Security Archives - Page 2 of 2

Your New iPhone: How to Set it Up For Ease and Security

Posted on January 2, 2018January 14, 2019 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Privacy, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Did you get a brand new iPhone over the holidays? There are some things you should do right away to make sure it stays secure and you keep being happy with it. Even if you’ve had your phone for several months, make sure you’ve taken care of these.

Lock down your new iPhone:

First – you want to make sure your new iPhone can be locked down. Go to “Settings”, and scroll down to “Touch (or Face) ID and Passcode”. If you’ve already set up a passcode, you’ll need to enter it before continuing to these options. Decide if you want to use the Touch or Face ID, or if you just want to use a passcode. If you do want to use a passcode, we recommend that you select one that is more than four digits. You can select a custom alph-numeric code, or a custom numeric code.

Fine Tune Location Settings:

You’ll also want to lock down your Location settings. Click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. You can see which Apps get location data and turn off the ones that don’t really need to know where you are located.

Set up Siri:

When I’m on a road trip, I turn on “Hey Siri”. This allows me to have hands-free interaction with my iphone. To turn this on, click on “Settings”, and then “Siri & Search”. Slide the button to “on” to allow for Siri to listen. You can also select a language and voice for Siri on this screen.

Sharing Analytics:

Decide if you want to share analytics from your iPhone with Apple. Apple collects usage data and location information. To turn this off click on “Settings”, and then “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Analytics”. Make sure the button is turned off.

Targeted Ads:

Opt out of receiving targeted ads. Click on “Settings”, “Privacy”. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Advertising”. Slide the green button On to Limit Ad Tracking.

Save Your Photos!

This is a good time to decide what to do with your photos. Do you have a plan in place for saving them off of your phone? I have set up Dropbox to save my photos onto the cloud every day.

Add Shortcuts for Favorite Websites:

Do you have websites that you go to frequently? You can add them as an icon on your new iPhone screen by clicking on the up arrow at the bottom of your Safari screen. Slide the bottom row of options over until you see “Add to Home Screen”. Click on that, personalize the text, and then click “Add”.

What do you do to set up your new iPhone? Share in the comments below!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission if you sign up.)

What you need to know about Bitcoins and Blockchain

Posted on December 12, 2017January 14, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Security, Tips

After a few years of virtually no mainstream news about Bitcoins, all of a sudden Bitcoins (and Blockchain) are back in the news again. Part of that has to do with Bitcoins recent upward trajectory to cross the $10,000 mark. (Here’s a great visual of Bitcoin’s growth in 2017.) I first explored the subject earlier this year in my blog entitled Digital Currencies and Bitcoins.

Since then, Bitcoins, Blockchains and other Digital Currencies have filled up my inbox. What is interesting to me is that, not too long ago Bitcoin, and other crypto-currencies, were not a trusted form of currency. Today, while it is still not trusted by the average American, they are being used by more and more people throughout the world. I’ve been learning that, as volatile as it is, Bitcoin is still more stable than several global currencies. Plus, Bitcoins provide privacy and independence that US currency does not.

I’m still learning, so I won’t pretend to know nearly enough about Bitcoins, Blockchain, or other Crypto-currencies. Here are articles I’ve read and podcasts I’ve listened to. If you’d like to learn more, explore this list. And then do more research on your own. Please let us know of any resources you’ve found that are particularly helpful.

Articles explaining Bitcoins:

Google Search
Bloomberg – 20171130 – Blockchain Is Bigger Than Any Bubble
Wikipedia – Blockchain
Forbes – 20171210Why Blockchain Is Real and Bitcoin is a Mirage
Coindesk – 20171212 – Trump Signs Defense Bill Authorizing Blockchain Study
Fortune – 20170822 – Bitcoin Ethereum Blockchain Cryptocurrency
CNBC – 20171201 – James Altuchers Bitcoin Predictions
Visualizing the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) Explosion
Six Most Important Cryptocurrencies (other than Bitcoin)

Podcasts about Bitcoins:

Bitcoins True Potential – Kevin Rose interviews Andreas Antonopolous
Unchained – Big Ideas from the Worlds of Blockchain and Fintech
The Bad Crypto Podcast
Let’s Talk Crypto – Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency – iTunes podcast by Barry Moore & Tom Galeski

Here are some books that may be helpful:

Let us know what other resources you’ve found.

