It's The Simple Things In Life

Today's public service message is about passwords.  It's easy to become lazy with technology.  I hear people every day say they are not worried about security.  Passwords take too long, and they don't have anything on their computer anyway, right?  What some fail to see is that it isn't what they would do, but what others might do.  Today's Sucker Of The Day Award goes to a man who woke up to angry cops and accusations of downloading child porn.  I'll skim past the terrible policing here and get to the point: a new wireless router had been difficult, so the unsuspecting man just left it unsecured.  Somebody noticed and used that connection to download child porn, and led to the uncomfortable discussion with law enforcement. His guilt or innocence is irrelevant to my point, which is how easily  exploitable the uneducated are when it comes to computer security.  The myth that antivirus companies sell is that your computer can be locked up tight, where a super hacker ninja pirate genius can work all day to get to your hotmail and never get a foot in the door.  The reality is it just take a doofus who doesn't understand how basic security works to fall prey to criminals and put themselves and everyone in their address book on the criminal radar. Your personal and professional information is only as safe as the dumbest or most computer illiterate person you know.  Think about that for a minute.

Data services on mobile phones are common now, the exception that became the rule.  Tethering cell phones to provide convenient and portable Internet access to laptops is on the rise, which means a double-whammy score for those who know to look.  You can bet this will be a growing problem while  we are move into the still-blooming Internet age, and life without Facebook and Google quickly becomes unimaginable.  This is a goldmine of data from which criminals can discover where you live, where you work, your agenda, and for those who check the "remember me" box, even your bank and credit card info.  No antivirus or security software can replace good old common sense (like using a good password or even a lame one) because it doesn't take a genius or ninja to walk in through an open door.  As we put more and more of ourselves online and on thumb drives, this is a problem with some hefty consequences.  This message was brought to you by the letters B and Z.