Security • Archives • Page 5 of 26 Technically Easy

The Need for Cyber Security Professionals

November 21, 2014 by Paul Salmon

Why the US Needs More Cyber Professionals

Many people do not realize that some of the largest cyber attacks in the history of the internet took place in 2014. There has never been a greater need for cyber professionals, especially when the security of business and government locations is on the line. Some of the statistics surrounding these attacks are terrifying to … Read more

11 Ways To Avoid Your Email From Getting Hacked

October 28, 2014October 27, 2014 by Paul Salmon

Many business owners and webmasters do not give a lot of attention to the security of emails. It is a fact that your email accounts are vulnerable and just like your website they might get hacked. In case you are not a tech savvy person or if you have created your first ever email account, then the information mentioned in this article will be helpful for you. Email accounts are used for performing various tasks like sending emails to friends, sending important emails to your bank, sending important business information to your colleagues or boss.

Irrespective of whether you are using a private email service or a public email service, hackers have the power to break into your emails. While this might sound distressing, it is possible to take complete control of your email accounts and prevent malicious users from gaining access with the 11 ways to avoid your email from getting hacked mentioned below.

Smartphone Security: 9 Ways to Protect You and Your Phone

October 15, 2014September 24, 2014 by Paul Salmon

9 Ways to Protect You and Your Smartphone

Your smartphone is your lifeline for connecting to the world. It’s also a computer in your pocket, with more apps and tools than a Swiss Army knife. All that functionality creates new risks, in addition to the old risks of loss and theft. Like a computer, your phone can get hacked, fatally crash due to malware or bad apps, or track your activity and send it to third parties. Here are nine ways to protect you and your phone.

How to Create a Secure Wireless Router Setup

September 8, 2014 by Paul Salmon

We live at a time when the “Internet of Things” is starting to gain traction in our life. It seems every new product sold today can easily connect to the Internet through a wireless connection, which is usually a wireless router. Of course, as with most things created, it may seem like a good idea to be able to get access to your devices remotely, it also means that malicious users may also be able to gain access to your devices.

I have many devices in my home that connect to my wireless router, and while I am always conscious about security, I am confident in my devices being protected when connected to the Internet. While nothing is ever 100% secured, there are several steps you can take to make sure you do a proper wireless router setup. Ensuring the security of your wireless devices starts with your wireless router.

5 Tools to Secure Your Windows Computer

September 2, 2014September 1, 2014 by Paul Salmon

Since the days of using DOS, personal computers have always had the risk of being infected with malicious software. Over the years, malware has evolved from basic viruses, to rootkits, and now ransomware that encrypts your data. With each new release of malware, it seems anti-virus software developers are always playing catch-up to make sure their software can protect a computer from the new malicious software.

The fact that anti-virus, or anti-malware, software has always been reactive to the changing threats has made such software unreliable, at times, to protecting a computer. While I am an advocate of using anti-malware tools, my entire computer security policy isn’t based on those tools alone. Computer security today requires more protection depth than just an anti-malware tool and a firewall.

To help with creating a more detailed security policy, I have compiled my list of 5 tools to secure your Windows computer. I use each of these tools, and feel confident in recommending them.

Is LastPass Secure?

September 24, 2022August 18, 2014 by Paul Salmon

LastPass is a popular cloud-based password manager that has quickly become popular for those looking for an easy solution to create and keep their passwords safe. There are many software and cloud-based solutions available for managing passwords, such as RoboForm and KeePass, but for many users – myself included – LastPass is what they prefer.

Of course, as with any software that stores personal information, the question on how secure LastPass really is has come up in many discussions online. The “Trust No One” mentality has led many to believe that unless they can see the source, they won’t trust the software. This is one reason many prefer KeePass over LastPass. KeePass is open source (can be reviewed/fixed by anyone), while LastPass is closed (can only be reviewed and modified by the developers)

I endorse and use LastPass for all my passwords, but haven’t really looked into how LastPass manages my personal information, from the time I enter it into their browser add-in. I was curious at what is sent to LastPass, and the software does exactly what the developer says it does to secure my personal information. The good news is that there are ways of finding out, and in this post I will share my findings so you can make an informed decision, not just a decision based on what others say on the Internet. I am hoping that my tests will answer the question – is LastPass secure?

How You Can Create Stronger Passwords

September 24, 2022August 7, 2014 by Paul Salmon

It seems that news about a breach of security that results in the stealing of usernames and passwords seems to be an everyday occurrence these days. The news, from Hold Security, that Russian hackers have created a list of 1.2 billion usernames and passwords come as a surprise because of the number of login credentials that have been stolen.

The real danger of such a list is that many users use the same username and password for many websites, which now allows the Russian hackers to get access to more sites than they managed to steal the credentials from. In order to protect your online identity and data, here are some tips to help you create stronger passwords to help keep the hackers at bay.

Why Common Sense is Vital to Computer Security

June 26, 2014June 25, 2014 by Paul Salmon

I read an article about the how Justice Department in Canada launched a mock scam as a security exercise to determine how the employees react to a phishing e-mail. Much like a real phishing e-mail, the mock e-mail was made to look like an official government or financial institution e-mail, with a link to a fake website made to look like a real site.

The results showed that people can still be tricked into navigating to a fake website with the intention of obtaining personal information. Unfortunately, phishing is still a popular method for malicious people to get information from others, and use that information for criminal purposes. This is a good reminder of how important it is to be vigilant about what we do while online, regardless if it is viewing a website or checking e-mail.