Do not let ransomware authors win.
Ransomware is all over the news. A few months back, the Wannacry ransomware knocked out England's hospitals' computer networks. Staff told patients if they did not have an emergency, go home. Administrators there ended up giving the ransomware authors 300 Bitcoin dollars to reveal an ... Read More
You do not need 2FA (2-factor authentication).
2FA (2-factor authentication) helps improve your security and reduces your chance of becoming an identity theft victim. I have already written here why you should deploy 2FA. In this post, I shall play the Devil's Advocate. Don't do it.
What happens if you don't do ... Read More
April 14, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
2FA (2-factor authentication helps) protect your identity.
You should deploy 2FA (2-factor authentication). This increases your security and reduces your chances of becoming an identity theft victim. Most services encourage 2FA and let you deploy it at no additional cost. I shall use Gmail in my example here.
How it looks in ... Read More
April 13, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
You do not need 2-factor authentication.
2-factor authentication helps improve your security and reduces your chance of becoming an identity theft victim. I have already written here why you should deploy 2-factor authentication. In this post, I shall play the Devil's Advocate. Don't do it.
What happens if you don't do it?
Allen ... Read More
April 13, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
2-factor authentication helps protect your identity.
You should deploy 2-factor authentication. This increases your security and reduces your chances of becoming an identity theft victim. Most services encourage 2-factor authentication and let you deploy it at no additional cost.
How it looks in real life.
Daphne runs a dental office in Folsom, CA. ... Read More
April 12, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
2-factor authentication increases your security.
You should use 2-factor authentication starting now. This is a mechanism, which is usually free, that increases your network security. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Simple_2FA, 2-factor authentication is "...a way of adding additional security on your account. The first "factor" is your usual password that is standard for ... Read More
April 12, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
Ransomware could become a nonissue at a Folsom dental office.
Daphne runs a dental office in Folsom. She gets scared every time she learns of ransomware, spyware and malware. "They're all challenging me and my ability to protect our client data. We're not the only dentist office in Folsom," she complains. ... Read More
April 11, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
What Traffic Ticket Phishing looks like.
Although this happened in New York, this phishing attack could very easily happen in any state. Online reporter Doug Olenick at SC Media revealed a press release from the NY State Department of Motor Vehicles warning about a phishing scam. The phishing scam targets New ... Read More
April 11, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos
Ransomware could become a nonissue.
We survived last month's WannaCry Ransomware attack. WannaCry struck folks who avoided the most recent Microsoft security updates. They also previously clicked a phishing link. WannaCry encrypted files and demanded $300US in BitCoin to make them readable. Proactive users avoided this nonsense.
Avoiding WannaCry.
WannaCry struck none of my ... Read More
April 10, 2025Mark Anthony Germanos