Yes, the shorter passwords are easier to remember, but researchers suggest that a password of at least 12 characters should be used if you want to have any hope of battling the brute force of digital attacks by criminal hackers using software designed to break password codes.

Simply put, technology has advanced so much that today’s number-crunching graphics cards on most computers is equivalent to the capacity of a supercomputer from just 10 years ago – making it easier for the tech savvy bad guys to access your information. And the fact of the matter is, even a 20 character password is subject to being hacked.

However, the average high tech criminal is looking for the easy “mark”; those short, simple to crack pass codes that are rarely – if ever – changed by the authorized user and may even be used across several “secured” websites operated by the same user. That means that once the criminal breaks a password, he or she will then use that password on any other area tied to the authorized user – and often get in. Therefore, despite having loaded your system with the best security software available, if you are using short passwords and not changing them – and if your security system allows for multiple attempts to breach the password – you, your money and everything that is important in your life could be just a click away from a digital “hold up”.

Who is at fault here? The flight attendants should be the back-up security force, don’t you think? What happened to TSA at the security check-point? What happened to the TSA who is supposed to be x-raying the checked luggage before it is even loaded onto the plane?  I have to agree with former FAA security director when he said TSA needs to use more common sense when screening passengers at the airport. The weakest link in any security force is its lowest paid, least trained individual. So just how many of these are out there? I have no idea, but, at the very least there exist 113, which, according to Stoller, is the number of potential terrorist crisis over the past five months involving lithium-ion batteries and electronic devices that have been averted.

I would really like to know what was going through the mind of the TSA agent who was reading the scan monitor and saw the 58 cell phones, electronic devices and lithium-ion batteries all piled into one bin. Truly, I don’t get it; how did this mound of electronics get through security. Oh, that’s right, they are not supposed to profile, so they just look the other way while a potential terrorist essentially says, here’s my bomb. Give me a break. But in all seriousness, let’s take it a step farther. Where does the blame lie?

Since at the airport the TSA is in effect the first line of defense between the outside world and those who pass through the checkpoint, could it be construed in a court of law as aiding and abetting if a TSA agent, or group of agents allowed, or better yet, willfully allows a passenger to cross through the security checkpoint with an excessive number electronic devices and lithium-ion batteries? Could it be termed reckless endangerment if the TSA checked baggage screeners allowed large amounts of electronics and batteries all packed together to pass through to be loaded onto a jetliner?  Or is it just willful neglect. Just who is keeping watch anyway? Obviously people who are not well trained or people who simply do not care. Personally, I want well trained individuals who care about my safety and well being to be the ones doing all of the screening. My concern is that TSA agents are too consumed with having no accountability for their lack of action that the problem will only get worse.

One more thing: someone needs to make a decision once and for all that a passengers and their checked luggage needs to match – they both need to travel together. Speaking as a world traveler, this is not happening.

According to a survey commissioned by CareerBuilder.com, of the nearly 8,800 workers interviewed across the United States for the survey, 8-percent admitted to enhancing some aspect of the information in their résumé. In addition, as part of the same survey, just over 3,100 employers said that when they checked, they found nearly half of their applicants had lied on their résumé.

If They Will Lie About This, They Will Lie About Other Things

The reality is that when private investigators are hired to perform background checks on potential employees, they discover that approximately 20-percent of the applicants have lied on their résumé. That means if you are hiring, you can expect one out of every five applicants to be lying about something on their résumé. This begs the question; If they will lie on their résumé to get the job, will they lie to you once they have the job?

This isn’t simply a matter of catching someone in a little “white lie” – it’s a matter of integrity which could ultimately carry your name with it. When someone in your company lies, they are dragging down the company’s reputation – which could mean lost sales, decreased revenue – even bankruptcy.

