Dashlane's mission is to make security simple for millions of organizations and their people

Dashlane

dashlane

Password Management and Protection - Part 2: What You Need to Know About Passwordless Logins

In today's digital age, we rely on passwords to secure our online accounts more than ever. Whether for social media, banking, or work-related platforms, we must keep our login credentials safe from malicious actors looking to steal our information. But with the increasing frequency of data breaches and cyberattacks, how can you ensure your passwords are secure? The answer lies in password managers - a tool that helps you generate strong and unique passwords and keeps them safe from hackers. In this blog post, we'll discuss why password managers are essential today and how they can help keep your accounts secure against threats lurking on the internet. What is a Password Manager? A password manager software application helps users store and organize their passwords. A password manager typically stores your passwords in an encrypted format so only you can access them. Many password managers also include additional features, such as the ability to generate strong passwords and to automatically fill in your username and password when you visit a website. Using a password manager can help you keep your accounts safe from hackers. Using strong, unique passwords for your online accounts makes it much harder for hackers to access them. Additionally, by using a password manager, you can avoid reusing passwords across multiple accounts. This makes it even harder for hackers to access your accounts, even if they can obtain one of your passwords. Benefits of Using a Password Manager There are many benefits of using a password manager. The most obvious benefit is that it can help keep your accounts safe from hackers. Keeping all your passwords in one place can make it much more difficult for hackers to access your accounts. In addition, password managers often include features such as and encrypted storage, which can further protect your account information. two-factor authentication Another benefit of using a password manager is that it can help you to stay organized. If you have many online accounts, keeping track of all your . A password manager can help you keep track of all your passwords in one place, making it easier to log in to your accounts. passwords can be challenging Using a password manager can help improve your security posture overall. Also, you can ensure that all your passwords are strong and unique. This can help reduce the risk of being hacked, as well as the risk of losing access to your accounts if one of your passwords is compromised. Types of Password Managers There are many different types of password managers that you can use to keep your accounts safe. The most popular type is the LastPass Password Manager, a free program that stores all your passwords in an encrypted database. This type of password manager effectively keeps your passwords safe, using a robust encryption algorithm to protect your data. Another popular type of password manager is 1Password, a paid program that offers several features not found in LastPass. 1Password can generate strong passwords and store other sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and bank account login details. It also has a handy feature called the Security Challenge, which tests how strong your current passwords are and gives you suggestions on how to improve them. If you're looking for something more basic, there are also a number of free password managers, such as KeePass and Password Safe. These programs don't have all the bells and whistles of LastPass or 1Password, but they're still very effective at keeping your passwords safe. How to Choose the Right Password Manager for You When it comes to choosing a password manager, there are a few things you should take into account. First and foremost, you need to consider what devices you'll be using the password manager on. If you only need it for your personal computer, you can choose a less expensive option like LastPass or Dashlane. However, if you need to use your password manager on multiple devices, including your smartphone or tablet, you'll want to choose an option that offers cross-platform compatibility. Another vital factor to consider is how many passwords you need to manage. If you only have a handful of passwords to keep track of, then any of the above options will work fine. However, if you have dozens or even hundreds of passwords to keep track of, then you'll want to choose a password manager with robust organization features, such as Enpass or Bitwarden. It would be best to consider whether you want to pay for your password manager. Some great free options are available, such as LastPass and Bitwarden, but they have some limitations compared to paid options. Paid password managers typically offer more features and better security, so if the price isn't an issue, then it's worth considering one of these options. Alternatives to Password Managers If you're not ready to use a password manager, you can take other steps to improve your password security. One is to use a passphrase instead of a password. A passphrase is a series of words strung together, and they can be much easier to remember than a gibberish password. For example, the phrase "I always forget my passwords!" could become "IAFMpwd!". Another option is to use two-factor authentication whenever possible. This adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring you to enter a password and a code sent to your phone or email. Make sure you're using different passwords for different accounts. If one account gets hacked, the rest will remain safe. Final Words Password managers are an indispensable tool for online security. Not only do they help to protect your accounts by creating strong, unique passwords, but they also store them safely so you don't have to remember them all yourself. Using a trusted password manager like LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane, you can rest assured that your accounts and private information will remain secure from hackers. So if security is important to you, use a reliable password manager today!

