Here is a great list of tips from one of my fellow web nerds here at American Bank of Texas:
In this day in age, security of any electronic device cannot be overlooked. The following are ways that you can protect yourself while online.
- Perhaps the most important step in staying safe and secure is having anti-virus software installed on your computer. For Windows Vista and 7 users, Microsoft provides a free anti-virus solution that is effective and user friendly. For any other users, AVG also provides free anti-virus. If you feel like you are infected, Panda offers a free online scan to spot any threats on your computer.
Microsoft Security Essentials: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
AVG: http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus
Panda online scan: http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/- While it doesn’t prevent malware, Malwarebytes is popular program for detecting and removing unwanted malware.
Malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/- Another important step is to remain up to date. A program I have found to be very useful is called Secunia PSI. It scans your computer to find patches and updates to most programs on your computer. Not only that, but it gives you a direct link to download the update. If you are unable, or unwilling, to install a program on your machine, they also offer an online scanner called Secunia OSI.
Secunia PSI: http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/
Secunia OSI: http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/- Encryption is a very powerful tool against any potential attacker. While the following program is mainly for portable systems, ie laptops, it can also be used on desktops. Truecrypt is a free program designed to encrypt certain files on your computer. However, I believe its best feature is the ability to encrypt your entire drive. Anybody who steals your computer would have to crack the main password to gain access to your files. All encryption (and decryption) is done on the fly and there is no performance decrease.
TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/- CCleaner is a popular (and free) utility to clean your system of unwanted/unneeded files. It can speed up your computer and give you more space.
CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleanerTIPS:
- Passwords are often the bane of any computer user’s existence; however they are very important when protecting your identity and information. NEVER use the same password multiple times. If an attacker figures it out they will often try it for other things. Try to make them as difficult as possible to foil attackers. The trick I use is to come up with a sentence and use the first letter of every word. You can also create a password protected excel file (yes I understand the irony) to store all of your passwords. One password is easier to remember than all of them!
- ALWAYS maintain caution when downloading any files off of the internet. Understand its purpose and who it is coming from before saying yes.
- NEVER install programs if you don’t know readily what they are for. Once you do it could be too late
- NEVER open emails from people you don’t know or about a subject that you don’t understand.
- If you have a question about a message you are getting or simply want more information on something, Google it. Google is a very powerful learning tool and 9 out of 10 times you find what you are looking for.
While up extremely late with a sick baby daughter last night (and a loving mom diligently trying to calm her), I realized that nurturing and protecting our children in our homes, in our schools, in our physical world is difficult enough. So how do we nurture and protect our children in a virtual world?
Considering that our children know more about computers than we do, spend more time on the Internet than we do, and are even more attached to mobile devices than we are, it is important that we, as parents, educate our children about the dangers of the Internet.
First, there is no such thing as private information on the Internet, and no information contributed to the web is perishable. Everything your children post to the web, every status they update, every spicy nugget they tweet, every blog they post (regardless of the character length), becomes a part of the permanent record we call the WWW.
Second, the Internet is full of bullies and jerks. Talk to your children about their interactions online, and make sure those interactions are healthy (or at the very least, not damaging). Unfortunately, the stories of the affects of cyber-bullying on children are as ubiquitous as they are sad.
Here is a link to a good article about cyber-bullying:
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/parents/howdoyouhandleacyberbully.html
Third, it is (in my parental opinion) too easy to meet people online. Make sure your kids never meet anyone in person that they have “met” only previously online without your consent, or even better, your presence. The Internet is full of predators, and as a result of the anonymous nature lof the web, they are harder to spot; not like when we were young, anyway, with their windowless vans and creepy offers for free candy.
Finally, there is nothing better than experiencing life first-hand. There is a way better world outside the wire, and it is in way higher definition than 1080p.
I woke up this morning and realized that technology has taken over my life. I recently had a conversation with my wife via Facebook while we were lying in bed together. I just sent an email to a colleague with whom I share a tiny office, rather than interface with him directly and verbally make my request. I purchased a couch online rather than a furniture store, just so that I could avoid speaking to a human sales person. I learned that though the Google Maps mobile app is a great tool, it should not be used while driving. I decided to watch HGTV instead of football (curses!) when I realized the remote control was on the far end of the couch, and physical exertion would be required to change the channel. I felt like my arm had fallen off when I misplaced my phone for a few hours last week. I can relate to those creepy computer text-to-speech voices you hear on some automated phone menus.
