StopSign Internet Security Blog

As wireless devices become more common, keeping your wireless (AKA WiFi) network at home secure is increasingly important to many people. And while a lot of people keep their WiFi open, we feel it’s erring on the side of caution to go ahead and lock down your wireless network at home.

Looking at 2 opposite sides of the wireless security spectrum, you have well-known security expert Bruce Schneier who allows his home WiFi network to be open and unsecure, which sounds all well and good. But then you read stories about neighbors and/or strangers using your “wireless network for criminal activities” like downloading child porn, and it makes you think twice about keeping an unsecure network.

Here are a few tips you can use to help keep your wireless network secure:

• Change the username & password on your wireless router:

  Keeping the default factory settings of any device opens you up to hackers who keep track of these things and share them among each other. And creating a good, secure password is a quick and easy way to alleviate the risk of easily hacked WiFi gateways.

• Use wireless network encryption:

  Wireless routers in recent years all have the ability to use the WiFi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) protocol. Break out the instruction manual or do a Google search for your router, and figure out how to set up WPA. Older WiFi routers may have WEP, or Wired Equivalent Privacy, but it has some security holes that make it vulnerable to attack and isn’t recommended. If your wireless router doesn’t support WPA/WPA2, then we suggest you get a new one.

• Update your Internet security software:

  Whether you use StopSign or another product, make sure that you keep it updated. Most antivirus/anti-spyware packages have a mechanism to auto-update itself. Turn that on so you’re always sure to get the latest updates. Keeping your Internet security software updated can help prevent any problems if/when an attacker breaks into your WiFi network and starts to poke around.

• Change the Service Set Identifier:

  Also known as the SSID, this also come with a default name that tips hackers off when they see it. Most people who aren’t computer savvy leave the default, and that can indicate to a hacker that there may be other easily found vulnerabilities with a particular network. Change the SSID to hedge your bets against the hackers.

• Remove the ability to log in remotely:

  Most wireless routers come with remote log in turned to off by default, but don’t take a chance. Be sure it’s off, and leave it off.

• Enable MAC address filtering:

  Not to be confused with Macintosh computers, a MAC address is a unique code on all wireless network cards. MAC address filtering tells your router to only allow devices with a known MAC address to connect to your WiFi.

It may seem like a lot to do, but today’s wireless router manufacturers know the dangers associated with an open WiFi network, and most work hard to make changing these things easy on you. Changing defaults, making secure passwords, and keeping updated Internet security software will to a long way in making your home wireless network secure!

Friday, January 28th, 2011 is World Data Privacy Day. With a New Year comes a new time to stop and think about how data privacy affects you and your family. Whether you’re accessing information online by a mobile device, social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook, or if you’re using other online services, information you type in, request, or log in with is being captured and acted upon by others.

As a Digital Citizen, it’s up to you to watch the watchers… to ensure that your data is being handled properly by the sites and services you choose to use. As such, you should educate yourself on how sites are tracking your information, storing your data, or processing your logins. If you don’t, who will?

For more information about data privacy, you can visit our blog posts tagged with “Privacy“, or the Washington State Attorney General’s page on Internet safety. Feel free to also check out the StopSign privacy policy for details on how we deal with privacy issues. You can also leave a comment below with any questions if you like.

A New Year brings in a lot of new things to everyone… New hopes. New dreams. And yes, sometimes it brings in some new bad things, too. Such is life. But while we can’t help make your favorite sports teams win, and we can’t do anything about that crazy co-worker in the cubicle next to you, but we can give you some tips on how to stay safe online in 2011.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Internet privacy concerns, identity theft, malware distribution, cyber attacks, and a host of other technology-related problems are only going to rise and morph over the course of the year. (They always seem to, don’t they?!) Keep yourself, your family, your information, and your money safe by following the tips below:

• Change your passwords:

  Yep. All of ‘em. I know I mentioned it last year, but if you didn’t change your passwords then, you really should change your passwords right now. The safety and security of the information on your PC is literally a password away from being grabbed and abused by unscrupulous characters on the web.

