Safer Internet Day

It's that time of year again. Safer Internet Day is today and we have some more tips for protecting you and your loved ones while online.

1. Use different passwords

 It sounds like it could be confusing, but this is one of the best ways to make sure that if only one account is compromised instead of all of them. Saving you a lot of headaches in the end. 

2. Choose strong passwords 

Using password as your password, if you didn't know, is asking for someone to just help themselves to your account. Avoid using your name, birthdate or other similarly obvious password combinations. It's also a good idea to change your passwords every six months.

3. Use a VPN Service

Using a VPN Service is a great way to protect information you are sending and receiving. Services like GoTrusted encrypt your data so it is unreadable to anyone else, but the intended website. Even if someone is somehow able to nab the data they would have no way to look at it. This can keep you safer online whether you're at home or at the coffee shop down the way.

4. Don't reveal to much on social networks 

Be careful what you are sharing and who you are sharing it with. Information you post can easily be used by hackers to figure out security questions and passwords. This also stretches into reality as well. Publicly posting that you're out of town for the week could be an invitation for burglars.

5. Protect your Computer and Browser

This one is an obvious one. You should always be running the latest version of your anti-virus, operating system, and VPN. Making sure your'e up to date keeps you up to speed with current viruses that are circulating and closes known bugs in your operating system that could be exploited.

6. Secure your wireless connection

This means setting a password and changing your network ID from the default. How many times have you seen open networks named 'Linksys' or 'Netgear'? Leaving your connection open like that leaves you vulnerable. It's possible for people to connect to your network and look at any device connected to it. 

7. Shop at safe websites

Always look for the padlock next to the site address and that it has HTTPS in the url. This shows the site is secured. 

8. Think before clicking links

Scammers and phishers are getting smarter and more creative all the time. Anyone can make a complete copy of a website easily. Be careful with the links you click in an email. If they seem suspicious, don't click them! Receive an email from Amazon about your order that you never placed? It's always safer to navigate to the main site and log-in than it is through an email link. These are just some ways scammers are trying to get your login credentials. 

Safer Internet Day is organized by Insafe during February as a way to promote safety online.

Online Tracking and Ways to Prevent it.

A recent article on http://www.abine.com about current online tracking practices highlights just how much information we may be giving out without our knowledge.

They have a nice infographic showing who may be tracking you, as well as some of the most common and simplest ways these companies track consumers.

Reasons for tracking are generally for advertisers to try and target people specifically and to build consumer ‘profiles’, but most people worry that these reasons are not always on the up and up.

In a questionnaire to Wall Street Journal readers, 60% said they worry ‘Tremendously’ about the loss of online privacy.

There are, of course, some simple steps you can sue to combat unwanted tracking and profiling. These include: Making sure your social networking sites privacy settings are set correctly, delete your information from companies that publicly sell it, running a free browser add-ons like DoNotTrackMe, and running a VPN like GoTrusted.

Running a VPN service will make you anonymous and prevent sites from targeting you by your geographic location as well as keeping you safe from sites that may try to view your browsing or buying habits online.

Tips For Protecting Data While Traveling

 

A recent article posted by Information Week from Eset has outlined a few strong tips for keeping your data secure while traveling.

The article was made in response to the FBI/IC3 warning to travelers regarding use of hotel Internet systems.

This is an excerpt from the IC3 warning.

"Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms."

The FBI recommends that all government, private industry, and academic personnel who travel abroad take extra caution before updating software products on their hotel Internet connection. Checking the author or digital certificate of any prompted update to see if it corresponds to the software vendor may reveal an attempted attack. The FBI also recommends that travelers perform software updates on laptops immediately before traveling, and that they download software updates directly from the software vendor’s Web site if updates are necessary while abroad.

Tips include: making sure your software is up to date prior to travel, backing up sensitive data on a encrypted external drive, and making sure you have password protection and inactivity timeouts engaged on all devices.

One of the tips mentioned is to use a VPN service when connecting to the hotel's Internet, something GoTrusted has always emphasized to its customers traveling abroad or simply to the local coffee shop. Using our secure tunnel while going through a connection that may or may not have your best interests in mind or simply lacks up-to-date security, ensures that your data remains private and secure.

China Increasing Internet Controls

China is tightening their hold on Internet users, according to a new article from Time, after a flood of online complaints about official abuses rattled Communist Party leaders.

China's government approved a new law Friday December, 28th that requires users to register their names and other identifying information when they register with access providers or post information publicly on the Internet. This is something that will remove the idea of remaining anonymous online, without a VPN service, for China's 500 million users. The public has been largely taking advantage of the internet to make complaints about the government and exposing corruption.

GoTrusted will continue to support our users located in China to make sure the protection of anonymity is not lost and that people will be able to access the Internet without censorship or fear of reprisal.

Expanded Android Support For Jellybean

Good news for our Android users. We've rolled out new settings and instructions for use with the new Android 4.1 Jellybean operating system. You can find the new instructions on our 'Android Instructions' page when you log in under 'Existing Users' and and select 'Android Instructions'.

This update coupled with Android Jellybean will provide our users with increased and simplified connectivity using the GoTrusted service making it even easier to GoTrusted when on the go!

Google says 'Government Surveillance is On The Rise'

In an article recently published on NBCnews.com, Google has released information regarding governments' requests for information on users as part of their 'Transparency Report'.

There have been 20,938 total inquiries to Google, involving 34,614 accounts worldwide. Currently, it seems, that governments around the world are increasing surveillance of Internet users. Google has stated they have complied with most of these requests. It's also worth noting that this is only in reference to Google. The numbers are likely much higher when you take into account all providers governments may also be issuing these inquiries to.

The report comes following prominent email snooping cases from official agencies. A situation that puts front and center the fact that, in current digital times, it is so important for us to be advocates for our own privacy and safety when going online.

This is why we're working so hard here at GoTrusted. To make sure our customers' privacy is protected while using our Secure VPN Tunnel. Whether that's from malicious individuals or governments who's policies take a turn and privacy becomes the target. We are here to make sure worrying about your online privacy and security isn't an issue.

GoTrusted Support Expanding, Live Chat Now Available.

Good news for our valued GoTrusted customers! In an effort to further expand our support options we have added live chat support functionality to our website.

Now we can work to resolve issues in real time with you to get you up and running and protected with GoTrusted or answer any questions you might have!

You'll find the live chat support button under the support page of our website.

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for choosing GoTrusted for your privacy and security needs.