security

01
Sep
2012

See who has permission to your accounts

We all have accounts on various web-based social media services and we all use various apps to access them. This means that at some point we’ve given each of those apps permission to access our accounts for the purpose of reading our data or posting on our behalf. What most of us have never done is go through and prune off the apps that we no longer use or that we didn’t mean to authorize. Every service has a page where you can manage those links, but finding them can take some searching. That’s where mypermissions.org comes in. It provides a direct link to each of these. It’s a simple page of links, but it’s useful. You’ll be surprised how many apps you’ve given permission to!

One word of advice… If you’re someone who has already deleted their Facebook account, do not try to access the settings of your former account as I’ve read that Facebook will automatically reactivate your account. They’re… umm… “helpful” that way.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Technology
26
Jun
2006

Spyware repair

I’ve long talked about the Michael’s Guide section of my site. It includes some instructions and tips on how to help you fix your own computer including an extensive section on viruses and spyware.

While I still believe that a lot of systems can be cleaned by end users, I’ve recently come upon a few systems that were so badly infected that there is no way that the average user could fix them short of reformatting the hard disk (which would result in data loss.)

If you feel you are in this situation, please contact me and I’d be glad to quote you a price on fixing your system. I’ll remove any spyware and viruses, install software to prevent future infections, update Windows with all current patches and updates and more. My prices are reasonable because I consider this a service to the computing community as a whole since infected computers on the internet hurt everyone.

Posted by Michael in Technology
27
Nov
2005

Generate Secure Passwords

I just updated Michael’s Guide to Choosing Passwords with a new service from Steve Gibson’s (of the Security Now podcast) site.

The following is an excerpt from Michael’s Guide to Choosing Passwords…
A good place to go for a totally random password is GRC’s Password Generator (www.grc.com/pass). This website generates a totally secure, unique and random password everytime you refresh the page. It will generate a 63 character password. If you need a shorter one, just grab as many characters as you need.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Site Updates, Technology
11
Sep
2005

Another take on password security

Never let it be said that I don’t give fair time to those who have differing opinions. In this C|Net article shows that at least one security expert at Microsoft thinks that writing down your passwords is a good thing because people know how to keep written documents secret. It’s an interesting theory, but I still stand by my opinion that you should not write down passwords.

You can read my opinion on the matter in Michael’s Guide to Choosing Passwords.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Technology
07
Sep
2005

2 New Michael’s Guides Available Now!

While the blog part of my site was down, Michael’s Guide was growing. I’ve created 2 new guides.

Michael’s Guide to Wireless Security will help you learn how to better secure your wireless networks. It’s amazing how many people just plug in their router and never set up any security.

Michael’s Guide to Choosing Passwords is a short guide on how to pick better passwords. Your passwords is are the keys to your life. Don’t leave doors unlocked because you chose a weak password.

Check them out today in Michael’s Guides

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Site Updates, Technology
31
Aug
2005

What I listen to – Security Now

So, I said the last one was the last podcast featuring Leo Laporte. Well, I just realized there was one more. It’s a brand new one and there’s only been one episode so far. We’ll see how good it is as time goes one.

This podcast is about computer security. It features Leo along with Steve Gibson from grc.com. I’ve mentioned Steve’s site in previous posts.

Their feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/securitynow

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Technology
22
Aug
2005

Secure your computer the NSA way

The NSA (National Security Agency, the government’s top secret decryption and code breaking agency) has released guidelines on how to secure your computer. They have versions for most major operating systems.

It’s pretty thorough and worth a read if you’re worried about computer security (and you should be!).

Take a look at it on the NSA’s site.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Technology