Keeping Hackers at Bay with Password Managers  

Mantener a raya a los piratas informáticos con administradores de contraseñas

Garder les pirates à distance grâce aux gestionnaires de mots de passe

पासवर्ड प्रबंधकों के साथ हैकर्स को दूर रखना

パスワードマネージャーでハッカーを寄せ付けない

Mantendo os hackers afastados com gerenciadores de senhas

Ngăn chặn tin tặc bằng Trình quản lý mật khẩu

使用密码管理器阻止黑客入侵

Software Testing Companies To Look Out For in 2023

How to Stay Safe When Browsing Online or Viewing Emails at Home or Work

All websites are prone to cyber-attacks from hackers attempting to control website resources and users' data. The reason for most attacks is financial gains where hackers either attempt to gain access to people's banking details or make website owners pay for ransomware. This underlying cyber security threat calls for drastic measures to protect websites and their users from unscrupulous web users. One of the most attacked web resources is WordPress. WordPress is an open-source content management system –CMS– suitable for hosting and building websites. It is a free CMS written in PHP combined with MySQL or MariaDB that supports HTTPS. According to HubSpot, WordPress accounts for 43.2% of all websites on the internet. This marks an increase from the over 455 million websites reportedly using WordPress in 2021 at 39.5%. In 2021, Wordfence blocked billions of password attacks and reported hundreds of weaknesses. These attacks and weaknesses don't mean WordPress is becoming less secure; it simply gave an insight into how some users are negligent and not security conscious in their usage. A hacked WordPress website enables hackers to steal users' log-in IDs and passwords and causes significant damage to businesses and their reputations. Aside from human error, WordPress has always been a target for a series of exploits like the attack involving GoDaddy-managed WordPress users, where the attacker was able to remain operational for two months undetected. There are various security measures to safeguard a WordPress site; below are a few tips that could protect your WordPress website: Use Reliable, Safe, and Quality Hosting Most people think their hosting is reliable until proven otherwise; you don't have to wait for a security breach before hosting your websites on reliable hosting companies. Hosting companies do not offer equal services regarding hosting qualities like reliability, speed, security, etc.
Some hosts don't offer much when it comes to security, and this could ease cyber-attacks, resulting in poor performance and perpetual downtime. Since you can't rectify your host to offer quality service, your safest option is to move to a more secure host. Good hosting usually comes at a higher cost with ranges that are pocket-friendly. Restrict all Hotlinking Hotlinking means linking a file hosted on another website instead of downloading and hosting it on your website with proper reference. Images are usually hotlinked, but other digital files like animations, audios, and so on can also be hotlinked. This is done using the file's URL to host the digital file on your website. In such a case, you're displaying the file on your site while it is hosted on another website's server. This scenario could play out on your website too. The problem is that hotlinking digital files from your website steals your server's bandwidth, resulting in sluggish loading speed and possibly expensive server costs. So, to safeguard your WordPress website, consider restricting or preventing all forms of hotlinking. Secure your wp-config.php File Your wp-config.php file stores essential information about your WordPress installation; this is why it is the most critical file in your web's root directory. So, securing it entails safeguarding your WordPress web basis and makes it difficult for hackers to breach your website's security since they can't access the file. To secure this file, you can move it to a more secure higher level than just your root directory, where WordPress will still see it. This is possible with the current WordPress framework, where the configuration file settings top the priority list. Block File Editing Any user with admin access to your WordPress dashboard can edit all files associated with your WordPress installation. But if you block or disallow file editing, including plugins and themes, no one will be able to change or edit any file on your dashboard. Not even a hacker.
To do this, include the following at the end of the wp-config.php file: define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); Carefully configure your directory permissions When using a shared hosting environment, poor directory permissions can be disastrous. To secure your website at the hosting level in such a situation, adjusting your files and directory permissions is a wise approach. The entire file system, including directories, subdirectories, and individual files, is protected by configuring the directory permissions to "755" and the file permissions to "644". This can either be configured via the terminal using the " " command (connected through SSH) or manually using the File Manager in your hosting control panel. chmod Use to disable directory listing.
Suppose you create a new directory on your website without putting the index.html file. In that case, you might be stunned to discover that your visitors can see a complete directory listing everything in the newly created directory. .htaccess To see everything in a directory named "statistics," your visitors can enter the address: into their browser. No password is required for this. This can be forestalled by including the following code in your file: http://www.instance.com/statistics/ .htaccess Options All -Indexes Recognize DDoS attacks and take precautions against them A DDoS –Distributed denial-of-service– attack is a malicious attack used to interrupt the regular traffic of a network resource or machine by making it unavailable to users or intended users. It is usually done by flooding the target with internet traffic. In order to compromise your website, a DDoS attack employs numerous programs and systems to attack your server bandwidth. Although it poses no threat to your website's file but it can crash your website if not taken care of. DDoS attacks are not limited to large companies alone; they threaten the entire web space. Meanwhile, there are web applications that repel such attacks if you can subscribe to their premium plans for maximum security against DDoS. Use 2FA for your WordPress security A 2FA –two-factor authentication– on your log-in page helps protect your website. 2FA allows you to provide your log-in password via two options you can define. Your 2FA might be an average password couple with a secret code or question, set of characters, or the Google authentication app. Use your email address to log in instead of your username Since a WordPress user account is created with an email address, using your email address to log into your WordPress account is more secure than using a username. This is because usernames can be predicted easily by attackers, unlike emails. Rename your Log-in URL to safeguard your website Now that you've switched your log-in username to email to forestall log-in attempts with Guess Work Database–GWDb– you can also change your log-in URL to lessen the susceptibility of brute force attacks. WordPress log-in pages are easily accessed by adding wp-login.php or wp-admin to the site's main URL. This can also make cybercriminals to brute force. Only you or whoever has the correct URL can access your log-in page if you change your URL. You can change your URL with reliable plugins by installing, activating, and configuring your choice of plugins. The iThemes Security Pro and WPS Hide Login are notable, among others. Change your password at random intervals and use a password manager Another way of safeguarding your WordPress website is to change your password at random intervals. As you're doing so, endeavor to improve their strength by adding more words, numbers, or characters to increase the password length. This will increase your password sample space and widen your password entropy by making it harder and taking longer to crack. Changing passwords randomly and remembering the genuine one out of the pool of old or used passwords can be arduous; using reliable password managers will come in handy in this case. Password managers can generate safe passwords for you and also secure them in their vault to save you from the trouble of remembering the correct password. Examples of reliable password managers are RoboForm, 1password, LastPass, Keeper, Bitwarden, NordPass, Dashlane, and so on. Create a lockdown for failed log-in attempts and ban users Persistent brute force attempts can be repelled with a lockdown feature for failed log-in attempts from attackers. So, whenever they attempt to log in with the wrong passwords consistently, they'll be locked out, and you'll be alerted of such activity. iThemes Security offers this feature, allowing you to configure a particular number of failed attempts before the attacker's IP address is banned. Log out idle users from your website automatically A considerable threat to the security of WordPress can come from users who leave the wp-admin page of your website open on their devices. Any passers-by can modify user accounts, alter information on your website, or even crash your website. This can be forestalled by ensuring that your site locks users out after a specified time of being idle. This can be achieved with the Bulletproof Security plugin, which enables you to configure a time limit after which idle users will be promptly logged out. Conclusion Safeguarding your WordPress website shouldn't be underestimated. No proactive measure is too much when keeping your web safe. Aside from the above-highlighted standards, there are other ways you can safeguard your website via your admin dashboard, which attackers always seek after. Examples of such measures include: Safeguard the wp-admin directory with two passwords; one for the log-in page and the other for the WordPress admin section. Use a secure socket layer –SSL– to encrypt your data during data transfer between a user browser and the server. Back up your website regularly. Update your WordPress with the latest version. Scrutinize your audit logs for changes without approval. Use a strong password to secure your database. Change your WordPress database prefix to something unique from the usual . wp-

