Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Online Identity Theft Prevention

On August 3rd, 2012, a tech writer for Wired’s “Gadget Lab,” Mat Honan, was the victim of identity theft. His iPhone, iPad and MacBook were remotely wiped, his Twitter account hijacked and his Gmail deleted. He lost irreplaceable photos from the first year of his daughter’s life, hundreds of emails, and his ability to ever again feel secure online. Here’s how to significantly reduce the chances it could happen to you.

In the immediate wake of the attack, Mat Honan assumed that his Apple ID password had been compromised. It turns out the perpetrator provided just two pieces of information to Apple’s phone support – the victim’s billing address and the last four digits of his credit card number – and the phone support representative gave the hacker a temporary password, despite the fact he couldn’t answer security questions correctly. Known as social engineering, a customer support representative was convinced to provide personal information to someone posing as the account holder.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief because you don’t have an Apple ID or iCloud account, know that this can happen at any company where someone other than you has access to your information and the power to push through a password reset – that’s right, everywhere.

A better password is certainly an important piece of the puzzle. Don’t use the same one across multiple sites. Ideally, use a password management program like LastPass to set up unique passwords at every site you visit. Utilize passphrases (a series of unrelated words is best) instead of an odd jumble of characters. Not only are they easier to remember so you’re less likely to get locked out, they’re actually harder for a computer to hack.


Don’t put all your data in one digital basket. The cloud is a great resource for backing up your data, but if losing something would be devastating it’s best to double up and back it up locally as well. Get an external hard drive and use a program like CrashPlan to set up an automated backup to both a cloud storage location and a local backup device.

A big part of the problem for Mat Honan is that he connected his logins and email’s through a very common process known as “daisy chaining.” He set his Apple email as a backup to his Gmail and used his Gmail as a login for his Facebook and Twitter. If you use Google, Facebook or Twitter to login to other social networking sites or websites, a hacker need only to access one of your accounts to gain control of all of them. Ideally, establish a recovery email address for password resets that you don’t use for any other purpose – don’t set it as your username and don’t post it anywhere on the web.

Using the same email prefix across multiple accounts (for example, nerdchick@gmail.com, nerdchick@hotmail.com, and nerdchick@sbcglobal.net), makes it easy for those with malicious intent to locate and hack into additional pieces of your digital profile. This is particularly dangerous if you use the same prefix as your username to login to financial institutions or as your “handle” on social networking sites.

Set up login notifications and two-factor authentication when it’s available. Google and Facebook both offer it. Basically, whenever your account is accessed from a new computer or mobile device, you have to enter a second code. This code is typically texted to your phone. While it can be a pain in the rear when you’re trying to login from a new device, this step would have given Mr. Honan an early warning that someone was attempting to access his account. It also would have stopped the perpetrator from using his Gmail to access additional logins.

Review your security questions to make sure that the information isn’t easily found through your online presence. For example, the name of your dog isn’t hard to ascertain if you post about her on Facebook or Twitter. Your high school mascot, family names, and the street you grew up on are just as easy to glean.

Consider using a Google Voice Number when online accounts require you to provide a phone number. The hacker who attacked Mr. Honan used his phone number as one piece of authenticating information to get his Amazon account password reset.

While convenient, storing your credit card number online with retailers makes your bank account more vulnerable. The same goes for using your smartphone for online banking, logging into Facebook or Twitter, or anything else tied to your personal information. While just about every smartphone owner stores logins and personal info on it, make sure you set a password on the device so if it’s lost or stolen you aren’t compromising your data and accounts.

For more tips to protect yourself from online identity theft, contact me. I’m a better safe than sorry kind of girl.

Photo used by permission: Don Hankins

Simple & Easy Computer Maintenance

Do It Yourself Computer Maintenance

You may think computer maintenance is only for the Nerds among us, but there are many easy things you can do to speed up your PC without investing a lot of time or money.

Whether you’re a Windows or Mac user, performing some basic computer maintenance can ensure your system stays in top form. First, the easiest tip: shut down and restart your computer regularly so that it can install all necessary software and operating system updates.

Next, ensure automatic update is turned on, both for your Operating System updates as well as your anti-malware programs. If you don’t have an up-to-date anti-virus program on your PC, Windows users can download the newest version of Microsoft Security Essentials for free. Make sure you take the time to run a full scan.

