“Stay safe online”. Part 9

Danilo Diaz Granados

Passwords are very important for your internet safety. Danilo Diaz Granados reminds you that you should never use the same password for multiple internet sites. And that the passwords for your email accounts are especially delicate and should be treated with the utmost caution.

Sometimes you may think that a simple password is the way to go, something easy to remember and easy to type in. But the reality is that complicated passwords are safer. These are harder to guess and help to protect you against thieves that may decide to mess with your identity and finances.

Reusing passwords is the biggest no-no. Although this piece of advice is common knowledge most people tend to repeat this mistake, so proved Microsoft MVP Troy Hunt. Hunt grabbed the information leaked from Sony last year and did an analysis. The graph above is part of the analysis realized by Troy Hunt. It ilustrates that less than 1% of passwords contained a non-alphanumeric character.

For more information, Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to visit http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=5&tag=content;siu-container

“Stay safe online”. Part 8

Danilo Diaz Granados

Danilo Diaz Granados reminds you to be smart while cruising on the net. A very important part of staying safe online comes from being smart with passwords. Protecting yourself online can be difficult, especially these days with all the high-profile websites that have been hacked.

Two of the internet entities responsible for some of the most damaging hacker-related information leaks are LulzSec and Anonymous. They are in fact responsible for making public the usernames and passwords of millions of people. Case in point, in June 2011 LulzSec posted the usernames, passwords and personal details of over 1 million accounts taken from Sony Music and Sony Pictures servers.

For some, their Sony accounts may not contain high-profile information- you may not care if someone logs in and pretends to be you. But what if this kind of thing were to occur on a different server, say Google Mail or Hotmail? If you used the same password for your Sony account as for your Gmail, you would then be susceptible to having someone download your emails, which may include information from your banks or from online shopping sites like Amazon.com.

Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to read more at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=5&tag=content;siu-container

Botts says “Stay safe online”. Part 7

Danilo Diaz Granados

In any case, not all files come with digital signatures. You may decide to trsut unsigned files but Danilo Diaz Granados recommends you do so only if you are confident that the file is exactly what it claims to be. Otherwise it is a great risk.

The third question you must answer before trusting a new program is “What does the security community say about the download?”.  There are multiple anti-virus scanners on the web. Some can be used free of charge.

One site very worth you while is Virustotal. This site allows you to upload a file and have it cross-checked by several anti-virus scanners. If the file makes you very uneasy, you can wait 48 hours and resubmit it to Virustotal. This is usually enough time for any new strains of malware to be added to the anti-virus engine database.

Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to read more at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=4&tag=content;siu-container

Botts says “Stay safe online”. Part 6

Danilo Diaz Granados

Danilo Diaz Granados keeps you up to date on how to keep safe online. Remember it is important to never install any software unless you are certain it is safe. In order to achieve this step you must answer three key questions.
These questions are simple and to the point. The first question is “Did it come from a trusted source?. This question explains itself, mainly don’t install random software that pops up on your screen.
The second question is “Is it signed with a valid digital signature?” The digital signature is not proof that the file is safe but it does mean that you have valuable information about its history and background. When searching for the digital signature in Windows right click on the file and choose Properties.
For more information, Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to read: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=4&tag=content;siu-container

Botts says “Stay safe online”. Part 5

Danilo Diaz Granados

The most important online trust decision people make deserves detailed and in-depth coverage. That is why Danilo Diaz Granados has divided the information in two different posts. Please be sure to come back and read more next week!

This is the fourth of five tips Ed Bott has bequeathed to us as general rules or steps to avoid malware, scareware, phishing sites, and other online scams. The fourth step is: “Never install any software unless you’re certain it’s safe”. It is the biggest trust question because if you install software from the internet there is a great probability that it can act as a portal for any series of mal-intended programs.

In any case, the fourth tip can be summarized in three questions. Ed Bott suggests you answer these questions before proceeding to click Yes on the installer. This is because you need information about the program such as whether it is compatible with other software you use… read more next week!

Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to visit the original article at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=4&tag=content;siu-container

Bott says “Stay safe online”. Part 4

Danilo Diaz Granados

This week Danilo Diaz Granados continues with the theme of how to stay safe online. Past posts have covered several tips that should be useful. These are very practical and easy to accomplish.

Today’s post covers more on the trust issue. When should you trust a web page? This is a question users make each time they venture into the unknown website world.

The key is to learn how to read the address bar. This is done in two key points. The first is in the domain name: anytime you are asked to enter your login credentials make sure that the address bar displays an actual domain name. The second location is at the beginning of the address where you should be able to identify if it is a secure connection by the presence of a padlock icon.

For more information Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to visit: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=3&tag=content;siu-container

Bott says “Stay safe online”. Part 3

Danilo Diaz Granados

When dealing with trust issues via the internet there are several things to take into account. The first, as Danilo Diaz Granados has already mentioned, is to beware of spam. Spam is always a risk.
Both Gmail and Hotmail have excelently accurate spam blocking technology. When using these types of accounts you can feel a bit safer. If you have an email provider with insufficient spam filters you should consider forwarding your emails to a Gmail or Hotmail account.
The other common decision to make is whether or not to trust a web page. This can be done by learning to read the address bar in two key location points. This information will be the subject of the next post.
Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to read the original article at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=3&tag=content;siu-container

Bott says “Stay safe online”. Part 2

Danilo Diaz Granados

The third step to staying safe online consists of learning how to make smart trust decisions. Danilo Diaz Granados reminds you that the attacks via the internet can take many forms. These forms can range from conventional phishing e-mails to sophisticated and convincing malicious download sites.

When you are surfing the web you can be bombarded by all sorts of information. That trick is in recognizing potential threats to the safety of your computer. When the information comes from programs, people or businesses you are familiar with there is less risk. The real problems are the unknown senders.

So when do you trust an unknown sender?

Always beware of spam. Spam is used to lure users into sites that deliver malware. It is also a primary vector for phishing attacks and financial scams.

Danilo Diaz Granados invites you to keep reading about this subject at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=3&tag=content;siu-container

Bott says “Stay safe online”

Danilo Diaz Granados

Continuing with last week’s theme, today Danilo Diaz Granados will be informing you about the second step to staying safe online. The first step to avoid bad bugs and online abuse is to not panic. This was very simple advice.
The second step to staying safe online is to stay up to date. If you use Windows you should definitely turn on Windows Update. This may be a problem if you don’t have the original software.
Whether you are a Mac or a PC owner, it is necessary to regularly update not just the operating system and its components, but also those Internet-connected programs of frequent usage. For this step, Bott recommends the program Ninite which handles all your third-party software updates and supports 92 applications.
Danilo Diaz Granados recommends you read more at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?pg=2&tag=content;siu-container

5 secrets to healthy use of the Internet

Danilo Diaz Granados

Going online can be risky for your computer and consequently for your sanity. Having your system come crashing down at any given moment, giving away your personal information due to malware or scareware or even falling pray to online scams can really make you paranoid to the point of wishing to avoid all contact with internet sites. Here are some tips Danilo Díaz Granados read in Ed Bott’s article “Stay safe online: 5 secrets every PC (and Mac) owner should know”.

The first tip is “Don’t panic”. This tip includes helpful advice such as “When in doubt, stop. Think. Ask for help”, “You should, of course, have a regular backup routine”, and “Don’t be paranoid”. The back-up routine is important because it allows you to restore your computer to its normal self without having to track down well hidden infections. Also important is the ability to ask for help from a specialist and to know when to pull the plug on the internet before anything gets worse.

For now, this is the first tip in a series of 5 secrets that Ed Bott has fittingly announced to the world. The advice is really quite practical and seems almost common sense. Remember these days threats can arrive from websites, deceptive ads or seemingly innocent downloads!

Danilo Diaz Granados recommends you visit http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/stay-safe-online-5-secrets-every-pc-and-mac-owner-should-know/3542?tag=content;feature-roto