Getting Rid of Your Phone? Get Rid of Its Data First!
Before you donate or sell your smartphone or decide to
chuck it into the nearest trash can, make sure you wipe off its data or have a
professional do the wiping. Your personal and confidential information could be
a treasure trove for a motivated hacker! Wiping a phone is not all that easy --
but with a little attention to detail and some perseverance, anyone can do it,
even a first-time amateur.
First step. Don’t hit the delete button until you’ve backed up everything you want to keep. You can do this using the proprietary software that came with your phone. You can back up your material to a computer, USB stick, or to a secure website.
Check your phone’s internal storage by connecting the phone to a computer and viewing the storage through a standard browser.
Second step. Use menu options to delete all content and to reset the phone to its original, factory settings. If you do a factory preset, you will remove all system and application data and settings, downloaded applications, and account data.
Third step. Double-check that you have deleted all of your phone’s data and applications.
Finally. Remove your phone’s memory, storage, and SIM card.
If you run into problems with any of the above or simply doubt your ability to perform one or more of the steps, search online for information or go to a local computer consultant for hands-on advice.
First step. Don’t hit the delete button until you’ve backed up everything you want to keep. You can do this using the proprietary software that came with your phone. You can back up your material to a computer, USB stick, or to a secure website.
Check your phone’s internal storage by connecting the phone to a computer and viewing the storage through a standard browser.
Second step. Use menu options to delete all content and to reset the phone to its original, factory settings. If you do a factory preset, you will remove all system and application data and settings, downloaded applications, and account data.
Third step. Double-check that you have deleted all of your phone’s data and applications.
Finally. Remove your phone’s memory, storage, and SIM card.
If you run into problems with any of the above or simply doubt your ability to perform one or more of the steps, search online for information or go to a local computer consultant for hands-on advice.
5 Ways To Better Secure Your Home WiFi
Network
When it comes to our home WiFi
network, most of us don’t fuss too much with tweaking its security. We tend to
use default security settings in pursuit of the main goal -- getting the
network up as quickly as we can, with the minimum of hassle.
However, if you’re willing to spend a hour or so enhancing your network’s security, you can vastly improve your chances of preventing any breaches.
Here are some basic tips:
Use a strong password on all devices. Make sure each password is long and strong. Use a mixture of upper and lower cases, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols. The longer and more complex you make a password, the harder it will be for a hacker to break it.
Change the Default SSID. Manufacturers normally ship their routers with the same SSID set. For example, the SSID for Linksys devices is normally "linksys." Knowing your SSID does not necessarily mean others can break into your network, but keeping the default SSID is just foolish.
Don't broadcast your SSID. Configure your wireless router so it doesn't broadcast your SSID. By doing so, you will protect it from many basic attacks such as botnet worms.
Use WPA wireless encryption. WPA is the current, common encryption standard you should probably be using; it is stronger than WEP.
Restrict access to your network by the Mobile Access Code (MAC) address. Each router has a unique identifier called the physical or MAC address. By restricting access you add another way to protect your network from attacks.
However, if you’re willing to spend a hour or so enhancing your network’s security, you can vastly improve your chances of preventing any breaches.
Here are some basic tips:
Use a strong password on all devices. Make sure each password is long and strong. Use a mixture of upper and lower cases, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols. The longer and more complex you make a password, the harder it will be for a hacker to break it.
Change the Default SSID. Manufacturers normally ship their routers with the same SSID set. For example, the SSID for Linksys devices is normally "linksys." Knowing your SSID does not necessarily mean others can break into your network, but keeping the default SSID is just foolish.
Don't broadcast your SSID. Configure your wireless router so it doesn't broadcast your SSID. By doing so, you will protect it from many basic attacks such as botnet worms.
Use WPA wireless encryption. WPA is the current, common encryption standard you should probably be using; it is stronger than WEP.
Restrict access to your network by the Mobile Access Code (MAC) address. Each router has a unique identifier called the physical or MAC address. By restricting access you add another way to protect your network from attacks.
FTP, but unlike FTP, the entire session is encrypted, meaning no passwords are sent in cleartext form, and is thus much less vulnerable to third-party interception. Another option is FileZilla - Melbourne Home Security Systems
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