When did you last back up?

When is the last time you backed up your important data? Not just photos of your dog, but anything important on your cell phone, computer or tablet?

March 31st is World Backup Day, an attempt to educated everyone on the importance of regular backups of all sensitive data. According to the website:

30% of people have never backed up any data

113 phones are lost or stolen every minute

29% of all data disaster are caused by accident

1 in 10 computers are infected with a virus every month.

Pretty frightening statistics. The easiest way I explain it to people is to think about what you have on your devices. If they all suddenly caught on fire, what would you lose that is irreplaceable?

Taxes, mortgage documents, anything that you might need access to at some point should be backed up. And if all you have is a paper copy, get it scanned and back it up. 

So where should you put it? If you're thinking ahead, you already have a fire safe for your important documents. Go to your nearest electronics store and pick up a USB flash drive. Save all your documents, photos, etc and toss it into the safe. I'd advise you to set a reminder every month to revisit these backups in the event you've added anything else important.

How about your phone? Most of you probably use either iPhones or Android devices, and both have built in backup abilities. iPhones can be backed up using iTunes and I would suggest backing up to their cloud services as you will be able to access that backup from any computer you can log into. If you back up to your computer and the hard drive crashes, you're out of luck.

Android devices backup and restore with google. How to do so depends on your carrier and device. Search through the settings app on your device for a way to back up the phone, or contact the help line at your carrier.

Another option is cloud storage. All of my important documents are immediately loaded onto the storage I pay for. Many places will give you free storage up to a certain amount (5GB usually) but you can pay for more if you need it.

Remember: There are two kinds of hard drives: Ones that have failed and ones that haven't failed yet. No computer storage should be considered forever, so back up often and in multiple places. You never know what could happen.

The fear of the question "I Don't Know"

People don't like to admit to holes in their knowledge. There is a phrase I don't hear enough of, and it's "I Don't Know"

I Don't Know doesn't mean you are stupid, it just means you don't know. If someone asked me about catalytic converters, I would shrug my shoulders and say I Don't Know because I'm not a car mechanic. At best, I can change my oil. Anything beyond that, I need an expert.

Just, uh, jiggle the thing. No, the other thing.

There are lots of things I don't know that you might, and there isn't any shame in asking.

I bring this up because when it comes to security, many people don't know the basics of keeping themselves safe, and just assume whatever comes with the setup of their device is good enough.

I'm going to tell you now that unless you are a computer and network security minded person, or had one do all of your setup, you probably have some holes in your security net.

And that's ok. The point of this blog is to make you a little more secure and the world a little less frightening. News organizations love to scream about hackers stealing thousands of credit cards, but overall credit security is sound and keeping you protected.  

There is no such thing as fully secure, but you can make yourself a hardened target. A home network that is too much to be bothered with will usually be left alone. If someone can't access your stuff in a few minutes, chances are they will just leave it alone.

So ask questions, find answers and do a little research. If you can check the oil in your car, you can do the basics of security, and this blog can help

Five Steps to Keep you Safe: Day two, Passwords and user accounts

Every secure site you use, whether it's a forum for chatting or a site for online shopping, requires the use of a password. Of course, nothing is a 100% guarantee for safety, it helps protect your private information.

2: Password protect your computer

If you boot up your computer and don't have to enter a password, you're leaving yourself open for all kinds of infiltration. This is especially important if you take your laptop anywhere that has a public wifi connection. Too often I've been in a Starbucks and and seen other computers pop up in my network discovery. How many of them are protected?

And while you may not think you have important documents stored on your computer, there are plenty of files an unscrupulous person could pull off and exploit.

So how can you put a password on your computer? More than likely if you're using Windows, you are either on Windows 7 or 8. There are plenty of tutorials out there, but I'm a big fan of the "For Dummies" website because of its ability to break down the steps in a way for even the non tech savvy to understand.

Setting a password in Windows 8

If you're still on Windows 7, open the start menu, click on Control Panel and choose User Accounts and Family safety. Then choose User Accounts. Alternatively, you can press start and search for User Accounts in the search space at the bottom of the start menu. 

From there, Click Create a Password for your account. If you're the only one using the computer, it will automatically put a password on the only account available. But from here, you can create other accounts for family or children if they also use the computer. Creating different users for different people will keep others from accidentally deleting any of your personal files, and will allow you to set up other restrictions, which is great for a shared computer in a house with kids.

One final point: When setting up a new computer, you generally create a username, which in turn creates a name for your computer. If you use the username "Sarah", the computer will automatically be named "Sarah-PC".

