Kansas City gets 'smart' + 5 secure habits of the paranoid PC user

[C C]

Kansas City gets 'smart': New streetcar line opens amid free public Wi-Fi zone
http://www.computerworld.com/article/306...-zone.html

EXCERPT: A streetcar runs along the 2.2-mile innovation district in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, that's being developed as part of the city's push into smart technology. The project includes free public Wi-Fi provided by Sprint and other smart city services. With smart city technology, K.C. envisions autonomous vehicles, water pipe monitoring, even drones to find missing elderly...

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5 secure habits of the paranoid PC user
http://www.computerworld.com/article/306...-user.html

EXCERPT: We know how it goes: You mean to practice safe computing habits, really you do. But when you fire up your computer, you just want to get stuff done -- and that's when even savvy users begin to cut security corners. We'd all do well to take a lesson from truly paranoid PC users, who don't let impatience or laziness stand in the way of protecting their data. Let's take a look at some of their security habits that you may want to practice regularly. After all, staying safe online doesn't have to be onerous or time-consuming. Invest an hour or two this weekend to put a few safeguards in place, consciously start to practice a few good habits -- and before you know it, your good intentions will become a daily reality....

[stryder]

RE: Security Habits for PC

Security is really dependent on a persons lifestyle.  For instance if you work for a company or country where security is paramount then those security practices (Amongst others) are a necessity.  Similar to these:

• Don't walk down any dark alleys... Okay the online variety is going onto shady looking website using out of date cart software or CMS's that ask for financial information to make transactions or join.  They are literally the place of muggings.
  
• Always keep up to date with your software (make sure you check the change logs of current updates to see *if* the updates need to be applied, also research to make sure that there isn't any failures updating for other people, sometimes updates can be bugging so research could save some problems that occur later)
  
• Using encrypted email over securely tunnel networks with direct point of access rather than that of public networking infrastructure.
  
• Not using equipment that isn't yours to access any accounts you own or are accessing for another.
  
• constantly changing passwords and passphrases regularly
  
• never using "memorable phrases" for passwords or passphrases (No mothers maiden name or D.O.B)
  
• using alphanumeric and special symbols to generate passwords
  
• making sure that the length of the password is actually supported by the account being access (some software uses cheap hashing methods that will literally only take the maximum of characters from the front of the password string meaning that some of the string isn't actually used to create the password)
  
• Never write your password down and leave it someone unsecure (you can place a copy in a safe or held by an attorney should something unsavoury happen and you want a next of kin to access your accounts)
  
• Learn how to harden your security manually.  (e.g. Editing firewall rules, using HOSTS files, disabling NETBIOS and windows networking components when not apart of a windows network etc)
  
• Don't Pirate (Pirating software is one of the main entry points for rogue code to be used, it might be a no-cd exe hack, it could be a trainer for a game, perhaps it's a exe to allow you to watch the newest releases of films that are currently only available at the cinema.  Every one of those is questionably a grey area or outright illegal and your complacency with even the most mundane of crimes could be used against you.  For instance it wouldn't take much for a criminal to lock your computer down with ransomware and claim that if you don't pay the money, evidence for watching illegally pirated movies or games will be sent to a Bureau or other.)