Author Archives: fadmin

Choosing “Hacker-Proof” Passwords

We live in a world where everyone has dozens (hundreds?) of logins and passwords.

Your bank, your email, Facebook, etc.  Each wants you to have a unique, secure, and constantly changing password!

And the reason is clear… the number one reason for cyber theft is poorly chosen passwords.

If you’re like many, however, you simply don’t put much effort into choosing your passwords.  Maybe your dog, your child’s name, and if you’re really clever, you put the year they were born at the end.

Well, I’m writing this article to light a fire under your virtual behind… because those types of passwords are setting you up for some hardship.

Spend a little time at this site:  www.HowSecureIsMyPassword.net

Here’s what I learned:

The password “fluffy1” could be hacked in about 5 minutes.

The password “jimmy2002” could be hacked in about 5 days.

The password “Tx!4$zz#36Gt**@” could be hacked in about 2 Trillion years.

Let all this sink in, and protect yourself from identity theft!

Oh, and if your password is “password”…. yours is in the top 10 most common passwords, and would be hacked almost immediately.  🙂

Windows XP is About to Be Laid to Rest!

Windows XP

Windows XP

Believe it or not, Windows XP is 10 years old.

It was a fantastic operating system when it came out, and was wildly popular.  But times have changed, and so has our technology environment.

However, I know many people are still using XP, simply because they know and like it, and avoid the hassles of a new learning curve after an upgrade.

It’s time to make that move folks, because Microsoft plans to retire XP soon.

What does this mean for you?

Your system will still work.. there will just be no support, no upgrades,  and soon you’ll be one of the last people using an outdated system.  This also means that any issues or security flaws that arise, you will be on your own.

If you need help moving forward from Windows XP, give Freedom Computer Systems a call!

Read full article here!

Attention Mac Users… Viruses are Now Targeting You!

viruses

Viruses

This is a big reason to make SURE to update your systems. Apple included.

This trojan has been able to infect Macs due to a Java Virtual Machine vulnerability that has since been corrected by both Apple and Oracle for the PC world. Make sure you do your updates folks!

From the article….

Analysis of a recent Java flaw exploited by the Flashback Trojan reveals that more than 550,000 Macs were affected in the U.S. and abroad, according to anti-virus vendor Doctor Web.

“This once again refutes claims by some experts that there are no cyber-threats to Mac OS X,” Doctor Web said in a Tuesday blog post.

About 56.6 percent of the infected computers, or 303,449, are located in the U.S., while 19.8 percent are in Canada, 12.8 percent are in the U.K., and 6.1 percent are in Australia, Doctor Web said.

Wisniewski also suggested that users install the Apple update, but insisted that “Mac users can no longer rely on simply updating their computers. Preventative protection is an essential defense mechanism to detect and thwart future attacks” from viruses and other threats.

Read the full article here!