In these digital times, it comes down to this: do not trust anyone. .

And check everything.

Three events in a week we should all pay attention to: a USB key, a hacked phone and the fatal result of jumping into an unconfirmed Uber. Welcome to the Internet era of today.

A USB drive could be a lemon (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

Consider:

–A woman is walking in President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, with four cell phones and a USB key that authorities say are full of malware. Who knows how bad the malware was. But let's face it, it was not good. After passing the secret service checkpoints, she was stopped by the front desk staff of the hotel before it was too late.

-Jeff Bezos, often considered the richest person in the world thanks to the billions earned on his site Amazon.com, also had people, but his phone was allegedly hacked by the Saudis. The security experts with whom we spoke believe that this was a phishing link that had been clicked and that allowed malicious software or malicious code to be placed on a visited website. Bezos said that personal information had been stolen from his phone.

-A student from the University of South Carolina commissioned an Uber over the weekend and got in a car that she supposed to be the driver. That was not it. She was killed later that night, police said Monday.

For the millions of us who use apps such as Uber and Lyft, remember this: the driver's name and the car's license plate are tagged in the app. Check well before getting into a car and ask the driver to announce his name.

Adam Levin, the author of Swiped: How to protect yourself in a world populated by scammers, phishers and identity thieves, says that people who have not taken safety seriously should stop and rethink.

The woes of the Internet are "not something we can prevent," he says. "But we can be more careful."

What to do in the era of the internet? Start by assuming the worst.

When the phone rings, is it really a friend who calls to talk to you or a hacker?

Levin tells a story about the thug asking if it's you when you answer the call, you say "Yes" and, if it's registered, that word then gives him the right to charge you things you never ordered because they recorded you "Yes."

His solution: answer the phone only when you can prove, by the call of the caller, that it is one of your contacts.

In the case of the malware-infected USB key that was incorporated into Trump's hotel complex, Levin claims that if it had been inserted into a networked computer, she could have collected passwords, accounts messaging and other privileged information. "Once a malware has entered a system, it's like a disease and a virus," he says. "He comes in and spreads."

With a phone belonging to Bezos or you and me, "no phone is impregnable," he says. "People have to understand this.The phone you use could be a weapon of mass destruction.People consider the mobile phone as a communication tool, it's really a mini-device for storing data."

Again, class, remember:

-Do not put any important personal information on your phone unless you want it to be in the hands of someone else.

– Assign different passwords to each website and use two-factor authentication, using code as a secondary method of connection, to reinforce your credentials. If you are hacked, change all your passwords.

-When using public Wi-Fi, suppose everything you type can be read by others. If you do not want to reprint it, do not type it. Better yet, subscribe to a virtual private network application to use in public WiFi mode, such as NordVPN or SaferVPN, which will secure your signal.

"No one is too unimportant, too small, too out of place to interest a hacker," Levin said. "Suppose we are all as sexy as Kim Kardashian, we all have information that they would like to have."

The Snapchat Ghost makes its way into the background of the old Hollywood Warner studio (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

In other new techniques this week

Speaking of computer hacking, the UpGuard cybersecurity firm revealed to have discovered two cases in which significant amounts of third-party Facebook application data had been exposed on the Internet. Cultura Colectiva, a Mexico-based media company, has collected 146 gigabytes of data with more than 540 million records. The records are meant to include user comments, preferences, feedback, account names, Facebook credentials and more. Facebook said the database was destroyed after being alerted.

Verizon has activated its 5G network in Chicago and Minneapolis. The new 5G network is the first to operate with a mobile phone, the Motorola Moto Z3 from last year, assuming you have the required accessory that attaches to the back of the phone and chips required to connect to the 5G. The phone currently costs $ 480 on the Verizon website. The 5G accessory is sold separately for $ 199.99, a retail price of $ 349.99 according to Verizon.

Snapchat hopes the games will keep its base of younger users with the service and help it grow. Snap Games was presented at a sensational event in Hollywood on Thursday. Users locate other players and the game during chat sessions. The first game presented, Bitmoji Party, was launched on Thursday and, like the other games coming out soon, they are all free and funded by advertising.

Going back and forth between PewDiePie on YouTube and the T-Series Indian label resulted in a winner: PewDiePie is again the most subscribed channel on YouTube. PewDiePie – also known as Felix Kjellberg – had initially admitted his defeat against T-Series, but he had subsequently witnessed an increase in the number of subscribers. Both hover a little under 100 million subscribers.

MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes visits TODAY office in Los Angeles USA to present his latest movie: PreShow (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

This week's Talking Tech podcasts

–Watch an app ad and get a free movie ticket: Stacy Spikes, co-founder of MoviePass, explains his latest project, PreShow.

-The best voice command for the music with Alexa.

– Happy birthday Gmail.

-Do not do nonsense on your smartphone.

Last Pricing ScanMyphoto: 1 penny per scan.

-I take the top of Snapchat partners.

That sums up the weekly Talking Tech. Subscribe to the weekly news letter http://technewsletter.usatoday.com, follow me on Twitter (@jeffersongraham) on YouTube Instagram and here, and listen to the daily Talking Tech podcast on Apple podcasts or anywhere where you listen to audio online.

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