Reminder to Maintain Tight Computer Security ! (General)

by jimashton , Tuesday, April 05, 2016, 16:31 (3164 days ago) @ ericwinter

Thanks to Jeff and Eric.
I have fairly recently disposed of a desktop and laptop and upgraded. We have all seen the TV Crime series, where information on computer hard drives can be accessed with the appropriate equipment no matter how careful you are at deleting sensitive information. There is only one safe way - destroy the hard drive. Use a simple enquiry with Google how do I remove a hard drive from - Computer XXX... and you will find it is quite simple, remove it then have fun with a hammer and cold chisel or screwdriver. They are quite strong and a hammer alone might not cause sufficient damage.
Also remember it is not just your own security to be concerned about. Following the Talk Talk Hacking last October, I received a letter stating that I need not be concerned as my information was not accessed - very reassuring. Not long afterwards people started to receive emails from my address - some asking for money - purporting to be from me, then fraudulent activity on my credit card used with Talk Talk and over £500 taken. Changing email addresses is a real pain but worse still, once someone has your address, you can do nothing to stop the hacker using it, emails from my old address are still being received and again some asking for money.
How many people take advantage of Free Wi Fi in places like Wetherspoons, on trains, B & Q Etc Etc. All these organisations can be hacked too - think about it.
Lastly forwarding Emails - joke emails and especially those asking to be forwarded. Hackers often start these off and send it to a gullible person knowing that it will be forwarded again and again. They attach a tag, so that each time it is forwarded, it is copied back to them with another batch of addresses. If you do forward joke emails only ever use Bcc for the addresses.