Software Security for you

Global reports on mobile theft has reported 1 in 3 phones are stolen or lost. You lose your photos, contacts, messages, data within apps and expose your identity (email, facebook, google+, banking apps) and importantly your two-factor authenticator app! That’s quite of a risk in addition to value of your phone. Better option is to be prepared in case it happens. It takes less than 5 minutes to setup your phone so that you can remotely locate, lock and wipe it if required. If you have Android phone, here is how you do it. For iPhone users, here is another blog . Android comes with built-in ' Android Device Manager ' functionality that you need to setup. Here is how - Step 1 - Enable 'Android Device Manager' (ADM) Android Device Manager is functionality of Android to allow user to lock or erase a lost device. This is installed by default in android beyond Android version 4.1 (Jelly Bean). You need to tell give permissions to 'Android device manager'

All modern browsers support " Private Browsing " mode or " Incognito " mode as in Google Chrome. No traces are left behind when you browse in private mode. No history, no temporary files, no web cookies to track users and no cache. Files you explicitly download do remain. Private browsing mode shield you only on local machine; your Internet service provider or your company can still know what your are browsing. Private-browsing still make sense from security point as explained below. Here are good reason why you should use private-browsing mode  Public computer usage - You are using a public computer and accessing your email/Facebook or bank accounts. Use private mode. No history, no passwords will be stored back for others to use. Temporary login to friends machine - Logging in from friends/colleagues machine to do a quick email/Facebook/etc. check. Leave no traces for friend to see. Login to bank website - Accessing bank account for any transactio

Using userID and password only to login to your account is old method to ensure security to your account(email, bank, facebook, etc.). It has been reported numerous times that passwords can be stolen, leaked, cracked, captured, sniffed & guessed. Bad guys (may be your own people with bad motives) are trying hard to get your password and get into your account to steal data/money/identity/photos. You need to protect your account with something more than just UserID and password. Strong password is not enough to protect your account and you need to go beyond that to make your account secure. What is two factor authentication ? In simple terms you can consider two factor authentication as "Two Locks" for your account. You need to open both the locks before your get into your account. And to open two locks you of course need two separate keys. Two factor authentication is security process in which you use your userID+Password and physical token. Its "something you

Your browser is the point of contact to internet and *the* most vulnerable spot. In addition to which browser you use, its most important to use it with right set of apps (plugins). Plugins are apps that run within your browser and enhances your browsing experience. Using random plugins can expose all your browsing history and data to external world. Every plugin has access to all your web history and data that you send. All your user names, passwords, emails, and chats can be accessed by plugins. So make sure you monitor your usage of plugins in your browser. Plugins can also ensure your safety online. Here is good list of plugins that improves your online experience and keeps your safe. I am using Google Chrome as reference browser to demonstrate various plugins. Almost all of the below plugins are also supported on other browsers (Internet explorer, FireFox & Safari). Google Chrome claims to be most secure browser plus its fast and comes with great user interface - try s

McAfee Mobile Security - Award winning mobile security product from McAfee. Features - Anti-Virus - Scan for app & files for infections Backup your contacts, sms, photos and restore them if you loose your phone Anti-Theft - Lock and Wipe your phone if you lose your phone Web protection for safe browsing Available for Android & iOS McAfee Stinger - McAfee Stinger is a standalone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses on Windows platform. It is not a substitute for full anti-virus protection, but a specialized tool to assist administrators and users when dealing with infected system. Stinger utilizes next-generation scan technology, including rootkit scanning, and scan performance optimizations. It detects and removes threats identified under the "Threat List" option under Advanced menu options in the Stinger application. Advantages Small download and quick scan.  No installation required - No registration required

Internet is cool, However there are websites that you do NOT want your kids to browse. And there are new websites everyday that spring up with content that is inappropriate for kids. As a parent you cannot keep adding websites to block list in browser everyday! You need to have a system working in background that provides up-to-date protection. … And there are devices that your kids use. Tablet, iPad, Phones, Smart TV, Kindle, Desktop/Laptops, XBOX and other gaming units. You can't keep track of all of them - cannot setup protection on all of them! Or its tedious. There is a simple way - Setup OpenDNS on your Wi-Fi router at home! Every Wi-Fi Router has support to change DNS settings. Here are the details. OpenDNS is worlds largest internet security network. They provide free web-filtering to consumers. Check out "OpenDNS family shield product" free for consumers  It blocks adult content, and makes your internet faster and reliable  DNS (Domain name system)