7 Essentials for a Survival Kit

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If you were out in the middle of nowhere for three days or stuck at home due to man made or natural disaster, what would you need to survive? Here are numerous items that are essential for survival. Keep in mind this is a basic list that might be proactively packed in a “go bag” or in a big plastic tub to keep at work or in your home or car. Each category and item can be significantly expanded upon and researched by Googling the key word.

1MClean water and/or iodine tablets and water access

Your body is mostly water; water is the No. 1. tool for survival. For three days you’d need three liters. To expand your water supply, have with you iodine tablets to purify river or groundwater. Consider an investment on a 55 gallon barrel water storage system.

Food

“Energy” bars are high in sugars and pack nicely. So-called backpack meals are also useful. Canned tuna is high in protein. Costco offers months to years’ worth of survival food.

Clothes

  • Sturdy shoes (hiking footwear is even better)
  • Hooded rain resistant jacket
  • Two shirts and long pants (not cotton; cotton retains moisture)
  • Two pairs of socks (wool if you anticipate cold)
  • Long underwear (polypropylene will keep you warm)
  • Wide brimmed hat
  • Bandana
  • Sunglasses
  • Gloves (not necessarily for cold protection, but what if you have to handle earth and rocks?)
  • Plastic bags (to wear over your socks to keep wetness away)
  • Rubberbands (to secure the plastic bags to your ankles)

Shelter

  • Tent (or tarp and a way to set it up)
  • Ground tarp (or sleeping pad) to insulate against ground wetness
  • Sleeping bag

Medical

It’s best to create a first aid kit rather than purchase one. This way, you’ll know exactly what’s in it and how to use the tools. Make sure it contains:

  • Ankle brace (for sprained ankle)
  • Ace bandage
  • Chemical cold pack
  • Bandages, gauze and an anti-bacterial for lacerations
  • Tourniquet
  • Cotton balls
  • Sunblock
  • Tweezers (for de-ticking)
  • Hand mirror (can also be used to reflect the sun to search-and-rescue aircraft!)
  • Sawyer extractor (for snake bites)
  • Vaseline
  • Anything else that might be needed, or that’s specific to your health needs

Tools for survival

  • At least three different fire starting/building devices.
  • A travel chainsaw
  • Backpacking stove and fuel including propane; and a small pot for boiling water.
  • Two flashlights and backup batteries
  • “Survival” knife
  • Map and compass (first learn how to use these!)
  • Topographical map
  • Cell phone with battery backup
  • Solar powered chargers
  • Survival GPS app

Weapons/safety

  • A firearm of choice. A shotgun with various types of shot is most versatile.
  • Pepper spray (the big cans called “bear spray” are best)
  • Air horn
  • Whistle
  • Blunt instruments such as a baseball bat or golf club.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Lessons learned from a Password Attack

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It’s easy for millions of passwords to be stolen via hacking into Facebook, Twitter and Gmail accounts: It recently happened because malware was unknowingly downloaded into computers worldwide that extracted log-in information. The data was then directed to the hackers’ server, which was tracked to the Netherlands.

5DA password is never 100 percent secure, but instead, more or less secure than others. Passwords can be cracked in many ways:

Cracking security questions. It seems that most people use easily-traceable names for their secret question when registering a password, such as names of family members and schools they attended. This information is often on their social media profiles and, with a bit of legwork, can be figured out. Often, passwords include these names as well.

Simple passwords. The passwords of 123456, abc123, 11111, etc., are easy to type out and are also among the most common, and thus easily figured out. “Princess” and “querty” are also commonly used words.

Using the same passwords for different sites. One-third of data-breach victims in a recent attack had been reusing passwords. Password reuse for social media, banking and e-mail opens the gate to identity theft.

Dictionary attacks. Software exists that will run any word that’s found in a dictionary (or commonly misspelled words) into the password field. If you use these words, the software will eventually score a hit.

Social engineering. This is when a thief tricks a user into revealing a password (often by sending an “urgent” e-mail informing the user to visit a site where he “must” type in his password).

There is still hope that one day a way to design a 100 percent secure password will be developed, perhaps through a fusion of biometrics, multi-factor authentication and image-based access.

What can you do in the meantime?

  • Use non-traceable words for passwords and answers to secret questions.
  • Avoid using passwords that flow easily off your fingertips like 67890, asdfg, etc.
  • Never reuse passwords. Passwords for all accounts should be very different from each other.
  • Invent names for your passwords that can’t be found anywhere. Avoid phonetic variations of common words or proper names. Don’t use backwards-spelled words.
  • Make sure nobody can see you enter your password.
  • Always log off if other people are nearby no matter how briefly you’ll be away.
  • Use up-to-date comprehensive security software.
  • Never use your password on a public computer.

Robert Siciliano, is a personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto and author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked! . Disclosures For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.

Protection For Your Shiny New Devices

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After Santa heads back to the North Pole, there will be many new devices in the hands of good girls and boys that will be targeted by criminals. With the enjoyment of these cool devices should come top-notch protection for them, as they can be vulnerable to a number of malicious threats.

5WLaptop or PC

What should your security software include?

  • A two-way firewall: monitors the activity on your devices making sure nothing bad is coming in (like unauthorized access) and nothing good is leaving (like your data).
  • Anti-virus software: protects your devices from malicious keyloggers and other badware.
  • Anti-phishing software: watches your browser and email for suspicious inbox activity.
  • Anti-spyware software: keep your PC spyware free.
  • Safe search capacities: McAfees SiteAdvisor plugs into your browser and tells you what websites are good and which are suspicious.

Go further with wireless network protection, anti-spam, anti-theft protection and parental controls.

