The RSA Conference, the flagship meetup for cryptography, information security, and IT experts from around the world, just wrapped on Feb. 28. I attended panels, talked to professionals about security, and learned a couple of new lessons about personal protection in the age of big data.

There were a lot of lessons from RSA, most of them concerning IT Professionals. Some were about enterprise-level security, and a few were on the relationship of government and big data. But what can the average consumer cull from these discussions? Read on, and take control of your online security and digital privacy.

1. The business of hacking

Hackers are no more evil than the average netizens, nor are they loners. Hackers have their own social communities around their illicit activities. Whether they're trying to make money off stolen data (cyber-criminal), taking a stance (hacktivist), or just keeping tabs (surveillance), hackers have turned hacking into a business, and data is their sole interest. Most hackers work together to pull off sophisticated attacks, mostly on organizations, companies, government sites, or other hacking groups.

What can you do?

If your info is out there for the taking, then be ready to call your credit card company at a moment's notice. But present them with a little difficulty, and they might just go after another, softer target. It is a numbers game after all. So create tougher passwords ... [Read more]

JPEG, the decades-old image format, shows no signs of disappearing. That's why Mozilla announced a project Wednesday to try to shave another 10 percent off images compressed with the standard.

The non-profit organization behind Firefox announced a project called mozjpeg that aims to compress JPEGs more intelligently. Smaller file sizes means Web pages load faster, and Mozilla is deeply interested in improving the Web's performance.

"Photos can easily make up the bulk of the network traffic for a page load," said senior technology strategist Josh Aas in a blog post. "Reducing the size of these files is an obvious goal for optimization."

It's a tweak of an existing open-source tool called libjpeg-turbo that's used to create JPEGs. On top of that it adds a tool called jpgcrush that picks the best compression options without sacrificing any image quality.

Related stories

• To avoid Android pitfalls, Mozilla shoulders Firefox OS update burden
• Firefox OS getting interface overhaul in coming months
• Mozilla's $25 Firefox OS: It's real, and it works
• ... [Read more]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

As the debris settled from the explosive "Mob Wives: New Blood" season finale, which aired on VH1 February 27, viewers were left wondering who'd return next season. But if this photo on the show's Facebook page is any indication, all five wives, including series peacekeeper Big Ang will be back for season five. Angela Raiola is Brooklyn born, a single mother of two, and a former Mafia moll, and she also appears on spin-off "Miami Monkey." Bing Ang talked to me about the shows, the drama, representing Italians, glorifying the Mob, and her favorite apps.

The fab five: Big Ang [far left] and the rest of the "Mob Wives" cast.

Let's start with "Mob Wives." What are your thoughts on Ramona, Karen, and Carla leaving the show? I think that we needed a change, and I think the girls this season are great.

How are you getting along with newbies Alicia and Natalie? I get along with everyone.

Please weigh in on two of the more controversial story arcs this past season: Alicia possibly going to jail and Natalie calling Renee's ex "delic... [Read more]