On Internet Security
Trials and tribulations of living on the web
In 2002 I visited a former business parter mentioned in this anecdote at his home in Houston: he had a server hooked up on the internet in the days when only über-geeks did that sort of thing, and he showed me how many hits the server got per second from rogue requests just trying to penetrate his server — I learned a new word that day before it became common, ‘bots’ that do that sort of thing automatically without human supervision — that image is seared into my brain. Fast forward 20 years and a friend gets hacked twice, during which we discover a fraud impersonation, detailed in Update1 here.
How this happens is well documented elsewhere, but here are a few tips:
Avoid the internet altogether
This refers to smartphones mostly, that are always live and with location tracking, so they are prime targets and we’ll cover computers next. A lovely young woman who’ll stay anonymous knows she’ll be targeted, and can literally spot perps at cafés watching and fishing open wifi, when they see someone they like enter the premises... Well, no luck! She’s on a data plan that keeps her smartphone off the web’s prying eyes — see here and here for more background — and a ~25–30% surcharge for unlimited data is well worth it!
Why you might ask? Telephone networks are safer, not out of the kindness of their hearts for you my friend, but to protect their own networks in a sea of scenarios as Bill McKenzie’s above. And one aspect of secure messaging was discussed just recently here (geek alert): providers look for secure ways of rich messaging, unfortunately split down the Google Apple divide, but illustrate the point.
If you must be on the internet
Most providers now offer a mix of web, TV and mobile/cell or landline phone services, their routers are password protected nowadays, and they offer plenty of advice to help customers help themselves. Here are a few additional tips:
Install malware as well as anti-virus protection, the former being the more serious threat today. I use Malwarebytes atop Windows protection, this is not a product placement, it’s just what worked for me the last decade or so in Europe and the Middle East.
Try and use social media apps that use your phone number not your email as login and registration. The jury is out as to which apps are best (try Which? for example) and your needs will govern your choice, but it’s email-based social media that I experienced hacking again.
Obviously don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want to be seen in public, even in end-to-end encrypted software, there’s no guarantee where your posts end up.
Social media
I observed in 2000 that the internet bubble burst because of a social fallacy the internet providers spread out of self interest rather than out of malice: Relationships can be started in person and continued on-line but not the other way around. We are social animals, and not only does the web not provide sensory feedback in communications — assuming the bandwidth doesn’t slow you down into perennial pauses — but it also detaches the interlocutors and removes social checks&balances, well documented elsewhere.
That in turn is exploited by perps who impersonate in ways you can only (and perhaps not) imagine… I’ve been there and it’s scary: I got in a situation where I couldn’t sort perps trying to out-perp each other, and I quit all social media as a result… Not a recommendation, by the way!
Relationships can be started in person and continued on-line but not the other way around.
The reality is however that we do meet online, so the usual dictum applies: “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”. Disclosure: I fell into that one.
And finally: Few things are so urgent that they cannot wait until the next day to be done. Not only does night bring good counsel as the saying goes, but rushing you is the first method perps will use to get you to make mistakes.
Wrapping up
So there’s a laundry list of tips gathered over the years — inspired by… a social media post — if you heard it already, then having some of it in one place may help you stay safe. And this is by no means exhaustive, so please add your own tips below.
“ Keep’ on postin’…”