Background Checks Should Be Standard Procedure

Background checks of applicants can flag résumés laced with lies, as well as reveal any derogatory history such as criminal convictions and jail time – which can include DUI or DWI convictions, crimes perpetrated against company employees or employers and even acts of fraud against a previous employer. A background check can reveal the applicant’s credit history, military service records, college degrees – real or falsified – as well as the applicant’s grade point average while attending college.

Wouldn’t you prefer to know if your applicant really did have a 3.75 grade point average or if he or she actually completed their course of studies in aviation engineering? How about this simple question; “Does the college from where they “earned” their degree really exist?

As far as an individual’s privacy is concerned; employers have a right to investigate an applicant’s background, provided they obtain the applicant’s written permission prior to the investigation – and that the background check is conducted as part of the application process for each and every applicant. If he or she had been hired, the employer may still conduct a background check if the employee has been charged with or is under suspicion of having falsified the résumé that he or she used to land the job.

More than one high ranking corporate executive has been revealed as a fraud following a simple background check. The question you need to answer is; “Do you want the background check completed before he or she is hired or after the embarrassment of having to fire your new Chief Financial Officer – who, it turns out, did not get a degree from Princeton.

I’m not paranoid; I’m a parent – and an investigator. And I’ve seen too many cases like the “Magic Jeff” case – the former youth minister from a Kennesaw, Georgia church named Jeffrey Alan Wasley, 39, who was sentenced to 20-years in federal prison this week in Atlanta.

A security guard from a local Target store reported Wasley to police when a little boy said “Magic Jeff” wanted to help him tuck in his shirt in the restroom of the store.

When they searched his home, police discovered over 17,000 images of child pornography on Wasley’s computer. The pornographic images that police found included images of six boys in the restrooms of several Metro Atlanta Target and Walmart stores.

Wasley did not fight the charges, though he did try to kill himself when police decided to make the arrest. Wasley barricading himself in his garage, cut his wrists and neck and stabbed himself multiple times.

He had also left an apologetic note to his wife and children. Police say that, in addition to the pornographic images, they found the manuscript of a novel he was writing about a child molester who had been abused as a child.

Following his prison sentence, Wasley will be on the probation for the rest of his life. He admitted to the charges from the beginning and has agreed not to appeal the sentence in the future.

But back to the matter at hand.

I’m certainly not saying that parents who allow their kids to go to into public restrooms alone are bad parents. Not at all. Heaven knows, when you’re in the middle of a meal with the family at a restaurant or you’re trying to grab some groceries with the kids in tow and get out of the store in time to get home and make dinner, you just get sidetracked sometimes. And, of course, when your child needs to go, it’s usually right then!

So, you say “fine” and give a quick look as to the general location of the restroom – and let them go. It’s a fairly common occurrence. No problem, right? Besides, kids want to be “grown up” and they want to go to the restroom alone because they feel it makes them more “grown up” – because they see the older kids and adults do it. It’s perfectly logical in their young minds.

But, as the parent, you have to keep in mind that these people – like “Magic Jeff” – are out there…and not just out there “somewhere else.” They are out there in your neighborhood. They infiltrate family settings and public venues where children play and learn. And they lay in wait – for that innocent child. Our job as parents is to remember to be vigilant.

So, go the restroom with them. I use to make it seem to my little boy that I just happened to be going at the same time. Once I saw the room was clear, I’d just happen to finish up before him and let him know that I would be “right outside” the door. Even though it was only a minute or two, it gave him a sense of being on his own, without really being on his own.

Let a friend or sibling go with them. There is safety in numbers. Of course, you still keep an eye on the door to see who comes and goes.

Finally, report anything suspicious. If some guy steps out of the ladies room – let someone know…right then! If you notice a guy just loitering in the men’s room, report it…right then!

And let me be perfectly clear and absolutely “politically incorrect” about this; I’m not concerned with, nor could I care any less at all, whether child molesters were once victims of child abuse. I don’t care about their excuses – those are issues for therapists. My concern is the safety of my kids – and getting these “pervs” off of the street – or out of the restroom, as the case may be.

