Technically Easy

Category: Security

Security is an important topic when it comes to technology. There are many different areas of security, so this category is divided into various sub-categories to help navigate through the posts on security.

4 Ways to Protect Your Smartphone from Being Hacked
You already know that you need to protect your laptop and desktop computers from hackers. A lot of people, however, never stop to wonder whether their mobile devices are also susceptible to these threats.

Since your smartphone is essentially a small computer, there is a possibility that someone will try to hack into it to steal your private information. You can protect yourself by following these four tips.

1. Avoid public Wi-Fi

Public networks offer convenient ways to access the Internet without spending more money on your phone’s data package.

Unfortunately, public Wi-Fi also puts you at risk, since savvy thieves can use man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept your data. It’s relatively easy for these people create fake networks that offer free Internet access. When you connect to them, though, the hacker can watch everything you do.

Hackers can even use this method to steal passwords to your email, credit card, and other sensitive accounts.

If you absolutely have to connect to public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network (VPN) to prevent other people from viewing your activity. It also helps to:
- Disable file sharing.
- Turn your firewall on.
- Use HTTPS or SSL to encrypt data.
2. Only visit trustworthy websites

You could accidentally install malware on your smartphone just by visiting the wrong website. The problem is so significant that the Department of Homeland Security uses color-coded threat levels to identify dangerous sites.

It’s best to only visit sites that you know you can trust. You can always check your Gmail and Facebook accounts, for instance, without worrying that your phone will contract malware.

If you don’t completely trust a site, then you should stay away from it. That obviously means that you should steer clear of sites with questionable content. Visiting an adult website is a surefire way to compromise your phone’s security.

You also should resist the temptation to click links sent to you via email. That video of puppies playing is probably pretty cute, but it also puts you in harm’s way. Do not click it unless you know that the link will take you to a reputable site.

3. Protect yourself from Bluetooth hacking

Bluetooth makes it possible for your smartphone to connect to other devices. That’s extremely useful when you want to use wireless headphones or play songs through your car’s sound system. Bluetooth, however, can also give hackers a chance to access your phone.

Turning off Bluetooth when you aren’t using it is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself. Of course, you don’t want to keep that feature turned off all the time. What’s the point in having Bluetooth if you can’t use it?

Instead of limiting your use, use Bluetooth accessories from a trusted provider to minimize the chances that someone will hack into your phone. After all, you can never have too much security.

4. Install security apps

Installing security and anti-malware apps will help your smartphone recognize potential threats. This should protect you when you visit a website that tries to install eavesdropping software.

Some of the apps also have anti-theft features that will let you remotely wipe your phone’s data. Even if you can’t get your smartphone back, at least you can prevent the thief from stealing your information.

Some of the best security apps for Android devices include:
If you have an iPhone, then you might want to use one of these:
Having these apps will improve your smartphone’s security, but you should still take common-sense steps to protect yourself. Don’t assume that an app can always keep you safe, especially if you use public Wi-Fi or visit unknown sites often.

As more people make smartphones a daily part of their lives, the security threats from hackers will only get worse.

You can protect yourself by following these four tips to stay ahead of the hackers’ game. Any step you take to increase your smartphone’s security is a step in the right direction.
February 12, 2016
How I do More with My Plex Media Server by Keeping it Simple
When I was looking at setting up my Plex Media Server, the one thing that I really wanted to make sure was that I kept the entire setup simple. I wanted to set up and manage a server that could stream media files to my devices, and not much beyond that idea. This meant I didn’t need a high-end and powerful computer to accomplish the goal, but I did have to make sure the system could handle at least three media transcoding operations at a time.

Once I had settled on the server, installed the operating system (Windows 10 Pro) the next thing I did was to decide how I wanted to set up my Plex media files. I also had some other services running on my desktop that I figured I could have my server manage, such as my regular data file management and backup. At this point I decided to look at how best to use the server to manage as much of my files as possible, while at the same time automating as many processes as possible.

I began to think about some ideas.

My Plex Media Server Ideas

I was running the Plex media server from my main desktop for a year before investing in the dedicated server. All my Plex media files were stored on a Western Digital Duo 8TB external drives connected to my desktop through USB 3.0, which I wanted to keep as is.