Uninstall unused programs to free up hard drive space and system resources. Be cautious! Don't delete anything you don't recognize in case it's a program file necessary for your computer to run. Windows users should consider Revo Uninstaller (free for 30 days, then $30). It performs basic maintenance and removes the pesky program remnants that Windows’ Add/Remove Programs Uninstaller can leave behind.


Mac users should check out OnyX (free, http://www.titanium.free.fr/download.php) for performing system maintenance and getting rid of extraneous files. AppCleaner (free) will help you safely delete unwanted programs.

Clean up temporary file folders on Windows or Mac systems with CCleaner (free). It can be customized to automatically remove unused files from your computer, freeing up hard drive space and potentially improving web page loading speed. Just make sure that you don’t delete anything you use. For example, if you like your username and password to pre-fill at sites you frequent, you may want to refrain from deleting your cookies.

There are several hardware upgrades that can significantly increase the speed of your PC. If you’re willing to try to a DIY project, there are some things to keep in mind:

First, track down a detailed, reliable walk through and review it in advance to make sure you’re comfortable with the process before you crack open your case. Lifehacker walks through installing all the hardware in your PC here.

If your computer slows to a crawl when you're running multiple programs, upgrading your RAM can help. In most cases, it’s one of the cheapest upgrades you can do. RAM manufacturers like Crucial and Corsair have memory finders on their websites. Enter the make and model of your computer and quickly see the number of slots your system has (so you know how many sticks of RAM it can hold) and the maximum amount (GB) of RAM it can support. Aim for at least 4GB of total RAM for best results.

A solid state drive (SSD) hard drive can make your system more responsive. Don't let the smaller storage space of SSDs deter you. Unless you're storing massive amounts of data you're not likely to miss it. If you do need more capacity, consider a hybrid drive that allows your OS to run on the SSD portion while your data is stored to a larger traditional hard disk. Replacing a hard drive is more ambitious, however. Backing up your data, installing the Operating System on the new drive and then reinstalling your data and programs is quite time consuming.

Finally, players of graphics-intensive video games may benefit from a new video card. The enhanced and/or additional graphics memory in a new card will likely make a noticeable difference in your speed and lack of latency. It’s not as hard to do as you may think – pop out the old card, put in a new compatible one and install any needed drivers.

Even relatively novice users can speed up their PC in less time than it takes to convince a cousin to come over and do it for you.

Photo used by permission: Sean MacEntee

Tech Bargains: Sites You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Tech Bargains at Your Fingertips

It seems summer gets shorter and shorter every year. How is it that back to school is already here? Whether you’re in the market for a PC, printer or router to get set up for the new academic year, or you’re just poised to take advantage of the season’s sales, you’ll be joining thousands of shoppers buying computers, peripherals and gadgets in the coming weeks. Before you walk into your local electronics store, there are many websites, some that you may have never heard of, that offer great tech bargains.

Newegg:

While the name may be a head scratcher, Newegg.com is one of the largest online retailers specializing in computer parts, networking supplies (like routers and wireless adapters), RAM, and external drives. Since they are frequented by Nerds like me, the reviews are a reliable tool to aid you in choosing between models if you’re not sure what to buy. Their extensive selection is easily whittled down with search modifiers. While they carry a huge selection of additional products, they shine in their top category: “Computer Hardware.”

TigerDirect:

Similar in their offerings to Newegg, Tigerdirect.com is a good source for price comparison. Be sure to factor in shipping costs and/or taxes as they can markedly change the final price of your selection. Luckily, both sites offer a well laid-out cart function that allows you to see final cost before requiring your credit card number.

TechBargains:

The real magic of Techbargains.com is in their “Top System Deals” and daily “Hottest Deals” that amass the best bargains on tech from across the net, saving you hours of scouring the web for what’s on sale where. “Top System Deals” shows the best bang for your buck at build-your-own PC sites like Dell and HP, offering up a selection of the best packages and the coupon codes to get the lowest price. The current deals section on the right of the webpage lists codes for Dell & HP sales so you can build your own system and still get a great price.

