Posts Tagged ‘security’

There’s been a lot written in the media over recent months on Senator Conroy’s idea of filtering the internet, so I thought I’d write an article to explain some of the issues and to talk about what you can do to protect your family right now.

Firstly, does the proposed internet filter protect our children? In short – no, in fact, and perhaps surprisingly, it makes it much harder to do so! Let’s talk about why that’s so in more detail – because in a lot of ways that runs counter to what you’d think. Read the rest of this entry »

The internet is changing in a big way today (May 5th 2010) – security is being added to the domain naming system (DNS).

It looks like it won’t affect most people as the ISPs will “insulate” people’s routers from seeing the changes. However, if you’re in IT, this is essential knowledge…

Read more here.

The intention is to add further security validation to the domain naming system so it’s harder for the baddies to “take over” websites such as your favourite banking site. For the next month or so, they’re effectively running a trial and they’ll be turning on the real thing in about 30 days – see the article for more information.

If you’re anything like me, and not a great tech-head you may struggle with the concept of passwords like I have!

One of my “learned colleagues” put it into language that made great sense to me recently: “You wouldn’t use the keys to your Porsche to start your Mercedes would you?!!” As if! It occurred to me though that to liken the password to my car keys was a good analogy … well at least one my small brain could understand.

I now have a small notebook in which to jot down my various passwords – probably not a great and secure idea but one that I can manage – just don’t make it too obvious that’s what it’s for! Some people use KeePass or Sxipper to remember their passwords but again only a good idea if your PC or Mac is secure or password protected. There are all sorts of things people do to remember their passwords. One that worked well for me when I had one randomly generated by and ISP was to ask my kids to come up with a word for each letter. It made a quirky sentence that was easily remembered.

One important and simple tip is not to use the same password for your internet banking sites as you do for other sites – in fact, one password per internet banking site is a great, simple idea!

One simple way to make good passwords is to run a couple of syllables from different words together and add a number or a punctuation symbol.

Here’s a password generator site that makes up the reminder for you!

How much time, effort and money have you invested in getting your site set up just the way you wanted? Getting the design, having it developed, adding all your content, all the little tweaks and updates…

If you run an eCommerce website, how much customer history do you have stored in your site’s databases? Sales history, invoices, customer details…

Now, imagine if you lost all that tomorrow.

Imagine if a hacker got your password, and destroyed all your hard work. Imaging if with the slip of a finger you accidentally delete a core file, rendering your site useless.

How long would it take you to recreate it all? How much of that data is completely irreplaceable? How much business would you lose in the meantime?

Backups can save you. When was the last time you backed up your site?

Read the rest of this entry »