Free software is not recommended, as it provides only basic protection and you’ll likely end up purchasing more anyways.

Make sure you have a subscription to software that’s automatically renewed every year so that you don’t forget. This is after you figure out whether or not your new device’s protection software is on a trial basis.

Smartphone or tablet

  • Be leery of third-party apps you install on your mobile phone, since malicious apps are the main threat.
    • Download apps only from reputable app stores.
    • Read reviews and make sure you know what information the app requests prior to download.
  • Use mobile security software that includes:
    • Anti-virus and malware protection
    • Anti-theft
    • App protection
    • Web protection
    • Call and text filtering
  • Turn off automatic connections to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi unless you’re using them.
  • Apply app and operating system updates.
  • Never store account numbers, passwords, etc., on your phone or tablet
    • Do not have your apps set to automatically.
  • Apple products are at highest threat; install security software that’s been designed just for the Mac.
  • Never leave your phone or tablet unattended.

Gaming or entertainment device

These devices are vulnerable to many of the same attacks that PCs are, since they’re connected to the Internet.

  • Create backups of your games.
  • Make sure you understand the built-in parental controls.
  • Never store personal information on this device.
  • Connect it only to a secure Wi-Fi network.
  • Use a secure, encrypted USB drive that will muddle up your information to make it unreadable to thieves.
  • Purchase security software to protect the portable hard drive; and set a password.
  • Employ technologies for protecting your information.
  • Never leave the USB drive unattended.

The most important thing to remember is “don’t worry about it” but definitely do something about it. Once you invest in your devices security go play, have fun and be smart about what you do online.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

False Alarms are costly

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Unfortunately, cheaper, older security motion detectors can’t distinguish between a 150 pound man and a squirrel or even some papers blowing around. This causes police and firefighters to respond to false alarms. False alarms caused by the elements or animals are common (in the millions each year) and occur with business as well as residential systems.

3HOn average, a police officer uses 20-40 minutes to respond to an alarm. Multiply that out by millions of false alarms. This problem drains resources.

The Drain

In the U.S., 94-95 percent of police responses to burglar alarms are false. The cost comes to $30-$95 per incident–$1.8 billion total in the year 2000, says the Center for Competitive Government at Temple University. Some of this money goes towards preventing and remedying wear and tear on first responders’ vehicular equipment.

Wind, papers and animals aren’t the only problem; prank or ridiculous 9-1-1 calls also factor in, and so do carelessness, mistakes and even frightened but aggressive homeowners who mistake first responders for intruders.

Whopping Fines

The moment someone realizes an alarm was tripped accidentally, they should notify the police and their alarm company to cancel the response. Residents and business owners can be fined for false alarms—three and a row can cost over $300 in some areas. Fees vary by location; a first time violation may cost $50. Good hard fines will sink in deeper and motivate system owners to take measures to reduce false triggers.

Solutions

  • A system that triggers a call to the homeowner or business owner’s mobile phone first. If there’s no answer it goes to the home phone. If there’s no answer it goes to the police.
  • Having a home security system with security cameras allows the homeowner to quickly check on the home via their mobile to see if there is an actual problem.
  • The alarm system should be thoroughly re-evaluated by the company to make sure that a glitch isn’t responsible for at least some of the false triggers.
  • Homeowners should determine if there is enough time when entering or exiting the home when alarms are often triggered.
  • Proactively plan when another person is entering the home such as guests, contractors, cleaners etc. Those “inexperienced” with your alarm are often the culprits.
  • Homeowners must ingrain into themselves the habit of checking to see if the alarm is on before opening the door to check the thermometer outside, retrieve the newspaper or let the dog out in the middle of the night.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Why Should You Shop on Sites with Trustmarks?

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With the holiday season in full swing, this is a busy time for a lot of us with parties, gift buying and possibly even figuring out travel arrangements. With all there is to do, many of us will turn to online shopping to help beat the crowds, find deals and not have to worry about what time we shop.

mcaWhile online shopping may be convenient, we also need to exercise some caution. After all, there are websites that are set up to sell fake or pirated digital downloads that can carry viruses or malware along with the product you thought you purchased legally. But there are also a lot of honest people who run legitimate e-commerce sites and care about the privacy and security of their customers.

So, how can you tell if a site is safe and protects your personal information? Well, one indicator of a safe site is one that displays a trustmark. A trustmark is a seal, logo, insignia or other icon that is usually placed on the site (often on the checkout/cart page) to show that the merchant is making an effort to protect you from cybercriminals and online fraudsters who might be out to distribute malware or collect your personal and financial data for the purposes of identity theft. There are a wide variety of trustmarks that indicate various levels of protection.

To better understand trustmarks, and how to use them, follow these simple tips:

  • Don’t just trust it; verify it! Trustmark providers usually provide a live link with their trust seal or icon that allows you to verify the trustmark and whether it is up to date. Don’t just look at the icon and assume that it is legitimate—click to make sure
  • Not all protection is the same. It’s best to conduct your own research on a trustmark to find out what it really means.  Look for regular audits, recent updates and other indications that it provides protection and security for your personal data.
  • Universal protection doesn’t exist. No single trustmark can guarantee protection against anything and everything. Be skeptical and do additional research if you encounter this claim.
  •  Details, details, details. Read the fine print on both the merchant’s and the trustmark provider’s sites. Prominent placement of a privacy policy might look secure, but what level of security and privacy does that policy really offer you?

Legitimate trustmarks can be helpful tools that let you connect with confidence when shopping online. Just remember to take the time to learn a little about the trustmarks you come across so you can make informed decisions about which sites to do business with in the future. For more tips on safe shopping this holiday season, read this blog or download McAfee’s eguide.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.