5 Easy Steps To Delete Cookies On Your iPhone

Posted on December 5, 2017December 12, 2017 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Chris and I had a conversation this morning about the pesky news sites that limit the number of articles you can read each month. There are some newspapers that I won’t even read online because I get that nasty error message that says: “You’ve reached the limit! Subscribe now!” He told me that when he runs into that, the solution is to delete cookies on your iPhone.

WHAAAAAT?! I didn’t realize you could do that.

As I started looking into this, I see that there are other benefits as well. Just like with your computer, you do want to delete cookies on your iPhone regularly to keep your private information safe and secure. And, just like the rest of of the business world, there are companies out there who want to sell you an app to “take care of this for you”. Don’t fall for that trick! It’s easy enough to do it yourself.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Cookies on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete all of your history. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me, because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

If you found this helpful, please share with your friends!

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4 Articles about Online Privacy

Posted on July 4, 2017November 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Facebook, Privacy, Security

If you have been reading my posts for any length of time, you know that my biggest bug a boo is privacy. Second, of course, is security. In hopes that others will want to learn a little about privacy, I’ve searched the interwebs for some of the best articles out there right now about why online privacy on your electronic devices is important.

As Marsha Blackburn of US News and World Report says:

“Online privacy is an issue that continues to rightfully concern Americans. According to research by IBM, over ninety percent of the world’s data has been generated in the last two years alone. The explosion of smartphones and internet-connected devices has Americans utilizing online services to do everything from grocery shopping to tracking their health. However, increased reliance on online services has made Americans more conscious about how they share sensitive personal information…”

Who else besides me uses their phone for everything from buying coffee to checking Facebook to tracking steps? That’s a lot of info that goes out into the “cloud”. Is it safe?

It’s important to remember that the onus is on you to keep your own data secure as these people who sued Facebook found out. They thought that once they had logged out of Facebook, it should not be able to track their browsing history. In this article, the Judge presiding over the case said no.

“Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing Facebook of tracking users’ activity, saying responsibility was on plaintiffs to keep browsing history private. …. US district judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, dismissed the case because he said that the plaintiffs failed to show that they had a reasonable expectation of privacy or suffered any realistic economic harm or loss. …. Davila said that plaintiffs could have taken steps to keep their browsing histories private…”

And Alfred Ng reports in c|net that some of the bargain phones are sending info to a server in China.

“People have enough to worry about when it comes to privacy on their personal devices. Between government surveillance and security vulnerabilities, preinstalled software on the phone itself is an unexpected breach of both trust and privacy for millions of owners who are just looking for an inexpensive phone. ….. Having access to the command and control channel — a communications route between your device and a server — allowed Adups to execute commands as if it’s the user, meaning it could also install apps, take screenshots, record the screen, make calls and wipe devices without needing permission.”

Privacy has become such an issue that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case later this year. This article in Reuters describes much of the case.

“The case reaches the high court amid growing scrutiny of the surveillance practices of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies amid concern among lawmakers across the political spectrum about civil liberties and police evading warrant requirements.

The legal fight has raised questions about how much companies protect the privacy rights of their customers. The big four wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, receive tens of thousands of requests a year from law enforcement for what is known as “cell site location information,” or CSLI. The requests are routinely granted.

The Supreme Court has twice in recent years ruled on major cases concerning how criminal law applies to new technology, on each occasion ruling against law enforcement. In 2012, the court held that a warrant is required to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. Two years later, the court said police need a warrant to search a cellphone that is seized during an arrest.

Civil liberties lawyers have said that police need “probable cause,” and therefore a warrant, in order to avoid constitutionally unreasonable searches.”

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30 day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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6 easy steps to keeping your computer safe from malware

Posted on May 16, 2017June 11, 2017 by Gail Eddy in Malware, Security, Technology Tips, Virus

Geek For Hire gets calls just about every day from someone who is concerned about an email they’ve received, or a phone call, or a popup warning. Usually I’m able to tell them that all is well. How do I know that? There are a few key things to make sure your machine stays safe from malware.

