The Internet of Vulnerable Things

from here

I think I've heard this advice somewhere before, but I can't place it. It bears repeating though, because whether it's a toaster or a power plant, the last thing we need are more vulnerable systems connected to the Internet and being hijacked and used for malicious ends.

Cybercriminals hate this one weird trick

from here

If you care about getting the most for your money, this approach can save you from a lot more than just ransomware. Natural disasters, hardware failure, accidental deletion, etc. -

You don't know where it's been

from here

Seemingly nothing bad happened in this particular instance, but you never know - there might have been malware.

Seems like an awful lot of effort

from here

Imagine having the know-how to pull off this kind of caper but not the wisdom to realize that that the more you do it the more chances there are of getting caught. Getting caught was inevitable at the rate this kid was going.

How I benefit from your privacy

from here

Your privacy is good for you and for me, and I would very much like it if your confidential info didn't intrude into my life.

The first rule of ransomware

from here

One way or another there's a pretty good chance you're going to have to pay eventually. At least with backups it covers a bunch of other scenarios that you can't use bitcoins for. Also, it doesn't pay for the next round of attacks.

Minimize data breaches with this one weird trick

from here

Seems like a pretty good catch phrase, actually. Repeat it enough around your decision-makers and maybe they'll actually scale back their plans to gather all the data.

So much for that secret

from here

I think it's fair to say that some things shouldn't be secret, and this is one of those things. If a secret is supposed to remain secret, don't just avoid telling people, avoid writing it down or recording it or otherwise putting it on something you don't have total control over 24h a day.

Watch Each Other's Back When It Comes To Augmented Reality

from here

Now that we have a wildly popular augmented reality game, the risks posed by augmented reality are starting to make themselves known. People are wandering into places they shouldn't, and some of them are getting hurt or worse. While the game may augment reality, either the tiny screen is acting as blinders to everything off the screen or virtual reality games (such as 1st person shooters) have trained us to ignore threats when gaming because we can always start over.

Either way, having someone around who isn't playing when you are has the benefit that they aren't in that world and they can warn you or pull you back from walking into a dangerous situation.

Encrypt Early, Encrypt Often

from here

We often hear the advice that we should use encryption more, but why? Well, maybe you can think of reasons why you'd want to conceal things from criminals, or your parents, or your spouse, or even your annoying little brother or sister. Surely you can think of something you want to keep away from the nosy people in your life.

It's Often The Only Way To Resurrect Your Files

from here

I hope you took the opportunity this Easter to figure out how to bring your (and your loved ones') files back in case they get lost, deleted, corrupted, or encrypted by malware.

And don't tell me it's too soon to exploit the resurrection of Jesus Christ to promote good computer hygiene - it's been 2,000 years (give or take).

How Smart Is It?

from here

It's time people start questioning how smart 'smart' devices really are.

Or Anywhere Else Someone Might See

from here

Are your passwords stuck to things? That's bad password hygiene.

Beat Most Email Phishers With This One Weird Trick

from here

Yes, I'm using a click-bait tactic to promote an anti-phishing technique.

One Of Those Times You Don't Want To Hear "Oops!"

tweeted by George V. Hulme

Thanks to George V. Hulme for sharing this sage advice about diplomatic relations and hacking. It's rare for the target of blame to be understanding enough to offer you a chance at a do-over if you screw up. Amazingly, North Korea has done just that.

What, Like An Actual Camera?

from here

Doing a little double duty here, offering a bit of advice and proposing a new catch phrase:

The problem with smartphones is they're smart enough to betray you

Hopefully people take them both to heart, but definitely the part about being more wary of smartphones.