“It is not really a question of whether or not we can be hacked, but when somebody cares enough to try.
. . . We have to take these small steps and be proactive, because if you get caught flat-footed the results can be disastrous. It is just not optional to think proactively about security.”
Cyber crimes are increasing at a staggeringly multi-exponential rate. Ignorance about our devices and online security is no longer acceptable; cyber crimes affect over 1.5 million victims per day. That’s 18 victims per second, 556 million victims per year, and over 600,000 compromised Facebook accounts per day. The recent Sony hack was so sophisticated the FBI says it would have gotten past 90 percent of firms. This is not something we can afford to ignore, especially for those of us who run online businesses.
Today I am thrilled to introduce you to my good friend, web strategist and performance expert Willie Jackson.
TOPICS WE COVER
Personal security for everyone
Why you really do need complex passwords
How easily people can see everything you are doing online (and grab your passwords and personal information) at public WiFi spots like Starbucks, airplanes, airports and hotels
Key terms and basic security tools: 1-Password, 2-step auth, https, VPN
Security and back-ups for bloggers
Monitoring & Recovery
How to know when someone is attempting an attack
It is not just about skills and tools; the mindset you need to be successful
Recap of key resources
Personal Security Basics
Get a VPN for public internet usage on all devices (Willie recommends Cloak VPN)
Use Kaspersky for desktop security monitoring (critical if you use a PC; more optional for Mac)
Start using 1-Password and having even more complex passwords (you can share with additional users on your team as needed
From Mark Goodman on the Tim Ferriss podcast:
Stop logging in under the admin account automatically; create a user account for general daily use with admin privileges
Update to latest OS updates right when they come out on your phone and computer
Cover your cameras
Get a Chromebook or similar device for travel or coffee shop working
Order his book Future Crimes and check out his TED Talk
Side note on file backups:
If you don’t already, I would save all hard files in Dropbox (not on your computer's hard drive). It acts like your My Documents folder, but it is backed up constantly and automatically.
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Tools: Wordfence WordPress plugin for monitoring and security
Sucuri Security (free plugin, paid monitoring, cloud proxy upgrade, basic authentication
VaultPress for back-ups
CloudFlare: site speed, hosting and security
Synthesis: full hosting service for WordPress bloggers with security and backups included
For recovering code: Way Back Machine (h/t Melissa Anzman) and GitHub (hosted repository service, aka repos)
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📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/8
