Dok's Tips & Tricks

It’s really easy to create a super secure password! Think of a short unique phrase that you can easily remember; add some punctuation, a capital letter and a number, and you’re all set! Keep your passwords safe and use different passwords for your accounts, especially bank passwords, shopping accounts, Paypal, etc.

To minimize the possible loss of information due to infections or system crashes, you should make regular backups to an external hard drive or the Cloud. Some services, such as Google Drive, provide access to all previous versions of a text document. But be careful, if a new backup simply overwrites the old one, or just syncs it into the Cloud, you may have a problem if data was deleted accidentally, encrypted, or blocked by a virus. If you can recover a previous version of this file, you might minimize the loss. I highly recommend using backup software that archives dated backups automatically without overwriting. There’s nothing sadder than to receive a “lightning fried” computer with irreplaceable photographs and documents that were never backed up.

It’s convenient, fun, and business savvy to keep in touch and share content through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, Flickr and other networking sites. But make sure you set privacy settings carefully to tighten security. Update them from time to time. Use different passwords for your accounts. If everything is linked, and one account becomes compromised, it’s like dominos. Be wary of clicking on games, ads, etc. that lead you outside the social media platform. Also be aware of lottery scams and hijackers (posing as someone you know!) who try to get information out of you.

Phishers use the internet to steal your personal information. They often target you through emails. Speaking of emails, be wary of clicking on an e-mail, even from your best friend, with no subject or an unlikely subject and with an attachment. Their account may have been compromised by a virus and it has spread to you through their contact list. Then it can go from your email contact list to the next set of victims, and so on. You can “train” your spam filter by sending unwanted or suspicious email senders to the spam or junk folder. If you just delete the annoying posts, they’ll keep coming back to haunt your in-box.

If you see a sudden pop-up telling you that your activity has been reported to the FBI, don’t panic, don’t click, and don’t even think of paying. Any action on your part may lock your computer. The hackers that create these types of infections are just trying to infect or hold your computer ransom, and then scare you into divulging personal and financial information, or even into paying them an untraceable fee via cashier’s check. The worst type even encrypts your file! If you see a scary pop-up, it’s best to shut down your computer immediately and bring it to the Dok for a deep cleaning.

Some browsers are better than others. Internet Explorer 6.0 had lots of bugs and holes viruses can exploit. Internet Explorer 11 is much better than the earlier versions. Firefox, Opera, and Safari are very good. But I prefer Chrome. It is very fast, synced with Google, visually uncluttered, easy to use, and has many useful extensions. Tabs are separated, so an error in one doesn’t bring down the rest. By the way, when trying out new software, it’s best to use web browsers with sandboxing capabilities. A sandbox can contain malware and bad programs, which keeps them from entering your unit.

It is always better to use https:// websites; the “s” means that it is a secure site. Check certificates for  trustworthy sites (your computer should warn you if a site is suspicious). Again, make sure you have strong, differentiated passwords! Paypal is safer, because you have more protection and you don’t have to give out your credit card numbers. And with paypal, it’s easier to get your get money back if you were taken in by a fraudulent seller. If they don’t accept paypal, pay with credit cards, not debit cards. They have more fraud protection.

The NSA advises you to “Exercise Caution when Accessing Public Hotspots.”  When using public internet access, avoid any shopping, banking, etc. that requires personal, credit, or bank information. You never know who is spying on you.

If users go to lots of social, gaming, “free” streaming portals, inappropriate, or questionable sites on your office computer, your unit is more likely to pick up damaging viruses and spyware. Wise users restrict personal use of their business units.