While this week introduced security concerns, it also brought forward several great ways to help get your own digital life secure and under control. Looking to past and present, here are our best guides to help you enhance your security.Get Your Password, Online Account, and Gadget Security Under Control
We've written a lot on security. Here's a large selection of our guides, tips, and tricks to help keep you safe.
- How to Stay Secure Online - If you want an all-around comprehensive guide to your personal online security, this is it. While you can never protect yourself 100%, these are our best recommendations to keep you as protected as possible while also, conveniently, requiring minimal effort.
- How I'd Hack Your Weak Passwords - To really understand password security, you need to approach it from the standpoint of how a hacker would try and crack your password. Here's a look at how one security expert would try to crack your passwords if he were invited to do so.
- http://lifehacker.com/5712907/use-lastpass-to-audit-and-update-your-passwords - If you want to check and see if your passwords are sufficiently strong, here's how to audit them, organize them, and update their strength if necessary.
- How to Wipe Out Spam Email in Your Inbox - When your email address gets compromised, the first to take advantage of it are spammers. This guide will help you fight back against a recent onslaught of unwanted email.
- Help Us De-Spam Your Email Inbox - Blocking and deleting spam is helpful, but getting rid of the spammers is the only way to stop that problem. If you're being spammed with tons of email, there are legal ways to fight it.
- How to Track and (Potentially) Recover Your Stolen Laptop or Android with Prey- In the unfortunate event your laptop or smartphone is stolen, Prey can help you make a full recovery by tracking it down. It's a free piece of software and can bring a happy ending to an unfortunate theft.
- Vanilla Whitelists Your Cookies in Google Chrome - We love Chrome, but it's a browser that is notorious for saving loads and loads of cookies. Vanilla is a Chrome extension that'll let you whitelist the cookies so you only accept the tracking you want.
- Black Hole Clears Out Sensitive Information on Your Mac with Ease - If you have sensitive information on your Mac that you want to clear out, Black Hole is a free utility that can help you do it.
- BlackSheep Alerts You When Networking-Sniffing Tool Firesheep Is After Your Passwords - FireSheep brought on a lot of panic for users of public Wi-Fi. If you want to help prevent your passwords from being stolen by FireSheep uses, BlackSheep can help you out.
- How to Break into a Mac (And Prevent It from Happening to You) - Despite the lack of active viruses, Macs are vulnerable too. Learn how to break into one so you can prevent it from happening to you.
- How to Break into a Windows PC (And Prevent It from Happening to You) - Macs aren't alone in their vulnerability. Windows PCs can be easily hacked as well. Understand the weaknesses of your Windows system and how to hack it so you can protect yourself.
- Best File Encryption Tool: TrueCrypt - The best way to secure your files is to encrypt them, and TrueCrypt is the Hive Five winner for best encryption tool. If you'd like to see the other options, check out the top five contenders.
- How Can I Tell If an Android App Is Malware? - Android is an open platform, and with freedom comes a little added danger. Learn how to detect a malware app in the Android Marketplace and avoid causing any trouble on your smartphone.
- Invade Your Own Privacy to Keep Your Private Information Secure - Your information is only as private as you make it, but sometimes it's hard to tell what's out there. If you invade your own privacy, however, you can quickly figure out how easily someone can find out a whole lot about you.
Protect Your Finances and Purchases
- Brush Up on Your Online Scam Knowledge for Safe Holiday Shopping - Although the holiday shopping season is coming to a close, we've still got some time before year ends. Make sure you know the common online scams to avoid any trouble when shopping on the web.
- Use Temporary Credit Card Numbers to Avoid Repeat Billing - Temporary credit card numbers are a great way to help prevent credit card fraud and prevent automatic re-billing you may forget to cancel. You simply generate a number that you use once and it expires after the charge has been made. If anyone else comes across the number, it'll be completely useless.
Of course, the only real way to have true online privacy and safety is to just disappear forever, but chances are you're better off staying educated on security and making your best effort to protect yourself.
