Downloading

This is by far one of my biggest pet peeves. Fake Download Buttons. It bothers me that so many people are unaware of which ones to avoid (they're usually the biggest and flashiest!), and it bothers me that it works. I would love to be able to help others to learn to differentiate between fake and legitimate downloading buttons. One of my favorite places to download programs is cnet.com, as they keep everything verified and you're less likely to accidentally click on a download button that takes you to a malicious site or downloads a malicious program. This article definitely has some good pointers of how to avoid clicking on those dreaded fake downloads: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2012958/how-to-avoid-fake-download-buttons.html. I suggest EVERYONE go and check this out. It's worth it.

I Love Twitter

So this article about Twitter implementing a standard to fight phishing is good news for me. I appreciate it (and applaud it) when companies implement strategies and software so that their consumers can have a better experience. I use twitter a lot, and I would prefer to not receive emails that could potentially hack my account. DMARC - the technology being used by Twitter now - is also being used by Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Facebook, Paypal, and Amazon. I was excited to see this news, which is why I am sharing it with you all. Going along with my security focus in this blog, be sure to always check thoroughly who is sending you an email, especially if they're asking you to re-login on a site. If you ever have any doubts about the email, contact the company directly and get verification. It's not worth losing access to your accounts and the data that you may have shared with any of them!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028993/twitter-implements-dmarc-standard-to-fight-phishing.html

Facebook & Twitter!

Fun news! There are some filter-type software and monitoring programs for Facebook and Twitter! They will monitor and alert you to any malicious activity, such as when your friends' updates are spam and scams and what-not. There's also programs now to help monitor your child's Facebook and Twitter accounts to make sure that they are posting appropriate content (if you are a parent).

These seemed to point out to me that the attacks really can originate from anywhere, including your social networking sites. It's also a good reminder that you shouldn't put all of your information ("overshare" was the term they used in the article) up on your profiles, as some of it may be critical and can open your accounts to a higher chance of being compromised. One of those friendly articles that reminds you of how dangerous the internet really can be, and yet how wonderful and useful it is, too.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010916/lock-down-your-social-media-with-essential-security-add-ons.html