Security tips of the Day

The international SANS organization offers excellent "Security Awareness Tip of the Day" posts. You can subscribe to them (an RSS feed) if you like. Some have links to more information. A few recent topics:

• E-mail is insecure by default
• Turn off your wireless AP when it's not in use
• Don't accept offers for "Free PC Scans" that pop up
• Avoid Spam in your IM email account
• Don't let Spammers see your out-of-office replies
• Four tips to keep your computer secure

Thieves steal 113 smartphones every minute -- Is yours next?

The ZoneAlarm Security Blog has some great tips for safe computing. A recent post deals with smartphone theft. Many people have no password to their smartphone. If you lose or even just temporarily misplaced your smartphone, anyone can do business "in your name" as well as gather up contact information and much, much more.

Adding a strong password (not just a simple PIN) to use the phone may be a slight inconvenience while using it, but it protects your data. This is crucial if you do any online [shudder] financial transactions with your smartphone.

Protection tips also apply to tablets and similar portable computing devices.

• Read more at the ZoneAlarm Security blog's post,
  Smartphone theft in the US: Are You an Easy Victim?

Fun games foster security awareness

The U.S. government has a great site to learn more about being smart and safe online. It's called OnGuard Online. The site includes some simple online games that let you check your "smarts" about safe computing.

You may learn something new or maybe just reinforce good habits. Either way, visit the site.

Below are links to some interactive video quizzes:

• Phishing scams
• Spam scam slam
• Invasion of the wireless hackers
• Beware of Spyware
• Laptop security
• ID Theft Faceoff