This is meant to be humorous blog about internet tips and why some advice is just bad. Just a bit of fun for April’s Fool.
1) Go to a public internet access point to surf the internet for a long time. Free wi-fi !
Bad idea – Public internet cafes are common places for various types of theft.
- Physical theft of devices
- Spoofing the access point to listen in on your traffic
- Malicious payloads can be added via sponsored adverts
- Shoulder surfing risk is greater
2) Do not put a password on your home wi-fi so that your friends can connect to the internet easily
Bad idea – so can your neighbours and malicious people. They can use your access point to surf nefarious websites and hammer it for downloads which all affect your speed and bandwidth limits.
3) One password to remember – use something easy like your name
Bad idea – Too easy to guess. and generally very easy to break as well because all words from the dictionary are already cracked. using the same password everywhere means that should you have a leak of your details, a criminal can gain access to everything you have ever logged in to.
4) Store your passwords in a notebook called passwords so you never forget another login
Bad idea – If someone opens your notebook , they can then log in on your computer with your credentials.
5) Antivirus, anti-malware tools and firewalls all slow down your computer, besides, you’ve never had a problem
Bad idea – all because you think you’ve never had a problem, does not mean that you have never been hit
6) Patching computers and installing updates gets in the way, takes too long and fills up your computer. Your computer works fine without them.
Bad idea – the hackers and malware writers can easily gain access to older versions of home systems, they have specific tools written to exploit these older out of date systems.
7) Leave your home computer on at home connected to the internet, that way you can just turn on the screen and have immediate access to the internet
Bad idea – if you are hacked, you won’t know about it till you get home and by then someone could have taken everything!
8) Downloading illegal content is fine, who cares about little old me !
Bad idea – it’s illegal.
9) Never clear your history – that way you can always find your old websites you have browsed
Bad idea – using tools a criminal can see everything you have done on your computer.
10) Auto-save passwords – that way your computer can auto-log in to all websites. How convenient is that, no more remembering passwords
Bad idea – anyone using your computer will also auto-login to sites with your details also, a criminal who may have been able to obtain remote access to your computer will also have all your passwords.
11) If they want to send you £20million from a relative you didn’t know from a foreign country you’ve never been to, what is £3000 in the grand scheme of things compared!!
Bad Idea – it’s a scam, congratulations, you’ve just lost £3000
Have some fun people and feel free to contact me on Twitter at @SPCoulson to add your own !