The Western Digital Duo external connection does contain to Western Digital Red drives, and one drive was a mirror of the other. For the mirroring, I wanted this to be more automatic, but without the use of RAID 1. On top of the automatic mirroring, I also wanted to see if I could also monitor the health of my Plex media drives so I can take action if one of the drives was having issues.

Since my Plex usage wasn’t great, the amount of idle time on the server would be quite substantial. This go me thinking about also use the server to manage my data files, which were stored on a Western Digital My Book external hard drive, connected via USB 2.0 (my desktop only supports USB 2.0). I figured with the always on option of the server, and the USB 3.0 interface, I could move my data files external hard drive to the server as well.

The added benefit of moving my data files external hard drive to the server is I could also monitor that drive as well to make sure that there are no issues with the drive. Between the data files external hard drive and the Plex media hard drives, the data files external hard drive is more important as it has files I can’t recreate, such as family photos and personal videos.

To better protect my data files, I could add a second external hard drive, and mirror the current data files external to the new drive. I could also transfer my Backblaze account to the server from my desktop so my data files can always be backed up since the server is always on.

I will continue to edit my photos on my desktop, but I will set up shares on the server that will allow me to map to the photos from the desktop for editing. This will also provide more protection for my data files from such threats as ransomware or other malware that can cause me to lose my database. I will talk more about how I handle this in another post.

With all my ideas for my new server, it was time for me to put it into action.

The Plex Media Server Setup

To help understand what I would like with my Plex Media Server, here is a quick summary:
- My Plex media files on my Western Digital Duo external drives to be mirrored automatically.
- My personal data files on my Western Digital My Book external drive to be mirrored to a second external hard drive.
- My personal data files to be automatically backed up to Backblaze.
- All hard drives in my server to me monitored to make sure there are no issues.
The good news is that all the above points can be managed with very little hardware, software, and with minimal setup. To accomplish my goal, I would need the following:

Western Digital Duo 8TB

This as an external enclosure that has two 4TB Western Digital Red drives. I bought this about a year ago to store my Plex media files, and I just needed to connect it to my server.

Western Digital My Book 3TB

I bought this drive when the 2TB Western Digital external drive that contain my data files showed signs of failing – bad sectors. That drive was over 5 years old, so it was time to replace the drive with a newer model.

Western Digital My Book 3TB #2

This external drive I had just bought a few days ago so I could create a mirror of the first 3TB external hard drive – the drive that has my data files.

Stablebit DrivePool

This is the software that is going to duplicate both my Plex media files and my data files to the correct drives automatically. Stablebit DrivePool easily combines the disk space from both external hard drives into a single drive.

Stablebit Scanner

Software that will easily allow me to monitor all my hard drives, and integrates effortlessly with DrivePool. Stablebit Scanner will also notify me, via email, if there are any issues with a hard drive.

Backblaze

My unlimited online cloud backup solution. This software runs as a service and will continuously monitor my data files for changes and then automatically upload the changes to the Backblaze cloud service.

Before getting into the details of how it all will come together, let me show you how it will be setup with a diagram:

The Plex Media Setup

The main reason I setup the server was to host and stream my Plex media files, so I will start with the Plex media storage idea of the server. The diagram below shows what is involved with setting up my Plex media on my server.

All my Plex media files are stored on my Western Digital Duo external device. This device is considered a DAS (direct-attached storage), because it connects directly to my server through a USB 3.0 port instead of over the network. The device includes two Western Digital Red drives (4TB each), which I setup as JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks). Setting up the drives in this way allows me to manage the storage setup of the disks using DrivePool

I create a single drive pool for my Plex media files from within DrivePool and added both hard drives from the DAS to the pool. This produced a pool of 8TB in storage size. After the pool was created, I enabled duplication in DrivePool so that each file stored on one of the drives would be automatically copied to the other drive. This essentially halves the amount of storage space in the pool because each file is stored twice.

If one of the two hard drives in my DAS was to fail, I wouldn’t lose all of my media since all files are duplicated on the other drive. It is, of course, possible for both drives to fail at the same time since they share the same DAS unit, and in such a situation I would rebuild my media libraries. I don’t consider my Blu-ray, DVD, and CD libraries to be critical enough to have a full backup solution as I do my personal data files.