This creates another hole in your security because when you join that public wifi, the name of your computer is broadcast over the network. This means even if you have a password on your computer, you have given an attacker the right username to break.

Here is a good site that instructs you on how to change your computer name. Change it to something innocuous that won't be immediately tied to you.

CENTCOM Twitter and social media accounts hacked OR: The government has a Pinterest page?

If you haven't heard the news, The US Government Central Command (CENTCOM) recently had their Twitter and Youtube pages compromised by supporters of the terrorist organization ISIS.

Pretty scary stuff. But how much do you, the normal internet user need to worry? How much do you need to worry about the safety of your government?

Twitter isn't exactly the height of online security. CENTCOM wasn't actually hacked, just a Twitter account. Which happens pretty regularly as it turns out. Twitter isn't exactly the center of security on the internet.

Things like this happen quite often, and it's no fault of the companies running the accounts. It's a fault in the security of the social media sites themselves. Heck, even being unable to reach a website is low level hacking at best, and is mostly just a nuisance.

From XKCD

I myself am more worried the government will use this as an opportunity to push more legislation in the favor of more internet survelliance in the name of freedom, but that's my happy little paranoia.

Five steps to keep you safe: Day one, Mobile Devices

You lock the doors and windows in your home, hit the automatic lock on your car when you get out, and avoid sketchy areas, right? All very simple things we've been taught to do from a young age until it's second nature.

Computers and networks in the home are still relatively new to many people, and many people still think because they aren't a "computer person" that the basics are confusing and too hard to pick up. Fact is, no one expects a car owner to understand the intricacies of the ignition switch, but many people have one and drive daily. You know how to fuel it up, change the radio station and roll down the windows, you should know about the locks as well

1: Lock your mobile device.

Maybe some people think it's too much of a hassle to put a four didget PIN on their smartphone or tablet, but not doing so puts you and your information at risk. Ask yourself: If someone picked up your phone, would they have immediate access to your email, facebook accounts or any other social media? Would you want me to see all your photos or other personal information?

I do my best to tread the line between smart security practices and the downright paranoia that some security experts have. I don't want to tell the average phone user they need to fully encrypt their phones with long, complicated passcodes that are required every time you want to check twitter. At the same time, doing nothing is dangerous and leaves you open for attack.

On your phone, find the application named Settings. Regardless of your preferred phone, the security settings will be nestled somewhere in there, and you can put a simple lock on your phone. Some phones have a pattern you can draw and a few of the latest generation has a fingerprint scanner. Whichever route you want to take, just put some kind of lock on it. Not doing so is basically like leaving your car doors unlocked, except losing information can hurt you for years after.

Computer Security: Prologue

I've been doing a lot of thinking about security lately. Even before the recent Sony hacks allegedly perpetrated by Best Korea, security has been at the front of my mind in the last few months.

Recently, I attended a software convention in Orlando where I befriended a security expert. We stayed up one evening until two in the morning discussing network and computer security. He would tell me he was constantly surprised by how little people care about their own security when it's so easy.

But it's not easy. It's easy for him because it's his life and career. It's easy for me because I'm a computer expert. I have a degree in network engineering and I am always reading news articles and blogs on the latest and greatest in computers and networking. What might be surprising to you is that not much changes. Layout and design might switch up, the programs and features update year to year, but the basics are the same.

I can say the same about security. You and your parents don't have to worry about international hackers breaking into your computer to steal James Bond scripts. But you still have valuable information. You have a social security number and credit card numbers that I can either use or sell online. You have tax reports stored on your computer that might be easy to access with a little time and knowledge. You wouldn't believe the things people keep wide open while banging out emails at a Starbucks

There are things you don't think of that are always on my mind, and I want to tell you about them as well. It's my duty as your friend and security expert to give you some basic information that will harden your internet and keep you safe.

Terminology

Do you know the difference between a virus and a trojan? How about a worm? The difference between malware and adware?

Thing is, it doesn't matter. Many security experts love to talk in depth about everything you don't care about. We risk losing our audience in a muck of terminology they don't understand and don't care to know. When the people you are trying to educate have their eyes glaze over as you excitedly tell them about the latest in encryption software, they won't take the time to be safe.

In this series, I will use the word 'virus' and 'malware' as the catch all to mean "Crap you don't want on your computer." Viruses and malware both sit in different categories, but the catch-all terms are enough to get the point across.

I'm not here to make you an expert, I'm here to make you a harder target to crack. The joke of "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you" has perfect use here. You will never be 100% secure, but you can be more secure than the person down the street or the person on the airport wifi. Many times, that's all you need.