Last Week at Rotary - April 6, 2023

Rotarian David Steenwyk presented a talk about online safety. The primary thing to remember is that the human is the weakest link. You should always think before you click.

 

The acronym to remember if you are suspicious about an email, is SLAM. This means:

S - Sender. Look closely at the actual email to see if it matches up with the person.

L - Links. Don't click on any link that doesn't seem right. You can hover over a link on most non-mobile devices to see the destination.

A - Attachments. Don't open any attachments if you aren't expecting them.

M - Message. Does the message seem in character? Is your friend really in a Mexican jail needing money?

 

For all of your online accounts that contain sensitive information (financial, personal identifying info, etc.) make sure that you are using a multi-factor authentication that requires something you know and something you have. Using a password generating and storing program, such as lastpass can help you create and enter unique and complex passwords for all of your accounts.

 

Even if you store your files on the cloud, the responsibility to keep backups is yours. If a file of yours gets deleted (either by accident or someone breaking into your computer), it can only be recovered from a cloud service for a limited time. If you discover you need it after the retention period is over, it is gone forever if you haven't made a copy.

 

Lastly, make sure that all updates to your software are applied and that you have security software turned on.