Personal Security Advice

/0 Comments/in /by

Personal security in general means deterring a crime on a person. In that context, personal security is preventing violence or theft in the physical world. At its most basic level, personal security is having the necessary tools, abilities and mindset to ward of an attacker. And while there is no such thing as 100% security, there are a number of things you can and should adopt to reduce the chance that you are chosen and are successful in overcoming adversity.

There always has been, there is, and there will always be attackers targeting their next victim. In the post Are You Taking Responsibility for Your Personal Safety? You will begin to formulate an understanding of risk and what you as an individual or family member need to do to protect from harm.

As your understanding of taking responsibility for your personal security evolves, you begin to recognize that we are all essentially on our own that local law enforcement will not protect us from harm. In the post Should You Fight or Take a Flight When Being Attacked? You will clearly see what choices need to be made, how to overcome civilized conditioning and what your options are in the event you are chosen as a potential victim.

We all know there are bad people out there doing harm to others. But why? Why are some people good and others bad? In the blog The Natural Predatory Nature of Humans you will understand the science behind the predatory mindset. It might sound weird, but predators are “normal”. Meaning, it’s just their nature and as long as you are aware of this, you’ll see all people for what they are, most good, and some, predatory.

Having all this knowledge is great, but what to do in the event of a dangerous situation? In the posts Self- Defense Options You Might Not Know About and Why You Should Take a Woman’s Self-Defense Class we’ll get down and dirty and discuss the actual techniques devised to take a bad guy out of the picture if you are backed into a corner.

The post Secret Self-Defense Weapons You Might Not Know About is one of my favorites. Sure you can use a cane for self defense and you probably know bashing someone over the head with a flashlight is an option. But did you know a magazine can be used for self defense? How about an iPhone headset? This post will teach you all about improvised weaponry and what your options are should you need a self defense tool to debilitate someone.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.

Anti-Phishing & Scam Protection

/0 Comments/in /by

Unless you have been living in a cave in Montana, then you definitely know that information security in our government agencies and Corporations across the world is failing. With data breaches at epidemic proportions it’s no wonder why officers of companies are being fired left and right because of poor security practices. Phishing often tops the list of why companies get hacked.

PT Barnum once said that ‘there is a sucker born every minute’, but I’m not sure if he is correct. I think there is a sucker in all of us (you and me, no offense!), meaning we are all susceptible to being scammed. This post “Confidence Crimes: Be Aware and Stay Safe” is the best way for you to recognize your vulnerabilities and how to maintain a higher level of scam awareness.

On that note, you definitely want to determine is your employees are the problem and this post “Are Your Employees Putting Your Company at Risk?” will set them straight.

While hardware and software are designed to protect a network, an axiom in the security industry is “corporate networks are like candy bars, they are hard on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside”. That means your employees are the path of least resistance for criminals to access your data. These two posts “10 Surefire Staff Security Awareness Techniques” and “Is Your Small Business Staff Trained in Security Awareness?” will help your organization jumpstart its security awareness initiatives.

Often the most successful way criminals penetrate an organization is through the scam called Phishing. A phishing email may look like it’s coming from a government agency, business, or any organization that you know, like and trust. The most successful scam is when it seems like it’s coming from a co-worker. This post “The Phishing Trip You Should Probably Skip” will enlighten you to how phishing works.

Security awareness training goes beyond knowing what to click and what not to click, and being aware of phishing emails. But there’s also a huge problem with employees bringing their own devices to work. This post “Mobile Phone Numbers Are as Sensitive as Your Social Security Number” might scare the heck out of you, but sometimes being a little freaked out is a good thing.

Home Security Advice

/0 Comments/in /by

It is my firm belief that if you don’t have a home security system then you are basically in denial that these things can’t happen to you. The fact of the matter is at 3 a.m. if somebody breaks into your house, it’s not going to matter if you have a gun or even a dog, because that bad guy has a significant advantage over your sleeping self.

We’ve created a number of blog posts to prepare you and your home from creditors. I would definitely start off with “10 Huge Home Security Mistakes” To get you into the right mindset and so you can see what you might be doing wrong.

Once you recognize what you are doing wrong then you can determine best practices and what you should be doing right. This post “Take the Extra Step: 12 Ways to Protect Your Home from Burglars” also discusses door reinforcement which is one of the most underappreciated aspects of Home Security.

Home security is more than just keeping the bad guys out, it’s also making sure that your family is safe in and around the house from household hazards. This post “15 Tips to Ensure the Safety and Security of Your Home” accomplishes that.

Heck, while we are at it lets just add up another 40 home security tips including tips on “door reinforcement” technology with the post 40 Practical Tips to Keep Your Home Safe and Secure.

And it seems every year around the holidays we hear about homes being burglarized, Christmas presents being stolen, and packages swiped by criminals. “15 Tips to Keep Your Home Safe During the Holidays” will help you protect your family and your home from criminals.

And finally, probably the most comprehensive post on this site in regards to home security is “45 Home Security Tips That Help to Keep Burglars Away”. I’ll be you didn’t even know there were 45 anything you could do in regards to Home Security so make sure you have all of these systems in place.

How to Protect Your Digital Identity Now and Save $10000s

/0 Comments/in /by

In this world nothing can be said to be certain except for death, taxes, and now your information being stolen in a data breach. With more than 6 billion records compromised in the past two years your identity or company data is probably in the hands of a criminal. But there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself and your organization.

