#hakcing

(photo via Mashable, courtesy of Flickr, H_Elise.)

FEAR FACTORS! By Robert Hood

This is a great info-graphic! It’s clear that protecting your home computer for your family and your peace of mind is a good idea, but how to go about it – that’s the tricky part. There are many options out there, cloud-this, anti-virus that, malware, spyware, the list goes on… here is my simple, no-nonsense advice.  Understanding the tools that  are available, and then using them is a wise investment in time, a time investment  many people choose to avoid, but as Nike says, Just Do It. The first exercise I highly recommend is to, even if just vaguely, understand the threat of a computer with internet access to your personal data… what’s on there, what could you lose, the items that if found by a stranger, could be harmful to your identity, your safety, and even the pocketbook! Next understand your environment, what are you using the internet for? Consider the age of your children, their interests, what you will be using it for, whether personal and or for business. Then research and buy the appropriate protection revolving around internet securities (See for PC and Mac: http://www.trendmicro.com/us/home/index.html). Internet securities cover many potential categories of threats to essentially anything you would normally place behind lock and key. Knowing what category of threat you want to protect against will help you in deciding what software and or hardware you should invest in, so as to protect yourself and your family from would be internet thieves.

Did you know that 1 In 4 people have had their email hacked? Over the years, here at 1Degree, many people have asked how and why email accounts get hacked. Here’s the why, and what you can do about it. At your home, your network is your first line of defense. For instance if you are using Wi-Fi, your network is accessible outside of your home, so it’s crucial to set standards (rules and policies). Make sure your firewall is turned on at each computer and at the internet modem or router (See for PC: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc995156.aspx for Mac: http://www.macworld.com/article/1135888/firewalls.html). One of the first places hackers look is your email archive file, because emails have one centrally located data base with everything in one place, including personal. They scan for both numbers and personal data that can be used to create a false identity or use credit card numbers for online purchases. Public free email accounts are especially susceptible to hacking; because the payoff if bigger for the hacker, once they get in the system they have access to so many email accounts. The best way of protecting yourself in this case is by being aware of the consequences if your email account gets hacked and avoiding sending sensitive data. You may also consider using a paid email account which can feature additional security and less chance of a malicious attack. (This requires owning a personal Domain name. i.e. www. myfamilyname.com)

We see here that 68% say they would be DEVASTATED if they lost everything on their computer (or internet connected device).  From this statistic alone, we can tell many people use their computers for very intense and or sensitive personal and business matters. Backing up computer files can translate into your peace of mind, be it to a physical external hard drive or to the cloud. Cloud servers can be a great option to back up your files, providing automated web services that store your sensitive information on another computer at another location, managed with the highest level of security and attention. And in many cases, and actual GAURANTEE! (See http://www.sosonlinebackup.com)

Overall, this info-graphic wonderfully displays a key relationship between the unknown and the fear associated with it. Fear of the unknown seems to be paralyzing some people, for your peace of mind and to protect your family, it’s time to stop avoiding and start protecting yourselves.  It really is worth the time and energy. Here’s what you should do:

1. Don’t share very personal details like dates, family member names, especially banking and financial information on your computer and via email, period. But if you must store this type of information, there are programs that allow the user to do so in a folder that is independently password protected (See for PC: http://www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock for Mac: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29384/espionage).

2.Pay close attention to what your children are talking about and with whom via social media accounts and email; this requires some agreed upon transparency for the safety of the entire family. Don’t wait, START NOW!

3.Make sure the method you have chosen to protect your security is up to date and functioning correctly. Auto-updates for security software are a great idea and should be allowed, and physically checking that your chosen method of internet protection is working on a monthly basis is will give you additional peace of mind.

4.Remember this applies to all USB drives!

-Robert Hood, President and Founder of 1Degree