How secure are your online activities? June 5-12 is National E-security Awareness Week, run by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
A bunch of events and activities are being held around Australia to help computer users understand e-security risks, and learn some simple steps that can be taken for better online protection.
As a member of the online business community, SNOBS is more paranoid than most 80-year-olds about phishing, hacking, bots, viruses and heaven knows what other kinds of nasties are out there this day and age!
So, in celebration of the ingenious idea that is National E-security Awareness Week, we’ve compiled a list of ten security measures you might like to take note of.
10 TIPS & TOOLS FOR COMPUTER SECURITY
STOP “ZOMBIES” FROM TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTER
We thought it best to tackle the scariest one first. Millions of home computers are part of “botnets” also known as “zombie armies”. Spammers scan the Internet for computers lacking security software; then they install nasty software onto them known as ‘malware’ (malicious software).
Software security giant, Symantec, offers a very self-promotional (but also amusing and easy-to-follow) video tutorial on botnets here.
You can also infect your computer with malware that is hiding in free software applications. This means you should be wary about using file sharing networks (like BitTorrent, LimeWire, Kazaa etc.) to download and upload music, movies, and other files. “File sharing” is also known as P2P (peer-to-peer) which is explained in more detail here.
OR: check out the book on file sharing SNOBS is reading right now, called Steal This File Sharing Book by Wallace Wang. It’s an interesting read, given it explains in detail how file sharing works, which is illegal in most cases. The book covers where to find free material online and how to protect your computer from viruses, worms and other nasties associated with file sharing networks. But it’s important to note the information presented is for educational purposes only, the “book is not to be used for violating copyright, pirating etc.”. You’ll probably be suprised to learn how commonplace small-scale piracy is; to the point you might have unwittingly procured pirated material. Wang’s guide teaches how to determine what is legit and includes a section on alternatives to stealing copyrighted material.
RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY
Any professional shopper knows this golden rule like gospel, in relation to product purchases. However you should also investigate shops as a whole, when it comes to purchasing online.
It is mind-blowingly easy for Internet scammers to impersonate a legitimate business, so suss out the store if it’s a site unseen (previously, by you). Look for a contact number (and dial it!) to make sure it’s legit. Also do a search of the site’s name to see if any negative reviews have been posted by unhappy customers who came before you.
RECOGNISING SECURE SITES
We’re all familiar with http:// in the address bar of our web browsers, but do you know about https://…? Before you make any online transactions (even with sites you’re certain are secure) read our article on identifying secure websites by SNOBS own IT contributor Daniel Pinter.
PASSWORD MANAGEMENT
You know you should change your passwords at least twice a year, and you’re probably aware of how to create strong passwords – make them “at least 8 characters long using a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers” – but how on earth do you remember them! Hands up if you have 20+ passwords you use on a regular basis?
If that’s the case, this next tip probably won’t help you much either – but it’s still a good one. It’s called ‘the phrase method’ of password creation. Start by thinking up a phrase that includes place names or titles, and numbers. For example:
- This weekend I’m going to Taronga Zoo with six friends.
- It took me eight weeks to read Wuthering Heights for my English literature assignment.
Then you kinda turn the phrase into an acronym, keeping capital letters where grammatically correct and using numbers instead of words where possible, ie. “2″ for “to” and “4″ as “for”.
This weekend I’m going to Taronga Zoo with six friends.
Becomes: TwIg2TZw6f
It took me eight weeks to read Wuthering Heights for my English literature assignment.
Becomes: Itm8w2rWH4mEla
Once you’ve created your 67 brand-new passwords (because super-safe measures call for NEVER using the same password for different accounts) you can test their strength at The Password Meter. Enjoy!
TRY THIS: SECURITY SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL
Here is a handy, free tool we found at www.staysmartonline.gov.au to help small businesses improve their tech fortresses. It’s basically an online questionnaire that will help you gauge the effectiveness of your existing security practices, and help to advise you on some other measures. Stuff like; establishing good network security, using mobile devices safely and how to back up and protect data.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! WE’LL HIT YOU WITH OUR LAST 5 TIPS BEFORE SECURITY WEEK IS OUT [June 12]…
If you want more information on National E-security Awareness Week you can contact the E-security section at the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy on (02) 6271 1112 or email onlinesecurity@dbcde.gov.au
ARTICLE UPDATE: our next 5 security tips are ready to read now, click here
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Here are a couple of ways you can use a different password for each web site and still keep track of them all.
A simple way is to create a text file or spreadsheet with each site and the password you use to access it, and then encrypt this file with something like TrueCrypt (www.truecrypt.org). You’ll need to use a strong password in case anyone gets hold of it, but it means only needing to remember one pasword instead of twenty.
Another option is to use a program such as KeePass (www.keepass.info) to store your passwords. Again, you’ll need to use a strong password to protect your information in case it falls into the wrong hands.
Bill.