The Best Cybersecurity Tips for Working Remotely

It is important to implement a few best practices that will keep Cybercriminals and your computers, devices, and data safe.

By Marco Ayllon 
Nautilus Science and Technology News

Your health isn’t the only thing under threat from the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in remote work presents hackers with plenty of new opportunities to steal your — or your employer’s — sensitive information.

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of more people working from home. Are you looking for ways to keep your computer and information safe and secure while working remotely? Do you own a business and want to help your employees maintain cybersecurity measures while working from home? Either way, you can find helpful advice in the following tips from SMU Chief Security Officer George Finney.

Cybersecurity tips for remote workers

• If you use Wi-Fi at home, confirm your network is set up with the proper security. Ensure your password is hard to guess, and use “WPA2” or “WPA3” security.
• If you’re using your own computer or mobile device (a device not issued by your employer) for remote work, make sure you’ve enabled basic security features. Enabling the password, PIN, fingerprint or facial ID feature will prevent people from accessing your device.
• Take the time to update your computer software. Better yet, enable the option on your device to check for updates and have them installed automatically. Working with outdated software is very risky, as it is a major target for cybercriminals.
• Make sure your computer has an up-to-date antivirus solution installed.
• If possible, don’t store work documents that contain sensitive information on your personal computer. If this isn’t possible, ensure the files are encrypted and password-protected.
• Avoid giving personal information online unless you are very familiar with the website. Hackers may try to get your information by creating fake charities and asking for COVID-19 related donations.
• If you’re seeing unusual or suspicious activity on any device you’re using while working remotely, reach out to your employer to investigate the situation.

Look out for phishing emails and websites

Beware of phishing emails and websites, especially ones pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic and related topics, such as health information, by following the suggestions below:

• Closely scan emails and don’t open attachments unless they’re from a source you know and trust. If you receive an email with an attachment from someone you don’t know, or an email from someone you do know but with an attachment you weren’t expecting, it may be a phishing attempt.
• Pay close attention to the actual email address of senders — fake emails are going around from individuals disguising themselves as high-ranking employees.
• Inspect a link by hovering your mouse over the URL to see where it leads. Keep in mind that phishers can create links that closely resemble legitimate addresses, so you’ll need to do this with a keen eye.
• Beware of online requests for personal information such as your Social Security number or login information. Legitimate government agencies and organizations won’t ask for that information.
• Be leery of generic greetings in emails. Phishing emails are unlikely to use your name; instead, you may see greetings such as “Dear sir or madam.” This is a good sign that the email isn’t legitimate.
• Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency and demand immediate action. Don’t click any links in these emails or respond to them. Just delete them.

Cybersecurity tips for participating in virtual meetings and events

Whenever taking part in a virtual event, you’ll want to secure your physical space, the video/audio interaction and the connection.

• Physical space: Take a look at the background that will be appearing behind you. Ensure there isn’t any private information the webcam can pick up, including books and other items that appear on shelves. Avoid displaying anything that may contain personal or personally identifiable information, such as personal photos or a white board with private company information.
• Video/audio interaction: When you don’t need to interact during a virtual meeting, it’s best to keep your camera off and your microphone muted. When not using meeting software, close the application.
• The connection: If you are hosting a virtual meeting with colleagues or employees, don’t post your meeting links anywhere someone outside of your company can find them, including social media. Only keep your meeting room links between you and your colleagues and employees.

Don’t give cybercriminals a chance to trick you and compromise your confidential data. Follow the above tips and pass them along to your employees to create a safe home office environment that’s protected against hackers.

Resources:

https://smu.app.box.com/v/OIT-Security-Report-2020-04

Windows 10 - Stop Computer From Turning Off, Sleeping, Hibernating After Many or Few Minutes

Windows 10 - Stop Computer From 

Turning Off, Sleeping, Hibernating After Many or Few Minutes

By Marco Ayllon

Nautilus Science and Technology News

Does your Windows 10 PC turn of after 30, 20, 15, 10 or 5 minutes ... or whatever? Does it drive you crazy? Adjust power options, power settings, etc. Access advanced power settings. Stop hard drive from turning off This video shows you how to disable sleep, hibernation, etc. and keep your computer from turning off! Adjust power button settings. Stop automatic shutdown.