The Data Files Setup

The most important data I have has always been stored on an external hard drive, but it was connected to my desktop . I would turn off the external hard drive when I didn’t need to get access to my data, but it would sometime annoy my wife because she couldn’t easily access digital photos. To make life easier for me, and her, I decided to connect the external hard drive that has my personal data files to the server so it can be accessed at any time.

The diagram below shows how my data files are connected to the Plex server.

After seeing how easy it was to set up and manage a drive pool for my Plex media files, I figured it would be a great option for my personal data files. I have always made multiple copies of those files, but having multiple local copies was something that I didn’t have. I purchased a second Western Digital external hard drive to contain the copies of my data files.

My data files setup is very similar to my Plex media files, with the exception of using two external hard drives instead of a single DAS device. I create a second drive pool (the first being my Plex media), and then added the two external hard drives to the pool. Because the second external drive was new, and didn’t contain any of my data files, DrivePool took some time to copy over the files from the first drive onto the second drive after I setup file duplication.

In addition to the two local copies, I also have an offsite, cloud copy of my files stored with Backblaze. I have had this setup on my desktop for many years, and I wanted to transfer it to my server so my data files can continue to be backed up online.

I followed the instructions on the Backblaze website about moving my account information to the server, changed the drive in the software to point to the new DrivePool drive and then Backblaze went to work verifying that all files were backed up. After Backblaze quickly went through the list of files in the drive pool, it indicated that all files were backed up and everything was good again.

The result of the above setup is that when I add or change a data file in the drive pool, the file will automatically be duplicated to the second hard drive by DrivePool and then automatically be backed up to the cloud by Backblaze. This means two copies of the file are automatically created without any work outside of adding or modifying the original file.

Monitoring the Hard Drives

The one aspect of managing my data that I had neglected in the past is to actively monitor the hard drives where my data was stored. When I setup my Plex Media server, I wanted to make sure that I also enabled monitoring so I can be more proactive of replacing hard drives that were about to fail. I was lucky with my previous external hard drive as it had just begun to fail and I was able to copy off all of my data. I didn’t want to take the chance again.

For monitoring I installed another Stablebit application called Drive Scanner.

Once I installed Drive Scanner on my server it immediately detected all the hard drives – both internal and external – that were connected to my server. The application began reading the S.M.A.R.T data for each drive and alerting me if there were any issues.

Note:

The S.M.A.R.T. data from my Western Digital external hard drives (not my Western Digital Duo) could not be read and reported by the Drive Scanner application. I had to change the partition of the external hard drives from MBR to GPT for Drive Scanner to read and report the S.M.A.R.T. data from the two external hard drives.

The most common issue I have at the moment is the drive temperatures getting high because of all the copying, especially my data files drive when DrivePool was duplicating the data from one drive to another. When any issue happens, I receive an email from Drive Scanner that describes the issue.

While duplicating files with DrivePool can cause the Drive Scanner to issue heat warnings, the best part of the two applications is that DrivePool will start to throttle the duplication process to help reduce the heat. The two applications work together to make sure that your drives are running without any issue. The integration between the applications is seamless and only requires both to be installed on the same system.

In addition to the S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, Drive Scanner will also check the disks for any issues. The disk scan is set on a monthly schedule and you can see the results directly in Drive Scanner. If needed, I can also start the scan manually. If a drive once again reaches a heat warning, the scanning process will throttle in an attempt to reduce the heat. I usually only scan my drives overnight when there is very little IO on the drives.

My Plex Media and Backup Server

By utilizing my Western Digital Duo, two external hard drives, Stablebit DrivePool, Stablebit Drive Scanner, and Backblaze, I now have a server that can stream all my media to any device I own, as well as automatically duplicate my personal data files locally and offsite in the cloud.

The best part is that this server is running headless (no monitor), and without any user logged in so even if Windows does reboot, such as after an update, I don’t have to remember to go and log in as everything will automatically run without any problems.
January 29, 2016
Shopping Online This Holiday Season? Stay Safe with These Tips

The holiday season is upon us, and for many people, that means one thing: Shopping. More people than ever before are expected to skip the malls this holiday season and shop online, using both computers and mobile devices, enjoying the convenience, selection, and competitive prices that online merchants offer.

