Computer Era

security

Passphrases instead of Passwords

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Password1

These days each and everyone will use passwords and PIN’s to unlock several accounts like mail accounts, internet banking, especially smartphones etc.,
Now just think once, is your password secure ? Definitely we should check whether its safe or not. But for some people will use different validation processes, here is the tips why we recommend Passcodes and Passphrases.
What are Passcodes?

Passcodes are just a combination of characters and digits, which are generally longer that a normal password. So if your password is ComputerEra this you can translate into C0mput#rEr@2007!

ComputerEra is easy to guess. So changing the vowels and inserting numbers and special characters, adding the year this website was launched, finishing with punctuation is much more hard to guess. Make sure the word you choose is a difficult word, not the name of your spouse or name of your pet.
PINs

We depend on PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) while paying by credit or debit card. It is a four digit code which we have to set for contact less payments. Many of us set PIN to unlock the smartphones.
PIN1
It consists of the numbers from 0 to 9. Possibility if guessing your password is true if your password is 1234 or 0000 or any other similar popular number.
Hackers can easily guess the normal person password, your date of birth is one of the first thing. Hackers will try our four digit password with the help of a program runs through a multi digit system which might start with 0001, 0002 and continues similarly.

Normal Passwords

You will set a password with containing names of your pets, best friends, children, or your favorite bike and you might think that no one will ever guess right?

If a hacker knows enough details about you thy can guess what words you might use. Now your question is how a hacker will steal our details right? They could be stolen with the help of key-loggers.

If a hacker gains access to your email account, they can know all other accounts which you have by clicking “Forgot password”. So its very important to use a different and unique password to your email address.

Fingerprint
It is a intellectual way to secure your devices because finger prints are unique. It looks like impossible to copy someones fingerprints, but they can. Yes they can copy fingerprints too.
Where ever we go we leave a rich fingerprint marks on nay devices which we use. What if absolutely its a usable fingerprint ? A brilliant thief might easily examine those fingerprints and make use of to access your secrets.

fingerprint

So finally How to make Passphrases to secure your accounts.

Collapse a sentence by taking first letters of each word. For example lets say your Favorite Website Is ComputerERA by Sridhar Nallamothu, it can be converted into FWICESN. You may change ‘S’ to ‘$’ ‘O’ to ‘0’ ‘I’ to ‘!’ you may add launch year of website, 2007.

Finally your passphrase would be FWICESN2007. This looks strange and cannot be guess easily to others, but you can remember if you know the sentence.

You can insert some special characters too. Most of the people use ! or @, so why not we use a different special character in our passphrase ? I bet most of the people never uses a back-slash, so that’s always a better option.
Also you can mix upper and lower case characters. But make sure you start with first letter capitalized and rest lower-case for ease of remembrance. Why not add your name first letter and some special number to the phrase? So we take Vassanth as an example, add V to the phrase.

At last you will finally en up with an strong passphrase like…
FW!CE$N2OO7\v

Beware of these Android Scams; Must Read

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Where there is a scope for technological evolution, there would generate the scope for vulnerabilities too. After android phones evolved rapidly in the span of few years, the spam and scams have also taken different shapes to hit the target victims. In this article, I’m going bring to your notice the top android scams that are being successful in looting the innocent victims.

 

 

1. Text message phishing scam

We have been seeing these message scams since the SMS times. These kind of messages have taken a new shape and are coming with the direct links imposting the legitimate sources like bank and insurance agencies. These messages try to gain the trust of the victim and gathers the personal details slowly.

Never respond to these kind of messages. Consult the bank or insurance office directly through phone or directly and inquire about it.

2. Imposter apps

Some hacking apps are available on the internet that deceive people with the logo of a legitimate app and HTTPS like connections. Take n example of the WhatsApp Gold that has been propagating through forwarded messages virally. These apps infect the phones with malware and theft the personal details.

3. Tech support scam

These are the scams of past two decades. These are also called as ‘high-tech’ scams. People call you claiming that they are from the company of the product that you are using and fear you with the false news that you computer is affected by some serious malware and can be deleted if not paid certain amount of money. These are the ransomware type scams that you should be careful about.

4. Recharge scams

These scams are the most popular and viral of all the scams. Apps claim to be providing the recharge amount of Rs.10 or 20 if it is shared on the groups in numbers. They end up with nothing at last just spreading the fake app news. These kind of scams might infect the phone in the background and induce the malware into it. Don’t get greedy over Rs.10 or 20 and risk your privacy and personal details for it.