But don’t fool yourself – that “tradition” is most often a “right of passage”. 

You remember.  Think back – Prom Night.  Remember?  Yep!  That’s right, and now your little angel is about to leave her warm, cozy and protected nest to go to the Prom with “what’s his name”. 

Now are you worried?  You should be.  But I may have a few ideas that will ease the tension in your neck and keep you from making that white-knuckle fist when you see “what’s his name” begin to salivate at the sight of your sweet, innocent little girl playing “dress-up” in grown up ladies’ clothes.

First, be direct.  You can still be polite (although, who cares at this point, right?).  When the boy walks in the door, as your little angel is putting the final touches on her make up for the evening back in her room, just grip his hand like a vice and smile.  Then in a low, soft tone look him directly in the eye and say, “I’m so glad you’ll be escorting my daughter tonight.  She means the world to her mother and me and I would do anything to protect her.  So, I can rest assured that nothing…nothing will happen to her, right?”

At this point, casually lead him over to your collection of firearms in the gun case and show him your favorite weapon, making sure to point out its stopping power.

“I find the Glock Model G36 Compact .45 ACP with a Single Stack Magazine, like the one I’m holding here, (pull back the slide and let it slam shut for full psychological effect) performs most effectively, especially when using 230-grain Hydra-Shok rounds.   Traveling at 900 feet  per second, it’s just a bit slower than say, my 9mm, but, WOW!  What stopping power…unbelievable.  It’ll drop a full grown man…like one your size…dead in his tracks.”  Be sure to chuckle so he thinks you’re really crazy enough to pull the trigger.

Then, just before your little angel makes her grand entrance, tell him you’ll need to make a photocopy of his driver’s license…just to have on file.  I usually let them know that, as a private investigator, I’ll be running a background check on them when they leave – just routine, ya’ know – and if it’s clear then there won’t be any problems. 

Finally, look at them both and say, “No drugs.  No drinking.  And no sex.  Got it?  Now, you two have a nice time.”

She’ll be embarrassed that you were so brazen.  He’ll just be in shock.  And the likelihood of them sneaking off somewhere to have sex will drop dramatically…because all he’ll be able to think about is that Glock and your cold as steel eyes.

Do you think I’m joking?  Not hardly.  Nothing is more precious than that little girl who is suddenly all grown up – or so she thinks.

Have you ever wished you could spy on your spouse for a day or plant a camera in your home to watch the babysitter? You might have thought you were taking things a little too far, but private investigators use these and many other tactics to uncover secrets in people’s professional and personal lives. While PIs have been around for decades, their assistance is becoming more and more popular, as problems like fraudulence in the workplace, cheating spouses, child mistreatment and corporate corruption become increasingly common. . . . If you are curious about the work PIs do or are thinking about hiring one yourself, read on to ensure you’ll find one who is credible, reliable, experienced and honest. 

When working with a private investigator, communication and honesty are of the utmost importance. “Trust is essential,” says Holly Hunter, owner of Hunter Investigations, an Alpharetta-based PI firm. . . . "If you’re seeking a divorce, you’re entrusting the most intimate details of your life to a private investigator,” she says. “You’re trusting the investigator to act lawfully. You’re also trusting the investigator to do everything he or she can to obtain the information you need and has been truthful with you about their activity. That trust can’t be broken.”

Hunter, an unassuming, blue-eyed, blonde mother of three is an Atlanta native who looks like she would spend most of her days running errands for her family and volunteering at her church – which she does, in addition to her work as a PI. Her daily schedule usually involves high-tech information gathering and low-profile surveillance.

Hunter’s quiet demeanor allows her to waltz in and out of situations and strike up conversations by either chatting up unsuspecting female interviewees or spreading a hint of “Southern charm” on male targets. Before long, she obtains the information she needs and, like a Navy Seal, has left the area without leaving so much as a footprint.

You can read the entire article at Atlanta Life Magazine.