Unfortunately, the increase in online shoppers also brings an increase in cybercriminals, who are more than eager to get their piece of the holiday shopping pie. Because there is such an increased risk for identity theft and other crime, it’s important for anyone who plans to shop online to take certain security precautions.

1. Update Internet Security Protections

Keeping your computer and your Internet security tools as up-to-date as possible is the best way to protect yourself against hackers and thieves. If it’s been a while since you updated your operating system, take the time to do it now; hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems to spread malware, and keeping the software up-to-date is the most effective way to avoid those exploits. Make sure that your antivirus software is up-to-date as well (and set to automatically update on an ongoing basis) and protects your social media and email accounts from phishing attacks.

2. Use Credit Cards, Not Debit

Debit cards are convenient, but they are also dangerous when shopping online. If your information is exposed, a thief can wipe out your account in a matter of minutes, and getting your money back isn’t always fast – or even a given. It can often take banks up to 90 days to investigate and reverse charges on a debit card, which leaves you out of cash in the meantime. Credit cards, on the other hand, limit your liability on fraudulent purchases to $50, and often, you don’t even have to pay that.

Even when you use a credit card, keep track of your accounts and check them regularly. Criminals often “test” cards by making a series of small transactions, usually under $20 each, before using the card for a larger purchase. Report any suspicious transaction, no matter the amount, to keep your accounts safe.

3. Use Only Official Shopping Apps When Going Mobile

Shopping via mobile device is expected to increase significantly this year — as much as a quarter of all online sales are predicted to come via mobile — meaning that hackers are going to be looking for ways to access mobile transactions and steal information. When using your smartphone or tablet to shop, stick to official shopping apps for your favorite stores; you can tell if the apps are legitimate by checking out the developer information and only downloading apps from the official app store for your device. Don’t download apps that arrive in unsolicited emails or text messages — chances are they are spoofed, and will lead to the theft of your financial data.

4. Follow Password Protocols

A strong password is one of the best ways you can keep your data safe, so take care to follow the protocols for maintaining strong passwords. Never use your banking or credit card passwords anywhere else, and use two-factor authentication whenever possible.

5. Use Secure Networks

Free Wi-Fi can help you avoid using up your data, but most free networks aren’t secure — meaning that anything that you share can be intercepted and seen by hackers.

One common scheme is for criminals to set up Wi-Fi networks with names that resemble the legitimate restaurant, shopping mall, or airport network, tricking unsuspecting users into connecting. They then spy on the network to gather any information they can, including passwords, credit card information, and emails.

If you will be doing anything that requires sending sensitive information, avoid using the free Wi-Fi and connect via secure network instead.

6. Avoid Popups and Unsolicited Emails

Finally, while you shop for holiday gifts, be on the lookout for unsolicited offers that appear too good to be true. Criminals inject websites with code to create popup advertisements that appear legitimate, but are designed to trick customers into sharing their credit card numbers. Unsolicited text messages and emails offering special deals — or prompting you to log in to your accounts — should also be ignored and deleted. Again, only shop via official websites and apps, and only when the site is secure.

Online shopping undoubtedly makes the holiday season easier, but it can also be dangerous to your identity and your finances. By making smart choices and making security a priority, you can keep the holiday season a happy one — and not one marred by the stress of identity theft.

November 20, 2015
Security in Online Gaming

Humans naturally like to feel safe. It is a characteristic that has stayed with us from the Ice Age, although now we are fighting internet hackers and not Sabretooth Tigers. The web is a fantastic marketplace that many of us could not do without. The amount of money that flows through it every day is astronomical and needs to be safeguarded at every turn to stop these online fiends committing raids.

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May 4, 2015
Why My Data Hard Drive Errors Didn’t Affect Me

My external hard drive is where I store all my important files such as photos, videos, and personal information. Most, if not all, of the files I store on that drive cannot be recreated, or would be very difficult and time-consuming to recreate. This is why I am always ensuring that drive is available for use, and protected.

Of course, as with most things in life, nothing lasts forever. This is especially true with hard drives. In this case, my external hard drive started to give me problems, causing me to be concerned for my data files.

