Protect Your Computer and Yourself

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are a necessary addition to protecting your computer (and other electronics) from both power spikes and power drops or brownout conditions. UPSs are a combination of a battery and a surge protector, with some of the outlets just providing surge protection and the remaining ones designed to provide battery power. The sizing, and thus the cost, depends on how many devices need power and for how long. I suggest that you look at powering the computer and monitor, maybe your modem/router and other networking equipment if you really need a few more minutes of internet, but not your printers and other accessories. Figure the minimum time needed as how long you would take to save files and turn off your computer. If you have multiple computers, have multiple UPSs, and don’t use extension cords off the UPS—it voids any warranty or damage protection offered by the unit’s manufacturer.

If you have a Google account and use Chrome, you should check into their Password Checkup tool to make sure you are using strong and secure passwords. It will also look for your email address in known data breaches and tell you if you are using the same password across different sites. And it will help generate unique and secure passwords, so you don’t have to think of them, and then it will store them for you. You will need to turn on sync within Chrome. Firefox has a similar tool called Firefox Monitor.

If you email sensitive data, either personal or for business, you should be aware of the following guidelines: double-check the email addresses you are sending information to; never share passwords; learn phishing, spear phishing, and whaling attacks; call someone when an email from them looks a little off; all work laptops, tablets, and phones should have remote wiping capabilities turned on in case they are stolen or accidentally left somewhere. One online test place to start is phishingquiz.withgoogle.com.

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are a necessary addition to protecting your computer (and other electronics) from both power spikes and power drops or brownout conditions. UPSs are a combination of a battery and a surge protector, with some of the outlets just providing surge protection and the remaining ones designed to provide battery power. The sizing, and thus the cost, depends on how many devices need power and for how long. I suggest that you look at powering the computer and monitor, maybe your modem/router and other networking equipment if you really need a few more minutes of internet, but not your printers and other accessories. Figure the minimum time needed as how long you would take to save files and turn off your computer. If you have multiple computers, have multiple UPSs, and don’t use extension cords off the UPS—it voids any warranty or damage protection offered by the unit’s manufacturer.

If you have a Google account and use Chrome, you should check into their Password Checkup tool to make sure you are using strong and secure passwords. It will also look for your email address in known data breaches and tell you if you are using the same password across different sites. And it will help generate unique and secure passwords, so you don’t have to think of them, and then it will store them for you. You will need to turn on sync within Chrome. Firefox has a similar tool called Firefox Monitor.

If you email sensitive data, either personal or for business, you should be aware of the following guidelines: double-check the email addresses you are sending information to; never share passwords; learn phishing, spear phishing, and whaling attacks; call someone when an email from them looks a little off; all work laptops, tablets, and phones should have remote wiping capabilities turned on in case they are stolen or accidentally left somewhere. One online test place to start is phishingquiz.withgoogle.com.

Two-factor authentication is something that helped a recent client recover email and Apple ID passwords that had been reset through a scam call. Two-factor authentication works by sending a one-time password (usually numbers) to enter as part of logging in on a new device or, more importantly, when you are resetting a password.