Tips for Safeguarding Your WordPress Website

Security is important! For the average human, your daily internet habits might not matter. But for hackers, well,  your data is money. Data big or small is valuable. In this blog, I’m going to discuss how we can secure our web accounts, web servers, mobiles, Windows systems & Linux systems. Blog Agenda: Web accounts. Web servers. Windows systems. Linux systems. Key points. Web Accounts: Web accounts are really easy to hack. All that the process really needs is patience. General Advice: Keeping a strong password with a minimum of 12 characters, containing numbers, small letters, capital letters, symbols, spaces, etc. Enabling 2-factor authentication using your phone number, email, or a third-party application. You can also follow these special steps to be aware of database leaks or breaches: Check password leak websites regularly for your email or username. If you find your information on these sites, then you can immediately change your credentials and also verify how much the hacker knows about you. Use tools such as Dashlane which provides password protection and dark web breach intel to you whenever it detects such an incident. Tips and Tricks: There are certain tricks you may want to follow in case you don’t want your account to be hijacked by some random hacker with the right password. You can secure your accounts by using the regular password combinations everyone follows which are symbols & numbers. But that’s a minimal level. You can do more to outsmart hackers by using s. With each increase in characters, it may take 1 million years to crack your password. ALT symbol I will be dead by that time, don’t know about the hacker. The hacker or anyone, in that case, cannot access your accounts without the right password. Sure, there are other ways such as phishing, keylogging, etc. we will look into those in a while. These are the ALT symbols and their ALT keys: ™	Alt+0153	Trademark
©	Alt+0169	Copyright
®	Alt+0174	Registered
‰	Alt+0137	Per mille (per thousand)
±	Alt+241	    Plus or Minus
¼	Alt+0188	Quarter
½	Alt+0189	Half
¾	Alt+0190	Three quarters
≡	Alt+240	    Exactly Identical
≈	Alt+247	    Approximately equal
≥	Alt+242	    Greater than or equal
≤	Alt+243	    Less than or equal
√	Alt+251	    Square Root
ⁿ	Alt+252	    Power n
¹	Alt+0185	To the power of 1
²	Alt+0178	Squared
³	Alt+0179	Cubed
π	Alt+227	    Pi
°	Alt+248	    Degree
∞	Alt+2368	Infinity
µ	Alt+230	    Micro
Σ	Alt+228	    Sum
☺	Alt+1	    White Smiley
☻	Alt+2	    Black Smiley
•	Alt+7	    Bullet 1
○	Alt+9	    Bullet 2
♂	Alt+11	    Male Sign
♀	Alt+12	    Female Sign
↨	Alt+23	    Up/Down Arrow
↑	Alt+24	    Up Arrow
↓	Alt+25	    Down Arrow
→	Alt+26	    Right Arrow
←	Alt+27	    Left Arrow
↔	Alt+29	    Right/Left Arrow
£	Alt+156	    Pound
€	Alt+0128	Euro
$	Alt+36	    Dollar Sign
¢	Alt+155	    Cent
¥	Alt+157	    Yen
ƒ	Alt+159	    Frank
₧	Alt+158	    Peseta
α	Alt+224	    Alpha
ß	Alt+225	    Beta
δ	Alt+235	    Delta
Ω	Alt+234	    Omega
►	Alt+16	    Point Right
◄	Alt+17	    Point Left
■	Alt+254	    Stop
▲	Alt+30	    Point Up
▼	Alt+31	    Point Down
§	Alt+21	    Section
¶	Alt+20	    Paragraph
“	Alt+0147	curly double open quote
”	Alt+0148	curly double close quote
«	Alt+174	    Quotation Mark
»	Alt+175	    Quotation Mark
♥	Alt+3	    Heart
º	Alt+0176	Degree symbol
œ	Alt+0156	Latin small ligature oe
•	Alt+0149	Bullet
↻	Alt+8635	Clockwise Open Circle Arrow
↺	Alt+8634	Counterclockwise Open Circle Arrow
Ø	Alt+0216	Diameter
Ñ	Alt+0209	Enye This ALT code list was compiled by postpresentation.com You can also choose 2-factor or multi-factor protection which also reduces the risk exponentially. Ultimately, those are all the processes one needs to practice in order to protect your social media accounts or any accounts in general. Web-Servers Web servers are machines accessible by anyone with the correct IP. Why do Web Servers Need Protection? Because they collect user data. This includes data not just from the admin but everyone else who is using the platform. This can be achieved by implementing firewalls, port number changes, and having regular software updates. Here is what is needed to be secured in a server: Server firewall. Database. Scan source codes to a certain level for vulnerabilities. Launch Bug bounty programs. Server firewall: The first thing to do in firewall protection is to change all of the default passwords and default users with a safe and secure password. Secondly, we need to limit the access of the firewall to as few people as possible. Ether by using blocks to other admins or even eliminate other admins’ permissions on the config files. Thirdly, disable simple network management protocol (SNMP) or configure it to use a secure community string. After the above is done we need to architect zones that we need to forbid or allow access to anyone other than the admin. The best thing to do is other than the default HTTPS service which runs on PORT:443 we need to block all unnecessary ports and change the port numbers of all the other necessary services for example: change SSH port default: 22 to port:1000 or anything else and set up a forward of all the specific traffic from the service which is SSH from port 1000 to port 22 using the firewall. This reduces the chance of any possible port scanners taking a delay in searching the specific port in the web IP. After the above is completed we need to concentrate on the ACL or access control list that contains all the rules required to provide access to a specific service in the server. To put this into context the normal person in max may have access to the web page and the admin will have access to the ssh connection (if the admin is in the same network or via an authentication portal) other than this, no one can access the various services provided by the website. ACL has a list of rules to also manage port monitoring and logging of firewall activity. After the ACL has done its job it’s recommended that an expert checks the work. If this is an industrial environment, there are network professionals who will look into the various firewall rules. They tend to modify them if they are of any threat. Database: Database security is a key element in data stability and safety. If there is a data breach the hackers can get their hands on juicy information, for example: Credit card information, phone numbers, names, address, IP, etc. This may not look like much but in the wrong hands, this information can also be used in fraud. we will look into the basic stuff things such as audits and updates which should be done regularly. Firstly, , we will look into encryption. Secondly A company should hire a cryptographer or an expert in that manner to create a unique rainbow table that can be used to store data in a much safer way. In case you are using a database such as MySQL then it comes with its encryption but it is good that you add a layer of protection upon it. backups are really important if by any means your data is blocked by malware or it is lost due to an error then backups are really handy now. Thirdly, use a separate server from the main server to store the database that has its firewall and secure environment that only the system administrator and a certain application combined can access to better ensure the protection of the database from potential malware and ransomware. Fourthly, Scan source codes to a certain level for vulnerabilities. If you are a developer then you will be familiar with Github. You can upload the source code of your application not entirely but as snippets and scan them using SYNK. Synk uses a scanner to scan the code to locate potential endpoints or libraries that can be vulnerable and gives the option to manually patch or automatically patch the code. This is particularly useful to check for developer errors before publishing. You can hire a Professional analyzer also who is internal to the organization and also conduct the code review. Launch Bug Bounty Programs Sometimes you will need external views or creative views to get to the issue. These individual hackers all over the world participate and try to hack the vulnerability which might be fatal to the company depending on the risk factor and priority of the company. If they find a potential vulnerability or a bug they are rewarded on the basis of the intensity of the bug. Where does it stand in the priority and what is it affecting? These factors play a vital role in the end payout. This is a win-win situation for both the company and the hacker. Both have profited via this program. These are the ways you can protect a web server on the backend. There are also many things to be done on the front end. I have explained various exploits done on the front end you can check out my article on that topic on that ‘self-publicity‘ . link to the article Windows Systems Windows is a commercially highly used Operating System that in all cases is important to protect. Being a Proprietary Software it does not have any kind of open-source community such as Linux to patch potential bugs for them instead they hire white hat hackers for the work. Things to be careful of in windows: Virus & Anti Virus. Phishing. unwanted services. Be far away from pirated software. Virus & Anti Virus Virus, malware, or ransomware are really common for windows systems. The best practice is to keep updating Windows Defender, and never turn off the real-time protection of the system. The virus protection from Windows or Windows Defender has an adequate amount of security to protect you from unsafe downloads. Phishing Phishing or Social Engineering is a powerful technique. It is a tool used for convincing the target to do what you intend by manipulating his thoughts. It is tough but effective. Usually, hackers pose as legit people with the same interest as you and convince you to click on links, or tell you to download certain malware on the system to gain system access to your files. Or else use the biggest weakness of a person -- his curiosity --to make him install software or connect a USB stick to his system to gain unauthorized access. Unwanted Services Services that are not in much use and are simply running in the background of the system can also lead to a lot of problems if maybe they are vulnerable and a hacker can hack them. You can use the task manager to go to their services section and disable such services from running in the background and problems solved. Beware of Pirate Software Stay away from pirated software. Remember Piracy can sometimes lead to Bankruptcy. Follow the above things and you are safe to go and use windows. Linux Systems Linux systems are open source and are constantly checked by millions of users for vulnerabilities. They are constantly patched, making it less easy to hack. Even though it is hackable. Reduce SUID File Privileges SUID privileges are Superuser privileges in Linux and using these the hacker can gain root access into the server. This is not good news for the server because by reducing the number of SUID files and keeping the rest in isolation we can reduce the chance of privilege escalation. A huge database of SUID and privilege escalation enumeration tool is Linpeas and winpeas used in Linux and windows respectively. Links to Github are used to enumerate the entire system to find SUID files and password files left by the dev team for later use. It can be used also for priv-esc. You can refer GTFOBins link to check for all the codes for priv-esc. For example, nano has SUID permissions. nano
^R^X
reset; sh 1>&0 2>&0 I can enter this and get a Root shell using nano. code copied directly from GTFOBins website Key Notes If you follow the above things there is a good chance that you might not get hacked. But it really depends on your self-safety and interest to protect your privacy. I have explained all I know on how I can help you be safe from Black hat hackers out there in the cyber world. The goal is not to scare my readers but to warn you all that if your data falls into the wrong hands you can end up in a bad situation. For example, your photos can be DeepFaked, your phone number used to mask another crime, and many more things. So be careful and be safe. If you want to know what all crazy stuff happens over on the dark web check out my other article completely covering the dark web and how to start a website in the dark web ‘self-publicity . l ink to the article Sources . GTFOBins weblink . Pro presentation website for ALT codes Contact me. INSTAGRAM TWITTER EMAIL: morpheuslord@protonmail.com

How to Protect Your Privacy From Hackers

What is a Password Manager? Malwarebytes defines a password manager as a “software application designed to store and manage online credentials and it also generates passwords” ( ). The passwords are typically stored in an encrypted database and protected behind a master password. malwarebytes The purpose of a password manager is to keep all of your login credentials all in one place so you don’t have to scramble to remember what your password for a specific website is. It makes it easy for you to keep all of your account usernames and passwords in one spot and locked via a master password, which is the only password you need to remember. Once you enter your master password into the password manager, it unlocks the password vault and can retrieve any password that you need. You can also autofill your login credentials in browsers with the password managers. Although the autofill feature is beneficial, the rest of this article will discuss why you should disable autofill on your browsers and the security concerns that come with it. Password Manager Examples Here are a few password manager examples: LastPass Bitwarden KeePass Dashlane 1Password What is Autofilling? Autofilling is when your password manager fills in the username and password into a website’s login page with your saved credentials. Benefits of Using Autofill in Your Password Manager By using a password manager, you have the ability to autofill your login credentials on any website as long as you have the autofill for your password manager enabled. This makes it so that you don’t have to memorize your passwords anymore for a certain website. You can even use the password manager to auto-generate a highly secure password for you for a website or application if you don’t want to come up with one on your own. Although there are many benefits of using autofill with your password manager, security experts are encouraging people to disable autofill in your password manager because there are autofill features that can be exploited by hackers. Should you Disable Autofill? The answer is YES, you should disable autofill and I will tell you why. The biggest concern with autofill is privacy and how a hacker can easily obtain personal information. It is simple to trick a browser or password manager into giving up saved login credentials. The hacker just needs to “place an invisible form on a compromised webpage to collect users’ login information” ( ). Back in 2017, Finnish web developer, Viljami Kuosmanen, published a demo on that shows how an attacker takes advantage of the autofill feature that is provided by most browsers. Kuosmanen “discovered a vulnerability that can expose your stored data to a malicious person via phishing” ( ). In this attack, once a user visits the phishing website, they will be presented with “a series of text boxes where it asks for some basic information” ( ). If you use autofill to enter in the information, then the hidden text boxes are actually collecting your information without your knowledge. Once successful, the hacker now has access to your login credentials, credit card information, and any other sensitive data. techadvisory GitHub Social Engineer PCMag Hackers are not the only one trying to use your login credentials, some “ad networks are using tracking scripts to grab email addresses stored in your password manager for autofilling”. The purpose of doing this is to not hack your personal information but to get a better understanding of the websites you visit so they can target more appropriate ads towards you. Prevention Against Autofill Attack The best way for you to prevent any attack is to disable autofill in any browser you use. It's better to copy and paste the password from your password manager than to autofill it. If an organization allows the usage of password managers, then it is important to educate all employees to not click on any suspicious links or emails received. Phishing emails are hackers' favorite way to deceive users into getting the information that they want. How to Disable the Autofill Feature on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari It is important to note that the autofill feature is enabled by default and this is how you can disable autofill in each of the listed browsers. Chrome Click on the three dots on the upper right hand corner of the browser Go to Settings Expand the Autofill section and then select on what you wish to disable autofill (you can toggle the OFF setting if it has been enabled) Firefox Click on the three lines at the top right of the screen Click on Settings Select on the left side of the screen Privacy & Security Scroll down until you see then uncheck (if it is checked marked) Logins and Passwords Autofill Login and Passwords Safari Click on the menu → → tab → Unselect and any other options listed that you do not want to have autofilled Safari Preferences Autofill Username and Passwords Hopefully by now you have a better understanding of password managers and how you can disable autofill in your browser. If you didn’t know much about password managers then I hope this article helped explain that. Autofill with password managers does have its advantages however the privacy security concern should raise some red flags. Hackers will always do their best to obtain personal information without the person’s knowledge. Therefore, it is very important to make sure what can happen if you continue to use autofill in your browser. Companies should be doing their best to prevent attacks from occurring as a loss of credentials may cause serious if not permanent damage to the organization.