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April 29, 2015
The Ultimate Guide to Phishing Protection

For those of you who are not familiar with the phishing term, here is a simple definition: phishing consists in personal information theft (through any means) to get access to one’s bank accounts. Of course, the final goal is to steal money. Those who practice phishing are called cyber-criminals. In 2008, there were more than 5 million phishing victims in USA alone.

Cyber-criminals work with different methods and at different levels. They attack individuals, as well as businesses. Below, we will present the most common methods of phishing along with secure measures against them.

Be aware of the following threads and remember: caution is the best secure measure!

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April 8, 2015
Internet Security Options to Adopt in 2015

Today, it is hard to imagine day-to-day life without Internet and computers. More and more people are using digital storage units to keep their valuable information and also share it across online communities. The vastness of the digital world and the multitude of networks that are integral parts of the Internet make security one of the top concerns for both users and network managers.

There are endless software companies that provide sophisticated solutions for any consumer, regardless of their size or field of work. From the ordinary home user and the small business owner, to large-scale companies that need customized solutions for complex networks, the Internet security providers can please any client.

Firstly, let’s explain why a business owner, a private individual or a large company would want an Internet security software suite. While many people know and understand the threats that come with viruses, they are far from being the only harmful element that your computer or network can suffer from. There is an array of scammers, hackers, advertisers, spyware or malware that constantly look for security breaches in both home computers or complex networks. They are always on the look out for your personal information, company data or other important documents, and their only goal is to make money. A complete Internet security software pack will protect you from this plethora of harmful elements that can damage your data irreversibly.

Another excellent reason for choosing a complete security pack is the price, which is almost always far less than when you are buying the security options separately. Also, many vendors offer attractive discounts and special offers if you are buying a complete, comprehensive set of security options.

Now, let’s jump right to the facts and see which are some of the best internet security options for 2015:

1. Bitdefender Internet Security 2015

Bitdefender has once again impressed the tech world with one of the best internet security suites on the market, now available in a new bundle for 2015. The suite consistently earned top marks in all the tests and reviews from the best tech magazines and blogs. The pack includes all the goodies and features from the award-winning Bitdefender Antivirus, but has additional features that improve this already great product. New options include the Cloud antispam feature, which reduces email spam attacks, and the new parental controls that will help you control children’s safety at all times. Bitdefender’s top position in the ranks is also helped by its excellent 24/7 customer support.

2. Kaspersky Internet Security 2015

Another big name in the extremely competitive niche of Internet security, Kaspersky’s suite provides readily available global support to its customers. Known for its reliability and speed, the Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 pack will protect any security breach from potential malware entry. Effective against both spyware, hack attacks and viruses, Kaspersky has passed all the primary independent tests with flying colors, making it an excellent choice for any client. Support is offered in more than 30 languages and is available 24/7 via telephone, email or chat.

3. Norton Internet Security 2015

The Norton Internet Security 2015 pack includes every tool that you need to protect your PC, laptop, home or office networks, as well as mobile devices. Norton is efficient at detecting and blocking every known threat, and this security bundle is also a great tool for social networking, email interactions, and chatting. Independent testing has shown that Norton is one of the top performing products in its niche.

4. F-Secure Internet Security 2015

F-Secure is a trusty security partner for your home computer or business and it will provide high-performance protection from every known piee of malware or virus. Multiple independent test labs have confirmed that F-Secure acts as an outstanding protection against both known and new malware, and it has excellent repair abilities, making it a comprehensive internet security bundle.

Flaviu Mircea is a freelance writer and tech blogger who is always discovering new ways to connect with the world in a safe and timely manner. Of course, even the above security options aren’t fullproof, and so he recommends turning to other secure forms of data transmission like online faxing when sending important documentation. You can compare available online fax services online through FindAFax.com. You can learn more about Flaviu on Google+.

February 7, 2015
3M™ ePrivacy Filter Software Review

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of 3M for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

We live in a world where it seems we can be seen anywhere at anytime. We also live in a world where bigger is better, especially when it comes to computer monitors. I personally have a 24-inch computer monitor, and at times have difficulty adjusting to a smaller screen.

One of the issues with using such a large monitor is that there is no longer any privacy. Everyone behind you can easily see what you are working on, even though it may be personal. 3M has come up with an innovative piece of software that can help solve the issue of anyone that stands behind you from reading your screen.

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December 3, 2014