6 Things That Can Be Faked To Compromise Your Security
The weakest link in your computer security is often you. You'll receive fake emails, text messages, warnings and social media invitations that are attempts to break into your computer or online accounts. Know what to look for and how to protect yourself.
Comments: 10 Responses to “6 Things That Can Be Faked To Compromise Your Security”
Wayne D Moore
3 years ago
Well done ! You are a GREAT resource ! !
Michael
3 years ago
To not be tricked by look-alike domain names, see the rules for domain names (in gory detail) at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com. Its the first topic.
To defend against fake websites (really a DNS issue) set your web browser to use an encrypted DNS service. My experience has been that this over-rides the DNS specification from the router. You can verify that your preferred DNS provider is really being used at any of the DNS tester sites listed here https://routersecurity.org/testdns.php
robert briton
3 years ago
great advice us seniors can never be careful enough
Lindy
3 years ago
Gary ...you are awesome. This is million dollar advice (figuratively speaking, since I can't pay up)... thanks so much for creating this video. When I get emails from my bank or investment company I NEVER click on anything in the email. I go to my bookmarks and use the link I put in. Saves a lot of worry.
If I get an email from someone I don't know I click forward instead of opening it.... is this method any good?
Lindy: Using bookmarks is good. But why the "forward" technique? Is it because the email contents appear as text in the message instead of loading anything? I wouldn't worry about that. Try have to trick you into downloading something, going to a site or calling a phone number. Just viewing the message won't hurt.
Thanks for your reply, Gary, on my not so clever trick to see what's in email. I also have "load images automatically" turned off ...as they can know you opened their email that way.
Jasper
3 years ago
I’m not aware of it happening but I remember hearing about the risk of non-latin characters, being used in latin-character URLs. Similar to adding periods or leetspeak, 1/l.
E.g, , υ ν η ο are all Greek but could pass for u v n o in a URL.
Gene
3 years ago
Great content. You stated that Password managers check something to ensure authenticity. Do you know if KeyChain checks?
Well done ! You are a GREAT resource ! !
To not be tricked by look-alike domain names, see the rules for domain names (in gory detail) at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com. Its the first topic.
To defend against fake websites (really a DNS issue) set your web browser to use an encrypted DNS service. My experience has been that this over-rides the DNS specification from the router. You can verify that your preferred DNS provider is really being used at any of the DNS tester sites listed here
https://routersecurity.org/testdns.php
great advice us seniors can never be careful enough
Gary ...you are awesome. This is million dollar advice (figuratively speaking, since I can't pay up)... thanks so much for creating this video. When I get emails from my bank or investment company I NEVER click on anything in the email. I go to my bookmarks and use the link I put in. Saves a lot of worry.
If I get an email from someone I don't know I click forward instead of opening it.... is this method any good?
Lindy: Using bookmarks is good. But why the "forward" technique? Is it because the email contents appear as text in the message instead of loading anything? I wouldn't worry about that. Try have to trick you into downloading something, going to a site or calling a phone number. Just viewing the message won't hurt.
The destination of links can also be faked
Hover a mouse over a link - just don't trust the results
https://michaelhorowitz.com/HoverOverLink.php
Thanks for your reply, Gary, on my not so clever trick to see what's in email. I also have "load images automatically" turned off ...as they can know you opened their email that way.
I’m not aware of it happening but I remember hearing about the risk of non-latin characters, being used in latin-character URLs. Similar to adding periods or leetspeak, 1/l.
E.g, , υ ν η ο are all Greek but could pass for u v n o in a URL.
Great content. You stated that Password managers check something to ensure authenticity. Do you know if KeyChain checks?
Gene: Not sure what you mean by "authenticity."