Should You Disable Autofill? - Here's How to Protect Your Passwords

It is easy to talk about cybersecurity standards with IT personnel; they understand and can implement end-to-end encryption, vulnerabilities of public Wi-Fi, geo-restrictions, DNS over HTTPS, Man in the Middle Attacks, and Evil Twin Attacks. Essentially, these are employees spend most of their time doing technical stuff. The case is different with non-tech employees, freelancers, and remote workers; these people are usually hopelessly unsecured users and are at the greatest . If you’re one of these three bands, here is a simple, quick cybersecurity guide based on 5 tips that can help you preserve your digital privacy and sensitive data. Top 5 Tips To Preserve Digital Privacy #1 - Update your software programs Most software publishers release security updates and extensions regularly to address viruses and bugs in the old versions. Therefore, we advise all users to update their operating systems to the latest versions, install the security updates suggested by their network managers or defender programs. If you think an app is consuming excessive data or battery, either delete the app or monitor its activities. Install an updated version of the same app to see if the performance gets better. #2 - Use VPN software Tech world has a security protocol called encryption. The mechanism is effective simply because it hides the unique digital identity of an internet user: the IP Address. A Virtual Private Network is a secure connection established on a conventional internet connection, but it’s only more private. This means if you are using a VPN software and have turned it on, you can hide your online activity from your internet service provider or any other online entity that’s poised to monitor you. Most people, whether they belong to a tech or non-tech industry, use a VPN for streaming and gaming, but it does a lot more. If you don’t have access to one, you should purchase a VPN connection, especially if you are in a traditional work setting, teaching or learning online during this global crisis #3 - Do not use public Wi-Fi Public Wi-Fi networks are free, but unsafe for your digital identity and your device. These networks have thousands of active users at every second, not because they are free but because these are weak and can be penetrated with cyberattacks. Any bounty hunter, stalker, or hacker can attack these networks and sniff sensitive information, login credentials, and data files accessed by people on that network. Therefore, we suggest that users not access their company and job profiles, documents, banking websites on these networks, especially if you are not using a VPN that is active in the background. #4 - Use a secure browser, email provider, and password manager. Security and privacy are fundamental digital rights, but not many people realize this and trade usability for internet safety and freedom. If you want to keep your digital privacy and safety intact, we advise you to surf the internet from a secure browser, use an email client that encrypts emails, and deploy a password manager. For reference, you can browse using Mozilla Firefox or Tor: both do not sell user data, hide search queries, do not support ads, release regular security updates, and have private windows. For an email provider, you can choose Tutanota or ProtonMail, both hide the email bodies and provide secure storage space. Tutnaota, however, has an edge because it also protects subject lines. 
Password management apps like Dashlane can simplify your overall online experience. With such an app by your side, you won’t have the hassle of creating unique complex passwords for different websites. You can also enable a 2 Factor Authentication feature in your software programs for an additional layer of security. #5 - Install an antivirus program An antivirus program is paramount to device-level security and performs the same function to protect users’ devices from malware the way a VPN acts to protect the network. Reputable antivirus programs usually have an ad-blocker, a Wi-Fi monitor to scan the security standards of a new Wi-Fi network, and an app-checker that diagnoses the potential breaches, battery and data consumption, and data leaks. Bitdefender and McAfee Security are good choices: their premium versions are ad-free and have different payment plans for individual and business users with multiple devices. You can create a foolproof cybersecurity suite for 2021 only with these 5 efficient apps. Buy VPN connection and antivirus programs; Mozilla, Dashlane, and basic accounts of Proton Mail are free. This cybersecurity suite will go a long way: it will protect your online freedom and privacy and reduce digital fingerprinting.

A Simple Cybersecurity Guide for The Hopelessly Confused

is a 5x Noonie Nominee who, right now, is most excited about the prospect of "Living on worlds other than Earth." We feel that vibe. Read more of 's insights in the 10-question interview below. Adrian H. Raudaschl from the United Kingdom Adrian The Noonies are Hacker Noon’s way of getting to know — from a community perspective —  what matters in tech today. Thank you to this year's sponsors, for making it all possible: Sustany Capital , .TECH Domains , Grant for the Web , Skillsoft , Flipside Crypto , Udacity , and Beyondskills ! 🚀 1.  Which 2020 Noonies have you been nominated for? Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year, in: , HACKING , HEALTH , LIFE , PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTIVITY 2. Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a physician turned product manager working and experimenting in the world of technology, academia and health. 3. Tell us about the things you make / write / manage / build. I like to write about health and product management, build incomplete games and write python scripts for any awful idea that crosses my mind. Currently, I'm trying to finish a prototype of an RPG where you play as a doctor solving medical mysteries. I'm probably most proud of a chrome app I built which finds the top tending academic papers for a range of disciplines - its fun to peek at what academics are getting excited about. 4. What are you most excited about right now? Living on worlds other than Earth. 5. What are you worried about right now? Increasing inequality in society. 6.   What's the most useful advice you've ever given somebody? Everything you see around you was built by people no smarter than you. 7. How has the pandemic changed your life and/or career? Its made me more receptive to the idea that great collaboration can still happen remotely. That changes how I think about working with people, and how geography is less of a barrier. 8. If we gave you $10 million to invest in one thing right now, where would you put it? BlueNalu. They produce lab grown fish and I believe has so much potential to improve health and the environment. 9. What's an opinion you have that most people don't agree with? Everyone is biased, even if you are aware of your bias. 10. Which apps can't you live without? Evernote, Pocket, Overcast, Ulysses, Dashlane. 11. What are you currently learning? How to organise my knowledge and build a 'second brain' using the PARA technique, and Obsidian. VOTE for Adrian H. Raudaschl as 2020's Hacker Noon's Contributor of the Year in: HACKING , HEALTH , LIFE , PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT , or PRODUCTIVITY ! before voting closes on 12 October, 2020! 🚀 With gratitude to Hacker Noon's 2020 Noonies Partners: Sustany Capital , .TECH Domains , Grant for the Web , Skillsoft , Flipside Crypto , Udacity , and Beyondskills .