These are the most famous and most viral scams that you should be careful about. Beware of the android scams that are spreading around you. Think trice before taking any action on those apps. Research on internet if possible and make a conclusion.

Be Safe online!

Security Issues Found in Lenovo PCs

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Bloatware is what companies are adding to the devices unpacked. Though it may promote the company’s useless applications that are purposelessly installed by default. The bloatware not only eat the memory on the device but also brings vulnerabilities along with them as per the observation kept on Lenovo PCs causing security issues.

The Lenovo computers that are shipped in between the years 2014 and 2015 have exposed a log of non-identifiable Pc information to the Lenovo resulting in the installing of OneKey Optimizer bloatware on the laptops in their first connection to the internet itself. There also found some other vulnerabilities that tend PC to clean install the OS with their malware activity.

malware-on-lenovo-pcs

The online security of Lenovo laptops has remained a question with the inclusion of unnecessary software on the computers. Many security issues of such behaviours that are found later didn’t follow the guidelines of anti-theft software.

Since the security systems are expelling the Lenovo’s bloatware and other suspicious behaviours of the computer, the company have stopped producing the machines like Service Engines for enterprises.

We have already seen a malware called Superfish Visual Discovery, a browser extension that recommends the cheaper alternatives to the product images on the webpage. it might sound useful but annoying when it overtakes the browser expereince.

Windows 8 operating system is some what constant in resisting these malware behaviours with its built-in Platform Binary Table feature.

However, if you using the Windows operating system that is lower than Windows 8, you should be aware of the unknown activity on the system. Think a while before buying the Lenovo computers.

Antivirus softwares Big Discounts on Amazon

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Still using pirated Anti-virus software from illegal sites? They don’t protect your PC, in fact, pirated security Softwares are more dangerous to your PC. So change your mind and grab one of the genuine Anti-virus software immediately. If you act fast, Amazon is providing great discounts on popular security softwares. Here are the list of the deals, choose one among them.

1. Quick Heal Total Security 5 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 5,360

2. Quick Heal Antivirus Pro – 3 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 965

3. QUICKHEAL TOTAL SECURITY 3 USER 3 YEAR Rs. 3,999

4. Kaspersky Internet Security Multi-Device – 3 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 1,290

5. AVG Anti-Virus 2016 – 1 PC, 1 Year Rs. 460

6. eScan Antivirus with Total Protection 1 PC 1 Year Rs. 180

7. AVG Anti-Virus 2016 – 3 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 710

8. Quick Heal Total Security – 2 PCs, 3 Years Rs. 3,299

9. AVG Internet Security 2016 – 1 PC, 1 Year Rs. 749

10. Stop Virus F-Secure Antivirus – 1 User, 3 Years Rs. 450

11. Quick Heal Internet Security – 2 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 1,090

12. Stop Virus F-Secure Antivirus – 1 User, 1 Year (Voucher) Rs. 150

13. McAfee Anti-Virus – 10 PC, 1 Year Rs. 1,990

14. eScan Anti-Virus with Total Protection 4 PCs, 1 Year Rs. 855

Beware of this Dangerous Lock Screen Malware

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A dangerous lock screen malware is spreading fast on the Android phones masquerading the lock screen app. This malware downloads the porn related apps into the phone that are non removable later. the malware is identified by the Dell SonicWALL Security Center first and has provided the technical details of the spreading of the malware.

The lock screen malware app comes in different names and shape with just one objective, to spread the malware on to the phone successfully. When installed, it asks for administrator rights on the device with a title ‘Update’ which misleads users to click on the ‘Activate’ button.

When it is activated with administrator permissions,  the screen shows not to shutdown or restart as if it is the legitimate software update. The lock screen shows will not be as effective as the original lock screen apps. The good thing yet is, the malware does not ask for ransom after locking down the system settings.

Once installed, the lock screen malware will not allow you to install itself and the application that are installed by it. Even the safe mode of the device will not work and it even shows up.

lock-screen-malware-app

What’s the solution to this lock screen malware?

The best solution for any problem is to prevent it from happening. If you device is already infected, do a clean installation of the operating system. Take it to service centre if you are not an advanced android user.

Follow these tips for better security and protection:

  1. Always disable ‘developer options’ if you are not the power/advanced user of the android.
  2. Always ‘DO NOT ALLOW’ installations from unverified resources.
  3. Do not install every application that you see interesting. Check for its reputation first on the internet.
  4. Think a while before transferring application from one phone to another.
  5. Keep the system software updated to the latest version.
  6. Stay away from malware prone sites like downloads and porn on the device.

These tips are very basic. You may add any other precautions if you can while using the android phone.