Posts Tagged ‘Security’
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
For years now, I’ve preached to people about the importance of using strong passwords. My posts have included tips like: make it complex, make sure it is lengthy and change out common letters for numbers. I’ve considered these to be golden rules for creating a password, and I stick by the fact that they can help protect you from the “bad guys,” but a recent article on Gizmodo.com has me rethinking a few things.
As the author of Why That Fancy Password Isn’t Nearly as Safe as You Thought puts it, that password you created is super complicated (which is good) but “You know who else loves it? Computers!” A strong password is necessary, but are the rules we have lived by really helping us to create a VERY strong password? Also, how difficult have we made it on ourselves to remember that password. Personally, I have to hit the forgot password link on at least one website a week now, simply because I tricked myself, and I am getting really tired of it.
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Tags: forget password, forgot password, Gizmodo.com, Online, Password, safety, Security, Strong Password, super password
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012
It’s a new year and you need to make some changes.
You’ve started back at the gym, started eating like a rabbit and quit ________________ (fill in the blank as you see fit), but you haven’t made any changes to your computer habits. The folks at Defence Intelligence have put together a simple set of resolutions that you can begin using today.
There isn’t really much need for explanation here – just read, rinse and repeat!
Click for Larger Version
Tags: anti-virus, click, defence intelligence, Malware, Mobile, online security, Passwords, Security, share
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
Over recent months, hackers have been busy exposing security flaws in some very well known organizations. In most cases, the information stolen from these high profile breaches was then immediately shared on the web. With log-in and personal information taken from sites like Sony, Fox, Nintendo, PBS, AOL and even the CIA (just to name a few) it is entirely possible that one or more of your passwords is now available to millions of people on the internet.
Scared? Hopefully a little bit. In addition to accessing the sites that you have created accounts on, criminals can use that personal information to open bank accounts and get credit cards, loans, state benefits and documents such as passports and driver’s licenses in your name. There are some steps you can take to check on your information and limit any potential issues, but you must act quickly, like now!
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Tags: change, hack, Hackers, identity theft, log-in, nintendo, Password, personal information, protect, Security, shouldichangemypassword, shouldichangemypassword.com, sony, Strong Password, user name, username
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
If you’ve been following along with our series on Scanning and Saving Important Documents you’re ready for our third article (if not, jump to related articles at the bottom of this post). In our last article, we covered the scanning and related software, leaving you with some image files and questions about what to do next. Today, we’ll outline file naming, folder structures and storage.
As always, we have a couple of things to remind you about before jump into our project. First, keep your document and files protected. Second, this is your project. Our articles are suggestions on how to handle this type of project, but you should definitely structure and organize your document scanning in a way that keeps things simple for you. After all, if a project like this became too complicated or confusing, who would actually finish it?
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Tags: disaster, document, flood, hurricane, important, insurance, legal, papers, saving, scan, scanning, Security, taxes, tornado, will
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Do you have a favorite band that you just love to follow? You know, the kind of rock stars that have you waiting in line for tickets, buying actual albums in person and joining fan clubs. For you “non-music” people, maybe you have a favorite actor, author, athlete, etc. You just can’t wait for their next appearance or release. In my world (the world of computers and gadgets) Dropbox is that rock star!!
I have written about Dropbox repeatedly and used their product religiously since a good friend introduced me to the service. If you haven’t already been introduced, let me the one to tell you all about it (see Introduction below). For those of you who are already fans, this week’s news was like getting a new double-album and a FREE concert. You veterans can jump on down to the WOW! section to see the latest from our rock stars.
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Tags: Android, app, Blackberry, cloud, Dropbox, file sharing, file syncing, folder, FREE, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, Online, Security, share, Storage
Posted in Free Programs, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Passwords are a necessary evil that we cannot escape and, as we have pointed out again and again, you are responsible for creating and remembering/storing all of the passwords you use. As recently as March 31, in the article Online Security Begins or Ends With Your Choice of Password, we provided readers with some frightening data about “consumer password worst practices” and explained the idea of strong passwords. In that post, and several others before it, we provided some tips on creating strong passwords, but only skimmed the surface of possibilities.