Have you received a phone call from someone claiming to be Dell Technical Support – or HP, or any of the other manufacturers? If you have not initiated that call, it is most likely a scam. They will be very convincing, telling you that you need to install updates, or that you have a virus. Hang up! As long as you don’t give them access to your machine, you should be fine.
Have you received a phone call from someone claiming to be Microsoft? They generally tell you that your Operating System is not up to date and they need to get access to your computer to download the appropriate files. Again, these folks are very convincing, but you should hang up.
Have you received an email from a technical company offering to review your machine for viruses and other problems? Send that email to your spam folder and ignore it! Make sure you don’t click on any of the links in the email.
Have you received an email from “Amazon” claiming that you have just purchased an item for $457? They just need you to click on this one link to confirm your purchase. Don’t click on it! Delete the email! It is a scam!
Have you seen a pop-up on your machine saying that your machine is badly infected and you need to click on a link to get it resolved? In many cases you may already have some kind of malware installed on your computer. Once you click on the link, you’ve “given permission” for additional malware to be downloaded and installed on your machine. In this case you should run your virus scanner to see if it can remove the malware. If it can’t remove it, or if it says it’s not finding any, you should call for professional help.
Whenever you suspect an issue with your machine, run your virus scanner to make sure your machine is safe from malware.

If you found these tips helpful, please forward it to your friends!

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Computer and Phone Scams to watch for

Posted on January 19, 2016May 17, 2021 by Gail Eddy in Malware, Security, Tips

Computer and phone scams are rampant if my voice mail is any judge. For the last few weeks I’ve been getting a voice mail message with the following recording:

“This call is in regards to the security software we installed on your computer last year. Now we see a red flag on our end stating there is a security breach on it. Please call 1-866-758-1262. I repeat, 1-866-758-1262. Thank you.”

We’ve also received phone calls from regular people like you or me who fell victim to these scams.

Whenever you receive a call on your home or mobile phone from a number that you do not recognize, be extra careful. Dell or Microsoft or Toshiba or even Apple won’t be calling you to tell you that your computer has a virus. When you get this kind of call, your spider-sense should be tingling!

Some of these computer and phone scams are very sophisticated. There are times though when you answer the phone and the person on the other end is very convincing. You might believe them and agree that they can access your computer remotely. Then when you hang up the phone you have second thoughts.

What steps should you take if you think you’ve been scammed?

Turn your machine off.
Disconnect the internet from your machine. You may need to unplug the Ethernet cable from your machine or turn off the router if you have wireless service.
Turn your machine back on and confirm that your anti-virus is still working and is still installed.
Start your virus scanner. It should tell you whether any malware has been installed, and it should remove those programs.
Once your virus scanner has completed and has removed any potential threats, you can reconnect your internet.
For the next few days be very cautious about how you use your machine. For example, it would be prudent not to enter any financial or banking information on that machine – use your phone or iPad instead. If the machine doesn’t show any signs of continued infection, it should be fine. If it starts displaying pop-ups or becomes very slow, it’s time to call in a professional to do a thorough scrub of the machine.

You can find other symptoms of an infected machine here:

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Staying Safe on Social Media

Posted on July 14, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Privacy, Security, Social Media, Tips

Social Media, whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any of the other sites, allows you to easily connect with friends and keep up-to-date on what is going on in your life. It sometimes seems very intimate and you feel safe sharing the details of your life with all 473 of your closest friends. DON’T! Social Media is a very public way of communicating. There’s nothing intimate about it!

Remember to set your privacy settings to an appropriate level for each post. If there’s no personal information, set it to “Public”. Otherwise, set it to “Friends Only”, or “Family only”. Remember to use the “Acquaintance” setting for people that are not close friends. Spend some time to set up groups of people so that you can target your posts to specific people only.
If you’re leaving home on vacation or only for a weekend, make sure you have someone checking on your home. If you don’t have someone monitoring your home, then don’t post anything on social media which could indicate that you are away from home for an extended period of time. (You can post all of your photos when you get back!)
Never respond to anonymous requests via social media. I have a friend who asked me how to respond to a private message she received on Facebook. The message was from a young man who thought her profile picture was beautiful and he wanted to get to know her better. I get messages like that on Twitter and Pinterest too. Here are examples of some messages I’ve received – If you ever get messages like this, click the spam button or report the sender:
- “Hello, I am Abyan, I like you to contact me in my Email”
- “Hi pretty, it’s good to come across a beautiful woman like you here, you are beautiful and elegant , I like you and I would like to get acquainted with you.Get in touch so that we can commence communication”
- “OMG your in this http://facebook.com/2742803?EpicFailVideox … LMFAO”

Have you encountered any scams with Social Media? Please share them in the comments below and let others know what to watch out for!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.