PHONE AND COMPUTER SECURITY CAN SAVE
YOUR LIFE
By Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© August 2018, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc.
All
information in this article is only the opinion of the author and is for
educational purposes only. It is
not for the diagnosis, prescription, treatment or cure of any disease or health
condition.
A terrible and mostly hidden problem today is the lack of privacy and the stealing of information and photos that occurs through computers and phones.
With this information, criminals can track your every move and every purchase. This can and is used for stealing, stalking, and raping. This article discusses how to stay safe. You wonÕt like parts of it, such as the first part about getting rid of your cell phone.
PHONES
All cell phones are a bad idea. All of the newer ones track you day and night, even when they are off. Most people also have on them phone numbers, friendsÕ names, passwords, bank account numbers and other sensitive information that is easy to hack.
Besides this, they all give off microwave radiation that is bad for the brain and body. Smart phones are the worst because they are larger, do more things, and so they are used more than a simple telephone!
What to do. The best answer is donÕt have a cell phone. DonÕt train your child that he or she must have one. So you miss some calls because you are in your car or not at home. It is much better. You spare yourself the radiation and the possible horrors of identity theft and worse.
If you must have a cell phone, use it only for emergencies, leave it off most of the time, and remove the battery when not using it. This is the only way to secure the phone. The battery charge will last much longer this way because the phone wonÕt be tracking you day and night.
COMPUTERS
Millions of computers are compromised today. The goal of the hackers is to have them all rigged so they can be penetrated easily.
NEVER give out sensitive information such as passwords to anyone who calls you on the telephone or if a message comes up on your screen saying your computer has been compromised and Òwe will fix itÓ.
NEVER let anyone you donÕt know well share or control your computer screen or the entire computer. This is one of their tricks in order to gain access. Anything even slightly suspicious needs to be reported to the police immediately.
Hackers will test you to see how gullible or stupid you are about giving them information and hooking into your computer. If you are contacted by someone and it is even slightly suspicious, keep the person on the phone by asking a lot of questions. Often, the person will eventually hang up because they donÕt like questions.
If you think your computer has been attacked, the best and often the only thing you can do is to wipe the hard drive perfectly clean and reload the programs manually and put back a copy of your data made before the incident. This is often not that difficult to do.
Keep your computer clean – remove all programs and data you no longer need.
Email. NEVER open attachments if you donÕt know who sent them. DonÕt even open emails from those you donÕt know. Ideally, do not open any attachments at all unless absolutely necessary.
Apple equipment is safer than Windows equipment, but both are subject to hacking of many kinds. Here are some rules:
Turn off your internet connection when you are not using the computer, even if you turn off the computer. It does not matter. They can get in with the machine shut off.
A wired internet connection is safer than wifi. A slower internet connection is actually safer. That way it takes hackers longer to download your private information.
Cover up the camera on your computer by taping a small piece of paper over it. Otherwise, hackers can snap pictures of you and your surroundings at any time.
Ideally, do not keep any photos on your computer. They can and are used against you by hackers who want to see if you are worth raping or at least framing or stalking.
Do not keep passwords on the computer.
Do not put any sensitive information on the computer unless absolutely needed. This includes bank information, drivers license numbers, social security numbers, phone numbers of anyone, addresses, photos (see below), financial information of any kind, investment information, and more.
Do the least you can do online. Write checks instead of paying bills online. Bank at a real bank instead of online. Shop at stores, if possible, rather than doing everything online (see shopping below).
Browsers. AVOID Firefox and Google Chrome. These are among the least private. Safari for the Mac computer is good.
Passwords. Have as few of these as you can. This means no online banking and other optional online services. Make your passwords secure and do not use the same password or a similar one for everything.
Keep your passwords in a small notebook, and not in an electronic password device. These are easier to hack and lose.
For anything sensitive such as finances, main shopping sites and Paypal, change passwords about every 3 to 6 months. This simple measure can stop a lot of problems.
Dropbox and clouds. Do not use Dropbox (no privacy) and do not use any cloud services, as these are all questionable, even those that claim to be the most secure.
Paypal. Certain websites are filth. Among these are Paypal. Paypal is very convenient and you can use it, but do not take credit cards, as that requires giving them a lot more information. Also, we donÕt suggest tying bank accounts to the Paypal account, although it is convenient.
Google. We suggest deleting your entire Google account. They read and analyze everything you do and everywhere you visit, and then they sell the data to the highest bidder without consulting you or asking for permission. This is illegal and must be stopped. It is basically stealing.
Finally, if your computer is hacked, immediately cancel your credit cards and change all sensitive passwords at once. Credit card companies are used to hacking and stealing and the cards will be replaced quickly.
SHOPPING ONLINE
Credit cards are safer than debit cards because there are more resources available if your card is stolen and hacked.
Fewer credit cards is definitely best. They are easy to hack. If you have them, do not have more than one or two credit or debit cards. If you have a business, have one for business and one for personal use, and that is all. More just invites trouble.
Preferably, shop at just a few places. There is less chance of picking up malware, viruses and more this way. Amazon.com is not too bad in this regard.