INTERESTING: Sneaky Computer Security Tips

Sunday, April 8, 2012

(0) OBVIOUSLY use unique passwords in every instance. (Use LASTPASS, ROBOFORM, or KEYPASS to remember the UNIMPORTANT ones. Do you care if someone can “share” your PORN stash. (Like I’d EVER have porn. You can catch a case of the computer equivalent of a social disease — malware, virus, or data leak. I think the real kind MIGHT be easier to cure.)

(1) Never STORE financial passwords anywhere, but in your head. (And, in a sealed envelope, located in your bank safe deposit box, for your executor.) Never ever! (If you have more than 5 ± 2, you have too many accounts.) Sorry guys, I don’t even trust my most TRUSTED  vendors. (Fact of life. Don’t trust. You won’t be disappointed.)

(2) If you do STORE a profile somewhere, ALWAYS use your real birthday ± 1. (It’ll be our little joke. Play along with all the FACEBOOK birthday wishes. Your real life fans will enjoy the joke. You DO have real life friends; don’t you? So sad if you don’t. You can link to me. I have very few — hi oldest, older, and just plain old!)

(3) If you do STORE — obviously not USE — a credit card number, ALWAYS do a typo with the “secret number” and add ± 1 to the last digit. (Then when someone has a security breech, they have your garbage.)

(4) If you do STORE an address for your self, put a typo somewhere so you know who to blame. (Personally I like middle name. “Hi, I’m F. 37 REINKE.”)

(5) If you can and it’s not needed for credit, add ± 1 to your SSN. (“Oh, sorry, I made an oopsie.”)

(6) ALWAYS mess with the secondary authentication questions. But do it in a consistent manner! (“Where were you born?” “Bayonne158” That’s Our Girl’s and her favorite number.) Caveat: Three sites — CAREMARK CVS, PAYTRUST, BOA — make you remember it from time to time. (If I forget, there is always “call one 800 outsourced service desk”. Reset them to colors. Then go in and immediately change them.) I always record my answers in LASTPASS ± 1. A great tool.

YMMV MTFBWY AMTHOBAIYF

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-07 @ 05:07

 

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: LIFELOCK teaches care in the use secondary passwords for primary password reset

Friday, January 13, 2012

http://www.lifelock.com/identity-theft/types/

How Identities Are Stolen
When it comes to identity theft, the first step in protecting yourself is learning what thieves are doing to steal your personal information.

# – # – #

 

Interesting that LIFELOCK doesn’t have their commercials on their websites. GODADDY, boo hisss sopa-lover, integrates their hyper-sex commercials with their website (i.e., the TV commercial points to the X-rated version and the website has both the TV version and the “X-rated one. I’d dispute the X rating. Yeah, they sucked the lecherous me to watch. I, of course, did it from a technology and moral arbiter pov. Just so you didn’t have to endure it.) LIFELOCK misses the opportunity to reinforce their message.

MORE interesting, is that LIFELOCK’s TV commercial points out the flaw in what I’ll call secondary authentication and what the banks call “easy password recovery”. Argh! Those “password reset” questions are really passwords controlling the reset function. Mother’s Maiden Name, Date of Birth, Pet’s Name.

ARGH!

Absolute stupidity.

I know why the banks and others do it. They don’t want the expense of fielding a telephone call for a password reset. (When I was at CSFB, I figured each one cost “me” 45$. I figured a clever way to “solve” that problem at ZERO cost. Hire me and I’ll share it.)

So, how does the average User defend themselves?

(1) Never ever use these resets for the named purpose? For examples, “Mother’s Maiden Name” for me might be “TAYLOR_SWIFT”; DOB for me is 10/19/62 (Cuban Missile Crisis); Pet’s name is “58#ae#MK#Es#82”. All carefully captured on paper.

(2) Use a tool like LASTPASS, KEYPASS, or 1PASSWORD for NON-FINANCIAL uses.

(3) Use real passwords that you memorize or write down in your calendar or note book for FINANCIAL sites.

(4) Always insist that FINANCIAL institutions or SERVICE PROVIDERS send you a paper bill. Upon receipt, take the statement and review it. Initial EVERY page.

(5) Never permit any one or any thing to have direct access to your financial accounts. (Made that mistake once.)

# – # – # – # – #

 

 

1 Comment | Technology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj