At last week's meeting, we were informed about how to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to access data on our computers or other devices that we use to connect to the internet. We have heard of computer virus protection software and malware protection application. However they are not enough because they can only detect problems that are already on your devices after these providers learn about them and engineer a solution. By that time, you could already be affected.
UPDATE
During the last week I took four days of training to be an RSVP volunteer in Rancho Bernardo. While I was at San Diego Police Department Headquarters on Thursday for a class on cyber security, I asked the officer instructor about the application (NordVPN) that I am using for my virtual private network (VPN). I learned from him that it was a very good one.
I have been using a password manager storage application for years. Today, we have easy access to information that we need - information such as bank transactions and balances, investment account balances, access to information about insurance and medical record account information - to mention just a few. Then there are websites that allow us to shop online. Each one of these website require us to set up an account with a logon and password. Because many of these websites we may only visit occasionally, it becomes a problem to store passwords. Since best practices require that we use unique passwords for our internet accounts, it quickly becomes a problem of having a secure place to store these passwords. You should never use just one simple password for all your accounts. Using only one allows anyone learning about it to gain access to every site you use.
For years, I have been using a password manager application that stores encrypted passwords and other sensitive data in a dedicated file in the cloud. This application allows me to store such things as account numbers for bank and insurance in addition to passwords for numerous websites. Because the application I use is available for not only on my computer, but also my phone and tablet device, I can literally be anywhere and have the ability to have access to important data.
This brings me to the other piece of this puzzle. When we travel, we often are in places where the most convenient source for access is the free access in coffee shops or hotel lobbies. However, this allows anyone else using these connections to "see" your computer and get important connection information that they can use to later gain access to your device or computer in order to use your devices to be the source of viruses and malware - all without your knowledge.
The answer to this problem is to set up a Virtual Private Network. There are numerous sources on the internet for applications for websites that allow you to easily set up a VPN. The process is surprisingly simple and relatively inexpensive. The way that a VPN works is that once you set it up, anytime you access the internet, no one can "see" your IP address, which means that they can't see you. In fact, the VPN application allows you to select what country you are coming from ! Even though you are here in San Diego, you can connect to a VPN server in places such as Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Japan. (This really makes for some annoying responses from websites that want to sell you something because they don't know where you are.) I found that the only problem was with my access to the digital issue of the Union Tribune newspaper. Since they are affiliated with the LA Times, the LS Times restricts information going out to foreign countries. The fixit here was to change my connection to a VPN website in the US.
I was also surprised to learn that Yahoo collects and distributes by way of cookies data that it gets from your computer and there is no way to opt out,
The way to find out what choices there are for a VPN software and service provider is to do a search for VPN software. You can see what each will do and how many of your devices that you use that can be connected. In my case, the one I chose allows me to connect a total of 6 devices and computers. A multiyear fee brought the cost for this to less than $100. The cost will vary according to which application you choose.
One thing I have noticed is that my computer seems to be faster. I just wonder whether I there were things happening in the background on my computer that were causing it to slow down. VPN software does not affect your email except that it encrypts your connection to your internet service provider and make anyone who is looking for your connection information to be unable to do so.
I hope that this information can be useful to you in making your digital devices more secure.
Jim Dunny