Cyber Security Insider Secrets
Protect Your Info – Keep Safe Online
So you’ve heard about the new app that everyone’s downloading. Or maybe it’s a toolbar. Or some other cool program.
Some of these programs aren’t safe. Some will compromise your phone or computer. Others may make it vulnerable to hackers. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know if it’s safe.
Whether it’s for your phone or your computer, think before you click.
Realize there’s a threat. Do research, where possible. Recognize that you could get compromised.
Don’t use the same password repeatedly. You should ideally have a different password for every place you use a password. At the very minimum, have a different password for each and every place that deals with sensitive information. If someone is able to get one of your passwords, they don’t get automatic access to all the others if your passwords are different.
Have you ever made a mistake when typing? Have you ever remembered a name incorrectly? Is your bank’s web site mybank.com or mybank.org?
If you type just one character wrong when you are going to a web site, you end up at the wrong place. Usually, you’ll discover the mistake when you get there. But what if the wrong site looks exactly like the right site?
Hackers have done this. Imagine you are going to your bank but end up on a hacker’s web site that looks exactly like your bank? This happens. The customer may never realize they made this mistake. And later, they wonder where their money went.
Don’t let this happen to you. Make sure you go to the correct site. Check the spelling before you hit “enter.”
Don’t believe pop-up warnings.
You may see a message pop up on your screen, especially while using the Internet, that says that a virus or other bad software has been detected on your computer. It tells you to click on a button or link or to call a phone number to “fix” the problem.
Or it may say that there are illegal files on your computer and that Law Enforcement or the FBI will take action if you don’t pay the fine.
Don’t respond to these. These are “scams.”
Many times, you will infect your computer by doing so. Or you may end up paying a scammer to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Or both.
Don’t respond to these pop-up warnings.
You’ve probably heard that a good password should use a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numerals, and “special characters” (like the characters % $ ! ^ ] { etc.). Some sites don’t allow the use of some of these. But perhaps the biggest problem is that a “strong” password is one that people often think they can’t remember. So they decide to create something they can remember instead. These often are not very good passwords.
What if you could have both: a strong password and the ability to remember it?
Try this. Come up with a sentence that you will remember. Take the first letter of each word. Throw in a couple numbers and special characters.
While this is not a Great password, is can create a Good password, as long as the result is long enough and not guessable.
Public WiFi is just that: PUBLIC. It’s NOT PRIVATE.
With public WiFi, other people may be able to intercept your communication. Hackers are known to use public WiFi against people. They listen in to your communication. They even set up their own Public WiFi systems. You may be at a cafe, or an airport. You think you are connecting to the “public” WiFi. Instead, you get conected to the hacker’s WiFi. They may now be able to see everything you do. They may even gain access to your bank account, if you check your account balance, or even if you only check your e-mail. Yes, it’s supposed to be encrypted, safe. But, a good hacker can get around that if you connect using public WiFi.
“Then, what should I do?”
Don’t use it for banking. Don’t use it for shopping. Don’t even use it for e-mail, even if the e-mail is: “I’ll be home in 20 minutes.” If you send that e-mail and a hacker is nearby, they may now have access to your e-mail and be able to access your bank account, social media accounts, and everything else. So, don’t do it.
Feel free to use public WiFi for things like traffic reports and directions, news updates, information on things of interest and anything else that you might discuss with a stranger.
Just don’t use it for anything sensitive and don’t use it to access any of your accounts, including e-mail.
Many of you have WiFi in your home. It’s convenient, fast, easy. No wires needed. If you get a new device, it connects automatically. Instant Internet access. This is great.
It’s also great for those outside your house that want to use your connection. (That’s illegal, by the way, so don’t do it.)
If you haven’t enabled security protections, or if the ones you have enabled are weak, anyone can park near your house and use your WiFi Internet connection.
Why should you care?
Here’s a short list:
* Your connection becomes “slower” (the least significant concern)
* Your online activity can be observed by others
* Someone else may use your computer for illegal activity:
* Breaking into other people’s computers
* Sending hate e-mail or threatening e-mail
* Running a porn or child pornography site (simply having possession of a few child pornography images on your computer is illegal and could land you in serious trouble, bringing law enforcement to your door with search or arrest warrants)
****** Due to the importance of this information ******
I will be leaving the extended tip up longer than usual. You may read more about the risks and, more importantly, how to protect yourself, HERE
Software has flaws. Hackers take advantage of flaws. That’s why it is important to update your software when updates are available.
For Windows, Automatic Updates does that for you.
Other programs may require you to do that yourself.
Some programs display a “pop-up message” when an update is detected. But how do you know it’s safe and not someone trying to infect your computer?
Go to the official site for the software and download from there.
Security cameras can help us keep safe. But what if everybody else can see what’s on our camera. Now, that’s the opposite of keeping us safe.
But they’d have to find me first. How are they going to do that?
What if it were as easy as going to a web site and choosing whose home I want to watch? Just click on any of 70,000+ links, you choose. One click and I get to watch YOU on the Internet.
Scary, huh?
Well, it happened. There’s some good news about that in the extended tip. But don’t rest too easy yet. You still need to secure your security camera (and other devices). Set a good password, and turn on strong security features. Hopefully, you have those.
“It’s password protected,” he said.
What he meant was, “Nobody can get to it except me.”
Little did he know how wrong he was.
The password protection that comes with many programs (Excel and Office programs, QuickBooks, zip files, etc.) is pretty good at keeping you from ever getting your data again if you forget your password. But it isn’t going to keep someone else from getting your data if they really want it and they know how to do that kind of thing.
Using the password-protection feature to keep your data safe with most common programs is very much like locking your door and then leaving the key under the doormat while you are on vacation.
Also, don’t rely on the claim that the data are encrypted. The same thing applies. That encryption isn’t usually very good. There are strong encryption solutions out there. However, keeping data safe with them requires following all the rules and most people don’t know what all the rules are or how to follow them.
If you need an encryption solution, become informed from knowledgeable sources and learn how to implement it properly.
Don’t rely on the password-protection feature in your programs to keep your data safe.
Legal Privacy Policy Terms of Use
Home Copyright 2016 - 2018