Monoprice:

My go-to site for cables and adapters, Monoprice.com, offers a dizzying selection of the less glamorous yet still necessary accessories to get your computer, peripherals and home theater working properly. Rock bottom prices makes it worth wading through the massive selection to buy network cables (i.e., CAT 5e or Ethernet), HDMI cables for your monitor, adapters for your portable electronics and much more.

Decide.com:

While limited in their product listings, Decide.com helps take some of the guess work out of when to buy the electronics on your list. It shows the going price of popular laptops, tablets, phones and cameras but takes it further by using up-to-date information to predict if there will be a price adjustment up or down in the near future. Considering a Kindle Fire? Decide.com suggests you wait to buy due to a new model rumored to be released soon.

NerdSecret:

If I’ve ever mentioned a product that you thought would be useful in your own home or office, I’ve compiled a site with links to the gadgets I’ve reviewed as well as some cool or goofy stuff that my fellow Nerds find appealing. Nerdsecret.com saves you scrolling through back articles to find tech bargains or that gem you meant to bookmark.

Small Business Data BackUp

Data BackUp - You Don't Even Need A Truck

Data backup is the flossing of the tech world: you know you should do it, but you just never get around to it. There’s something in human nature that makes us learn the hard way – cavities are no fun. Yet when it comes to risking the data that you need to run your business, the price of procrastination is too high.

For small and medium businesses, data backup is all about automation, redundancy, and reliability. The first step to reducing your exposure to hardware failure is consolidating your data in one more reliable and easier to backup location. Instead of saving files to each of your workstation computers, saving files on a shared server will mean that if Jane’s hard drive dies tomorrow you won’t lose the parts of the client presentation she was working on.

Small offices often designate one of the computers on the network to be a “server” that all other systems transfer files to. There are several limitations to this method. The hard drive in this system is just as vulnerable to crashing as those in your other computers. It will have to be left on all the time to allow others on the network to access data, and if you forget and power off the system while someone else is working on a file they will lose their work. Running constantly puts more stress on the system and drive.

If this is the method you’re utilizing, the easiest way to protect your data from loss is to set up a cloud based synching program. You may have an onsite backup hard drive; perhaps it’s even automated. When was the last time you checked that files written to your backup drive are readable? Users often discover that the backup drive has failed only when the primary drive dies and they try to restore files from their backup.


The main drawback to relying completely on a cloud-based backup system is that you have to be online for it to work. If your hard drive or server fails, you’ll have to download all your data to a new drive or have CrashPlan send it to you, which can be time consuming.

An even better solution is to set up a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive with two or more hard drives in a RAID configuration. Data written to the backup device is replicated over multiple drives simultaneously. If one drive fails, you can pull it without downtime, running off the additional drive(s). I particularly like the hybrid solutions offered by Netgear Ready NAS as they work with Egnyte cloud file server software (www.egnyte.com) to create a system where data is stored locally for quick access over the local network, while automatically synching to a cloud file server. Data is not only automatically backed up, it’s accessible anywhere, eliminating the need for FTP and VPN systems to access shared files when you’re away from the office. You’ll pay a monthly fee to Egnyte (starting at $24.99/mo for up to 5 employees and 150GB of data), but many find it’s more cost effective in the long run than managing a file sharing network.

Small Business Network: Buy This Not That!

Small Business Network: Stability Trumps Budget

These days a business that can’t get online can’t go very far. From emailing appointment confirmations to processing credit cards, when the network goes down, business productivity grinds to a halt. Small business owners are stuck in a unique position: they need more reliability than a standard wireless firewall router can offer, but likely can’t afford the enterprise solutions offered by Cisco. In this, part two of my “Buy This, Not That” series for small businesses, I’ll explore a mid-range networking solution to bridge the gap.

When I started my company in 2004, I ran our call center out of a room in my house. Budgeting was tight and we used our DSL connection and a standard 4-port D-Link wireless router to maintain our customer database, appointment scheduling and webpage. What a headache! Every time the signal dropped (which was often), all of the systems would get disconnected from the server. If someone was partially through entering appointment notes or updating customer contact information, everything would be lost.

