You Really Need a Password Manager.

Here’s How to Get Started

source: cnet.com  |  image: pixabay.com

Using a password manager is easy, and it’s one of the best ways to stay secure online.

It may seem like more trouble than it’s worth, but you really need to create a unique password for each of your online accounts. Each password should ideally be at least eight characters in length and consist of capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. (Yes, using “password123” for everything isn’t going to cut it.) It may be tempting, but using one easy-to-remember code across all of your accounts can jeopardize your online security — and you definitely don’t want to make yourself an easy target for cybercriminals. In fact, recent research by cybersecurity firm Hive Systems has suggested that a weak password can be cracked instantly by a hacker.

Password managers are vital tools that can help you stay safe online and be more digitally secure by simplifying the process of using strong passwords. And they’re easier to use than you may think. Even so, 4 out of 5 American adults don’t use a password manager, according to a study from Security.org. 

Here’s why you need a password manager and how to set one up.

What is a password manager, and why do I need one?

A password manager is an online service that stores your passwords as well as other data like credit card numbers, bank account information and identification documents in a secure, encrypted environment. It takes one of the biggest potential vulnerabilities — weak or recycled passwords — and does the hard work for you.

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The 3 Worst Spots to Put a Home Security Camera

source: cnet.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  |  image: pixabay.com

Don’t compromise your home security: Put your home security cameras in the right places.

Security cameras are one of the simplest ways to deter would-be burglars and protect your home. With the help of a few well-placed cameras, you can easily keep a remote eye on most of your home and property. And with more affordable options on the market and improvements in wireless technology, it’s now possible for just about anyone to set up a wired or wireless security camera system that fits your home’s needs and budget. 

But it’s also possible to set up a home camera security systemthe wrong way. The last thing that you want to do is place a camera in a spot where it is rendered ineffective and find out too late that its footage is useless. This guide will steer you away from camera placements to avoid and help you establish a more effective home security camera system. For more on home security, check out the best security camera deals and how to keep your security cameras from being hacked. 

Ineffective spots

You might be tempted to point cameras at the spots around your home that are difficult to see. There is an intuitive reason for this: If you can’t see a location from your windows or doors, it feels possible that someone might be lurking there. You might think these hidden areas are a burglar’s preferred place to break and enter. 

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Airline Travel Hacks To Avoid Holiday Excursion Headaches

source: technewsworld.com  |  image:pixabay.com

For those of you who haven’t traveled lately, things have changed over the last couple of years. For example, most airlines don’t take cash anymore, and an increasing number don’t accept credit cards.

Airlines are almost all short-staffed, and at this time of year, there are a lot of mechanical delays and weather events. Depending on the airport, the ability to rebook a flight at the gate may no longer exist. Spending the night in an airport is no fun, and neither is missing a flight because you didn’t make it through security in time.

This week, I’ll share some tips on how to survive traveling over the holidays. We’ll close with my product of the week: my favorite suitcase, which is like a rolling dresser.

Plan for Extend Connection Times

Over the past two months, most of the flights I’ve been on have had a mechanical or airline delay. Generally, the delays have been just short of an hour, suggesting you want at least one hour between connecting flights if you don’t want to be stranded.

If you are taking a cruise and you have to fly to the port of departure, you might want to fly the day before so that any delay doesn’t keep you from meeting the boat. We had first-class tickets on our last flight on United to meet up for a cruise. Still, we were delayed at the departing airport for 30 minutes, then again at the arrival airport (San Francisco) for 30 minutes, which had us arriving at the gate three minutes after they closed it. They wouldn’t let us on the plane, arguing that we should have run faster.

As a result, we lost our direct flight to Florida, lost our first-class seats, and had to route through Chicago, which got us there late at night rather than mid-day. Fortunately, our cruise was the next day, or we’d have missed our departure and had to try to catch the ship at the next port, a very expensive workaround.

The more critical it is that you get to your destination on time, the more extra time you should schedule for transport. You should plan to arrive the day before for a wedding, funeral, family event, business meeting, or tour with a firm start time instead of cutting it close. Otherwise, there’s a good chance you’ll miss that critical event.

Take Advantage of Airline Apps

Download the airline app before you leave, and if it has the option to pre-load a credit card, do it. On my last trip, a couple from Australia in front of me couldn’t buy drinks or food because United no longer takes cash or credit cards on the plane. Instead, they pull the card data from the app.

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Text scams surge as robocalls decline, report finds

source: usatoday.com  |  image: unsplash.com

You may have noticed receiving fewer robocalls over the past year, but a new report finds scammers are increasingly using a new way to reach consumers: text messages.

A report from the Consumer Watchdog office of the nonprofit U.S. PIRG is urging the Federal Communications Commission to pass new rules against robotexts, including requiring phone companies to block illegal text scams.

“Illegal robocalls and robotexts likely will never go away,” an excerpt from the report reads. “But they’ll continue to plague us as long as enforcement is lax, phone companies don’t try harder and enough consumers fall for scams to make it worthwhile for thieves.”

Spam texts have surged over the past year, jumping from 1 billion sent per month in July 2021, to more than 12 billion as of June, according to RoboKiller, a service specializing in blocking unwanted calls and texts.

Last year, acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed new rules requiring wireless carriers to block illegal texts.

In a statement released last October, the agency said complaints about unwanted text messages in 2020 more than doubled from the year before. 

“We’ve seen a rise in scammers trying to take advantage of our trust of text messages by sending bogus robotexts that try to trick consumers to share sensitive information or click on malicious links,” Rosenworcel said in last year’s statement.

The top scam texts of last year involved bogus delivery messages claiming to represent Amazon, the U.S. Postal Service or other companies. The messages say an order can’t be delivered or will arrive tomorrow, with a malicious link consumers click, the watchdog report said.

Others included fake messages from banks and texts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the number of robocalls has declined over the past year, in part because of FCC rules requiring the use of technology to better identify robocalls and efforts by the agency and states to go after robocallers.