And I should know better. How many movies have I seen in which the technology around us becomes self-aware and kills us all? At least four.
As our lives become more and more technologified (hey Websters, that one is all me), we need to realize the pitfalls of being more ‘connected’. First, everything we tweet, every status we update and website we visit becomes a part of the permanent record. Second, the more comfortable we become with technology, the less we fear it, and the more misguided things we end up doing with it. Third, the Internet is full of poeple looking to steal your money. And finally, most Facebook profile photos are from 5 years ago, so don’t believe everything you see.
Cyber Monday is tomorrow, and though I despise the term ‘cyber’ as I do not understand precisely what it means, I thought I would take a moment to revisit some topics just to be sure that we, as consumers, suffer only from buyers remorse on Tuesday (and not from financial loss due to fraud).
Make a list. Make a list before you shop. Most people make a list before they go to the grocery store, so the same logic applies when you shop online. A shopping list keeps you focused. The alternative to making a list is wandering the aisles looking for stuff that you may or may not need. ‘Wandering’ on the Internet can get you into trouble (in more ways than I care to describe), so make a list and stick to it.
Use a dedicated card. As I stated in a previous post, a simple way to mitigate the risk of potential losses from making purchases online is to have one credit card (or debit card) dedicated to making online purchases. This way, tracking online purchases should be easy, and likewise, so should identifying fraudulent activity.
Buy from established retailers. You will be tempted by many great offers and discounts on Cyber Monday. Just make sure the offer is not too good to be true.
Don’t trust your email. You will be tempted by many great offers and discounts via email this holiday season. Be wary of phishing scams, and keep in mind that these emails may look legitimate, but the link you click may take you to a spoofed website, or the attachment you open may contain malicious code. Always verify the information within an unsolicated email independently, and if there is any doubt, just delete it.
Secure your computer. At the very least, keep your anti-virus software active and up-to-date and scan regularly. Many legitimate websites may be offering up a lump of coal (in the form of malicious code) and not even know it. We, as consumers, bear some responsibility for protecting ourselves.
This Saturday morning, my wife set her head on fire. Though I may be known for exaggeration, I assure you this is the truth. I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard my wife scream and begin to shout obscenities in rapid succession. I ran into our living room to see my wife, tears in her eyes, with a little plume of smoke extending from the top of her head to the recessed light above her. Through her tears and shortness of breathe, she explained that she had attempted to light our gas log (her first time to do so) and in the process had created a huge fireball that set her hair ablaze and burned off a portion of her eyelashes. At this moment, she ran to the bathroom to view the aftermath, and I moved to quell the flames spewing from our fireplace. It turns out that the gas was on full tilt and the flue was closed.
What does this have to do with Internet security? Only this…
The next time your respond to an unsolicited information request, click on a questionable email attachment, or decide you think you want to send money to someone in Nigeria because they claim in an email that they will send you double in return…slow down…and, make sure the flue is open.
Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is next week. Which means, for better or worse, the holiday shopping season begins on Friday…Black Friday. An ominous name for an ominous day. A day when humanity turns on one another for the ultimate prize, a 60″ flatscreen television for $699.
As consumers search for great deals on gifts for family and friends, many of them hit the web, myself being one of them, to save themselves the hassle of dealing with holiday mall traffic. Unfortunately, scammers are all to aware of this and bank, pardon the expression, on the likelihood that finding a great deal is more important to most consumers than verifying the source.
Here are some tips to help keep you, and your wallet, safe during the holiday season:
- Phishing scams. Phishing emails circulate during the holidays offering great deals with links to spoofed commercial websites. When you enter your credit card information, you end up buying something nice for the scammer running the spoofed website, rather than buying something from the big-box store it was impersonating.
- Holiday greeting e-cards. I know e-cards are a convenient and less expensive way to share holiday cheer, but be wary of any holiday e-card you receive. It could contain malicious code and infect your computer.
So, as the slogan says, buyer beware. Sorry to leave you on such an ominous note. But it all starts, after all, with Black Friday.
Tayloratabtexas BankLOG 