Luckily, moving to our first office location later that year afforded us the opportunity to set up a more reliable network. First, we invested in a Sonicwall router. Recently purchased by Dell, Sonicwall (www.sonicwall.com/us/) offers a wide range of networking solutions for small and medium size businesses with prices from around $400 for entry level routers to $2,000+ for units that support more users and integrate more security features.

What makes Sonicwall “security appliances” different from basic firewall routers is that they offer integrated anti-virus and anti-malware and the ability to control content access through the device. This means that instead of depending on your employees to police themselves – not go to adult content sites, download games or files, or open suspicious attachments – the Sonicwall can be configured to block content, viruses and spyware before it enters your network. This security extends to VPN client access. While this is incredibly important for any business that allows customers to access the Internet over their business network, I’m planning to invest in one for the house when the kids are old enough to surf the net.

They also offer additional levels of reliability. Their entry-level wireless router, the Sonic Wall Tz 100 Wireless-n Network Security Appliance (available through Amazon for around $380) includes automated failover to divert traffic (when needed) over alternate connections to ensure uninterrupted network access. Putting your business on hold while you wait through a modem-router-switch power cycle will be a thing of the past.

Because of the huge range of available options, consider consulting a computer or networking professional before deciding which version fits your needs. Many Sonicwall products require additional monthly or annual fees to continue phone support, VPN client access, and integrated anti-virus and anti-malware after the initial trial periods end. While I still believe that Sonicwall offers the best solutions for small and medium size businesses, it’s important that you research the ongoing costs to maintain the features you require, as with any networking solution. They’re also more complicated to configure so you’ll likely want to budget for professional installation.

I ran cable in our office to allow as many systems as possible to maintain a hard-wire connection to the router. While Sonicwall controls all access to the network, reducing exposure to hackers, my experience is that the more parts you count on to make a system work the harder it is to keep everything running smoothly. A wireless connection requires a wireless adapter on the computer to be functioning properly, as well as additional settings that can be inadvertently broken by the user. Connecting the majority of our office systems via Ethernet cable allows for more network stability.

Stay tuned next week for the “Buy This, Not That” recommendations for small office backup solutions.

Photo used by permission: dcmorton

DNSChanger: What you need to know

DNSChanger: How To See If You're Infected, How To Fix It If You Are.

On Monday, July 9th, the FBI will pull the plug on internet access to hundreds of thousands of computers infected with a malware Trojan known as DNSChanger. Even if your computer is clean, companies that have compromised systems in their network will be taken offline, hindering their ability to do business and possibly breaking their websites, in what many are referring to as “Internet Doomsday.”

In November 2011, the FBI (together with international cyber crime agencies) identified and located a ring of cyber criminals that had infected more than four million computers across the world with a Trojan virus known as DNSChanger. According to the FBI’s webpage about this malware (www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911), “DNSChanger was used to redirect unsuspecting users to rogue servers controlled by the cyber thieves, allowing them to manipulate users’ web activity.”

Systems infected with DNSChanger were ultimately controlled by the crime ring that perpetrated the infections. The Trojan re-directed unsuspecting users to fraudulent websites which in many cases resulted in users providing personal information or credit card numbers to websites they thought were legitimate. It interfered with web browsing and in some cases prevented infected PCs from downloading anti-virus and operating system updates, leaving them vulnerable to viruses and spyware.

Once the rogue DNS servers were found and seized, the FBI faced a daunting challenge. Take them offline and millions of systems would lose all access to the internet causing widespread damage to online commerce and business functionality. Instead, they set up temporary replacement servers which allowed infected computers to remain functioning in the hopes that users would clean the Trojan off their system before the temporary servers go offline on July 9th.


Perhaps more troublesome, a report by IID (Internet Identity) indicates that machines at 12% of Fortune 500 companies and 4% of government agencies are still infected with the malware (http://internetidentity.com/news/blog/686-iid-finds-12-of-fortune-500-still-infected-with-dnschanger#). When their systems are taken offline on the 9th it will lead to loss of productivity and may make it harder to service their customers.

Facebook and Google are sending notices to users that browse to their sites from a DNSChanger-infected computer. However, even if you haven’t been notified of an infection you shouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief and consider yourself in the free and clear.

When the FBI disables the temporary servers it will break infected system’s access to the internet but it will not remove the malware from those systems. Take a few minutes to ensure that you’re not kicked offline on July 9th.