MAAB and NSTN 2018

How to Speed Up Windows 10 

10 Easy Procedures:

You can make your PC faster without installing an SSD.                                                                            

by Marco Ayllon

Nautilus Science and Technology News

Windows 10 was released to retail on July 29, 2015, since then we have been using Windows10 for more than 3 years. After continually using this operating system we are annoyed about waiting too long when we turn on to load our O.S. and computers, and we noticed this Windows 10 has begun to lose some of its lusters, there are ways to put a little pep back in its step. Here are some quick, easy ways to improve its performance in the booting process without swapping out any hardware. 

1. Go opaque

Windows 10's new Start menu is sexy and see-through, but that transparency will cost you some (slight) resources. To reclaim those resources, you can disable transparency in the Start menu, taskbar, and action center: Open the Settings menu and go to Personalization > Colors and toggle off Make Start, taskbar, and action center transparent.

Making the Start menu, taskbar, and action center transparent is one thing, but Windows 10 still has a lot of other snazzy, built-in special effects. To really go bare-bones on the special effects, right-click the Start button and click System.

Enlarge Image

Click Advanced system settings to open the System Properties menu. On the Advanced tab under Performance, click Settings...

This will open the Performance Options menu. In the Visual Effects tab, either choose to Adjust for best performance to turn off all unnecessary animations and special effects, or choose Custom: and deselect the visual effects you think can live without. When you're finished, click OK to apply your changes.

3. Disable Startup programs

If your PC is taking a long time to boot up -- and you've enabled Fast Startup and everything -- you may have too many programs starting up when you turn your computer on. To fix this, right-click on the Start button and click Task Manager. Click the Startup tab (click More details if you don't see the Startup tab) and peruse the list of programs that start up with your computer. If you see a program that doesn't need to be there, right-click it and click Disable. You can also arrange the list of programs by Startup impact if you'd like to see the programs that are taking up the most resources (and time).

4. Find (and fix) the problem

Windows 10 has a built-in performance troubleshooter that can help you find and fix any problems that might be affecting your PC's speed. To open the troubleshooter, right-click on the Start button and click Control Panel. Under Security and Maintenance at the top, click Troubleshoot common computer problems. Next, under System and Security, click Run maintenance tasks.

5. Reduce the Boot Menu Time-out

When your computer starts up, the boot menu is displayed for a certain amount of time before the operating system loads. This gives you time to do things like start Windows in Safe Mode. You can shave a few seconds off your startup time by changing the boot menu time-out, which is set to 30 seconds by default.

Enlarge Image

To do this, right-click on the Start button and click Control Panel. Go to System > Advanced system settings, and, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.

Next to Time to display a list of operating systems:, change the value from 30 seconds to 10 seconds and click OK.

6. Turn Off Windows Suggestions:

In an effort to be helpful, Windows 10 will sometimes give you tips on how to get the most out of the OS. It scans your computer in order to do this, a process that can have a slight impact on performance. To turn off these tips, go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications & actions and toggle off Get tips, tricks and suggestions as you use Windows.

7. Run Disk Cleanup

This one's a win-win. It'll improve performance and free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup has been around forever, but this trusted Windows utility can still help clean out the temporary files, installers and other junk littering your hard drive. To run it, just search for Disk Cleanup, run it and click the button labeled Clean up system files. 

8. Eradicate Bloatware

If your PC came with preinstalled apps you don't want or need, get rid of them. Same goes for any apps you installed that you later found to be of little or no use. Right-click the Start menu, choose Control Panel and under the Programs header, click Uninstall a program. Peruse the list from time to time and select the programs you no longer need and click Uninstall at the top of the list.

9. Power plan

Make sure you aren't using a Power saver plan if you don't need to. Even desktops will sometimes feature a power-saver option, which doesn't do you any good unless you are trying to conserve battery life. Open the Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options to see which power plan you are currently using. For better performance, make sure you are using a High Performance or Balanced plan (or a plan from the PC manufacturer that says it's balanced).