Today, sparked by a recent article on Lifehacker.com, I will share with you a list of methods that you can use to create strong passwords. These methods are taken from sites all over the web and are merely suggestions on how you can protect yourself from crimes like identity theft. Before you jump down to the list, remember that EVERY password you use should follow these rules:
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Tags: complex, different, identity theft, Lifehacker.com, Password, secure, Security, strong
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
This article was originally posted in January of this year (here on JumpstartMyPC.com) but, as I pointed out in the article the first time, some topics need to be revisited regularly. Several recent events, including a comment from a reader and some trouble with my own credit card prompted me to post this article once more.
A strong password, by definition, is a password that is both complex AND secure (contains numbers, letters, and special characters that do not include personal information such as name or birth date). We should all be using these types of passwords to protect ourselves from potential hackers and thieves, but the sad truth is that most of us are still taking the easy way out. These easy passwords are about as effective as NBC’s late night talk show programming strategy.
Although we like to cover a different topic almost every day, there are some topics that are worth covering again and again. Of course, our favorite is PC maintenance, but we do have a few others up our sleeve. Today, thanks to a recent white paper released by Imperva, we find ourselves once again talking about strong passwords and why you should use them.
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Tags: Imperva, Password, secure, Security, strong
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 4 Comments »
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Are you a parent? Are you a teacher? Are you concerned about the well-being and education of our children? Do you know what computer classes are being taught at your elementary, junior high and high schools? Many of us can answer yes to one of the first 3 questions, but that 4th one…. You might be aware that there are classes, but what is being taught? The sad truth is, not much.
A recent study by the National Cyber Security Alliance titled 2010 State of Cyberethics, Cybersafety, and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. indicated that less than 25% of our students are being taught about safety on the internet (social networks, scams, fraud, safe passwords) and more than 75% of teachers reported receiving less than 6 hours of professional development on these topics. This basically means that one quarter of the children of America are being taught by untrained professionals about the dangers of computers and the internet. Very scary numbers. I think that a similar poll of American adults would reveal the same lack of understanding, so who is going to educate these young minds?
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Tags: children, cyber, education, ethics, Malware, parents, Passwords, safety, Security, students
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
I recently stumbled onto a blog from Panda Security that focuses on “emerging threats” on the internet. Typically, with this kind of site or blog, the terminology and explanations are a bit over my head. Shockingly, the authors of the PandaLabs blog have managed to relay information on these threats in bite-sized, easy to understand articles that I don’t mind reading. When a threat is uncovered, they write a blog post with the information, including screen shots and a few details about the threat and then update their Twitter and Facebook accounts. I follow them on Twitter and now I have a better feel for what is going on in the ever-changing threat landscape.
If you are interested in this type of information, I strongly urge you to follow PandaLabs. However, I know how busy most people are and that they probably haven’t scheduled much time for following the latest malware threats of the world, so I plan on using Panda Security as a resource and relaying the information to you via the JumpstartMyPC.com blog.
Tags: Amazon, greeting card, Malware, Panda Security, PandaLabs, Security, Threat
Posted in Security | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Browsing the internet should be easy! Unfortunately, with all of the toolbars, icons, labels and preloaded bookmarks of the most used internet browsers (IE, Firefox) your viewable space can get a bit messy. If you have found yourself a bit overwhelmed by the “clutter” that has accumulated within your browser or simply want to see more of the web pages you are browsing, we have something for you. Welcome to JumpstartMyFirefox! We’re going to show you how to take your browser from A to B.
Over the past few years, Firefox add-ons have grabbed my attention more and more. Each time I found myself with a browsing need or problem, a quick Google search led me to a solution using add-ons, which are basically mini-programs that work within Firefox to customize some part of the browsing experience. I have installed and tested many add-ons during that time and today I bring you my own collection, titled JumpstartMyFirefox, to help you take back your browser.
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Tags: add-ons, bookmarks, Browser, Firefox, Google, secure, Security, streamline, web of trust, WOT
Posted in Firefox, Free Programs, Security, Tips and Tricks | 3 Comments »
