Tag Archives: security

Cyber Security for College Students

cyber

So you think you’re all set for your first day of classes. Backpack, books, iPad and smartphone in hand – you think you have everything you need for success this semester. However, learning proper cybersecurity habits are just as important to your college success as the friends you make or the assignments you accomplish.

You’re well acquainted with technology and internet scams, and think you are far off from being duped or scammed online. However, technology is ever changing which means the tactics hackers use to access your personal information can be even sneakier. In 2014, there were 13,500 burglaries reported in on campus crimes across the US. Here are some basic tips to keep in mind while on campus or use as a refresher, you smarty pants!

Keep Your Friends Close and Your Devices Closer

You’re constantly sharing a workspace with your peers. From the dorm room to the library, your devices are always accessible to others. Never leave your devices unattended. Always have a passlock on each screen, and make sure no one is lurking over you when you enter the pin. Look into purchasing a laptop lock to secure the physical safety of your device.

The Value of a Number

If you’re like most college students, you’re eating ramen and shopping at the nearest thrift store. This might be why you haven’t been worried about cyber security in the past. You can barely afford proper nutrition, so you don’t have anything worth stealing. WRONG. Your social security number is incredibly valuable to a hacker who can sell it on the dark web. They can use this to open various credit accounts in your name or hold other precious online information like family photos hostage until you pay their ransom.

Back, Back, Back it Up

We know you have a million other things on your plate right now, but be sure you are backing up your data on a secure cloud system or an external hard drive. Consistently setting a time to backup all of your important documents will help protect you against ransomware and file corruptions.

PDA: Public Displays of Access

Who doesn’t like free stuff? One of the perks of college is that you are probably going to have a lot of freebies thrown at you. This means free WiFi that you can gulp down without having to dry out your data usage while catching up with friends back home. However, even your dorm WiFi can be infiltrated by hackers who access the network’s router, create fake login pages to steal your information or take data from your device. You can protect yourself by not using public WiFi, or purchasing a VPN.

Shhh, Mums the Word

Although it might be easy and sweet to use fido in your password, make sure to keep your password on each account different and complex. You don’t want to allow a hacker to open Pandora’s box after they figure out your one password. Keep your password private and unique. We recommend incorporating special characters, acronyms or even sentences at random.

We hope that these tips will be helpful in keeping your identity safe in your college adventure!

How NOT to Get Hacked

not hacked

Every day you hear tips and tricks to ensuring the safety behind your personal information. While many of these offers and promotions are advertising a safety service, at Timberwood Bank, we believe you can handle the majority of these precautions yourself! See what steps you’ll need to take in order to best prepare for your financial future. We’ll be there to help you every step of the way.

DO: Store your passwords in a secure app.

DON’T: Write your passwords on post-its which you keep around your desk.

Remembering your passwords is important, but leaving them unattended for hackers could be dangerous. Ensure you keep your details out of plain site by utilizing secure password storage apps. Not only will this help you forget your passwords less often, but it helps you create more complicated passwords to help keep unwanted hackers at bay.

DO: Use social media to connect with friends and family.

DON’T: Connect with people you don’t know or share personal account information.

Even though social media can be a great way to interact with people you know, many users become choose to become connected with individuals they’ve never met. If you find yourself with a friend request from someone you don’t recognize, always decline it, to keep you and your contact safe. If for some reason you’re unsure if you know the individual or not, you can always message them to see how you’re connected instead.

DO: Shop online and find great deals.

DON’T: Use your debit card when shopping online.

Both your debit and credit card can be used online, however, only your credit card offers a zero fraud liability with no strings attached. Should your debit card become compromised you will need to act more swiftly, and you may even have to wait weeks or months before you see any stolen funds returned to your checking or savings account. Always be proactive and use your credit card if you plan to purchase online!

While these three strategies will help to keep your personal information safe, there are always new tips and tricks to learn! Check back on our blog each month to see how you can continue to improve your personal cyber security, courtesy of Timberwood Bank.

Teaching Your Children the Basics of Online Security

online security

If you’re like many parents in the United States, your preteens and teenagers may be running circles around you when it comes to utilizing the latest technology. Whether that’s Facebook’s latest updates, new iPhone technology, or the latest app hitting the scene, the amount of new knowledge and innovation seems endless. For your growing adults, this may look more like an endless playground than a minefield, but at times it can be both. To help your children use technology while still remaining safe we recommend these simple suggestions:

Passwords are important. Instead of defaulting to the same password for every account, explain to your son or daughter why they should have a complex password for each separate account. Leary cyber criminals are able to gain access to all your accounts instead of only one when they discover the passwords are all the same. The strongest passwords contain lowercase and uppercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Great apps like LastPass can help to store all current passwords in addition to creating stronger password options.

Privacy matters. On Facebook and most other social media outlets, there are always options to make your profile private or public. For children, and adults, we strongly recommend keeping your personal online profile private. While you and your children can connect with friends and other known acquaintances, it can become dangerous to push your information out to anyone who wants to read it. For instance, if you post about leaving for a family vacation, and the profile is set to public, potential thieves could now view your home as an easy target while you’re away.

Don’t talk to strangers. Just as you had the “Stranger danger,” discussion with your son or daughter when they were younger, this message follows a similar point, but within the chat rooms and friend requests online. While in an ideal world, we wouldn’t face issues like catfishing or cyberbullying, the truth is that these actions can cause real world issues and aren’t always left online. To keep and promote in-person communication, remind them of the importance of speaking with friends and family outside of the web, and if they ever do need someone to talk to you and your family are always there to listen.

Only use secure wifi. After school, your teen may head to a part-time job or extracurricular. If they’ll be going away from your home or school, be sure to encourage them to steer clear of unsecure wifi. While many afterschool hotspots offer free wifi for customers, often there may be potential cybercriminals broadcasting a false signal. These unsecure signals can give them access to your child’s computer if the wifi is accepted. The criminal could then access personal information, passwords, or hold the computer access for ransom. To avoid situations like this, instruct your teen or preteen to only use wifi at home and at school unless you have approved of an additional location such as the library.

Teach your children how to use the internet responsibly, and perhaps they can show you how to capitalize on the creative and efficiency tools it offers. At Timberwood Bank, we think that family is one of the most valuable parts of life and we want to help your family grow. If you’d like to start a checking or saving account for your teen or preteen, stop in today, we’d love to help you get started.

Securing Your Smartphone

Practicing safe smartphone security habits can protect you and your personal mobile information.

Practicing safe smartphone security habits can protect you and your personal mobile information.

 

Whether we like it or not, Americans and people all across the world are becoming more and more dependent on smartphones every day.  With an app for just about anything you could ever need, from online banking and to shopping, smartphones are here to stay.

For many folks, with the ease of smartphone use brings the fear of smartphone security.  Many companies build in multiple security features with their online services and apps, but there are a few things you can do to protect yourself from smartphone criminals as well.

Do’s and Don’ts of Smartphone Security:

  1. Do set PINs and passwords- take advantage of your security setting that allows you to set up a passcode. You should also enable any settings that lock your phone after a certain period of idle time.
  2. Do backup and secure all data- whether it’s to your computer, the cloud(if you understand how it works!) or an external hard drive, be sure to backup all of your data in the event you lose your phone or it is stolen.
  3. Don’t buy or download questionable apps- read reviews and confirm that the app is legitimate before downloading. Criminals can create apps that contain malware to steal information, plant viruses and cause harm to your phone.
  4. Do understand app permissions- many apps may request access to your privacy settings to get your location or to send you notifications. Be sure you know full well what each app is doing, and change the apps security settings to what you feel most comfortable with.
  5. Don’t ignore your phones software updates- this ensures security patches are in in place to cover any spots that could be vulnerable.
  6. Do look for apps that allow wiping and remote location- such as Find my iPhone, these apps allow you to either completely wipe data from your smartphone if it is stolen, or locate your phone if you lost it.
  7. Don’t always be checking to use public Wi-Fi- use public Wi-Fi as little as possible. When you do, be wary of doing tasks that require personal information, such as logging in to Online Banking or submitting applications.

While these aren’t “fail-safes,” the above items will reduce the chances of your smartphone being compromised.  When it comes down to it, if you aren’t sure if you should download or do something unfamiliar with your smartphone, don’t do it!  Here at Timberwood Bank, we are always ready to provide you with more information regarding online and mobile banking security.

 

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