Adrian H. Raudaschl is Ready to Live Somewhere Other Than Earth 

If you are thinking of browsing the Internet privately and securely on your Windows computer then its time you rethink about your web browser. Do you think incognito mode really helps you? It does, but up to a certain level only. Moreover, what about your Autofill data? Don’t you think that’s getting compromised by dangerous malware attacks? If you are tired of all these issues and need a single solution then I present you a safe and secure browser, called CCleaner. There are some other programs for PC cleaning but let’s take a look on its browser. better than ccleaner In this article I am going to go over the complete CCleaner browser review. It is one of the best browser cleaner for windows 10 with multiple advanced features. CCleaner Browser Review Piriform has released the CCleaner browser which is a Chromium-based web browser. Since, Chromium is open source. It is very similar to how Google Chrome looks like which is also a Chromium based web browser. At the time of writing this article, the application is only available for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10. Note: Browser Installation For completing this web browser’s review, we will start from the installation part. You will need to go to official website and . After downloading the setup file, run it and you should see the installation setup window. download ccleaner browser Here you will need to click on options and perform a custom install. Choose your preferred language and make sure you choose the right browser for CCleaner Browser installer to import all your data from. Add your shortcuts as you prefer. Next, press Accept and Install. The CCleaner Browser installation will complete its setup. At the time of writing this article, the current version of CCleaner Browser is version 83. After the installation gets completed successfully you should see the browser opens up with a CCleaner window claiming the browser to be safer, more private and upto 4x faster. Click on finish setup and your CCleaner browser has been completely installed on your computer. CCleaner Browser controls your Music & Videos Very similar to Google Chrome web browser, CCleaner browser too has a small button that helps you to control your favorite music and videos over the Internet. With the capability of understanding several universal codecs, this browser will show you the icon on the top right side of the window. With its default setting, you can click the icon to rewind or fast forward your favorite music or video 5 seconds per click. It also offers a pause button. CCleaner Browser Stealth Mode Just like Google Chrome’s incognito mode, CCleaner comes with a Stealth Mode which is basically its incognito mode. You can browse the Internet much more privately from here. CCleaner browser clears the website you visited, your searches made and cookies once you close the Stealth Mode window. It also blocks tracking scripts from recording your movements done over the Internet. Once you close all Stealth Mode Windows, CCleaner browser clears your temp files and downloaded history. Unlike any other web browser, CCleaner browser has anti-tracking and anti-phishing features enabled by default, once you start the stealth mode. Meaning websites and ad networks cannot follow you and dangerous websites cannot spoof you into acquiring your personal information. CCleaner Browser Security and Privacy Center This is one of the best features provided by Piriform. CCleaner browser is most noted and downloaded by users because of this feature. You can find this by locating a shield-like blue colored button on the top right-side of the window or press the three dots to find the option Security & Privacy Center. It contains 9 different features to let you browse the Internet safely and securely without any hassles. 9 Advanced Features of CCleaner Browser The CCleaner browser review stays incomplete if this part is not covered upto the depth. We will look at all its features in Ccleaner browser review. Anti-Fingerprinting With the latest version of anti-fingerprinting technology, i.e. version 2.2, CCleaner browser can disguise your unique browser fingerprint. It prevents websites from identifying and tracking you without your consent. Meaning you can surely avoid irritating ads that get targeted to you all over from the Internet, once you visit a website. Adblock An adblock is required to prevent advertisements from loading on your webpages that you visit. That helps in a better and richer user-experience. In a way having a built-in adblock feature allows for more private web browsing as well. Advertisers always track users across multiple different websites, to collect data about your likes and dislikes. That data then gets sold to 3rd parties, which then show you targeted advertising. In this process your browsing behavior gets compromised. CCleaner browser’s in-built adblock feature prevents you from getting tracked. You can also visit the advanced settings and manage your adblock settings, apply 3rd party filters, and create your own custom set of filters and rules. Anti Phishing Anti-Phishing is a crucial requirement when you browse the Internet. It is the first line of defense for you when browsing the Internet. CCleaner browser checks every website against all unsafe sites and keeps you safe by blocking dangerous websites from installing harmful software on your computer. You can also click on the Threat Report to see a detailed statistics of the total number of elements scanned. CCleaner Browser Anti Tracking All over the Internet, advertisers and analytics companies always watch your browsing history. Trying to anticipate your likes and dislikes. This data gets stored and may be used by the advertiser itself or can get sold to 3rd parties. These advertisers or 3rd party companies then follow you and keep bombarding you with targeted advertisement. CCleaner browser’s anti-tracking feature protects your privacy by using a mechanism. Do Not Track Stealth Mode As explained earlier the Stealth Mode in this browser acts just like the Incognito Mode in Google Chrome. It also enables Anti-Tracking and Anti-Phishing features by default. CCleaner Browser Password Managers CCleaner provides a default password manager just like any other web browser. It also offers two distinct password managers – Dashlane and LastPass. These password managers provide unique strong passwords for every website you log into. Letting you free from remembering multiple different passwords for different websites. CCleaner Browser Extension Guard Extensions are useful as they offer you small tools required for your daily Internet browsing activities. But, they also allow doors for hackers and other exploits over the Internet. CCleaner Browser prevents untrusted extensions from getting installed on your web browser and allows you to freely install safe and trusted ones. Most of the add-ons or plugins available on the Google Web Store can be installed as extensions on the CCleaner Web Browser. Privacy Cleaner Privacy cleaning is the fastest way to protect your privacy and clean your browser from all the jun and clutter. Junk like browsing history, cached images, cookies, history, etc. should be cleaned time and again. Just like Google Chrome, CCleaner Browser also offers a privacy cleaner that can perform the basic and advanced cleaning of your web browser. Webcam Guard By allowing websites to access your camera is putting lot of trust into that website. Those sites can misuse that privilege to spy on you. CCleaner’s webcam guard allows you to decide which site needs to be given access to your PC camera temporarily or permanently. It is better to stay in control than to not know what is happening through your web browser. Previously published at https://www.roboniqe.com/ccleaner-browser-review/

New Browser from CCleaner: Hot Or Not?

In 2020, we are now more connected to the internet than ever before, from having smart fridges, smart cars, and even RFID implants that can be placed under our skin. Though the media proclaims that having these things will make our lives easier, we forget the one crucial aspect. Our privacy and security are more vulnerable than ever before! Because our lives are becoming more and more connected to the internet, hackers can now hack our doors, heating, cars, and fridges. Though you would think hacking these devices are quite difficult to do, you couldn’t be more wrong. You can see this by this video where a hacker can control a car. This just one example and there are countless more examples out there. Should We Sacrifice Security For Convenience? Yes and no. For example, a remote-controlled door that allows access to friends or families when you are not home is not worth the risk, as these things can lead to robbings and potentially kidnapping. This includes cameras… “Ring sued by man who claims camera was hacked and used to harass his kids” A hacker was recorded on video talking to an 8-year old girl after the 4th day of the camera installation. The hacker was claiming to be Santa Clause and asked if she could be his friend. These are only one of the incidents that have occurred. “The lawsuit named seven such incidents, including a Texas incident in which a hacker allegedly threatened a couple and demanded a ransom of $350,000 in bitcoin and another where a hacker allegedly tried to engage with an eight-year-old girl in Mississippi, claiming he was Santa Clause. The parents in that case released a video of the incident.” These types of technologies are still in their early phases. Thus, their security can not be trusted yet, so we must take our time and wait until their safety has improved. My Experience With Technology As a Cyber Security Student From studying cybersecurity at my university, I have learned these inventions aren’t that difficult to hack into. You might be skeptical but type on YouTube How to hack into a camera, and you will find countless YouTube videos explaining to you how to do so. I think this change is inevitable as we progress to future generations, but we must be cautious when deciding to have these convenient features in our household. There is no need to get paranoid. Instead, follow these precautions and remember: that is connected to the internet can be hacked. Anything It is good to weigh the pros and cons and the worst possible vulnerabilities each device has. For example, if you get a smart fridge, the worst thing that could happen is a hacker automatically ordering food to your fridge (not a huge deal). However, if you get a camera in your home, the worst-case scenario is someone spying on your family (a substantially huger deal). Create complex passwords! Really complex passwords. Recently one of my friends has been hacked, where a hacker exposed his password and told him to pay up, or he will leak his private information. I blame my friend as his password was astonishingly basic. So, either get a tool like Dashlane to save and create passwords for you or create a unique and complex password. For good measure, a good password has a mixture of uppercase letters, special characters and is not a word, name, or year. Hackers have something called a wordlist. This word list is the most commonly used passwords that are used by people. They run a tool and find which password works on your email, camera, or phone and leak that information. So again, create a complicated password! Don’t Join Public Wi-fi Networks! You probably hear this a lot, and for a good reason! By joining free wi-fi networks, hackers can look at your personal device’s address (this can be used to hack you from afar) and steal your information. If you have nothing important on your device, then it will be fine. But that usually isn't the case for most of us Only Go to websites that have https:// Websites that only have Http:// means that hackers can see exactly what you are typing, so if its an online banking website, then definitely don’t type your information on there. Stop Saving Your Password on Google Chrome Ok, I am a bit guilty of doing this, but it’s best practice never to save it. You might think those little dots that appear on the password section are safe, but they aren’t, with a simple script you can change them to regular text. I know because I have done this to my friends as a demonstration. Conclusion In essence, only get these new technologies when you need them, and measure if the risk is worth the convenience. Also, hacking does occur often, but you don’t need to be paranoid about it since if you follow these tips, you should be fine. . If you enjoyed this, do visit my website - Legendary Spartan and join my Newsletter Previously published at https://medium.com/be-unique/moving-to-a-smart-society-is-a-bad-idea-for-cybersecurity-e925f29d0047

