Spring arrives on March 20th. Many of us will be doing some sort of spring cleaning around our homes. Have you ever performed spring cleaning on your electronic devices?  If not, now would be a great time to develop a new habit that will make you more secure. The latest issue of the Sans Ouch! Newsletter talks about seven ways to perform a digital spring cleaning. The seven steps it discusses are: accounts, programs, finances, disposing of devices, backups, and social media. If you have any questions after reading the article, please reach out to us. We are here to help!

Crooks often use social engineering to gain personal information from you that then allows them to steal your assets in various ways. The recent Sans Ouch! newsletter goes into detail about what social engineering is, and how not to be a victim. I highly recommend you take time to read this.

I always try to stress the importance of having a backup plan. It’s not a matter of if, but when disaster will happen. Having a backup plan can protect what is most important to you. Some of the hardest conversations I have with a client is explaining there is either no way to recover their data, or it could be recovered if he/she wants to spend hundreds of dollars. Backups can be as simple as just backing up data files like documents, pictures, etc. Imaging backups provide a complete operating system backup. The latest Sans Ouch! Newsletter explains the process of backing up in detail. I highly recommend clicking on this link to read the article. If you don’t have a backup system in place, I highly recommend giving us a call to determine and implement a backup solution ASAP.

Crooks are always looking for ways to steal your hard earned money. Through education, social media, and news outlets the public knows many of the ploys they have been using. Unfortunately, the bad guys are now buying information about you obtained through public records, or security breaches to convince you that you need to send them money. I highly recommend that you read this month’s San Ouch! Newsletter to understand the new threats, and how to best protect yourself against them.

You hear the names Amazon Echo and Google Home more and more these days. These are two of the most popular devices to control equipment in your home via voice command and the Internet. These smart devices all belong to the Internet of Things (I0T). While they provide convenience, they also come with security concerns. Please read the latest Sans Ouch! Newsletter to learn more about this trend, and how to best protect yourself.

You almost hate to hear your phone ring because it’s a 50-50 chance it’s some type of unwanted solicitation, or a scam. As a rule, I don’t answer my personal phone unless I know the caller. If it’s someone with a legitimate reason to call, they will leave a message, and I will call them back. In the latest edition of the Sans Ouch! Newsletter you can learn about the main scams, and how to protect yourself from becoming a victim.

In the June issue of the SANS Ouch! newsletter they explain in clear everyday language what malware is, what it can do to your computer, and the simple things you can do to protect yourself. The two biggest things I tell my clients is backup your personal data (or be prepared to loose it), and use common sense when on the Internet. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated or panicked into doing something you normally wouldn’t if a “Microsoft” pop-up comes up in your browser. When in doubt, give us a call.

Phishing is one of the newer weapons the “bad guys” use to try and trick you into giving them personal information. They use our humanity against us by making us curious, or trying to instill a sense or urgency. Learn more about phishing, and how not to become a victim by reading the latest Sans Ouch! Newsletter. You will be glad you did.

Securing your accounts with a password is a common practice that has been around as long as the Internet itself. Unfortunately, the “bad guys” are stepping up their game in an attempt to access them for nefarious purposes. The latest Sans Ouch! Newsletter goes into detail about choosing more secure passwords, and a growing security “addition” called two-factor authentication (2FA). I highly recommend reading this to better secure your online presence.

It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season will soon be here. Maybe it’s because of my surgery back in July, but it feels like this year has just flown by. With the holiday season comes the desire to buy our loved ones that special gift(s). Many of us now do some or all of our shopping online. The latest Sans Ouch! Newsletter has some great tips on how to ensure your financial security online. Click here for all the details.