Worried about your cyber security? You should be.
I intend this article to be the first in a series of articles that I hope will provide readers with the tools they can use to keep themselves safer online. This may seem like a subject for children, however I think it is important to remind ourselves from time to time that data is valuable and your complacency is the best tool in the bad guys tool box.
It is not enough to assume you are not a target.
I'm not saying you're going to be on the receiving end of an all out assault by a legion of hackers out to grab your most secret data. But how do you know if your a more vulnerable target than most?
I recently discovered an amazing website that provides FREE testing of your computers systems https://www.grc.com/intro.htm
The first of the important tools they offer to use is the:
This will allow the site to test and probe your systems firewall to identify any potential ingress points for attacks.
Once the test is complete you will want to receive the result The equipment at the target IP address did not respond to our UPnP probes!
You can then choose to carry out further tests such as to check vulnerabilities via ports and from file sharing.
As well as testing of your computers firewalls and access ports GRC offer:
Password generator service https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
eavesdropping identification https://www.grc.com/fingerprints.htm
Password rating https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm
In the future I will be exploring a number of other online services that will allow you to have a much safer online presence, whether it be from the prying eye of your oppressive government, corporations or other entity with less than good intentions.