• Patch it up:

  You’ve got a computer. You’ve got software. And you’ve probably got patches you can apply to them all. Unpatched machines and software leave holes open that hackers can take advantage of, so patch your PC today. Doing so will not only keep your machine secure, it might make a program or two a bit more peppy or give it a few more features.

• Desocialize your network:

  Look, I love Twitter, Facebook, an LinkedIn just as much as the next guy or gal, but every now an again you should review and do a little housekeeping on your social networking profiles. Think about it: Do you really need Jake, formerly of accounting, on your friend list now that he’s gone and you only added him because he was a co-worker in the first place? I didn’t think so.

• Geolocation in moderation:

  Our blog post “Stranger Danger: Geolocation Features and Internet Safety” still stands, in my personal opinion, as one of the most important blog articles written in 2010 from both a personal safety and Internet safety standpoint. If you haven’t seen it, please read our article on geolocation safety tips now, especially if you’re using any of the location-aware features of Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, or any other service or device.

I sincerely hope these tips help you stay protected. Happy New Year, and I hope you have the best of luck with all of your Internet privacy and Internet security concerns in 2011.

If you’ve ever been hit with a computer virus, you know that the actual act of the virus removal isn’t always the easiest part of the process. In fact, it can be the longest, most time-consuming portion of dealing with the removal of an infection, depending on your security software and the nature of the malware that takes up residence in your PC.

Any decent antivirus product will clean you out pretty well, but every now and again a particularly nasty infection rears it’s ugly head and there are leftovers that, at best, clutter up your PC and at worst re-infect your computer. It’s enough to make your head explode.

Why Virus Removal is Important

That’s why the actual virus removal is such an integral part of the antivirus process. Making sure that the threat is identified is only one aspect; an entirely different, and equally important, part is cleanly, efficiently, and quickly removing all traces of the infection. The last thing you want happening is to have any remaining bits of malware cluttering up your computer once its been removed.

The StopSign Difference

At StopSign we pride ourselves on making sure that we not only find the infections, but that we clean and remove the viruses and other infections from your PC as well as possible. StopSign makes virus removal easy with 3 simple steps that anyone, and I mean anyone can follow:

1. Install StopSign:

   Download the StopSign threat scanner and install it on your computer.

2. Run StopSign:

   Once installed, run StopSign. At the end of your scan you’ll get a set of Scan Results that will tell you if any viruses or other infections were found. If you need help getting up and running you can check out our online StopSign help files or contact the StopSign support staff.

3. Check Your Results:

   Review your Scan Results and see if you have any issues. If nothing was found, great; you’ve got a clean computer. But if something was found and you’re a StopSign member, it was most likely taken care of automatically, and if it wasn’t, then removal of the infection is a simple matter of clicking a button requesting a Custom Cure™ which is a free service for active StopSign members where we remove persistent and/or “zero day” infections at no additional charge. Most other Internet security companies charge $80 or more per incident to remove those infections.

   If you’re not a StopSign member, visit our shopping cart and choose the best option for you. You’ll not only get all updates for free during the course of your active membership, but you’ll also be eligible for free Custom Cures any time you need them.

Find out why you should skip the status quo and give StopSign a try. We’re different, and that difference makes us better.

It’s a well known fact that downloading certain kinds of material is more dangerous than others. Outside of any possible moral, philosophical, or comfort factors, there are security reasons that make the PG-13 (and higher) side of the Internet a hotbed of potential problems for your PC.

But adult sites aren’t the only ones that get targeted. Celebrity/gossip sites, thumbnail/graphic sites, video sharing sites, and even Harry Potter related sites are all targets; often without the knowledge of the site owner.

Once installed on your machine, spyware and Trojans can track your every move. Any link you click, site you visit, or text you read. There have even been cases of spyware creators blackmailing victims they’ve been spying on in an attempt to get cash from them.

Titillating, popular, and/or well-trafficked content on the Internet is big business, and the malware developers of the world know it. Because it’s content that get a lot of eyes looking and clicks happening, the malware folks take advantage of that fact and spread their wares on sites that cater to looky-loo’s. As such, every bikini-wearing beauty, her less-clothed sisters, and other video/picture/movie websites are a possible suspect for computer infection.

So before you head to that site, click that video, or download that picture, think about what you (or rather, your PC) could catch if you do.