[BreachExchange] Ridiculously simple security settings your IT guy wishes you knew

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20160227/PC05/160229444/ridiculously-simple-security-settings-your-it-guy-wishes-you-knew

Do you have an “IT guy” in your life? It could be your son or daughter, or
a spouse, friend or other acquaintance. Or it might be a professional IT
guy you or your employer pays to help keep your gadgets running.

Whoever it is, it’s never a bad thing to make their life easier. That’s why
today we’re going to give you some simple security settings you can turn on
that will make you safer, and make less work for them. And if you’re the IT
guy or IT gal for other people, like many of us here at Komando.com, be
sure to send this to the people you take care of so it makes your life a
bit easier.

1. Supercharge your passwords

Your password is the first line of defense against hackers trying to break
into your online accounts. Unfortunately, complex passwords are annoying to
make and hard to remember, which is why many people make ones that are too
easy. For the best security, we recommend getting a password manager like
KeePass to help you create strong passwords and securely store them.

Even then, it’s likely that a hacker is going to get your passwords at some
point. Data breaches happen regularly and your username and password for
any account might get leaked. Luckily, there’s a way to keep hackers out of
your account regardless.

It’s called two-factor authentication, and behind the fancy name, it just
means you need two forms of ID to log in to your account. The first form of
ID is your password, and the second is usually a one-time code sent to your
cellphone. Even if a hacker has your password, they probably won’t also
have your phone.

Most major companies now offer two-factor authentication for their online
accounts, and it takes just a second to set up. You can even designate
secure computers to avoid the inconvenience of logging in with 2FA every
time. However, it will still activate when you, or a hacker, tries to log
in from an unfamiliar computer or gadget.

Learn how to turn on two-factor authentication for Google, Facebook and
other online services you probably use.

2. Block malicious apps on Android

It’s hard to get malicious apps on an Apple gadget, because they have to
sneak into the Apple Store first. However, Android lets you install apps
from anywhere, including malicious text messages if you aren’t careful.

A few taps and you could be giving hackers full access to your information,
including text messages and banking information. Fortunately, a single
setting can almost eliminate this threat.

On your Android gadget, go to Settings>>Security and uncheck “Unknown
Sources.” This blocks Android from installing apps from anywhere but the
Google Play store. While you might still run into occasional malicious
apps, you won’t be tricked into installing them up from malicious websites,
text messages or emails.

Learn more about securing your gadgets, both Apple and Android, to keep out
hackers and snoops.

3. Keep snoops off your network

Your Wi-Fi network is a great way to get your gadgets online, but it could
also open your home up to passing hackers and snooping neighbors. That’s
why you need to protect your network with the latest encryption and a
strong password.

Get the full directions. Don’t worry; it only takes a minute or two. Then
learn how to spot snoops already logged in to your network.

4. Spot malicious files

A favorite trick of hackers is to hide malicious viruses as harmless files.
An easy way to do this is to misname a program file as a music, video or
image file. This is easy to do because Windows hides file extensions by
default.

Turning on file extensions lets you quickly spot .exe and other program
files before you click them. In Windows 8 and 10, open any folder and click
the “View” tab at the top. Check “File name extensions” and you’ll
immediately start seeing extensions on every file.

In Windows Vista and 7, open any folder and click “Organize” in the upper
left corner. Go to “Folder and Search Options” and then click the View tab.
Uncheck the box that says “Hide extensions for known file types.” Then
click “OK” and now you’ll see the full extension for every file.

Learn more about spotting malicious files and other tricks hackers use to
hide them.

5. Close security holes in programs

No matter how careful software programmers are, programs are always going
to have flaws in them. They’re just too complex to catch everything.

Hackers spend a lot of time looking for these flaws and using them to break
into your computer. Security researchers keep tabs on the flaws hackers
find and work on finding the flaws on their own. Then, they let the
programmers know so they can release fixes.

That’s why keeping your operating system and programs up to date is so
important. Otherwise, hackers have a free pass into your personal files.

Remembering to update is a pain though, which is why so many programs do
automatic updates. This should be turned on by default in most cases, but
it never hurts to check.
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