The Security Vulnerabilities of Smart Devices

This year has been big for the VPN market. Some buyers still remember last year’s Facebook data leaks; others have had enough with geo-blocks. And some, sadly, are threatened by governmental internet restrictions and turn to VPNs for help. One way or another, cyber security made its way to the broader daylight. Businesses and casual Internet users are buffing up their defenses and look around for possible solutions. Even though the context is grim, it’s a good thing CySec companies are standing up to the challenge of protecting online freedom and safety. One brand, in particular, has recently expanded its list of products, — NordVPN. In a decade, they have climbed up to be one of the leaders of commercial VPN service providers. Shaken by occasional troubles, they keep improving their product, but this article is not about that. It’s about their three new products: — file encryption software. NordLocker — a business VPN. NordVPN Teams — A password manager. NordPass This significantly expands their cyber security service scope, and new products are relevant to businesses and concerned netizens alike. So without further ado, let’s go over each to see what they bring to the table. NordLocker NordLocker is a file encryption software that is developed with cloud synchronization in mind. Right now, storage encryption is not that popular among casual Internet users, and BitLocker encrypts most Windows systems. However, BitLocker had some , and storage encryption might become more important when new products emerge, and users get to know their use cases. security issues So what does it do exactly? Storage or file encryption means that nobody can access the data without providing a password to unlock the encrypted files. This is useful in case one’s device gets lost or stolen — no data can be extracted if it was securely encrypted. Another thing is cloud security. For example, you upload some images to a cloud, but how can you be sure those images are kept safely? The cloud service you’re using may not care that much about cyber security, or they themselves can access your files for one reason or another. Unless you use file encryption software and upload them in an encrypted form. Then no leak or peeking employee can see what you have there, thus enhancing your privacy. NordLocker allows encryption of chosen files and gives an option to sync it with the cloud. Furthermore, it encrypts each file separately, meaning there’s no need to back up the whole data-set and re-encrypt it again if you want to add some more. There’s a drop-down menu where you add your files, and overall the design is simplistic. These files can be shared with another person if you grant them access. Another feature is file modification, — you can modify your data in real-time without decrypting it first. In other words, if you encrypt a text document you can access it and instantly add some text and NordLocker will not interfere in this process in any way. As other Nord products, the software is based on a no-logs policy. To quote their website “Your data is not our business. Our encryption system is designed this way so that we wouldn’t be able to see your file content under any circumstances.” The technical side of the service looks solid, but I lack the knowledge on cryptography, and they released explaining the encryption methods in use, so I’ll let each user read it first hand. a lengthy document NordVPN Teams It was only a matter of time until NordVPN adapts its product for business purposes. After all, the very first VPNs were business security-oriented services, that allowed safe remote access to companies’ intranets. NordVPN Teams is oriented at Small and Medium Businesses (or SMBs.) In the past couple of years, there was a noticeable shift in cyber crime, — SMBs and governmental institutions became the primary focus for black-hat hackers. Also, GDPR and other data-safety regulations are forcing SMBs to improve their cyber security, and that’s where NordVPN Teams jumps in. First of all, it’s an enhanced “old school” VPN service that is designed for safe remote access to companies’ resources. Those who remember first VPNs will acknowledge the benefits of a minimalistic UX/UI design. Second, early VPNs encrypted and secured only the connection to the database in question, while NordVPN Teams secure all data-flow at once. Third, it’s optimized for business use, granting a solid amount of static IP address, an account manager, and the ability to create groups and establish different access priorities. According to online reviews, this service will be using 256-bit military-grade encryption, which is the latest standard in the industry. Also, it will be supplemented by CyberSec and Kill Switch features, automatic connect, and 24/7 customer support. In relation to NordVPN, it would be a safe guess that both services will share the same infrastructure, and Teams is an upgrade to the main product to suit it for businesses. NordPass Last, but not least, is a new password manager. Unlike B2B and storage encryption, this one comes into a well-established market, where LastPass, Dashlane, KeePass (among others) are well-known names. Which in turn means NordPass should be developed no weaker than the other brands for it to sell. NordPass comes with a secure (although not innovative) infrastructure. All passwords are stored in a vault, which can only be opened up with a user’s master password. The master password is stored locally, and NordPass, as the other two products, also follows a zero-knowledge architecture. Which means no-one, not even NordPass team, can access their user’s passwords, — master password never leaves the hands of the user. It’s best to remember your master password by heart, but if you lose it, you do have a recovery code. However, you better not lose this one because NordPass will not store it anywhere for security reasons, and if you lose both your master password your recovery code you will be locked out of your vault forever. and This password manager can also be used on multiple devices without the need for any additional synchronization. There’s a backup of your vault in Cloud. Isn’t it in danger of being breached or leaked? — One might ask. That’s a serious concern; however, the feature is explained in detail on their web page. Password vault is encrypted locally on a device level, so when you upload it to their Cloud, there’s no way to decrypt it because the decryption key remains locally with you. Once again, this is no innovation but an attractive and comfortable thing to have. Additional features include: Biometric identification; Password sharing, import, autosave, and autofill; Password generator and 2-factor authentication; Compatibility with all major web browsers. All in all, NordPass looks like a fully developed password manager. It probably won’t blow your mind with unseen-unhackable — but it will be comfortable. And coming from a company that’s been swimming in cyber security waters for a decade, the security part will be taken care of. All in all, we can see many cyber security companies broadening their service scope. Antivirus Giants like Norton or Kaspersky have released their own VPN services. Last year a commercial VPN provider SaferVPN launched a B2B software named Perimeter81. This looks like a natural growth of a still-growing market, and the time will tell who will remain among the best.

NordVPN Launches Password Manager, B2B Services And Storage Encryption Software

You may ask, "My web browser already has a built-in password manager, why do I need to install a new one?" There's actually a number of good reasons to install a password manager. A password manager is quite the necessity these days. One of the biggest is reusing passwords. If you use one password for all your accounts, then someone just has to find out your password for one account and they'll be able to open all of your other accounts. risks to your account security An easy way to avoid this is by using strong and unique passwords. The thing is, it's a very difficult task to remember all those passwords by yourself. That's where a password manager comes in. All you have to do is remember the password you're using for your password manager. Your password manager can generate random, strong passwords for any account, remember them for you, and log you into those websites automatically. Web browsers have been capable of remembering passwords for a long time now and it's no secret that they have gotten more sophisticated over time. However, we still suggest skipping the built-in web browser password manager and going for a dedicated password manager. Using your web browser's built-in password manager is definitely better than nothing. However, it's not as powerful and efficient as third-party password managers. Built-in password managers do the job, but not as good as third-party ones. Built-in password managers can only manage your passwords on one browser whereas third-party ones are not only cross-browser, but cross-platform as well. This means that when you use a third-party password manager, it can save your passwords from any browser. You can also use them across different applications both on your computer and on your phone. These days, some browsers have built-in password generators as well but they don't necessarily have every option that can be found in password managers such as the ability to control which characters it contains and how long the password should be. Password managers also make it easier to share passwords. This comes really handy for accounts that you share with your family such as Netflix or Hulu. Every time you change the password, it will change for everyone else as well. There's still a number of advantages you can get when you use a password manager. Password managers can point out weak passwords and will even let you know if a database containing your password has been leaked. They also allow you to store things other than password managers such as secure notes that you can encrypt for better security. If this article has inspired you to switch to a password manager, it's actually pretty easy to import everything from your web browser to a new password manager! Just download a third-party password manager and it will guide you through the import process. Some of the best third-party password managers include 1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.

