watchamakalit: Online Safety Scores Aren’t Getting Any Better

watchamakalit: Online Safety Scores Aren’t Getting Any Better: Despite being aware of numerous risks thanks to ( online security leaders ) like Trust Guard , the Microsoft Computing Safety Index (M...

Online Safety Scores Aren’t Getting Any Better

Despite being aware of numerous risks thanks to (online security leaders) like Trust Guard, the Microsoft Computing Safety Index (MCSI) shows that most people are not doing much to improve the safety of their online PC or mobile device habits.

You know to keep your firewall on at all times on your laptop or desktop and to keep your antivirus and antispyware software updated, to run them and to keep automatic updates on. On your mobile device, these basics are similar, such as running a mobile anti-virus, installing software updates immediately upon release, and using a PIN or password to lock your device. If someone quizzed you on these online safety basics, then you should score a perfect 100. Right?

According to the second annual MCSI, more than 10,000 PC, smartphone and tablet users in the United States scored an average of 36. Want to take the test, to prove your knowledge of online safety and security is better than average? Click here: https://survey2.securestudies.com/wix/p122560761.aspx

Overall, the global MCSI score indicates that "despite greater awareness of risks and increased focus on privacy, consumers have maintained the same online safety habits and still have room to improve their proactive, protective measures."

The MCSI global mobile safety score was slightly better than the USA’s score, at 40. Still, in any school I’ve ever attended, 40% is failing. Like the PC online safety assessment, the mobile survey included three tiers of activity: foundational, technical and behavioral basics. On mobile devices, the technical tools include turning off location tracking, selectively sharing information, reviewing social media location and privacy settings, not using open Wi-Fi connections for mobile, and downloading apps only from trusted sources. Behavioral safety to combat socially engineered risks include being social savvy and selective about who you text, what you text and to whom you give out your personal phone number, physically not leaving your mobile device where someone could compromise it, and avoid clicking on "dubious links or ads."

The U.S. scored 39 on the Microsoft Mobile Safety Index. The highest MMSI totals were Indonesia with 48.7, Mexico with 48.1, Brazil with 45.3, Turkey with 44.9, and Belgium with 44.6. Japan, Korea and Spain are the least vigilant about mobile device security. Not one country averaged a score of 50 on either PC or mobile online safety.

Unfortunately, Trust Guard has found that what really drives people to action is for something really bad happening to them – like getting hacked or getting their identity stolen.

What is mind-boggling is that consumer concerns about the online risks they are facing are a little bit contradictory to their actions when it comes to online safety. 55% say there are encountering these multiple risks, but what are they really doing on a proactive basis to take the necessary precautionary steps? Oddly enough, it's only 16% that say they are taking the proactive steps needed to help protect themselves online.

Hopefully by next years survey, those who know better will protect themselves better and those who do not yet know will learn how to protect themselves from hackers and identity theft.

 

Much of the information found in this article came from this blog:  http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/13712

watchamakalit: Identify Thief – The Movie & Potentially Your Onli...

watchamakalit: Identify Thief – The Movie & Potentially Your Onli...: Identity Thief is a new comedy film is about a man who gets his identity stolen by a woman. In her first starring role in a feature c...

Identify Thief – The Movie & Potentially Your Online Reality

Identity Thief is a new comedy film is about a man who gets his identity stolen by a woman. In her first starring role in a feature comedy, Melissa McCarthy plays Diana, a resourceful, big-haired Florida woman who leads the good life while running up a huge tab under a fake identity. And she hits a jackpot with the assets of one Sandy Bigelow Patterson, a sober-minded Colorado family man.

The story is about as subtle as a Florida theme park. Finding his life in shambles and tracing the destruction to her door, Sandy heads south to drag Diana to justice.

My question is, unless it’s happening in a movie – and not in real life, what’s so funny about identity theft? Besides damaging your bank account, theft of one’s identity can also damage one’s reputation. Unfortunately, identity theft happens on a daily basis to unassuming victims all over the world.

Trust Guard, the leader in website security and verification, help secure websites so that the identity of online consumers remains protected and private. They provide Privacy Policy Verification seals that online shoppers can use to verify that the company will maintain all their information safe. They also provide Business Identity Verification seals that consumers can click on to see a certificate of the background check Trust Guard has performed on the company in question. 

Their Security Scans can detect vulnerabilities that hackers could use to access sites – giving business owners the awareness to resolve security issues before hackers have a chance to steal their customers’ personal identity and credit card information.

Although I haven’t seen the movie yet, it made a killing its first week out (more than $30 million) and I’m sure with Melissa McCarthy involved it’s got to be hilarious.  Real identity thieves, however, are not to be trifled with. That is why smart consumers do their shopping on sites that display Trust Guard’s privacy and business verification and security scanning seals. 

watchamakalit: Hackers Access Past Presidents’ Emails? Outrageous...

watchamakalit: Hackers Access Past Presidents’ Emails? Outrageous...: When reached by email about his father and brother getting hacked, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush called the hacking “outrageous....

Hackers Access Past Presidents’ Emails? Outrageous!

When reached by email about his father and brother getting hacked, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush called the hacking “outrageous.”

It looks like what website security companies have been telling us is true: even past presidents, without adequate protection, could potentially know what it feels like when hackers pry into our private lives and take whatever they want. A mysterious email hacker who goes by the online alias of “Guccifer” apparently accessed private photos and messages sent between members of the Bush family – including emails from both retired commanders in chief. 

The Smoking Gun website displayed photos it said came from the hacker, including one that purported to show the elder Bush during his recent stay in a Houston hospital where the 88 year-old spent almost two months undergoing treatment for complications from a bronchial infection.  Supposedly, the hacker gained access to the stolen material through the Bush’ family members and friends. 

The breach, which is being investigated by the Secret Service, illustrates how easily hackers can get into the private lives of even some of the most prominent and closely guarded political families. So if past presidents of the USA can have online information stolen from them, what does that say about our potential for getting hacked?

It says that we need to be safe. We need to have a quality computer security system and ensure that we visit sites that are safe. One way to tell is to look on websites for trust seals. These small images, created by a third-party verification company like Trust Guard, can inform consumers as to the legitimacy of the company that owns the website. 

The security seals can show whether or not the website is vulnerable to hackers or not based on the passing or failing of online scans that seek for holes that hackers use to access websites. If the site you’re on displays a security trust seal and its accompanying verification certificate, you can rest assured that the site you’re visiting is safe.

Thanks go out to Michael Graczyk from the Associated Press for much of the information found in this article.

               

watchamakalit: Five Proven Ways to Protect Yourself Online

watchamakalit: Five Proven Ways to Protect Yourself Online: You’ve got a couple of choices: Be like my 80 year-old mom and never go online or make sure you are safe when you are cruising arou...