To begin, start with the basics so you understand the fundamentals. I suggest reading “5 Digital Security Tips That You Should Always Beware Of” to get up to speed and make sure you have systems in place to protect your data.

The worst thing consumers and employees do to make themselves and their companies vulnerable is they use the same weak password across multiple accounts. To protect the data in which you are entrusted with, it is best to use strong passwords and never use the same password twice. But the only effective way to accomplish this is by using a Password Manager. Read “Use a Password Manager Or You WILL Get Hacked” and your password woes will be over.

But even if you use a password manager you still need stronger login credentials and that’s where two factor authentication or two step verification comes in. This comprehensive post “Protecting Yourself from a Data Breach Requires Two Step Authentication” is everything you need to know to lock down access credentials on the top critical sites.

But that’s not all! There may be signs your device is infected and this post “Top 10 Signs of a Malware Infection on Your Computer” will help you protect yourself and help clean up any malware mess.

If you are a small business, or just like cool reads then “10 Internet Security Myths that Small Businesses Should Be Aware Of” will help you focus on what’s most important in network security.

If you have a mobile phone, and I know you do, whether you’re in business or not, the “Top 10 Tips for Securing Your Mobile Devices and Sensitive Client Data” is an essential read to protect that little dangerous computer you carry around that may get hacked, lost or stolen.

And finally the most significant overlooked aspects of social media are online reputation management concerns and malicious security vulnerabilities on social sites. This must read “Protect Your Company with This Social Media Security Advice” should be shared with everyone in your organization.

Survival Training and Advice

/0 Comments/in /by

The saying goes if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Most people think they will never need to scrape for food or water and that everything they need or want for basic sustenance is at our fingertips. For the most part, because we live in a civilized society, they are right. But what happens if things go wrong? With the world going crazy, things going wrong is becoming likelier by the minute. For starters read How to survive off the Grid for 2 Weeks to prepare.

What most people don’t realize is that the electric grid is only around 100 years old. That means 100 years ago we were living in the dark, or by lights powered by whale oil. It also means that we were responsible for growing our own food and there wasn’t such a thing as gas powered cars or trucks to deliver that food either. Therefore go to this post Tips to prepare for Power Outage to deal with no electricity.

Today, we are painfully dependent on the electrical grid to deliver food and clean. If a disaster strikes, whether man-made or Mother Nature, and the grid goes down for any period of time, do you have a backup plan? In this post “Creating a “Plan B” for Survival” you will get your head right on what you need to do to prepare.

But there is much more to know. In the post “The Top 7 Things You Need in Your Survival Kit” and “Is Your Bugout Bag Ready to Go?” You’ll begin to understand what the basic necessities are for off the grid survival.

And then there is water. Clean fresh water is taken for granted in most parts of the world. Some, don’t have running water at their disposal. But the reality of it is without electricity, clean water is not an option unless you are prepared. Again, if disaster strikes, do you have clean water? Make sure you read the post “Storing Water for Survival” so you are not literally left high and dry.

There is so much more to be discussed on topic. But knowing how to use a weapon for self-defense and equally as important for survival, is how to use a knife to survive off the grid. Do you carry a knife? We call this EDC or “every day carry” In this post “Do You Know How to Use a Knife for Survival?” you will begin to understand the value of having a blade on you at all times.

Identity Theft Advice

/0 Comments/in /by

Everything you need to know about Identity Theft Protection and prevention.

Protecting your identity really isn’t all that difficult. It begins with understanding how criminals utilize our personal identifying information and how we make our own information useless to a thief. Let’s start by discussing Identity Theft Protection and prevention services. One question I’m always asked and a blog you should read is “Do You Really Need Identity Theft Protection or is it a Waste of Money”?

It’s also very important to determine if the service you’re looking at is in fact Identity Theft Protection or is it just some BS service that maybe your bank is offering you that wont protect you, so I compiled a Blog that you should read that clears up any confusion called “The Term Identity Theft Protection is Often a Lie“. Read it.

A lot of people end up on this site as a resource to protect their identity often because they determine their data, especially their Social Security number was stolen in a data breach, so in order to assist those people I’ve compiled a Blog titled “Your Social Security Card Gets Stolen, Now What” is a good read with a ton of hits.

Many of you are the Chief Information Officers in your family and are responsible for protecting both your parents and your children from Identity Theft so I’ve compiled two very comprehensive blogs one titled “Freezing Your Child’s Credit, What You Need to Know” which is a great resource to protect your kids identities and another that is clicked on quite a bit called “Protecting Your Parents From Identity Theft. These are both great checklist I suggest you forward and share them on social with all of your friends and family.

Don’t forget about your parents too. You may have, and still might go to your parents for advice. But, depending on their age, identity theft is one of those issues where you need to advise and even take control.  The post Protecting Your Parents from Identity Theft hits the nail on the head, especially if they are on social media.

Speaking of social, too many of you are making a ton of mistakes on social media and getting yourself, your families, your businesses, and your employer in trouble. If you don’t read this blog chances are you’re going to get yourself or someone else in trouble. I suggest reading “The 14 Social Media Disasters Ready to Strike”and posting that to your timeline.

And finally, this post following is a big deal. In the security industry we discussed “layers of protection”, the more layers you have, the more secure you’re going to be. As far as protecting your identity, identity theft protection services are a must, but in addition to that I strongly suggest enabling a credit freeze for you, your kids, your parents, and anyone else you are responsible for.  The post I recommend you read is titled “Get a Credit Freeze Now Before It’s Too Late”, will tighten your identity up nice,  it’s easy just do it!