Why Your Browser's Built-In Password Manager Isn't Enough

Ever get a Microsoft security alert email? One out of every 412 emails contains a malware attack. It doesn’t matter if you’re just a person sitting comfortably at home or a dedicated worker pushing one email after the other with short breaks of sweet old coffee. Every one of us is susceptible to these attacks and in a slightly twisted way we should all expect them. They could come in all shapes or sizes, and if you don’t want to lose a speech for your “Dyno week” conference that you spent a 100 hours writing maybe you shouldn’t let your friend open an email link with the subject line “Nude pictures of Anna Kournikova.” There are ways to avoid all this, and I’ll tell you all the best practices for email security that I know of. 1. Make up strong passwords Think of a password of 8 letters. Done? Now scratch that and use a with all the available check marks like uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers checked off. Write it down in some kind of password manager: , , , or other, and you won’t have to remember it. password generator Lastpass Nordpass Dashlane 2. Security questions If it’s available, make up one. Make up a question with an obscure answer about yourself that only you would know. If that’s not available, use one of the default ones but use a fake answer, something that can’t be traced online. Then try not to forget that one. 3. Use a VPN A crowd favorite for all your encryption needs. It encrypts all your traffic and ensures more security for your information online (added bonus, it also unblocks Netflix libraries). Some vpns go as far as creating additional tools of security like Surfshark has been doing with Hacklock. You can read about it more , but in short, it keeps an eye out on your emails and passwords alerting you about any leaks so you can act accordingly and change all of your passwords. Great tool overall. here 4. Use a secure email service Which means using websites that have https at the beginning. Not the http. One thing to know about it is that the mail server saves your messages in plain text. That means that even though no one can tap into your network, anyone with access to the mail server can see the content of your messages. 5. Encrypt your messages Preferably not by hand, a few of the email clients already do this for you. For example, Gmail, even though google’s point of view on privacy is a bit questionable. also uses encryption, however, it does not work on outlook.com. Or you could always use disposable emails like offers. Outlook Maildrop Last but not least, maybe avoid sending your social security number through email. There are ways like using or . Have more tools that are keeping your emails safe? Feel free to share them in the comments! Signal Telegram Previously published at https://medium.com/@federikpoulsen/email-security-best-practises-fb7d0fde4120

Best Practises For Protecting Your Email

tl;dr Using the same password everywhere makes you prone to losing access to all of your accounts should your password from one of the accounts get compromised. Do use a password manager which is probably the best option for security and convenience to keep you safe while it is not such a big hassle. If you are reading this on your computer or your smartphone, most likely you do have some . The most basic would be an . From there, it expands to , , , and many other services available on the internet. In this day and age, technology advances so far, solving so many problems, making life much easier in many ways. Communication could not have been faster via instant messaging, shopping could not have been easier via online shopping platform, financial errands could be done with only a few taps on your smartphone via , even opening your garage door could be done remotely if it is connected to an system. online identity email address social media instant messaging accounts online shopping accounts electronic banking IoT Identifying Yourself Online These mentioned applications of technologies are of course not publicly accessible to anyone but you yourself. You will need to to the system that you are the owner of these accounts of services. The most straightforward method of identification involves input a correct with a registered into the service provider’s website - hence anyone who has access to this information could instantly impersonate you, access your accounts, and use the service as if they are you! verify password username Your identity is valuable. It is the verification of ownership to all of your belongings. Stealing Your Identity are those who try to impersonate you to gain access to your belongings. They could then exploit these access to their benefits which include financials, usage of services, or your social reputations. Identity thieves There are various methods for identity thieves or rather to gain access to your online accounts. Stealing your user name and password is definitely the most straight forward way to do it. cyber-criminals Compromising Sensitive Data Through Data Breaches . The record includes name, physical address, email address, passwords, phone number, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data that are inputted into accounts. , , , (just to name a few) of the giants have experienced breaching before (Please note that breaches could mean some and rarely all sensitive information were compromised). This implies no one is truly safe, and it is better to be cautious of your security. In 2019 alone, at least 12.7 billion records of data were breached Amazon Dropbox LinkedIn Yahoo While there is nothing you could do about the security of service you have your account registered to, it is important to have to prevent the spread of - using different passwords for all different accounts you own. firebreaks wildfire How a Single Data Breach Could Be a Threat to All of Your Identity This is not an exaggeration and the analogy of wildfire works here. Consider this scenario - Assume that you are using the same username and password for Dropbox, Amazon, Facebook, Gmail. One day, Dropbox's database of username and password is compromised, and unluckily your account records were included in that data breach. The leaked record from Dropbox does not say what other accounts you own, but the (cyber-criminal) will try their luck with your leaked username and password - they will try to log in all online services you could think of. This only takes seconds with programming magic; and now all of your accounts (Dropbox, Amazon, Facebook, Gmail) is in the hacker's hand at their disposal. hacker Am I Safe? Is My Data Leaked? If your username/email has been around for a long time, and you have been using it to register many different online accounts, it is quite likely that your data may have been compromised from one or more of the registered services. You can check if your email address has (ever) been compromised at . When you put your email address into the website, have i been pwned will run your email address in comparison with the database of breached record to see if there is a match, and generate a short list of breaches (if any) your email account is involved with. have i been pwned How Do I Stay Safe? . It is better to not be one of those people for the sake of your own security. Introducing firebreaks - using different passwords for different accounts will minimize damages should one of your account sensitive data get compromised. 59% of people use the same password everywhere Remembering All the Difference Passwords On average, . That meant 90 different passwords, which is essentially impossible for a normal person to remember (and password should be changed from time to time as well). You will need to keep tabs of all of your passwords and there are a few ways to go about this. Things you will need to consider are security and conveniences. The best option today I would recommend is an online . a person has 90 online accounts password manager Password Manager As the name implies, a password manager helps you manages your passwords. Instead of having to remember 90 different passwords, you will only have to remember just 1 to access your password manager. Master Password There are various service providers with different pros and cons, but they all have similar which include: basic features Store and keep your password safe, but with ease of access Password Manager: : Automatically fill out fields for you with pre-determined data (name, email address, password, email address, etc.) Auto Fill : Generate and save a strong password when you create a new online account Password Generator Some well known password managers available in the market: LastPass 1Password Dashlane RoboForm *I personally use LastPass, not that it is better than other services but it just works well for me. Try a few and see what works for you. So Am I Safe Now with a Password Manager? Yes and No. If you switched from or , using a password manager is definitely a better option. However, nothing is perfect. Since password manager stores a huge number of password (just like how bank stores money), it becomes a target for cyber-criminals. There have been but nothing major as passwords being compromised. This is due to the security and encryption of password managers that are designed to be robust and secure compared to other services (well, they only have one job!). using the same password everywhere saving your password in notes or as text files on your computer reports of data breaches of password managers Again, if asked should you use a password manager? The answer is definitely yes! Bank robbing happens but it's not as easy as trying to rob a person. Using a password manager is not as difficult as you may think. It does need some set up initially, but after that, it makes life a whole lot better, especially now that you do not need to type in your password anymore, and it definitely put your mind at ease. -- Find me here!

What Could Go Wrong by Using the Same Password for All Accounts???

For almost all the accounts that you create on the Internet, you need to come up with a secure, that is, a complex password. Choosing the most secure password requires the use of unlikely combinations of letters and numbers. Fortunately, creating a complex and at the same time easy to remember password is a task that you can handle. To learn how to create a password correctly, use our tips. The Basics of Creating a Complex Strong Password . Do not use a word or phrase that is of particular importance to you - for example, a birthday or the name of a family member. Such information is easily found by hackers. Choose a password that cannot be easily guessed or cracked . Social networks are often used to steal personal data, so this is unsafe. Do not show send passwords in messages . It must contain at least eight to ten characters, and longer passwords are even more secure. However, some sites or applications may limit the password length. Make sure your password is long . Uppercase and lowercase letters must not be grouped. Mixing them together makes the password more complicated. If you don’t know what password to come up with, try this method. For example, take the first two letters from the names of your loved ones - Lena, Sasha, Katya, Ivan " geslavk_" or the address of your first house - " HouseOffroom*8542". Use at least one uppercase letter and one lowercase letter in your password . Many password systems do not allow actual spaces to be used, use the underscore “_” instead. Use spaces in your password . You can use similar base words that make it easy to remember passwords without the risk of making them too easy to crack. Thus, " LeSaKaIv_" can be changed as " mybestLeSaKaIv_", " HouseOffroom*8542" can become " 2438_myfirst#house". Create different strong passwords for different accounts . Choose a place away from the computer (and from prying eyes), but make sure that you can easily access it. When you write down your password, consider encrypting it to protect it from unauthorized use. This can be done, for example, using the offset method. Thus, it ri7% Gi6_ll can be written as 2tk9 & Ik8_nn (where the offset for encoding is indicated by the first character, in this case +2). This means that each subsequent coded character is two alphabetic letters or numbers that exceed the actual password character. Make sure your password is recorded and stored in a safe place How to come up with a complex password? Come up with a sentence or phrase as the basis for your password. Remember that your password must ultimately be long (at least eight to ten characters) and include many different characters (upper and lower case letters, numbers, spaces or underscores, etc.). Although you should avoid personal information that others can easily identify, it’s still convenient to create a password that you can remember without any problems. Now use certain letters from your phrase to collect a strong password that is easy to remember (for example, using the first two or three letters of each word in your phrase and connecting them in order). For example, your closest people are called Lena, Sasha, Katya, Ivan, so your main phrase is “LeSaKaIv”. Or the address of your first house is Zelenaya Dom 24, apartment 38. So, the main phrase is “HouseOnZelenaya # 2438”. Use at least one letter, number, and special character in your password. This will greatly complicate password cracking. . For example, a sentence such as “My mother was born in Izyum of the Kharkiv region on August 14” may become a password such as “mmrvIXo14”. With this technique, you don’t have to rack your brains over what password you can think of. Using this simple method, you can easily create an easy-to-remember password that will be difficult to crack. Remember your secure password . Do not use the same passwords for different accounts, one password can be used for several months in a row. Remember to update and change passwords How to create your password using the program? On the question of how to make a password, programs and can help. This software usually allows you to automatically create complex combinations. The program, in accordance with your request, creates combinations that you can then change as you wish for easier memorization. online user name generator Password managers will generate, remember and verify many different, complex and secure passwords for each of your accounts, allowing you to simply remember one main password - to the program itself. Some of the most popular such applications are LastPass, Dashlane, KeePass, 1Password and RoboForm.

