Top 100 Security and Privacy Tips
In celebration of the 100th post on Security Generation, I’ve decided that a list of 100 security and privacy tips would be appropriate. The tips start off basic then get a bit more complex, and cover a range of areas from general computer and information security, to safe web browsing, email security and privacy. Thanks to everyone who’s been visiting (and to those who are following on Twitter), I hope to keep bringing you useful and interesting content into 2011. Feel free to share this with others, and suggest any other tips that you think I may have missed out! Let’s kick off the 100 Security Tips, enjoy:
- Keep informed of current events in security by reading (or listening to) relevant security news
- Always be aware and alert for threats, and adjust your security to fit your current environment
- Be skeptical (not paranoid), and use common sense
- Ask for help or information if you’re ever suspicious or unsure about something
- Help educate others about good security practices, and point them to useful resources
- Regularly patch your system, browsers, and other software and mobile devices when updates are available
- If you use antivirus, and you probably should, update the signatures hourly at a minimum
- Don’t use an Administrator (root) account for day-to-day use. Set yourself up a standard user account
- Use good, strong passwords with a minimum of 8 characters
- Do not use “password”, abc123, 12345, qwerty, your username, any dictionary word, or any derivatives of these as your password! Read more
Securing Leopard – 10.6 Edition
I’ve finally re-written my article on Securing Leopard, with some updates to reflect the changes made in 10.6. This is still an early edition, and I’d be happy to hear feedback/suggestions (contact form) on how I could improve it.
The article is aimed at new and developing Mac OS X users, and covers a variety of suggestions on how to quickly and easily improve the security of your (Snow) Leopard install. It also provides tips on how to manage your privacy and protect your personal information.
It includes a quick checklist which can help when trying to secure an install of Mac OS X. Enjoy!
How To Delete Your Account on 14 Popular Websites
A few months ago I posted about Facebook’s ever-so-slightly simplified account deletion process. I just stumbled across an article on Smashing Magazine that describes how to delete one’s account on 14 popular websites.
Here are the relevant links for the following sites:
Facebook (Delete Account page)
MySpace (people still use this?)
Windows Live (“Close your account” at the bottom)
Airport Body Scanners: Questionable Security and Privacy
The idea of naked images of children aside, something about this picture is particularly disturbing to me. I don’t know if it’s the criminal-esque ‘hands-up’ pose the kids are forced to adopt, the big yellow radiation warning sign, the fact that anyone on the other side of the machine has a clear view of the screen, or that the kid in front appears to have taken a bit too much radiation to the head. Ok, I jest with that last one, but there is something inherently wrong with this image. Read more
Disable Facebook Places – or – Location-Stalking for Fun and Profit
In a direct strategic offensive on Foursquare’s service and a long-term plan for world domination, Facebook recently introduced their own service dubbed Places. These two services allow users to ‘check-in’ to virtually any venue/event, thus sharing their location with friends (or the world). This introduced an awesome new sport known as Foursquare stalking where one could follow the check-ins of known or random people (eg. by searching for 4sq.com on Twitter Search), call up the venue they are currently at, and ask to speak to the person… and then doing this for every location they check-in to. Tremendous fun. The guys at PLA Radio had fun prank-calling people using this, with amusing results.
Apparently the bald fat guy below just got home. Since he is kind enough to post the actual location of his domicile, all a thief has to do is wait until he checks-in somewhere far away, and then proceed to leisurely rob him of all his stuff. Sorry baldfatguy… didn’t mean to pick on you but you were at the top of the list.
Surely Facebook’s entry into this domain will allow for more stalking goodness. Another interesting perspective is using Places to create an alibi by spoofing one’s GeoLocation. Anyway, onto the essentials. At least most of us can just avoid using services like Foursquare… but if you have a Facebook account, it’s yet another privacy setting you will have to set yourself.
To Disable Places: Log in to Facebook and go to the Privacy Settings. Click on Customize Settings at the bottom, and then modify the Things I Share settings (you will need to select Custom from the dropdown menu in order to choose Only Me). These settings are only important if you do actually use Places.
Next go down to Things Others Share, and uncheck Friends can check me in to Places.
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