Making online purchases with your credit card

Part 4: common security mistakes you're probably making

Don't put your privacy at risk.

Making online purchases with your credit card
Most credit cards offer fraud protection, but a mobile payment system is safer and will save you the hassle of filing a claim if your credit card does, in fact, offer fraud protection. A mobile payment system like Android Pay or Apple Pay features something called tokenization, which creates a one-time-use credit card number for each purchase instead using of your real credit card number so it can be kept hidden and secure. PayPal also offers tokenization. And Apple Pay can be used on Macs.

I usually use PayPal. Or some of the local Payment Gateway such as iPay88 also provide security protection.

Original Post by Stephen Vanderpool

Two-factor authentication: How and why to use it

Part 3: common security mistakes you're probably making

Don't put your privacy at risk.

Not using two-factor authentication
If you are using strong passwords and a password manager, then take the extra step of setting up two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to your online accounts. The most common form of two-factor authentication when logging into an account is the process of entering your password and then receiving a code via text on your phone that you then need to enter. The second layer in two-factor authentication means a hacker would need to steal your phone along with your password in order to access your account.

*Extra tip: Whenever I use google email. I have a phone authentication. If I login using computer or laptop, I get a notification on my phone to verify if its me.

Original Post by CNET

How to save and sync your passwords for free

Part 2: common security mistakes you're probably making

Don't put your privacy at risk.

Not using a password manager.
Using a password manager is a win-win. It makes your online life more secure and easier. A password manager stores the passwords for your various online accounts and profiles, across all your devices, and saves you from having to remember and enter each one each time you visit a password-protected site. Instead, your passwords are encrypted and held by your password manager, which you then protect with a master password.

Since you are saved from having to remember all of your passwords, you will be less tempted by the dangerously poor idea of using the same password for all of your accounts. With a password manager, you can create strong passwords for all of your accounts and keep all of them saved behind a stronger master password, leaving you to remember just one. 

Here are some password manager which I have used and found it to be useful. 

1. KeePass Password Safe
2. SafeInCloud Password Manager
3. LastPass Password Manager

Original Post by CNET

Common security mistakes you're probably making

Common security mistakes you're probably making

Don't put your privacy at risk.

Using Weak Passwords: 
Sure, a simple password is quick to enter and easy to remember. It's also easy to crack. Avoid using a short word for your password. And don't use the same password for multiple accounts because if one of your logins gets hacked, then hackers can access your other accounts.

2. Not using a password manager. You should.
Using a password manager is a win-win. It makes your online life more secure and easier. A password manager stores the passwords for your various online accounts and profiles, across all your devices, and saves you from having to remember and enter each one each time you visit a password-protected site. Instead, your passwords are encrypted and held by your password manager, which you then protect with a master password.

Since you are saved from having to remember all of your passwords, you will be less tempted by the dangerously poor idea of using the same password for all of your accounts. With a password manager, you can create strong passwords for all of your accounts and keep all of them saved behind a stronger master password, leaving you to remember just one.

Original Post by CNET

10 easy ways to speed up Windows 10

10 easy ways to speed up Windows 10

I have some customers that upgraded or purchase new computers and complained that they are still not familiar with Windows 10 or that it is slow on a startup to medium and to powerful computer machines.

I found this link on the web and would like to share the tips with you. I'm not sure if it will speed up Windows 10 but it looks like it can make it less complicated and more customization to your liking.

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.

2. No special effects

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.

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 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.

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

6. No tipping

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 pre-installed 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 hiberfile 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.

Original post by CNET

WannaCry Ransomware - How to protect your PC

Older systems running Windows XP and 7 are vulnerable to WannaCry and other malware. Protect yourself by modernizing with one of these inexpensive upgrades.

Well, the news of ransomware finally made it to the nationwide via television, radio and government. Though the virus have been widely effected thru small to medium stream industries, I guess when government or larger corporation gets effected, the hits is drastic.

After reading and researching, discovered that the cause is mostly older systems that gets hit badly. So, I would like to extend some insights on how we can upgrade or change our operating system so that it is protected and hopefully can avoid getting infected with not only this kind of virus but also others as well.

Majority of companies still using Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8. Its been said that the older Windows are more highly to be affected with the wannacry. Its obvious as well that Windows XP has terminated its software license and no longer have technical support. My alternative solution is to change it to linux based operating system. The obvious choice of course is to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 but because the hardware specification might not be able to support Windows 10, that's why I suggest to change the OS to linux. This is for older computers previously running on Windows XP.

For Windows 7 and Windows 8 or 8.1, I think the feature to upgrade to Windows 10 is still enable. I'm not too certain but I think there is an online copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft that you can download and perform an upgrade of the software.

Alternatively, I'm not sure if this method works. But you can definitely try and no harm trying. It is to have all your important data backup to a different drive. Using only shortcuts to the desktop rather than having the physical file on the desktop where the virus will attack it and lock the file.

I have previously added some notes on the ransomware case when one of company previously was attacked. I do hope this notes help you in anyway. If not, do contact me for further information.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/wannacry-ransomware-how-to-protect-your-pc/