How To Create a Complex Password

In the world today, happen every 39 seconds. 300,000 new malware is created every day; our beloved Facebook is attacked 100k+ a day; and, just very recently had a massive security breach. cybersecurity attacks Scared yet? If I were you, I would be. Every year thousands of people get hacked on various social media accounts. Ever heard of Instagram? I would think you don’t want to lose all those followers you have acquired with all of your hard work only to get all of it lost in the arms of some dude sitting in a coffee shop with code lines running through his computer screen. Fun fact: I checked how many people searched for the phrase “how to hack Instagram account” and a lot, I mean a LOT of people are looking for answers to this question. That’s pretty gnarly, huh? So in order to prevent trouble that these so-called hackers can cause you, here are some tips from me. Some precautionary steps you should be making to be free of hacks and to have a safe account 1. Start with a strong password Befriend some password managers. The supply is there if you look for it. They will help you create one of a kind, hard to crack, and damn right scary looking passwords that you won’t have to learn by heart because the beauty of the password manager is — it keeps all of that safe for you. The only password you will have to remember is the one that unlocks the password manager app. Maybe write that one down on your hand. Although Joey Tribiani would argue if that is reliable. Some suggestions for those who are a bit lazy to look for them: (Premium for $3/mo), (2-year plan $2.49/mo), ($3.69/mo), ($2.99/mo) Last pass Nordpass Dashlane 1Password 2. When to change your password Not once a day, that would be a little bit excessive. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) it shouldn’t even be once per month. Here are some guidelines they provide on when to change your account passwords: 1. After a service discloses a security incident. 2. There is evidence of unauthorized access to your account. 3. There is evidence of malware or other compromises of your device. 4. You shared access to an account with someone else, and they no longer use the login. 5. You logged in to the account on a shared or public computer (such as at a library or hotel). 6. It’s been a year or more since you last changed the password, especially if you don’t have multi-factor authentication enabled. 3. Use two-factor authentication Look for this in every app you have. The amount of apps that are starting to use 2f authentification is getting larger by the year, so keep an eye out for that. It is much more difficult to hack your account if you’re using two-factor authentication on it. 4. Invest in a VPN VPN is a virtual private network. For those who are not sure what it is and what it does: A virtual private network (VPN) gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection. VPNs mask your internet protocol (IP) address, so your online actions are virtually untraceable. Most important, VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot. The biggest obstacles for hackers are . I already mentioned the first one, but the second one is a must as well. At least for those who want to be a wee bit safer on the vast internet that is available to us. Especially if you find yourself in need of connecting to a public airport, cafe, or library network. Those are the common ways the dude we talked about earlier can reach you. multi-factor authentication and encryption Here’s a few of them for the lazy bums. ($1.99/mo), ($3.49/mo), ($8.32/mo), ($9.99/mo). Surfshark VPN NordVPN ExpressVPN Perfect Privacy 5. Keep your information offline To avoid having your information snatched from under your nose, you should also sign out of your accounts when you’re done using them. Even try not to copy-paste your password. 6. Create a unique email for social media In the sad events of your Instagram account getting hacked, at least the hacker will not reach your other email, the one that has all of the vital information about you. 7. Think twice about clicking on shortened links One word — phishing. “The fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.” Best to avoid those like the hellfire unless it’s really your grandma who is sending you a link through a reputable site.

7 Ways to Secure Your Social Media Accounts

It is not all just fun and games. Some facts to get you scared: Over the last few years Gaming industry has become one of the most popular ones to encounter cyber attacks. Over the past 17 months there was 12 billion credential stuffing attacks in gaming industry. 67% of credential stuffing cases occur in the United States. Russia, UK, Canada, Australia, China, Japan and Italy are one of the most attacked countries. Back in 2015 CSO Online (security and risk management company) managed to crack 80% off the passwords from hash list leaked from MMO Kings site. They managed to do it in 45 minutes. Steam (the largest online gaming store and community) suffered from a major data breach that resulted in 77,000 compromised accounts. Although anything online can be stolen, gamers are among the popular ones to get hacked. There is no surprise that a lot of companies that sell and develop video games have encountered huge data breaches during the past few years and millions of users data was and still is in danger. Why Gamer are at great risk Gamers credentials are in a lot of danger because of few reasons. First of all, since many gaming accounts have a lot of sensitive information such as users (many games require to make some kind of purchases, like buying items and etc.). banking credentials It makes sense why Gamers accounts are very popular among hackers, since by stealing them hackers can also steal money from players. Also by stealing users credentials cyber , they can also earn quite a big share of money by , especially if they are well built. criminals can use those accounts for doing all sorts of other crimes online selling the stolen accounts How to secure your gaming account 1. Passwords The most important security precaution is for your account. There is no surprise here that many gamers (and not just gamers) do not actually care about making their passwords secure. Although we all know that passwords need to be at least 12 characters long, include numbers, lower and uppercase letters, signs, most of us usually create weak passwords just because we want to easily remember them. strong password Another problem appears when gamers use the . One of the example is using the same password on your game account and gamer forums you participate in. same password everywhere , since they do not care about security and are usually created voluntarily by gaming fans, who just don’t have time and money to ensure forums security. Forums are super easy to hack So imagine if a forum that you participate in gets hacked and the hacker has your credentials. Then he can easily access your gaming account (if you use the same or similar credentials) and then steal that account, access your banking information and etc. So what to do? Well first of all use a secure password. You don’t need to come up with the password yourself, you can use many online. strong password generators Secondly use a to store all of your passwords. Since you will need to create a different password for all of you accounts it will be hard to remember all of them. password manager Password manager will remember them all for you, you will only need to know one password — to access the password manager. There are many password managers you can use: ($2.49/mo) NordPass ($4.99/mo) Dashlane ($3/mo) LastPass 2. VPN Many gamers are against for gaming, since many VPN do decrease internet speed, but actually VPN can help to decrease lag with games (if you use fast one). Also VPN is useful for bypassing all sorts of geographical restrictions. using VPN For example, if some sort of game is not available in your region, by simply log into your VPN, change your location and IP address and you will be able to access any game. But talking about your account security VPN helps in many cases. First of all if you use Public Wifi you must already know that it is really easy for hackers to compromise public wifi and steal your sensitive information like gaming accounts credentials. VPN also encrypts your traffic and helps you to secure yourself from all sorts of malware, trackers, DDoS attacks. When choosing a VPN for gaming you need to look for a few features: Fast servers, no logging policy (this means that free VPNs are a bad choice since they collect data), built-in kill-switch. There are few fast VPNs that go well with gaming: ($1.99/mo) Surfshark VPN ($3.49/mo) NordVPN ($8.32/mo) ExpressVPN ($9.99/mo) Perfect Privacy 3. Phishing And one last threat that occurs often while gaming — . Phishing attacks occurs when hackers try to lure your account credentials through fake emails, all sorts of links, messages. Hackers usually send you a fake email (that looks really legit) and asks you to log into your account through a link they put in the email. And that is how they get you. Phishing To secure yourself from such attacks you just need to be careful, don’t press any links on emails, when you want to log into your account go straight to the website and then log in.

Stories, News & Mentions about DASHLANE

Dashlane’s Stories on HackerNoon