Author: Nick

Accounts and Passwords, Faculty/Staff, Mobile Devices, Security, Software

UPDATED: Protect the Data on Your iDevice (iPad, iPhone, etc.)

Nick

There are three easy actions you can take to immensely enhance the data protection capabilities of your “iDevice” and your investment in it.  These are particularly important if you access any College or personal data with your device. 1) Use an alphanumeric passcode iPads and iPhones can actually encrypt the data they contain!  However, to utilize this capability, a passcode has to be set.  Although a four-digit passcode will minimally suffice (there’s software available to easily crack these), the best option is to enable the use of alphanumeric passcodes.  This is done by going into Settings and then selecting General … Continue reading UPDATED: Protect the Data on Your iDevice (iPad, iPhone, etc.)

Security, Software

Java – The Hacker’s Best Friend

Nick

Some of you may have heard that a significant security vulnerability was disclosed recently that affects pretty much all versions of Java. Oracle (who now owns Java) seemed to be dragging their feet on providing a fix until they felt some heat from the U.S. Government. A fix was made available today but only for users of Java version 7. Java runs on all operating systems so Mac users are impacted along with PC users.  Note: there won’t be a fix available for Mac users with Snow Leopard or earlier so your best option is to totally disable Java. How … Continue reading Java – The Hacker’s Best Friend

Security, Tips

Online Shopping Tips

Nick

In time for “cyber Monday”, below is a quick video with some great tips (thanks to the folks at Kaspersky anti-virus) to protect your computer (and yourself) while shopping online this holiday season.  Most of the tips have been covered on this blog before but this is a great refresher. Some of the tips include: – keeping your operating system, anti-virus and browsers up to date with the latest patches/updates – using known, reputable online retailers – it’s better to use a credit card rather than a debit card – if you’re using wireless, make sure it’s secure Stay safe … Continue reading Online Shopping Tips

Accounts and Passwords, Security, Tips

Use Your Swarthmore Credentials Only at Swarthmore

Nick

Your Swarthmore “credentials”, the combination of your Swarthmore email address and password, should only be used with Swarthmore College on-line services.  These credentials should never be used for personal accounts at non-Swarthmore websites. Websites are regularly compromised and users email addresses, along with passwords, are subsequently stolen.  A short list of popular websites that were recently compromised follows: eHarmony LinkedIn Last.fm Yahoo Voices The Student Room Formspring Android Forum techradar Philips Sony Entertainment etc… If you use your Swarthmore credentials for a non-Swarthmore account and that website gets hacked, your Swarthmore on-line services would then be readily available to the … Continue reading Use Your Swarthmore Credentials Only at Swarthmore

People, Security

Think you’re not being stalked on the Internet?

Nick

Do you accept a lack of privacy as the price for being on the Internet? For being connected to everything, everywhere? Think you have a good idea of what sites are tracking your browsing behavior? You might want to check out the recent TED talk by Gary Kovacs, CEO of Mozilla (developers of Firefox).  The video is only six minutes long and Gary succinctly describes the privacy infringements we all face daily. Continue reading Think you’re not being stalked on the Internet?

Security, Software, Tips

Update EVERYTHING!

Nick

… please!! Besides running up to date Anti-virus, one of the best ways to keep your computer from becoming infected (and then losing access to it while it gets re-imaged, etc.) is to keep your Operating System and applications up to date.  Over the past few weeks, most major vendors have updated their software.  If you run applications from any of the following vendors, you should upgrade that software as soon as you possibly can: Microsoft Windows Mac OS/X and iOS Adobe Reader, Flash, Shockwave, etc. Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird Google Chrome Oracle Java Apple Quicktime & Safari Below are … Continue reading Update EVERYTHING!