10. Restart your PC

Is speeding up your computer as simple as...restarting it? Maybe. Restarting your PC clears out its memory and stops any processes that might be taking up resources. Also, shutting down your computer is not the same as restarting it -- shutdown is affected by Windows 10's Fast Startup, which saves a snapshot of your PC and its processes in a hiper-file for faster boot-up. Restart is not affected by Fast Startup, so if you have Fast Startup enabled, restarting your PC is the only way to fully clear the memory and shutdown processes.

MAAB / NSTN 2018

How to Modify and Disable Ads on Your Windows 10 Lock Screen

by Marco Ayllon

If you’re like me, you might have opened up your Windows 10 laptop today only to see a giant ad for Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider plastered across your login screen. This is the work of the “Windows Spotlight” feature in your Personalization settings, and thankfully, you can turn it off for good.

To remove Windows 10’s lock screen ads, click on your Start menu, and open up the Settings app:

From here, choose the Personalization setting, and then navigate to the Lock Screen tab.

Once this is open, find the field that reads “Windows Spotlight”, and clicks on the box. You can switch this to display either a “Picture” or a “Slideshow”, depending on your personal preference.

This will disable Microsoft from automatically pushing ads to your login screen without your permission.

Lastly, once you’ve selected the new style of the login screen, be sure to un-check the option for “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen”.

This guarantees you won’t have to deal with unexpected sales pitches for Tomb Raider (or any other app, for that matter) the next time you try to log in.

Bonus Tip: If the ads don’t annoy you and you just want to see content that’s more tailored to your interests instead, you can tell Microsoft what’s relevant by clicking the icon in the top-right corner of your lock screen:

Our Internet Access is Under Attack

Net Neutrality II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Our Internet Access is Under Attack

By Marco Ayllon

Nautilus Science and Technology News

November 23, 2017

Who owns, or has influence over, the internet providers? They could have too much influence over what sites and information we have access to. We wouldn't think of not having freedom of the press. Freedom of the Internet should not be limited by bias of Internet providers. This is as important as a free press.

I read on the news the other day about people in our cities have no clue of what is "net neutrality," and the meaning. Had it been called "Free and Open Internet" that was under attack, then people would care and would be contacting their representatives demanding that the internet be left as is without interference.

One of the best arguments I saw is the simple example of everyone, It does not matter who you are, and what you have experienced; we are supposed to trust the companies who can't show up between 10 and 2 with the future of the internet our tax dollars paid to “create”? Those companies who claim a 4G phone connection (that never seems to happen), are going to be in charge. For us as consumers, interference and Internet regulations by those big Internet providers is a serious issue, but we smell a diversion from the tax cut legislation. Both are an attack on us all, we must find common ground to resist the selling of our country for their gain.

I think, Free Internet will allow us a free democratic digital society. With Internet under olies (oligarchy) control and regulations of the Internet access will affect our freedom of information, freedom of money, freedom of delivery, and freedom of choice. Anyone with this much power will only concentrate more power and not decentralize. Don't forget freedom of assembly when people use social media to meet virtually, instead of personally.

Now days’ we pay for the use of the Internet the same as another utility service. Like water and electricity there should be fair access to the Internet and access to it and pricing for service should be regulated. Any attempt to categorize it as anything other than a commodity it would be as an attempt to gouge consumers on price and create an unequal access to businesses and data that is slanted to benefit only the largest corporations. 

Network Neutrality is the foundation of free speech and a fair playing field for all sizes of businesses and consumers alike. Don't sit by idle and let net neutrality be repealed, you should take an action to try and stop this nonsense Internet service control! Write a letter to Congress, join a demonstration, or talk to others about this.

Equal access to online information is once again under serious threat. John Oliver encourages internet commenters to voice their displeasure to the FCC by visiting www.gofccyourself.com  and clicking "express" to file your comment.

You can go direct to this FCC link and click Express yourself.

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/proceedings?q=name:((17-108))

Another Related Video related: The Internet is Under Attack

https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/videos/10156519158637908/

Steps to write your comments to voice your displeasure to the FCC by visiting www.gofccyourself.com  and clicking "express" to file your comment.

