Happy New Year Everyone!
I wish you and yours a very successful and prosperous new year and that 2018 be your best year yet!
Over the course of 2017 I’ve shared various tips for safety and security and general tips for computer use over at the GEFTEK facebook page (where I share all my tips and tricks at).
I thought it would be good to take the best ones and post them here. If you like these tips be sure to join me over there for all the tips and tricks I share.
For the last post of 2017 on the GEFNET Tech Blog I give you the best tips of 2017!
Enjoy!
-
Remember when doing facebook quizzes and games or whatever it is EDIT the permissions they can access only give what they need and remember to remove the app after you’ve shared your result. you can find all your apps in settings remove what you don’t use for security reasons.
-
Make sure the dialog box your putting your password in is legit don’t just randomly insert password if it wasn’t expected. This is important for #Apple users because they constantly get asked for passwords when any app needs account information and some apps could be malicious and try to fake a apple dialog prompt. Always be cautious when dealing with dialog boxes on any system.
-
Use #2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) / #MFA (Multi Factor Authentication) when able to protect your account.
-
Instead of having your screen brightness set to 100% drop it down to 50% or automatic setting if you have it this will have a enormous impact on your mobile device battery!
-
Been a lot of talk lately about quizzes and questionnaires on Facebook like the “10 concerts” post you’ve probably done or your friends have done… these are fun and seem harmless but it can be a clever social engineering hack that you aren’t even aware of and answering all these questions and quizzes can give hackers the information to hack your accounts. So when doing these be sure to keep your security in mind the information you post could be used against you. Be sure not to answer anything that is in your security questions and answers like ones to verify you in case you lose your passwords don’t answer any question that may compromise your answer.
-
When you log into a site or service it logs it as a “session” if you don’t logout that session may remain open so anybody that goes to that site or service may open your account up if they have access to the computer or device you logged into. For safe security practice logout of all sites and services if you don’t want to that’s ok but be sure to check the sessions log and close any devices you are not actively using. Your sessions can usually be found in the settings section.
-
Computers have a tendency to have mysterious problems that prevent them from starting up or performing the way they should normally a geek like myself can figure out the problem and get it running again but there are times where the problem is so vague and unknown that it can’t be fixed (easily) that’s when system restore comes in if you have system restore enabled your computer can be reset to a time before the problem like it never even happened. sometimes that’s your only hope for getting your computer back so it’s very important to make sure system restore is active and current! If you don’t know if you have system restore on let me look remotely no charge to make sure you are safe!
-
When you get a router/modem from your ISP or buy it retail you naturally have to configure it. When doing so change the default username/password to access your administration page because if someone can access your network they can login to your WiFi/Computer network and change the settings or even lock you out if you leave the default settings in place.
-
This can apply to any social media site but especially on facebook don’t share just anything Fact Check First! you may be spreading false information and at worst if you are the one who forwards chain letters or obvious spam messages they can be tracked by doing a simple search of the keywords in the messages and if a scammer or other malicious entity wants a target they will see that you are gullible enough or uninformed enough to target for other scams and worst yet after they get done with you they will target your friends and family! Be safe don’t spread spam or chain letters!
-
This tip is about your old computer or devices when you are ready to dispose of them or resale them make sure that you properly remove your personal data from the computer you don’t want your personal information falling into the hands of a identity thief and by properly I mean format the computer and restore it back to factory conditions simply deleting your data from the computer will not get rid of it after you delete data from a computer it’s still there! it’s just hidden from sight until it’s ready to be overwritten by new data. lastly, if you are not planning on selling don’t just dispose of it recycle it that’s the environmentally friendly thing to do and better yet give it to me! I’ll take the old computer repair it and give it away for free to a family in need that can’t afford one. if it’s not reasonably usable anymore I’ll recycle it for you!
There you have it 10 great tips for security, safety and all around computer use. Please feel free to leave your comments and feedback about this blog post and include any suggestions you might have for your own tips to share.
Take care! Remember be safe and secure out there in the Interwebs!