First, open your internet browser and go to www.dns-ok.us. If your system is infected you’ll see a red image with the words “DNS Resolution = RED.” Alternatively, a green image with “DNS Resolution = GREEN” means that your computer is looking up IP addresses correctly. Unfortunately, a green isn’t necessarily an all clear either. Some internet service providers have created their own mini-DNSChanger servers which allow infected systems to bypass the FBI servers to access the internet. This means that while you won’t lose access to the internet on the 9th you may still be infected.

Next, if you don’t have a reputable antivirus software program installed on your system, get one. I like Microsoft Security Essentials (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials) because it scans for and protects against malware and viruses in one step. The DCWG’s website, www.dcwg.org, also offers a list of links to download software to rid your system of the Trojan.

Finally, make sure your anti-virus is up to date. You’d be surprised how many users cripple their anti-virus by not downloading updates regularly. Once it’s up-to-date, run a scan to make sure you’re DNSChanger free before finding out the hard way.

Still worried that your system is part of a malware-infected bot net? Get in touch with us at www.callnerds.com/nerdchick

Check out the news coverage about the DNS Changer on KRCR News Channel 7 in Redding.

Data Backup Basics

Easy Steps to Get Started With Data Backup

There are certain things we all know we should do: change the oil every 3,000 miles, choose different passwords for every online login, and back up our computers. Though I know better, I sometimes get to 5,000 miles before changing the oil, I can’t remember 500 different passwords, and I rarely back up my computer. I am a bad person. While mom showed me how to balance a checkbook (thanks mom!), no one ever showed me how to back up my computer. Now I can return the favor and teach my mom, and you, how to back up your system.

Your computer’s hard drive has moving parts and all mechanisms with moving parts eventually break. Sometimes it takes years, or decades, but it’s usually when you’re in the middle of a doctoral thesis. Modern technology has created a new type of drive to combat this problem, a Solid State drive. While this type of drive doesn’t have any moving parts, it still runs on electricity. What all this means is simple: one day your hard drive will fail. The only thing you can do is prepare for that day with a regular and reliable backup system. There are two types of data backup methods and you can use one, or both. It depends on how badly you’ll miss the pictures of your kids’ first steps… hint, you should do both.

The Basic External Backup

The Cloud Backup

The second system is to create an off-site backup. If you’re as lazy as me (um, as busy as me…), this is the option for you. Crashplan works on both Windows and Apple computers. Choose to back up to another computer on your network, a friend’s computer, a local external drive, or to their servers. I recommend you use their servers for several reasons. First, it’s cheap. For a mere $3/month you can backup one computer, or for $6/month you can backup as many as 10 computers with unlimited storage. Second, it’s reliable.

Backing up your computer to another computer on the network or a friend’s computer has the same risks as backing up to an external drive - they will all eventually fail. Crashplan has redundant servers, so your data is backed up on multiple servers for safety. After running through their simple setup, access your files through the program installed on your computer or through their website.

Not sure if you’re protected from data loss disaster? Send me a note at www.callnerds.com/andrea for my list of most often neglected, but necessary, files to include in your backup.

[transcript]

Hi. I'm Ryan from Nerds on Call. Today we're going to talk about data backup basics. There's certain things in life we should all do. Change our oil every 3000 miles, use different passwords for every website we go to, and, of course, backup our data. But not a lot of people know what to do when you say backup your data.

There's three main methods of backing up your data. One, you can back it up to another computer. You can back it up to an external hard drive, or you can back it up to the Cloud. One of the easiest ways to backup your data is using an external hard drive. We really like Seagate because it comes with software for free. It will allow you to go through your system, choose the files you want backed up, and then keep them backed up automatically. The second system is to create an off-site backup. We really like CrashPlan.com for this. What you can do is you can create a backup to another computer on your network, your computer at work or a friends computer. The best part is it's totally free.

The last method that we would use to do backup is to backup to the Cloud. Now, when you say that, basically the Cloud is just a series of servers that are hosted by somebody else. They handle all of the backup and redundancy for you, so you don't have to. Again, CrashPlan.com does a great job with this, and for most people it's only about $3 to $6 a month.

[/transcript]