I Hacked My BFF

Here’s the link to Casie’s post.

Here’s a screenshot from the video I filmed during it.

I took over her Twitter account, it took minutes, and required no special skills.

We’ll get into how you can better protect yourself when using public WiFi, but until then…

Use your cell phone to connect your laptop when you can;

it reduces the size of the attack surface.

 

 

Don't Be Like Jimmy

When creating a password:

  • a minimum of 8 characters
  • use both upper and lower case letters
  • add in symbols and punctuation marks

Rolling your eyes? “Oh Keri I couldn’t memorize that, so complicated!”.

Uh-huh.

It will take you 5 focused minutes to memorize it. It will take you hours nay days to clean up your computer after a compromise.

 

 

 

Plugging $000s into An Old Socket is Risky

One small power surge and your computer could fry… and I know you haven’t backed up recently…

 

Always use a surge-protected power bar.

Belkin makes a great one for travelling, $25, I have one.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Open Downloaded Files Automatically

Never have files you download automatically open.

There are no “safe” files.

What if you accidentally download something? What if something is force downloaded on you?

When the file opens, that’s when the attack comes out.

Manually opening files helps add a layer of security. You can control this from your browser preferences.