a guy making the perfect smash burger. Or a travel hack for cheap flights to Italy. Or … Continue reading
We have all been there. You are trying to log into a website on your laptop, or maybe you are setting up 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication). The website sends a QR code to your email. You open the email on your … Continue reading
It usually happens on a Friday afternoon. You are finishing up work. You open an email attachment that looks like an invoice or a shipping notification. You click “Enable Content.” And then, your wallpaper changes. A red screen appears with … Continue reading
It usually starts with a text message you shouldn’t have clicked, or a bank notification that makes your stomach drop. Someone just bought a flight to Dubai using your credit card. Or maybe you transferred $2,000 to a “landlord” who … Continue reading