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Firewall Flowchart

Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 (No comments yet)
(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

I always recommend having a Software Firewall on your computer, but the one catch is that you have to know what to do when you get an alert. It's not very hard once you've seen it once or twice, but to help you walk through it, I've made this firewall flowchart:

Click on the image for a larger view

Just start at the green oval and answer the yes/no questions to trace your way through.

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Passwords

Monday, July 5th, 2010 (No comments yet)

In most cases, the only thing that protects your money, your reputation, and your livelihood are the passwords you use to protect them. Computer security, online accounts, and everything else all pretty much rests on your ability to make and keep good passwords. So why is it that the average person spends so little time and effort doing it right?

Chances are it's because they were never taught how or why they needed to do so. Well, let's change that!

Making Good Passwords

To understand what makes a good password, let's talk about what makes a bad one first.
Making good passwords can be complex, but here are some tips and tricks that will make it easier.

Password Protection

Once you've taken the trouble to make a good password, the next step is to keep it safe!
Now that you've done all this work, you have to learn the most important rule of all: DON'T GIVE THEM AWAY!
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AVG – Free Antivirus

Monday, September 12th, 2011 (No comments yet)
AVG free anti-virus

STOP!

Due to rampant privacy invasion, I no longer recommend the AVG anti-virus. At this time, the best free anti-virus available is Avast which can be found here

I'd used Norton products for years because I got them free from working in retail or attending a school with a special license). Now that those days are over, I've had to look at paying for the anti-virus and I've begun to wonder if it's worth it.

Norton software is a notorious hog of system resources and can drastically slow down your computer's start-up time. Switching to free alternatives is a big help.

The newest version of AVG works very well and also includes a feature that automatically checks your search engine results for malicious code. A site with a green check next to it is considered safe and anything else should be treated cautiously.

When you got to the site, remember to be careful to get the free for home use version and not the "Free trial" of any of their other versions. Also be cautious during the install process to uncheck any options for add-ons like Yahoo! Toolbar or such. Other than that, it should be a pretty straight-forward process.

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Check out one of my guides/tutorials:

goodbye identity theft Tutorial
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Too Late!

If you've already become a victim, here is a list of things you should do.

Solving ID Theft

Lock your credit reports with a Credit Freeze to prevent credit-based ID theft (90% of ID theft risk).
Learn to protect your information to prevent not only ID theft, but many other kinds of problems (the rest of ID theft risk).

Save Time and Money

cancel credit-monitoring services.
Cancel id-theft-insurance

Who is Responsible?

Sometimes you just have to wonder why it's so easy to steal identities in the first place.

... or check out any of my other guides and tutorials by clicking here!

Bad Passwords

To understand what makes good passwords, first check out some of the worst passwords out there and what makes them so bad.

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Password Tips and Tricks

It's impossible to expect someone to make good passwords by just giving them some rules. There are tricks that make your passwords secure and easy for you all at the same time.

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Password Protection

It's really a skill to come up with secure passwords that you can remember. Once you've learned how, remember that it doesn't matter how good you are if you don't protect your password properly.

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Password Mugging

A disturbing new practice among websites and services is where they ask you for your user name and password to other sites. I call this "Password Mugging"

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The Identity Theft Victim's Mini-Guide to Recovery

If you've already experienced ID theft, here are some tips of what to do next.

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Credit Freeze

Setting a credit report freeze is the fastest and most effective way to actually block and reduce your risk of ID Theft. And it's free.

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Out and About Defense

The best defense against non-credit ID Theft and a variety of other risks is to adopt a mindset of protection: Data Defense. Learn how to protect your information with simple and sometimes free countermeasures all based on a simple philosophy that the less people who have your information, the safer you are.

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