CyberSecurity 101

      Cybersecurity, or the practice of staying safe online, should be a top priority for everyone. In this document, I will outline effective methods to protect your private data and explain important security concepts .One crucial tool for safeguarding your online activities is a VPN, or virtual private network. Think of it as a special tunnel that securely connects you to your intended destination. This tunnel is encrypted, similar to the famous Enigma machine used during World War II. Encryption scrambles your data in a way that only the sender and receiver can decipher it, ensuring your information remains confidential. You may have noticed that password requirements are becoming more complex. However, there's good news! According to a study I read, using 12 characters is considered the optimal length for passwords. This length poses the greatest challenge for hackers to crack. Additionally, incorporating a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters further enhances password security. Encryption is not only crucial for data protection but also for secure calling and messaging. Without encryption, your conversations can be intercepted by anyone with an IMSI catcher, a device commonly used by law enforcement agencies. Shockingly, these devices can be purchased for as little as $1500. To ensure complete encryption, I highly recommend using the Signal messenger app. However, it's important to note that both parties must have the app installed for total encryption. By prioritizing cybersecurity and implementing these measures, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to online threats.

     There are some ways you can protect yourself and your private data just by using a web browser that has the ability to use add-ons or extensions like Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, and even Edge use extensions now.  The ones I use are Privacy Badger, Ghostery, Ad blocker Ultimate, pop up blocker and HTTPS everywhere.

     The next thing is getting some extra anti-virus and anti-malware programs, because Windows defender does great but it can’t hurt to have an extra one of each of those.  I personally use AVG free and Spybot S&D which are both free.  I usually get them from www.download.com which is CNET downloads or you could go to www.majorgeeks.com and find them there as well and those are not the only options, just the ones I choose to use.

      The best practices and keeping your equipment up to date is the main way you can do your best to keep your data safe and privacy intact.  Sometimes this might require  you to go to a manufacturers website like a motherboard manufacturer or a graphics card maker's main site and check to see if you have the latest drivers for your devices.   If you type msinfo32 in the search box you will get a model # bios version and more,  if you type dxdiag in the search box it will show you your video cards model number etc.  so you know exactly what to search or look for on the manufacturer’s website.  Windows update does update most drivers but it can’t update your bios or graphics card drivers if need be.  If you find yourself needing to boot into safe mode to fix the issue type msconfig in the search box then go to Boot tab and right under advanced options you'll see the safe mode check box. Once booted into safe mode run your anti-virus and malware scans again and you can also run a few other commands to check your system files like right clicking the windows button and going to powershell (admin) and running sfc /scannow or chkdsk /f which will ask you to run it the next time you reboot your computer. The System File Checker command scans and fixes any corrupted system files where as the Chkdsk /f command looks more for hard drive errors.  Remember to uncheck it once you are done or run the same command and uncheck the box and restart your pc.   If you’ve managed to get yourself stuck on one of those scammers pages where it says  “you have a virus pages” just press Control  Alt  and  Delete at the same time and then choose task manager, in processes find the web browser you were on and right click and force close it.  Now once you have closed it out when you reopen your web browser press Cntrl + Shift + Del  to bring up the page to clear your browsers cache, cookies, etc.  and go ahead and delete all it.  

      The weakest link in our security chain is usually our friends/family on social media who are unaware of what they might be divulging could make a social engineering attack on you much easier for the scammers.  If your wondering what social engineering is that is where the attacker slowly builds a friendship over time in order to slowly get the information they need or uses any number of methods to acquire personal information about the target.  

Also like I've been told about 80% of the time the way the hacker get's in is thru clicking a link in your email which then in the blink of an eye happens in the background.  

   If all else fails just press your shift button and hold it then go to restart your pc and hold that shift button until you see the blue advanced troubleshooting screen from there you can do a Windows reset or refresh and your pc will run like new again.

                                Encryption

   Okay, imagine you have a secret message that you want to send to your friend. But you don't want anyone else to be able to read it, right? That's where encryption comes in! Encryption is like putting your message inside a special box with a lock. Only your friend has the key to open that lock and read the message. So, you put your message in the box, lock it, and send it to your friend. When your friend receives the box, they use their special key to unlock it and see the message inside. But if someone else tries to open the box without the key, they won't be able to understand what's inside because it's all jumbled up and looks like nonsense!

So, encryption helps keep your messages safe and secret by turning them into a secret code that only the person with the right key can understand.