Security
Security and privacySecurity and privacy refer to the safeguarding of personally identifying data.. As long as you are using best practices there is nothing to fear, we aim to always be prepared for the worst case scenario, which is that your information is already in the hands of an attacker, and it probably already is. From a security-centric standpoint there is no measure that goes too far to ensure your own safety, and that should show in your personal life as well. Sure, it feels great to go to the club, and pickup the tab for everyone at the bar, but know that just the action in itself can open you to attackAny attempt to expose, alter, disable, destroy, steal or gain unauthorized access to or make unauthorized use of an asset. if someone is looking for the opportunity. The first line of defense is taking action and making sure you follow these simple steps to be sure you are able to withstand the typical attack vectors.Methods in which assets are attempted to be stolen.
Starting with something close to us, whether you are on your phone, a computer, or laptop, security is pretty simple. Make sure the machine you’re using is secured with a passcode of some kind, whether it be a fingerprint scanner, face scan, or pin code, this should be your first level of security. If someone gets ahold of your device, we want to do everything we can to make sure they are not given free access to your identity.
To get even more personal, the password that we choose in itself is a very important thing. One of the best things I can recommend for making a solid password, is to take a phrase/song/random string of words that you really enjoy saying and turn that into your password.
Let’s take this famous quote by Walt Disney "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." If you wanted to turn this memorable quote into a password you could easily do it by taking the first letter of each word with capitals, as well as the punctuation and string it together like this “Twtgsitqtabd.” I like this method because you can use any phrase, even one that you made up to do it.
- Please note, that the longer the phrase is the more secure your password will be. The longer, and more cryptic the better, try adding in numbers, and symbols to make it even more secure.
- Multi-factor authenticationAn electronic authentication method in which a computer user is granted access to a website or application only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism: knowledge, possession, and inherence. can be a lifesaver. The way multi-factor authentication device protects you is by adding multiple layers of protection to any connections made to your account. When you sign in while you're protected by multi-factor, you will be prompted to provide an additional password which is generated by your multi-factor device, which can easily be your phone, or computer. The service you're connecting to verifies the multi-factor code as well as the password to make sure you are the one attempting to sign in to your account.
- Next we’ll move on to your personal network. The most secure way of using the internet would be to have your own Internet service which you are paying for from an ISPInternet Service Provider. Like AOL! every month. With this paid service you should have equipment to help secure the network. All of this equipment can be owned by you, the customer if you so choose. There are many different types of internet, and devices that control the internet so I will make an additional post going over Internet essentials at a later time.
Practicing safe internet browsing habits is something that might take a little bit to get right, but it becomes more straight forward as you learn about the different threats out there. I will be composing a list of common scams on the internet to avoid in another blog post. The best thing I can tell you about safe browsing habits, is that if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Any advertisement that promises you riches, or free things often are a winding road that ends up draining your bank account making you think you’ve won some special prize. Just know that there really are no handouts in this life unless you are out there grinding and doing something to deserve those handouts. A cool thing you can do with most internet browsers nowadays is open incognito tabs with a simple Control + Shift + N which will let you browse in a more anonymous way. You can use these incognito windows to make sure any nasty trackers that you might pick up on a shady site get wiped clean once the browser is closed, however, be aware that this is not a 100% safe way to browse those sites freely, and really the only way to do that is to setup a virtual machineA virtual machine is an emulation of a computer system. (A computer within a computer) to browse through.
There is probably so much more that I could cover on security, but I wanted to start off in a way that we can act on immediately. Being aware of how your activity online can be tracked is important so that you are aware of what sort of vulnerabilities might exist. I would like to take a moment to advertise my first solution for helping take back control of your money, and data. Check out Brave, and see how you can turn your normal browsing habits into Basic Attention Tokens that can be redeemed for real world value.
Help build a better tomorrow by being brave today.