38: Staying secure in the new year
2008-12-29
Download MP3 For Geekons Episode 38
Pop-Up: Sandboxie
- Free to use with some limitations.
- $30 for a lifetime license with unlimited computer installs for one person.
- Allows you to run applications in a sandboxed environment.
- Changes made are only visible inside the sandbox, and do not impact the system outside of the sandbox.
- The sandbox can be "cleaned", undoing everything done in the sandbox.
- A virus running in the sandbox does not impact the rest of the system outside of the sandbox.
- The paid-for version allows you to force certain applications to always run in a sandbox.
- 4 out of 5 stars, Safe, secure, and free for the limited version. A little user-unfriendly at times, but overall a great piece of software.
Geek-Tweak: How to browse the web securely at home and on the road
- Follow the obvious steps
- Don't open attachments from people you don't know
- Don't download and install software you don't already know is safe
- The cuter the software, the more likely it contains malware
- Never respond to emails asking for usernames and passwords
- Never click on links in emails to go to websites to verify your username and password, especially financial sites
- Always run Antivirus with regular updates
- You aren't the 1,000,000th visitor and you didn't win anything
- Secure your network
- Run WPA2 without TKIP (only AES)
- Disable QoS unless you really need it
- Use a passphrase, not a password for your wireless key
- Run your router's firewall in "Stealth Mode"
- Verify your network's security at http://www.grc.com by clicking on Shields Up! and following the instructions
- Don't assume WEP is encrypted, it just keeps lazy people from joining your network.
- Don't assume MAC filtering will keep out someone who really wants in.
- Don't assume a hidden SSID will keep someone out who really wants in.
- Be stricter than most
- Don't use the same password on every website
- Use numbers, characters, and symbols in your passwords
- Don't share your passwords with strangers (i.e. services that ask for your twitter username and password)
- Don't use real info for "security questions" like mother's maiden name, first pet, etc.
- Only enter financial passwords on sites beginning with https:// and without any warnings at all.
- Do not store passwords in browsers without a master password to encrypt them
- Do not install browser add-ons from websites you don't trust, even if they do something small and insignificant (add-ons have access to your passwords once you've unencrypted them, that's how they work without forcing you to type in passwords all the time)
- Do not even store your logon or email address on shared computers.
- Delete Cookies and close the browser when you are done using a public computer for internet access
View-Source: A new version
- You may notice that when new versions of software come out, we like to give them new chances and sometimes our opinion of the software dramatically changes from one version to another.
- Software that was once bloated becomes efficient, software that used to be simple and elegant is now stuffed with features and overly complicated.
- We do the same thing with events in our lives.
- We may make a large decision, or experience something life-changing, and it feels like a new version of our lives and we allow ourselves to forget about the past and place new expectations on our lives.
- Many people across the world will be doing the same thing this week as we enter 2009 and we consider it a new version of us. No longer the 2008 model, but the 2009.
- While the new year doesn't really do anything spectacular, it is just a new number to type, as a Christian we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we really do have something to celebrate, we truly are a new version.
- According to Ephesians 1:3,7 God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ, and through Him, redemption.
- While our relatives, friends, co-workers, and many people around the globe are celebrating buying new calendars and trying to lose Christmas weight, let's set the example and celebrate the redemption and blessings God has given us.
- What will 2009 hold for you? What does your new life in Christ hold for you?
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