Firefox Quantum is Super-Fast than Other Browsers

Firefox Quantum is Super-Fast than Other Browsers

While the User Surfs the Web, Conserves Memory

By Marco Ayllon

Nautilus Science and Technology News

The Firefox Frontier Everything you need to know to browse fast.

The Speedometer 2.0 benchmark simulates modern web applications and is a relatively simple way of evaluating a browser’s speed. We have run a few tests to compare Firefox Quantum (57)’s speed and memory as compared to previous versions of Firefox, and to Chrome. Results vary based on your computer and the apps you’re using, but Firefox Quantum is consistently about 2X faster than Firefox was.

—

Test 1:

Conducted on September 19, 2017 using Surface Laptop (Processor: Intel Core i7 / Memory: 8GB / Storage: 256 GB ), a new Firefox profile, and no other apps or tabs running.

Test       Firefox 52            Firefox Quantum (57) Beta

Test 1    35           67

Test 2    35           68

Test 3    35           67

Test Average      35           67

Firefox Quantum (57.0 b1 64-bit)

Firefox 52 (52.0 64-bit)

Test 2

Conducted on September 20, 2017 using MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) (2.9GHz Intel Core i7 / 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 / 1TB PCIe SSD), a new Firefox profile, and no other apps or tabs running.

Test       Firefox 52            Firefox Quantum (57) Beta

Test 1    33           67

Test 2    32           65

Test 3    31           65

Test Average      32           66

Firefox Quantum (57.0 b1 64-bit)

Firefox 52 (52.0 64-bit)

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In addition to speed testing, Firefox’s “just right” multi-process architecture results in Firefox Quantum consuming roughly 30% less RAM than Chrome.

To compare memory usage, the Atsy project was used to load 30 pages, each in its own tab, with 10 seconds in between loads and 60 seconds of settle time at the end. Then memory usage was measured for the various processes that each browser spawns during that time.

Children's Smartwatches Are Banned in Germany

Children's Smartwatches Are Banned in Germany

By Marco Ayllon

Nautilus Science and Technology News

A sale of smartwatches aimed at children has banned by a German government agency, and found out on such devices unsafe snooping and spaying software.

It had previously banned an internet-connected doll called My Friend Cayla, for similar reasons. The German Telecoms regulator the Federal Network Agency urged parents who had such watches to destroy them. One expert said the decision could be a "game-changer" for internet-connected devices.

"Unwell secured smart devices often allow for privacy invasion. That is really concerning when it comes to kids' GPS tracking watches - the very watches that are supposed to help keep them safe," said Ken Munro, a security expert at Pen Test Partners. "There is a shocking lack of regulation of the 'internet of things', which allows lax manufacturers to sell us dangerously insecure smart products.

"Using privacy regulation to ban such devices is a game-changer, stopping these manufacturers playing fast and loose with our kids' security," he added. In a statement, the agency said it had already taken action against several firms offering such watches on the internet.

"Using an app, parents can use such children's watches to listen unnoticed to the child's environment and they are to be regarded as an unauthorized transmitting system," said Jochen Homann, president of the Federal Network Agency. "According to our research, parents' watches are also used to listen to teachers in the classroom." The agency also asked schools to "pay more attention" to such watches among students.

Stalking and Chasing Children

Such watches - which are sold by many providers in Germany - are generally aimed at children between the ages of five and 12. The majority of this devices are equipped with a Sim card and a limited telephony function and are set up and controlled via an app. The last month, the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) reported that 'some children's watches - including Gator and GPS for kids - had flaws such as transmitting and storing data without encryption.

It meant that strangers, using basic hacking techniques, could track children as they moved or make a child appear to be in a completely different location. It is not clear whether the German decision to ban such devices was based on the privacy issues associated with them or wider security flaws that have been uncovered by NCC and others. Both firms said that they had resolved the security issues.

Mr. Finn Myrstad, head of digital policy at the NCC said: "This ban sends a strong signal to makers of products aimed at children that they need to be safer." He called for Europe-wide procedure actions to intensify the security of such devices.