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Helping Others Secure Themselves
Many of us feel comfortable with technology, to include how to use it safely and securely. However, other friends or family members may not feel so comfortable. In fact, they may be confused, intimidated, or even scared by it. This makes them very vulnerable to today's cyber attackers. Cyber security does not have to be scary; it's actually quite simple once you understand the basics. They most likely just need a guide like you to help them understand the basics.
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Equifax Breach
Recently, Equifax, one of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies, announced a major data breach. This breach affects approximately 143 million Americans. This is what we know according to Equifax: the data breach occurred May – July 2017, and the information stolen includes consumers’ personally identifiable information, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers. Approximately 209,000 credit card numbers and di
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Password Managers
One of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself online is to use a unique, strong password for every one of your accounts and apps. Unfortunately, it is most likely impossible for you to remember all your different passwords for all your different accounts. This is why so many people reuse the same password. Unfortunately, reusing the same password for different accounts is dangerous, because once someone compromises your password, they can access all your accounts that use t
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Backup & Recovery
If you use a computer or mobile device long enough, sooner or later something will go wrong, resulting in your losing your personal files, documents, or photos. For example, you may accidentally delete the wrong files, have a hardware failure, lose a device, or become infected with malware, such as ransomware. At times like these, backup are often the only way you can rebuild your digital life. In this newsletter, we explain what backups are, how to back up your data, and how to develop a sim
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Gaming Online Safely & Securely
Online gaming is a great way to have fun; however, it also comes with its own set of unique risks. In this newsletter, we cover what you and and your family can do to protect yourselves when gaming online.
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Lessons From WannaCry
Recently, you most likely watched widespread news coverage of a new cyber attack called WannaCry. It infected over 200,000 computers worldwide and locked numerous organizations out of their data, including hospitals in the United Kingdom. There are several reasons this attack gained so much attention. First, it spread rapidly from computer to computer by attacking a known weakness in Windows computers. Second, the attack was a type of malware called Ransomware, which meant that once it infec
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Securing Today's Online Kids
The number of ways children today can go online and interact with others is staggering. From new social media apps and games to schools using Chromebooks, kids' social lives and futures depend on their ability to make the most of technology. As parents, we want to make sure they do so in a safe and secure manner. However, this can be a challenge, as many of us never grew up in a technical environment like this. To help you, we cover the key steps to enabling today's kids to make the most of
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Passphrases
Passwords are something you use almost every day, from accessing your email or banking online to puchasing goods or accessing your smartphone. However, passwords are also one of your weakest points; if someone learns or guesses your password they can access your accounts as you, allowing them to transfer your money, read your emails, or steal your identity. That is why strong passwords are essential to protecting yourself. However, passwords have typically been confusing, hard to remember, an
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Social Engineering
A common misconception most people have about cyber attackers is that they use only highly advanced tools and techniques to hack into people's computers or accounts. This is simply not true. Cyber attackers have learned that often the easiest way to steal your information, hack your accounts, or infect your systems is by simply tricking you into making a mistake. In this newsletter, you will learn how these attacks, called social engineering, work and what you can do to protect yourself.
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Staying Secure on the Road
We want you to be able to make the most of technology at all times, including when you travel. In this newsletter, we cover how you can connect to the internet and use your devices securely on the road.
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Securely Using Mobile Apps
Mobile devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and watches, have become one of the primary technologies we use in both our personal and professional lives. What makes mobile devices so versatile are the millions of apps we can choose from. These apps enable us to be more productive, instantly communicate and share with others, train and educate, or just have fun. However, with the power of all these mobile apps comes risks. Here are some steps you can take to securely use and make the most of
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Securely Disposing of Your Mobile Device
Mobile devices, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets, continue to advance and innovate at an astonishing rate. As a result, some people replace their mobile devices as often as every year. Unfortunately, too many people dispose of their devices with little thought on just how much personal date is on them. In this newsletter we will cover what types of personal information may be on your mobile device and how you can securely wipe it before disposing or returning it. If your mobile
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Using The Cloud Securely
"The Cloud" can mean different things to different people, but usually means using a service provider on the Internet to store and manage your computing sytems and/or data for you. An advantage of the Cloud is that you can easily access and synchronize your data from multiple devices anywhere in the world, and you can also share your information with anyone you want. We call these services "The Cloud" because you often do not know where you data is physically stored. Examples of Cloud computi
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Email Do's and Don'ts
Email is still one of the primary ways we communicate, both in our personal and professional lives. However, we can quite often be our own worst enemy when using email. In this newsletter, we will explain the most common mistakes that people make with email and how you can avoid them in your day-to-day lives.
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Ransomware
Ransomware is a special type of malware that is actively spreading across the internet today, threatening to destroy victim's documents and other files. Malware is software - a computer program - used to perform malicious actions. While ransomware is just one of many different types of malware, it has become very common because it is so profitable for criminals. Once ransomware infects your computer, it encrypts certain files or your entire hard drive. You are then locked out of the whole sy
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What is CEO Fraud?
Cyber criminals are sneaky - they are constantly coming up with new ways to get what they want. One of their most effective methods is to target people like you. While cyber attackers have learned that unaware people are the weakest link in any organization, they have forgotten that knowledgeable people like OUCH! readers can be an organization's best defense.
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Encryption
You may hear people use the term "encryption" and how you should use it to protect yourself and your information. However, encryption can be confusing and you should understand its limitations. In this newsletter, we explain in simple terms what encryption is, how it protects you, and how to implement it properly.
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Secure File Transfer
New Market Bank is now offering its customers the ability to send a secure email to the bank. Secure email is a great way to communicate with us and the only way to be sure your confidential information, account number, tax id numbers and financial statements are delivered securely.
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What is Malware?
You may have heard of terms such as virus, trojan, ransomware, or rootkit when people discuss cyber security. All of these words describe the same thing, types of programs used by criminals to infect computers and devices. A common term used to describe all these different programs is the word malware. In this newsletter, we will explain what malware is, who creates it and why, and most importantly, what you can to do protect yourself against it.
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I'm Hacked, Now What?
We know you care about protecting your computer and mobile devices and take steps to secure them. However, no matter how securely you use technology, you may eventually be hacked or "compromised." In this newsletter, you will learn how to determine if your computer or mobile device has been hacked and, if so, what you can do about it. Ultimately, the quicker you detect something is wrong and the faster you respond, the more likely you can reduce the harm a cyber attacker can cause.
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