March 29, 2013
Encryption isn’t only for paranoid conspiracy theorists, nor is it just for tech geeks. Encryption is something every computer user can benefit from. Tech websites write about how you can encrypt your digital life, but we’ve all done a poor job of explaining why you should actually care. Now we'll get back to basics and explain the many threats encryption can help protect you from.
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March 29, 2013
The greatest aspect of the telephone? The fact that you can speak to anyone at a moment’s notice, even if they’re halfway across the world. Sit back and think about that for a second because it’s amazing. But there’s also a drawback: spammers can constantly attempt to reach you with texts and calls and you may feel helpless against the endless barrage.
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March 26, 2013
Every convenience in life comes at a cost. That's why things are so expensive at the corner store compared to the grocery store. They aren't selling you a carton of milk, they're selling you a way out of a mistake in not remembering to pick up your milk early at the supermarket. That kind of convenience has a readily tangible cost - more money out of your wallet. The convenience cost of other things, such as technology, might not be so readily apparent.
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March 22, 2013
Online privacy is important to everyone, whether you actively protect it or not. The problem with privacy is not that we don’t care about it, but that we don’t always know how to protect it, or don’t have the time and motivation to go scanning through the settings of every website we use. Whatever the reason, many users don’t take good enough care of their online privacy.
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March 20, 2013
Technology in the computer age has been plagued with unsecured features, security loopholes, and general oversights in software architecture. Flash drives can carry keyloggers. Browsers might have open backdoors. Windows constantly updates with security fixes. We have to take the good with the bad and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is one technological advancement that, too, comes with its share of drawbacks.
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March 13, 2013
It’s so embarrassing. Here I am, a contributor at MakeUseOf with a background in data security, and I’m about to tell you how my Skype account got hacked. Not years ago before I became aware of the various threats and the signs that an intrusion had occurred, but recently. Just last Christmas. The worst thing about this is that I’d noticed that there was something not quite right about the way the account was behaving.
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March 13, 2013
Google has launched a new program called Help for hacked sites, which is designed to help website owners clean up the mess that occurs following an attack. Just because your website you own is not as big as Twitter or Tumblr does not mean it's 100% safe, so this can be useful to anyone who owns a website.
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March 10, 2013
If you aren't using cryptographically-strong passwords by now, you're late. Trusting LastPass is not for everyone. No matter how much security software you have installed, a secure password is always going to be the foundation of basic online security and you've got to get used to it. A few years ago, I went through a phase where I spent several hours in a single day revising all of my passwords.
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March 5, 2013
Ciphers have been used throughout history to maintain secrecy and security for sensitive pieces of data. Instead of leaving important information out in the open and available to anyone for reading, these ciphers kept knowledge and messages locked away behind puzzles. At one time, those ciphers may have been simple, but now we have extremely powerful forms of encryption. Think about all of the sensitive data you transmit on a day-to-day basis through your browser.
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March 4, 2013
Security suites are a big deal. There are so many avenues of attack and you may one day find your computer buckling under the weight of malware and viruses. In the latter half of last year, I actually reviewed Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware Pro as part of MakeUseOf’s Rewards Program. But here’s our offer this week: we’re giving away 25 copies of Ad-Aware Pro 10.5 worth a total of $900 for FREE!
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March 2, 2013
Ideally we would never leave our laptops from our sight, especially in public. And there are definitely areas like airports and public transit where you should never consider it an option. But since becoming a tech writer, I've found that public areas, specifically coffee shops, are great for working. And because I’m in coffee shops 400% (yes, I did the math…) more than I used to be, I've noticed the need to occasionally leave my spot to go somewhere.
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February 25, 2013
Network structure and management have their own lingo. Some of the terms thrown around will likely already sound familiar to you. Ethernet and Wi-Fi are largely self-obvious concepts, although it may require a little bit more effort to understand the intricacies of the different Wi-Fi standards. Knowing the meaning of these terms, and grasping the underlying concepts will help you to get a better grip on your own home or office network.
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February 23, 2013
Zendesk, the email and contact support client used by Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest, has been compromised, and user's email addresses have been stolen during the breach. Tumblr is sending out emails informing users of the situation, but Twitter and Pinterest are also seeing the same ill effects.
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February 22, 2013
Facebook blocked links to NBC.com and its other related sites after a multi-site compromise on Thursday. It appears that the American TV network's websites were infested with RedKit malware. The malware remained on the various sites for a few hours and users who visited the sites may have fallen victim to the malware. According to ZDNet, tens of thousands of people may be affected.
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February 13, 2013
I continue suggesting to everyone that running Ad-Aware is a good idea. It doesn't necessarily have to be run exclusively as the only anti-virus software, but I've found that the Ad-Aware team has done a fantastic job identifying the adware that exists out there, and it's always Ad-Aware that spots it, when the standard AV software remains silent.
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