There are a lot of cyber-schemes going around today. And yes, they have been going around for years. However, it seems to me that they have become more abundant over the last several months.
You know the emails with strange attachments, the links from companies asking you to log in and check your account. Then the deposed politicians in foreign countries who need your help getting money, etcetera.
I am getting multiple emails a week…sometimes daily which is a bit disturbing. It really bothers me in that I pretty much feel confident that I avoid most of them but some of you may not. I will never say that I will avoid them all because sooner or later I may mess up.
So first, perform the standards of keeping your operating system, antivirus, and anti-malware software up-to-date. That is a significant help to you.
I took a class on security recently and thought I should share a few tips with you. Some you may not have ever considered.
One is, what should be done if you find a thumb drive laying on the ground somewhere? DO NOT put it in your computer to see if there is any secret "stuff" on it. Yes, it may have financial data, account numbers, legal documents, pictures or who knows what on it. However, it is possible that it could have a virus on it. You put it in your system and, "boom," you could have a very big problem with your computer. You should give it to someone in "charge" at the location. If it is in the middle of nowhere, toss it in the trash.
How about your passwords? Yes, I know that everyone has a different password for every single site they visit…not. But you probably have multiple passwords you use from time-to-time. How ever you deal with passwords they should be secure. A secure password has at least eight characters and includes a minimum of one upper case letter, one lower case, a number and a symbol. "12345678" is not a good password, but "Row3Urbt!" is. So how do you remember it if it is that difficult? Take a look at that one, how about, "Row, row, row, your boat?" Make up those that are easy for you to remember, like the first letter of each word of your favorite song, followed by the year you graduated with an exclamation point-at the beginning. Play with it and if you can do 12 characters it is much better.
Click the graphic below and use the password checker below
to find out how secure your passwords are.
(Do not enter you actual PW but something close.)
Next, what about your computer when you leave the house? Make sure of several things. First, do not leave it unlocked. On your windows PC press the Windows key and the "L" keys at the same time and it is locked/secured. Make sure that you have not left a piece of paper lying around or under your keyboard with your password(s) on it. Do not leave your thumb drive lying there as they are easy to walk off with. Take your cell phone with you. And this is old school but do not leave your tax returns lying on the desk before you leave for a movie.
More next week.
