Communications and Security

Defend thyself, knave!

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With the current climate of information theft, transparency wars, and a war on rights versus monitoring, we really need to protect ourselves on the Internet.

This includes cloud networking, cellular information, and other wireless devices which can make us vulnerable to predation and inethical policies out there in the web world.

Communications security is important, and to address it intelligently is no simple task. There are guidelines to go by however:

• Separate your public and private self, putting only what you want to be freely accessed out there.
• Question before checking or sending emails, is this an address I identify with, and is it completely correct in spelling.
• Use a firewall, whether software, or hardware. Configure it on the strong side, and add permissions as needed in order to get the things done you need to. Erring on the side of safety is a good start.
• Turn off location services for photos so that your photos can't be traced to where you are, and minimize you and your friends'/kids'/etc's traceability.
• Keep your information -yours-. Don't allow people to use your accounts for their purposes. Instead, set up guest profiles or alternate accounts to lend out as needed whether it be chat, forums such as Facebook, or other web-based services. Also, never give out passwords.
• Email and chat are not very secure when it comes to sharing information such as passwords, identification, or authorizations. Be a bit paranoid when exchanging these. It is much better than gritting your teeth through reimbursement policies or even litigation regarding information theft.
• Use trusted sites and services. Do your homework first if you have doubts. The better business bureau and security sites can save a lot of grief in the long run.
• Use secure settings for public browsing and network protocols should be set to a more secure setting than when at home. This includes cellphones and other mobile devices.
• Facebook, G+, Reddit, and other social media networks can be fun, but they can also be used against you. This restates protecting yourself and separating public from personal profiles, but the idea is imperative to maintaining security for your information and reputation.
• A lot of people save passwords on their browsers and through third party add-ons. This is fine as long as you have and use a lock for the machine so you can log off when not around.

The bottom line, is that just like driving, you have to be smart about it in order to protect yourself and the people that depend on you. Your information is worth a lot, even if it is just email addresses. These can be sold to telemarketers, or stolen by hackers, who if they find a way to access them, can get passwords for your services, and sites including online banking. Not good. Bot good at all! So be safe, smart and do stuff so that people don't do stuff to you.

Bonus! More Snazz on COMSEC. (CLICK ME!)

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