Created on 2019-10-07 15:08
Published on 2019-10-07 16:57
Greetings! In early October (National Cybersecurity Awareness Month), before the cyber ghouls come knocking, I like to dedicate some time to review my personal computer security and overall hygiene in an effort to minimize my cyber security risk. I’ve collected a list of free/other resources for my use and decided to share to help others.
For those of you with Google accounts, there is the Security Checkup tool (https://myaccount.google.com/security-checkup) which investigates and reports on a number of security statuses including which devices are signed-in to your account, which account verification methods are in use for authentication and which other apps have access to your data. In addition, Google now provides a Password Checkup tool to check existing account passwords for security issues including whether your passwords have been compromised in a third-party breach, whether passwords are being reused across different sites and your overall password strength. See https://passwords.google.com for the Password Manager including the Password Checkup tool.
Microsoft has several tools including their Safety Scanner which seeks out and removes malware from Windows computers. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download. There’s also the Windows Defender Antivirus for Windows 8 and 10, and Microsoft Security Essentials if you’re using Windows 7, for real-time protection. And of course, when prompted to patch your systems, accept and patch ASAP.
Apple users should check out the page at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201303, which offers several best-practices to “maximize the security of your account”, including using strong passwords, ensuring challenge question answers are difficult to guess, enabling two-factor authentication, and even training material to assist with identifying email social engineering/phishing attempts. And also, ensure patches are installed whenever prompted.
Are you one of the 2.41 billion active Facebook account users? Their Security Checkup tool will help you log out of FB from unused browsers and apps, identify when someone tries logging into your account from an unrecognized computer/mobile device, and learn how to protect your password. It works on Windows/Mac computers, iOS and Android devices. See https://www.facebook.com/help/799880743466869/.
If you use Dropbox, they also have a tool to help keep your account and data safe. See https://help.dropbox.com/accounts-billing/security/security-checkup.
Several other free tools and resources are available on the StaySafeOnline website, powered by the National Cyber Security Alliance. Included are tools from AOL, avast!, OpenDNS, Qualys, LastPass and others. See https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/free-online-security-checkups-tools/.
Additional details and resources can be found at the StaySafeOnline website: https://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/.
Of course, use of this information and included tools will not guarantee 100% defense or protection from a cyber attack; however, this, along with good computer hygiene/best-practices will increase your protection against attacks and reduce your overall risk. I hope this collection is useful and wish you and your family safe, secure and enjoyable holidays.
Disclaimer: I am not personally affiliated with any of the companies or products mentioned herein. Use of this information and included tools/resources is at your own risk. Views and opinions in this article are my own and not the views of my employer.